Chapter 27 Good General

In 206 BC, the Kingdom of Western Chu, with its capital Pengcheng.

Leading a huge army on a long journey, the overlord Xiang Yu, who had just returned to his hometown, still felt energetic, and the excitement in his heart could not be calmed. He had not yet begun to think about how to run the huge country, and he had not yet fully adapted to this life of post-war reconstruction, restoration of order. Substantive issues such as how to build up one's own bureaucracy, how to build government agencies, how to improve the legal system, how to collect taxes, and so on have not been seriously considered.

The palace of the new dynasty has not really started planning and construction, and the precious treasures that have been moved back from the palace of the Qin Empire have not yet been completely sorted out and put into storage, and Xiang Yu has not had time to enjoy them.

However, Xiang Yu no longer had the leisure time to deal with these trivial matters. Because the situation in Qi was turbulent again, the beacon smoke was ignited again. A general of Qi was dissatisfied because he did not get the seal, and with his strong strength, he killed or drove away the three Qi kings of Xiang Yu's division, and finally established himself as the king of Qi and occupied the Qi land. This political riot not only damaged the authority of the overlord Xiang Yu, but more importantly, affected the situation of the whole country.

This general of the Qi State who disturbed the situation is named Tian Rong. Tian Rong, born in the royal family of the old Qi dynasty, has a good royal education. There are three brothers in the family, the eldest brother Tian Dan and the younger brother Tian Heng, all of whom are young people with strong blood. Despite the collapse of the Qi State that year, the Tian family was still powerful in the local area and won the hearts of the people. After the rise of the anti-Qin rebellion, the three brothers also followed the trend and raised the banner of reviving the Qi state. If Xiang Liang is the core figure of anti-Qin in Chudi, then the eldest brother Tian Dan is the core figure of anti-Qin in Qidi. But similar to Xiang Liang, he died before he left the army, and was also killed by Zhang Han, a general of the Qin Dynasty, on the battlefield. Later, Tian Rong, like Xiang Yu, took over the banner of his eldest brother Tian Dan and continued to oppose the great cause of Qin.

In that year, in the war in which Xiang Liang died, Tian Rong refused to send troops to reinforce Xiang Liang. Because at that time, several traitors in Qi had fled into Chu and were politically sheltered by Xiongxin, the king of Chu, Tian Rong was dissatisfied with this - he was a very principled person. It is precisely because of this reason that Xiang Yu has always thought that Tian Rong killed his uncle Xiang Liang, and has always held a grudge against Tian Rong. Therefore, when Xiang Yu divided the seal, he did not divide Tian Rong, but distributed Qi Land to other generals.

However, Xiang Yu is still too simple. He didn't expect that Qidi's military strength was actually in Tian Rong's hands. The other generals simply did not have the strength to compete with Tian Rong, and the three Qi kings who obtained the division were only a false name. Therefore, when the soldiers of the Qi State returned to their fiefdoms, the mats were not yet hot, and the armor had not been removed, Tian Rong launched a coup d'état, occupied all the land of Sanqi, and established himself as the king of Qi.

Overlord Xiang Yu felt extremely angry, he had never been afraid of war. Although he was already an overlord, Xiang Yu had no intention of entrusting the command of this battle to others. He decided to personally lead his troops into Qi to calm the chaos.

【Liu Ji】

Han Kingdom, Bashu.

Liu Ji, who had not yet arrived in the capital, was not in the mood to consider the issue of national construction, because at this time he was facing the situation of rebellion and separation, and the soldiers around him left him one by one.

Just when he was feeling depressed, surprises kept coming. Heaven always seems to like to joke with him, and life is always up and down. Two days later, Xiao He appeared in front of him again. Liu Ji couldn't believe it, raised his eyes to look at Xiao He, his clothes were a little shabby, the dust almost completely covered the vicissitudes of his old face, and his eyes were not so focused, looking tired.

Liu Ji felt happy and angry, and scolded Xiao He, and his collapsed emotions were vented at once.

- Why did you betray and run away? (If so, what?) "Historical Records - The Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin")

- I don't dare to run away, I'm going to chase the escapees. (The minister does not dare to die, and the minister chases the dead.) Xiao He, who had not rested for two days and two nights, knew that Liu Ji had misunderstood himself, and hurriedly explained.

Liu Ji, the king of Han, felt a little puzzled, could so many people who escaped be able to chase after him? Who is this deserter chased by Prime Minister Xiao He, and is he so important? (If you are chasing, who?) "Historical Records - The Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin")

The deserter chased by Prime Minister Xiao He will be the most important general of the Han Kingdom in the future, and he will also be the most legendary god of war in Chinese history, his name is Han Xin.

【Hanshin】

Han Shin is a man with a story. He was probably an orphan, with no parents or children, no brothers and sisters, no one in his family who could care for him, love him, take care of him, and he could not enjoy the simplest tenderness in the world. His childhood was miserable and lonely, and he often rummaged through the dirty streets for food scraps abandoned by passers-by to feed himself, and often fainted on the streets because of hunger. I can't live in fear, like a lost dog. Sometimes he would cheekily go to the pavilion chief's house to eat, but his self-esteem was extremely strong, and when the pavilion chief's wife kicked him out, he was furious and secretly vowed never to do it again. He doesn't have the open-mindedness of Liu Ji.

Some of the elders saw him so pitiful and occasionally gave him some food. He was touched by the warmth that was the only thing in the world, because all he saw was a sneering and disgusting face. Once he met such good people who gave him food, he secretly vowed to repay them well in the future. But not all the good people in the world are like to bully him, humiliate him, and often ask him to crawl through his crotch, because he is weak and thin, he has to do what they want, and everyone around him laughs at him. This caused extremely serious damage to his psyche.

Even though life was so difficult, he never thought of ending his life, and he never gave up his pursuit. He survived strongly, and secretly vowed to get ahead in the future. The trials of life made him too precocious, but he was young but he had already seen through the warmth and coldness of the world and the cold of the world. His interest was in military strategy, and he liked to travel with his sword with him, and even when he was dying of hunger, he never thought of selling his sword. Because this sword is the only hope and pursuit in his life, as long as he looks at it, he will feel very satisfied, and he will definitely fly with this sword in the future. In addition to thinking about food and clothing, what he thinks about most is military war, and his understanding of military war surpasses that of ordinary people.

The anti-Qin craze rose, and he sensed that the time had come. He chose to defect to the Xiang Group, which was the most prestigious and powerful in Chu at that time, hoping to make a difference. However, he was not reused by the Xiang Group, and only obtained a low-level position in Langzhong. Disappointed, he resolutely left the Xiang Group and took refuge under Liu Ji. However, Liu Ji also did not reuse this seemingly ordinary young man, and he had not even seen his figure, but only arranged a low-level position for him by the relevant officials in the army according to the regular procedures. Because there are too many young people who usually come to join the army, and their talents are not written on their faces, who can see it at once.

During the period of Liu Jijun's service, he did not have the opportunity to contact the decision-making level, nor did he have the opportunity to lead the troops to fight. His task was only to take care of the grain and grass, which was a huge task for him, so he didn't pay much attention to it. He felt that his talent was not in these trivial matters, and he was finally sentenced to death for gross dereliction of duty.

On the execution ground, all 13 co-defendants have been beheaded, and it will soon be Han Shin's turn. If the executioner who executed at that time had moved faster and more crisply, perhaps Han Xin's life would have ended at that moment, and there would have been one less outstanding military general in history. At the moment when the guillotine was about to fall, Han Xin shouted with all his might-

Didn't King Han want to compete for the world? Why do you want to kill strong men! (If you don't want it, you don't want the world?) What is a strong man! "Historical Records - The Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin")

Fortunately, Xia Houying, the high-ranking official who supervised the execution, was also a discerning person, and when he heard Han Xin's shout, he felt that he should be a talented person. Because he saw that Han Xin was still impassioned before he died, unlike ordinary death row prisoners, and he spoke heroically, knowing that Liu Ji, the king of Han, wanted to seize the world - this was the top secret in the army at that time, and few soldiers knew about it. Xiahou Ying is a close confidant of Liu Ji, and belongs to one of the few senior leaders who know this secret.

Xiahou Ying ordered someone to untie Han Xin's rope and listen carefully to Han Xin's ambitions and strategies. The more he listened, the more frightened he became, because a lot of information was impossible for an ordinary soldier to know, and he only came into contact with many things after listening to Xiao He, Zhang Liang and others discuss at high-level confidential meetings.

Xiahou Ying was deeply moved by Han Xin's talent, and immediately recommended Han Xin to Liu Ji. However, Liu Ji still did not reuse Han Xin, but only slightly increased Han Xin's level, which is still based on the face of his fellow villager Xia Houying. Now that they have found a relationship, let's reluctantly give an official position. After all, Han Xin's resume is not very good-looking, he once had a disgraceful past - he was humiliated by his crotch, and he did not have any achievements in the camp of the Xiang Group, and he did not have any outstanding performance in so many previous wars, so he should be a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. What's more, he has just been sentenced to death for dereliction of duty and military law. Not carrying out the death penalty is already a great mercy to you, and you want to get some high-ranking position.

Han Shin, who had already managed to attract the attention of the higher-ups, was not satisfied, because the position still did not meet his expectations. And Xiahou Ying completely took this matter on his shoulders, and wanted to find a position that was most suitable for Han Xin in the army. Subsequently, Xiahou Ying found the number two person in the army, Prime Minister Xiao He, hoping that Xiao He could help this talented young man so that he could realize his dreams, and at the same time discover a rare talent for Liu Ji, the king of Han.

Prime Minister Xiao He took Han Xin's resume and looked at it repeatedly, and after talking with Han Xin many times and inspecting it repeatedly, he found that what Xiahou Ying said was true and his vision was not bad - Han Xin was indeed a rare military talent. Prime Minister Xiao He's opinion is different from that of Liu Ji, the king of Han, he doesn't care about Han Xin's humble background, nor does he care about Han Xin's shameful past, he values Han Xin's outstanding talent.

Prime Minister Xiao He was also deeply moved by Han Xin's talent, and he knew that there was a lack of a heroic and resourceful military general like Han Xin in the army. Xiao He took the baton from Xiahou Ying, completely took Han Xin's future on his own, and promised to get him an important position. However, when Xiao He recommended Han Xin to Liu Ji, the king of Han, many times, Liu Ji only responded vaguely and did not say anything special. It's not very common to go through the back door and seek an official position through connections, and Liu Ji is very familiar with it.

At this time, Liu Ji, the king of Han, entered Bashu and burned the cliff plank road, and many soldiers in the army fled. Han Xin was also silently thinking about his future and fate, he clearly knew that if even Prime Minister Xiao He's recommendation didn't work, then there would be no more hope.

The more Han Xin thought about it, the more he felt that the future was hopeless, so it was better to leave, and pack up his baggage and ride away that night.

The moon was empty, but Prime Minister Xiao He didn't have the heart to admire the moon. When he learned the news of Han Xin's departure, he immediately chased him out, and chased him for two days and two nights, and finally caught up with Han Xin, and it took a lot of effort to persuade Han Xin to return to the camp.

This time, Xiao He made up his mind to help Han Xin solve the position problem. When he hurried back to the barracks, he didn't have time to change his clothes, his face was not brushed, and his teeth were not washed, so he hurriedly ran to Liu Ji and reported to Liu Ji the most important urgent matter at present - worshipping Han Xin as a general.

Xiao He linked Liu Ji's future and fate with Han Xin's future and fate, and asked Liu Ji a very serious and solemn question - whether he wanted to return to Xianyang City.

Liu Ji's answer is yes, of course I want to, I think about it, who wants to stay in this broken place where there are not a few birds. (I also want to be in the east, and I can live here for a long time?) "Historical Records - The Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin")

If you want to return to Xianyang City, you must reuse Han Xin. Because with Han Xin's talent, he will definitely help the Han army capture Guanzhong. Xiao He is full of confidence in Han Xin. (The king's plan will be eastern, and he can use the letter, and the letter will stay; If you can't use it, the letter will die. "Historical Records - The Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin")

"Alright then, then give him a general to do." Although Xiao He seemed to swear by what he said, Liu Ji still didn't believe in Han Xin's talent. It's just for the sake of Xiao He's face that he reluctantly gave Han Xin a general.

However, Xiao He still felt that it was not enough, the ordinary general position could not show Han Xin's talent, and it had to be awarded a more important position-general, which was equivalent to handing over all the military power to Han Xin. Moreover, it is necessary not only to appoint Han Shin as a general, but also to greet Han Shin with the highest standard. Because Xiao He knew that Han Xin's self-esteem was extremely strong, if he couldn't give him enough face, he would definitely leave trouble.

At this critical moment, Liu Ji showed his monarchical bearing, and even agreed to all of Xiao He's requests, not only entrusting all his military power to a stranger he was not completely familiar with, but also holding the most solemn ceremony for Han Xin to greet Han Xin with the highest standard of etiquette. Because Liu Ji trusts Xiao He, and the army really needs such a general. If Fan Zeng persuaded Xiang Yu like this, Xiang Yu would definitely not agree to Fan Zeng's request, not only would he not agree, but he would also doubt Fan Zeng's loyalty.

Han Xin, who is only in his 20s, has finally survived the darkest and difficult time in his life, and is about to usher in bright light. On a carefully selected auspicious day of the zodiac, Liu Ji, the king of Han who had been fasting for three days, wore a solemn dress, ascended the altar of worship under the attention of everyone, respectfully greeted the young general Han Xin, and gave him the post of general Han Xin, and granted him all military powers.

This was the most glorious and satisfying time for Han Shin, and all the shames of the past had drifted away with the wind at this moment.