Chapter 23: Confrontation

More than 400,000 soldiers of the revolutionary army, under the leadership of the supreme commander Xiang Yu, gradually advanced to Xianyang, the capital of the Qin Empire. They were looking forward to victory, as two of the Qin Empire's toughest opponents had already been defeated by them, and the most famous general, Zhang Han, had even surrendered to Xiang Yu.

When they arrived at the Xianyang border, they found that the gates of Hangu Pass were tightly closed, and the soldiers guarding them did not seem to be Qin Dynasty soldiers, but the revolutionary army united with them, from the troops of Liu Ji of Chudi.

It turned out that Liu Ji, an old-timer who had fought side by side with him, had already entered the customs first. This is a fact that he cannot accept. Because he originally expected that Liu Ji would not be able to advance into Guanzhong and would eventually have to wait for his army to come to the rescue, he never paid attention to the military situation in Guanzhong.

But now, Liu Ji has taken the lead. What shocked and angered Xiang Yu even more was that Liu Ji had completely regarded himself as the master of Guanzhong, accepted the surrender of Qin Ziying, and appointed Ziying as the prime minister. Why did Liu Ji appoint someone else as the minister of state, and what power did he have to make a wish? What's even more odious is that Liu Ji actually looted all the treasures and belongings of the empire, and also sent heavy troops to guard Hangu Pass and prevent other troops from entering Xianyang City.

Xiang Yu felt furious. Since taking power in the military, Xiang Yu's temper has become moody, and he will be furious at the slightest disappointment. Especially at this important joint, he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart. Because the capital Xianyang is his ultimate goal, he does not allow anyone to touch it.

The Qin army was defeated in the Battle of Julu, all the leaders of the revolutionary army bowed to him, all the soldiers obeyed him, and no one dared to say no to him. Unexpectedly, Liu Ji, who was inconspicuous, did not treat him as respectful as other revolutionary soldiers, dared to snatch his military merits, and openly opposed himself.

Xiang Yu jumped like thunder, like a mad beast. He ordered to attack Xianyang City with the most brutal tactic, that is, fire attack. He wants to set fire to Xianyang City, let all the people in Xianyang City be buried with him, let all the materials in Xianyang City disappear, and let Xianyang City not grow a single grass from now on.

The crisis is imminent.

【Fan Xu】

Xianyang City is about to become a purgatory on earth, and the singing of Xianyang Palace is still melodious and tactful. Liu Ji and many other soldiers were admiring the most authentic court dance of the Qin Empire, a high-end art that they had never seen before.

Fan Xu, who is both a friend of the same township and a brother-in-law, has come over to persuade Liu Ji many times, asking him to stop playing music quickly, purge the army, and retreat to the edge of the city, because now is not the time to enjoy himself.

Liu Ji saw that it was his old partner Fan Xu, and he didn't pay attention to him at all, because everyone was too familiar with each other and didn't need to be polite.

Fan Xu, a native of Pei County. He has a fat head and big ears, a strong figure, and has always operated with both hands, specializing in slaughtering dogs before the revolution and killing people after the revolution. He and Liu Ji are fellow villagers, playing from childhood to adulthood, and finally playing until they are old. Back then, when they were in Pei County, they often ate and drank together. After Liu Ji privately released the prisoner into the grass, Fan Xu has also been secretly fornicating with Liu Ji. When marrying wives, they were all together, Liu Ji married his sister, and Fan Hao married his sister. Now that they are rioting and making revolutions, they have been fighting side by side. It can be said that Fan Xu is Liu Ji's closest relative and comrade-in-arms. Every time he charged into battle and conquered the city, Fan Hao was at the forefront. A bold fierce man like him is certainly not afraid of death. Among the many generals of the revolutionary army, Fan Xu was the most ruthless and decisive in killing, and his knife skills were also the most skilled, sharp and clean. Every human head is clear, and at a glance, you can tell that it was cut by Fan Xu. So in the history books, the record of Fan Xu's beheading is complete:

Battle Dangdong, beheading level 15;

attack Puyang and behead level 23;

Battle-to-Take, decapitation level 16;

attacked Dongjun, beheaded 14 levels, and captured 11 people;

attacked Kaifeng, beheaded 1 person, the first 68 levels, and captured 27 people;

attacked Wanling, beheaded level 8, and captured 44 people;

attacked Xili, beheaded 24 levels, and captured 40 people;

Attacking Wuguan, beheading 1 captain, the first 10 levels, capturing 146 people, and surrendering 2,900 people; ("Historical Records - Biography of Fan Liteng")

……

Rushing so bravely, it's not to get any knighthood or prove any ability. Because he didn't have any revolutionary ideals, and he didn't think about being a prince and general, but the friends around him did this, so he followed suit. Especially his big brother Liu Ji took the lead, and he had to work even harder.

Of course, Liu Ji also knew that Fan Xu was not a scholar and had no strategic foresight. Of course, he wouldn't take Fan Xu's words to heart. It wasn't until another comrade-in-arms he respected came to dissuade him that Liu Ji felt that he really should pay attention to this issue.

This comrade-in-arms is named Zhang Liang, the word Zifang, so the Korean nobleman. He was known as a god-like man in history, one of the most legendary strategists in the Qin and Han dynasties, and was known as a sage by later generations. In stark contrast to Fan Xu, Fan Xu is burly and black, while Zhang Liang is thin, white and clean, as if he is weak and can't help the wind. Even the historians (Sima Qian, Ban Gu) many years later sighed that Zhang Liang looked like a woman when they saw the portrait of Zhang Liang. (I thought she was burly and wonderful, but she was like a woman.) "Historical Records - Liuhou Family", "Book of Han - Volume 40 Biography of King Chen and Zhou")

He is a nobleman of the late South Korea, worthy of the name of the sixth generation, because his ancestors were the prime ministers of South Korea for five generations, and he has long controlled the government of South Korea and controlled the policies and guidelines of South Korea (the decision to send Han Fei to Qin was probably approved by Zhang Liang's ancestors). If there was no unification war later, Korea would not have been destroyed, and Zhang Liang would have inherited the family's business and become the prime minister of South Korea and be in charge of Korean government.

However, the initial dream was suddenly shattered, and the doom of the country and the destruction of the family suddenly came. Soon after, his closest brother died suddenly, and major changes occurred in the family and country one after another, which was a heavy blow to Zhang Liang. He was once depressed, feeling that everything in the world was ethereal. He left 300 slaves in his family and resolutely wandered the world. His outlook on life and values have undergone a major change, and he has constantly begun to reflect on the meaning of life, what people live their lives for.

His anger towards the Qin Empire, especially his anger at the First Emperor Yingzheng, like Wu Rui and Xiang Yu, was deep in the marrow. They did not hesitate to spend everything, even their own lives, in the hope of killing Yingzheng and overthrowing the Qin Empire. Who would have thought that Zhang Liang, a noble son who seemed to be weak, would have the feat of assassinating Yingzheng.

Back then, Zhang Liang planned an assassination that caused a sensation throughout the country, that is, he was going to kill Ying Zheng on his way out on patrol. For this assassination operation, Zhang Liang took great pains to plan for all possibilities. A person of his stature is very thoughtful. He threw all his family fortune into this assassination operation, and searched everywhere for a strong man who was also not afraid of death to join forces. He also conducted field research and careful analysis of all routes, and thoroughly explored the surrounding environment until he made sure that nothing was lost.

But unfortunately, this assassination attempt was not successful, and only Yingzheng's car was accidentally injured. Fortunately, Zhang Liang planned for all the possibilities, and was able to get out of the way.

After the assassination failed, Zhang Liang has been living in seclusion in the fields, silently studying military books and strategies. In this pile of books, there is a strange book that Zhang Liang has repeatedly studied, and the source of this strange book is also extremely magical. The name of this strange book is called "The Art of War", which was given to Zhang Liang by an extremely mysterious old man. This elder seems to be like a god, elusive, and there is no exact name left in history. Except for Zhang Liang, no one has seen his true face, and no one knows any information about him. This strange book is also like a martial arts cheatbook, since Zhang Liang's in-depth study, it seems that he has suddenly opened up the second pulse of Ren and Du, and has an extraordinary interpretation of the world's strategies and military tactics.

After the rise of the anti-Qin wave, Zhang Liang certainly did not miss this good opportunity, and he also gathered more than 100 people to participate in the revolution. By chance, Zhang Liang met Liu Ji, the leader of the revolutionary army, and took refuge under Liu Ji, becoming Liu Ji's most important chief of staff.

If Fan Zeng is Xiang Yu's "second father", then Zhang Liang is Liu Ji's "master". Liu Ji didn't know anything about military strategy, and there was a lack of a figure in the army who knew strategy and military affairs, Xiao He, Cao Shen, and Fan Xu didn't know any of this. At this time, Zhang Liang's arrival was like sending charcoal in the snow for Liu Ji. Liu Ji has a lot of respect for Zhang Liang, because Liu Ji feels that Zhang Liang's identity itself is very noble - a Korean nobleman, and Zhang Liang is humble and strategic.

Liu Ji was obedient to Zhang Liang. Liu Ji can not listen to Fan Xu's words. But Zhang Liang's words, Liu Ji didn't dare not listen. Some scholars in later generations believed that according to Fan Xu's rude character, it was unlikely that he would have such a far-sighted vision to persuade Liu Ji to give up his gold and silver belongings. Therefore, it is likely that Zhang Liang taught Fan Xu behind his back and asked Fan Hao to do Liu Ji's ideological work, rather than directly persuading Liu Ji.

This is also very reasonable, reflecting Zhang Liang's far-sighted strategy, because he wants to take into account Liu Ji's feelings, and directly point out Liu Ji's greed for money and good achievements, which will make Liu Ji feel that he can't get over face in his heart. Doing this work through Liu Ji's closest person (Fan Xu) is good for everyone. not only took care of Liu Ji's face, but also insured his own safety.

Zhang Liang is smarter than Fan Zeng here, knowing what to say when and in what form. And Fan Zeng only knows how to say what needs to be said, no matter what form or when. If Zhang Liang knows how to take measure, know how to advance and retreat, and protect himself wisely, then Fan Zeng is careless, straightforward, and reckless. Zhang Liang knows how to stand behind the leader and give advice to the leader, but he will not take credit; And Fan Zeng likes to stand in front of the leader and point fingers at the leader, and let the leader do this and that. Although the leaders may listen to their suggestions in the end, the leaders have different views on them personally—they listen to Zhang Liang and love him, and Fan Zeng listens to his words and hates them.

Zhang Liang saw that Fan Xu's persuasion of Liu Ji was ineffective, so he had no choice but to go from behind the scenes to the front of the stage and personally persuade Liu Ji. First of all, he directly pointed out that the main reason for the fall of the Qin Empire was that it was because of the practice of benevolence and greed for pleasure that the revolutionary army was able to enter the customs smoothly and stand here in the palace. Now, the revolutionary army has just entered the capital Xianyang, and it is about to enjoy the glory and wealth left by the Qin Empire, so what is the difference between the revolutionary army and the tyrannical Qin Empire. (Fu Qin is unreasonable, so Pei Gong has to come here.) The husband is the world's thief, and it is advisable to be su. Now into Qin, that is, to be happy, this so-called "aiding and abusive". "Historical Records - The Family of the Marquis")

He hit the nail on the head and was talking about Liu Ji's concerns. Liu Ji himself didn't feel that he had much ability, but now that Zhang Liang said this, he felt that he might not be able to keep this prosperous national capital. In the end, Zhang Liang modestly gave all the credit to Fan Xu, and quietly pointed out that this was Fan Xu's idea, and asked Liu Ji to accept Fan Xu's opinion. This not only gave Liu Ji enough face, but also made him not so stubborn. Of course, Liu Ji found it easy to accept. (May Pei Gong listen to Fan's words.) "Historical Records - The Family of the Marquis")

Soon, Liu Ji ordered the treasures and belongings in the palace to be sealed, put back in their original places, and retreat from the city. Everything in the capital, Xianyang, is the same as before, as if they never entered the customs. They silently waited for the arrival of other revolutionary armies, especially the most prestigious Xiang family army in Chu.