Chapter 34 Qidi

Liu Ji, the king of Han, did not stand still. When he led the northern army back to the main battlefield in Xingyang, the general Han Xin also led the army to Qidi to prepare to unify the northern front.

Some scholars in later generations believe that during the period of contention between Chu and Han, princes from all walks of life stood in line. For a while, he stood on the side of the Han State and formed an anti-Chu alliance; For a while, he stood on the side of the Chu State and formed an anti-Han alliance. But this statement is not accurate, they did not form an alliance. For example, Wei, Zhao, Yan, Qi, and other vassal states did not clearly express their opposition to Chu or Han, they wanted to preserve their territory and strength. They are more like neutrals, all taking a wait-and-see attitude. They did not take the initiative to attack the Chu or Han states, nor did they send troops to assist either side, and sometimes they did not even bother to shout political slogans or make a statement.

Under such circumstances, whoever does a good job in united front work will occupy an advantageous position. Obviously, Liu Ji, the king of Han, is more active. During this period of military confrontation, Liu Ji, the king of Han, did not forget to coordinate the overall situation of the country, and while ordering the general Han Xin to continue to go to Qi to pacify by force, he also sent an experienced envoy to Qi to negotiate with Han and Qi by diplomatic means, trying to persuade Qi to return to Han.

This experienced envoy smelled of alcohol all over his body and his eyes were full of stars, and he was the Gaoyang drunkard who ate him. Although not long ago, he was scolded by Liu Ji, the king of Han, for proposing to divide the descendants of the six countries as kings, but this did not affect the trust of Liu Ji, the king of Han, in the slightest.

At this critical moment, Liu Ji, the king of Han, gave him an important political task, that is, to envoy the state of Qi. This is not an easy job, because Qi has always been accustomed to being in a quiet corner and does not like to get involved in the southern war. When the Qin State swallowed up other countries, the Qi State watched from the sidelines, neither participating nor defending, which eventually led to its own annihilation. Taking a wait-and-see attitude and not getting involved in war is like the national spirit that goes deep into the bone marrow of Qi country.

But this diplomatic mission went unexpectedly, and it didn't take much effort for Li Shiqi to convince the Tian family, the royal nobles who held the power of the Qi State. Because behind the envoy Li Shiqi was the powerful Han State, and more importantly, the general Han Xin was leading the army to this place. The Tian family, who were coerced and tempted, completely convinced the envoy Li Shiqi, not only drank and had fun with the envoy Li Shiqi all day long, entertained these distinguished guests of the Han State with the highest standard banquet, but more importantly, completely lifted the war readiness on the border. There was a festive atmosphere of dancing and dancing in Qidi, which was more lively than the New Year, so that they forgot the cruelty of war.

Li Shiqi is indeed an excellent diplomat. Although he liked to drink alcohol and smelled drunk, this did not affect his diplomatic image and diplomatic work in the slightest. Without moving, without blood, with just one mouth, the state of Qi, which had more than 70 cities, was declared a vassal to Liu Ji, the king of Han.

This was the most glorious moment of his diplomatic work, but what he did not expect was that it was also his last moment.

【Kuaitong】

Liu Ji, the king of Han, did a good job, on the one hand, he ordered the general Han Xin to lead his troops to Qi, and on the other hand, he sent envoys to Qi. But he just forgot to reconcile the two internal relations, and failed to inform both sides of the spirit of high-level decision-making, which led to internal contradictions and killed a brilliant diplomat.

Han Xin, the general who was already halfway through, received the news that Li Shiqi had sent an envoy to Qi and had successfully persuaded Qi to stop the march, but was dismissed by a well-spoken subordinate.

This eloquent subordinate is called Kuai Che, and later generations also called Kuai Tong, a native of Fanyang County. He persuaded the general Han Xin not to stop the march, but to rush to Qi and regain it by force—the reason was to fight for military merit.

He instigated the young general Han Xin not to be robbed of the credit by Li Shiqi. The general led tens of thousands of people to fight for days, but he only pacified more than 50 cities in Zhaodi; And Li Shiqi only relied on two mouths to win more than 70 cities in the Qi State - is the credit of the general not as good as a lobbyist? What's more, Liu Ji, the king of Han, never said that he wanted the general to stop military operations, let alone an edict, so there was no reason not to carry out the task at all. (The general was edicted to attack Qi, and the Han Dufa sent Qi to the next time, would it be better to have an edict to stop the general?) "Hanshu - Volume 45 Kuai Wu Jiang Xifu Biography")

Kuaitong is a man who can speak well and is very eloquent, but his mind is not right. On the surface, he looked at the problem from the perspective of the great general Han Xin everywhere, and thought about the general Han Xin everywhere. But in essence, his suggestions were full of conspiracy, and he always incited his superiors to engage in mountaineering and gangs.

He did not look at the problem from the perspective of the Han Kingdom, did not regard himself or the general Han Xin as a member of the Han Group.

In fact, Kuaitong forgot that he himself and Li Shiqi were the same kind of people. In the past few years, he has also relied on his two mouths to incite more than 30 cities in Zhao to peacefully return to the counter-revolutionary army of Shunchu - Chen Sheng's subordinates. The things that Li Shiqi is doing now are no different from what Kuaitong did back then.

But Kuaitong didn't know that these suggestions of his own ended up killing Li Shiqi.

【郦食其】

Li Shiqi really didn't expect that this would be his last mission and the last time he would drink.

Just as the Qi country was in a happy scene, the border was suddenly attacked by the Han army, which made the Tian family feel extremely shocked and angry. The Tian family was extremely suspicious of the diplomat in front of them, and decided that it was Li Shiqi who had deceived them.

- Hurry up and let the Han army stop the siege, or I will cook you! (You can stop the Han army, I live you; Otherwise, I will be prosperous! "Historical Records - Biography of Lisheng Lu Jialie")

- I don't have anything to say! (And the public doesn't say anything!) "Historical Records - Biography of Lisheng Lu Jialie")

Li Shiqi, who was drunk and had not yet sobered up, did not expect that this would be the case. He couldn't even figure out why the general Han Xin continued to attack Qi even though he had successfully persuaded Qi State. He would never have thought that it was the lobbyist Kuai Tong who instigated the young general Han Xin to fight for merit and profit behind his back, and it was his own kind that killed him.

He couldn't think of a reason at all, and he had no way to explain it to the Tian family. He had lived most of his life, and he had never thought about begging anyone, and this moment was no exception, and he had no intention of explaining, because he thought there was nothing to explain.

In the end, Li Shiqi was cooked and killed by the Tian family and died in the Qi State.

He was a high yang maniac, he had never succumbed in his life, and he had never thought of lowering his expensive head for a moment. His career began with diplomacy, but it also ended with diplomacy, which was never an easy job.

【Dragon】

Overlord Xiang Yu's reaction was indeed a little sluggish. When the Tian family asked him for help, he remembered to send troops to Qi to help fight against the Han. At this time, Han Xin, the general of the Han State, had successfully invaded Qi and had captured Linzi, the capital of Qi State. Because the armament alert of the Qi State was completely removed by Li Shiqi, the great general Han Xin could enter the Qi land without much effort.

At this time, the overlord Xiang Yu had to send his most trusted general, Long Ji, to lead the army to Qi to assist the Tian family in the battle.

Long Ji, a good buddy of the overlord Xiang Yu, is also an old revolutionary soldier who joined the army relatively early in the Xiang Group. has been fighting with the overlord Xiang Yu, born and died. But it is precisely because he has been living under the light of the overlord Xiang Yu that he has never had the opportunity to lead the troops to attack the city alone, so he did not get the seal back then, but stayed by the side of the overlord Xiang Yu and served as the Great Sima (national commander-in-chief) of the Western Chu Kingdom, responsible for the daily military and administrative affairs.

did not get the seal, and it did not affect the friendship between him and the overlord Xiang Yu, he has always been inseparable from the overlord Xiang Yu. Even if Chen Ping used the anti-intrigue scheme, he was not able to break up the relationship between them, and the overlord Xiang Yu still trusted him very much.

At this critical moment, the overlord Xiang Yu asked Long He to go to Qidi to recover the chaos. Because before that, Long Ji defeated his old comrade-in-arms who had worked with him in one fell swoop, which shocked all the soldiers of the Western Chu Kingdom. After all, the military strength of Tu Bu is obvious to all, and Tu Bu was once the most courageous general in the Chu State Group. In this way, Long Ji's military capabilities were indeed seriously underestimated back then.

This time, Long Ji is still facing old comrades-in-arms who have worked together. It can even be said that it is his former subordinate. Back then, when Han Xin, a young man, was in the Chu army, he didn't have many outstanding performances, he ran to the leaders all day long to talk nonsense and point fingers, but when he was fighting, he cowered, and Long looked down on such people.

Long He led an army of 200,000 troops to Qidi.

He is full of confidence, and such a brave general as Dubu has been defeated under his hands, not to mention the nobody Han Xin. He didn't get the seal back then, although it didn't affect the friendship between him and the overlord Xiang Yu, but he did have some pimples in his heart. This made him soberly aware of the cruel reality that without military merits, he could not obtain a seal. Therefore, he must take advantage of these rare opportunities.

This is also a very obvious value orientation of the Chu Guo Group, that is, it must rely on down-to-earth combat and courageous military exploits to be appreciated by senior leaders. And those literati and writers who only rely on lip service or use their brains cannot enter the field of vision of senior leaders. This set of values with courage as the core is of course inseparable from the relationship between the number one Xiang Yu, because the overlord Xiang Yu is such a person, and of course he likes such people.

Therefore, for this Qidi war, Long He resolutely gave up the conservative way of fighting, and adopted the most direct and difficult tactic, that is, face to face, hard to face. (I know Han Xin as a human being, easy to hear.) And the husband rescued Qi and surrendered without a fight, what did I do? Win the battle today, half of them can be obtained, how to stop! "Historical Records - The Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin")

Dragons want a real war between men!

He chased Han Xin all the way to the place of Weishui. It's an old river, and the water is a little unpredictable, sometimes it doesn't reach your toes, but sometimes it floods your body.

Long Ji didn't have time to study hydrology and geography, and all he wanted was to have a good job with Han Xin. Looking at the Han army in front of him, Long He ordered to move forward at a rapid pace until the middle of the river.

Seeing the Han army fleeing for their lives in embarrassment, Long He was even more convinced that his decision was correct! Han Xin hasn't changed for so many years, he is still so timid and afraid, and he runs away as soon as he starts. (Gu Zhixin is also timid.) "Historical Records - The Biography of the Marquis of Huaiyin")

However, when the Han army reached the opposite bank, the Chu army found that the water suddenly swelled, as if the river embankment had burst. The Chu army was defenseless, and the whole army was submerged in the surging river, and there was no way to get in front of it. Many soldiers who did not know how to swim and wore heavy armor sank to the bottom of the river with this panicked cry and died in embarrassment.

It turned out that the night before, Han Xin did not rest, but led the soldiers to study the water conservancy project. He ordered his soldiers to prepare tens of thousands of pockets, which were filled with river sand, and secretly hoarded them in the upper reaches of Weishui so that the water would not flow downstream. After luring the Chu army to cross the river, Han Xin ordered all the sandbags blocking the river to be removed, and the rolling river rushed down, drowning the Chu army.

Those soldiers of the Chu army who could swim did not escape the call of death, and the Han army killed them all and annihilated them all.

It is not known if the dragon can swim, but it is certain that he did not return to shore. Eventually, Long was killed by the Han army in the river.

Fighting with water has always been Han Xin's forte.