With the help of Xiao He and others, the whole Qi country really had a new look. Originally, when he was displaced with Liu Bang, Xiao He's talent was only used for one-twelve, and more often he was used as a grain and grass official.

But the Qi country is different, although it has also suffered from war, but the foundation is extremely rich, and the wealth and population are far superior to the other six countries, which has also become a place for Xiao He to show his strength.

In less than a month, Xiao He, with the cooperation of Cao Shen, sorted out all the government affairs of Qi State, which not only saved half of Qi State's expenses, but also greatly increased the tax revenue of the state treasury and changed the previous chaotic systems. Tian Heng immediately smiled when he saw such an achievement, praised Xiao He's talent again and again, promoted him to the right minister, entrusted him with all the affairs of the court, and settled down by himself.

Liu Bang really did as he promised, and no longer asked about anything. Every day, I just drink in the house, plough hard, and look leisurely like a mountain field. Liu Bang has always been unique among the heroes in troubled times, claiming to be the lord of benevolence and righteousness, and Qidi is the base camp of Confucianism and Mencius. Confucianism admired Wenzhi a lot, and he hated Legalism to the core, so Liu Bang was naturally very popular in Qi State.

For a time, Liu Bang's mansion was full of traffic, and the scholars and people who admired the Han King Gao Yite came to visit were endless, and they actually stepped on the three thresholds of the Han Wang's Mansion within a month. In the face of these visitors, no matter how busy Liu Bang is, he will take time to greet him warmly, and if he meets someone with the right temper, he will talk eloquently, and for a while, all the people in Qi will praise Liu Bang's elder style.

And Liu Bang's attitude towards Xiao He and other old ministers is completely different, Xiao He has visited the Han Wangfu three times, but Liu Bang has avoided it. Fan Xu sent someone to send a carriage of gifts to Liu Bang, but he asked the groom to drive the carriage directly to the palace to give it to Tian Heng for his birthday.

Liu Bang's gesture is clearly to put aside the relationship with these old ministers in the past and be his rich man with peace of mind. This humble attitude also won the appreciation of the government and the opposition of Qi State, and even the old ministers who had been wary of him before began to keep silent. Tian Heng was even more at ease with Liu Bang, not only often went to the Han King's Mansion to drink and talk to him, but also instructed his subordinates to "All orders of the Han King are equivalent to the meaning of widows." ”

On February 18, news came from Hebei that made the entire Qi country uneasy, and Xiang Yu defeated the Zhao army and the Wei army in Zhao Di one after another. Wei Leopard Turtle retracted back to Wei Land, frightened by Xiang Yu's killing, and did not dare to take the initiative to fight the Chu army again. Xiang Yu concentrated his forces to storm Zhao, wanting to eat Zhao first and then return to his division to solve Wei.

The main force of the Zhao army refused to defend Handan and other cities, and fought with the Chu army with rangers. Zhao Di's soldiers were brave, and Xiang Yu couldn't capture Handan for a while, so he had to slowly try to do it.

The war situation in Hebei became more and more intense, and Tian Heng in Linzi could no longer hold his breath.

For example, today there are three points, one is Qiang Chu, the second is Western Qin, and the third is the anti-Chu alliance composed of these princes. The Qin State is located in the west, and for the past year they have only closed themselves up, ignoring the affairs of the Kanto, and now they have heard that they are exerting their national strength in the war with the Xiongnu, so it is not worrying.

And the state of Chu since the battle of Pengcheng, has the upper hand, in comparison, the anti-Chu alliance is a series of defeats, even the Central Plains have been lost, the former prominent anti-Chu alliance of the seven countries, today there are only three left, if Zhao Xie and Wei Bao are finished, then the fate of the state of Qi can be imagined.

Whether it is out of alliance or for self-preservation, the state of Qi must send troops to participate in this war. So Tian Heng urgently held a meeting to discuss the matter of aiding Hebei.

One of the major characteristics of the court of Qi is that the ministers and generals under Tian Heng have nothing extraordinary, and the only thing worthy of praise is their loyalty to Tian Heng. Therefore, when the court Ueda Yokoichi said that he was going to send troops to Hebei, there was a chorus of approval underground, but no one said his thoughts and suggestions.

Tian Heng glanced at Xiao He, who was second on the left, and saw that he was thinking about it, Tian Heng has been very important to Xiao He these days, and his talent has amazed the whole Qi country, and what is even more rare is that Xiao He has always been decent and has not crossed the line, so Tian Heng wants to hear his opinion.

"Right Minister, I see that you have been frowning, and you seem to be worried, you might as well talk about it."

Xiao He bowed slightly, and said with a calm face; "The minister wants to ask Your Majesty how many people you plan to take to Hebei this time."

Tian Heng thought for a moment, then replied; "I plan for 150,000 in my heart, and we still have to defend Zhongliwei in the south, so we can't go north."

Xiao He nodded, "If our army has 150,000, although Zhao State has been defeated, the main force still exists, and I think there will be more than 200,000, plus Wei's, so we will have no less than 400,000." And although Xiang Yu's army going north is menacing, it is only 200,000, we just need to deal with it carefully, and if we don't give Xiang Yu a chance, it will be enough to be invincible. ”

Tian Heng clapped his hands and laughed, "What the right minister said is very much in line with my heart, and it should be like this." Wei Bao's timid people were scared when they heard Xiang Yu's name, how could this kind of person achieve great things. That Xiang Yu is just a head and two hands, it's nothing more than strength than others, a guy with brute strength, how can he be my Tian Heng's opponent, I will take his dog head and worship my brother sooner or later. ”

Xiao He said again; "Having said that, after all, although Xiang Yu has been fighting on the battlefield for a long time, although the number of people is small, it cannot be underestimated. Xiang Yu must camp in person every time there is a war, and he can always boost the morale of the army by relying on his outstanding martial arts. Therefore, although we do not need to be afraid of him, we must also be careful not to deal with the enemy. ”

"The minister has a plan, and he will definitely be able to force Xiang Yu into a dead end."

Tian Heng was overjoyed, and hurriedly stepped forward to grab Xiao He's hand and urged; "Speak quickly, tell the widow."

Xiao He was slightly embarrassed by Tian Heng's grip on his hands, and he stepped back slightly and stood up before saying; "The minister's method is very simple, I think the Chu army is on an expedition, and it must be very difficult to supply grain and grass in the rear, and Zhao Land is a newly occupied land, which is definitely not enough to maintain the supply of 200,000 troops. If we can send troops to cut off their connection with the rear, then the Chu army will definitely run out of food and chaos. ”

Tian Heng nodded again and again, "This idea is good, very good, very good." "Suddenly something came to mind, Zou Mei said;" But if the Zhao State can't withstand the Chu army's food and is wiped out by Xiang Yu first, then won't we all lose our efforts. ”

Xiao He bowed down and said: "What the king said is very true, it is the negligence of the minister, I don't think it is as good as this, my Qi army is divided into two routes, all the way north to cross the river, attack the Chu army from the front, and reduce the pressure on the Zhao army; The other way was along the south bank of the Dahe River to the Great Liang, as long as the Great Liang was captured, the throat of Xiang Yu's army leading to the Central Plains was choked. ”

Tian Heng asked and nodded; "This idea is good, I think it's okay, I can personally lead the troops all the way north, but who will lead the troops on the road to the Great Liang?"

Tian Heng looked around at His Highness, and when the ministers saw Tian Heng's eyes coming and going, they all lowered their heads and did not dare to look at each other. Tian Heng couldn't help but be disappointed in his heart, he still knew the ability of these goods under his hands, and it was okay to fight a good fight, but if this kind of critical battle of life and death also went wrong, then it would be too late to regret it. Thinking of this, Tian Heng couldn't help but sigh and said: "Originally, General Fan and General Zhou could take on this great responsibility, but it's a pity that far away water can't quench their thirst, they are far away in Xue County, and I'm afraid they will have to delay a lot of time when they come and go." ”

Tian Heng's sigh had just fallen, but when he heard the sound of ridicule from His Royal Highness, Tian Heng glared at the man angrily, "Doctor Xu, what do you mean by this." ”

Xu Ling strode out of the queue and held his head high; "Back to the king, the minister just heard His Majesty sigh that there is no one in the Qi country, so he couldn't help laughing, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive."

Tian Heng was furious, and his eyes glared at him with a fierce light, "Xu Ling, you can tell a reasonable reason, if it is reasonable, the widow will reward you again." If it doesn't make sense, the widow will make you look good. ”

Xu Ling was not afraid, but smiled; "Your Majesty, you said that there is no one in the Qi country to general, and the ministers think it is inappropriate. The minister knows a person, he has experienced a hundred battles, has commanded countless troops, even if he fights against Xiang Yu, he is half of the victory or defeat, and he has not fallen behind. What's even more rare is that this person is highly respected and has won the support of soldiers and people, if he is in charge, Xu is willing to guarantee that he will never lose. ”

Tian Heng's face was happy, and then he thought of something, and he couldn't help but be deflated; "Are you talking about the King of Han? The widow naturally knew the ability of the King of Han, and he also persuaded him to regain his strength and help me defeat Xiang Yu. It's a pity that the King of Han indulged in the joy of ploughing the fields, and he refused to ask him to go out of the mountain several times, and it will be the case today. ”

Xu Ling said disappreciatively; "You don't know, King, King Han is taking the initiative to avoid suspicion. You must know that as a prince and king, he is on an equal footing with the king, and even the leader of the anti-Chu League is still above you. But now he has lost his foundation, and he has come to our Qi country to join you, the king, and his former subordinates have become your courtiers again. If he doesn't take the initiative to back down and avoid suspicion, I'm afraid it will attract gossip, and sooner or later, the king, you will become jealous of him. ”

Tian Heng was stunned for a long time when he heard this, and said with shame on his face; "It turns out that the eldest brother is so thoughtful, I really thought he was obsessed with the countryside, it seems that I was indeed negligent."

raised his head and asked Xiao He again, "Right Xiang, you have followed the eldest brother for many years, you must know his mind very well, do you know whether the eldest brother fell to the ground and really retreated or was forced to take the initiative to retreat to avoid suspicion." ”

Xiao He shook his head and said; "The minister can't guess the mind of the king of Han. I just know that when Doctor Cao and I took office, the King of Han once specially told us to let us serve the Qi State with peace of mind, stop treating him as the master, and try to have as little contact with him as possible in the future, so as not to make the king unhappy. ”

Tian Heng was shocked, his eyes widened and he gritted his teeth; "Big brother actually looks down on me so much, is it that my Tian Heng is so unbearable in his eyes, isn't there such a little tolerance?"

Xu Ling replied with a long sigh; "King Han Gaoyi, this is also to avoid the king from being in a dilemma, you must know that people's words are terrifying."

Tian Heng groaned for a while, and suddenly said urgently; "Come, send someone to invite the king of Han to come to the palace......"

Before the guards could retreat, Tian Heng suddenly shouted again: "Slow." ”

"It's better for the widow to go to the Han Wang's Mansion to invite him in person, and all Aiqing will go with me."

When the group arrived at the Han Palace, Liu Bang was resting in the mansion. When he heard that Tian Heng was coming, he came out and saw Tian Heng smile from a distance; "How can Brother Xian be free today, why don't you pass it on in advance."

When he saw a large group of ministers and generals behind Tian Heng, he was stunned for a moment, and his eyes quickly swept over Xiao He behind Tian Heng. Seeing him nodding slightly, his heart was suddenly overjoyed, but his face was silently surprised; "Why are all of you here today, it's rare."

Tian Heng's laughter was hearty, "Big brother, you are so idle, we are too busy." ”

Liu Bang laughed, "It looks like the virtuous brother is here to ask the teacher." ”

"Exactly." Tian Heng responded with a smile, and then bowed and said; "I'm here today to ask my eldest brother to help me."

Liu Bang hurriedly helped Tian Heng up, "Why do you need to be so polite between you and my brothers, what does the virtuous brother need to be a brother, but it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

Tian Heng got up and said with a straight face; "I want to ask my eldest brother to lead the army for me and fight against Xiang Yu together." After speaking, he roughly said Xiao He's suggestion.

Liu Bang said in embarrassment after listening to it; "But I've decided to quit the world and just be my idle man."

Tian Heng persuaded again and again, but Liu Bang just refused to agree, and finally Tian Heng was anxious and said with some annoyance; "Big brother, have you forgotten King Huai's blood feud? Didn't you keep saying that you wanted to avenge King Huai, but what you did today is not chilling? ”

Liu Bang's body shook, his face showed a painful look, and he stomped his feet and sighed for a long time: "That's it, that's it, I, Liu Bang, will be a dishonest person." ”

"Okay, Brother Xian, what do you need me to do, even if I am told, I Liu Bang only want to be able to kill Xiang Yu, and everything else can be done."

……

The Qi army marched north from Linzi and divided into two routes. All the way for the 80,000 elite soldiers led by Tian Heng himself, with Cao Shen as the marching horse, after crossing the river, all the way north, from the south to respond to the main force of the Zhao army besieged Handan; All the way, with Liu Bang as the commander, Liu Bang's headquarters of more than 20,000 horses and 60,000 Qi troops, a total of 80,000 horses, interspersed along the south bank of the river to the west, trying to capture Daliang to cut off the retreat of the Chu army in Hebei.

After Xiang Yu heard the news that the Chu army was heading north, he hurriedly transferred Ji Bu to the south and held on to the main beam to protect the back road. He also ordered Yu Ziqi to lead the army to continue to stabilize the situation in Zhaodi, and he himself personally led 30,000 elite cavalry to quickly go south and attack the Tian Hengbu heading north.

Tian Heng heard that the Chu army had gone south, and his heart was suddenly very anxious, although he was conceited, he was not so arrogant that he despised Xiang Yu. He even Xiang Yu's iron cavalry attack power is terrifying, and only by relying on the city can he resist Xiang Yu's attack.

So he left his baggage and most of the soldiers and horses to Cao Shen, and he personally led 30,000 light soldiers to the north quickly, wanting to capture Gaotang City before Xiang Yu, and use it as a stronghold to resist the offensive of the Chu army.

Gaotang was originally a small city, and there were hundreds of old and weak Chu troops stationed there, and when the Qi army arrived, it didn't take much effort to easily capture Gaotang. Just when the Qi army entered the city, the Chu army suddenly arrived, and the iron cavalry entered the city along the city gate that had not had time to close.

Seeing that the situation was critical, Tian Heng immediately took the opportunity to personally lead 800 dead soldiers to pounce head-on, and relied on the courage to suppress the torrent of the Chu army. This is only Xiang Yu's forward troops, because they saw the chaos of the Qi army entering the city, they wanted to fish in troubled waters and enter the city, and after Tian Heng counterattacked, he had to withdraw from the city because of his inability to follow.

Tian Heng hurriedly ordered the city gate to be closed and the army was regrouped for battle. Half an hour later, Xiang Yu led the army to arrive, and the 30,000 iron cavalry were divided into several shares, which were displayed outside the four gates, blocking the retreat of the Qi army.

Unlike the soldiers' fears, Tian Heng was not afraid this time, because he knew that Cao Shen's army was not far away, and once his army arrived, the Qi army should be united with the outside, and with the advantage of troops, Xiang Yu's elite soldiers could be completely eaten.

So instead of being afraid, he was eager to try, and only waited for Cao Shen's army to arrive and resolutely counterattacked.

It's just that things were beyond his expectations, and the Qi army, which was originally only a hundred miles away, did not show up for a long time, which made Tian Heng worry in his heart.

Although Gaotang is a big city, and the Chu army, which lacks siege equipment, cannot be attacked, another problem soon came to the fore, that is, the grain and grass have run out. At the beginning, in order to go with light troops, Tian Heng asked his soldiers to bring only five days' rations, originally thinking that Cao Shen would come to the north to meet and make peace soon, but unexpectedly, he waited for a long time and never found a trace.

As the days passed, the Qi army's food stocks became less and less, and Tian Heng's face became more and more ugly. He had vaguely guessed something in his heart, but he didn't dare to believe it, he really didn't want to believe that the eldest brother who had always called him a brother would betray him, but Cao Shen's reaction just showed this.

Tian Heng made a mistake, a mistake that was enough to kill him. He thought that Xiao He's people were just the kind of "things that eat the king's Lu and be loyal to the king". He thought that Xiao He and Liu Bang were just simple vassals, and it was no longer common for them to change their lord in troubled times.

He didn't know that the reason why Xiao He and these people followed Liu Bang was because they firmly believed that Liu Bang was a monarch worth following, so no matter what time of danger, they would never abandon him and have no disagreement at all.

By the time he thought about it, it was too late.

Cao Shen was only a hundred miles away, but he did not lead a large army to meet him as he ordered, and it was impossible to cause any other accidents in such a short distance. Xiang Yu's soldiers and horses have always been concentrated outside Gaotang City and have never been mobilized, so naturally there has been no such thing as being attacked and killed.

There is only one possibility left, Cao Shen deliberately did not come, he knew that Tian Heng did not carry too much grain and grass, and he would definitely die after a long battle.

If Tian Heng dies, who will be the biggest beneficiary?

Tian Heng, who had communicated everything, instantly froze, and he found that he seemed to have fallen into a trap from the beginning.

A trap carefully prepared for him by Liu Bang.