The Battle of Pengcheng reversed the previous unfavorable decline of the Chu State in one fell swoop, and the Huaibei Chu Land returned to Xiang Yu's rule within a few days. The unprecedented anti-Chu coalition army led by Liu Bang was defeated again and again, and fled in a hurry under the pursuit of the Chu army's iron cavalry, and was unable to form an army.

Sima Wei, the king of Yin, was trampled to death in the chaotic army, and Shenyang, the king of Henan, was captured and killed, and the state of Yin and Henan were removed from the list and no longer reverted to being vassal states. Han Cheng, the king of Han, was deposed by Xiang Yu and his confidant Zheng Chang was renamed the king of Han. Because the Wei army was in the last seat of the coalition camp, Wei Wangbao was the first to run away when he saw that the situation was not good, and fled back to Daliang in three days, and collected most of the remnants of the army in Daliang to protect himself.

And Zhao Xiang Chen Yu was not so lucky, his Zhao army was next to the right flank of the Han army, and he was also the first princes' army to be attacked by the Han army. Most of the 100,000 Zhao troops under his command were scattered in an instant, and he himself was killed by Ji Bu, who went out of the city to counterattack in the chaos.

In comparison, Liu Bang, who became Xiang Yu's main pursuit target, was surprisingly lucky, and miraculously escaped Xiang Yu's pursuit all the way, and fled to Xingyang in a hurry to collect the remnants of the coalition army of 100,000, all of which were forcibly accepted under his command to defend Xingyang. At the same time, he ordered the Xiahou Ying army in the north of Pengcheng to retreat to Chenggao, and Xingyang formed a corner to resist the Chu army.

The Battle of Pengcheng became another glorious high point for Xiang Yu after the Battle of Julu, and the decline of the Chu State was instantly reversed by Xiang Yu's genius tactics. On the other hand, Liu Bang, who had just reached the top, tasted the consequences of failure in a blink of an eye.

This is a mythical and incredible war, Xiang Yu in the face of the betrayal of his allies, isolated, his own army is alone, the rear is lost, two fronts of battle, the disparity in strength under the various crises, but boldly used a strategic surprise attack, with only 30,000 cavalry to annihilate Liu Bang's 560,000 coalition troops, and won an unprecedented and even unprecedented huge victory. The boldness of its strategy, the far-reaching of its strategy, the perfection of its deployment, the disparity in troops, the swiftness and neatness of its march, the accuracy of its attacks, the ingenuity and effectiveness of its tactics, and the invincibility of its brilliant results, all of which are staggering!

If we talk about the impact and significance, the Battle of Pengcheng may not be as good as the Battle of Julu, which sounded the death knell for the Qin Empire, but in terms of the brilliant results, the Battle of Pengcheng is above Julu. Xiang Yu only used 30,000 cavalry to attack, and completely defeated the 560,000 troops of the anti-Chu coalition army, because there were no less than 200,000 dead and wounded in the trampling and falling into the water, plus more than 100,000 coalition troops who died under the Chu saber, Liu Bang can be said to have lost all his blood this time.

The vicissitudes of the sea show the true character of the hero!

The magnificent Seven Years' War at the end of the Qin Dynasty was an era of heroes. The heroes bred in the troubled times are like meteors piercing the night sky, leaving infinite reverie and emotion in the history of future generations, and Han Xin and Xiang Yu are undoubtedly the most brilliant and dazzling among the stars. They were unfortunately born in an era and were destined to become kings and losers; They are lucky to meet in the same era, and they are destined to be no longer lonely.

When Liu Bang was powerful, almost everyone in the world thought that Xiang Yu had reached the end of the road, but the initiative in Pengcheng returned to Xiang Yu's hands. However, after defeating the Han army, Xiang Yu made a fatal mistake, that is, he did not chase Liu Bang hard, but divided his troops to attack the lost territory.

Xiang Yu's conceit brought Liu Bang a precious respite, and while he intercepted the routs everywhere, unceremoniously included the rout troops of various countries in the Han army camp, and asked Xiao He in the rear to recruit new reinforcements to come to the rescue. When the belated army of Chu arrived in Xingyang, Liu Bang had already passed the most difficult period, and Wei Bao and Zhao Xie in the north also knew the truth of the cold lips and teeth, and they all went all out to recruit troops from the country to aid Liu Bang.

The Chu army and the Han army confronted Xingyang, and the situation in the eastern part of the country turned out to be a stalemate. In order to increase his control over the Central Plains, Xiang Yu recalled most of the army left in Qidi, leaving only Zhong Liwei's 40,000 horses to assist him in stabilizing Qidi, and Tian Heng took the opportunity to counterattack and recovered most of Qidi.

In the mansion of the Lieutenant of Xianyang, Han Xin sighed and put down the battle report he had submitted, and sighed with some regret: "Xiang Yu made a big mistake, if he goes north in one go, I am afraid that there will be no more opponents in Kanto from now on, and then we will have to send troops to Kanto to contain Xiang Yu's family and become bigger." ”

It's a pity that he made the mistake of arrogance again, and actually despised Liu Bang for giving him a chance to breathe. This Liu Bang is a character, if you talk about tenacity and tenacity, Xiang Yu and I can't catch up with half of him. He's a little powerhouse that can't be killed, you can defeat him, but you can't hit him, and don't expect him to give up unless you completely wipe him out of this world. ”

Li Zuoche smiled lightly, raised his eyebrows and said; "Then I don't know if you feel sorry for Xiang Yu, or do you feel sorry for Liu Bang? I don't know which outcome you'd be more happy to see. ”

Han Xintian snorted and said with a smile; "Yes, and they will all be. Liu Bang's existence is good news for my Daqin, so that we don't have to intervene in the Kanto region too early, and we can concentrate on solving our worries and henchmen first. However, in terms of personal feelings, I am more inclined to feel sorry for Xiang Yu, and to be honest, I don't like Liu Bang's three-faced guy, if he dies, maybe my lunch will increase a lot today. ”

Li Zuoche sighed with a smile; "In fact, there is only a general, what will you say about Xiang Yu, who in the world is not convinced by his 'Pengcheng First Battle', but you think it's a pity. It seems that we people are really not at the same level as you, and those who are in the top position really look farther. ”

Han Xin couldn't help but laugh; "Is it the next sentence, Brother Li, you are going to ridicule me as 'meat eater despised'."

Li Zuoche bowed deeply, and his face was extremely serious, "The lord is really a god and a man." The two looked at each other and laughed.

Li Zuoche asked again; "I'm curious about something, and I've always wanted to ask you, General, but I don't know whether to say it or not."

Han Xin smiled slightly, "Why should there be so much suspicion between you and me, if you have something to say, it is not happy to hold it in your heart." ”

Li Zuoche nodded, "What I'm curious about is, General, if you encounter Xiang Yu on the battlefield, what are your chances of winning?" ”

"It depends on the number of troops, whether they are elite or not, what their morale is, and all kinds of factors."

"What if it's evenly matched." Li Zuoche pressed forward step by step, stared at Han Xin's eyes and asked directly, his face full of interest. In fact, he is not the only one in the world who is interested in this issue, and many people are thinking about it. Han Xin and Xiang Yu only fought directly twice, once when Xiang Yu pursued Han Xin's retreat to Hedong with light cavalry, and once when he attacked and defended under Xianyang City.

Hedong was just a draw that time. In the battle of Xianyang, Xiang Yu was numerous, carrying the power of Julu's victory; Han Xin sat in Guanzhong, fortified the city, and mobilized the strength of the country to resist the anti-Qin coalition army. The final outcome was just a miserable victory for the Qin army, but it was unable to pursue, the Chu army was defeated and retreated, but it was not injured at all, and finally it was nominally surrendered to the Qin state.

Han Xin smiled and said truthfully: "Five or five." ”

Li Zuoche was "huh" and said, "I heard it right, even you would say such unconfident words." It's not like you, the General. ”

Han Xin smiled: "Then it depends on who the opponent is, who is Xiang Yu?" A genius of war that has been rare for thousands of years, I can say that the number of five or five is already very immodest. I'm not sure I can win against him, but I believe he will do the same with me. ”

"If there is anyone in this world who can make me extremely afraid on the battlefield, it must be Xiang Yu. However, he has a fatal weakness, and it is not on the battlefield. ”

"Oh?"

Han Xin smiled slightly; "Soldiers, the country's major affairs. Fighting a war is not only about the strength of the army and the command ability of the commander-in-chief, but more importantly, whether the national strength is strong or not. To put it bluntly, it is a waste of national strength, and the command ability of the generals is just the icing on the cake, but it is not the fundamental. Xiang Yu's weakness is his stubbornness and political inconsistency, he is only suitable to be an invincible commander, not a qualified emperor. It's not that he doesn't know how to control it, but he doesn't care about using these means to buy people's hearts, and he prefers a direct and simple method, that is, to force others to submit to him by relying on strength.

"In the long run, there will only be fewer and fewer people who will follow him, and only more and more people will oppose him. In this way, his tragic end is doomed. ”

Li Zuoche couldn't help but quip; "I don't think you're boasting."

Han Xin laughed and put down the military report, "Okay, let's put down the matter in Kanto first, we don't need to worry about it for the time being, let's talk about your affairs next." ”

"You're really not going to be a general?"

Li Zuoche nodded, "Yes, I've been thinking about it for a long time, I'm actually not suitable to be a general on the battlefield, what I'm good at is the strategy in the army, instead of being depressed on the battlefield, it's better to follow the general and be a staff member by your side." ”

Han Xin exhaled and said with a soothing face; "That's fine, in fact, there are many fierce generals in the Qin army who charge into battle, but there are very few who are really familiar with military theory. If you become a clerical worker, you will also make the most of what you have. It's just a pity that after the dignified Li Mu, he couldn't go into battle to kill the enemy, which really made people speechless. ”

This time, Li Zuoche didn't give Han Xin a good look again, but rolled his eyes at him and said; "Are you making fun of me? I am a powerless scribe, and if you let me carry a large knife of hundreds of pounds into battle, will I be asked to kill the enemy or make me commit suicide? ”

Speaking of this, Li Zuoche suddenly smiled strangely and said mysteriously; "Actually, I still haven't told you something, the reason why I want to be by your side is because of other reasons. Think about it, which of these people under your command, Tian City, Zhao Wuji, and Mengshi is not a simple-minded guy with well-developed limbs. If they are allowed to lead the army to fight and survive one by one, it will be really difficult for them to let them be ministers in the same palace. ”

"I'm thinking, if you become king one day, then someone must come out and be a captain. They can't, looking at your cronies, it seems that I am the only one who is barely qualified, and this is my main purpose. ”

Han Xin couldn't help but laugh dumbly, and scolded with a smile; "You're welcome, you directly said the ambition of the wolf, you have a personality, I like it."

Li Zuoche smiled faintly, "I've been with you for a long time, but I've still figured out some of your thoughts and preferences." It's better to be honest and direct when dealing with smart people like you, anyway, my biggest ambition in this life is just to be a supreme minister who does not damage the reputation of my ancestors, and it does not pose a threat to you. ”

Han Xin couldn't help laughing, after getting along with Li Zuoche for a long time, he found that this guy was an interesting person. is not only very smart, but also knowledgeable and interesting, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like the grandson of Li Mu, who is known for his uprightness. Although he is closer to Zhao Wujitian City and others, these people are all border generals, and they have to guard one side outside the town for many years, and there are not many opportunities to return to Xianyang. But this Li Zuoche is different, he has never intended to be a general in the army, and this time he directly asked to be transferred to a civilian position.

Han Xin thought about it carefully for a while, and then said; "There should be two subordinate officials in my mansion, and they are all vacant now, why don't you serve as the national lieutenant Zuo Cheng first?"

Li Zuoche was stunned for a moment, and then he was happy in his heart, but his face was silent, just a faint salute and thanks; "With more love from the general, the left car will definitely do his best to live up to expectations."

"If nothing happens, then the left car will retire first."

During the period of the First Emperor, according to the political system of the Three Princes and Nine Princes designed by Prime Minister Li Si, the highest among the hundred officials under the King of Qin should be the Prime Minister, the Taiwei and the Imperial Doctor. The prime minister is in charge of civil affairs, is the assistant of the Son of Heaven, and the head of the hundred officials; The lieutenant is in charge of military affairs, and it is his duty to lead the soldiers for public security; The Imperial Doctor is the deputy minister, who is responsible for the examination of the inspectors.

However, the position of taiwei has been vacant since its establishment, and no one has filled it, because the Qin state practiced a highly centralized system, and the military, government, and economy were integrated into one emperor, so if the military power was handed over to others, the rule of the first emperor would be seriously threatened. However, the big and small tedious things in the army could not be carried out by the first emperor alone, so he set up the post of national lieutenant in disguise, called the deputy post of taiwei, which is actually the position of taiwei, but he lacks the power to transfer troops, and he is like the emperor's senior staff.

Of course, a national lieutenant like Han Xin, who has the power to serve in the army, is of course in a different situation, and his status has jumped above Prime Minister Sun Hong. According to the system, there can be two subordinate officials, the left and the right, but the current Qin State and the unified Qin State want to be much smaller than the region, and there are very few affairs. But this kind of disadvantage is also obvious, once Han Xin goes on the expedition, most of the functions of the Xianyang Governor's Mansion will be paralyzed. Therefore, Han Xin had the intention to train Li Zuoche to be his deputy, and he would take care of all kinds of affairs in the army when he was not in the court, so as to prevent him from being taken advantage of by Xiangquan.

However, after Gongsun Hong became the prime minister, he was decent, although he did not publicly show favor to Han Xin, but in many things, he gave Han Xin the green light all the way and never made it difficult for him. It seems that it is really as Meng Jian said, Gongsun Hong admires Han Xin very much in his heart, and most of them agree with what he does.

With the cooperation of Gongsun Hong, the chaos of the Qin State was quickly pacified after the death of Ziying, and only a few distant relatives of the Ying clan who did not know the current affairs wanted to collude with the family to claim the king, and were quickly suppressed by Han Xin's thunderous means, which minimized the impact.

The treatment given to these rebels Han Xin is not quite the same, although the clan relatives of the Ying clan are the first evil, but they only strip off their titles and imprison their families, and the treatment of worship remains unchanged, and their families are not held accountable. On the contrary, the families who followed the rebellion were punished very cruelly, all the men were executed, and the female dependents were sent to the border for hard work, and they were not allowed to return to Guanzhong for the rest of their lives.

This policy of sticking a stick and carrots was really very practical, and the people with bad intentions in Qin were terrified and did not dare to make trouble again. The other relatives of the Ying clan saw that Han Xin did not treat the Ying clan harshly, but opened up to the rebels, and gradually became reassured.

These Ying clan members who have eaten Qin Lu for generations are full of fat stomachs, and they have long been accustomed to a comfortable and enjoyable life. Although the position of King Qin is good, he also has to risk killing his head, if he can ensure that their treatment is the same, how many people will take the risk to do this.

And after the new king was established, Han Xin still maintained the etiquette that a courtier should have in front of King Qin, and did not exceed it at all. At home and in the military, everything is the same, there has been no major personnel purge, and many officials who openly oppose him have not been demoted. The domestic policy is also loose on the outside and tight on the inside, and everything is as usual on the outside, and there are no restrictions on the verbal travel of officials and ordinary people, but a large number of secret agents are all over the country, and all changes in various places are reported at any time.

Han Xin's actions also allowed the territory of Qin to be pacified quickly, and it did not fall into the chaos that Liu Bang thought. At this time, Han Xin also received the battle report from Kanto, and learned the news that Liu Bang was defeated and returned, and Xiang Yubing pointed to Xingyang.

Seeing that the anti-Chu coalition led by Liu Bang was declining and Chu was rising, Han Xin planned to use his hands to stop Xiang Yu's advance. But he can't send troops directly, because there is still a big trouble behind the Qin State, that is, the Huns who are fighting the grassland and marching south at any time, and Mao Dun must not mind stabbing the Qin State fiercely to wash away the shame. And if the Qin State wants to advance eastward with confidence, it must first solve this big trouble.

Now that it is a harsh winter, the livestock in the grassland are frozen to death, and even if Mao Dun wants to go south, it can only be the beginning of spring next year, so the Qin State has mobilized to actively prepare for war to resist the powerful invasion from the north, so Han Xincai has no intention of directly sending troops to intervene in the chaos in the Kwantung region.

Since he didn't attack from the front, he could turn to drag Xiang Yu's retreat behind his back. For example, in the south, there are a large number of forces sympathetic to the heart of the Chu king, but they still only recognize the orthodoxy of the Xiong clan of the Chu State, and refuse to recognize Xiang Yu, a rebel minister who kills the lord and claims the king. The reason why they didn't dare to do anything was just because they lacked the confidence to confront Xiang Yu and a leading figure.

And Han Xin was planning to send them a leader.