The Myth of Daqin: The Soul of Yi Xiaochuan

Liu Bang waved his hand, his gaze piercing as he surveyed the crowd. "While Yong Chi's words make sense, Zhou Bo's are also quite pertinent. But everyone should be aware that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang have both been annihilated by the Xianyang imperial army. Furthermore, Prince Fusu has the support of General Meng Tian and 300,000 elite Qin troops in the northern border, while another 300,000 troops in the southern border are eyeing him covetously. Whether it's Prince Fusu, the Xianyang imperial court, or the uprisings now emerging across the country, who will ultimately prevail? It remains to be seen!"

Liu Bang's words were like a loud bell, sounding a heavy alarm in everyone's heart.

Everyone looked at each other and remained silent for a moment.

After a moment, Liu Bang's face grew solemn, and he said gravely, "If we rise up now and rebel against the imperial court, it would be treason and rebellion! What will become of our families? Are we to wait until our army is defeated, leaving us all to abandon our wives and children and hide in the mountains like stray dogs? I am determined to recruit talented people, recruit soldiers, and store up food and fodder to ensure peace in our area!"

Seeing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Liu Bang's gaze swept across everyone and finally stopped on Cao Shen, motioning Cao Shen to continue speaking.

Cao Shen stepped forward and said, "My Lord, I believe that with the death of Lord Bai Yan, the governor is struggling to hold on alone. If you can seize this opportunity to recover the lost territory, you will surely be rewarded by the court. Perhaps you could even be offered the position of County Lieutenant."

Fan Kuai also said in a muffled voice: "I think what Brother Cao said makes sense. We can't just take the beating. We can also fight back."

Liu Bang listened to Fan Kuai's words, and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. He looked at Cao Shen and asked, "Brother Cao Shen, what you said is very true, but what should I do?"

Cao Shen pointed at the map and explained in detail, "County Lord, Fengyi is fortified with high walls and a large population. Furthermore, there are relatively few rebels now. We can seize Fengyi and use it as our base camp. Furthermore, the surrounding cities of Huling and Fangyu are still in the hands of the imperial court, so we can build a joint defense around them. If you do, your merits in recovering the territory and resisting the rebels will surely earn you a valuable position in the imperial court."

After hearing Cao Shen's plan, Liu Bang's eyes lit up. He stood up and said, "This is a very good plan. Let's do as Cao Shen says."

Afterwards, Liu Bang immediately dispatched troops and arranged for Xiahou Ying to stay behind in Pei County. Zhou Bo led a group of soldiers to explore the way first, while he himself led the main force with generals such as Cao Shen and Fan Kuai to advance.

Before setting off, Liu Bang gathered everyone together again and said solemnly: "This expedition is related to our life and death. I hope all brothers will work together."

Everyone responded in unison: "We are willing to serve the county lord!"

Liu Bang looked at everyone, nodded with satisfaction, and then waved his hand, "Let's go!"

The army marched towards Fengyi with flags flying.

Let’s talk about the other side.

After the traitor Zhuang Jia surrendered to Wang Li, he was secretly killed in prison by Chen Sheng's confidant Lu Chen.

"Bah, you traitor, how dare you betray the King of Chu!" Lu Chen's eyes were wide open, and he cursed at Zhuang Jia's corpse.

Wang Liliu stationed his troops in Chen County, while he himself led the main force westward to suppress the Song Liu uprising army that had already broken through Nanyang.

Chen Sheng's retainer Lu Chen raised the banner of rebellion again in Xinyang, gathered the rebel army defeated by Wang Li, organized a "Cangtou Army" with green scarves wrapped around their heads, and launched an attack on Chen County from Xinyang.

"Brothers, the King of Chu was killed by the traitor Zhuang Jia. We must avenge him!" Lu Chen stood in front of the army and shouted loudly.

After Lu Chen captured Chen County, he first paraded Zhuang Jia's body through the streets for public display, and then had him torn into pieces by five horses.

After Lu Chen obtained Chen Sheng's head, he reburied Chen Sheng and then led his troops to garrison in Chen County.

"King of Chu, rest in peace. I will definitely avenge you!" Lu Chen swore in front of Chen Sheng's tomb.

The left and right lieutenants of the Qin army led their troops to attack Chen County again, defeated Lu Chen's army, and occupied Chen County.

When Lu Chen led his army to retreat, he encountered an anti-Qin army led by Wu Rui on the road.

The two armies then merged and counterattacked Chen County again, defeating the left and right lieutenants of the Qin army in Qingbo and recaptured Chen County again.

At this time, Wang Li had already defeated Song Liu in Nanyang and personally led the main force to attack Chen County again.

"Don't be afraid, we must hold on to Chen County!" Lu Chen boosted morale.

"But the tyrannical Qin army is too powerful..." Some soldiers began to waver.

In the end, Lu Chen and Wu Rui could no longer withstand the attack and had to retreat eastward.

Chen County returned to Wang Li's hands again.

At this point, Chen Sheng's rebel army in Chen County and west of Chen County had been wiped out by Wang Li.

After Liu Bang captured Fengyi, Yong Chi volunteered to garrison there.

Liu Bang readily agreed, and in order to prevent any accidents, he arranged for Lu Guan to stay with Yong Chi.

Liu Bang's army gradually grew larger, and he already had 5000 soldiers under his command, and everyone's confidence became more and more firm.

Liu Bang decided to withdraw his troops to Fangyu City and recapture Kangfu City at the same time.

However, before the battle horn was sounded, bad news came from Fengyi.

Yong Chi has already been recruited by the State of Wei.

All this was caused by Zhou Shi of Wei, who, while Liu Bang was away on a campaign, sent a messenger to deliver the message: "The King of Wei has now pacified dozens of cities in Wei. If you lead Fengyi to submit to the King of Wei, he will grant you the title of Marquis and Fengyi as a fiefdom. If you refuse to surrender, the King of Wei will send his troops to massacre Fengyi."

Yong Chi was originally from a prominent family in Pei County, where he was highly respected. He had always looked down upon people like Liu Bang, who came from a commoner background.

Back then, the rebels were coming with great force, and Liu Bang led the people to defend Pei County, and then served as the acting county magistrate. Yong Chi had no choice but to follow Liu Bang.

Now that Zhou Fu came to offer amnesty, Yong Chi chose to betray Liu Bang without hesitation and wholeheartedly guard Fengyi for the State of Wei.

When Liu Bang heard that Yong Chi had handed over Fengyi, the base camp he had just recovered, to the State of Wei, the anger in his heart erupted like a volcano.

He had to give up attacking Fangyu and led his army to attack Fengyi without stopping.

Yong Chi stood on the city wall, gazing at Liu Bang's army from afar, a sneer playing on his face. He said to the soldiers around him, "Liu Bang is just a commoner. How can he be compared to the King of Wei? As long as we hold the city, he will be powerless."

Liu Bang shouted to Yong Chi from the foot of the city: "Brother Yong Chi, why did you betray me?"

Yong Chi responded, "Brother? You just got lucky to become the county magistrate. Why should I, a member of a prominent family, serve under you? Now I have a better choice."

Liu Bang was furious. He brandished his sword and shouted, "Today I will take back Fengyi and teach you the consequences of betrayal!"

This time, the people of Fengyi actually stood on Yong Chi's side. They closed the city gates and helped Yong Chi defend the city wholeheartedly.

Liu Bang looked at this scene, his heart filled with disappointment and anger.

Although Liu Bang was furious, he knew that a strong attack was not a good strategy. He pondered for a moment and called Cao Shen, Zhou Bo, Fan Kuai and others to discuss the matter.

Cao Shen said, "Sir, the walls of Fengyi are tall and strong. A brute force attack would only result in heavy losses. It would be better if we cut off the city's water supply, then pretend to be attacked by the Wei army. When Yong Chi leaves the city to pursue, we can set up an ambush along the way."

Fan Kuai patted his chest and said loudly, "I think this plan is very good. I will wait for Yong Chi to leave the city and beat him to a pulp."

Zhou Bo also nodded in agreement.

Liu Bang listened to everyone's plan and nodded slightly, "Then let's follow Brother Cao Shen's plan."

So Liu Bang sent some soldiers to quietly go around to the source of Fengyi water and cut off the water flow.

At the same time, another group of soldiers pretended to retreat in panic and fled in the direction away from Fengyi.

Yong Chi, who was watching this scene from the tower, was overjoyed, thinking that the Wei army was attacking and Liu Bang was badly defeated. He immediately opened the city gates and led a group of elite soldiers to chase after them.

When Yong Chi chased to a valley, he was suddenly filled with the sound of killing.

Liu Bang led his army to attack from both sides. Yong Chi was horrified and realized that he had fallen into a trap. But it was too late and he could only bite the bullet and fight.

Fan Kuai took the lead and rushed towards the enemy formation, Zhou Bo flanked him from the flank, and Cao Shen commanded the central army to advance steadily.

Yong Chi was unable to resist and wanted to retreat back to the city, but found that his retreat route had been cut off.

Liu Bang rode up to the front of the battle and shouted, "Yong Chi, it's still not too late to surrender."

Yong Chi gritted his teeth and refused to surrender.

Immediately, Fan Kuai rushed towards Yong Chi and the two fought fiercely.

Fan Kuai was extremely strong and knocked Yong Chi off his horse in just a few rounds.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Yong Chi's soldiers laid down their weapons and surrendered.

Liu Bang ordered Yong Chi to be tied up and brought before him. "What else do you have to say now?"

Liu Bang asked with a serious face.

Yong Chi lowered his head and dared not speak.

Liu Bang wanted to kill him to vent his anger, but he thought of the overall situation and Yong Chi still had a certain influence in the local area.

So he said, "I will spare your life today, but I hope you will not become my enemy again in the future."

Liu Bang recaptured Fengyi. Seeing that the situation was set, the people in the city had no choice but to accept the reality. From then on, Liu Bang's prestige grew and his army became stronger.