The Myth of Daqin: The Soul of Yi Xiaochuan

Xiang Liang led Chen Ying, Pu Gang and others all the way north to Xia Pi. After a short rest, they prepared to march westward from Xia Pi.

At this time, the "Acting King of Chu" Jing Ju was stationed east of Pengcheng. When he learned that Xiang Liang wanted to march west through Pengcheng, his heart tightened.

Jing Ju immediately summoned his subordinates to discuss and finally decided to send Qin Jia to lead the troops to stop Xiang Liang.

After receiving the order, Qin Jia did not dare to delay and quickly assembled his troops and marched towards Xiang Liang.

Xiang Liang saw Qin Jia's army from afar and thought to himself, "Chen Sheng was the first to rebel, but now Qin Jia has betrayed him and made Jing Ju the King of Chu. This gives him a legitimate reason to rebel. Haha!"

He turned and shouted to the soldiers behind him, "Brothers, King Chen is our leader. Now that Qin Jia has betrayed him, we cannot sit idly by!"

The soldiers responded in unison, their morale high.

Xiang Liang waved his hand, and Lu Chen, Chen Ying, Pu Gang and others led their troops directly towards Qin Jia's army.

Qin Jia's army was no match for Xiang Liang's army. As soon as the two sides clashed, Qin Jia's army began to collapse.

Qin Jia panicked when he saw this. He galloped away while shouting, "Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

Xiang Liang led his army in hot pursuit, all the way to Huling.

In Huling, Qin Jia received support from Jing Ju. He breathed a sigh of relief and shouted to Xiang Liang from the top of the city wall, "Xiang Liang, why are you forcing me so hard? I am also doing this for the future of Chu!"

Xiang Liang sneered and responded, "How can the future of Chu be decided by a traitor like you? Today is the day you die!"

After that, he led his army to attack again. The two sides fought fiercely for a day, and Qin Jia was killed in the battlefield, and his troops surrendered one after another.

Jingju himself took advantage of the chaos to escape to Liangdi.

After Xiang Liang defeated Qin Jia, he incorporated his troops and stationed them in Huling, preparing to attack the tyrannical Qin from Huling to the west.

At this time, Wang Li had eliminated Chen Sheng's forces around Chen County and continued to lead his troops eastward to Li County.

Xiang Liang knew very well how powerful Wang Li was. In order to stop him from continuing his march eastward, he hurriedly sent his generals Zhu Jishi and Yu Fanjun to fight against Wang Li.

Zhu Jishi and Yu Fanjun led their armies to meet Wang Li's army, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

However, Yu Fanjun was unfortunately killed in the battle, and Zhu Jishi was also seriously injured, so he had to flee back to Huling after being defeated.

Xiang Liang was deeply concerned when he heard the news of the defeat at Zhujishi. "Wang Li is so formidable! Forget it! Let's retreat!"

In order to avoid the enemy's attack, Xiang Liang decided to lead his army to retreat from Huling to Xia Pi, and sent an envoy to notify Xiang Yu to rush back to Xia Pi.

At this time, Xiang Yu was leading Ji Bu, Zhongli Mei, Yu Ziqi and other Jiangdong soldiers to advance westwards, invincible, and all the way to Xiangcheng.

But in Xiangcheng, Xiang Yu encountered trouble.

Xiangcheng is located in the central part of Henan Province, leaning against the head of the Funiu Mountains in the east and bordering the eastern edge of the Huanghuai Plain in the west. It belongs to Yingchuan County and is a strategic location.

Seeing that Xiang Yu was brave and good at fighting, the soldiers and civilians of Xiangcheng only dared to defend the city and did not come out to fight with Xiang Yu's army.

Xiang Yu stationed his troops outside Xiangcheng. Facing the fortified city, he did not want to attack it by force, because the military manual said: "The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack the city itself. Attacking a city by force should not be used unless it is absolutely necessary.

However, after all the efforts described in the military book, there was no effect.

Finally, Xiang Yu had no choice but to order a violent attack on Xiangcheng.

It took Xiang Yu more than half a month to capture Xiangcheng. After the city was broken, the soldiers and civilians defending the city surrendered.

Although Xiangcheng was captured, the battle was extremely brutal and the Jiangdong soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

Xiang Yu was immediately heartbroken. He thought to himself, "This is just the first city I'm attacking, and I've already lost so many Jiangdong soldiers. If every city is like this, how many of my Jiangdong soldiers will be left? Humph, if I kill all those soldiers and civilians who refused to surrender and held their cities when I attacked, I'm afraid no one will dare to defend them in the future."

It was true that even God trembled when Xiang Yu started thinking, and the idea of ​​"killing the surrendered" came into being.

Afterwards, the surrendered soldiers and civilians of Xiangcheng were very unfortunate because Xiang Yu buried them all alive.

After Xiang Yu captured Xiangcheng, he received an order from Xiang Liang to return to Xiapi.

So Xiang Yu did not send troops to garrison Xiangcheng, but led his army directly back to Xia Pi.

In Xia Pi, in order to rectify military discipline, Xiang Liang executed the defeated Zhu Jishi for his poor fighting performance.

Xiang Liang then summoned his generals to discuss countermeasures. He said gravely, "Wang Li is coming with such force that we must find a way to counter him."

Xiang Yu stepped forward and said, "Uncle, don't worry. I am willing to lead the army and fight Wang Li to the death!"

Xiang Liang looked at Xiang Yu, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes, but he still shook his head and said, "Wang Li's army is currently very powerful, and our army cannot take risks rashly. We must wait for the opportunity and find his weakness."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

At this time, Wang Li did not continue to attack Xiang Liang to the east in order to attack the State of Qi in the northeast.

So Xiang Liang arranged for the army to temporarily station in Xia Pi and decided to summon various anti-Qin forces to discuss major issues.

Because Zhang Han was in the northwest of Pei County, he defeated the coalition forces of Zhao, Qi and Wei and recaptured Linji.

Wang Li recovered Chen County in the southwest of Pei County and wiped out the remaining forces of Chen Sheng's troops in the surrounding areas, including Song Liu.

This created a good external environment for Liu Bang, so Liu Bang took advantage of the situation to connect Pei County, Xue County, Kangfu, Fengyi and other places to form a base to resist the rebels.

When Zhang Han learned that Liu Bang, with the position of a mere lieutenant of Pei County, had taken up the banner of suppressing the rebels and recovering lost territories, he couldn't help but look up to Liu Bang.

In Linji City, Zhang Han said thoughtfully: "Liu Bang is quite capable. He can actually do something in such a difficult situation."

At this time, the deputy general Sima Ren beside him asked: "General, since you think so highly of Liu Bang, should you give him more support?"

Zhang Han pondered for a moment and replied, "Let's wait and see what he does next. However, this man does have some courage and insight, and I do admire him."

On the other side, Pei County.

After Liu Bang received Zhang Han's order to be the general, the handwritten letter of appointment as the county lieutenant, and weapons and supplies, he felt very conflicted.

He paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed so tightly that it looked as if he could pinch a fly to death.

"I heard that Hu Hai usurped the throne, and Wang Li and Zhang Han must be in cahoots with him. How can I accept this order? Besides, Fusu in Jiuyuan is still the orthodox. I only hope that Meng Tian and Meng Yi will take 30 troops and quickly march south to pacify Hu Hai!" Liu Bang thought to himself.

Seeing this, Empress Lü stood up quickly, walked over to Liu Bang, and gently warned him, "My dear, you must not be confused. Hu Hai's Xianyang court usurped the throne. How can we accept their orders? Moreover, my younger sister, my brother-in-law, and I all work under Master Fusu of Jiuyuan. We must distinguish between loyalty and treachery."

After hearing what Lu Zhi said, Liu Bang stopped, turned to look at her, and a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes.

He reached out his hand, gently patted Lü Zhi's shoulder, and said, "Madam, you are right. Zhang Han's move is simply to win me over to further quell the rebellion. However, if I do not accept this task, I am afraid Zhang Han will immediately send troops to attack."

Then he sighed again and continued, "Don't worry, Madam. Although I have lofty ambitions and want to soar to the sky, I must always be down-to-earth. Moreover, I am now an official appointed by the court, so I naturally understand right from wrong. Moreover, I also have to consider Madam, Ying'er, and the more than 10,000 brothers under my command."

Lü Zhi nodded, a relieved smile on her face. She took Liu Bang's hand and said, "It's good that my husband understands. Although I have always wanted you to be successful and hold a high position, in these troubled times, I only wish for peace and tranquility."

After Liu Bang pondered for a moment, he said to Lü Zhi, "Madam, I have made up my mind. For the time being, I will accept the position of Lieutenant of Sishui County."

Lu Zhi's eyes widened, and she asked in surprise, "What do you mean, my husband?"

Liu Bang's eyes were determined. He walked to the window, looked at the sky outside, and said slowly, "Our forces are still weak now. Feigning agreement can not only buy time, but also obtain food and supplies to expand our military. It won't be too late to make our position clear when Prince Fusu takes action in the future."

Lu Zhi suddenly realized what was going on. She walked over to Liu Bang, looked him in the eye, and said, "My husband is indeed a man of foresight."

Liu Bang smiled slightly, gently put his arm around Lu Zhi's shoulders, and said, "Madam, this is just a temporary measure. For now, we must wait for the right opportunity and secretly strengthen ourselves so that we can make the most correct choice."

Lu Zhi nodded. Only then did she understand what her father, Lu Taigong, had said about Liu Bang: an extraordinary person.