Chapter 523: Taking advantage of the victory to pursue, the fishermen gain
Of course, it is also right to pursue an enemy who no longer poses much of a threat.
If the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty had not taken advantage of the victory and destroyed Xiang Yu in one fell swoop at the Wujiang River, how could the Han Dynasty have lasted for more than 400 years during the Jian'an period? And this is what Xiang Yu did not do.
In May 205 BC, Liu Bang took advantage of the opportunity that Xiang Ji was deeply trapped in Qi and was unable to escape, and led a coalition of 560,000 princes to capture Pengcheng, the capital of Western Chu.
The short-lived victory caused Liu Bang to lose his mind and celebrate by drinking with the princes every day.
Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu hurriedly led 30,000 light cavalry to attack Pengcheng. The coalition was unprepared. One hundred thousand were killed and another hundred thousand drowned. Liu Bang only escaped with a few dozen cavalry. The anti-Chu alliance led by the Han collapsed.
However, Xiang Yu did not take advantage of the victory and pursue it, and destroyed Liu Bang in one go. At this time, it became another mistake to pursue the enemy when he was in poverty.
In June of the same year, Liu Bang led his troops to retreat to Xingyang, collecting defeated troops along the way, and sent Han Xin to defeat Chu's pursuers between Xiaosuo. He was able to take a breather and stabilize his position, so he reorganized his army and relied on the Guanzhong base and favorable terrain to maintain a long-term relationship with Xiang Yu.
Fight.
In July, Zhang Han, who had been stubbornly resisting, was finally defeated and committed suicide. Liu Bang was completely relieved of his worries. Before fleeing to Xingyang, he sent people to persuade Yingbo to rebel against Chu and contacted Peng Yue to harass Chu's rear;
Send Han Xin to open up the northern battlefield, attack Wei and capture King Bao of Wei, break the dynasty, destroy Zhao and kill Chen Yu.
In the winter of 205 BC, Xiang Yu launched a counterattack and besieged Xingyang. The situation was very critical. Liu Bang used Chen Ping's counterintuitive plan to make Xiang Yu suspicious of Fan Zeng, but he did not use his plan, forcing Fan Zeng to return home in anger.
Liu Bang then sent Ji Xin to pretend to be himself and went to the Chu army to fake a surrender and took the opportunity to escape from Xingyang.
Xiang Ji stepped up the siege of Xingyang and captured Chenggao.
On the one hand, Liu Bang ordered the Han army to stand firm in Gongxian area to block the Chu army's advance. On the other hand, Liu Bang ordered Han Xin to form a new army to attack Qi, and sent people into the hinterland of Chu to assist Peng Yue in attacking Suiyang County, Waihuang County (today's Minquan County) and other places, forcing him again.
Xiang Yu came to the rescue.
In November 204 BC, Liu Bang used a trick to regain Chenggao (today's northwest of Sishui Town, Xingyang) and killed Xiang Yu's general Cao Jiu.
After Xiang Ji defeated Peng Yue, he failed to find the main force of the Han army for a decisive battle, so he stationed troops in Guangwu (today's north of Xingyang) to form a confrontation with Liu Bang.
Soon, Han Xin annihilated the Qi-Chu coalition forces in the Battle of Weishui, completed the strategic detour on Chu's flanks, and sent Guan Ying to lead an army directly to Pengcheng.
Xiang Ji was surrounded by enemies from both sides and his troops were exhausted, so he made an alliance with the Han Dynasty, using the chasm as the boundary, dividing the country in the middle, returning to Chu in the east and Han in the west. In October 203 BC, Xiang Ji led his troops back to the east.
After Chu and Han made an alliance, Liu Bang originally wanted to retreat and practice the rule of not pursuing the enemy. However, after being reminded by Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, he still ordered an all-out pursuit of the Chu army and chose to pursue the victory. In November 203 BC, the two
The army fought in Guling (now northwest of Huaiyang), and Xiang Yu won a small victory.
In January 202 BC, Liu Bang won over Han Xin, Peng Yue, Qing Bu, etc. with rewards, and severely damaged the Chu army in the next battle.
In January 202 BC, Liu Bang, Han Xin, Liu Jia, Peng Yue, Ying Bu and other Han armies, totaling about 700,000 people, fought against 100,000 Chu troops who were tired from long battles in Gaixia (now south of Lingbi County, Anhui Province). The Han army launched a decisive battle.
The army was led by Han Xin in the center, with General Kong Xi on the left and Chen He on the right. Liu Bang followed up with his troops, and General Zhou Bo cut off the rear.
Han Xin sent his troops to attack, using the tactic of luring the enemy deep into the enemy's territory. The front army pretended to be defeated, and Xin led his troops to retreat, ordering his left and right-wing troops to outflank and attack the Chu army's rear infantry.
The Chu army was tired from a long battle and the rear army was at a disadvantage. The Han army divided the Chu army and Xiang Yu's knights in half. Han Xin then commanded the entire army to counterattack. The Chu army was defeated. More than 40,000 people were killed and 20,000 were captured and dispersed.
Of the 20,000 soldiers, less than 20,000 wounded soldiers followed Xiang Yu back to the formation.
Later, the Chu army retreated to the fortress to hold on, and was heavily surrounded by the Han army.
The soldiers of the Chu army were exhausted. Han Xin ordered the Han soldiers to sing Chu songs at night. The song goes: "The hearts of the people are all toward Chu, and the world belongs to Liu. Han Xin is stationed in Gaixia, and he wants to behead the overlord!"
As a result, the Chu soldiers were homesick for home and war-weary, and their morale collapsed. Xiang Yu could only lead 800 men to break through to Wujiang (today's Anhui Province and County). The number of Cheng Xi's remaining soldiers today is about the same as that of Xiang Yu.
At this time, Xiang Yu only had 28 riders left. The chief of a pavilion offered to take Xiang Yu to flee to Jiangdong to regain his hegemony, but Xiang Yu refused.
Xiang Yu led 28 cavalry to fight against the Han army, but in the end the whole army was wiped out. Xiang Yu did not want to be captured and humiliated, so he committed suicide in Wujiang River.
But Cheng Xi did not have the courage to commit suicide. If Wu Jun really took advantage of the victory and pursued him, then he would have no choice but to surrender.
If Wu Jun still refuses to pursue the enemy despite such an advantage, it would be a real fluke. However, if the general of Wu Jun really does not pursue him, then he will still feel a little uneasy.
Cheng Xi's personal guard, the electric general, also turned his head and looked at Taniguchi, who seemed to be a cannibal, and said worriedly: "General, what will happen if the Wu army catches up? With our current strength, these hundreds of people
But it’s not enough to fill the gap between Wu Jun’s teeth!”
Cheng Xi pretended to be calm and comforted himself by saying to his left and right: "It doesn't matter, Wu Jun will probably not catch up. We and the hundreds of people who want to come will not look down on Wu Jun." Cheng Xi waved his hands a few times as he spoke.
The whip in the middle makes the horse under the seat gallop forward at a faster speed.
Du De looked at the defeated troops who broke out from the mouth of the valley, and saw that Qin Dan on the side had not made any move, nor ordered the soldiers to pursue him, so he couldn't help but said: "Brother Qin, we should take advantage of the victory to pursue you at this time. We must not miss this opportunity."
What a great opportunity!”
Qin Dan waved his hand and said, "No need. Da Sima gave us orders before we came here, saying that we don't have to take advantage of the victory to pursue, and that we should let the Wei generals go back."
Du De said with some confusion: "Why is this? The Art of War says it is advisable to take advantage of the victory and pursue it at this time!"
Qin Dan smiled and said: "Brother Du, don't you know why Da Sima is like this?"
Du De looked at the smoke that had not yet dissipated below and said anxiously: "I really didn't guess what Da Sima was thinking. Brother Qin, please don't continue to lie, just tell me quickly!"
Qin Dan stroked his beard and said: "This move of the Grand Sima is to make Cheng Xi, the general of the Wei Kingdom who conquered the north, and Du Wubo, the governor of Youzhou, be suspicious of each other and fight with each other, so that they can fight each other dog by dog. How can we, Jiangdong, completely seize the entire territory of Youzhou?"
Wouldn’t it be easier?”
Qin Dan paused and then said: "Then Du Wubo and Cheng Xi have never dealt with each other. Just a few months ago, Cheng Xi wanted to frame Du Wubo and have him dismissed from office. Now Du Wubo has
Da Sima gave him a good opportunity for revenge. Wouldn't it be a waste if he didn't take advantage of it?
Although Du Wubo has a big backer in the pseudo-Wei court, Cheng Xi is definitely not someone who will sit back and wait for death as the emperor is far away. He will definitely do some resistance. By then, I, Jiangdong, will be able to make a profit!
"
Du De suddenly realized: "This is really a good strategy, but how can we make Cheng Xi bear the serious crime of betraying the puppet Wei that the Grand Sima gave him?"