News of Chen Sheng's military coup reached Xianyang, but Zhao Gao reported to the Second Emperor that a group of thieves were causing trouble. When the second son heard that it was a small matter, he left it to the teacher to deal with. Zhao Gao hated Li Si at this time, so he sent an edict asking Li You of Sanchuan to wipe out the rebels as soon as possible. Li You is Li Si's eldest son. He is in his forties and serves as the governor of Sanchuan County. This man is both civil and military, and is a famous general of the Qin State. At this time, he had already been stepping up the construction of the urn city and preparing for this sudden military coup. It turns out that after Qin unified the six countries, in order to prevent people from rebelling, the walls of many large counties were leveled to the ground. Luoyang's outer city is no exception. The city walls have long been demolished. Now when an unexpected incident occurs, the outer city is rebuilt.
Li You then gathered officials of all sizes and said: "Chen Sheng has sent several groups of rebels to attack the city. Chen County and Dang County have fallen into the hands of the thieves. If they continue to advance westward, they will reach Sanchuan. Xingyang is the gateway to Sanchuan, and other places It is located at the strategic point of the world, with Guangwu in the north, Hugou in the east, Jing and Suo in the south, and Chenggao in the west. It is known as the "land of four fortresses". Aocang in the north is also a place for grain storage. If Xingyang is lost, Sanchuan It's dangerous." Everyone agreed after hearing the Sheriff's analysis. Li You said again: "Jing County to the south of Xingyang and Wu Qiang to the east are two important places. They should be strengthened for guarding. Which of you will guard them?" Four deputy generals, Hao Peng, Zang Ba, Wu Shen and Xin Pi, stepped forward. He came out and said, "We are willing to go!" Li You was overjoyed and sent 5,000 troops from Hao Peng and Zang Ba to guard Wu Qiangyi. Wu Shen and Xin Pi went to Jingxian to guard, and the two armies set off on the same day. . Li You added: "Shenyuan Pass is the throat from Yingchuan to Luoyang. It was reported that Wu Guang's rebels were invading Yingchuan, so this pass is very important." He sent another army to guard the pass, and then stayed The county superintendent guarded Luoyang and rushed to Xingyang with his generals and majors.
The false king's sergeants rested in Yingchuan for several days. Everyone enjoyed the joy of victory. They also opened the government's warehouse, kept half of the food in the army, and distributed the other half to the people. The people naturally supported the rebel army, so they allowed their children to actively join the army. Because the number of people joining the army increased sharply, the weapons collected from the government were far from enough. The false king asked the blacksmiths in the city to make weapons day and night. At this time, Meteor Horse came to report that Qin State had added more troops and horses at Shenyuan Pass and the defense was very tight. The false king discussed with the generals how to march to Sanchuan. Suddenly a messenger reporting to Zhou Wen arrived. The false king asked the messenger to come in. When the messenger saw the false king, he presented Zhou Wen's personal letter, which said:
Your Majesty the Fake King: I heard that your army has captured Yangdi City and Yingchuan Dading. I have also captured the two cities of Chenliu and Kaifeng, and are now heading towards Xinzheng. Recently, a detective reported that the Qin State sent Li Youlai, the governor of Sanchuan County, to guard Xingyang. Xingyang is known as the "land of four fortresses". It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It cannot be captured without several times the number of troops. Moreover, Li You is a famous general of Qin State, so I want to attack Xingyang together with the false king. If Xingyang gets it, Sanchuan will be under control. The king asked for leave to assess the situation and lead the victorious troops to Xinzheng to join forces and jointly attack Xingyang City. Zhou Wenton bowed his head.
Wu Guang discussed with the military adviser, and Chai Jing said: "Since Sheyuan is heavily guarded, it is better to join forces with General Zhou to attack Xingyang. Xingyang is indeed the gateway to Sanchuan. If the gate is open, we can march straight in and occupy the whole county. General Zhou's words make sense. ." The false king immediately led his army towards Xinzheng. When they came to the edge of the Jishui River, two people came to join the army. They also prepared boats in advance for the rebels to cross the river. One of these two men was named Hou Rui and the other was named Han Fei. They also brought tens of thousands of watchmen to build the highway. The false king was overjoyed, so he appointed the two as captains and marched with the army.
Qiang Yuan, the governor of Yingchuan County, fled back to Sanchuan from Shenyuan. Hearing that Li You had gone to Xingyang, he rushed to Xingyang. After seeing Li You, he told Li You about the fall of Yingchuan. Li You was stunned when he heard about the situation. Qiang Yuan said: "General, the mob in Chu region responded to Chen Sheng by the tens of thousands, and the number of rebels was simply too great to count. I heard that Chen Sheng was just a recruit captain who was sent to guard the border. Because of heavy rain, he missed the deadline. He is desperate. He has now raised the anti-flag of "Zhang Chu" to call for soldiers and horses, and has also sent the Fifth Route Army to attack the city and seize the territory. I am worried that they will come out to cut off the retreat." Li Youdao: "I have sent heavy troops to the pass, that is, Don't even think about coming here even if there are millions of troops. I will give you a fleet now. You go to Aocang in person and transport all the food to Xingyang. After Qiang Yuan left, Li You transferred all the troops to the city. , then strengthen the city wall and prepare for battle.
Zhou Wenjun left Kaifeng and headed west. Wherever he passed, all the watchmen responded and the people warmly welcomed him, and more and more people gathered. When the army was approaching Xinzheng, two warriors came to join the army. One was Yuan Yi and the other was Wen Luan. They were also soldiers of the Qin State, and they led tens of thousands of people to join the army. Zhou Wen saw the two men's extraordinary momentum and asked them to serve as vanguards in the attack on Qin. When the front reached Xinzheng County, the false king's team also arrived, and the two armies met outside the city. The soldiers were high-spirited and full of confidence. When Zhou Wen saw the false queen, he first congratulated him on his victory, then entered the county seat and reviewed the army on the city. Outside the city, I saw a sea of people, with swords, spears, and halberds standing there. Military flags and battle flags covered the sky. The soldiers beat their war drums to the sky, and groups of rebel troops passed by the city. At this time, someone came to report that the weapons were far from enough. The false king ordered all the blacksmiths in the city to stop making other things and to make weapons instead. The blacksmiths sweated profusely and worked overtime day and night. Seeing that the situation was so good, the false king ordered the slaughter of cattle and sheep, and rewarded the soldiers lavishly. At that time, the two rebel armies had 10,000 captains and thousands of lieutenants.
A few days later, the army marched towards Xingyang. They marched all the way to a place not far from their destination. Suddenly, the meteor horse came to report that the Qin army was guarding Jingxian County and Wuqiangyi. The false king and Zhou Wen split up to capture these two places. Zhou Wen's pioneers Yuan Yi and Wen Luan arrived at Wu Qiangyi first. Hao Peng relied on his bravery, put on his horse and held a spear to fight out. The two armies faced each other. Yuan Yi was the first to fight, wielding his iron halberd to fight Hao Peng, and the two fought fiercely. Zang Ba saw Hao Peng unable to win on the city, so he also killed him. Wen Luan rode his horse to fight Zang Ba. The four people were like two balls of fire under the city, killing each other indistinguishably. After fighting for a long time, Zhou Wen's army had arrived, so he sent his troops to cover up and kill them. When Zang Ba and Hao Peng saw that the rebels were coming in overwhelming numbers, they feinted and fled the battlefield. They did not dare to enter the city anymore, so they reported to the county guard. Seeing that Yuan Yi and Wen Luan were successful in the first battle, Zhou Wen promoted them to left and right captains, and then continued to advance.
The false king came to Jing County. When Wu Shen and Xin Pi saw that the rebels and horses were so numerous that they couldn't see them, they climbed over the wall to escape, and ran towards Xingyang in the piss-poor. The false king and Zhou Wen captured the city, joined forces, and then raised the "Zhang Chu" flag and marched towards Xingyang. Both the false king and Zhou Wen were riding in luxurious Luan chariots, with soldiers on horseback on the left and right. The smoke billowing from the two armies and horses covered the sky and the sun, and the team was more than a hundred miles long.
The four generals of Qin State fled to Xingyang and told Li You what happened. Li You saw the four of them in such a mess, and Xin Pi even injured his leg. Li You sighed and said, "Why are there so many rebels! Now that these two cities have been lost, the thieves will soon reach the ground of Sanchuan!" Then he ordered all the soldiers to prepare for battle.
The false king and Zhou Wen arrived at the foot of Xingyang City. They saw a large flag with the word "李" floating on the top of the city from a distance, and knew that Li You, the governor of Sanchuan County, was here to fight. The false king shouted to the city: "Li You, listen, I am Wu Guang, the king of Zhang Chu. I am ordered by King Jun of Zhang Chu to punish the people and enter the pass righteously. I already have an army of 500,000 people under my command. Hurry up. If you say no to the city, I will crush your city!" Li You said angrily: "The general of Qin is here to guard the land. You! You are just a garrison, a super common man, how dare you gather a crowd If you rebel, I urge you to surrender immediately. If you say no, I will kill you and chop you into pieces!"
The fake king laughed and said: "Li You! Although you are the prime minister of Qin, he has been squeezed out and framed by Zhao Gao. He is at best a puppet. Now that you have surrendered to Chu, let's get rid of that treacherous official, Zhang Chu." The king will not treat you badly." Li Youdao: "How can a phoenix associate with a tit? My father-in-law is a very popular minister and the pillar of the country. How can I sully his reputation by surrendering to thieves? Surrender quickly and I will spare you. I won't die!" The fake king was furious, and he slowly drew his sword and said, "In that case, do you dare to go out of the city to fight?" Li Youdao: "Why don't you dare! I want to show you the power of my Li family's gun!" It turns out that There were not many Qin troops in the city. In order to show his bravery, Li You had to fight alone. After that, he walked down the city. After a while, the heavy gate of Xingyang City opened. First, five hundred soldiers rushed out. They stood on both sides, and then Li Youti pressed the bridle and walked out slowly.
When Li You came to the front of the battle, he saw that he was tall and burly, with a dignified appearance, eyes like stars, broad cheeks and eyebrows, and a calm demeanor. His beard and beard fluttered like a waterfall on his fair face, and his clothing was also very special. He wore a red tassel swallowing beast helmet, Suan Ni armor inlaid with gold rings, a purple robe and jade belt, and rode a famous red horse with a horse body. It is also decorated with diamond-shaped armor plates made of gold and copper, which shine in the sun. Li You held the horse's reins with his left hand, and held the famous gilded bronze pole with a length of more than ten feet in his right hand, showing his dignity without anger. Judging from his attire, we can see how rich and powerful Qin is.
When the fake king saw Li You in front of him, he couldn't help but praise: "This is a real general!" He shouted to the formation: "Who dares to fight?" As soon as he finished speaking, Han Fei's friend Li Zhi was behind him He patted his horse and came out of the battle, shouting: "I'm going to kill that Qin Nu!" Li Zhitige patted his horse and rushed towards Li Youzhi. Li You turned a blind eye and stood there motionless, watching Li Zhi running from far to near. When he was about to approach, he raised his hand like lightning and stabbed Li Zhi to death under the horse, seemingly effortlessly. The power of blowing dust. The rebel soldiers were shocked when they saw what they saw. When Han Fei saw that Li Zhi was killed, he rode out of the battle and said, "I want revenge!" and rushed towards Li You. Han Fei was very skilled in martial arts. After coming to the battle, he fought for dozens of rounds before running away in defeat. But Li You didn't let him go, but chased after him on horseback.
On this side of the battlefield, Hou Rui saw that Han Fei was in danger, and hurriedly rode towards Li You, shouting: "Qin Nu! Don't hurt my friend!" Hou Rui came to the front of the battle, let Han Fei pass, and aimed at Li You with a halberd. Li You stabbed away. Li You used his spear to separate Hou Rui's weapons and fought with him. Han Fei turned around and saw Hou Rui fighting Li You alone, and rushed over again to help. Li You fought against the two generals with ease, as if the two were no match yet. At this time, the Zhu brothers, the brave generals in the rebel army, were angered. The two of them also came to the battle to help. The four of them fought for a long time, but they still could not defeat Li You. Zhou Wen's four generals, Yuan Yi, Wen Luan, Kong Fan, and Kong Long, could not sit still at this time, so they all came forward to fight. The false king was overjoyed and ordered his sergeants to beat drums to cheer him up. Li You then cheered up and fought against the eight rebel generals, fighting like a lantern in the middle of the formation. The two sides fought for fifty rounds. The fake king and Zhou Wen were stunned. They could only praise Li You's martial arts. At this moment, Li You was concerned about one thing and not the other. His hands and feet became panicked, so he pushed aside a general's weapon and fled towards the city in defeat. This is called "one person is difficult to defeat four hands", "a random punch will kill the boxer and stickman". No matter how powerful Li You is, he can't stand up to the group fight of eight strong men.
Although the false king admired Li You's martial arts, when he saw that he was defeated, he shouted happily: "Attack the city quickly!" and ordered the sergeants to rush down the city. The sergeants crossed Haogou and reached the bottom of the city. The sergeants set up ladders and climbed hard. The Qin army immediately counterattacked. Inspired by Li You, they fought tooth and nail, so they were able to fight one against ten and ten against a hundred. An hour later, the city was already filled with corpses of rebels. Seeing that the siege had no effect, the false king had no choice but to stop the siege and withdraw his troops to camp.
That night, the false king and the soldiers gathered in the big tent, and they all praised Li You full of praise. The fake king said: "Qin has such a hero, it is not easy for us to capture Xingyang!" However, military advisor Chai Jing had an idea and said: "I have a plan, and I will definitely defeat Li You." The fake king asked what the plan was. Chai Jing gave everyone these instructions. The false king and the generals were all happy after hearing this, and asked everyone to have a good night's rest before fighting Li You.
Early the next morning, after the rebels had finished their breakfast, the false king ordered the drums to go out to fight, and the army came to the city again. When the false king saw Li You at the top of the city, Qiang Yuan was also there, and there were some mighty soldiers and generals on the left and right, he shouted loudly: "Chief Li, I know you are very skilled in martial arts, do you still dare to fight today?" Li You laughed loudly and said: "Why don't you dare? I will only challenge you, do you dare?" Zhou Wen stood up and said: "How can the fake king easily fight? If you can defeat me today, you will be qualified to challenge the fake king. Here!" Li You said angrily: "Shanye villager, I am a great general, I am afraid that you will fail!" Then he rushed out of the city again. Zhou Wen then waved his golden gun to fight Li You. Zhou Wen was also very skilled in martial arts this time, and the two fought for eighty rounds, with neither winning nor losing. The soldiers on both sides cheered in unison. Seeing that at noon, Zhou Wen was defeated and fled. Li You followed closely. After chasing for a while, he suddenly woke up and reined in his horse. Suddenly he heard someone shouting: "The suspension bridge is on fire, General Li, come back quickly!" Li You looked back and saw a fire suddenly burning on the suspension bridge.
It turned out that the rebel soldiers followed the military advisor's instructions and while Zhou Wen and Li You were fighting, they quietly sneaked to the suspension bridge and set it on fire with flammable materials. The fake king then ordered the eight generals to attack Li You together. Zhou Wen fought back again. Li You was shocked and hurriedly turned his horse back. In order to get everyone up, he galloped on his horse. When he saw that the rebel generals were about to catch up, he shouted to the sergeants on the city: "Hurry up and pull up the suspension bridge! Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed!" The fire on the bridge became more and more intense. The more prosperous the city was, the Qin army was afraid that their governor would not be able to enter the city, so they were all waiting. Now that they heard the governor's order, they had to pull the ropes of the suspension bridge. The bridge deck then slowly rose into the sky. At this time, Li You's red horse Pegasus arrived. Li You relied on the inertia of the horse to jump. The red horse flew into the air, crossed the line of fire, and leaped into the city like a celestial horse god general. When Zhou Wen and the eight athletes arrived, the suspension bridge had already risen two feet high. The generals had no choice but to look at the bridge and sigh, and they were all dumbfounded.
In the next few days, the rebels continued to challenge, but there was no movement in the city. Two days later, no-war signs were hung in the city. It turns out that although Li You is brave, when he crossed the line of fire, the fire burned his eyebrows and long beard, so he was shy to see people. In addition, there were too many rebels. There was no exact number as to how many there were. Sima Qian only said that there were hundreds of thousands of rebels. Therefore, Li You did not dare to fight anymore and could only stick to Xingyang City. Even so, he alone was able to block the advance of hundreds of thousands of people, which is also a miracle in military history.
A few days later, the detective sent by the fake king came back and reported that Han Qi, the supervisor of Sanchuan County in Qin State, was stepping up the construction of Luoyang City. When the false king heard the news, he summoned his generals and said: "Now Li Youxiao is brave and difficult to defeat. Xingyang is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Can't we attack it in a hurry? If our army lingers for a long time, the city of Luoyang will be built. Qin will be able to conquer it again." Is it difficult to mobilize a large army? This opportunity must not be missed. General Zhou should divide his troops and march westward. Besides, the people of Qin are devoted to Chu. Except for loyal ministers like Li You, the other Qin generals may not have the determination to fight." Sergeant Chai Jing said : "The fake king's words are reasonable, and the county supervisor has stepped up the construction of the city, which shows that the city is empty. If General Zhou goes to attack Luoyang, Sanchuan will be attacked at the front and back, and he will be easily accessible." Zhou Wendao: "Li You is so brave, I am afraid that he will become a worry." Fake. Wang Dao: "No matter how powerful Li You is, the Qin army is very small. He alone will definitely not be able to do anything. Besides, if I capture this city, I will definitely follow the army to march westward. General Zhou will march westward as soon as possible, right?" Zhou Wenshang hesitated.
Chai Jing further analyzed: "There are four advantages to dividing the troops and marching westward: first, Qin's army is far to the north now, and Guanzhong must be empty; second, when Xianyang's craftsmen fled, Qin was unable to stop it, which means that Xianyang has no army. can be sent; thirdly, the second generation has been deceived by Zhao Gao for a long time, and there must be no loyal ministers and good generals willing to fight to the death; fourthly, while Luoyang City has not been repaired, seize the city as soon as possible. With these benefits, Sanchuan County will definitely get . If Sanchuan is captured, he will attack Hangu Pass with all his strength. If Hanguan is broken, Xianyang will be under control. At that time, the rebel army will march straight in, and Qiang Qin will soon be finished!" After listening to the analysis of the military adviser, the false king became more confident. , and said to Zhou Wen: "The military advisor's analysis is very good. General Zhou is right to march westward. You execute the order immediately!" Zhou Wen accepted the order.
On this day, Zhou Wen ordered Kong Fan and Kong Long to be the first team; Yuan Yi and Wen Luan were the second team; he commanded the chariot, infantry and cavalry armies to form a huge formation, with Wang Wu, Deng Zhong, He Zhi, Yang He was promoted to deputy general and formed the third team. General Wen Zhu escorted the fourth team behind the baggage hall. The army bypassed Xingyang City and marched towards Luoyang. When Zhou Wen left, he said to the fake king: "Although Li You is a fierce tiger, as long as you trap him here, fake king, I won't have any worries." The fake king smiled and said: "Li You is already a turtle in a urn, so I can only give him wings." If Nan Fei leaves, I will capture him alive. Hahaha!" Zhou Wen and the soldiers mounted their horses and left amid the laughter of the false king.
