Chen Yu returned to the city and told King Zhao how Li Liang had been defeated. King Zhao was very happy and asked Zhang Erdao: "Now that the traitor Li Liang has occupied Handan City, and we only guard this small city, we are afraid that it will be difficult to grow. How should we get out of the predicament now?" Zhang Er said: " If Zhang Ao, Lord of Chengdu, can successfully take over Hengshan's troops, we will have the strength to compete with Li Liang." As he was talking, Zhang Ao's messenger arrived in the city. Zhang Er immediately ordered the messenger to come in and see him. The messenger came to the palace and said to King Zhao: "Your Majesty, General Zhang has succeeded Xue Yue and has successfully taken charge of the army in Hengshan. He has also informed all the officers and soldiers about Li Liang's regicide and the King's accession to the throne in Xindu. They all hate Li Liang deeply, but are sincerely convinced by the king's accession to the throne. Now General Zhang is confronting Wang Li in the pass, but Wang Li always hangs the exemption card and does not go out to fight."
After Li Zuoche heard this, he said happily: "Congratulations to the king! Congratulations to the king!" King Zhao asked why he was so happy. Li Zuoche replied: "There are 60,000 to 70,000 Zhao troops under Jingxing Pass. Now they all belong to you, the king. This is something worth celebrating. Although Li Liang is brave, losing his army is like a tiger without claws. Although you can't accomplish much by guarding Handan City, this is another thing worth celebrating. But if you do three more things well, Zhao will be able to recover and grow stronger again." King Zhao Just ask what three things they are. Li Zuochao: "First, we must find out why Wang Li can't leave the pass, and then formulate a battle plan. According to my speculation, Wang Li can't come out of the pass to fight the Zhao army. This must be another attack from the north of the Qin State. secondly, send an envoy as soon as possible and bring gifts to the State of Yan to thank the King of Yan. He sent troops to attack Handan, which made Li Liang dare not attack Xindu. This is also a just act of sending troops. We may still ask for help from Yan in the future King; Thirdly, Jingxing Pass is not the only great pass in the world. Huguan in the south can also enter Shangdang County. Now that the Qin army has not left the pass, why not send another army to enter Shangdang from Huguan, and then go north to capture it. Jingxing Pass. No matter what happens to the Qin army, they will be attacked from both sides, and Jingxing Pass is within their control." King Zhao was very happy after hearing Li Zuoche's plan, and immediately implemented it. However, due to internal strife, Zhao State would not be able to find generals to lead troops for a while. Zhang Er selected two trustworthy people from his own family. One of them was Zhang Xiao and the other was Chen Ze. They were both loyal and reliable military talents, and they recommended them to King Zhao. The king of Zhao worshiped the two as generals, and they led a Zhao army southward. They crossed the Zhang River and headed straight for Huguan.
After Xue Yue was replaced by Zhang Ao, he ran to Handan to see Li Liang because he could not be reused. Li Liang was very angry when he heard that Zhang Er had established the king of Zhao first and then captured the army. He wanted to take revenge on Zhang Er, so he had the idea of surrendering to the Qin army. But he and Wang Li had lost contact, and he was thinking about how to get in touch. At this time, he suddenly heard that Qin general Zhang Han had left Hangu Pass and attacked the city of Xingyang. He sent military spies to Xingyang to find out the news and was ready to surrender to Qin at any time.
After Zhang Han and Li You joined forces, they celebrated grandly, then reinforced the city and appeased the people. At this time, officials from nearby places who had been coerced by the Chu army came to Xingyang to pay their respects. Zhang Han asked them to go back and call on the people to become enemies of the Chu army. A month later, everyone led the recruited troops to Xingyang to obey Zhang Han and Li You's orders. Zhang Han gathered all his troops, and there were already more than 100,000 people. In order to frighten the uprising in Shandong, Zhang Han falsely claimed that it was an army of 200,000. For a time, Qin's power became stronger again.
Zhang Han saw that the time was ripe to pacify Zhang Chu, so he summoned the generals to discuss the matter of going south. General Li Youdao: "Chen Sheng rebelled, and most people followed him blindly, so although the number is large, it is really a mob." Zhang Han felt that what he said was right, so he asked: "What is your advice, general?" Li Youdao: "Listen It is said that after Chen Sheng rebelled, he falsely used the names of Fusu and Xiang Yan to call on the people of Chu. Therefore, most people were so bewitched that they rose up to rebel. This also showed that Chen Sheng was very guilty and was afraid of losing the support of the people. Now the army If you want to go south, why don't the general send an envoy to Chen County to recruit him to surrender first. If Chen Sheng comes to surrender, great things will happen. If he doesn't surrender, the army will directly go south and trample Chen County into powder! This is also the meaning of courtesy first and then attack." Zhang Han heard this. After hearing this, he thought this was a very appropriate move, so he sent an envoy to Chen County to summon Chen Sheng to surrender.
King Zhang Chu was in Chencheng, the capital of Chu. Because at the beginning, the results of the various armies he sent were very good, he was complacent. Someone advised him to be cautious and not be too optimistic about the war. King Zhang Chu disagreed, thinking that with hundreds of thousands of people responding, his power was very strong, and annihilating the Qin State was a sure chance of victory. But since Zhou Wen withdrew from Hangu Pass, bad news came one after another. He Zhi couldn't find reinforcements from Wu Chen, so he came to Chencheng to see King Zhang Chu and reported to him the story of Zhou Wen's defeat, as well as Wu Chen and Zhang Er's refusal to rescue him. Only then did King Zhang Chu realize that letting Zhang Er and Chen Yu go was a mistake. After careful consideration, He Zhi was given 50,000 troops and horses to rescue Zhou Wen personally.
King Zhang Chu did not expect that not long after He Zhi left, reports of defeats came one after another: first Zhou Wen died for his country, then the false king was killed, Tian Zang and Li Gui also died in battle, and Zhang Han and Li You We met in Xingyang. This series of urgent documents stabbed him like a knife, making him stunned. There was also panic in the country, and everyone felt that something was not good at this time. One day, King Zhang Chu and his ministers were discussing how to fight the Qin army. Suddenly, they reported that Zhang Han's envoy had arrived in Chencheng.
King Zhang Chu heard that Zhang Han had sent an envoy, and he didn't know what was going on, so he asked the envoy to come in. The envoy of the State of Qin walked into the hall with his head held high and arrogantly. When he saw Queen Zhang Chu, he only bowed and said arrogantly: "Now, General Zhang Han of the State of Qin has led hundreds of thousands of troops out of the customs on the order of the emperor. , fought all the way, winning steadily. First Zhou Wen committed suicide, then Wu Guang died, Tian Zang died in battle, Li Gui was defeated, the Qin army was invincible, and all parts of Shandong surrendered. Now General Zhang has successfully joined forces with General Li You in Xingyang , The current situation of the Qin State is very good, and the Great Wall Army has come out to assist in the war, General Wang Li has also pacified Hebei, causing King Han Guang of Yan to be crowned, and the military ministers of King Zhao died tragically. At present, the Qin State has millions of soldiers and thousands of generals. Once General Zhang marched to the south, Chen County would be reduced to powder. Therefore, General Zhang was very worried that the people would suffer massacres, so he informed the emperor. The emperor also sympathized with the people very much, and asked General Zhang to surrender the king first. , Your Majesty was also a soldier of the Qin State before, so you should obey the Emperor's orders. Moreover, all the armies sent by your Majesty have failed. If your Majesty can understand the situation clearly at this time and be a sensible person, you should abandon your arms and disarm. , lead the remaining troops to Xingyang to meet General Zhang and return to Qin. By doing so, you will not only save the people, but also continue to be the governor of Qin and even a court official. I wonder what your Majesty wants?"
When King Zhang Chu heard that the envoy was here to recruit him, he laughed and said, "I should have died long ago, but I didn't die. Do you know the reason?" The envoy was shocked. King Zhang Chu explained: "The reason why I have survived until now is because of the rebellion! Hahaha! If I were afraid of death, I would not rebel!" The envoy still wanted to speak, but King Zhang Chu immediately changed his color and said: "When I first raised the army, Just say, 'Fleeing is death, raising troops to rebel is also death. It's also death, so die vigorously for national affairs!' Now Gu has established the Zhang Chu Kingdom. This is the achievement of the five hegemons. If it fails, it is God's will! What's more, the outcome of the two sides is still undecided. How can I surrender to Qin and make the heroes of the world laugh at me?" He immediately ordered the guards to push the envoy out and chop him down.
The messenger was immediately frightened and his face turned pale, and his authority was completely shattered. Cai Ci, Wang Zhi, Kong Yu, Lu Chen and other ministers of Zhang and Chu admonished King Zhang Chu: "Your Majesty, when the two countries are at war, don't kill the envoys!" King Zhang Chu said angrily: "Listen to what he just said. If you say that, you simply don’t take Gu down! Kill the envoy first to strengthen the army! This will also let the people of the world know Gu’s determination to resist Qin, and at the same time kill Zhang Han’s majesty!” The envoy was paralyzed with fear! on the ground. The guards dragged the messenger out. The Qin soldiers who followed the envoy were too frightened to vent their anger when they heard this. After a while, the guards chopped off the envoy, handed the head to the Qin army, and then let them out of the city. The Qin army came out of the city, picked up the envoy's head, and ran away in a mess.
King Zhang Chu killed Qin's envoy, and then proudly discussed with everyone the matter of fighting. Grand Master Kong Yu said: "We have killed Qin's envoy, and the Qin army will arrive soon. Chencheng does not have many soldiers and horses, and the defense is empty. We should first mobilize troops from all over to support the capital." King Zhang Chu said: "Qin's envoy He said that Wang Li has pacified Hebei, so this matter may not be certain." Suddenly someone came in and reported that there was internal strife in Zhao State, and the surrendered general Li Liang killed Zhao Wang's military ministers, and Zhang Er and Chen Yu appointed Zhao Xie as their leader. King, make Xindu the capital. King Zhang Chu said: "What a shame, the young military official betrayed Gu and was killed now. He deserves it!" Cai Cidao said: "Zhang Er is far away in Hebei and it is difficult to subdue him. But with them here, Wang Li will not go south smoothly. Now Deng Zong has captured Jiujiang is so powerful that people should be sent to recall him. Zhou Shi captured Dongjun, but he also appointed Wei Jiu as king. I am afraid these people will not listen to your orders. Only Zhaoping captured Donghaijun. There is no news yet." Wang Zhi said: "Wei Jiu established the Wei State in Daliang. Although they did not obey Zhang Chu's control, they could still prevent Zhang Han from going south. What I am worried about is the west. If Zhang Han follows the execution If they send a troop of soldiers and horses in, they can directly enter Sheyuan Pass, Yingchuan will be captured, and then Zhang Han's army can directly reach Chen County."
While he was talking, someone suddenly came in and reported: "General Zhaoping's messenger has arrived." King Zhang Chu was very happy and asked the messenger to come in. After the messenger came in, he kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty, General Zhao fought all the way to Donghai County and got Qin Jia from Ling County, Dong Qi from Zhi County, Zhu Jishi from Fuli County, Zheng Bu from Qilu County, Ding Ji from Xu County, etc. With the help of others, we have captured Tancheng, the capital of Donghai County, defeated the Qin army, and killed the governor Qing. The momentum is great. Now the results are very brilliant. I came here to report to the king." After hearing the news, King Zhang Chu said, He was very happy and said: "Send a general to Tancheng quickly to take over this army, and then ask Zhaoping to come back and join General Deng Zong to fight against Zhang Han." Wang Zhi said: "Your Majesty, we are short of generals and soldiers now, who can we send to take over? Which one is appropriate?" King Chen thought deeply: "Captain Pan is young and promising, so we can send him." So he summoned Pan, and in person he named him Lord Wu Ping, deputy general, and gave him a sword and seal. And asked him to leave immediately and go to Tancheng to recall General Ping.
General Deng Zong heard that Zhou Wen and the false king's troops were defeated, so he led his troops to Chencheng to pay homage to King Zhang Chu before the envoy arrived. King Zhang Chu was very happy to see him, told him about the current situation, and then asked him to go to Yingchuan to resist the Qin army. General Deng accepted the mission without hesitation. At this time, another person came forward and volunteered: "I am also willing to go to the front line to kill the enemy and serve the country!" When King Zhang Chu saw it, it turned out to be Wu Xu, the captain of the left school. He was overjoyed and asked them to lead his troops immediately. Yingchuan.
