Zhang Han was very angry when he heard that King Zhang Chu had killed the envoy, and said to Li You: "The rebellion in all parts of Shandong is because of Chen Sheng. If we get rid of him, the rest of the thieves will scatter like birds and beasts." Li You said: "Tan Ma came to report recently that there was a group of thieves. The rebels have already reached Nanyang County. We should send an army south first, otherwise Wuguan will be in danger." Zhang Han said: "Now Wei Jiu is entrenched in Daliang. If I go south, I'm afraid he will attack from behind. If Wei Jiu The alliance between , Chu and Wei will be very disadvantageous for us." Li You said: "I am willing to divide my troops and attack Daliang to ensure that the general goes south smoothly." Zhang Han heard that Li You was going to attack Wei and was very happy, so he said to his deputy Yang Xiong: " You lead five thousand elite cavalry, and the Qiang Lords enter Yingchuan directly from Sheyuan Pass, and occupy Yangdi first. If things go well, the Qiang Lords can garrison Yingchuan, and you go south to attack Song Liu's army. You must preserve it. Nanyang County, and then we will attack Chen County together. At that time, Chen Cheng will be attacked from both sides, and we can capture Chen Sheng in one fell swoop." Yang Xiong agreed with confidence. Zhang Han then divided his troops into three groups: left, middle, and right. On the left, Li You led Sanchuan's troops to attack Daliang City; on the right, Yang Xiong and Qiang Yuan attacked Yingchuan County; he commanded the middle route and went south directly via Xinzheng. Forced Zhang Chu's capital Chencheng.
He Zhi came to Yangzhai City, the county seat of Yingchuan County, which was guarded by Zhang Chu's general Deng Shuo. When He Zhi heard that Zhang Han had joined Li You, he prepared to attack Shenyuan Pass, but Deng said he did not agree. It turned out that Deng said that he had just married a beautiful little wife in the city, and he spent all day drinking and having fun, and he no longer cared about the military. When He Zhi saw Deng Shuo's behavior, he advised him not to slack off in military affairs and to strengthen war preparations. However, Deng Shuo thought He Zhi was a defeated general and was very unfriendly to him. He Zhi came to remonstrate with him many times, but was rejected by Deng Shuo. After delaying for several days, someone suddenly came from Shenyuan Pass to report that Qin general Yang Xiong had entered Shenyuan Pass. He and Qiang Yuan led the Qin army to march straight in, crossing Yingchuan County, and were about to reach Yangzhai City. . Deng said that after hearing this, he became nervous and left Rourou Township to join the army. At this time Yang Xiong had already launched an attack on the city. Deng said that when he saw Yang Xiong suddenly attacking the city, he ordered the Chu army to counterattack. But after fighting for a few times, they couldn't hold on any longer. Deng said he went to see his little wife, and then he heard the sound of killing four doors shaking the ground. Not long after, someone suddenly came to report that the Qin army had entered the city. Deng said he was so frightened that he quickly protected his wife and family and broke out from the south gate, then escaped.
When the Chu troops guarding the city saw Deng Yuan running away faster than a rabbit, they gave up resistance and fled together. After He Zhi left the city, he heard that Deng said that Jin Jian had arrived in Jiaxian County, so he went straight to see Deng Zong. After Qin General Yang Xiong led the Qin army into the city, he frantically retaliated against the soldiers and civilians. He killed all the way to the palace, beheading people when he saw them, and chopping up the soldiers when he encountered them. He killed seven people who came out and seven people who came in, and the Chu soldiers who had no time to escape had good luck. Tens of thousands of people were killed by Yang Xiong. The city suddenly flowed into rivers of blood, and the corpses of soldiers and civilians were piled into mountains, and there was a lot of crying. Afterwards, Qiangyuan recruited militiamen again, repaired the city walls, appeased the people, and warned everyone not to follow the rebels and cause trouble.
He Zhi came to Jiaxian to meet Deng Zong and told him about Deng Shuo's escape and the fall of Yangzhai. General Deng Zong heard that Yang Xiong had occupied Yangzhai, so he gathered the crowd and said: "The Qin army marched very fast and massacred the city as soon as they captured it. The people here are very panicked. We should take advantage of the people's panic to fight the Qin army as soon as possible." So he sent people to the city and said to the people: "Yang Xiong is a murderous butcher. After he captured Yangdi, he massacred the city to vent his anger, and many people died. If he came to capture Jiaxian, he would also massacre the city!" "The people expressed their determination to defend the city to the death. Deng Zong saw that everyone was united and shared the same hatred for the enemy, so he said to the generals: "Not far from the south of the city is Ru River. We should ambush two troops on the shore, and then ask the people to prepare boats and rafts. When Yang Xiong attacks, they can escape by boat to the south bank of Ru River. . When Yang Xiong sees it, he will definitely chase him. When we reach the edge of the Ru River, our ambush troops will rush out together. Yang Xiong will definitely be defeated?" Everyone followed this method. Deng Zong then sent the left captain Chen Chun and the right captain Zhang Xu to ambush, while he and He Zhi guarded the city.
In the afternoon, Yang Xiong indeed reached Jiaxian County. When he came to the city, he raised his whip and cursed the Chu army: "Thieves who rebel against the country, haven't you surrendered earlier?" Deng Zongdao said: "The Qin Dynasty is ruthless and the whole world has risen in rebellion. You should surrender to me?" Yang Xiong was furious. Furious, he challenged Deng Zong. At this time, the brave general Mangui took the initiative to ask for a fight. Deng Zong said: "The enemy is now very powerful and cannot go out to fight. I will use Cao GUI's method to defeat him!" He ordered the Chu army to stop fighting and pretended to be afraid. Yang Xiong yelled and cursed for a long time, but did not see the Chu army coming out, so he just wasted his time. By dusk in the afternoon, the Qin army had indeed slacked off, and most of the sergeants dismounted and lay on the ground to rest. Mangui, the general of the Chu army, asked Deng Zong for a battle again. Deng Zong observed carefully and saw that the Qin army was indeed slacking off, so he ordered Mangui to fight. After receiving the order, Mangui immediately put on his horse and went out with a gun.
When Yang Xiong saw General Chu coming out to fight, he quickly mounted his horse to fight. The two fought for more than ten rounds. Although Yang Xiong was slack, his courage was superhuman and he stabbed Mangui to death under his horse after several strikes. When the Chu army saw that their general was dead, they rushed towards the city. Deng Zong was shocked when he saw Yang Xiong killing Mangui at the top of the city, and quickly ordered the suspension bridge to be pulled up. Yang Xiong fought his way to the edge of the trench, laughing wildly.
It was not long before it was dark. At this time, Qin's spies came to report to Yang Xiong that the Chu army was preparing ships to escape by the Rushui River. Yang Xiong laughed and said: "Don't be alarmed first, wait until the thieves are halfway across, and then attack in a big way, haha!" Yang Xiong was very proud, and suddenly came to report that Song Liu had captured Nanyang County. Yang Xiong was shocked, so he sent someone to report to Zhang Han and arranged for the soldiers to completely defeat Deng Zong's army tonight.
That night, a cold wind was blowing, and under the pale moonlight, Deng Zong first asked Chen Chun and Zhang Xu to lead two groups of people and most of the people out of the city to ambush, and then left a small number of people to defend the city, while he quietly led the Chu army After leaving the city and arriving at the Rushui River, they asked the people to cross the river immediately, deliberately shouting loudly and pretending to be in chaos, while leaving the elite soldiers behind. Qin's spies had already reported the situation here to Yang Xiong. Yang Xiong thought that the opportunity had come, so he asked Qiang Yuan to defend the city. He led the cavalry out of the city and quietly came to the edge of Ru River. When he saw the Chu army rushing to cross the river, he said contemptuously: "Wait a little longer, let the thieves If we attack again when we are halfway through, we will win a complete victory!" All the soldiers of the Qin army thought that they had a chance to win, and they were all very happy.
After a while, Yang Xiong saw that half of the people crossing the river were already there, and he suddenly ordered an attack. As soon as they arrived at the shore and were about to attack the Chu army, they heard a bang, and two groups of soldiers and horses from the Chu army came over from the left and right directions. It was the two generals of the Chu army, Chen Chun and Zhang Xu. people. When Deng Zong saw two groups of soldiers approaching, he ordered the troops behind him to turn around and attack the Qin army. In this way, the three groups of soldiers and horses shouted together to surround Yang Xiong's cavalry, and the shouts of killing were simply earth-shattering. Yang Xiong thought that the Chu army would panic and flee for his life, but he did not expect that the Chu army not only did not panic, but also surrounded them in an orderly manner. Only then did he realize that it was Deng Zong's trick to lure troops. Yang Xiong had no choice but to order a fight to the death. The two sides fought fiercely by the Rushui River for more than an hour. However, the Chu army gathered more and more. Seeing that he could not win, Yang Xiong had no choice but to break out. When he came to Jiaxian City, the people in the city shouted: "Capture Yang Xiong alive!" Deng Zong chased after him again. Yang Xiong had no choice but to run towards Yangzhai City. Yang Xiong came to the city and said to Qiang Yuan: "The Chu army is very cunning. They deliberately lured me, but they ambush a large group of people, so I was defeated by them." Qiang Yuan said: "The thieves won by luck, general Don't worry, I predict that within a few days, there will be internal strife among them, and Jia County will definitely collapse!" Yang Xiong didn't think so.
Zhang Han's middle route army marched towards Chencheng and quickly captured Xinzheng. The Changshe in front also surrendered after hearing the news, and the Qin army soon arrived at Xu County. Wu Xu, the general in charge of Xu County, led the Chu army to guard the county. He also united the troops from Yuanling, Weishi, Yingyin, and Yingyang counties to fight against Zhang Han in Xu County. At this time, Zhang Han was timid in seeking victory. Except for the counties he was passing by, the surrounding areas were still under Zhang Chu's control. Although his troops were very sharp, Wu Xu could not hold on, and Zhang Han had no choice. The two sides held a stalemate under the city. Wu Xu waited for reinforcements from all walks of life, and soldiers and horses from several places arrived in Xu County. However, they stationed their troops outside the Qin army. Zhang Han saw that the Chu army was also very numerous, so he had no choice but to send Sima Yi to challenge Xu County. Wu Xu could not hold on, so he immediately sent someone to report to the King of Chu.
King Zhang Chu heard that the Qin army had reached Xu County, so he gathered civil and military officials for discussion. Shangzhu Guo Cai said: "Your Majesty, don't be afraid. Deng Zong led troops to reinforce Yingchuan, and there are still tens of thousands of troops. Zhang Han came so quickly just because he took a straight path. Now we should send someone to inform General Deng Zong, Let him attack Zhang Han from the back of Xu County, and you send another general to reinforce Xu County. Xu County has reinforcements from all walks of life. Even if Zhang Han is very powerful, he will not attack Chencheng!" King Zhang Chu asked. His Highness's generals asked, "Which of you will go to reinforce Xu County?" Only one person stepped forward and said, "I am willing to go!" When everyone saw it, it was Lord Sima Zhang He. He is just over forty this year. He is a powerful man and a general in the Daze Township uprising. He is now the Sima of Chu State. King Zhang Chu asked him to reinforce Xu County. Zhang He accepted the order. At that time, he led 20,000 sergeants and set out. King Zhang Chu led his ministers to personally send him to the expedition. Zhang He saw that the King of Chu attached great importance to his expedition, so he burst into tears and said with gratitude: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I must repel the old thief Zhang Han when I go this time, otherwise I will die on the battlefield!" He cried and bowed. Farewell King Zhang Chu. King Zhang Chu said earnestly: "You will send troops first, and then I will mobilize troops from Guling, Yangxia, and Zhe County to reinforce you. If you can resist, you will defeat Zhang Han. If you cannot win, you will retreat. I want to fight Zhang Han personally!" Zhang He burst into tears and mounted his horse, waving his troops westward.
Deng said he was defeated in Yangdi and fled back to Chencheng. He heard in the city that King Chen sent Zhu Fang and Hu Wu to serve as Zhongzheng and Si Guo, and they were also responsible for examining the faults of the generals. He was worried that his bad deeds would be known to King Zhang Chu, so he came to see Zhu Fang and Hu Wu. But he told the story beyond recognition, shirked all his responsibilities, and gave Zhu Fang and Hu Wu a lot of gold, pearls and treasures. The two were very happy and led Deng Yuan to see King Zhang Chu. Deng said that he falsely accused He Zhi of running away before the battle, but Deng Zong did not save him, which led to the fall of Yingchuan. Fearing that King Zhang Chu would not believe him, he also falsely accused Deng Zong of having an affair with Yang Xiong. King Zhang Chu was very angry after hearing these things, and asked Zhu Fang and Hu Wu if this happened. Zhu Fang and Hu Wu had already received the benefits Deng said, of course they had. King Zhang Chu was furious and immediately sent a general to the front line to replace Deng Zong, and wanted to bring Deng Zong back to punish him. The ministers in the court didn't know the situation, so no one stopped them.
The envoy and other generals rushed to Yangzhai, seized Deng Zong's general seal, and asked Deng Zong to go back. Deng Zong was very puzzled and asked the envoy why he wanted him to go back. The envoy coaxed: "Zhang Han has arrived in Xu County. King Zhang Chu wants you to go back and defend the capital." Deng Zong believed it, so he handed over the military power to the general and followed the envoy in a hurry, heading straight for Chencheng.
