When Zhaoping came to Linzi City, the capital of Qi, 300 kilometers away, what he saw was a scene of singing and dancing. This was in sharp contrast to the soldiers of the Chu army fighting bravely on the front line. Zhaoping felt very unhappy. untie. It turns out that Tian Rong and Tian Heng had already expelled the traitors Tian Ji and Tian Jiao. Tian Jiao's younger brother Tian Jian happened to be on a business trip in the State of Zhao, so he did not dare to return to the State of Qi. Tian Rong and Tian Heng established Tian Dan's son Tian Shi as King of Qi, and the power of Qi was controlled by Tian Rong. After Zhaoping met Tian Rong, the general of Qi, he said: "The general was besieged by Zhang Han in Dong'a before. Lord Wu Xin personally led his troops day and night to rescue the siege. Now that the general has expelled the rebels, why don't you hurry up? How about sending troops to attack the Qin army together with the Chu army?" Tian Rong hesitated and said: "Because the rebellion in Qi has just been put down and the people's hearts have not yet surrendered, how can we easily send out troops?" Tian Heng, however, had a different opinion and immediately stood up and said : "General, now Zhang Han is trapped in Puyang, like a dragon imprisoned in the abyss. This is an excellent opportunity to eliminate him. Besides, Chu Xiangliang has the grace to save Qi. If Qi and Chu join forces, they will definitely defeat Zhang Han. If Zhang Han is defeated, the strength of the Qin State will be gone, and the invasion of Guanzhong will be just around the corner. I hope the general will think twice?" After hearing Tian Heng's words, Tian Rong asked Zhao Ping to rest in the building temporarily. They wanted to Discuss it.
After Zhao Ping left, Tian Rong said to Tian Heng, "Brother Xian, you only know one thing but not the other!" Tian Heng asked in surprise why. Tian Rong said: "If you think about the Qi and Chu armies entering Guanzhong at the same time, how will Qin's land be divided equally? Because at that time Qi and Chu had equal contributions. Will Chu submit to Qi? Or Qi will submit to Chu ? Therefore, my opinion is: let’s not send troops now. Let Chu fight with Qin first. If Xiang Liang is defeated, we will then send troops to fight Qin. By then, the Qin army will be very tired and we will defeat it. If we can annex the whole Qin Dynasty, Qi will have exclusive possession of the rich Guanzhong, and we will become a veritable overlord of the world!" After hearing Tian Rong's words, Tian Heng thought deeply: "But I'm worried: Qin's power is still very strong. , if Qi and Chu do not join forces, can the Chu family defeat Qin? Besides, Xiang Liang has the grace to save Qi. If we do not help Chu attack Qin, Qi will probably break its trust with the princes?" Tian Rong bowed his head and drank. Drinking tea, he smiled and said: "This is easy to handle. Let's put up a condition. If Xiang Liang agrees, it won't be too late to send troops." Tian Heng said: "What conditions are you asking for?" Tian Rong said: "I heard that Tian Jia escaped. Chu State and Tian Jiao fled to Zhao State. Since Chu State has good relations with our country, it should not tolerate Qi State’s rebels? If Chu State and Zhao State do not send Tianjia and Tian Jiao to our country, we will not send troops. This is not a Is that a good excuse?" Tian Heng was very surprised and felt that this was inappropriate, but he couldn't find a good way to persuade Tian Rong.
Later, Tian Rong summoned General Zhaoping and told him this condition. Zhao Ping was very angry when he saw Qi's behavior, and said: "If Lord Wu Xin didn't save Qi, where would you be today? How could you achieve hegemony if the general is so unfaithful?" Tian Rong said angrily: "Who are you? How dare you utter such arrogant words?" Zhao Ping also said angrily: "Wu Xinjun sent out the whole country's troops to rescue Qi. You are so ungrateful and you will be punished in the future!" Tian Rong was furious and drove Zhao Ping out of Linzi City. Zhao Ping had no choice but to go all the way to Xutai to see if Qi's traitor Tian Jia was really in Chu. When Zhao Ping met Queen Chu Huai, he told Tian Rong's original words. King Huai of Chu was a benevolent king. After hearing this, he sighed and said, "Yes, Tianjia is indeed here, but he came to seek refuge at the end of his rope. How can I have the heart to give him to the state of Qi?" He let Tianjia live in the state of Chu. , and no harm was done. At this time, Wei Bao repeatedly requested King Huai of Chu to help him regain Wei. King Huai of Chu sent Wei Bao and Zhao Ping to lead two thousand troops north to regain Wei's land and assist Xiang Liang from the flank.
Lord Wu Xin was in Dingtao and sent sergeants to garrison along the Jishui River, dividing his troops to guard them while waiting for the arrival of the Qi army. In addition, he sent two generals, Zhong Limei and Ji Bu, to inspect the north and constantly inquire about the water situation in Puyang. When Zhong Limei and Ji Bu led their troops to Puyang, they met the Chu soldiers. They said that the river outside Puyang City had not receded and Zhang Han was still trapped in the city. When the two heard the report, they felt relieved and walked another distance. Suddenly they saw a large number of farmers driving their cattle toward the south. Zhong Limei felt strange, so he stopped the farmer and asked them where they were going. The farmers replied: "We are the people of Puyang. We heard that Xiang Liang of Chu was coming to attack the city. Everyone was afraid of being killed, so they ran for their lives. We also heard that the army of Chu was benevolent and righteous, so we wanted to take refuge in Dingtao." Zhong Limei didn't have any doubts, so he let the people go south and showed them the way. The two of them inquired about these things along the way, so they summarized them and reported them to Mr. Wu Xin.
Zhao Bi led 150,000 new troops to Xingyang, reorganized Li You's remaining troops, and the military power was revived. At this time, Zhang Han's sergeants also arrived in the city and reported the situation in Puyang to Zhao Bi. Zhao Bi learned that Zhang Han could not leave the city, so he divided 50,000 troops and asked his deputy Lu Fan to lead them and rushed to Dongjun to help Zhang Han get out of the predicament. He personally led a large group to resist the westward advancing Chu army. The army quickly occupied Kaifeng. city. At this time, the Chu army had also captured Chenliu and was resting in the city. When Fan Zeng got the news, he led his troops to attack Kaifeng. When the Chu army came to the city, Fan Zeng asked Xiang Yu to directly challenge Zhao Bi. Zhao Bi didn't know how powerful Xiang Yu was, so he killed him immediately. But as soon as the two sides fought, the Qin army was defeated and fled. Zhao Ben relied on his own ability to fight Xiang Yu for twenty or thirty rounds. When he saw that all the sergeants had finished running away, he had no choice but to run back to the city. It turned out that the Qin army were all craftsmen from Xianyang, and they had never fought before. When they met the brave Chu army, they did not fight at all, so they ran faster than rabbits. When the Chu army saw that the Qin army had fled, and Zhao Ben was also fleeing, everyone burst into laughter. Xiang Yu then sent his troops to cover up the enemy, and those who were running slowly were killed by the Chu army at the foot of the city. Zhao Ben fled into the city, quickly closed the city gate, and then stood firm. Fan Zeng stationed the Chu army under the city and formed a large camp.
Zhang Han was brewing a great plan in Puyang. This plan came from what his subordinate said, "Even if Tian Dan is alive, he can't save the situation!" Because of these words, Zhang Han prepared to attack Xiang Liang with the Fire Ox Formation. He wanted to defeat the Chu army by surprise. By this time, he had already learned that Xiang Liang was proud, and also heard that Zhao Ben had sent Lu Fan to assist him. He was overjoyed, and secretly communicated with Lu Fan. At night, he asked Lu Fan to sneak out the sergeant quietly, every night. And let the strong sergeants dress up as farmers to collect cattle everywhere, and then send the collected cattle to Dingtao. The soldiers of the Chu army knew nothing about this move, and Xiang Liang had no way of knowing it.
However, Wu Xinjun was also cautious. He kept sending sergeants to inquire about the situation in Puyang. When the river receded a little, he asked Zhong Limei and Ji Bu to camp under Puyang City and closely watch every move of the Qin army. The two set up camp in Puyang and went out to inspect the Qin army's situation every day. After seven or eight days, the river began to slowly recede. After a few days, some of the road surface emerged from the water. Zhang Han saw that Chu generals were monitoring the city every day, so he deliberately sent old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers to the top of the city to complain. They shouted: "Oh my God, my God, the food in the city has been eaten up, and the Chu army came to besiege the city again. We What should we do! The imperial court won’t come to rescue us, and we’re going to starve to death! Let’s surrender to the Chu army!” Then a miserable cry was heard. Ji Bu said happily: "The Qin army can't hold it anymore. It's better to send troops to attack the city." Zhong Limei said doubtfully: "Zhang Han has many tricks. We don't know the real situation in the city, so we should not act rashly. Besides, General Fan has repeatedly The exhortation said: Zhang Han is very good at using troops and is a scheming man." Ji Bu volunteered: "Zhang Han has been trapped for more than a month and has run out of food. I am willing to lead a troop of soldiers and horses on a raft to challenge and test it. Let me know the situation." Zhong Limei said: "It's just that there is no raft." Ji Bu said: "We are from the south, are we still afraid that we can't build a raft?" Zhong Limei was very happy and sent a sergeant to cut down trees nearby immediately. After three days, Hundreds of rafts were created over time.
After everything was ready, Ji Bu asked Zhong Limei to guard the camp. He was neatly dressed and led his elite soldiers to paddle toward the bottom of the city on a raft. Zhang Han received the report and went to the city to inspect it in person. When the Chu army came to the city, the Qin army waved flags and shouted, but they couldn't even shoot arrows far and pretended to be starving. Ji Bu was very happy when he saw this and asked Zhang Han to go out of the city and surrender. Zhang Han replied: "Even if a man starves to death, he will not surrender. Besides, the Qin State has sent troops to rescue!" Then he ordered to defend the city, pretending to swear to live and die with the city. Ji Bu challenged him several times, but Zhang Han only ordered him to hold on. Ji Bu saw that he was attacking the city on the water and could not get in for a while, so he had to withdraw to the camp. Seeing that the Qin army's combat effectiveness was very poor, Zhong Limei and Ji Bu slowly relaxed their vigilance. Two days later, a sergeant suddenly came to report that the Qin army had broken through at the east gate. Zhong Limei and Ji Bu hurried to the east gate. From a distance, they saw hundreds of old and weak soldiers and civilians, many of whom were women. They carried vegetable baskets and ran to higher areas outside to dig wild vegetables. When they saw the Chu army coming, they ran into the city again, and then heard the sound of crying. The Chu army continued to challenge for several days, but Zhang Han still ordered to hold on. Zhong Limei wrote a letter to Xiang Liang.
Another day, the Chu army unexpectedly captured a Qin army who was delivering a letter out of the city, and found a letter from him, which read:
The city was in danger, and even the horses were killed. Because of the lack of food, the birds smelled the fishy smell and came to the city to eat. They hoped that General Lu would come to the rescue quickly.
Zhong Limei and Ji Bu read the letter and walked out of the camp gate to observe. Sure enough, they found many crows and birds gathering on the top of the city. Zhongli Mo said happily: "The water is gradually receding, and Zhang Han may have to break out. We should inform Lord Wu Xin as soon as possible and ask him to lead the army, so that we can capture Zhang Han alive." After the two discussed it, they immediately sent someone to Lord Wu Xin. The report went.
Wu Xinjun was in Dingtao and was very happy to receive news of the Chu army's victory one after another. However, Fan Zeng wrote a letter saying: The State of Qin sent Zhao An's son Zhao Bi to lead more than 100,000 craftsmen to resist, and also sent reinforcements to Zhang Han. I was worried that Zhang Han had another conspiracy, so I asked General Xiang to lead his troops north immediately to eliminate Zhang Han in one fell swoop. When Wu Xinjun heard that the Qin State sent craftsmen for reinforcements, he laughed loudly and said, "How can craftsmen fight?" Seeing that Wu Xinjun did not take Fan Zeng's words to heart, Song Yi hurriedly said: "The general crossed the river and came here, and was defeated many times. The Qin army is indeed a blessing to the Chu country. However, the gratifying things are today, and the terrible things are also today!" Wu Xinjun asked what this meant. Song Yidao: "I saw with my own eyes that every time the Chu army finished a battle, the soldiers were full of pride. There is a saying in the art of war that 'a proud soldier will be defeated'. General, please be careful! After all, Zhang Han is a wily and scheming general. Military Advisor Fan clearly said that the Qin court sent troops to reinforce Zhang Han and asked the general to fight Zhang Han immediately. Only by capturing Zhang Han will the Chu army have no worries!" Wu Xinjun said displeased: "Zhang Han's food has been eaten up. , and are trapped in the city by Zhongli and the others, how can they have the strength to fight again? Unfortunately, Qi's troops have not arrived. If Qi's army arrives, I will immediately march westward to Sanchuan!" Song Yi wanted to persuade again, but Wu Xinjun simply didn't Can't listen. When Song Yi saw that Lord Wu Xin was going his own way, he said, "Qi's army has not arrived for a long time. I want to personally send an envoy to Qi. If I can't recruit Qi soldiers, I am willing to be punished by military law!" Xiang Liang was a little upset when he saw him nagging. , and agreed to send him as an envoy to Qi.
After Song Yi left, Zhao Ping suddenly came to the army. He reported to Wu Xinjun how he was sent as an envoy to Qi to meet King Huai of Chu. When Wu Xinjun heard that Qi State was not sending troops, he was furious and said: "I led the entire army of Chu to relieve the siege of Dong'a. I didn't expect Tian Rong to be so ungrateful. This kind of thing is not enough to conspire for a major event. It is Chu who must attack Qin State." !" Suddenly someone came in and reported: "The grain escorted by Xiang Bo and Yu Ziqi has arrived in Dawu County. Please ask for instructions whether to march to Dingtao." Wu Xinjun was overjoyed and said: "Transport all the grain here! We Chu soldiers We have enough food, why do we need to rely on the power of Qi? Who else can we do now? We can attack Guanzhong right now. Hahaha!" Before he finished speaking, Zhongli's sergeants came to report that the flooding in Puyang was getting worse. After retreating, Zhang Han's army was still trapped in the city. The Chu army challenged him many times, but Zhang Han refused to fight. Xiang Liang laughed heartily after hearing this, and immediately ordered Huan Chu, Yu Ying and other generals of the Chu army to gather together to drink and celebrate. When the food and grass arrived, he immediately marched to Sanchuan.
Song Yi left the Chu camp and hurried towards Qi. Suddenly a carriage drove up ahead. After a closer look, he recognized that the person was Gaoling Junxian of Qi State, and asked loudly: "Are you Gaoling Jun? Sir, are you going to see Wu Xinjun?" Gaoling Jun replied Said: "Exactly." Song Yi asked: "Why do you want to see him?" Lord Gaoling said: "King Qi felt very guilty because he did not agree to Lord Wu Xin to send troops. Now he regrets it, so he sent me to explain to Lord Wu Xin. The country is preparing to send troops." Song Yi said: "No need, based on my inference, Lord Wu Xin will definitely be defeated! I advise you, sir, to walk slowly, otherwise you will definitely encounter a fatal disaster! It is for this reason that I fled Ding in a hurry. Tao!" Lord Gao Ling asked why. Song Yi told Lord Gaoling how proud the Chu army was and how Lord Wu Xin refused to listen to his advice, and finally advised him again not to die in vain. After Song Yi finished speaking, he said goodbye to Lord Gaoling and asked the driver to rush towards Qi State.
Gao Lingjun was confused, so he slowed down and asked for news about the Chu army.
