It turned out that after returning to Qi, Lord Gaoling of Qi reported the defeat of the Chu army to King Qi. His words also confirmed Song Yi's prediction. Tian Rong greatly appreciated Song Yi's foresight and hosted a banquet for Song Yi. Seeing that the opportunity was rare, Song Yi talked loudly during the dinner, and the conversation with Tian Rong was very speculative. Tian Rong was also worried about offending Xiang Liang because he did not send troops to attack Qin. Now that Xiang Liang was dead, he also wanted to establish good diplomatic relations with Chu, so he hoped that Song Yi could take power in Chu. Song Yi had also served as a magistrate of the Chu State before. Now seeing that King Huai had only appointed him as a doctor, he was dissatisfied. Seeing that the State of Qi had given him strong support, he said to Tian Rong: "I am a Song official." If there is a future, I will definitely live up to today's general's recommendation!" Tian Rong was very happy after hearing this, and asked King Qi to send Lord Gaoling to Chu State again, and he must persuade King Huai of Chu to worship Song Yi as his general.
Just when the King of Chu was in a dilemma about choosing a general, the two came to Chu State. King Huai immediately summoned Lord Gaoling. When Lord Gao Ling saw Queen Huai, he said, "Qi is now stable and wants to make peace with Chu again." King Huai agreed. Lord Gaoling said: "I heard that King Zhao was besieged by Wang Li in Julu. Zhao was in danger and Qi was preparing to rescue. Why hasn't Chu made any move?" King Huai told Lord Gaoling about his troubles in selecting generals. Lord Gaoling took the opportunity and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. I am here to recommend a general to you." King Huai was very surprised and asked him who he recommended. Lord Gaoling said: "Song Yi from your country is a rare general. Does your Majesty know him?" King Huai asked: "Song Aiqing is an old minister of Chu State. Why do you recommend him?" Lord Gaoling predicted Song Yi. Wu Xinjun told King Huai of Chu that he was about to fail. King Huai was very surprised and said: "The thing has not happened yet, but the result is already known. This is indeed a wise man!" He asked Song Yi what he thought of Wu Xinjun. Song Yidao said: "I knew this would happen a long time ago, but Lord Wu Xin was stubborn and did not listen to advice, so he suffered such a disastrous defeat." King Huai told him again about saving Zhao. Song Yidao said: "The king should choose a good general, use military attacks and gentle appeasement alternately, advance and retreat according to needs, and then widely preach the benevolence and righteousness of Chu State, so that he will be able to attack Guanzhong." Gao Lingjun said again: "Mr. Wu Xin has always been arrogant and unintelligent, and does not accept loyal advice. Failure is expected. People like this who can predict the success or failure before the two sides fight, can be said to be people who truly know how to use troops! If the king can worship the Song Dynasty As a general, Yi will go north to rescue Zhao, and Qi will definitely send out an overwhelming army to help him!" After hearing Lord Gaoling's words, King Huai asked Song Yi some diplomatic matters, and Song Yi could answer them fluently. King Huai was very happy to see that Song Yi was full of knowledge, and said: "I am going to worship you as a general to go north to rescue Zhao. What do you think?" Song Yi was naturally elated, and immediately said: "Serve the king and serve the country. Even if his body is broken into pieces, he will not hesitate!" King Huai was extremely happy.
The next day, King Huai told several senior ministers about the appointment of Song Yi as general. As expected, everyone agreed with King Huai's decision. Only Fan Zeng hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, you are sending Liu Bang to the west and Song Yi to the north. Are you afraid that Xiang Yu will not accept it?" King Huai said: "Now I rely on you, old general! I heard that when Lord Wu Xin was dying, he wanted Xiang Yu to worship you. As my father. Xiang Yu is young and energetic, and has a strong temperament. We are also worried that he will kill too much as a general, so we only let him serve as a deputy general, which will show his strengths on the battlefield." Fan Zeng said: "Your Majesty's considerations are indeed very reasonable. I will obey your Majesty's orders."
King Huai had made up his mind, so he summoned his ministers to the palace, and then solemnly announced: "Now King Zhao is besieged by Wang Li in Julu. The situation is urgent. Urgent documents are being sent one after another. I want to send two armies to attack Qin. You Who is willing to lead the army to go on an expedition?" As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang Yu stood up and replied with great dignity: "I am willing to lead the army to the west and enter the pass to destroy Qin!" The sound was like a loud bell, which made everyone restless. King Huai looked around at the ministers and set his sights on Song Yi. Song Yi felt what King Huai meant, so he stood up firmly and said: "I am also willing to lead my troops to enter the pass." King Huai glanced at Liu Bang again, and Liu Bang stood up and said: "I am also willing to lead my troops to enter the pass. "Immediately afterwards, all the generals including Fan Zeng, Xiao He, Cao Shen, Zhao Ping, Ying Bu, Zhong Limei and others stood up together and expressed their determination to destroy Qin to King Huai. King Huai was very happy and said: "Now I will worship Song Yi as the general, Chang'an Hou Xiang Yu as the deputy general, Fan Zeng as the last general and military advisor, Xiang Bo as Zuo Yin, all the soldiers who originally followed Wu Xinjun on the expedition and the newly recruited soldiers. The troops and horses, a total of 200,000 righteous soldiers, will be led by Song Yi and go north to rescue Zhao."
As soon as King Huai finished speaking, there was an uproar below. The soldiers all said: "Song Yi! How could it be him? He used to be just a staff member under Lord Wu Xin, a civilian employee. How could he be a general?" Everyone discussed. For a while, Xiang Yu was also shocked. He originally thought that the general was either him or his sworn brother Liu Peigong, but he never expected that King Huai actually let Song Yi serve as the general. However, he quickly regained his composure, because the deputy general was second only. General Yu Shang, who was also the main general, was ready to charge into the battle, so he stood up with the other generals and accepted the order.
King Huai then loudly ordered: "Another group of soldiers and horses will enter the Pass to the west. There are many passes on this road, and the Qin army will be fortified everywhere. Liu Bang, Marquis of Wu'an, will serve as the chief general, Cao Shen will serve as the deputy general, and Xiao He will serve as the military advisor. They will lead the troops and horses to enter the Pass to the west. . If the two-pronged march goes well, I hope you will work hard and capture Emperor Qin." Liu Bang was also shocked. He was not shocked that he was chosen to be the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army, but that King Huai did not allocate additional troops to him. He was asked to lead his original team to march westward, and his original team, including all the newly recruited sergeants from Feng and Pei, amounted to more than 20,000 people. However, King Huai handed over the command of the 200,000 Chu army. Gave it to Song Yi. A little-known scholar who was over fifty years old. Moreover, Song Yi was only an aide under Lord Wu Xin before. How could such a person serve as a general? It’s simply unbelievable! Pei Gong also wondered incomprehensibly. Finally, King Huai said again: "Pengcheng is the capital of the Chu State and needs a capable general to guard it. General Lu Chen is commendable for his loyalty and bravery. He will no longer participate in the Northern Expedition to save Zhao. Instead, he will stay to take charge of Pengcheng's troops and defend the capital. "After hearing King Huai's order, Lu Chen also stepped out and accepted the order.
King Chu Huai chose generals and sent troops in this way after careful consideration. He made a psychological balance for Xiang Yu, Lu Chen and Liu Bang. Because the three of them are all subordinates of Lord Wu Xin, and they all have great achievements in fighting the Qin army. Although Xiang Yu did not serve as the commander-in-chief, he must have been very satisfied as the deputy commander-in-chief of an army of 200,000 people. Although Liu Bang is the commander-in-chief, he does not have many troops. Lu Chen is the son of Lu Qing. Letting him take charge of the troops in the rear of Chu State also shows that he has great trust in him. King Chu Huai had great political vision in employing people in this way, and also showed his extraordinary ability to control his ministers. King Huai then gave the general's seal and ribbon to Song Yi, and the general's seal and ribbon to Liu Bang and Lu Chen. The three of them accepted the order together. It was also scheduled to be officially launched on Jiazi Day, the ninth leap month in the first year of King Huai, and everything was arranged properly.
On the day of departure, King Huai ordered all the generals to swear an oath to go to war. The ministers surrounded King Huai and came to the center of the school. King Huai loudly announced to the generals: "Qin II treated the people cruelly, and people all over the world were resentful. In the past, when Lord Wu Xin led his troops on expeditions, he would attack wherever he went. No one is invincible and the battle is invincible. Unfortunately, General Xiang suffered an accident on the way, which caused a major setback in the anti-Qin cause. But today, the Chu State divided its troops into two groups to attack Qin again, vowing to carry out the uprising to the end! I hope the soldiers will work hard to make contributions. , Go forward bravely, eradicate the evil government!" King Huai said to Xiang Yu again: "I am young, and I am afraid that I have not considered things carefully, so I have thought about it again and again, and let the mature and prudent Song Yi serve as the general, and you will assist him. Qin State The generals are all your enemies, and they are also my enemies. Therefore, asking you to go north to rescue Zhao and surrender Zhang Han and Wang Li is not only my wish, but also your wish. I hope Xiang Qing will not care about his deputy position and obey the command of General Song. , charge into the battle and serve the country!" Xiang Yu also said: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely kill Zhang Han and Wang Li when I go to avenge the Chu Kingdom's demise. I just want to be killed quickly on the battlefield, otherwise I have nothing else to ask for." King Huai said to Liu Bang again: "Qin's main troops are all in the north, so I asked General Song to take command and lead the army to rescue Zhao. I hope Liu Aiqing will not blame me for not allocating troops to you." Pei Gong said: "The king's arrangement is very wise. How can I not understand your good intentions? Although there are many obstacles on the way to the west, I will never look back and will never let down the king's trust!"
When King Huai saw that the generals had complied with his arrangements, he proudly announced: "All officers and men would like to listen to what I say: Today is the Chu State's next major attack on Qin after Zhou Wen and Wu Xinjun. I hope all officers and men will work hard." Success is imminent!" After hearing King Huai's words, all the soldiers were affected and shouted in unison: "Long live King Chu! Long live! Long live! Long live!" The two hundred thousand righteous men roared, which made the earth tremble in shock. King Huai also announced: "Now I make an agreement with all the soldiers: 'Whoever enters the pass first will be the king of Guanzhong.' Please remember it and work hard to make contributions. I am waiting for good news!" The soldiers heard that whoever enters the pass first will be the king of Guanzhong. He became even more excited, and shouted in unison: "Destroy Qin! Destroy Qin!..." Then King Huai picked up a glass of wine and saluted the soldiers: "With this glass of wine, I wish everyone a victory and a triumphant return!" The generals He raised his glass high and drank it down in one gulp.
Suddenly a man walked up to King Huai and said loudly: "A man should be galloping on the battlefield, how can he often deal with pen and ink? Please allow me to go out with General Liu. I will definitely serve on the battlefield for you!" King Huai saw it and it turned out to be the king. Lu Jia, a scribe, said happily: "A scholar joins the army with great spirit. I promise you." He asked Lu Jia to report to Liu Bang's army.
In order to show his majesty and honor, Song Yi wrote the words "Champion of Qingzi" on the handsome flag. This was just a special good name. Then he bid farewell to King Huai and marched north. From then on, Song Yi held a large number of troops and was satisfied with his ambition. He sent an order to the army: "The soldiers have three meals a day, and they must not miss one meal. When the soldiers are setting up camp, they must not panic. All arrangements must be strictly carried out in accordance with military orders!" '
