Pei Gong accepted King Huai's order and came to Dang County to gather all the soldiers and horses from Feng and Pei. At this time, the nearby disciples and the defeated Han soldiers of Zhang Chu came to join the army one after another. Many of them later became the founding heroes of the Han Dynasty. Among them was a general from Qucheng named Gu Feng, who led thirty-seven warriors to seek refuge. Pei Gong received them very warmly.
One day, Pei Gong said to Xiao He: "There are already 20,000 infantry, but they lack horses and cannot equip cavalry." During the discussion, someone suddenly came in and reported that there was a man with a hundred followers and hundreds of horses. The horse came to the city. Pei Gong was really overjoyed and hurriedly went out of the city with Xiao, Cao and others to greet him. When everyone came outside the city, they saw a man riding a white horse, wearing a face-covering bronze helmet, chain mail, a light yellow war robe, a jade belt and a carved saddle, holding a long iron sword. The halberd was very majestic. He came to the city on flying horse. When he saw Pei Gong coming out of the city to greet him, he dismounted to meet him. Pei Gong asked happily: "What is your surname? Where is your family name?" When the man asked, he stuck the iron halberd beside him, took off his helmet, went up to pay homage and said: "I am Guanying from Suiyang, Dang County. I heard that Liu The general entered the pass on the order of King Huai and came here specifically to serve." Seeing that this man was a handsome young man, Pei Gong was even more happy and said quickly: "The strong man coming here is not only an honor for me, Liu Bang, but also a great blessing for King Huai! I think the strong man came He is a man with unique skills and superb martial arts, but why did he come out today?" Guan Ying explained: "My ancestors have been silk merchants for generations. I wanted to inherit my father's business and engage in business for the rest of my life. However, Qin State implemented xuanzong, and people People are in danger, and merchants have no way to survive. I have long wanted to join the rebel army against Qin, but I have never met a wise master. Now I heard that King Huai made you the commander-in-chief of the West Route Army because of the general's benevolence and righteousness, so I made the decision Come here with determination. Guan will definitely follow An Qian and Ma Hou and never give up!"
After hearing Guan Ying's words, Pei Gong was overjoyed and said: "King Chen and Lord Wu Xin attacked Qin one after another, and now General Song Yi led 200,000 Chu troops to rescue Zhao. Song Yi was the original commander of Chu State, and his reputation was very prominent. Why don't the strong men go to him, but come to me, a humble pavilion chief?" Guan Ying replied readily: "Although King Chen has the merit of being the first, he is narrow-minded and cannot tolerate others. Xiang Liang is a general. Descendants, how can they reuse merchants? Although Song Yi has some reputation, he has never heard of any achievements. Only Pei Gong, you are famous for your generosity and kindness, so I sold all my property and bought 300 horses. Five carts of silk and five thousand kilograms of copper and iron are specially presented to the general." Pei Gong quickly helped Guan Ying up, and he was so moved that his eyes filled with tears and said: "I have never met you, but you rely on your loyalty to support all your family. Me, this is simply God giving you to me to achieve great things! This move is really admirable! I wonder how strong a warrior is on horseback?" Guan Ying simply replied: "Guan travels all over the world, riding on horseback all year round. It's easy to deal with thieves on the road, but I'm afraid I can't kill the enemy in battle." Pei Gong said happily: "A strong man is so humble, he must have extraordinary abilities, I will make you the captain of the cavalry, on the same level as my old generals Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo What do you think of the treatment?" Guan Ying was moved and said: "It's our first time meeting you. Thank you for the general's great respect. I am willing to do your best!" After speaking, he pointed to the person behind him and said, "This is my friend in life and death. My name is My name is Ding Li. He is good at wielding the axe, so I invite the general to hire him." Pei Gong appointed Ding Li as a marching commander, subordinate to Guan Ying. Pei Gong distributed the horses to each military camp and sealed the silk in the treasury as a gift to reward military merit. Give all five thousand kilograms of copper and iron to the blacksmiths for them to make weapons. Then Guan Ying and Ding Li were invited to come to the city and hold a banquet in their honor.
Ten days later, Peigong saw that the troops were almost ready, so he appointed Cao Shen as the chief minister, known as Jianchengjun, and served as deputy general. Xiao He held the silk, was known as Wenchengjun, and served as military advisor and general. Fan Kuai served as the captain of the infantry. Xia Houying held the post of silk official and served as the imperial servant. Zhou Bo was responsible for holding the silk and serving as the Huben Order. Ji Xin served as Zhongjuan and the school captain. Guan Ying was appointed Zhongjuan and served as the captain of the cavalry. Peigong also granted Lu Jia the title of Shiren and served as deputy military advisor. There are more than a hundred military generals and scribes, and 28,000 sergeants, leaving Dangjun and heading north.
Officials of the Qin State had already discovered the situation and reported to Xianyang early, saying that the Chu State had sent two more armies to attack Qin. They also agreed that whoever entered the pass first would be the king of Guanzhong. At this time, Zhao Gao controlled Chao Gang. He was very dissatisfied with such news and said to the second generation: "There are many people in the world who want to cause trouble. Who doesn't have wild ideas? Even Xiang Liang, the son of Xiang Yan, has died unexpectedly, not to mention the unknown rat Song Yi!" What about Liu Bang? I heard he was a pavilion chief, hahaha!" The second generation asked Song Yi who he was. The official replied: "He is an old counselor under Xiang Liang. Because he said that Xiang Liang was defeated, he was specially appointed by the shepherd boy King Huai of Chu and became a general." After hearing this, the second generation laughed and said: "What a bad old man!" Want to be the King of Guanzhong? Haha! What a toad that wants to eat swan meat!" After saying that, he burst into tears from laughter. Zhao Gao took the opportunity and said: "Now that the armies of Zhang Han and Wang Li have arrived at Julu at the same time, if they destroy Zhao, they will definitely take the credit. If the two of them join forces to plot rebellion, it will be difficult for Your Majesty to control it. You should find a way as soon as possible." Huh?" The Second Emperor asked: "What do you think Aiqing should do?" Zhao Gao said slyly: "Separate the two before they have achieved great achievements to curb their growing power." The Second Emperor asked: "How to separate?" Zhao Gao said confidently: "Wang Li is the commander-in-chief of the Great Wall Army. He has great power. If he is allowed to stay in the army for a long time, the soldiers will die for him, so he should be transferred as soon as possible. Leaving." The Second Emperor asked, "Where will he be transferred?" Zhao Gao said, "Ask him to lead a group of troops to fight against the Chu invaders so that he cannot command the Great Wall Army." The Second Emperor then asked who would command the Great Wall Army. Zhao Gao said: "The Great Wall Army is temporarily in charge of Zhang Han, so the sergeants will definitely not obey him. Even if Zhang Han has any evil thoughts, he is afraid that the sergeants will not listen, so he will not dare to do anything. This is It's a plan to kill two birds with one stone. Please take a closer look, Your Majesty!" The Second Emperor asked again: "What should we do about the war in Hebei?" Zhao Gao said: "Zhao is a small country, and Zhang Han alone is more than enough to deal with them." The Second Emperor listened to Zhao Gao's words and immediately He sent an envoy to Hebei and ordered Wang Li to go south to stop the Chu army.
In the Qin army camp outside Julu City, the soldiers were busy making siege equipment. Wang Li and his generals were also inspecting the battle map in the tent. At this time, someone suddenly came in and reported that an envoy from the imperial court had arrived. Wang Li didn't know what was going on, so he quickly led the crowd to greet him. The envoy walked into the camp, came to the commander's tent, and read out the edict in public:
I heard that the rebellion in Chu Land cannot be stopped for a long time. Why is this? When Xiang Liang died, why did the Chu bandits rise up again and cause trouble? Zhang Han put down the rebellion in Shandong and made great achievements with his hard work. I really can't bear to let him run north and south. General Wang has recently defeated the Zhao army, and his troops are strong, which is gratifying. Thinking that Zhao Xie is also a turtle in the urn, there is nothing to worry about. Zhang Han will definitely be able to capture him. I now order you to hand over the Great Wall Army to Zhang Han, and you will quickly lead a surprise army to attack the Chu invaders south. You must annihilate the westward-moving rebels in Shandong, and you must not let them run rampant across the three rivers and disturb Wei and Han.
Wang Li received the edict and quickly said to the envoy: "Sir, although the Great Wall Army has besieged Julu, there is still Yan State. If we don't annihilate it, we are afraid that the thieves will unite to rescue them. Besides, if I go south, I will bring more people with me." If you don't have enough troops, it will be difficult to conquer the giant deer. If you don't have enough troops, you will be afraid of long-distance attacks, which will make it difficult to win. Moreover, our army is now a good opportunity to attack Zhao and Yan. We must not wait until the rescue forces from various countries arrive before fighting them. If they are defeated, If Zhao and Yan go south again, Qin will be stable again. Please be aware of it, your envoy." The envoy said in a strange voice: "How can the emperor's edict be changed? Does General Wang also want to imitate Lord Wu'an?" After Wang Li heard this, he felt frightened and stopped saying anything. After the envoy left, Su Jiao said to Wang Li: "General, should you submit a memorial to the emperor in person to explain the situation?" She Jian pondered: "No, this will just fall into Zhao Gao's trap! Zhao Gao is the expert in the imperial court. Quan, if the general submits a letter, Zhao Gao will say that you are holding the military power and not letting go, which is giving them leverage." After hearing Shejian's words, Wang Li gave up the idea of asking for instructions.
Wang Li had no choice but to select 30,000 cavalry, with Shejian, Hehuan, Jiang Yun, and Wang Sen as lieutenants, and came to Baimajin. The army crossed the Yellow River and approached Puyang. At this time, military detectives came to report: "Song Yi's rebels in Chu have arrived in Anyang." Wang Li summoned Xin Lu, the acting governor of Dongjun, and asked him to lead his troops to attack Song Yi. Xin Lu was timid and said: "Song Yi leads 200,000 rebels, and I only have 10,000 people. How can I win?" "As soon as I finished speaking, I heard two big men behind me shout loudly: "Master Sheriff, judging from the young general, although there are many rebels, they are just a mob. We only need three thousand cavalry to defeat Song Yi's two hundred thousand rebels! "The people who said this turned out to be two brothers, Zhu Nan and Zhu Bao. They once served as Zhang Han's lieutenants. Because of their bravery in battle, Zhang Han asked them to guard Dongjun. Zhu Nan had a green dragon painted on his chest. His arms were strong and made him powerful. An iron halberd, known as "Zhuan Tianlong"; brother Zhu Bao has a white tiger painted on his chest. He is also a strong man and is good at using spears. He is known as "Sitting Tiger" in the world. At that time, they saw that Xin Lu was timid, so they took the initiative to ask Xin Lu for help. Wang Li asked for help. Wang Li was very happy and praised the two brothers as real warriors. Seeing Wang Li's praise, the two brothers were very excited, so they served as the left and right vanguards in the southern expedition, and immediately raised their troops and marched towards Anyang.
When the news reached Anyang, Song Yi smiled slightly and summoned the generals and said: "Tanma came to report that Wang Li sent Zhu Nan and Zhu Bao as the vanguard to attack Anyang. How do you think we will meet the enemy?" Xiang Yu was very interested after hearing this. He said authentically: "Master Champion, I will chop off their heads first to strengthen the power of the Chu army!" Song Yi said very contemptuously: "These two are unknown rats, how can they send a dignified deputy general there? ?" Xiang Yu asked: "If Lord Champion doesn't send me, who are you going to send?" Song Yi smiled and pretended to be mysterious: "Send your sworn brother Liu Bang!" Xiang Yu laughed and said: "My brother If we want to move westward, how can we let him fight with Wang Li?" Song Yidao: "I heard that Liu Bang has summoned a lot of sergeants in Dang County, and he has already arrived in Chengwu, so why don't we let him make the first contribution?" Xiang Yu said : "Our army went north to rescue Zhao, and my brother entered the Pass to the west. All were ordered by King Huai. How can Lord Champion give orders to my brother?" Song Yi sneered: "I will now order Liu Bang to fight against King Wang in the name of Qingzi Champion." Li, how dare he disobey?" Xiang Yu was very surprised and stopped talking. Song Yi then sent someone to convey an order to Liu Bang, asking him to immediately send his troops north to resist Wang Li. Fan Zeng was shocked and speechless.
As soon as Pei Gong's army arrived in Chengwu County, Song Yi's envoy arrived. At that time, the envoy conveyed the order of Qingzi Champion. Pei Gong was shocked when he heard this and said: "King Huai ordered me to go west, why did General Song ask me to go north again?" The envoy said: "Your Majesty, the champion is the general of the state of Chu. He is in charge of all the troops of the state of Chu. You are just one." General, don't you obey the order?" Pei Gong was shocked. After the envoy left, Pei Gong said: "King Huai ordered me to march westward. Who is Song Yi? How dare you give me orders!" Xiao He dissuaded him and said: "Song Yi issued orders to you in the name of a general. This is reasonable. , if you don't implement it, it will cause discord between the two families and make the princes laugh. Now is the critical moment to destroy Qin, and we should focus on the overall situation." Pei Gong said: "It's not that you will be outside. Are you not accepting the order? ' What's more, Song Yi is just a general?" Xiao He said: "King Huai asked you to enter the pass. There are still many battles ahead, but now you dare not fight with Wang Li. This requires If the people have heard about it, will they still dare to join your army?" Pei Gong suddenly came to his senses and laughed suddenly: "Fight a battle with Wang Li first, so that we can expand the influence of our West Route Army. Haha! What you said That's right!" Xiao He said again: "Wang Li is a famous general in the Qin State and the commander-in-chief of the Northern Great Wall Army. His reputation is a hundred times more prominent than Zhang Han. If you can defeat him in one battle, will the princes still dare to look down on you?" Pei Gong was overjoyed. , decided to have a fight with Wang Li.
Peigong then led his troops towards Chengyang. At this time, Zhu Nan and Zhu Bao had already occupied the city. At that time, the two armies met under the city. Pei Gong rode in a carriage and was escorted by Xia Houying. On the left are Xiao He, Fan Kuai, Zhou Bo and other generals. On the right are Cao Shen, Ji Xin, Guan Ying and other generals. Zhu Nan was riding on a horse and stood in the middle of the camp and shouted loudly: "Rebellious traitors, why don't you get off your horse and surrender!" Pei Gong said angrily: "You have the guts to come over and fight?" Zhu Nan shouted: "Afraid of you? No!" Scattered the men and horses and fought out of the formation. Pei Gong shouted at the formation and asked: "Who is going to kill him?" Cao Shen responded. Zhu Nan also rode his horse and danced his halberd, and came to fight Cao Shen. The drums and horns of both sides sounded in unison, and the two fought for less than ten rounds before Cao Shen split Zhu Nan into two pieces with one strike. Zhu Bao was very angry when he saw his brother being killed in the city. He gritted his teeth and rushed out of the city to avenge his brother. Fan Kuai shouted: "Brother, stand back, I'll take care of this thing!" He had already charged out, heading straight for Zhu Bao. The two also fought in front of the formation for less than ten rounds. Fan Kuai raised and lowered his ax again and chopped off half of Zhu Bao's Tianling Cap, killing him on the spot. There is a poem praising:
The king who created the world is really strong, and he can only wait for a while to subdue the tiger and subdue the dragon.
The beheaded general Jue Chen only looked down, and the fat was shaved off and he returned with meritorious deeds.
When Pei Gong saw the enemy general being killed in the formation, he ordered his sergeants to attack the city. The Qin soldiers fled one after another, and countless people were killed. The Chu army then invaded the city. After the Chu army captured Chengyang, they took all the food, equipment, flags, flags, and horses as their own, and then ordered the army not to disturb the people, and those who disobeyed the order were beheaded. When the people saw that the Chu army never disturbed the people, they all clapped their hands and praised Pei Gong for his benevolence and righteousness, praising the Chu army as a benevolent and righteous army. Seeing this, the children of Chengyang all joined the army enthusiastically. The common people also sent cattle and wine to reward them. Pei Gong followed Xiao He's advice and paid the people a certain amount of money and materials. The people cheered and more and more people joined the army.
