The pass situation of Wuguan is very dangerous. It is true that "one man defends the base, but ten thousand men are stranded". People from the Southern Dynasties wrote "Returning to the Soul" and praised:
He Wuguan is a dangerous pass, but the Han ancestor is a hero.
The mountains are thousands of miles away and you look up at the clouds and rain, and the water is hundreds of miles away and you write a meandering rainbow.
If one man defends a pass, how can thousands of people attack it?
People in the Tang Dynasty also wrote a poem called "Wuguan":
Time comes and goes like a cycle, the clouds are closed and the mountains are locked.
He only taught Qin how to set up dangers, but he didn’t know that heaven and Han were connected.
If you are greedy for life, don't plan for a thousand years, otherwise everything will become a dream.
Fighting for success is like water falling from a rock, and it gurgls from his rise and fall.
Precisely because Wuguan was the throat from Jingchu to Guanzhong, the soldiers of the Chu army were ruthless. They were determined to have a bloody battle with the Qin army here and raze the majestic Wuguan tower to the ground. At this time, the Chu army already numbered 100,000 people. They came to a place not far from the pass and set up camp. Pei Gong arranged his troops and horses in a formation according to the terrain. At this time, the Chu army was full of morale and energy, and its neat and majestic queues had filled all the valleys and highlands in front of the pass. The kicking sound of military horses and the rolling sound of chariots, coupled with the strong wind blowing the fallen trees on the Cangshan Mountain, are like dragons roaring and tigers roaring; red battle flags and jagged weapons are also hidden among the rocks in autumn. , looks like brilliant clouds from a distance.
Pei Gong stood on the chariot and looked around. He looked at the terrain and said to the soldiers: "It's really easy to defend but difficult to attack. It seems that our large army is not needed today." Zifang said: "I wonder if Qin has already More troops? Why don't you start by shouting and demonstrating to panic the Qin army guarding the pass, so that you can find some loopholes in the Qin army." The Duke of Pei obeyed the order of his wife, and ordered Cao Shen, Fan Kuai, Zhou Bo and other generals to separate into their respective teams. The order was conveyed, asking everyone to look at the instructions of the flag and shout together: "Enter Guanzhong! Destroy the Qin State! Kill! Kill! Kill!..." The shouts of thousands of people suddenly shook the mountains and valleys. All the birds and beasts within a hundred miles were frightened and fled in panic.
The sound reached Guan Guan, and when the Qin army guarding the pass saw the Chu army's formation, they were so frightened that they hurriedly reported to Guan Duwei. Zhu Kuai, the captain of the Guan Dynasty of the Qin State, heard that the Chu army was approaching the border, so he came to the pass to inspect. Sure enough, he saw the Chu army crowded in front of the pass. He was so frightened that he hurriedly ordered everyone to guard the gate and immediately reported to Xianyang.
The Chu army challenged him at the pass, but the Qin army did not dare to come out to fight. Pei Gong wanted to attack Wuguan by force. Zifang said: "Now that the Second Emperor is dead, the Huns have invaded the north again, and the Qin State has lost sight of the other. Although they concealed the truth from the soldiers guarding the pass, the news that Zhao Gao killed the Second Emperor will soon come. If the soldiers of the Qin State learn of the death of the Second Emperor, their morale will definitely slacken, and if they launch an attack at that time, the Wuguan Pass will be destroyed without an attack." Xiao He suggested: "You might as well send a wise man first, Nominally we are going to recruit the Qin army, but in fact we are also using this to find out what is true." Li Shiqi then volunteered and said, "If there is any trouble with words, I am willing to go." Pei Gong said with great joy: "Mr. Ningchang, who was sent the day before yesterday, has been here so far. If there is no more news, sir, you must act according to the situation! If the thieves do not surrender, please come back safely." Li Shiqi agreed and said goodbye to Pei Gong, and went to close the door alone.
The general of Qin State was closing the door and arranging defensive equipment. Suddenly he saw someone coming and reported to Captain Guan Du. Zhu Kuai went to the pass and looked around. He saw a man riding a horse coming to the pass. He asked: "Who are you? What are you doing here?" Li Shiqi replied: "I am the envoy of the Chu State. I have something to tell the capital. Mr. Wei is having an interview!" Zhu Kuai said with a smile: "When the two countries are at war, only weapons meet. You quickly ask Liu Bang to come and surrender. It's none of your business!" Li Shiqi said: "General, please open the door and let me in. , I do have something important to discuss with you!" General Yang Wudao: "What's there to talk about with an old man who has been beaten? Just shoot him to death with one arrow!" Zhu Kuai's deputy general Lu Sheng said: "When the two countries are fighting, there is no need to talk about it. This is the rule to kill the envoy. You might as well let him in and listen to what he says. If what he says is wrong, it will not be too late to kill him." Zhu Kuai listened to Lu Sheng's words and asked the sergeant to open and close the door and let Li Shi go. It enters the customs.
Li Shiqi came to the pass and saw Zhu Kuai, and said: "General, the second emperor's stupidity and cruelty aroused the resistance of the people of the world, so the six kingdoms have all been restored. But the second emperor's war in the east is completely different. I don’t know, this is all the result of Zhao Gao’s deception. Now Zhao Gao is afraid that the second son will know the truth and be punished, so he kills the second son frantically and usurps the military and political power. The Qin State is already under Zhao Gao’s control. Under control, do you know these things?" Zhu Kuai and other Qin generals were stunned when they heard this. Li Shiqi continued: "Do you know that Zhao Gao sent an envoy to agree with my Pei Gong to divide Guanzhong equally? He has betrayed you a long time ago. Pei Gong was afraid that you would not know this, so he sent me to tell you. Please consider carefully, generals, should you continue to guard the pass for Zhao Gao? Or leave a way out for yourself? Please answer me." Zhu Kuai heard that the second emperor was dead and did not believe it at all. He laughed and said: " You old thing, you really know how to tell jokes! How could the second emperor die when he was doing well? I think your shepherd boy, King Chu Huai, just died!" After Zhu Kuai finished speaking, he suddenly scolded: "You old man The thing is talking such nonsense, come here! Push him out and chop him up!" Li Shiqi looked up to the sky and laughed, and explained calmly: "Your prime minister killed the second emperor a long time ago, he was just worried You are unwilling to guard the gate for him, so you are not allowed to know the news. If you don’t believe it, just wait, there will definitely be news coming from Xianyang." Zhu Kuai suddenly remembered that Ningchang went to Xianyang, and he knew it in his heart Zhao Gao and Chu Jun did have an affair. After thinking about it, he said: "How the second emperor is doing now is not something we can speculate on. And you, an old guy, came to Guan Guan and talked such nonsense. Aren't you afraid of death? ? I was going to cook you, but because of your age, I asked you to go back and tell Liu Bang to surrender as soon as possible, otherwise you will die without a burial place!" Li Shiqi said: "In this case, please General Zhu agreed on a date for the battle so that I can go back and deliver the order." Zhu Kuai sneered and said, "The decisive battle will be tomorrow." Li Shiqi took his leave and went out.
After Li Shiqi left, Zhu Kuai and the generals began to discuss the affairs of the court, but they didn't know whether what Li Shiqi said was true. At night, someone suddenly came from Xianyang on horseback to report that Zhao Gao had indeed killed the second emperor. When the soldiers heard the news, they were shocked. Some even said with indignation: "Zhao Gao is really a treacherous traitor who deceived his superiors and deceived his subordinates! Now that he has killed the emperor, he must seize power and usurp the throne. Maybe he has become the emperor now. Here We don't have many soldiers and horses, how can we resist Liu Bang's 100,000 troops? Even if we win the battle now, we don't know where we will end up in the future." The soldiers began to talk among themselves.
Why did Li Shiqi tell the truth to Qin Jun? It turned out that this was a strategy, which was to let the Qin army know about Zhao Gao's ambitions and stir up internal strife, so that they could take advantage of it. Li Shiqi came to the Chu camp and told Pei Gong that the Qin army did not know that the second son was dead. The next day, Pei Gong ordered Mei Rui to serve as the vanguard of the attack on Qin. Mei Wei led his troops to Guanxia to challenge, but he challenged for a long time, but Zhu Kuai did not come out. Everyone listened carefully and heard crying after closing the door. Mei Rong sent someone to report to Pei Gong. Zhang Liang analyzed: "This must be because the Qin army guarding the pass knew that the second son was dead. They cried bitterly when they thought that they had no refuge and were in a dilemma. Now they invite Mr. Li to the pass and accuse Zhu Zhu of not going to fight. Kuai, listen to what they say." Li Shiqi came to Guan Guan again. After seeing Zhu Kuai, he said, "We have already agreed on a time for the battle. Why doesn't the general turn on and off for a decisive battle?" Zhu Kuai also said truthfully: "To be honest, sir, news did come from Xianyang yesterday that Zhao Gao was a traitor. Killed the second emperor. This news was too sudden, and the soldiers could not accept it for a while, so they were very sad. Now we don’t know whether Qin can be saved, so how can we still think about fighting?" Li Shiqi said: "Since In this case, the general might as well welcome the Chu army into the pass, and let's avenge the second emperor together!" Zhu Kuai said: "What you said makes sense. Please go back and tell General Liu first and let him extend his grace for a few days, and we can discuss it carefully. Let's wait and see whether we will fight or surrender?" Li Shiqi took his leave and went out.
After Li Shiqi left, Zhu Kuai encouraged the Qin generals and said: "The traitor Zhao Gao colluded with the Chu people to harm the emperor! As Qin generals, we should be loyal to the country. I have already told the situation here I have informed the generals who are guarding various places. On the surface, I am dealing with the Chu people. In fact, I just want to delay Liu Bang. This is just a delaying tactic. If the imperial court sends another reinforcement army, we will switch to a decisive battle and we must repel Chu. Man!" Although Zhu Kuai was impassioned and inspired everyone, the soldiers were still not sure of defeating the Chu army.
Li Shiqi came back and reported the situation in Wuguan to Pei Gong. Zifang said: "Now that the second generation is dead, if the Qin State establishes another virtuous king, it will be difficult for him to enter the pass." Pei Gong asked Xiao He to write a letter to persuade him to surrender immediately, and asked people to shoot arrows at the pass. The letter said:
Chu general Liu Bang informed the entire Qin army: Anyone who surrenders will be spared death, and anyone who resists will be killed after the army enters the pass!
After seeing this, Zhu Kuai was furious and tore up the letter. But some people were very afraid. At night, some people secretly ran to Xiaguan to surrender. Pei Gong gave them food and wine, and comforted them with kind words. The next day Zhu Kuai found out that someone had escaped, so he stood on the gate patrolling the gate day and night. He sighed and shed tears. It turned out that Zhu Kuai saw that their wives, children, and children were all in Guanzhong. If they surrendered to the Chu people, their families might suffer. If they didn't surrender, what would be their future? Zhu Kuai lamented when he thought of this.
Suddenly a cool breeze came, followed by heavy rain. Zhu Kuai walked down the gate tower helplessly and came to the barracks to take shelter from the rain. Unexpectedly, the rain kept falling, and it continued to rain until the next night, and the water on the flat ground was already half a foot deep. General Yang Sheng then suggested to Zhu Kuai: "Now that the autumn rain is pouring, why not intercept the upper reaches of Danshui and build a dam. In a few days, the Chu army will be drinking water for their horses in the valleys. Wait until they have nothing to do. When we were on guard, we suddenly dug up the embankment. Even though Liu Bang had millions of troops, they would all be washed away. If we kill the generals again, those who are not dead will become the ghosts of the sword!" After listening to Yang Sheng's words, Zhu Kuai said, Feeling that this strategy was indeed a good one to turn defeat into victory, he immediately sent him and his sergeants to go upstream to block the dam and dig out all the paths leading to Wuguan.
There were so many soldiers and horses in Chu that it was very difficult to eat and drink in a few days, especially since humans and animals needed water. Pei Gong ordered his soldiers to take their tools to the Danshui River to fetch water for cooking. That night, Zifang and Pei Gong inspected the terrain. They saw that the river ditch was crowded with people and horses. Zifang suddenly woke up and hurriedly called the Qin soldiers to ask: "Is there any river embankment or dam in the pass?" The sergeant said that there was not. But rivers can be intercepted and dams can be enclosed. Zifang was shocked and said to Peigong: "Now that there are continuous autumn rains, the Danshui River will naturally rise. If Zhu Kuai blocks the waterway from the upper reaches, builds a dam, waits for the water to accumulate, and then releases the water to flood it, your one hundred thousand army... ...Hurry up and move the camp to higher ground!" Pei Gong was also shocked and immediately ordered everyone to evacuate the valley.
At this time, Zhu Kuai had learned that the Chu army was fetching water for cooking by the river, and the troops and horses gathered together. He was overjoyed and ordered the sergeants to open a hole in the dike. The water surged down in an instant, and the peak of the flood was like an avalanche, or like a wild horse that had escaped from the reins, rolling down the river with its unruly wildness. However, the Chu army had all moved to a safe area at this time, and the men and horses did not suffer any losses. This is all the credit of Mr. Zifang.
After daybreak, Zhu Kuai sent people to inquire about the situation of the Chu army. He did not find that they were flooded or evacuated. However, he discovered something that made all the Qin army soldiers feel panic. It turned out that the flood had destroyed the city wall on the south side of Wuguan Pass. It collapsed dozens of feet. In this way, if the river water completely recedes, the Chu army can smoothly enter Wuguan without fighting. This flood has really helped the Chu army a lot. While the Qin army was wailing and crying, the Chu army outside the pass was extremely happy. They gathered together and screamed: "Great, God has done us a big favor! Hahaha!" Pei Gong saw the wall of the city pass. Even though his body collapsed, he pointed and danced happily. At the same time, General Qin advised Zhu Kuai, the captain of Guandu, to find a way as soon as possible, otherwise the Chu army would come in when the river water receded. Zhu Kuai was also screaming at the sky and the earth at this time. He was extremely sad and had to say: "Oh God! Why do you help Chu but not Qin?" After a while, Zhu Kuai said again: "There is only one way that can be done now!" Everyone asked what it was. . Zhu Kuai said: "Our army can only dig the river channel again and lead the Danshui to the pass wall. When the Chu army attacks, we will release water to flood them. Even if they are not drowned, they will not be able to enter Wuguan even half a step." After the generals heard Zhu Kuai's plan, everyone acted accordingly.
At dusk that day, before the river had completely receded, the Chu army's soldiers had already launched an attack. But when they reached the river, they saw that although the water receded, they could not cross the river at all. Zifang climbed to the high ground to watch the night sky, and suddenly found a big star shining brightly in the crape myrtle wall, but it was always erratic. Zifang was shocked and hurriedly came to Pei Gong and said: "There is a wise king in Qin who succeeded to the throne. Fortunately, the flood destroyed Guancheng. Otherwise, when the wise king succeeded, he would have sent troops to reinforce him. Then it would not be easy to enter the pass again." Ah!" Everyone was shocked after hearing what Zifang said. Xiao He said: "When Mingjun succeeds to the throne, he will definitely be incompatible with Zhao Gao. If the new king kills Zhao Gao and then sends a large army to reinforce us, we will be in trouble when entering the pass." Zifang said: "Even so, I think There are no stars surrounding the Emperor Star. It means that the wise king who ascended the throne cannot get the help of his ministers. That is to say, although he has great ambitions, he can't do it alone. Now please ask Pei Gong to quickly send troops to capture Wuguan." Pei Gong sent Mei Rong led his army and horses to the river again.
