The confrontation between Qin and Wei can be said to be full of drama.
At the beginning of the war, General Lu Bu of Qin State made a surprise attack on Hangu Pass, and then captured Luoyang. His troops were directed at Hulao Pass. On the other hand, Prince Dong Shang of Qin State sent troops from Wancheng to attack Xuchang. Faced with siege from three sides, Wei State almost completely lost the land south of the Yellow River.
However, Xu Han's betrayal of the alliance changed things for the better. Without the pressure from the Chu and Han armies in the south, Wei put its main force into the western battlefield and pushed the front back.
During the stalemate between the two sides, Dong Shang sent 20,000 troops south to attack Xinye City, which was attacking Chu State, with the intention of establishing an iron triangle consisting of Wancheng, Shangyong, and Xinye. However, the general of the Qin army who led the army seemed to have made a mistake of advancing too aggressively. After capturing Xinye, he was severely damaged by the Chu navy on the river. When the defeated army fled back to Wancheng, Cao Cao seized the opportunity and broke open the gate of Wancheng in one fell swoop.
In this battle, the Qin army was defeated thousands of miles away. Not only did Wancheng fall, but the nearby Wuguan also failed to gain a firm foothold. They retreated as far as Tongguan to stop Cao Cao. Lu Bu was implicated in this, and in order to prevent his retreat from being cut off, he could only abandon Luoyang and retreat to Hangu Pass. They echoed each other from afar and became horns with each other, forcing Cao Cao to suspend the offensive.
Just when everyone thought that the Qin State was in decline, a shocking news broke. Dong Shang, who was supposed to be defeated in Wancheng, led an army of 30,000 to invade the territory of Lu. Lu's general Yang Song opened the gate of Yangping Pass, and guard Yang Bai was captured by the Qin army.
After that, Dong Shang led an army of 30,000 people to march through the starry night and raided Hanzhong, which had not yet received news. Zhang Lu was killed in a huge melee, and nearly half of the 40,000 Hanzhong defenders surrendered.
The only fly in the ointment was that when Dong Shang asked someone to take Zhang Lu's seal to take over Jianguan at the border with Shu, guard Yang Ren had already surrendered to Shu. Under Fazheng's design, the Qin army general Li Meng was ambushed and killed. Only 4,000 of the 15,000 Qin troops sent to take over Jianguan escaped.
After closing the battle report, Sun Ce let out a long sigh of relief.
If the Qin army had accepted Yang Ren's 20,000 troops, they could have continued to attack Shu. But at this moment, Yang Ren's 20,000 defenders surrendered to Shu, and with 20,000 Shu troops stationed in Jianguan, Dong Shang's momentum of advance could only stop here. He needed time to reorganize his Qin army.
Although the situation is bad, it is not at its worst.
"Fa Zheng!"
This person served as Taichang Ling in the Shu Kingdom and also served as military advisor and minister of wine. Although Liu Zhang conferred several marquises, his status in the Shu Kingdom was no less than that of Ji Shu and Zhou Yu. Such an important minister suddenly appeared at Jianguan after leaving the court, which only shows that he had already understood the Qin Dynasty. The target is Hanzhong County.
Sun Ce tapped his index finger on the table, secretly remembering the name.
"What, are you upset?"
Xu Sheng and others had already left, and no one knew how much time had passed before Zhou Yu and Ji Shu came to the room and sat on either side of Sun Ce. Sun Ce had already read the battle report in his hand many times. It was Ji Shu who spoke at this time.
Sun Ce nodded.
"I regret not listening to what you two said."
The annexation of Shuchuan can be said to be the most important step in the three people's plan to unify the world. With the thousands of miles of fertile land in Shuchuan River, Chu State will no longer have to worry about food and grass. In addition, Shu State has been self-proclaimed in recent years and has not participated in the wars between princes. Its population is the highest among the states. In other words, it has abundant military resources and can greatly expand Chu State. National military strength.
If it can swallow the land of Sichuan, the Chu State will actually have half of the world. Even if Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo join forces, what do they have to fear? But now that Hanzhong fell into Dong Zhuo's hands, Yizhou was no longer in Sun Ce's pocket.
Everyone thought that Dong Zhuo could not break Yangping Pass with only powerful cavalry. Now that Yangping Pass has been broken, who can guarantee that the Qin army cannot break through Jian Pass?
How can this not make Sun Ce feel uneasy?
"Bo Fu, let's go to the banquet first."
Zhou Yu walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"I let everyone drink first. After a big battle, it's time to drink the victorious wine! But you have to show up. If you don't drink, this feast will lack some flavor."
Yes, now is not the time to be sullen. Revenge is avenged, and you can sleep well at night. As a monarch, you should take heart.
Patting his face with his hand, Sun Ce's eyes became sharp again and he said with a smile.
"Let's go! Gongjin, Ziyuan, forget your worries tonight and celebrate our victory!"
······
Three days later, the Chu army had already completely controlled Xiapi City, the surrendered troops were reorganized into the Chu army's establishment, and martial law was lifted.
Notices on the city gate began to promulgate the new laws of the Chu State. How much land, servants, and tenant farmers the Xuzhou family owned, and what industrial interests they wanted to exchange, needed to negotiate with the government on their own.
People were talking a lot, and the whole city became busy again.
Today is something special.
It was extremely noisy outside Liu Bei's Han Palace, and in Liu Bei's meeting hall, Sun Ce was sitting in the middle of the hall, with Zhou Yu, Pang Tong, Ji Shu, and Gan Ning sitting on both sides.
Liu Bei was escorted down the hall by two soldiers. The soldiers were about to kneel down Liu Bei when they heard Sun Ce say.
"Untie him and give him a seat."
The two soldiers looked at each other, one untied Liu Bei, the other went to get the cushion, and then moved the small table in front of Liu Bei.
"Thank you very much"
At this point, Liu Bei was very personable and calm. He thanked Sun Ce and knelt down.
The meeting hall was quiet for a long time before Sun Ce suddenly said.
"Liu Shijun, we haven't seen each other for six or seven years."
Liu Bei chuckled and sighed.
"Yes, when I was the commander of Pingyuan, I went to Luoyang with General Gongsun. Your Majesty was still a young general at that time, following Sunhou, and he was very heroic. The eighteen princes fought against the traitor Dong Zhuo! Never thought that I would be here today I became a prisoner of the king."
Sun Ce looked at Liu Bei coldly and hummed.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
Hahaha~~~
Liu Bei laughed wildly several times and looked directly into Sun Ce's eyes without fear.
"I betrayed the covenant and attacked the king secretly. Only 10,000 of the Chu State's 100,000 elite soldiers were left and fled back to Jiangdong. The king did not care about the whole country's troops to attack me. Zhang Ren almost captured Jingzhou. Can the king tolerate me?"
Obviously, Liu Bei knew in his heart that no matter how much he begged for mercy, he would never survive.
Sun Ce nodded and gritted his teeth.
"That's right! How can I satisfy the hatred in my heart without killing you?"
"Big-eared thief, big-eared thief. You did a good job of acting benevolent and righteous. I originally wanted to decapitate you and use your head to pay tribute to my soldiers who died unjustly. What a shame, the people of Xiapi are petitioning for me outside the house every day. Spare your life, what do you think I should do to you?"
Liu Bei patted his clothes gently, adjusted his clothes, and said.
"Then the king wants to kill me even more. But the change from beheading to poisoning is to save my face. Are you ready for the poisonous wine?"
As he spoke, Liu Bei looked around at the soldiers around him, as if he was looking forward to the taste of the poisonous wine.
Sun Ce's expression was very complicated, with a hint of appreciation mixed with hatred. He waved his hand, and there was already another soldier outside the door bringing the prepared poisonous wine to Liu Bei's table.
"What else do you want to say?"
This time, Liu Bei was silent for a while before speaking.
"What can I say if I become a king or lose a bandit? When I became sworn friends with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, I once said that I do not wish to be born in the same year, the same month and the same day, but I wish to die in the same year, the same month and the same day. Now that my third brother is dead, please bury me in the same place. Be a companion by your side.”
After his death, most of the civil servants and generals will surrender to Sun Ce, so Liu Bei has nothing to worry about. He now knew that Liu Chan had been taken out of Xiapi by Guan Yu, and his future fortune and misfortunes all depended on fate, so he had nothing to worry about.
Lifting up the poisonous wine, Liu Bei drank it all.
“Good wine!”
After drinking a glass of wine, as soon as a smile appeared on Liu Bei's face, he began to convulse as if his liver had been broken. He vomited out a mouthful of blood, and Liu Bei fell on the table.
Zhou Yu suddenly spoke in praise.
"When death is imminent, he shows his true colors as a hero."
Sun Ce's expression was complicated. His hatred finally came to an end, so he became more sober, more sober than ever before.
"I made a bad move."
Sun Ce murmured softly, then looked up at the soldier and said.
"Take them down and give the bodies of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei a rich burial."
The news spread quickly, and a generation of heroes died. Amidst the cries, the Xu Han regime, which claimed to inherit the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty, came to an end.
