Xiang Liang had long thought that great things were just around the corner, but Zhang Han did not despair.
In Puyang City, Zhang Han set out to do two things:
First, Zhang Han ordered the river embankment to be dug and the river water to be directed into the moat outside Puyang City, causing the water level of the moat to immediately rise, the river surface to widen immediately, and the water flow to flow rapidly and rapidly. As a result, Xiang Liang, who was well prepared, had to postpone his attack. He needed to urgently manufacture corresponding siege equipment.
After delaying the attack of Xiang Liang's army, Zhang Han issued an urgent order, requiring all Qin armies that could arrive in time to gather in Puyang immediately.
The city is high and the river is deep, and a steady stream of Qin troops are coming. Xiang Liang saw that the duck that was about to be obtained was flapping its wings and was about to fly, but he could only look at the city and sigh, saying that there was nothing he could do.
As the balance of military power waxed and waned, Xiang Liang felt a little stretched. However, he didn't pay too much attention. Looking around, there are brothers everywhere in the world. If you are not strong enough, you can ask your friends to help!
One call and a hundred responses! Unfortunately, is the reality really what he imagined?
Behind him was Qi Guo Tian Rong, whose life he had saved. It was time to return the favor, right? Although the State of Zhao has no friendship with the State of Chu, but out of consideration, it should not be a bystander!
Just before chasing the Qin army, Xiang Liang had already written a letter excitedly and asked his men to quickly send it to King Zhao and Tian Rong of Qi.
The messenger set off. Xiang Liang looked at Puyang City in the distance, expecting that Zhang Han had already spread his wings and could not escape.
Xiang Liang's abacus was very good, but will things really develop as he wants?
It's a pity that he just wants to save face and suffer the consequences.
Full of hope, Xiang Liang sent a request to Tian Rong and Zhao Guo to send troops for assistance. However, Tian Rong is different from his brother Tian Dan.
After Xiang Liang sent troops to rescue Tian Rong, Tian Rong did not follow Xiang Liang to chase Zhang Han, but hurried back to his hometown to put out the fire. Although Zhang Han's defeat was miserable, Tian Rong, with his few remaining troops and the defeated general, used his remaining power in Qi to actually beat Qi Wang Tian away. Tian Jia fled to King Huai of Chu for refuge, while Prime Minister Tian Jiao and Tian Jian hid in Zhao. Tian Rong was loyal enough to his deceased eldest brother that he did not take the opportunity to stand on his own. Instead, he promoted his eldest brother's son Tian Shi to the throne of King Qi and served as the prime minister to assist his nephew. At this time, the third son Tian Heng emerged from the water and was appointed as a general, in charge of all the armies of Qi.
But at this moment, Xiang Liang's letter for help came. If Tian Dan was still there, he might be in a hurry to send troops, but Tian Rong was not. After reading Xiang Liang's handwritten letter, Tian Rong replied with a letter. The letter said:
Mr. Wu Xin, I am deeply grateful to you for helping our Qi country through the crisis. You led the army to fight Zhang Han alone, which makes me admire you very much. I am very willing to send troops to help you eliminate Zhang Han. However, before I send troops, I hope you can agree to a small request. A few days ago, several rebellious officials and traitors appeared in Qi State, namely Tianjia, Tianjiao and Tianjian. They established themselves as kings and deceived the people. When I led the army to suppress the rebellion, Tian Jia fled to Chu State, and Tian Jiao and Tian Jian fled to Zhao State. For the sake of the stability and unity of our Qi country and the harmony of our three countries of Qi, Chu and Zhao, please and King Zhao kill these three rebels. As soon as I see the heads of these three people, Qi State will immediately send troops to support!
After Xiang Liang received the letter, he was furious and almost got angry. He secretly sighed at who he was dealing with. He thought about the conditions he didn't mention when he rescued people, but today the other party actually came to negotiate terms with him!
Do you deserve it? It's a pity that the current situation decided that he was worthy!
The Xiang family has a tradition: to save face at all costs and suffer hardship at all times. Xiang Liang is such a person. Tian Jia took refuge in the Chu State. He was a valuable but dispensable chess piece. He would be killed if he killed him. But Xiang Liang didn't think so. Xiang Liang believed that if Tianjia had no choice but to defect to Chu, he was looking down on himself. If Tian Rong, who has neither too many nor too few reinforcements, kills the people who come to seek refuge with him, how will the people in the world think of Xiang Liang? Who is willing to surrender to him? So Xiang Liang replied flatly: Tianjia was once the king of Qi after all, and Qi and Chu have always been friendly. Now that he has come to me in desperation, I won't have the heart to kill him! These words were said by Xiang Liang in "Historical Records" and by Xiong Xin in "Hanshu". No matter who said it, Xiang Liang meant it.
Xiang Liang refused to kill Tianjia, and Zhao Guo also refused to kill Tianjiao and Tianjian. Anyway, if Tianjia is not dead, Qi will not send troops. There is no point in killing Tianjiao and Tianjian, and Zhao will risk being criticized by the people in the world.
Tian Rong did what he said. He really would not send troops until the heads of Tian Jia and the other three people were seen. Xiang Liang was anxious and sent envoys over and over again to urge him. Tian Rong ignored it. The Chu State messenger was like a ball, being kicked back and forth between Qi and Chu, until Zhang Han was almost impatient with waiting, and Xiang Liang did not get the result he wanted. Really desperate, Tian Rong finally replied: If a person is bitten by a venomous snake, the hand should be cut off if it is bitten, and the foot should be cut off if it is bitten. why? Because if it is not cut off, it will die. Tianjia, Tianjiao, and Tianjian are of no use to Chu and Zhao. They have no sibling relationship at all. Why don't you want to kill them? Anyway, if you don't kill the three of them, I won't send troops. When the Qin State recovers, I won't be able to run away, and you will die too!
Tian Rong's words were very strong, and there was a hint of a threat. Xiang Liang has never encountered such a thing since he started his army! This time he was really angry. Unexpectedly, Tian Rong dared to threaten him. He really didn't expect Tian Rong's rabble! After he finishes taking care of Zhang Han, Tian Rong will be taken care of next!
Without foreign aid, Xiang Liang, furious, decided to take charge alone. He first ordered Liu Bang and Xiang Yu to attack Chengyang (southeast of today's Juancheng County, Shandong), and then attack Dingtao (now northwest of Dingtao, Shandong) to prevent other Qin armies from responding to Puyang. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu easily captured Chengyang and slaughtered the entire city. However, when the army approached Dingtao, Liu Xiang's army was frustrated and turned to attack Yongqiu (now Qixian County, Henan). Here, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu encountered a Qin army led by Li You. Li Zi had a great background. He was the eldest son of Li Si, the Prime Minister of the Qin Dynasty, a good friend of Prince Fusu, and a student of Meng Tian. From here we can see the depth of Li Sicheng. Li Si studied under Xunzi and was a descendant of Legalism. It was because of his suggestion that Qin Shihuang ordered the burning of books and the entrapment of Confucian scholars. Prince Fusu was ideologically inclined to Confucianism. He once remonstrated with the "burning of books and entrapment of Confucians" incident, which made Qin Shihuang furious. As for Meng Tian, he is also a person Li Si has always been afraid of. When Zhao Gao persuaded Li Si to agree to the imperial edict and support Hu Hai, he used the excuse that "Once Fusu succeeds to the throne, Meng Tian may replace Li Si as prime minister." But Li Si actually let his son associate with Fusu and worship Mengtian as his teacher. Fusu and Mengtian were killed one after another, but Li You was not implicated because of his father's relationship, and instead led the troops outside. At that time, Chen Sheng ordered Wu Guang to attack Xingyang but could not do so for a long time because this young master Li You was in command in Xingyang.
Now, Li You led his army to Yongqiu, and encountered Liu Bang and Xiang Yu leading an army of 100,000. Liu Xiang's army was well fed and had high morale. Seeing that the enemy's army was strong, Li You hurriedly sent people to ask for help from Zhang Han and organized soldiers and civilians to defend. Although this man was born into the family of the current Prime Minister, and was well-dressed and well-fed, he was still a good man. He took the lead on the battlefield and defended with all his might. The two sides fought fiercely until noon on the fourth day. Li You was hit by an arrow in his left arm and was bleeding profusely. The young master did not flinch, pulled out the arrow, bandaged the wound, and continued to direct the battle. In the afternoon of the battle, the city of Yongqiu was broken. Li You led the Qin army to engage in street fighting with Liu Xiang's army. They fought until there were only a dozen personal guards left, but they still fought hard and refused to retreat until they died on the battlefield. After Li You died, he still held the spear in his hand and stared angrily. Some of Liu Xiang's army couldn't help but shed tears of admiration when they saw this scene. Xiang Yu always admired heroes, so he immediately ordered Li You's body to be sent back to his hometown in Cai for burial.
After Liu Bang and Xiang Yu achieved great results, Xiang Liang led the army to Dingtao. Xiang Liang was very satisfied with Liu Bang and Xiang Yu's achievements. "Even your Prime Minister Li Si's eldest son Li You died in the hands of my nephew, and the Qin army is nothing more than that!" Xiang Liang thought with pride. Including Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, other heroes faced the Qin army's counterattacks and suffered repeated defeats. Only he, Xiang Liang, not only killed Zhang Han until he was hiding in Puyang, but also killed Li You, the son of Prime Minister Li Si and who was trying to protect Xingyang! Just ask the world, who is the opponent?
Xiang Liang's arrogance was noticed by Song Yi. Song Yi is not a simple figure. He was originally the Ling Yin of the Chu State, that is, the prime minister. After the Chu State was destroyed by Qin, Song Yi lived in seclusion in the Chu land. In Xiang Liang, he appointed Xiong Xin as his queen and came out to assist him. At this time, he was under Xiang Liang's tent. Xiang Liang was dazzled by several victories, but Song Yi clearly realized that a few victories were not enough to bring the Qin Dynasty to a standstill, and Zhang Han was by no means in vain. He said to Xiang Liang worriedly: "General, when leading troops to fight, what you are most afraid of is that victory will make the generals proud and the soldiers lazy. Now I find that the soldiers are already a little lazy, and the Qin army is getting stronger and stronger. In this case, I have to worry about the general!" Song Yi did not dare to directly point out that Xiang Liang was arrogant and went around in circles. But Xiang Liang is not stupid, how could he not tell that Song Yi was talking about him? Xiang Liang felt very unhappy, but Song Yi was senior after all, so it was hard to do anything to him. So, Xiang Liang said with a gloomy face: "You are right to remind me, and it is timely. Your criticism is a good criticism. I will deal with those lazy soldiers when I get back. I have fully considered your opinion and feel that we alone and Qin The army is fighting and the losses are too great, so I want you to go to Qi in person and try to persuade Tian Rong. When he figures it out, you can come immediately with reinforcements and join me to fight Zhang Han!"
Xiang Liang didn't accept his opinions humbly. He clearly found Song Yi annoying and simply drove him to Qi. Song Yi was so angry that he had nothing to say, so he said "Promise", turned around and left. Looking at Song Yi's aggrieved back, Xiang Liang was so happy that he opened his mouth and laughed.
However, Song Yi walked out of the tent and thought for a while, but became happy, packed his luggage, took his entourage, and set off happily. On the way to Qi State, Song Yi met Qi State envoy Gao Lingjun. Song Yi stopped the car and asked, "Isn't this Lord Gaoling? Are you going to see Lord Wu Xin?"
Lord Gaoling greeted him respectfully and said, "Yes. Our king ordered me to see Lord Wu Xin." After saying that, he hurriedly continued on his way.
Song Yi quickly grabbed Gao Lingjun and said: "You walk slowly. I predict that Lord Wu Xin will be defeated. If you walk slowly, you can still survive. If you walk faster, I'm afraid you will be in time for this murder." Disaster!"
Gao Lingjun was surprised: How could Song Yi be so sure? After thinking about it, I realized that it was better to be careful. It wasn't anything urgent anyway, so I moved forward step by step.
Song Yi didn't have a deep friendship with Gao Lingjun, so pulling Gao Lingjun to say this was somewhat of a pity and a joke. His words saved Gao Lingjun's life, but they also cost him his own life.
What a pity!
