In the winter of the first year of the Han Dynasty (206 BC), Xiang Yu's army finally entered the state of Qi and fought with the Qi army commanded by Tian Rong in Chengyang (now the north of Fuchun, Juancheng County, Heze, Shandong). After all, Xiang Yu's Chu army lived up to its reputation, killing the Qi army and fleeing in embarrassment. Tian Rong escaped under the protection of his confidants, but was unexpectedly killed by people from the county in Pingyuan (now southwest of Pingyuan County, Shandong).
Without its leader, Qi became a piece of dough that could be kneaded as much as it wanted. Xiang Yu was also very angry and did what he had done to Qin again: he burned the Qi King's palace to the ground, buried all the Qi soldiers who surrendered alive, and captured a large number of young, old, and women as slaves. The Chu army marched non-stop, fighting all the way from Chengyang to Beihai (today's area east of Zibo and west of Ye County, Shandong). Almost everything they passed was reduced to ruins. People are forced out. Xiang Yu's cruelty finally made the people of Qi share the same hatred and turned from submission to resistance. Tian Rong died, but his brother Tian Heng was still there. Taking advantage of the anger and fear of the people of Qi, Tian Heng gathered more than 10,000 troops and reoccupied Chengyang. Xiang Yu, who originally planned to fight quickly, was tripped up by Tian Heng because of his strategic stupidity. At this time, the Chu army, which had been fighting continuously, was beginning to be tired and homesick, but the Qi army became brave and tenacious, inspired by the enthusiasm to defend the country. Under this situation, the Chu army and the Qi army fought several battles, but they still failed to recapture Chengyang. At this point, Xiang Yu began to be unlucky.
During the struggle between Xiang Yu and the Qi people, Zhang Liang, who changed Xiang Yu's battle plan with just one letter, had fled to Liu Bang and officially became Liu Bang's minister.
In order to cause further trouble for Xiang Yu and to fulfill Zhang Liang's feelings for the King of Korea, Liu Bang specially chose Ji Xin, a descendant of the Korean aristocracy, and promised to make him king and order him to seize Korea. The descendant of the Korean nobles chosen by Liu Bang was the son of Jicang's concubine, the nineteenth generation king of Korea during the Warring States Period, King Han Xiang, and the grandson of King Han Xiang.
The king of Korea is from the royal family of the Western Zhou Dynasty with the surname Ji, and is also surnamed Ji. But according to the custom at that time, the princes were not given surnames. For example, the first emperor of Qin, Ying Zheng, was originally named Ying, but in the history books, he was called Qin Wangzheng or Zhao Zheng (because Ying Zheng was born in the State of Zhao). Another example is Ji Bao, who is also a descendant of the Western Zhou royal family, but is not called Ji Bao but Wei Bao in the history books. Similarly, the descendant of the Korean aristocrat chosen by Liu Bang should be named Ji Xin, but in the history books it is called Han Xin. Now, trouble came: at that time, Liu Bang had two Han Xins under his command, one was the general Han Xin from Huaiyin, and the other was the Korean noble Han Xin.
Ji Xin led his army to Korea, and the new Korean king Zheng Chang could not help but attack, but Xiang Yu was trapped in Chengyang and could not support him. Therefore, Zheng Chang quickly surrendered under Ji Xin's attack. Liu Bang fulfilled the agreement and immediately made Ji Xin the King of Han. From then on, in order to distinguish him from Huaiyin Han Xin, history books called him Han Wangxin.
Xiang Yu's misstep not only lost a South Korea, but also gave his arch-rival Liu Bang a treasure - Chen Ping.
It turned out that when the Han army came out of Chencang to surround the waste hill, Liu Bang took his troops and horses to the east, not far from the state of Yin. Sima Yan, the king of Yin, surrendered to the Han Dynasty before Liu Bang could kill him. Xiang Yu hurriedly worshiped the handsome man Chen Ping as Lord Wu Xin and asked him to lead people to quell the rebellion. Chen Ping was really good at it. He led his men and horses to the Yin State. After just three or two blows, Sima Xun (ánɡ) unequivocally surrendered to Chu. This victory was so important to Xiang Yu, it was like putting out a fire. Xiang Yu, who was overjoyed, immediately made Chen Ping a captain and gave him four hundred taels of gold.
Unexpectedly, Chen Ping's nourishing life did not last more than a few days.
At that time, Liu Bang saw Xiang Yu staring at Tian Heng in Chengyang, so he took the opportunity to slip out and went straight to the Yin State. This King of Yin, Sima Yan, was really amazing. He was like a boneless man, and he immediately demoted to the Han Dynasty again. Sima Xuan's rebellion again made Xiang Yu furious. Xiang Yu blamed Chen Ping for Sima Xuan's rebellion. In his opinion, if Chen Ping killed Sima Xian and killed Yin Guo's soldiers like him, how could Liu Bang get such a big advantage? Seeing that the situation was collapsing and he couldn't escape, Xiang Yu, who was already irritable, went a little crazy and spread the word that he wanted to kill Chen Ping to vent his anger. How could Chen Ping, who was full of bad intentions, give Xiang Yu this opportunity? He immediately put up a seal and sealed the gold, saying that he would sever ties with Xiang Yuen and go to Liu Bang alone with his sword.
At that time, transportation was inconvenient, and Chen Ping wanted to join Liu Bang. There were mountains and rivers in the middle, and he suffered a lot. Especially when crossing a river, the boatman looked at Chen Ping's dress and guessed that he was a fugitive general and believed that he had gold and silver jewelry wrapped around his waist. Those were troubled times. Several boatmen crossing Chen Ping pursed their lips and made glances at each other, and they all understood that they would kill Chen Ping as soon as the boat reached the center of the river. Chen Ping was a clever guy and could tell on the spot that something was not going well. If an ordinary person sees that the situation is not good, he will probably ask for mercy. This is absolutely wrong. Thieves are most afraid of being recognized as thieves, and there is no guarantee that they will not be killed and silenced. Even if you know how to swim and jump off a boat, no matter how good your water skills are, how can it be better than these people who use boats all year round? At this juncture, one cannot help but admire Chen Ping's quick wit. Chen Ping didn't panic, took off his shirt with a smile, and ran up to help the boatmen row the boat. The boatmen glanced at each other and saw that Chen Ping's waist was empty and the clothes thrown on the boat were fluttering. He didn't carry a huge sum of money and it was not worth carrying a life. They immediately canceled the operation and sent Chen Ping across the river smoothly.
Along the way, Chen Ping stayed overnight in Xiuwu (now Xiuwu County, Henan Province). Through the introduction of the Han general Wei Wuwu, Chen Ping was summoned by Liu Bang together with six other talents who came to Liu Bang.
Xiao He once said that Liu Bang was arrogant and looked down upon others. At this time, Liu Bang's old habit recurred again. Generally speaking, when a monarch encounters someone coming to seek refuge, he should test the talents and learning of the person and make use of them accordingly. Liu Bang did well and led seven people to a meal. After eating and drinking, Liu Bang wiped his mouth: "Okay, after eating, let's go down and rest!" The other six people retreated reluctantly. When Chen Ping saw it, he thought to himself: This is going to happen! I met the King of Han today, but I don’t know when I can see him again next time. So what am I doing during these days? He immediately said to Liu Bang: "Your Majesty, please wait. I have something important to come to see Your Majesty. I must tell you today, otherwise it will be too late." Liu Bang was curious for a while and stayed to listen to Chen Ping's detailed explanation of the general situation of the world.
After hearing this, Liu Bang was overjoyed. Knowing that he had met a talented person again today, he immediately asked: "What official position do you have at Xiang Yu?"
Chen Ping replied: "Xiang Yu made me a captain."
Liu Bang immediately agreed: "Okay, I will also make you a captain! You do it first, and you will be rewarded after you have made meritorious service!"
Captain is the military position second only to general. Before Chen Ping could make meritorious service, Liu Bang rewarded Chen Ping with such a relatively high position, and also let him serve as a military officer, guard, and guard by his side, so that he could ask for advice at any time. , and is also responsible for regulating the relationship between generals and supervising them.
After Liu Bang's appointment, the generals were unhappy and talked one after another: "Your Majesty just got a deserter from Chu State, and you don't know the level of his skills yet, so he rode in the same carriage with him and asked him to supervise us veteran generals. This is What are you talking about!" Liu Bang was still stubborn, but after hearing the comments from his subordinates, he trusted Chen Ping even more. He is not afraid of conflicts between his subordinates and Chen Ping. The more conflicts there are, the less Chen Pingcai will protect these generals. The way of a king lies in checks and balances. He must never let his ministers become a piece of iron. Liu Bang naturally knew this well.
Liu Bang got Chen Ping, and Xiao He, Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, Cao Shen, Li Shiqi, Lu Jia, etc. made suggestions and lobbying, and Han Xin, Zhang Er, Lu Wan, Fan Kuai, Zhou Bo, etc. led the battle, charged into the battle, and controlled Bashu, Hanzhong, Qinchuan and Henan in addition to Yong Dynasty were followed by South Korea and the Western Wei Dynasty. The states of Qi, Zhao and Dai restrained the Chu state, and the situation was excellent.
Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu who made many mistakes, gave Liu Bang talents and allies who could assist the emperor one after another.
It is the nature of living things to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Although Mr. Meng Ke had long shouted the slogan of "sacrifice one's life for righteousness", Liu Bang, who had always looked down on Confucian scholars, obviously had his own opinions.
It was in March of the second year of King Han (205 BC). Xiang Yu could not attack Chengyang for a long time and was dragged back to Qi by Tian Heng. Liu Bang, the king of Han, wandered around Henan for a few times and found that Xiang Yu had no intention of paying attention to him. He immediately ordered his troops and went straight to Pengcheng in an attempt to destroy Xiang Yu's lair.
This time, Liu Bang led a large number of troops. He gathered troops from Bashu, Hanzhong, Sai, Yong, Zhai, Yin, Han, Henan, Western Wei and other places, and gathered together an army of 560,000. He took Zhang Er, Shen Yang, Zheng Chang, Ji Bao, and Sima Yan attacked Pengcheng fiercely.
On the way, Liu Bang also learned a good thing: Emperor Yi Xiong Xin was killed by Xiang Yu. This is a perfect excuse to encourage people all over the world to turn against Xiang Yu! Liu Bang was extremely happy in his heart, but on the surface he was heartbroken and cried loudly. He held a grand funeral for Emperor Yi that lasted for three days to show the world his kindness and righteousness, and at the same time highlight Xiang Yu's ruthlessness. Liu Bang also issued a declaration of protest: "After the destruction of Qin, the princes of the world unanimously approved the establishment of the Righteous Emperor and served him with the courtesy of a minister. However, Xiang actually did not abide by the courtesy of a minister. He not only exiled the Righteous Emperor, but also Xiang actually did not abide by the etiquette of a human being. He not only exiled the Righteous Emperor, but also killed the Righteous Emperor in the south of the Yangtze River. What a treasonous beast. Today, the widow and the princes are all dressed in plain clothes to mourn for the Righteous Emperor. I swear to lead the princes. Let’s fight against the murderer together and avenge the Righteous Emperor!”
Liu Bang's words were beautiful, but in fact he was still looking for an excuse to attack Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu started too early. If it takes a few years, Xiong Xin will die in the hands of Xiang Yu or Liu Bang.
But Liu Bang will definitely let Xiong Xin die in euthanasia because he wants a good reputation.
