On the other side, Han Xin acted alone and first solved and beheaded Yong Wang Zhang Han, who had been besieged for ten months. Later, Han Xin marched eastward and directly attacked Ji Bao, the king of the Western Wei Dynasty who surrendered and rebelled again.
After receiving information about Han Xin's army, Ji Bao, the king of the Western Wei Dynasty, deployed heavy troops in Puban (today's Yongji, Shanxi) to blockade Heguan (the Yellow River ferry was adjacent to Jinguan, later renamed Pujinguan). Facing Xiongguan, which relied on the natural dangers of the Yellow River to become easy to defend and difficult to attack, Han Xin certainly would not be stupid enough to take it. He displayed ships on the other side of the river pass to create the illusion that he was going to cross the river and attack by force. However, he secretly sent troops to grab wooden basins and barrels from Xia Yang (today's Hancheng, Shaanxi Province) to cross the river and sneak attack the capital of the Western Wei Dynasty, Anyi (today's northwest of Xia County, Shanxi Province). Empire). Ji Bao led troops to fight back, but was unable to save his life. He was captured by Han Xin and later killed in Xingyang.
Han Xin won the first battle, which greatly boosted the morale of the Han army. The next target of Han Xin's army was the two kingdoms of Dai and Zhao, which had separated Han and were close to Chu. The land of Yanzhao has many generous and tragic people since ancient times. The soldiers are brave and good at fighting. They are good at riding and shooting. They are a hard nut to crack. Zhang Er heard that Han Xin was going to attack Zhao, and he was eager for revenge, so he took the initiative to ask for a military expedition. Considering Zhang Er's great influence in Zhao State, Liu Bang immediately agreed. When he had to face the strong pressure from Chu Overlord Xiang Yu, he resolutely sent 30,000 troops to Zhang Er and ordered Zhang Er to assist Han Xin in attacking Zhao. Liu Bang had spent all his money and spent a lot of money. In front of Han Xin was a road that could only succeed but not fail.
In the leap month of the second year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), Han Xin sent his troops eastward to attack Yanyu (today's Shanxi and Shunxi) with lightning speed, defeating the Dai army in one fell swoop. Before Zhao State had time to react, it lost Dai State, its traditional friendly neighbor.
Just when Han Xin was attacking the city all the way and approaching Jingxingkou, the west gate of Zhao State (on the Beijingxing Mountain in Jingxing County, Hebei today), Liu Bang was fiercely encircled and suppressed by Xiang Yu on the main battlefield of Xingyang. In desperation, Liu Bang urgently mobilized most of Han Xin's elite troops and put them into the main battlefield of Xingyang, leaving only less than 30,000 new soldiers for Han Xin. As for the Zhao State, Zhao Wangxie and Chen Yu have deployed key defenses at Jingxingkou. The Zhao army, boasting 200,000 troops, is waiting here for the arrival of the Han army. Jingxingkou has always been an important place for military strategists, and it is also the only way for east-west transportation. As the commander-in-chief of the Han army on the northern front, Han Xin was deeply worried about the military quality and combat effectiveness of the 30,000 recruits. As Han Xin later said personally, commanding these recruits was simply "fighting by driving people out of the city", that is, driving a group of new recruits who did not know how to cooperate and support each other to fight.
On the other hand, the Zhao State that Han Xin was about to face was far more powerful than Wei and Dai. If an army of 30,000 men with low combat effectiveness is used to attack Jingxingkou, even if Xiang Yu comes to take command, they will probably be completely defeated.
But Han Xin had no retreat. His only chance is to fight quickly to join forces with Liu Bang as soon as possible.
If the army wants to advance quickly, the timely supply of food and grass is a big issue that must be considered. There was a man named Li Zuoche under Chen Yu's tent. He was after Li Mu, the general of the Zhao State during the Warring States Period, and was named Lord Guangwu by King Zhao. Li Zuoche had been guarding Jingxingkou for a long time and knew the military geography of this area well. Before the Han army arrived, Li Zuoche was keenly aware of the Han army's food and grass supply problem and proposed a vicious plan to Chen Yu.
He said: "General, since Han Xin crossed the river, he has won consecutive battles, and with the help of Zhang Er, the morale of the soldiers is high and unstoppable. You can see clearly that he wants to take advantage of victory to devour Zhao. The Han army is difficult to deal with. This is It goes without saying. However, they also have obvious disadvantages. You know, if the army's food and grass are not supplied in time, the soldiers will starve and their combat effectiveness will be reduced. The Jingxingkou we are guarding is a God-given danger. Chariots cannot run parallel and cavalry cannot line up. When the Han army marches on such a road, the food and grass will inevitably fall behind. If you can allocate me 30,000 horses, I am willing to cut off the Han army's supplies of food and grass from the road. At this time, you can dig deep to protect it. Camp trenches, heighten the walls of the camp, and wait for work. In this way, the Han army cannot advance to fight or retreat, and there is no food to plunder in the wilderness. In less than ten days, you can see the heads of Han Xin and Zhang Er. Please. You should consider my plan. If you don’t do this, we will become Han Xin’s prisoners!”
Li Zuoche's plan cannot be said to be ruthless, and it cannot be said to be bad for Zhao Guo. However, Chen Yu disagreed. Chen Yu was a very proud man. If it weren't for his pride, he would not have given up his seal and left, nor would he try to overthrow Zhang Er at the same time to please Qi. In Chen Yu's opinion, he had more than 100,000 troops, and it was too embarrassing to play tricks against the Han army, which was said to be 30,000 men. He rejected Li Zuoche's proposal on the spot, saying: "It is said in the Art of War that if you surround an enemy ten times, you will fight if it is doubled. Although Han Xin claimed to have tens of thousands of people, he probably only had a few thousand men and horses, but he still came all the way to attack us. The soldiers are tired, what is there to be afraid of? We avoid attacking such opponents and play tricks. What will we do if a more powerful enemy comes over? Your strategy must not be used. Once used, other princes will definitely They will think that we are not confident enough and not strong enough, so we can’t help but underestimate Zhao Guo. I know how to fight, you just need to obey the order, you don’t have to worry about anything else!"
Han Xin was actually worried that Zhao Jun would divide his forces and cut off his food routes, so he had already sent spies to find out the news. When he heard that Chen Yu was unwilling to play this trick, he was so happy that he immediately moved forward with confidence. At the same time, he sent General Cao Shen to capture Wucheng (today's Wuchengdian, Jiexiu City, Shanxi Province) to eliminate the left-wing threat of the Han army marching eastward to Jingxingkou. He led his army to camp thirty miles away from Jingxingkou, and the whole army rested and reorganized.
During the day, Han Xin sat firmly in the center of the army and did not mention the word "fight". In the middle of the night, he suddenly began to mobilize his troops.
First, Han Xin sent two thousand light cavalry. Each of them held a red flag, and under the cover of night, they took a path around to Baodu Mountain (today's northwest of Huolu, Hebei) to hide. The task of this group of troops is to immediately rush into the Zhao camp, seize the barriers, pull out the Zhao flag, and plant the Han army's red flags everywhere when the Zhao army is mobilized.
Secondly, in order to boost morale, Han Xin said to the soldiers: "Today we will defeat the Zhao army!" That is to say, today we will defeat the Zhao army. After the war, I will invite the soldiers to a dinner party. It's more of a joke than a military order. It can't help but remind people of Qi Qinggong who "destroyed this imperial eclipse". However, Qi Qinggong is a fool, but Han Xin is an unparalleled general. His belief in victory infected every Han soldier during his conversation and laughter. Looking at their straight chests and backs and high heads, Han Xin knew that his goal had been achieved.
Finally, Han Xin sent 10,000 vanguard troops, backed by the Mianman River and Jingxing River, to meet the enemy and fight to the death with Zhao Jun. It is indeed a big adventure to fight against the odds with no way out. Is this still the same Han Xin who shouted "the more, the merrier"? This is clearly a gambler! However, Han Xin's eyes were still filled with a confident smile, and he looked sure of himself, which was unpredictable.
Time passed by minute by second, and it was already dark in the blink of an eye, and the various armies deployed by Han Xin had quietly arrived at the designated location.
At dawn the next day, Han Xin led the remaining soldiers of the Han army to attack the Zhao army's camp. When Chen Yu heard that the Han army was arrayed against the water, he couldn't help but feel happy. He felt that Han Xin was in vain. He didn't even understand the art of war and had cut off his own retreat. How could he be his opponent? He immediately ordered the Zhao army to attack in full force and completely eliminate the invading enemy.
Chen Yu took the initiative to give up the geographical advantage of the deep ditch barrier, but he didn't know that this move played into Han Xin's plan to lure the enemy.
At the beginning, the Han army was indeed killed so much that they abandoned their armor and fled in disarray. Even Han Xin was trapped by the rebel army and was as embarrassed as a bereaved dog. Chen Yu was overjoyed and believed that the opportunity to capture Han Xin was at hand, so he led the Zhao army in hot pursuit.
The Mianman River flowing in the north-south direction and the Jingxing River flowing in the east-west direction meet at approximately a right angle in front of Jingxing Pass. Between these two rivers, a flat area like a peninsula was naturally formed, with its front facing exactly to the southeast of where Zhao Jun's camp was located.
Originally, Zhao Jun was condescending and took advantage of the defense. If Chen Yu is modest and prudent and holds on, then the victory or defeat in this battle is really uncertain. Perhaps Han Xin, with 30,000 men, could not reach Jingxingkou in a lifetime of fighting. But if the Zhao army ran to the flat area of the peninsula between the two rivers to fight the Han army, they would completely lose their geographical advantage. Therefore, this tidal flat is the ideal battlefield that Han Xin dreams of. And Han Xin's big fanfare of revealing his identity as the coach added another layer of leverage to lure Chen Yu down the mountain.
Raising an army for a thousand days can be spent in just one moment. However, Han Xin's men were all new soldiers. They lacked training and had not experienced the test of the battlefield. If they fight in formation on a wide flat ground, they will be defeated by Chen Yu's elite soldiers at the first glance. Han Xin wanted to put these recruits to death and use the fear brought by death to inspire their will to survive, thus bursting out with huge combat effectiveness. As the saying goes, "Be trapped in a place of death and survive, and throw yourself into a place of death and survive."
With "harmony", we also need "geographical convenience". Fighting against the water means that the numerically inferior Han army does not need to consider threats from the flanks and rear, and the numerically superior Zhao army cannot take advantage of its numerical advantage. It can only "encircle the enemy by doubling it" in a limited space. A "one to one" contest. But Han Xin had two thousand more roundabout cavalry in his hands that would determine the outcome of the battle.
Under this situation, the calculations of victory and defeat of both sides have been greatly different.
Soon after the two armies fought, Chen Yu got a taste of the true power of Han Xin's backwater formation. The originally vulnerable recruits of the Han army suddenly doubled in strength, like evil spirits slain from hell. However, looking at our own side, because there were too many people, the organization was not organized properly. They actually crowded, pushed and trampled each other on the small battlefield - the Zhao army in the front fought with the Han army in a hurry, while the people behind could only watch with open eyes!
After being unable to attack for a long time, and his own casualties far exceeded that of his opponent, Chen Yu, seeing that the situation was not good, decided to withdraw his troops first and then devise a strategy to defeat the enemy. Unexpectedly, when he returned to his nest, he suddenly found that his camp was covered with red flags. He was confused and didn't know what to do.
Zhao Bing, who had lost his spirit, immediately found himself in a dilemma and in a precarious situation. Soon the shadow of failure and death enveloped the homeless Zhao army, and everyone's face was stained with gray panic. As a result, Zhao's army collapsed and scattered, and Chen Yu, who was helpless, had to flee for his life.
When the Han army saw Zhao Jun's retreat, their morale was greatly boosted, and they immediately pursued the victory. The Zhao army became more and more out of control under the attack of Han army Ling Li and was completely defeated. Chen Yu was beheaded in Sashui (now Weihe, Hebei), and Zhao Wangxie and Li Zuoche, who had proposed poisonous tactics to Chen Yu, were captured alive by the Han army. The State of Zhao has since been included in Liu Han's territory.
After that, the Han army can advance to attack Yan and Qi. If they successfully capture these two places, Xiang Yu will be further isolated. Therefore, although the scale of the battle of Jingjing was small, it had a strategic position in the process of the Chu-Han conflict.
Han Xin took control of Zhao State, and Corporal Li Xian won Li Zuoche's surrender. At Li Zuoche's suggestion, Han Xin sent a rhetorician to the state of Yan, and the king of Yan, Zang Tu, surrendered without a fight. Han Xin sent an envoy to deliver the good news to Liu Bang at high speed, and asked Zhang Er to be granted the title of King of Zhao, which was approved by Liu Bang.
Han Xin's side was fighting vigorously, but Liu Bang's side was still fighting Xiang Yu's army besieging the city every day, spending money, food, and countless men and horses. In addition to gaining a polished commander Ying Bu who was defeated by Chu General Long Qie and came to seek refuge. ,no progress. Liu Bang was so worried that his hair fell out one by one. How can the situation be turned around?
