In the winter of the third year of King Han (204 BC), Li Shiqi was sent by Liu Bang to persuade King Tian Guang of Qi. Tian Guang was about to surrender to the Han Dynasty, but Han Xin, who was angry after being weakened by Liu Bang, adopted Kuai Tong's suggestion, ignored Li Shiqi, and raised troops to attack Qi. Seeing this, King Tian Guang of Qi was furious and boiled Li and ate him. However, King Tian Guang of Qi still could not escape the fate of being defeated and killed. Even the general Long Qie sent by Xiang Yu to rescue Tian Guang became the soul of Han Xin. From then on, Qi State was included in the territory of Han Dynasty.
At the beginning of the next year, Han Xin petitioned Liu Bang to make him King of Qi. In order to stabilize the overall situation of the world, under the persuasion of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, Liu Bang suppressed his anger in his heart and approved Han Xin's request. This move made Han Xinxin satisfied, and he immediately forgot the displeasure of winning the commander-in-chief, and regarded Liu Bang as his reborn parent.
At this moment, Ba, Shu, Hanzhong, Guanzhong, Wei, Henan, Han, Zhao, Yan, and Qi all belong to Liu Bang. At this time, Liu Bang has occupied half of the country, and Xiang Yu's strength has been weakened a lot. Xiang Yu, who once chased Liu Bang's butt and beat him fiercely, now had no choice but to do anything to Liu Bang.
While Xiang Yu turned around to clean up Peng Yue, the cunning old fox, Liu Bang marched in and lured Cao Jiu, Sima Xin, and Dong Yi who were guarding Chenggao out of the city and defeated the Chu army. Cao Jiu, Sima Xin, and Dong Yi committed suicide, and Cheng Gao returned to Liu Bang's hands again.
Chenggao fell, the Chu army's Aocang faced threats, and there were difficulties in food supply. Xiang Yu immediately turned around and attacked Cheng Gao! At this time, Liu Bang had already camped on the west bank of Guangwu Stream in Guangwu Mountain. Xiang Yu had no choice but to camp on the east bank of Guangwu Stream and held a stalemate with the Han army.
This stalemate between the two sides lasted for dozens of days. The Han army had sufficient food and grass but weak combat effectiveness, and was most willing to fight a protracted war. Although Xiang Yu had elite soldiers, he lacked food and grass and needed a quick victory. Therefore, Xiang Yu was so anxious that he didn't know what to do. At this moment, someone offered Xiang Yu a plan. Speaking of this person, I am not unfamiliar with him. This person is Yong Chi, a fellow countryman who Liu Bang wanted to eat raw.
Yong Chi betrayed Liu Bang and surrendered to Wei, but Wei was quickly wiped out by the Qin army. Yong Chi survived the catastrophe and became Xiang Yu's subordinate. Seeing that Xiang Yu was worried at this time, he suggested that Xiang Yu take Liu Taigong and Lu Fei, who were being held in Chu State, as hostages to force Liu Bang to surrender.
Xiang Yu couldn't think of anything, so he immediately adopted Yong Chi's strategy.
On this day, Xiang Yu built a huge chopping board on the east side of the gully, took out Liu Taigong and Lu Pheasant, and shouted to the Han army: "Liu Ji (Liu Bang), your father and your wife are with me now." In my hand. If you can surrender quickly, I will spare your father's life. If you don't, I will cook your father!"
Xiang Yu was very confident in this strategy and believed that Liu Bang would definitely commit it. Even if Liu Bang himself didn't care about the life and death of his family, could he still show his face in front of the two armies? It's a pity that Xiang Yu doesn't understand Liu Bang very well. I saw Liu Bang replying calmly: "Xiang Yu, you and I were brothers when we became ministers before King Huai. In this case, my father is your father. If you must cook your father, please Give me a cup of meat soup to try!"
When Liu Bang said these words, Taigong Liu was so frightened that he almost peed his pants and almost died of anger. He wanted to curse loudly now. He wanted to cry for such an unfilial son like Liu Bang.
But the reality is like this. If Liu Bang surrenders, will the whole family definitely survive? It’s simply wishful thinking!
Let’s talk about Xiang Yu. When Liu Bang said these words, Xiang Yu became so angry that he really wanted to kill Taigong Liu. But Xiang Bo, the "traitor" on the side, quickly stopped him: "Nephew, you must not do it! You are confused! You killed Liu Bang's father today, do you dare to guarantee that the world will be yours? If one day Liu Bang conquers the world, you Won't your relatives suffer? Besides, who cares about his family if he wants to be in the world? If you kill Taigong Liu, it will not have any impact on Liu Bang at all, but it will cause trouble for yourself. So, you must not kill him!"
After listening to Xiang Bo's words, Xiang Yu hesitated. Indeed, what is the use of killing Taigong Liu? Liu Bang didn't care at all. What's more, the two did have a brotherhood agreement back then. From this point on, Taigong Liu is Xiang Yu's godfather. Is there any reason for a godson to kill his godfather? never mind.
Yong Chi's method doesn't work. Xiang Yu thought about it and proposed to fight Liu Bang alone!
Xiang Yu sent someone to send a message to Liu Bang, meaning that he would have a one-on-one duel with him in front of the battle. If Liu Bang did not dare, he would be a coward and would be laughed at by the world.
When Liu Bang received the letter, he was so angry that he cursed his mother. In terms of age, Xiang Yu is more than ten or twenty years younger than Liu Bang. Physically speaking, Xiang Yu is said to be able to lift a cauldron, while Liu Bang can be said to have no strength to restrain a chicken. In terms of martial arts, although Xiang Yu is not easy to learn, he is still behind the generals, and Liu Bang is just a pavilion chief. Fighting alone is a joke.
Of course Liu Bang would not agree to Xiang Yu's challenge. So he wrote back a letter and told Xiang Yu that he was just a poor man, not a martial artist, and he only fought with wits but not with strength.
Xiang Yu couldn't get a positive response from Liu Bang here, so he had to send people to scold the formation every day. Liu Bang got tired of hearing this and sent a sharpshooter from Loufan, a nomadic people in the northwest. When the Chu army comes out to scold the formation, the sharpshooter will kill one of them. Three people from the Chu army came out and were all shot to death. Xiang Yu was furious, jumped up to the front of the formation, and stared at the sharpshooter fiercely. Because the sharpshooter's eyesight was so good, he could see Xiang Yu's expression clearly, especially when he saw Xiang Yu's double pupils. He was frightened for a moment, thinking that he had seen a fierce god and evil ghost, and he never came out again.
Liu Bang had no choice for the moment, but there was no solution if he continued to be timid with Xiang Yu. Continuing to be timid would inevitably lead to low morale among the soldiers, and Liu Bang's personal prestige would no longer exist. Therefore, Liu Bang agreed to meet and negotiate with Xiang Yu.
On both sides of Guangwu Stream, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu face each other across the stream. Ever since they parted ways in Xianyang, the two of them had never had a good look at each other. Today, it seems that the aging Liu Bang has lost his former ruthlessness, and Xiang Yu's face has become more weathered. When I see each other, I inevitably think of myself back then. Once upon a time, neither of them had the ambition to become the master of the world. They just lived in troubled times, fighting and fighting for each other involuntarily. Unexpectedly, the two people became the two biggest heroes in the world. What were good comrades back then have now become unrelenting enemies.
Xiang Yu had a calm face, concealing his inner excitement: "Since we are here, let's have a fight."
Liu Bang laughed: "I won't fight with you. Xiang Yu, don't be stubborn anymore. Don't you know how many serious crimes you have committed? You violated the agreement of Emperor Yi, seizing me from Guanzhong and sealing me from Hanzhong, which is one crime; You used the name of Emperor Yi to kill Song Yi and usurp military power, which is the second crime; after you successfully rescued Zhao, you should have repaid Emperor Yi, but instead hijacked the princes and their troops to enter the pass without authorization, which is the third crime; you were cruel and unkind, burning the palace of the King of Qin, The fire was not extinguished for three months, and you robbed Qin's tombs and stole property, which is the fourth crime; you killed Qin Prince Ying who had surrendered, and you killed him, which is the fifth crime; you killed Qin's 200,000 soldiers, but made his general the king. Sin Six: You sealed your own people in good places and expelled the original owners of these places, causing your subordinates to rebel. Sin Seven: You drove Emperor Yi out of Pengcheng and occupied Pengcheng as your capital. You also seized the land of King Han and occupied it for yourself. Liang and Chu, if you give more to yourself and less to others, you are guilty of eight crimes; if you send people to assassinate Emperor Yi in the south of the Yangtze River, you are guilty of nine crimes; if you kill your master as a human subject, you have surrendered, you have been unfair in politics, and you have not kept promises even if you made an agreement. You are not tolerated by the world, you are a treasonous person, and you are guilty of ten crimes. Today I am leading the rebels and leading the princes to attack the remnants of thieves. For people like you, it is enough that I can kill you with the spared punishment of the sinners. Why bother to surrender your identity in person? Fight with you!"
Liu Bang's scolding made Xiang Yu furious, and he immediately ordered the lurking crossbowman to fire a cold arrow, which hit Liu Bang in the chest! Before Xiang Yu noticed where Liu Bang was hit by the arrow, Liu Bang quickly fell to the ground, holding his feet and shouting. Later, Liu Bang, who was seriously injured, escaped back to the camp under the protection of everyone.
How will the situation develop next? Liu Bang fell weakly on the bed, thinking wildly.
Fortunately, there was no poison on the crossbow arrows, and Liu Bang's life was saved. At Zhang Liang's suggestion, Liu Bang endured the pain and came out to express condolences to the soldiers. When the Han army saw that the king was safe and sound, everyone rejoiced. Xiang Yu was greatly disappointed when he heard that Liu Bang was fine and did not dare to act rashly. But this cover-up is not without cost. Liu Bang's injuries became more serious because he was forced to travel, so he had to find an excuse to return to Chenggao to recuperate.
In September of the fourth year of the Han Dynasty (203 BC), in a gloomy atmosphere, Xiang Yu and Hou Gong signed an alliance: with the chasm as the boundary, the west of the chasm was Liu Bang's territory; the east of the chasm belonged to Xiang Yu; the two countries stopped fighting. , never fight.
Honggou, also known as Honggou, is the earliest artificial canal connecting the Yellow River and the Huaihe River in ancient China. It flows through the southwest of Kaifeng City, Henan Province today, and flows into the Yellow River in the northeast of Xingyang County. It has now dried up. The gap back then, known as the Chu-He-Han boundary, eventually evolved into a dividing line between the red and black sides on the Chinese chess board today.
After reaching an agreement, Liu Taigong, Lu Pheasant and others were released by Xiang Yu. When Duke Hou returned with Liu Bang's relatives and a contract, the Han army shouted "Long live". The dream of princes and generals is to conquer the world and make achievements. Ordinary soldiers do not have such extravagant expectations. They only want to protect their parents, wives, and children, and they only want to have food to eat and clothing to wear. From the time Xiang Yu entrusted the world to the present, the war has been going on for four years. Everyone was tired and missed their hometown very much. The idea of claiming kingship and hegemony, eradicating violence and bringing peace to the people, and promoting righteousness and fighting against rebellion are actually none of the people's business. Ordinary people just want to protect their own little happiness.
But is the war over?
After all, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain!
(Unless there is one male and one female!)
