When the Chu army arrived in Hanzhong, Liu Bang, who was in the royal city of Chengdu, received the military report and was shocked on the spot.
—Xiang Ji, a mere bastard, hasn't even warmed up to the throne yet, but he's already thinking about him!
Liu Bang originally hoped that the mountainous roads in Bashu were rugged and difficult to travel, and that the area was remote and poor in the eyes of the princes, and that Xiang Ji might not be able to deal with him for three to five years.
After all, he was in the area, and thanks to Xiao He's reading of the Qin official household register, he knew that this place was blessed by nature and very rich. But in the eyes of the princes, it was still a dilapidated place before the Qin rule, not worth mentioning.
Who would have thought that the bastard had only been on the throne for less than two months when the Chu army advanced towards him aggressively!
When Liu Bang was defeated and defended in Shu that day, he reorganized his army from scratch. With Xiao He's dedicated assistance, he has only accumulated 100,000 troops so far.
How could a hundred thousand rookies who had never really fought against an enemy be a match for the battle-hardened and victorious elite troops of the Chu Army
Liu Bang was so anxious that his mouth was blistered, and he quickly summoned a group of trusted confidants to come over.
As soon as he informed everyone of the critical situation, they all looked shocked, then looked dejected, and couldn't help but sigh, and all remained silent.
Liu Bang looked left and right, and saw only dejected and hopeless looks, which made him feel even more desperate.
If he really had no desire to live, he would have stabbed himself with his sword long ago. Why would he summon his confidants for a secret meeting
At this moment, Liu Bang suddenly noticed that Xiao He had a calm expression and seemed confident, and a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart.
"Prime Minister," Liu Bang asked eagerly, "What should we do?"
To Liu Bang's disappointment, Xiao He seemed to suddenly wake up after he called him, and said bitterly, "I... don't know."
"Why!"
Liu Bang sighed heavily.
Then, he seemed to be talking to himself, but his voice was loud enough for those around him to hear clearly: "Is there no extremely smart and wise man in the world who can help me solve this fatal crisis? If there really is such a person, I am really willing to divide this Bashu in two and share it with him as a brother!"
When he first said this, it was Zhang Liang who stepped forward; when he said this again, it was Li Shiqi who stood up and proposed a brilliant plan to unite the princes to fight against Chu; when he said this again, it was Sui He who volunteered to go to Xianyang to persuade the Grand Marshal Zhou Yin...
But this trick, which had worked so many times, finally stopped working.
After Liu Bang's "soliloquy", the room remained dead silent for a long time.
Everyone watched with their eyes and noses, and not only did they not stand up, they even deliberately softened their breathing, as if they were afraid of being provoked by Liu Bang.
Liu Bang smiled bitterly and said, "Forget it, everyone go back first... Prime Minister, please stay."
Xiao He had an indifferent look on his face. Just as he was about to leave with everyone else, he was stopped. However, he was not surprised at all and followed the servants to the inner room where Liu Bang was.
Liu Bang no longer concealed his expression at this time. It was gloomy and his eyes were cold.
When Xiao He entered, he calmed down a little, stood up himself, and led Xiao He to his seat.
As soon as Xiao He sat down, Liu Bang could not wait to ask again: "Is it true that the Prime Minister has no other options?"
He really didn't want to believe that Xiao He, his think tank who had promptly proposed the life-saving plan of retreating to Bashu after the extremely dangerous Xianyang Palace Banquet, would one day be helpless.
Xiao He smiled bitterly and said, "With my humble strategies, I have run out of tricks in this predicament."
Bashu was indeed easy to defend but difficult to attack, but when Xiang Yu used up all the food in Guanzhong and sent the elite Chu troops, which were several times larger than the Shu troops, to pour into Bashu from Hanzhong - under the absolute suppression from all sides, what difficulties could there be
The determination of the Chu army was clear. They would rather injure some minor tendons and break some bones than not get rid of this great threat from Bashu.
Moreover, when the Chu army entered Bashu, faced with this rich land that was completely different from the situation before Qin, it was even more impossible for them to tolerate Liu Bang to grow and prosper here.
Upon hearing that Xiao He really had no solution, Liu Bang became extremely angry and anxious. He immediately started to curse Xiang Ji, who had caused him to this point, using a torrent of foul language.
Xiao He listened without frowning. After a while, he suddenly thought of something and suggested, "If Your Majesty wants to keep your foundation under the iron hoof of the Chu army, even if a military genius is alive, it would be wishful thinking in this isolated and helpless situation. But if Your Majesty only wants to save his life and property, it should not be difficult."
When Liu Bang heard this, he knew what Xiao He meant.
This was a signal for him to abandon everything, escape through the southeast path, and then pass through the Central Plains via the water.
But all under heaven belongs to the king, and he might have to hide in the remote south in the end, relying on the property he brought from Bashu to find a place to settle down, and live the life of an ordinary rich man.
Liu Bang's expression changed for a while, and finally he waved his hand with a dull look, and sent Xiao He back in silence: "Let me think about it."
Xiao He stood up calmly, bowed respectfully and said, "I will take my leave first."
Liu Bang narrowed his eyes slightly and silently saw off Xiao He's peaceful departing back, as if thinking about something.
He vaguely felt that the Prime Minister... seemed a little different from usual.
However, the crisis was extremely urgent. He had no time to ponder what had happened to Xiao He. He could only weigh painfully whether he should abandon his Bashu foundation as soon as possible and head south, or fight to the death with the Chu soldiers.
The commander of the Chu army was Lu Bu, the most trusted general under Xiang Yu, followed by Han Xin, the deputy general who became famous for his sweeping across Wei and Zhao and his many unexpected strategies, and finally Li Zuoche, a wise general who was once quite famous in Zhao.
Looking at him, the chief general is himself, the deputy generals are Cao Shen and Guan Ying, and the cavalry generals are Lu Wan and Liu Jia...
Liu Bang frowned and quickly reviewed the situation in his mind, but still felt that his chances of winning were slim.
These generals of his could be considered good, but those under the command of the brave and warlike Xiang Ji, who were highly respected by Lu Bu, must have the ability to defeat the Chu generals whom he was more familiar with, such as Long Ju, Zhongli Mo, Ji Bu, etc.
When it came to his own life and property, Liu Bang could not rest assured even if he was 90% sure, not to mention that he knew nothing about those people except their names and deeds. How could he dare to take the risk himself
But he was unwilling to be frightened by the might of the Chu army and abandon everything to flee south before the enemy arrived.
So Liu Bang thought about it and decided to have someone secretly pack up the valuables, prepare the carriage and the ferry, and hide them in the secret passage of the royal capital and on the river bank.
Regardless of whether the Chu general was powerful in name only or truly worthy of his reputation, he had to fight him first before discussing what would happen next. There was no reason to escape without a fight.
If the Chu army was really strong and the Shu army was no match for them, he could take a few trusted subordinates and flee to the south along the route they had prepared in advance...it shouldn't be too late.
After making plans for both scenarios, Liu Bang finally settled down.
Since entering Shu, the Chu army has been advancing southward with great momentum and without any obstruction.
Whenever they arrived at a city, Han Xin would raise the banner of "no punishment for surrender" and send people to besiege the city and call for surrender in order to prevent his brother from escaping in a flash.
On this expedition, he also brought with him more than 10,000 young and strong men from Bashu who were captured in Hanzhong last year and whom he had recruited for his own use. Whenever he encountered a situation where he needed to persuade them to surrender, he asked them to shout in their local dialect.
Among these people, many know each other or are related.
Seeing that my relatives and friends who were forcibly conscripted into the army by Prime Minister Xiao and never returned not only did not lose any limbs, but were actually alive and kicking, even had rosy complexions, and had gained some weight...
Many people were surprised and delighted. After asking and answering a few questions by shouting from a distance, they landed quickly and efficiently.
Anyway, they had no connection with that so-called King of Han named Liu, and they even complained about the inexplicable increase in the number of foreigners who often conscripted soldiers and collected food from them. How could they be willing to work for Liu Bang
I was originally worried that the enemy was brutal and that if I surrendered I would be in a worse situation than now. But when I saw that the people I knew were safe and sound and were living a good life, I no longer had anything to worry about.
When the rebellion broke out, Han Xin left some people behind to take over the city. He then took the original defender of the city and randomly selected a hundred people and headed towards the next city.
No matter how many words and promises are made, they will not be as effective as the evidence before our eyes.
Except for some cities that were determined to be loyal to Liu Han and resisted to the end, which were attacked by the Chu army in half a day, seven or eight out of ten cities responded immediately and surrendered to the Chu army.
Even in cities that resisted desperately, Han Xin only executed the city defenders and his trusted subordinates, and pardoned all the people.
Once the news of this action spread, the reputation of the Chu army, which had already gained a good reputation for not harming anyone and bringing back their relatives who had been captured a while ago, became even better.
Within a month, the Chu army had arrived at the city of Chengdu.
Although Liu Bang was very unhappy, he was not surprised that the Chu army had been winning every battle since the start of the campaign.
After all, he had not been in power here for long, and he was always worried about the overall situation outside the Great Wall, so he had no time to take root in the future, and therefore his support among the people was only superficial.
Han Xin led an army of 300,000 to a place three miles outside the city of Chengdu, near a water source, and then took Li Zuoche with him to the main tent to look for his brother.
At this time, Lu Bu was wiping the blade of the Longyuan sword absentmindedly, but what came to his mind was the scene where the fool stuffed this sword, which was barely acceptable to him, into his hands without any explanation before he left.
Although I don't know why that fool is so persistent in giving him the personal sword... Anyway, it's a free gift, so why not take it
Lu Bu wiped the sword until it was spotlessly shiny, then sheathed it with satisfaction.
What's more, the fool didn't know, but he knew that the person he was going to kill with this sword was Liu Haozi, who was going to force the fool into a desperate situation and make him commit suicide by slashing his throat at the Wujiang River!
He only had a sword, but he used it to avenge someone so much. It was really too easy for that fool.
There was a clear sound when it was sheathed, and the next moment Lu Bu's ears moved, and he caught the sound of his cheap brother bringing in the wheel.
"sit."
He greeted them in a carefree manner, and changed himself into the most comfortable sitting position: "Brother Han and General Li, why are you here?"
He sat casually. Not to mention Han Xin who was familiar with his brother's temperament, even Li Zuoche, who had been restrained and serious before, was influenced by him and became much more relaxed in his behavior.
Since there was no one else in the tent, the three of them sat in a crooked position and began to discuss important matters seriously.
Han Xin asked first: "How do you want to win this battle, my dear brother?"
In Han Xin's eyes, this battle was a sure victory, the only difference was the length of time and the number of soldiers sacrificed.
This cheap brother's brain is more than ten times better than his. How come he has learned the bad habits of old man Fan and Han Di and always asks him for advice!
Lu Bu couldn't help but complain in his heart.
But Han Xin is his cheap elder brother, and he doesn't have to be careful with Old Man Fan or the foolish... Even the foolish emperor doesn't have to be careful with him now!
Thinking of this, Lu Bu's eyes rolled, and he immediately took out the attitude he had towards Gao Fuyi and Chen Gongtai in the past, and acted as a hands-off boss with confidence: "As long as we don't let that rat Liu run away, it doesn't matter how we win, Brother Han will decide!"
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