Chapter 6: The Great Beam's Reorganization

  This encounter outside Yongcheng, although frustrating for Liu Bang, was a talent like Ji Xin who had certain abilities and only needed some polishing to grow into a qualified general, which was undoubtedly the most precious thing for Liu Bang at this stage.

  From ancient times to the present, war has always been about one word: man.

  No one, even if as powerful as Gonggong, could avoid death by not being able to encircle Mount Zhuo. However, Liu Bang's bad mood dissipated after hearing that Cao Shen had beheaded Li Yudragon before the mighty general of the Chu army.

  The first prize is still ours, the Liu family's.

  Liu Bang's mood improved. Although this city was taken down by Xiang Yu, I, Liu, also made great efforts. Don't believe me? Take a look at who killed Li Yuxi.

  Liu Bang's good mood and good interpersonal relationships brought about the support of many small forces, compared to Xiang Yu who could only fight battles except for Jiangdongzi, Liu Bang was much easier to get along with.

  It is better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox. The small forces are afraid of being annexed by the large forces, and compared with Liu Bang who was harmonious and non-threatening, Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu were inferior.

  In the magnificent Qin-Han War, this battle in Yongqiu did not involve a large number of troops. The Qin army had 3,000 soldiers, while the allied forces had more than 50,000 soldiers. From the perspective of troop numbers alone, this could only be considered a medium-sized battle.

  In fact, the Battle of Yongchi had a far greater impact on both the Qin army and the anti-Qin alliance than the battle itself. Yongchi was located at the border of Dang Commandery and Sanchuan Commandery, which originally belonged to Wei State. Li Yifu led his troops there to support Zhang Han's main force fighting against Chu in Dingtao, but unexpectedly fell into the heavy siege by the Chu army.

  Li You's defeat may have exposed the weakness of internal discord within the Qin army. The powerful Qin dynasty, which had lost its pillar after the death of the First Emperor, was already beginning to shake. The three major factions, represented by Zhao Gao's faction, including the Minister of Works Zhang Han, the hereditary military commanders Wang Li and Su Jia, and the local garrison troops led by Li You and Yang Xiong, were not only vying for power and profit in the court but also in the army.

  Within four days, from Dingtao to Yongqiu, it would take only one day's journey on a fast horse, but Zhang Han did not dispatch any troops. Moreover, he used the excuse that Xiang Liang was the leader of the Chu army to prevent a portion of the Sanchuan army, which originally belonged to Li Yu, from coming to reinforce. As for Wang Li's army in Zhao north of the Yellow River, it also did not lend a helping hand.

  Wang Li's army has been marching south from Jiuyuan for nearly a month, and except for encounters with Liu Bang's troops in Chengyang and Gangli, they have achieved almost nothing to be proud of.

  Fu Su was given a death sentence and Meng Tian took his own life. This once illustrious Qin army elite lost its courage to fight due to internal strife, the generals had no will to fight, and the soldiers were numb and apathetic.

  Furthermore, the defeat at Yongchi allowed the Three Qins' gateway to be wide open. The counter-Qin allied forces could march south to take Nanyang and Yingchuan, or head west across the river to directly attack Hedong.

  It was also because of this that Liu Bang adopted the plan of strategist Zhang Liang, and turned to fight in Nanyang and Hanzhong, breaking into Guanzhong from the south. Meanwhile, in Julu, Xiang Yu faced the allied forces of Zhang He and Wang Li, adopting a strategy of defeating them one by one, and defeated more than 200,000 Qin soldiers at once.

  The inertia of history did not change much due to the appearance of a small figure like Li Yuan. As Li Yuan led his remaining troops on a circuitous retreat westward, local officials in the nearly empty counties of Henan, Pingyin, Xin'an, Mianchi, Yangwu and others had already begun to flee, which eased Li Yuan's anxious mood.

  Since crossing over, he was most familiar with military affairs and had few opportunities to interact with local officials. He wasn't very clear about the standards by which Qin dynasty local officials did things either. He thought to himself that hopefully he hadn't revealed any weaknesses in other areas. Fortunately, Hou Xi, this chief clerk, was quite skilled at handling these matters.

  There were still over a hundred Qin cavalrymen who broke through the siege, although not many, these surviving soldiers were all elite, full of murderous aura, making people envy. With Li Yu's name and this branch of elite soldiers, Li Yuan didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity before Liu Bang's western expedition, along the way absorbing and commanding the disorganized county and prefecture troops, by the time they reached the outskirts of Daliang, the old capital of Wei State, Li Yuan's army had expanded to nearly a thousand men.

  August 17th.

  Li Yuan held the first military meeting in the small town of Junyi near Daliang to determine the selection of lower-level officers in the new team. In terms of selecting officers, the Qin army mainly adopted the method of determining titles and military positions based on military merit. Li Yuan did not want to make too many changes to this approach. He only added tests for personal command ability, coordination ability, and language expression ability on the basis of emphasizing military merit. These tests were personally supervised by him, and he conducted one-on-one interviews and assessments.

  The merits of military achievements need no further elaboration, as the bravery of Qin's soldiers on the battlefield has already demonstrated its value. However, if this is used as the sole criterion for promoting officers, it may be a bit one-sided. An excellent officer may not excel in personal combat, but may be very astute in commanding battles and grasping opportunities. Such talents would easily be overlooked under a system that only considers military achievements. Han Xin is a clear example of this.

  "General Wang Laoliu beheaded twelve levels!"

  "Foot soldier Zhou Xing, beheaded seven levels!"

  "Zhang Shuji Hou Xi, requests a recommendation as the Camp Marshal of the Supply Depot!"

  "Take the banner and armor, let the Imperial Guard cavalry general take command!"

  Li Yuan served as the chief examiner, and after two days of evaluation and selection, Wang Lao Liu and twelve others became officers in this branch of Qin army that survived the disaster.

  Disappointment with the Qin state government, sympathy for Li Si's imprisonment and Li Yu's tragic death, as well as recognition of Li Yuan's abilities, led most Qin soldiers to accept this comprehensive officer selection method. Military merit was primary, but if one had other strengths, they also had opportunities. Unbeknownst to him, Li Yuan began to influence others around him in his own way.

  The military meeting that followed was attended by the main objects, in addition to Li Yuan, including: Sima Hou Xi, two Shang Zhong Xing, Wang Lao Liu, and Hu Zhuang and He Ping, two elders from Junyi County and Yangwu County who had just come to join, as well as five other selected Wu Chang. The total number of participants was twelve, with Hou Xi serving as the scribe. Lu Jia, who had just been appointed as a cavalry general, was in charge of security for this meeting.

  The meeting formed a consensus: to expand the number of troops to one thousand, with Li Yuan as the military commander, which in effect recognized Li Yuan as the new leader of this branch of the army. Zhou Xing, Wang Laoliu and a man named Gan Houbao were appointed as heads of the various detachments, while Hou Xi was appointed as the registrar and secretary.

  In the absence of an imperial appointment and superior permission, Li Yuan reorganized this small unit under his command with a thunderous and swift style, which was already a heinous crime in the Qin state where laws were strict. However, at present, the court in Xianyang controlled by Zhao Gao had little weight in the hearts of Hou Xi and other soldiers from the three Qiang prefectures.