Chapter 379: Stalemate 02

  Liu Shanhe heard Fan Zeng's doubts about his relationship with Xiang Yu's brothers, and he took the initiative to bow to Fan Zeng, saying: "Mr. Fan doesn't know something. That day in front of General Xiang Liang's tomb, I and General Xiang Yu made a blood oath as brothers, vowing to avenge General Xiang Liang." Liu Shanhe said truthfully.

  Fan Zeng listened and looked puzzled, asking Xiang Yu: "Is this true?" Xiang Yu nodded silently to him.

  Xiang Yu seemed to have taken this matter for granted, but Fan Zeng was deep in thought. He had already vaguely sensed that Liu Bang was a threat to Xiang Yu's dominance. Someone who could seize every opportunity to develop and expand himself was definitely not an ordinary person. Such a person was truly terrifying.

  Liu Shanhe saw that Fan Zeng still had a thoughtful look on his face, knowing that the timing was almost right, and hastily knelt down to the ground, saying: "I'll beg Mr. Fan for Xiang Yu's brothers." As he spoke, he kneeled down with both knees touching the ground.

  But in his heart, Liu Shanhe was scolding his mother nonstop. Damn it, since I crossed over to this place, I don't know how many times I've kowtowed to others. As the saying goes, "A man's knees are made of gold," meaning that as a man, one cannot easily kneel down to others. Since ancient times, one could only kneel to heaven, earth, and parents, but now it can't be helped. Having crossed over to become Liu Bang, I'll just have to do what I have to do!

  And all those others, as soon as they saw Liu Shanhe kneel down, also spontaneously followed Liu Shanhe and knelt down to Fan Zeng.

  When he saw so many people kneeling down to him, Fan Zeng felt that it was enough. He had originally just wanted to kill Xiang Yu's arrogance, otherwise, how could they work together in the future? Although his uncle Xiang Liang was similar to Xiang Yu in nature, both being arrogant and stubborn, not listening or believing others, thinking they were always right, but Xiang Liang was slightly older and sometimes would listen to a few words. As for Xiang Yu, he was originally rough and unrefined, and with his youth and vigor, it naturally increased the difficulty of working with him. If Fan Zeng didn't give him a warning soon, he really couldn't continue doing things in the Chu army's camp.

  However, the play cannot be sung too much, it's just fine. Especially when others have already kowtowed to themselves, they naturally can't not give them face. So, Fan Zeng hurriedly sat up and said to Liu Bang: "Generals, Ah Bing, please get up quickly, I dare not accept such a great courtesy! Alas, isn't this going to kill me?"

  "If Master Fan doesn't agree to be the nominal father of Xiang Yu's general and leave the Chu army, then we will never rise again." Liu Shanhe saw that things were almost done, just needing one more push, so he continued.

  Fan Zeng looked at it, and that was the extent of it. If he persisted any further, he would be too lacking in self-awareness. Thinking of this, Fan Zeng got out of bed and said to the generals who were all kneeling on the ground: "Generals, please get up quickly! I agree, isn't my agreement enough?"

  "Thank you, General!" Then, Xiang Yu, Liu Shanhe, Zhong Limei and others finally stood up from the ground. Although Liu Shanhe had only knelt for a short while, he already felt his knees ache unbearably.

  Inside the Qin army's camp, flames from torches burned brightly everywhere, illuminating the entire camp. Patrols of soldiers marched in succession, divided into two groups inside and outside the camp, circling around continuously. From this, it can be seen that General Zhang Han had his own unique way of deploying troops. Meanwhile, inside the main tent, Xiang Yu was drinking and chatting with several high-ranking generals under him.

  Zhang Yan looked like he was over fifty years old, with gray and white hair and a sturdy build. At this moment, he was clinking glasses with two other subordinates.

  "The great victory at Dingtao was all thanks to the commander's clever tactics, catching the enemy off guard and emerging victorious. This is what led to the crushing defeat of the Chu army and the death of Xiang Liang! What a truly exhilarating thing to behold! Hahaahaha!" One of the generals bowed his head in respect towards Zhang Han.

  Zhang Han and another person burst out laughing. Undoubtedly, the previous general's comment was quite pertinent. At that time, if they had clashed with Xiang Liang head-on, they would have been unable to protect themselves. Zhang Han had also seen through Xiang Liang's Chu army being overly confident and indulging in day-and-night revelry, so he decided that a midnight surprise attack would have a 90% chance of success. Therefore, he gave the order for a night raid, which ultimately achieved great success.

  "Brother Dong is overpraising, Brother Dong is overpraising! Come on, let's toast to the victory of Dingtao!" These words made Zhang He extremely delighted as well. He raised his wine bowl high and the three of them once again drank a large bowl of wine with great relish.

  After that, Zhang Han wiped his mouth, thought for a moment, and then said to the other two: "The Battle of Dingtao was mainly because we took advantage of Xiang Yu and Liu Bang's absence. At that time, the Chu army was divided into two routes, with Xiang Liang, Fan Zeng, and Song Yi leading one route, while Xiang Yu and Liu Bang led another route. Originally, if they hadn't split their troops, we would still have been wary of them. But after they split their troops, their strength naturally decreased greatly. Moreover, Xiang Liang became complacent due to a few small victories, and was careless and lax in defense, so we were able to launch a surprise attack successfully!" Zhang Han's analysis of his own Battle of Dingtao was very thorough. From this point alone, Zhang Han was indeed quite extraordinary. After all, it is difficult for someone to objectively and fairly view themselves.

  Later, Zhang Han said: "Although we defeated the enemy in Dingtao this time, the strength of the Chu army still exists. I think Xiang Yu will avenge his uncle, and according to my understanding, Xiang Yu's character is basically the same as his uncle's, belonging to the kind of person who must report grievances. Moreover, the one who was killed this time was his uncle! And I also know that Xiang Yu has a lot of feelings for this uncle! Xiang Yu lost his father at a young age and was raised by his uncle Xiang Liang. So, Xiang Yu's feelings towards his uncle are naturally unspeakable. It is precisely because of these reasons that everyone thinks, plus Xiang Yu's fiery temper, the battle of revenge, I think, will come soon."

  "Hmm, General said it is, General said it is!" The other two generals also expressed their agreement with Zhang Han's idea.

  Moreover, since ancient times, there has been the saying "a grieving army is bound to win", so our military from top to bottom must make thorough preparations and take Xiang Yu's revenge war seriously. We will take advantage of Xiang Yu's eagerness for revenge and wipe out the Chu army in one go. Hahaha... Having said that, Zhang Han burst into laughter. The other two generals also followed suit, laughing loudly.

  However, one of the generals, Dong Xing, suddenly let out a long sigh and said: "Alas, our Second Emperor is incompetent and doesn't care about state affairs. And that Zhao Gao has absolute power, monopolizing everything, causing chaos in the court and darkness everywhere, and heroes are rising up all over the country. Alas, if things go on like this, even if we fight, when will we be able to win?" After finishing his speech, General Dong downed another bowl of wine.

  Naturally, General Dong's words hit their common concern. As a result, several people were speechless for a moment, and they all sighed.

  Yes, this branch of the Qin army that relied on for survival was like a boat in the ocean, tossed about by wind and rain, with waves crashing against it. The storms of uprisings from various families had already begun to rise, and even if this army were stronger, its leaders more able and skilled in battle, it would still be futile. Firstly, another important factor that made them feel hopeless about their future was the current dynasty's chaotic corruption, eunuchs holding power, and the second emperor being weak and incompetent. In such a situation, even if they could win battles, what use would it be?

  "We're in big trouble now! If we win battle after battle, Zhao Gao will definitely become jealous and frame us with a false charge; if we lose battle after battle, he'll accuse us of disgracing the country. This is indeed 'guilty whether we win or lose'!" Another general who had not spoken up until then suddenly spoke out, and his words were something that all three of them knew but rarely said out loud.

  This, of course, naturally shows that the demise of the so-called Qin Dynasty is almost inevitable. If it were just a few rebellious armies outside, then relying on the accumulation of the Qin Dynasty over the years, it would not be impossible to suppress them. After all, at that time, Emperor Qin Shi Huang was able to unite the six states and establish this unified centralized empire. Whether in terms of talent or national strength, it was quite powerful. So, those external destructive forces could not have led to the downfall of the Qin Dynasty. The reason why things developed into the current situation where the dynasty is on the verge of collapse is mainly due to problems with the internal governance of the Qin Dynasty.

  To say again, if Emperor Qin Shi Huang had not died and Zhao Gao and Prime Minister Li Si had not conspired to alter the imperial edict, then the one who would have succeeded him as emperor would definitely have been Crown Prince Fusu. And once Crown Prince Fusu ascended to the throne, the overall situation in the world might have developed in a completely different direction.

  "Yes, yes, this is indeed a bleak future, with no way to advance or retreat! Alas!!" Another General Dong sighed deeply.

  For a moment, the three of them fell into a terrible silence. Each of them was thinking about their own affairs. In peacetime, these things were basically forgotten and it was hard to think about them again. But now that they had thought of them, they couldn't shake them off. They were like flies buzzing around their heads, making a humming noise that was maddening. But they didn't have any way to deal with it. This is probably one explanation for the fate of human life.

  Zhang Han initially hung his head in despair, just like the other two. After a while, he finally lifted his head, and his eyes emitted an exceptionally firm light. He said: "Everyone can't always think this way! Although it's true, we've been with Qin for many years, and now we're holding heavy troops. As long as we have military power in our hands, even if the imperial court is corrupt, what can they do to us?"

  Here is the translation:

  "Now that we've come to this point, Zhang Han looked around and then said to the other two: 'You two generals have followed me for many years and are considered my old subordinates. We've always shared good fortune and bad together! I, Zhang Han, have never treated you two as outsiders. So, there's something I can say openly to you tonight. Our current situation is that we must win and cannot lose. If we win, as long as we don't rebel, the imperial court won't do anything to us. At most, we just need to follow the imperial court's orders. If the imperial court wants to take action against us, then we'll rebel against them. Can others rebel while we can't? However, I think that situation is unlikely to happen. But if we lose, things will be very troublesome. Because of our defeat, we will first face a threat to our own lives. You know, in the process of fighting those rebel troops, we've killed many of their people. If we're defeated by them, will we still have a good outcome?"

  "In short, in the battles to come, we can only win and not lose. Victory means survival, defeat means extinction. Let us drink to our great Qin army's future victories and never suffer defeats!" With that, Zhang Han drank the cup of victory wine with his two trusted generals, savoring the taste thoroughly. By now, it was already deep into the night.

  Here is the translation:

  As for Chu Huai Wang Sun Ping, from that day on after meeting General Song Yi, he heard that Zhang Han's large army had already entered Zhao State. Moreover, the king of Zhao State and Prime Minister Zhang Er led a massive army to hide in Julu City, while Zhang Han's 300,000-strong army was divided into two routes: one route was led by his generals Wang Li, She Jian, and Su Jiao, responsible for surrounding Julu City; the other route was led by himself, responsible for guarding the grain path and attacking the relief troops. In this way, the entire Zhao State army was under his control. With just one order, his 300,000-strong army could flatten Julu City and kill all the Zhao soldiers without leaving a single armor intact.

  However, Zhang Yan did not want to do so. As a generation of great generals, he naturally had more long-term considerations. That is, try not to reduce his own military strength as much as possible. After all, the opponents he faced were not just the Zhao army, but also the armies of Liu Guo, Chu Guo, Han Guo, and Wei Guo. If he was severely damaged in the battle against the Zhao army, how could he go on to fight against the troops of other countries? Therefore, Zhang Yan adopted a strategy of surrounding but not attacking, forcing the Zhao army to surrender automatically.

  Moreover, Zhang Han had already made it very clear that the main force of the Zhao army was not in Julu City, but was stationed northwest of Julu. In Julu City, there were only King Zhao and Prime Minister Zhang Er, as well as a small number of troops. The main force of Zhao's army was led by General Chen Yu, stationed northwest of Julu City, which was tens of thousands of people. Compared to his own 300,000-strong army, the tens of thousands of Zhao's men would naturally not be taken seriously by Zhang Han.

  But Qin general Zhang Han was not in a hurry, which did not mean that King Zhao was not in a hurry. Especially the Prime Minister Zhang Er, who was even more anxious and restless like an ant on a hot pot. Until now, this Julu City had been besieged by Zhang Han for five or six days, with the danger of running out of food at any time. At this moment, Chen Yu still led his 70,000-strong army, but did not move north of Julu City, as if he was just watching a joke, which was unreasonable!

  "The king is trapped in Julu City, but you, Chen Yu, have stationed your troops outside the city and refuse to come to his aid. What kind of logic is this?" Zhang Er was furious and sent two people to Chen Yu's army that night to question him, but they were detained by Chen Yu and never returned. This made Zhang Er even more angry, and he naturally did not mince words about Chen Yu in front of King Zhao Xie, causing the king to grit his teeth and declare that after this was all over, he would definitely strip Chen Yu of his military power."

  Although Zhao Wang Zhao Xie and Prime Minister Zhang Er were both very dissatisfied with Chen Yu's inaction, Chen Yu had his own ideas. In fact, it was quite simple: the Qin army led by Zhang Han was too strong, while they only had more than 700,000 people, but the other side had more than 3 million people, which was disproportionate.

  If, if he really didn't know his own strength and listened to that rumor, leading the army to fight against Zhang Han, wouldn't that be jumping into the net? Like using an egg to knock against a stone? So, although Yu Que also knew that what he was doing was actually going against the way of monarch and subject. But with the great enemy in front of him, he first had to protect himself, and as for other things, he couldn't care about them anymore.

  Let's talk about King Huai of Chu again. Ever since he heard that Zhang Han's troops had surrounded the city of Julu in Zhao, King Huai was greatly shocked. If Julu were to fall, then Zhang Han's 300,000-strong Qin army would set their sights on the capital of Chu, Pengcheng. In other words, their temporary capital, Pengcheng, was in a very precarious situation. After discussion, it was decided that the imperial court would relocate from Pengcheng to Pei. Because there were the main forces of Chu. If Zhang Han wanted to attack, at least they had tens of thousands of troops stationed there, which could be relied upon to some extent.

  At the same time, King Hui also sent a letter by horseback, ordering those famous generals under his command to rush to Pengcheng overnight to discuss how to respond to the enemy. From this moment on, the Battle of Julu finally drew its curtain.