Comrade | Guevara
From 209 BC to 202 BC, the Han Emperor Liu Bang took only 7 years from the rebellion against the qin to the elimination of Xiang Yu, the unification of the world, and the establishment of the Han Dynasty, and his achievements attracted the attention of future generations. During this period, the army commanded by Liu Bang had achieved brilliant results, but when fighting Against Xiang Yu, he suffered repeated defeats, the largest of which caused him to lose more than 200,000 elite soldiers, and his father and wife became prisoners, and even he himself was almost killed. This unforgettable battle for Liu Bang was the Battle of Pengcheng (note: Pengcheng was in present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province).
A war arose
In the last years of the Qin Dynasty, encouraged by Chen Sheng's uprising, the nobles of the original Six Kingdoms of Shandong raised troops one after another and restored their homeland in a short period of time. Among them, Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu's uncle and nephew supported Xiong Xin, the grandson of King Huai of Chu, as king, and had the strongest strength among the princes, and Liu Bang also belonged to the Chu army camp at that time. After Chen Sheng was killed, Xiong Xin, in order to complete the great cause of destroying Qin as soon as possible, sent Xiang Yu and Liu Bangbing to march west in two ways, and agreed that those who entered Guanzhong first would be crowned king. As a result, Liu Bang took the lead in entering Xianyang and accepted the surrender of the Prince of Qin in October of the third year of Qin II (207 BC).
Liu Bang and Xiang Yu's road map to destroy Qin
However, after Xiang Yu led the combined forces of the princes into Xianyang, he ignored the decision of the King of Chu and exiled Liu Bang to the desolate and remote Hanzhong as the King of Han, and divided Guanzhong into three Qin dynasty generals, namely Zhang Handan the Yong King, Sima Xin the King of Sai, and Dong Feng the King of Zhai. At the same time, Xiang Yu established himself as the overlord of Western Chu, placed himself in the position of co-lord of the world, and divided and changed the fiefdoms of the princes by personal preference. As for Xiong Xin, the king of Chu, he was given the false title of "Emperor Yi" and was exiled to Hunan, but was soon killed for complaining.
Due to the uneven distribution of interests, many princes had different ambitions and plotted rebellion, and the most active ones were Liu Bang and former Qi Xiangtian Rong
。 As a result, shortly after Xiang Yu led his army back to pengcheng, the capital of Western Chu, Liu Bang led his troops out of Chen Cang, and it took only 3 months to pacify the Three Qins, in August of the first year of the Han Dynasty (206 BC). Compared with Liu Bang, Tian Rong's progress was even more rapid, and it took only more than a month to drive out The Qi King Tian Du, kill Jiaodong Wang Tian Shi and Jibei Wang Tian An, thus occupying the land of Sanqi and establishing himself as the King of Qi, in June of the same year.
Map of the situation of the princes of Xiang Yu's separate seals
After Tian Rong occupied Qi, he contacted Liu Bang and the Zhao generals Chen Yu and Wei general Peng Yue, who were dissatisfied with Xiang Yu, in an attempt to join forces against Chu
。 Because Qi Di was adjacent to Western Chu, and Tian Rong was good at using soldiers, it could be described as a problem for Xiang Yu. To this end,
Xiang Yu personally led his troops north to attack Tian Rong, leaving the heavy task of defending Liu Bang to Wang Shenyang of Henan and Zheng Chang the King of Han
。 However, Shen Yang and Zheng Chang were no match for the Han army at all, and in October of the same year they surrendered to Liu Bang, who had sent troops from Hangu Pass to the east. In this way, the area controlled by Liu Bang was already close to Peng Yue's activities of Juye Ze, posing a mortal threat to Western Chu.
Two surprising victories
In March of the second year of the Han Dynasty (205 BC), taking advantage of Xiang Yu's deep siege of the Qidi battlefield, Liu Bang led his troops to cross the Yellow River from the east of The Jin Dynasty, forcing the Wei king Wei Bao to surrender. Immediately afterward, the Han army attacked Hanoi and captured Sima Wei, the King of Yin. At this time, except for the area directly ruled by Xiang Yu and the Yandi and Liaodong regions controlled by the Yan king Zang Di, most of the area north of the Huai River was already under the control of the anti-Chu alliance, and the situation was very favorable for Liu Bang to continue to march eastward to capture Xiang Yu's old home, Pengcheng.
Images of Ying Kuni
Although the purpose of Liu Bang's crusade was to fight for territory, he was far more politically savvy than Xiang Yu, knew how to put a moral cloak on this war, and molded himself into the embodiment of justice, so as to win over supporters to the greatest extent possible and disintegrate the strength of Xiang Yu's camp. To this end,
After Liu Bang led his army to Luoyang, he immediately issued a letter accusing Xiang Yu of killing the Righteous Emperor Xiongxin and calling on the princes of the world to gather under his banner to fight against the rebels. Liu Bang's move worked, and the princes rushed to Luoyang, together with the Han army, with a total of about 560,000 men
。
In April of the same year, after Liu Bang detected the news that the main force of the Chu army was far away in Qidi and the defense of Pengcheng was weak, he immediately led the main army to the east and took Pengcheng almost effortlessly
。 In order to prevent Xiang Yu from returning, Liu Bang ordered his brother-in-law Lü Ze to garrison Xiayi, Peng Yue to garrison Liangdi, and Fan Duo to garrison Zoulu, Fengqiu, Xue, and other places to cover pengcheng's safety. After the completion of the military deployment, Liu Bang thought that he was at ease, so he lived in the Western Chu Royal Palace, received Xiang Yu's concubines, and held drinks with the generals every day and sought pleasure.
Portrait of Xiang Yu
The news of Pengcheng's loss reached Qidi, which immediately put Xiang Yu in a dilemma: If the division did not return to retake Pengcheng, and the war in Qidi was difficult to end in a short period of time, the Chu army that had lost its base area would cut off logistical supplies, and after a long time, the army would be scattered, and no one would be able to save the great defeat of Western Chu; if the division returned to retake Pengcheng, there would be a stubborn obstruction from Liu Bang's superior forces in the front, and then a sneak attack launched by Tian Rong from behind, once the strategic goal could not be completed in a short period of time, there would also be a danger of losing everything.
Three Feathers fight back
Faced with an incomparably dangerous political and military environment, Xiang Yu thought about it for a long time and finally formulated a very bold strategic plan. In order to prevent Tian Rong from sneaking in from behind, Xiang Yu handed over the main force to the generals and ordered them to continue to attack Qidi. Subsequently, Xiang Yu selected the 30,000 most effective and loyal cavalry from the army, and then led them to gallop south, and after breaking Fan Duo and other armies at Flawed Hill, he took an encirclement and blitzkrieg from Huling to Xiao County, intending to crush the various Han armies on the outskirts of Pengcheng.
Map of the situation at the Battle of Pengcheng
The cavalry led by Xiang Yu arrived in Xiao County late at night, and after a short rest, they took advantage of the dawn to counterattack the Han army's flank from west to east, and along the way they fought and won consecutive victories, reaching the outskirts of Pengcheng in only half a day.
Liu Bang did not expect Xiang Yu to arrive so quickly, and in a hurry organized an army to meet it, and as a result, he was crippled by the prepared Chu army in the first battle, and more than 100,000 people were killed on the spot. After that, Xiang Yu took advantage of the victory to pursue Liu Bang's defeated army, and killed more than 100,000 Han troops in Surabaya and Lingbi twice in a row, and forced Liu Bang to flee into Suishui
The Han army escaped into Suishui and was again severely attacked by the Chu army, and the number of people killed, trampled on and drowned was innumerable, so that the Water was full of the corpses of Han soldiers, making the river not flow.
Xiang Yu's army surrounded Liu Bang and his remnants for three layers, and just as they were about to be annihilated, suddenly the northwesterly winds suddenly struck, and the Chu army was in chaos due to flying sand and stones, which made Liu Bang lead more than ten remnants to break through and luckily retrieve a life
。 However, Liu Bang's father, Liu Taigong, and his wife Lü Yan were unable to escape and became Xiang Yu's prisoners, and were not released until 2 years later.
Liu Bang suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Pengcheng
The Battle of Pengcheng caused Liu Bang to suffer the greatest fiasco in his life, with more than 200,000 Han troops killed alone, and the number of wounded and captured soldiers was even more difficult to count. After this battle, the Han army was seriously injured, causing Liu Bang to fall into the dilemma of "the old and weak in the Fa Guan", and the princes also turned their backs on Han and Chu
。 However, Xiang Yu failed to make full use of the advantages after the Battle of Pengcheng, while Liu Bang was able to be ashamed and then brave, and it took only two years to regain the initiative in the war, and finally eliminate Xiang Yu and create the Han Dynasty.
bibliography
Sima Qian (Western Han Dynasty): Records of History, Zhonghua Bookstore, 1982.
Bangu (Eastern Han): Book of Han, Zhonghua Bookstore, 1999.
Sima Guang (Song): Zizhi Tongjian, Zhonghua Bookstore, 2015.