Preface: If you want to win, you have to shake it
The Chu-Han war between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu has always been talked about. We know that the final winner is Liu Bang.
However, in the early stage of the Chu-Han War, Liu Bang was always in a passive beating situation.
To what extent was he beaten? For example, in the Battle of Pengcheng in April of the second year of the Han Dynasty, not only Liu Bang was beaten to the point of losing his armor, but even his father Liu Lao Linggong and his wife Lü Xi were detained by Xiang Yu.
But Liu Bang's inferior position was completely reversed with the arrival of several key figures.
Under the relatively unfavorable circumstances, who came to help Liu Bang? What did they all do for Liu Bang?
1. Zhang Liang recommended Peng Yue
Liu Bang was defeated by Xiang Yu at Pengcheng and had to retreat to Xingyang to the west, where he built a defensive line to stop Xiang Yu's attack. But for a long time, Liu Bang was still in a passive beating situation.
In order to change this situation, Liu Bang convened a meeting of his subordinates, and the adviser Zhang Liang said to Liu Bang: "There is only one Han Xin available on our side now, and among the famous generals in the world, in addition to Chu Zhixiao's general Qibu, there is also Peng Yue who has no belongings and has developed and grown alone. Zhang Liang suggested Liu Bang to take this Peng Yue for his own use.
Liu Bang attaches great importance to Zhang Liang's opinion, and every time he meets Zhang Liang, he does not call him by his first name, but calls him "Zifang" to show respect, so who is this Peng Yue recommended by Zhang Liang to Liu Bang?
2. Peng Yue and Liu Bangchu met
Peng Yue, Zizhong, is a native of Changyi.
In the early days, he made a living from fishing, probably not much profit, and worked part-time as a bandit, and became famous in the village for his fierceness.
After Chen Sheng and Wu Guang revolted, someone in the village said to Peng Yue: "The world is all together, and you can also imitate them and rise up against Qin."
Peng Yue agreed after repeated resignation, and led this group of people to attack the city and seize the land. As he went to war, he collected people from all over the world into the army, and then evolved into a force of thousands of people.
At this time, after Liu Bang rebelled from his hometown Peixian, he fought all the way and met Peng Yue, who simply threw himself under Liu Bang and helped him attack Changyi together.
Pei Gong led troops to the west and encountered Peng Yue Changyi, because he attacked the Qin army with him, and the battle was unfavorable. - "Shiji Gaozu Benki"
However, they fought for a long time and found that Changyi was a hard bone and could not be beaten. Liu Bang was depressed and decided to bypass Changyi and continue westward.
Seeing that the eldest brother Liu Bang retreated, Peng Yue also retreated, and retreated to the lake with more than a thousand brothers, Peng Yue took these people, did not participate in the battles of other princes, but silently gathered the fugitive pawns who came to Wei Di and continued to strengthen themselves. In the end, it developed into a team with tens of thousands of horses.
3. Peng Yue and Liu Bang meet again
The second meeting between Peng Yue and Liu Bang was before the famous Battle of Pengcheng.
At this time, the state of Qin had already perished, and Xiang Yu set fire to the capital of Xianyang, and at this time entered the stage of Chu-Han dispute between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. Because Xiang Yu killed the righteous emperor Chuhuai Wang and was unpopular, Liu Bang took this as a name to send a division from Guanzhong to recruit Xiang Yu, gathering 560,000 miscellaneous troops along the way, preparing to attack Xiang Yu's old nest Pengcheng (present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu).
On his way to Pengcheng, Liu Bang met Peng Yue again while passing through Waihuang (present-day Minquan County, Henan Province).
At this time, Peng Yue had already captured more than ten cities in the Wei state, and with Liu Bang's arrival, he handed over the 30,000 soldiers in his hands to his eldest brother Liu Bang. In order to thank Peng Yue, Liu Bang made him the Wei chancellor of the Wei state.
In the spring of the second year of the King of Han, he attacked Chu with the Wei king Leopard and the princes, and Peng Yue returned more than 30,000 of his troops to Waihuang. ...... Nai Bai Peng Yue was Wei Xiangguo, and he was good at his troops, and he was slightly grounded. ——"Shiji Wei Bao Peng Yue Lie"
With Peng Yue's strong support, Liu Bang's coalition army reached nearly 600,000.
However, in the Battle of Pengcheng in April of the second year of the Han Dynasty, these 600,000-strong "motley army" lost to the 30,000 elite cavalry led by Xiang Yu. Liu Bang retreated westward to Xingyang.
Xiang Wang Nai attacked the Han army from Xiao and Chen to the east to Pengcheng, and the middle of the day, breaking the Han army. - "Shiji Xiangyu Benki"
4. Peng Yue accidentally cut off Xiang Yue Liang Road
When Liu Bang retreated to Xingyang, Peng Yue did not follow, and Peng Yue returned to the seat of the Wei state at that time, located in the area of present-day Puyang, Henan.
The defeat of the King of Han was the liberation of Pengcheng, and Peng Yue all returned to the city where he was located, and his troops were alone on the river. ——"Shiji Wei Bao Peng Yue Lie"
Liu Bang formed a defensive line in Xingyang to resist Xiang Yu, but he was still in a passive beating situation, and the situation was precarious.
At this time, in order to save his eldest brother Liu Bang, Peng Yue suddenly went south from Puyang and fought a guerrilla war in Xiang Yu's territory Suiyang (present-day Shangqiu, Henan), and wasn't the Chu army besieging Liu Bang in Xingyang? Peng Yue was very shrewd and cut off the grain route that the Chu army was transporting to the Xingyang front.
In the third year of the Han king, Peng Yue often traveled as a Han ranger, defeated Chu, and never ate in Liangdi. ——"Shiji Wei Bao Peng Yue Lie"
This was the first time that the grain route of Xiang Yu's army was cut off by Liu Bang's army.
Peng Yue constantly harassed the Chu army in the rear, and also cut off the grain road, seeing that the soldiers on the Xingyang front were about to drink the northwest wind, Xiang Yu had no choice, so he had to temporarily give up attacking Xingyang and turn around to teach this king of destruction - Peng Yue.
At this time, Peng Yue counted the land against Liang, and the grain was extremely poor, and Xiang Wang was suffering. - "Shiji Xiangyu Benki"
Xiang Yu was forced to withdraw from the Xingyang front, but before withdrawing, he sent a man named Zhigong to guard Xingyang for him, and the requirements were not high, and he could guard until Xiang Yu won Peng Yue back. But this Gonggong is a "pig teammate" who does not understand military affairs, and there are many such people around Xiang Yu, and the same is true of Cao Yu behind. As soon as Xiang Yu went back to fight Peng Yue, Liu Bang saw that Xiang Yu was not there, and he had the courage to go out of the city to attack, and killed the final duke who was defending the city for Xiang Yu in one fell swoop.
It was said that Xiang Yu returned to attack Peng Yue, but when Peng Yue saw Xiang Yu's return to the army, thirty-six plans were taken as the top plan, and he turned his head and ran.
After seeing Peng Yue run, Xiang Yu led his army back to Xingyang again, but found that Xingyang City had been lost, so Xiang Yu turned around again and hit Xingyang. This back and forth can make Xiang Yu tired enough.
Peng Yue's set of tactics is called "the enemy advances, I retreat, and the enemy retreats, I advance." "So Peng Yue is the earliest guerrilla general in Chinese history. His set of guerrilla warfare methods later had a great impact on China's military history.
Xiang Yu was led away by Liu Bang at this time. First led by Liu Bang to Nanyang, then led by Peng Yue to Suiyang, and then abducted back from Suiyang to Xingyang, Xiang Yu was mobilized by Liu Bang to beat. It shows that Liu Bang grasped the initiative of the Chu-Han dispute for the first time.
5. Peng Yue continued to break Xiangyue Liangdao
However, Xiang Yu was the god of war after all, and soon defeated Xingyang City again, and seeing that the army was scattered by Xiang Yu again, Liu Bang escaped from the west gate of Xingyang, fled into Hangu Pass, and hid in the pass. Xiao He, the logistics minister in Guanzhong, put together an army of tens of thousands of people for Liu Bang and prepared enough food, and Liu Bang rectified and rested for a while, and wanted to go out of Guan to fight Xiang Yu.
At this time, a man named Duke Yuan next to Liu Bang suggested to Liu Bang: "Lead troops from Wuguan in the southeast direction of Guan, pretend to raid Xiang Yu's old nest Pengcheng, and lure Xiang Yu out." ”
Duke Yuan proposed that if Xiang Yu's army pressed down, we would not be able to hold out, ease the pressure on Xingyang, and wait for Han Xin in the north to come to help after the war ended. As a result, the main forces of the Chu army were dispersed into several parts, and the Han army could also take the opportunity to rest and recuperate, and when the time was ripe, it was not too late to counterattack.
This trick is called guerrilla warfare, if you can't win, you run, run and then come back and fight again, even if you drag, you will be dragged to death.
Liu Bang led a group of men and horses south, out of Wuguan, and all the way to Wancheng. Xiang Yu also did not have any advisers here, he made his own decisions, as soon as Xiang Yu heard that Liu Bang was out of the customs, he came to his hometown of Pengcheng, so how to do, quickly lead the troops south to intercept.
Xiang Yu led a small army to Wancheng, but Liu Bang followed Duke Yuan's plan and did not come out. At this time, the little brother Peng Yue appeared again in time, he crossed Suishui, entered Xiaping, and defeated Xiang Sheng and Xue Gong on the side of the Chu army. Then Peng Yue took up his old line and continued to destroy Xiang Yu's grain channel in the rear. According to Xiang Yu's temper, it is conceivable, he left an army in Wancheng, continued to deal with Liu Bang, and led troops alone to kill Peng Yue.
Xiang Yu heard that King Han was in Wan, and Guo led troops south. King Han Jianbi does not fight. It was when Peng Yue crossed Suishui and fought with Xiang Sheng and Xue Gong, and Peng Yue broke the Chu army. Xiang Yunai led his troops east to attack Peng Yue. - "Shiji Gaozu Benki"
As a result, as soon as Xiang Yu's front foot left, Liu Bang was no longer guarding the city on his hind foot, led his army out of the city, defeated the encirclers outside Wancheng, and took the opportunity to sneak back to the north and reoccupy Chenggao (present-day northwest of Xianshui, Henan).
Liu Bang and Peng Yue echoed each other, Xiang Yu Gu Dong ignored the west, Xiang Yu suddenly realized, he was fooled again! He ran around for a month, and it turned out that Liu Bang was trying to exhaust his army!
After several guerrilla battles, Liu Bang gradually gained confidence and prepared to lead his troops across the Yellow River to the south, wanting to attack from here and fight Xiang Yu to the death.
At this time, a Lang Zhong named Zheng Zhong stopped Liu Bang's idea, and he suggested to Liu Bang: "The best way now is: build a high wall, accumulate grain, and fight urgently." ”
Langzhong Zheng Zhongnai said to stop the king of Han, so that the high stronghold is deep, and do not fight. - "Shiji Gaozu Benki"
Liu Bang's biggest characteristic is that he can listen to other people's opinions, and as soon as Liu Bang heard that it made sense, he decided not to fight first. But Liu Bang did not fight, which did not mean that Peng Yue did not fight, and he made a comeback and continued to destroy Xiang Yu's grain channel.
Liu Bang saw that the little brother Peng Yue was having fun in the east, making Xiang Yu very embarrassed, and laughing so much that the nose bubbles came out, so Liu Bang decided to also participate, support the little brother, send more than 20,000 infantry and hundreds of cavalry, cross Baimajin, enter Chudi, and come to help in the battle.
The leader of the team was Liu Bang's cousin Liu Jia, and Liu Bang's fa Xiao Lu Xuan, who echoed Peng Yueya, burned Xiang Yu's granary, destroyed the grain pipeline, and suddenly cut off the grain supply in front of Xiang Yu.
The Chu army is full of enemies in the east and west, and they can't be busy, they may see that Liu Bang's cousin Liu Jia is the weakest here, and they have no experience in leading troops, so they decided to start with him and chase Liu Jia and not let go, but Liu Jia was already prepared, stationed down, and could not come out!
Liu Jia could not hold on on one side, leaving the Chu army helpless, but Peng Yue launched a guerrilla war from the other side, taking the opportunity to catch the Chu army by surprise, and took seventeen Wei cities such as Suiyang and Waihuang in one breath.
In the winter of the fourth year of the Han Dynasty, King Xiang and King Han were separated from Xingyang, and Peng Yue captured Suiyang and the seventeen cities of Waihuang. ——"Shiji Wei Bao Peng Yue Lie"
The city of Chenggao has changed owners several times, and now it is in the hands of Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu, who is in Chenggao City, heard that Peng Yue had laid down seventeen cities, and he was very anxious, so he left his own Grand Sima Cao Guan to garrison Chenggao, Xiang Yu specially ordered Cao Guo, you learn from Liu Jia, you can hold on, and you must not go out of the city to meet the attack. Then Xiang Yu personally led troops to attack Peng Yue, and naturally he could not defeat Xiang Yu when he fought Peng Yue head-on, and was forced to retreat to Gucheng, and Xiang Yu recaptured the seventeen cities captured by Peng Yue.
However, there was another chaos on Cao Bang's side, and Liu Bang scolded under the city for fourteen or five days, and Cao Bang was overwhelmed, forgetting Xiang Yu's request that he could not hold on, and went out of the city to fight, but was defeated by Liu Bang, and Chenggao City fell into Liu Bang's hands again.
The king of Han led his troops across the river, recaptured Chenggao, and the army Guangwu was eaten in Ao Cang. - "Shiji Xiangyu Benki"
The city of Chenggao changed hands several times in the Chu-Han War, because this city is very important, hiding the property that Xiang Yu has looted for many years, and near Chenggao City is the famous granary Ao Cang, so Chu Han has repeatedly fought for this place.
In order to recapture Chenggao City, Xiang Yu had to return to fight Liu Bang, and Peng Yue, who was beaten away by Xiang Yu, was able to breathe. Peng Yue continued to fight guerrilla attacks on Xiang Yu's territory, harassing the Chu army's grain delivery team.
In the autumn of the fifth year of the Han Dynasty, King Xiang's south traveled to Yangxia, and Peng Yue returned to more than 20 cities next to Changyi, and obtained more than 100,000 Hu in the valley to feed the King of Han. ——"Shiji Wei Bao Peng Yue Lie"
6. The master of guerrilla warfare, Peng Yue, was crowned King of Liang
From May of the second year of the Han Dynasty to September of the fourth year of the Han Dynasty, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang fought a major battle in Xingyang for two years and four months, which was the longest battle in the course of their fight. In the end, due to the difficulty of supplying Xiang Yu's grain and grass (in addition to the old and weak Chu army responsible for transportation, it was mainly the credit of Peng Yue's constant harassment), the Chu army could not confront the Han army for a long time, and the two sides agreed not to fight and negotiate peace!
At that time, the Han soldiers ate a lot, and the Xiang Wang soldiers stopped eating. - "Shiji Xiangyu Benki"
East of Xingyang, Henan, there is a canal dug by King Wei Hui during the Warring States period, called the chasm, there is a saying called "insurmountable chasm", it is said that it is here, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu discussed peace in the chasm, and agreed that Chu and Han would use the chasm as the boundary and divide the world in the middle. The east of the chasm returns to Chu, and to the west to Han.
King Xiang and Han covenanted, divided the world in the middle, cut the chasm, the west is Han, and the chasm and the east are Chu. - "Shiji Xiangyu Benki"
After the chasm was discussed, Xiang Yu felt that it was okay, so he would go back to his hometown, so he led his troops back east and returned to Pengcheng, the base camp of the Chu army. But on Liu Bang's side, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping suggested that the morale of our army is strong, what peace treaty to sign, Xiang Jiajun is very tired now, isn't it over to take him with a bang? So at the suggestion of the advisers around him, Liu Bang tore up the peace discussion, launched a large army, and continued to pursue Xiang Yu!
"Han has half of the world, and all the princes are attached to it. The Chu soldiers are exhausted, and this day is also the time of Chu's death", suggesting that "it is better to take it because of its opportunity". - "Shiji Xiangyu Benki"
Then in this place of Guling, Liu Bang's army caught up with Xiang Yu, but please note that Liu Bang's army actually lost! Xiang Jiajun, who was short of food and grass and was hungry and panicked, was repelled!
Liu Bang saw that there were three gangs of a good man, and I had to find Han Xin and Peng Yue. But when they didn't come, Zhang Liang advised Liu Bang to give them a fief of king, to Han Xin the territory east of Chen Di to the sea, to Peng Yue the territory north of Yanyang to Graincheng, and to make Peng Yue the king of Liang (Liang or Wei).
The king was able to go east of Chen to Fu Hai, and to Han Xin; North of Suiyang to the city of grain, in order to fight with Peng Yue: each of them is easy to defeat. - "Shiji Xiangyu Benki"
Sure enough, with the fiefdom of the king, the generals Han Xin, Peng Yue, and Yibu all came. Next is the plot we are familiar with, in this place to surround Xiang Yu, the overlord Farewell Concubine, Wujiang killed himself, Xiang Yu killed himself, and after Xiang Yu killed himself, he also announced the demise of Chu, and Han got the world.
After the war, Liu Bang made Peng Yue the king of Liang and Dingtao as the capital.
When the messenger arrived, Peng Yue Nai learned that the army would fall, and then broke. Xiang is dead. In the spring, Lipengyue became the king of Liang, and Duding Tao. ——"Shiji Wei Bao Peng Yue Lie"
Brief summary:
Liu Bang and Peng Yue's guerrilla warfare method, when facing a strong enemy, has a spirit of revolutionary optimism, is not afraid of failure, and becomes more courageous and courageous. Is it similar to the fighting style of our army during the anti-Japanese period?! So it's important to study history, it's important to "learn" about it!