gnovel Chapter 69 Liu Bang's Mistakes
Chapter 69 Liu Bang's Mistakes
Zhang Han, a famous general, was praised as "Little Bai Qi" and hailed as "the last great general of the Qin Dynasty". He surrendered to Xiang Yu after being defeated at Julu and was enfeoffed as the King of Yong by Xiang Yu, becoming one of the Three Qin.
Last year, Liu Bang pacified the Three Qin regions, and Sima Xin and Dong Yi surrendered to him. Liu Ying naturally assumed that Zhang Han had already been eliminated by Liu Bang. Now, Liu Bang ordered Liu Ying to eliminate Zhang Han, something Liu Ying had never even dreamed of.
This was the most shocking thing that had happened to Liu Ying since he traveled through time, so he jumped three feet high.
"Zhang Han is still holed up in Feiqiu. Go and destroy him for me." Liu Bang looked at Liu Ying and said, "Zhang Han has been besieged by me for so long and is on his deathbed. I'm only giving you one month. If you still can't destroy Zhang Han, then forget about establishing a crown prince."
"King of Han, Zhang Han is a renowned general, not someone to be trifled with. He almost quelled the chaos in Shandong. You've only given Liu Ying one month, which is too short," Xiao He objected.
"Good!" Xiahou Ying agreed.
"Gentlemen, what are you saying? The Crown Prince should of course have the abilities of the King of Han. If he can't defeat Zhang Han within a month, how can he have the nerve to be the Crown Prince?" Lady Qi was somewhat afraid of Xiao He, but she still mustered up the courage to refute him.
"Great! Lucky!" Liu Bang agreed wholeheartedly, cupped Lady Qi's jade-like face, and gave her a big kiss.
"One month is fine." Liu Ying stared at Liu Bang with wide eyes, her gaze fixed on him, unable to look away.
"What are you looking at?" Liu Bang glared at Liu Ying and shouted, "I won't extend the deadline even if you say it again."
"I'm not asking you to extend the deadline." Liu Ying's smile almost reached her ears.
"Then why are you looking at me?" Liu Bang asked, puzzled.
"I just want to ask you, Zhang Han hasn't been defeated yet, and the western regions aren't fully under your control, so why are you in such a hurry to advance eastward and compete with Xiang Yu for the world? Are you really that impatient?" The sarcasm in Liu Ying's eyes grew stronger.
"That Xiang Yu has gone too far in bullying me, even making me king of Hanzhong! This grudge must be avenged!" Liu Bang roared in anger.
According to the agreement made by King Huai of Chu, Liu Bang was to be king of Guanzhong. However, Xiang Yu broke the agreement and forcibly enfeoffed Liu Bang in Guanzhong. Moreover, he made it seem as if he would destroy Liu Bang if he refused to go to Guanzhong.
This was unacceptable to Liu Bang; he considered it a great humiliation and wished he could chop Xiang Yu into pieces, sprinkle some salt and seasonings on him, and boil him up and eat him.
Therefore, after pacifying the Three Qin regions, he immediately led his troops eastward to contend with Xiang Yu for the world and seek revenge.
"Once you're strong enough, you can take revenge anytime. Why are you in such a hurry?" Liu Ying was furious. "How old is Xiang Yu? He's not even thirty yet. You have plenty of time to take revenge. Can't you learn from King Huiwen of Qin and secure your rear first?"
Realizing his lack of historical knowledge, Liu Ying began to cram for it and has learned quite a bit about history.
"What? You want me to emulate the tyrants of the Qin Dynasty?" Liu Bang pointed at Liu Ying with his right hand and shouted, "You unfilial son!"
"If you had the composure of King Huiwen of Qin, you wouldn't be in this unfavorable situation today." Liu Ying glared at Liu Bang and retorted, "During the reign of King Huiwen of Qin, Qin had just returned to the ranks of powerful states after the reforms of Shang Yang. The world no longer looked down on Qin, and morale within Qin was high. People like Zhang Yi wanted to push eastward with all their might to contend for hegemony. This was opposed by Sima Cuo, who believed that although Qin had become stronger, it was not strong enough and needed to expand its territory and strengthen its national power."
His tone rose: "The tyrannical King Huiwen of Qin you speak of possessed great composure and perseverance. He adopted Sima Cuo's advice, pacified Ba and Shu, seized Hanzhong, and destroyed Yiqu. Qin's national strength greatly increased, laying the most solid foundation for Qin's conquest of the other six states."
"..." Liu Bang was speechless.
"Excellent!" Xiao He nodded emphatically.
"Good!" Xiahou Ying agreed.
Although Qin Huiwen was not as famous as Qin Shihuang or Qin Xiaogong, he played a pivotal role in the rise of the Qin state. He was the first king of Qin, and it was under his leadership that Qin became the most powerful of the seven Warring States, laying a solid foundation for Qin's conquest of the other six states.
When he was the ruler of Qin, after the reforms of Shang Yang, Qin had become powerful and returned to the ranks of the great powers, and the world no longer looked down on Qin.
At that time, the prevailing ideology within the Qin state was to launch a major eastward expansion, contend for hegemony in the Central Plains, and avenge the humiliation suffered at the hands of others. The most representative figure was Zhang Yi, who strongly advocated for this.
However, this was opposed by Sima Cuo, who believed that Qin had only become stronger, but not strong enough, and needed to continue to strengthen its national power, rather than expanding eastward to contend for hegemony.
At that time, the Qin state's territory consisted mainly of the Guanzhong region near Xi'an and southern Gansu. Its land area was not large, its population was small, and its tax revenue was limited. Meanwhile, Qin had six rivals. If it had truly adopted Zhang Yi's proposal and launched a major eastward expansion, it would inevitably have been dragged down.
After heated debate, King Huiwen of Qin decided against advancing eastward to contend for hegemony in the Central Plains, and instead focused on pacifying Ba and Shu. After conquering Ba and Shu, they were separated from Guanzhong by Hanzhong. King Huiwen then launched an attack on Chu, decisively defeating Chu at the Battle of Danyang and seizing Hanzhong, thus connecting Ba and Shu with Guanzhong.
Then, troops were sent north to destroy the Yiqu, thus eliminating Qin's mortal enemy.
With this, the strength of the Qin state greatly increased, making it the most powerful state in the world.
Later events proved that King Huiwen of Qin's decision was an extremely crucial move in Qin's path to hegemony.
After King Zhaoxiang of Qin ascended the throne, he continued down this path, sending Sima Cuo into Qianzhong, which is now Yunnan and Guizhou, and conquered them all. Thus, the entire western region fell into the hands of the Qin state.
With no more worries about its rear, the Qin army, led by the god of war Bai Qi, launched a massive eastward advance, beheading millions.
During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, the six states were destroyed.
"If you had the resolve of King Huiwen of Qin, and instead of advancing eastward, you had conquered the western regions, you wouldn't be in this unfavorable situation today," Liu Ying said, exasperated. "What's so special about the western regions? They offer three major advantages!"
"What are the three benefits?" Liu Ying asked.
"The first advantage is the terrain." Liu Ying stared at Liu Bang: "The western region is surrounded by mountains, with many strategic passes and passes, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once we take the western region, we will have no more worries about our rear and can launch a full-scale attack."
Our terrain is high in the west and low in the east, with mostly plains in the east and large mountains in the west.
Sichuan is a basin, Guanzhong is a country surrounded by mountains, and Hanzhong is also a basin. These are all small basins, which eventually form a large basin surrounded by mountains.
As for Yunnan and Guizhou, that is the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which is high in altitude, has complex terrain, and large mountains. It is a barrier for Sichuan, the great granary. If you control the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, you will never have to worry about anyone stealing Sichuan's great granary again.
"What's the second benefit?" Xiao He asked Liu Ying, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"The second advantage is the abundance of horses. Once we leave Guanzhong and head west, there are vast grasslands, herds of cattle and sheep, and countless fine horses. If we can take these places, building a hundred thousand elite cavalry will not be a problem." Liu Ying's lips curled up as he sneered, "That's why Hu Zhe mocked you back then, saying that you had countless warhorses right at your doorstep, but instead of taking them yourself, you were eyeing Peng Yue's warhorses."
"Excellent!" Xiao He nodded emphatically.
Xiahou Ying agreed.
Liu Bang remained silent.
Heading west from Guanzhong, past Xiaoguan Pass, lies the Northwest region. That area is a major breeding ground for fine horses.
Liu Ying was well-versed in this matter. He was fond of riding and archery, and also of fine horses. He once spent a fortune to buy a prized horse in Qinghai Province, which he treasured immensely.
The horses of Northwest China are no joke; they are no less impressive than the fine horses of the Mongolian grasslands.
If Liu Bang had conquered the Northwest, he would have had plenty of warhorses, and building an elite cavalry force of 100,000 would not have been a problem.
It was even more impossible that there were too few horses, so ministers could only travel to court by oxcart.
"What about the third benefit?" Liu Bang's expression was somewhat unnatural.
"Of course, it's grain and fodder." Liu Ying pointed to the ground with his right hand: "This place is Guanzhong, a large granary in the west; to the south is Hanzhong, a small granary; further south is Bashu, an even larger granary than Guanzhong. With such three major granaries, the Qin state was wealthy and could then focus all its efforts on conquering the world, which led to Qin Shi Huang's conquest of the six states."
Pointing his right index finger at Liu Bang, he said in a deep voice, "Even though Guanzhong was massacred by Xiang Yu, and we lost a major granary, Bashu and Hanzhong are still here. As long as we manage them well, we won't lack food. With countless warhorses, we can build an elite cavalry force, follow in the footsteps of Qin Shi Huang, and sweep away all the other warlords—it's a piece of cake!"
"What should we do now?" Liu Bang bent down and asked cautiously.