Chapter 10: Prelude to the War

Under Hangu Pass, the New Qin Army Barracks.

It was night at this time, and the dense campfires were as boundless as the stars in the sky; in contrast, the gloomy sky was dark and there were no stars at all, which made people have the illusion that the heaven and earth were reversed.

In the cold wind, standing on a hill, protected by countless camps like stars and moon was a magnificent golden tent. This is the location of Fusu Palace, and it is also brightly lit at this time, and several charcoal fires were lit inside, which was extremely warm. However, what is surprising is that Fusu was not in it, but stood outside the tent and looked at Hangu Pass in the cold wind.

"Your Majesty, it's late at night, it's time to rest. You still have a lot of military affairs tomorrow, and government affairs need to be handled!" A familiar voice came from behind Fusu.

Fusu turned around and saw that it was Wuya and Wushang, and smiled and said, "I have some worries and can't sleep for a while!" Wushang smiled and said, "Is Your Majesty worried that Zhang Han's plan of discord cannot be successful?" Fusu shook his head and said, "No, Zhao Gao's fool is too suspicious, and there is a deep sense of inferiority in his heart. If you don't feel at ease with anyone, you will definitely fall into the trap!"

"Then your Majesty is worried that the young Han Xin can suppress the morale of the army and defeat Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu?" Wuya suddenly said silently. Fusu looked at Wuya and nodded and said, "Wuya knows my heart! Han Xin is too young after all. Although I believe in his talents very much, our Qin army is all arrogant and powerful, and it is difficult to control it. I am a little worried!"

Wushen smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, that Han Xin is a ruthless character! Do Your Majesty still remember? He was only thirteen or fourteen years old, but he didn't say a word after being beaten by several rogues, and he just fought back to fight back with all his might. Now that he has grown up, there is no reason to be afraid of those thorns, and he will definitely find a way to conquer the morale of the army! Your Majesty is concerned and confused!"

Upon hearing this, Fusu couldn't help laughing and said, "Maybe as you said, I'm worried and confused! By the way, has General Meng Tian not sent military information yet?" "No," Wushang shook his head: "Military Advisor Zhang Liang has never been here! However, Your Majesty should be at ease. According to time, Taiyuan should have been gone. After all, 300,000 Black-shirted Army attacked a mere Taiyuan City, which is only 200,000 to 30,000 people, and a month should be enough!"

"I hope this is the case!" Fusu sighed, still a little worried about the two situations in the distance. It seems that before the exact news, Fusu will not want to sleep peacefully these days!

In Hangu Pass, the General's Mansion.

At this time, the lights were brightly lit in the mansion, and countless old Qin soldiers from the guards were patrolling, with great vigilance.

Zhang Han was in the coach's room, staring at a letter in a daze. The slender eyebrows were bent like earthworms, and his handsome face was full of doubt.

Suddenly, the tall and slender Zhang Han stood up, as if he was standing up a high wall. He was really a typical figure of a great man from Guanzhong, Qin. Just as Zhang Han was pacing back and forth in the room, suddenly a personal soldier outside said loudly: "General Sima, General Dong is here!"

Zhang Han was stunned. When he looked up, two deputy generals, Sima Xin and Dong Yi, walked in.

Sima Xin is about 40 years old. She has a typical Qin man with a tall figure. She has a square face, wide mouth, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and her shrill black armor, which looks very powerful.

Dong Yi has a medium-sized figure, a tough and free face. In addition, she is only thirty years old, and she looks shrewd and strong against the backdrop of black armor!

"Two generals, why are you here so late?" Zhang Han said with a smile on his face.

Sima Xin and Dong Yi looked at each other for a moment, as if they exchanged glances. Sima Xin smiled and said, "I have no other intentions. I just heard that General Zhang had some letters with the pseudo-Emperor Fusu recently. I wonder if I can let us view it?"

Zhang Han had no ghost in his heart, so he smiled and said, "Of course! They are all ordinary words, so the two generals can watch it at will!" As he said that, Zhang Han handed over all the five letters written by Fusu to Sima Xin and Dong Yi.

Sima Xin and Dong Yi saw Zhang Han so happy, their faces were a little strange. After they read several letters, the strange colors not only did not disappear, but became even thicker.

Seeing Sima Xin and Dong Yi’s expressions were wrong, Zhang Han said with some confusion: “The two generals looked a little ugly, but what’s wrong with the content of the letter?”

Sima Xin couldn't help but say, "General Zhang, the five letters here seem to be some ordinary questions at first, talking about some idle affairs of military affairs and national affairs. But why is this letter today painted with ink for all the important matters? Is General Zhang not going to let us know anything about it??"

Zhang Han was furious when he heard this and said in a deep voice: "What does General Sima mean? Do you think that Zhang and Fusu have something to do? This may be because Fusu was careless for a moment, and it is unknown if he sent the cursive script by mistake!"

Dong Yi sneered from the side, "General Zhang, why should you deceive yourself? Then who is Fusu? Others may not know. Do we, as Qin people, still don't know? If he is careless, there would probably be no one more shrewd in the world! Do you think such a shrewd person might use cursive script as a regular script? "

Zhang Han couldn't help but burst into anger, rushed to the top of the beam, glaring at Sima Xin and Dong Yi and said, "No matter what you two think, I, Zhang Han, have a clear conscience! My family is in Xianyang. Will I surrender to the enemy and seek honor without regard to the safety of my wife and children? Don't forget that I am the chief general in the army, and it's not your turn to blame me!"

Seeing that Sima Xin said that he would start a fight, she quickly made a smooth move and said, "Okay, yes, yes, General Zhang, please calm down for the time being. We have nothing to say! We are all colleagues, look up and see each other, don't hurt the harmony!" Zhang Han and Dong Yi looked at each other and snorted.

Sima Xin sighed and said to Zhang Han: "General Zhang, you are the chief general. Logically speaking, we should not cause trouble for you as deputys. We both know that you are a little dissatisfied with the court, and that's not the same. We are not voluntary when we go to the expedition this time. However, our family is in Xianyang, so we must be careful when doing things on weekdays. If the news of your letters and communication with Fusu is spread to Xianyang, it is hard to say what consequences will be. Today, I have said that, no matter whether General Zhang and the pseudo-emperor Fusu have any relationship, I hope this matter will end here!"

When Zhang Han heard this, he knew that Sima Xin and Dong Yi were also a good thing. He sighed and said, "Thank you for reminding you, Zhang Han is well-intentioned!" Sima Xin and Dong Yi looked at each other and smiled and said, "That's the case, then we will say goodbye!" "No!"

In the cold winter, the wind is cold and the waves are surging on the Yangtze River. However, now a small boat is floating along the river, drifting with the waves between the peaks and valleys, and advancing tenaciously towards the south of the Yangtze River.

Han Xin stood firmly on the boat board, carrying his hands on his back, and stood proudly in the wet river breeze. Although the waves were surging, I remained unmoved. Although the two guards who accompanied him were also water-like, under such strong winds and waves, they could only support the boat and help themselves.

The boss of the boat was very happy when facing such a wind. He only wore a shirtless short jacket and sang fisherman's songs in the cold wind and shouted horns!

Gradually, the boat sailed near the south of the Yangtze River and approached the Qin army's water and land camp.

Suddenly, a Qin army sentry boat rushed from the river. Several short and strong Minyue navy soldiers shouted in the wind: "Who is coming? Sign up quickly, otherwise you will wait for the bow and arrow!" Han Xin looked at it and said loudly: "Qin ordered the Marquis of Huaiyin, General Han Xin will come to receive military power! Report quickly!"

Several Minyue soldiers were startled. Although they didn't know whether it was true or false, they did not dare to neglect them. They hurriedly said, "Please come here and lead the way into the village!" Han Xin nodded and signaled that the boss of the ship who was a little surprised to row into the huge naval camp with the ward boat.

After passing through the huge and strong naval camp, giant ships appeared in front of Han Xin, making Han Xin look admirable and couldn't help but start thinking about something.

After a while, the boat followed the wardrobe on the river bank. Han Xin admired the boss of the ship and ordered the soldiers to lead the way and release them back. He then rushed to the commander's tent under the guidance of two Fujian-Yue soldiers.

As soon as he arrived at the door of the commander's tent, the fast-legged soldier had already reported to Cao Shen, Wu Rui and Wu Zhu: An imperial general was ordered to take over military power. The three generals did not dare to be negligent, so they came out to greet him. As soon as they arrived at the tent, they saw a young man coming from his cloak, with a proud and majestic expression.

Cao Shen and the other two were stunned: "This person is the new general!? He is too young, and he has never heard of this person at all!" They all looked disbelief.

It’s no wonder that Han Xin was in the year, but it was only twenty-five years old. As the saying goes, ‘The fetal hair has not dried, and the milk smell has not yet subsided’!

Cao Shen bowed to Han Xin and said, "The last general Cao Shen is the chief general in the army! How dare you ask the imperial envoy who was ordered to take over military power, imperial edicts, seals, and military talismans?" Han Xin's face was calm and waved behind him. Two guards, Fusu's imperial edicts, military talismans, and "Huaiyin Hou" and "General" were presented to him.

It is true that Cao Shen and the other two had tested it. They were shocked for a moment: Fusu praised the young man in the imperial edict and accepted it as his adopted son. It was obviously because he was ruthless to care for him! However, Cao Shen and the other two looked at Han Xin a few times, but they really couldn't see anything extraordinary about Han Xin, perhaps even looking like a character on the outside!

Han Xin understood in his heart, and smiled slightly and said, "Please beat General Cao and gather the generals to hand over military power!" "Yes, General!" Although Cao Shen had some knots in his heart, he did not dare to disobey Fusu's order.

Soon, the rumbling drums sounded over the Qin army's water and land joint camp at a huge price, and the main generals began to gather at the commander's tent.

When the generals entered the tent of the general, they were stunned to see that it was not Cao Shen, but a very young and resolute young man sitting in the throne. The generals were so confused that they did not dare to ask questions, so they could only stand by silently.

After the three-way gathered the generals, Han Xin looked at the crowded tents and smiled at Cao Shen and said, "General Cao, are all the generals?" Cao Shen said, "It's together!"

"Then please let General Cao explain to the generals and hand over the military power!" Han Xin was not at all nervous.

"Yes!" Cao Shen was commanded by Han Xin, with a hint of red expression on his face. He had to endure the unhappiness in his heart and said to the generals: "Dear generals, Your Majesty has issued an order to order the Marquis of Huaiyin and General Han Xin to be the commander of the army. I have experienced the imperial edict, the military talismans and golden seals, which are correct! Now, I will hand over the military power to General Han, hoping that the generals will obey the general's orders in the future and will not be wrong!" As he said that, Cao Shen handed over the arrows and other objects that showed military power to Han Xin.

Han Xin got up and took it, put it on the commander's case, glanced at the generals, and smiled slightly, "Dear generals, Han is young but entrusted to such a high position. Maybe all the generals are not convinced! This doesn't matter. At first, Han didn't want everyone to be convinced, but just hope everyone can obey the order! Otherwise," Han Xin asked the heroic Cao sword and said sternly: "Your Majesty has a sword wearing a heroic Cao here, and you will be killed without mercy!"

When the generals saw Han Xin turning from smiling face to black face in the blink of an eye, they carried Fu Suhao Cao Jian out, and were also a little scared for a moment, and hurriedly said: "I will obey the general's order!"

Seeing this, Han Xin was very satisfied and said with a smile: "In the battle the day before yesterday, our army was defeated in Guangling, which was quite a loss. I believe all the generals must be full of anger, right?" When the generals saw Han Xin coming, they grabbed everyone's painful feet and changed their color and were very embarrassed.

Han Xin turned a blind eye and said: "Guangling's defeat was not defeated by strategy, but by knowing his elders but not knowing his opponent: the courage of Chu Xiang and the power of Xiang Yu were beyond our expectations, so they were defeated! However, there were still some gains in this defeat, which made our army recognize the advantages and disadvantages of the enemy and our army."

Wu Rui couldn't help but say, "Since the general has realized the advantages and shortcomings of the Chu army, is it possible to defeat the enemy?" Han Xin smiled slightly and said, "Xiang Liang is proficient in tactics, does not understand strategy, and is arrogant and easy to deal with. Although Xiang Yu is also proficient in tactics and is even brave and mighty in the world, he is only a man, so it is not difficult to deal with it. When I came, I heard that Long Qi has now captured most of Jiujiang, and it seems that Jiujiang will soon fall into the Chu army. Within three months, I will first defeat Long Qi, break Xiang Liang within half a year, and capture Xiang Yu within half a year. If I cannot win, Han Xin is willing to be the military order with the head of the people!"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this: Although this new general was young, he was very angry!

Cao Shen smiled slightly and said, "The general is so ambitious, and it is so admirable. Then let's see that the Japanese General's Hall is powerful!" Han Xin smiled and said, "It's easy to say! General Cao, when will the troops and horses that His Majesty promised to replenish, and money and food be added to the army?"

Cao Shen said: "There are 30,000 new troops trained in Hengshan and other places, and you can arrive within ten days! The troops and horses from Bashu and Nanyue will arrive within about 50,000, as well as food, grass and supplies in about one month!"

Han Xin smiled and said, "It's enough. Gather troops in one month, train in one month, defeat Longjie in one month, and take more time!" The generals smiled but said nothing.
Chapter completed!