23Choose the second path

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The defeated Liu Bang took more than 60,000 remaining troops under his command and returned to Lantian two days later. There was also a large amount of grain, grass and ordnance he left behind, and he had to come back to get it.

Along the way back, Liu Bangjun's overall morale was low, and every one of them looked like an eggplant beaten by frost.

They had sent troops to Xianyang with high morale and confidence before. Liu Bang even started to think of advancing into Xianyang City and seizing the king of Guanzhong.

But in the end, they returned with a disastrous defeat, losing all their troops, 20,000 elite soldiers, and even their favorite general Zhou Bo was captured by the Qin army.

In particular, when Liu Bang returned to Lantian, he received the spy's report.

It is said that at this time, Xiang Yu's army of several hundred thousand troops captured Luoyang without any bloodshed. They were raising military supplies in the Luoyang area and would soon send troops to Guanzhong.

Xiang Yu's war was going smoothly, he was high-spirited, and the hundreds of thousands of troops under his command were in great shape. Compared with his disastrous defeat and loss of troops and generals, Liu Bang felt even more uncomfortable.

"Zifang, what should we do next?"

Liu Bang was in a bad mood and had no idea what to do next, so he had to turn to Zhang Liang for help.

At this time, Zhang Liang was in a daze and did not even hear Liu Bang's questions.

It wasn't until Liu Bang called him several times that Zhang Liang reacted.

"Sorry, Pei Gong, I was distracted."

"Zifang, what are you thinking about?"

"Pei Gong, Zifang is thinking about it. At the beginning of the month, Xiang Yu was still blocked in the Luoyang area, unable to advance even an inch. He and Li You's hundreds of thousands of Qin troops were fighting fiercely in Sanchuan County.

Why did Luoyang suddenly be captured without a single blow? There must be a big secret in this!

Our messenger, doesn’t he have more detailed information?”

Zhang Liang said with a thoughtful look on his face.

Hearing what Zhang Liang said, Xiao He who was standing next to him quickly added: "Zifang thought the same as me. I just asked the messenger who reported the news and got more detailed information."

"Oh? Say it quickly."

Zhang Liang's eyes lit up and he urged Xiao He that he wanted to verify his guess.

"The messenger said that Xiang Yu originally attacked Luoyang City by force, but was unable to capture it for a long time.

Luoyang guard Li You was the son of Li Si and was very loyal to the Qin Dynasty. Xiang Yu sent people to surrender, but Li You refused.

However, Li You commanded nearly 100,000 Qin troops in Luoyang City and blocked Xiang Yu's more than 300,000 troops. The two sides fought fiercely for half a month.

But just a few days ago, when Xiang Yu and his army had finished resting and were preparing to go to war again, they unexpectedly discovered that the Luoyang City opposite was already empty.

Not a single Qin army was seen in the city. The Qin army led by Li You had withdrawn from Luoyang City at night two days ago.

Xiang Yu then captured Luoyang without any bloodshed.

According to the news, Li You's retreating army seems to have retreated to Hangu Pass."

Xiao He narrated.

"Is there such a good thing? Isn't Li You stupid? He gave Xiang Yu such an important town like Luoyang for nothing."

Fan Kuai on the side said in a loud voice.

On the contrary, Zhang Liang laughed after hearing this.

"If my guess is correct, Li You in Luoyang City secretly withdrew from Luoyang with his army and retreated to garrison at Hangu Pass. He probably received orders from Hu Hai.

Because Hu Hai killed Zhao Gao in Xianyang City, Li Youcai led his army back.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for Li You to lead the army back.

Have you noticed that Hu Hai, the tyrannical Qin emperor who was deceived and manipulated by Zhao Gao before, seems to have enlightened himself overnight.

In Xianyang City, Hu Hai's power had long been eclipsed by Zhao Gao. Under such circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for Hu Hai to kill Zhao Gao. I don't know how he could do it.

And ordering Li You to be transferred back, abandoning Luoyang, and retreating to Hangu Pass was also a good move.

With Zhang Han surrendering to Xiang Yu, the main army of Bao Qin has been basically destroyed. The 100,000 Qin troops in Li You's hands are basically Bao Qin's last troops.

As for the mere Luoyang, it was completely useless to Da Qin. On the contrary, Hangu Pass, as the gateway into Guanzhong, was more suitable for defense.

In the previous battle between us and the Qin army, the Qin army was even more cautious and set up one trick after another. When I think about it now, I feel it was awesome.

I don’t believe that Hu Hai, the foolish king of the Qin Dynasty, could have thought of all this.

Therefore, I guess that there is most likely a powerful counselor around Hu Hai who planned all this for him.

This person is strategizing, thoughtful, and sees the long term. He is a powerful person. I really want to meet this person now.

I don’t know which family it comes from, the Legalist family?”

Zhang Liang told Liu Bang and others what he was thinking, and even the sudden appearance of such a master aroused his competitive spirit.

"Zifang's analysis is good. A lot of things have indeed happened in Bao Qin over the past month. It's really unbelievable when I think about it now."

Xiao He also nodded, agreeing with Zhang Liang's guess.

However, Liu Bang was not very interested in Zhang Liang's speculation. What he wanted to know now was what they should do next.

"We have two paths to take next.

The first way is for Pei Gong to take our 60,000 remaining soldiers and horses to Luoyang to join Xiang Yu's army."

"Zhang Liang, what are you talking about? You asked us to go to Luoyang to join Xiang Yu. If you think of it, we won't go even if you kill us."

Guan Ying shouted next to him.

"That's right, I will never go to that reckless man Xiang Yu." Xiao He also objected.

Since these people chose to follow Liu Bang in the first place, they don't have much favorable impressions of Xiang Yu.

At this time, Liu Bang also nodded and said, "Zifang, what's the other way?"

The implication is that Liu Bang also did not agree to defect to Xiang Yu.

Just kidding, asking Liu Bang to defect to Xiang Yu at this time wouldn't make Xiang Yu laugh at himself!

Even for the sake of face, Liu Bang would not agree to this.

Besides, Liu Bang is also the Marquis of Wu'an now, so he can make a bet with Xiang Yu. The one who enters Xianyang City first will be the King of Guanzhong, and their status is equal.

If he takes the remnant of his troops to defect to Xiang Yu now, wouldn't he become Xiang Yu's subordinate in the future? Liu Bang will never accept it.

Regarding this outcome, Zhang Liang seemed to have guessed it a long time ago. He smiled and then continued: "The second way is to give up attacking Xianyang City and go west to seize Hanzhong County.

Then, he strengthened his troops in Hanzhong County, recruited new soldiers, and made a comeback.

If my prediction is correct, Xiang Yu will lead his army to attack Guanzhong in less than two months.

When the time comes, Bao Qin will definitely gather all his troops and horses for a decisive battle with Xiang Yu, and the decisive battle will most likely be at Hangu Pass.

At that time, Pei Gong was sending troops from Hanzhong, and they could reach Xianyang in two or three days.

Hanzhong, for us at this time, is an excellent strategic place. We can attack it when we advance, and we can defend Bashu when we retreat. It can be said that we can attack when we advance, and we can defend it when we retreat."

As soon as Zhang Liang finished speaking, Liu Bang, Xiao He and others' eyes lit up.

Compared with Zhang Liang's first path, this second path was simply in line with their wishes.

"The second way is good!" Liu Bang couldn't help but admire it.

"I just don't know now whether Li Shang conquered Hanzhong."

It turned out that when Liu Bang led the army to attack Xianyang, he still had a force of more than 8,000 troops.

He was led by his general Li Shang and marched westward to Xunduan Pass, preparing to capture Hanzhong.

"Whether Li Shang has conquered Hanzhong or not, I have decided to lead the army to Hanzhong. If Li Shang's attack fails, we will join forces and conquer Hanzhong. It will not be a problem."

Liu Bang also showed his decisive side at this time and made such a decision.
Chapter completed!