Battle of Pengcheng? It was the first time that Liu Bang and Xiang Yu met on the battlefield. However, Liu Bang's 56 allied troops could not defeat Xiang Yu's 30 thousand chosen men, and the Han army was almost wiped out. Liu Bang fled with a dozen people. The battle of Pengcheng was the biggest loss since Liu Bang started the war, and it was an unprecedented fiasco. So why can't Liu Bang beat Xiang Yu?
Liu bang stills
(1) The Battle of Pengcheng was caused by Qin Ershi for three years (207 BC). Chu army soldiers fought Qin in two ways, one led by Liu Bang to the west, and the other led by Xiang Yu and Yi Song to the north to fight the main army, and made a decision? The first one to enter the customs was Guanzhong Wang? According to the agreement, Liu bang was able to get the order to go west to destroy Qin, which was undoubtedly a big bargain.
Liu Bang led the army from Wuguan to Xianyang, and Zi Ying, the king of Qin, led the officials of civil and military affairs and surrendered with an imperial edict in his hand. After Xiang Yu annihilated Qin Jun's main force, his strength advanced by leaps and bounds, and all the governors in the world bowed to his knees. When he led the army westward to Hangu Pass, he found that Liu Bang had already entered the Pass, so Xiang Yu broke through the Pass and broke the previous agreement, and rushed Liu Bang, who wanted to be the king of Guanzhong, to Hanzhong to be Hanwang.
Negative about, more made Peigong hanwang, shu, hanzhong, all have. ? Historical records? Biography of Gaozu
At this time, Liu Bang had no strength, so he had to submit to humiliation and bow to Hanwang. Liu bang was naturally annoyed. He has been looking for an opportunity to fight against Xiang Yu, but his strength does not allow it. He can only wait for the opportunity quietly. He finally waited for the best time to annihilate Xiang Yu.
More than half of Xiang Yu's 18 princes fought with each other. Xiang Yu was busy putting out fires everywhere, and Liu Bang felt that his chance had come.
Xiang Yu stills
(2) How did Xiang Yu defeat the strong with the weak and annihilate the 50,000-60,000 Han army with 30,000? In the first year of Han Dynasty (206 BC), Liu Bang took advantage of Xiang Yu's rebellion in Qi and Di Ping, and was too busy to take care of his duties. He used Han Xin's plan to return to Guanzhong and seize the land that should belong to him. In the spring of the following year, Liu Bang led a coalition of five warlords, and about 560,000 people went to Xiang Yu for a decisive battle.
Liu bang had a smooth journey. When the army came to Luoyang, three old Dong Gong? Liu bang was completely awakened by his appearance. Three old Dong Gong was a small township official who managed education in Qin Dynasty. His surname is Dong, and his name is unknown. Dong Gong is a title of respect for him by later generations.
When Dong Gong saw Liu Bang's army, he told Liu Bang not to cry naked and complained to Liu Bang about Xiang Yu's crime of killing Yi Di. Although Liu Bang didn't read much, he was very sensitive as a politician. Dong Gong's crying made Liu Bang understand a truth. It turns out that the death of Yidi can be used to make a big fuss, and Liu Bang has a better excuse to crusade against Xiang Yu.
Dong Gong, an old man in Xincheng, said that Hanwang died with Yidi. Hanwang listened and cried naked. So I sent people to mourn for the upright emperor for three days. ? Historical records? Biography of Gaozu
Who is Yidi? He is an emperor in name only and has no real power. He was originally appointed as Chu Huaiwang by Xiang Yu's uncle Xiang Liang. Xiang Yu's enfeoffment of the 18-route warlord promoted Chu Huaiwang to a higher level and kept him at a respectful distance from others? Yidi? Yidi is the monarch that everyone respects.
Xiang Yu stills
Liu Bang immediately ordered 560,000 troops to put on mourning clothes and observed a three-day silence for Yidi. Then, under the banner of revenge for the righteous emperor, he crusaded against Xiang Yu, who had gone against the path, and the Han army instantly became a teacher of justice.
Liu Bang left Hanguguan in the spring of the second year of Han Dynasty, and occupied Pengcheng, the capital of the Western Chu State, in April of the same year. After Liu Bang occupied Pengcheng, he made key defenses in the north and east of Pengcheng. Liu Bang believed that Xiang Yu was counterinsurgency in Qi and Di at this time. If he returns to the army for rescue, he can only attack from the north or east.
However, Liu Bang miscalculated. He forgot that Xiang Yu was a military genius. When Xiang Yu heard that Peng Cheng had fallen, he immediately returned with 30,000 chosen men. Bypassing the east and north sides of Liu Bang's key defense, he came to Xiaoxian County in the northwest of Pengcheng. Xiang Yu arrived in Xiaoxian County at night. He used the dawn to attack the flank of the Han army from west to east and launched a decisive battle with the Han army. By noon, the Han army was almost completely dispersed. According to historical records, hundreds of thousands of people were drowned by the Han army jumping into the river.
All the Han troops left and followed them into Surabaya, killing more than 100,000 Han soldiers. ? Historical records? Xiang Yu biography
Subsequently, the Han army retreated in the direction of Anhui and was annihilated by dozens of Wan Chu troops near Fuji, Anhui. Liu bang continued to retreat to the south and was killed by tens of thousands of Chu troops again on his way back. Finally, Xiang Yu chased the Han army to Lingbi, and the two sides launched another fight. Hundreds of thousands of Han troops were wiped out. After several battles, there were few Han troops left, and almost all the rest were skirmishers. Even Liu Bang himself was surrounded by Xiang Yu's army.
It may be that Liu Bang's life should not be doomed, or it may be immortal. At a critical juncture, a sandstorm suddenly blew, and the sandstorm still hit the Chu army. The Chu army began to flee, and Liu Bang took advantage of the chaos of the Chu army and broke away with a dozen people.
Liu bang fled in panic and was caught up by Ding Gong, a subordinate of Xiang Yu. When the two armies met, Liu Bang said to Ding Gong at an emergency: Why did the two sages push each other so hard? After hearing this, Ding Gong was very proud. Some people called him a sage, so they let Liu Bang go and Liu Bang escaped.
Liu bang stills
(3) Why did Liu Bang's 560,000 allied troops lose to Xiang Yu's 3 Wan Chu Army? Morally speaking, the Han army is a teacher of righteousness, and Xiang Yu bears the notoriety of killing the righteous emperor. ChuJun naturally lost. In terms of strength, there are 560,000 Han troops and only 30,000 Chu troops. The strength of Chu and Han is very different. So why can't Liu Bang beat Xiang Yu? I think there are several reasons.
First, Liu Bang Group underestimated its enemies.
Liu Bang in the Battle of Pengcheng is no longer Liu Bang at the Hongmen Banquet. His territory has doubled. He felt that his wings were hard and he could challenge Xiang Yu. In addition, after Liu Bangbing left Hangu Pass, he had a smooth journey until he occupied Pengcheng.
Liu bang thinks that he has played so smoothly all the way, and his own strength is far better than that of Chu army. The Han army is still under the banner of being a teacher of benevolence and righteousness. Xiang Yu is not in Pengcheng, and there are not many defenders. The balance of natural victory tilts to oneself.
Therefore, after Liu Bang occupied Pengcheng, he began to neglect it. He held a banquet all day, drank wine with his ministers, counted Pengcheng's gold, silver and jewels, and prepared to bring them back to Guanzhong together. Liu bang is busy doing these things all day. He plans to visit his family in Peixian, his hometown, because he is too busy to take care of. You can imagine the state of the Han army at this time, content with pleasure and without fighting spirit.
The morale of the Chu army is high, and the enemy has occupied their land. They want to defend their homeland, so their morale is naturally high. According to "Han Ji", after Liu Bang conquered Pengcheng, he enjoyed himself every day and his morale was unstable. The Chu army has 30,000 soldiers, and the Han army is lazy.
At this time, Liu Bang also neglected one point.
Xiang Yu's army was cavalry, which was the best service at that time, while the Han army was infantry. When a cavalry with high morale fights an infantry without fighting spirit, it is often as simple as cutting melons and vegetables. Liu Bang underestimated the strength of Xiang Yu's cavalry.
Not only Liu Bang underestimated his enemies, but even Sean underestimated Xiang Yu's ability to fight troops. Sean was the mastermind of the Battle of Pengcheng, and Chen Ping was a participant. Both of them were first-class counselors in the Chu-Han period, and they were also idiots at this time.
Sean Steels
Second, Xiang Yu commanded properly.
The Battle of Pengcheng is a very classic example in the history of China. Liu Bang's 560,000 troops were defeated by Xiang Yu's 30,000 elite soldiers.
Xiang Yu took advantage of the dawn to attack the places where the Han army had no key defense. The Han army was unprepared and still asleep. Faced with the enemy's attack, he naturally panicked and became vulnerable.
Plus Liu Bang has no experience. He has never commanded such a large team. Once the army is demoralized, he has no ability to cope.
Third, the Coalition forces are not easy to command and easy to be loosely organized.
Coalition forces are not convenient for unified deployment and unified command, and the organization is easy to be loose. Once defeated, it is easy to lose morale and lead to the collapse of the alliance. We can imagine that the overall situation of the Han army at that time was that a captain could not find a deputy commander in chief and the deputy commander in chief could not find a coach. The whole military organization was completely destroyed. In the face of the enemy's attack, the Han army naturally has no resistance and can only be completely disintegrated.
Liu bang and Xiang Yu stills
In the battle of Pengcheng, Liu Bang was defeated for the first time in his life, and the Han army basically ended in defeat. But from a military point of view, Liu Bang did fail. Strategically, Liu Bang was superior because he rebelled against Ying Bu, and Ying Bu was the first warrior of Xiang Yu. Because Ying Bu didn't rescue Cheng Peng in time in the battle of Cheng Peng, there was a conflict with Xiang Yu. Liu Bang seized this opportunity and surrendered to Ying Bu. When Liu Bang got Ying Bu, he got the Huainan front, which was the barrier to the south of Pengcheng, the capital of western Chu, and the southern front that Liu Bang finally surrounded Xiang Yu.
Although Xiang Yu won, he lost strategically. After Liu Bang retreated to Xingyang, Xiang Yu stormed Xingyang. Although he won an absolute victory on the main battlefield, he didn't realize that Liu Bang's strategic deployment could give him a fatal blow and make him never turn over.