Xiang Yu has been on pins and needles. He wanted to win the war as soon as possible, so he tried his best to cut off the tunnel where the Han army transported grain. The Han army, which is constantly being attacked by the Chu army, is really a bit untenable. Liu Bang doesn't want to wait in this weather indefinitely. He must do something.
Late at night in December, a group of horses and chariots quietly drove out of the Han army camp and headed for the Chu army. The leader is Chen Ping. He looks serious and complicated because the motorcade behind him is loaded with tens of thousands of pounds of gold. Chen Ping can't help recalling the situation when Liu Bang asked him for advice a few days ago. Liu Bang was very upset and sad, so he suggested that no one can resist the temptation of gold, which can be used to alienate Chu generals, especially Zhong Limei and Fan Zeng, who are famous for their honesty and frankness. Liu Bang was overjoyed and immediately ordered someone to bring 40,000 Jin of gold to Chen Ping and let him spend it at will. Behind him, the motorcade was full of some of them. We should use them to buy off the soldiers under the Chu army's account and let them spread rumors about Zhong Limei.
A few days after the gold was sent out, the rumors spread. The soldiers said, "After hard work, they began to be dissatisfied with not giving him land to be king, and they wanted to unite with the Han army to destroy the Xiang family and let him divide the land and be king respectively." When the rumor reached Xiang Yu, he began to doubt Zhong Limei and gradually alienated him.
The utility of this 40,000 Jin of gold is far from over. In April of the following year, Chen Ping bought cattle, sheep and pigs with gold, prepared a sumptuous banquet, and waited leisurely at the camp for an envoy sent by Xiang Yu. When the emissary arrived, he ordered a grand banquet at the emissary's residence. As soon as he entered the door, he pretended to be surprised and said, "I thought it was the messenger of my father Fan Zeng!" " Let people change into poor food immediately. When the emissary returned home, he described what he had encountered to Xiang Yu, and Xiang Yu became suspicious of Fan Zeng from then on. Fan Zeng asked to retire from his hometown after learning about it, and died on his way home.