My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 138 Waiting for Feeding
After a dull "bang" sound, the heavy shield and several soldiers behind him were smashed away in one fell swoop, leaving a gap.

Feng Wuzhe was overjoyed. He mustered up his courage, put his feet firmly on the stirrups, and swung the spear left and right, knocking the giant shields next to him away one after another, thus widening the gap.

As for the escort cavalry who charged with him, the ones in the front and their horses were all nailed to the spears. The others rushed forward fearlessly and kept hitting the heavy shields fiercely. With the powerful momentum of their horses, they actually broke through the heavy shield defense line.

Feng Wuzhe was overjoyed. With a roar, he gathered hundreds of cavalrymen under his command and rushed forward impatiently, intending to trample on the Chu army behind the heavy shield defense line and clear the way for the Han camp's infantry soldiers.

Na Zhipu rushed in, and before he could stand firmly, Feng Wuzhe raised his head, and the next moment his eyes fixed, and his whole body was grabbed by a cold current.

Behind the heavy shield array, a team of soldiers, wrapped in thick iron armor from head to toe, holding long and heavy weapons such as swords, halberds and hammers in their hands, were already lined up and waiting, crying out for food.

The leading general was broad-shouldered and fat-waisted, with an imposing manner like a mountain. The most eye-catching thing was that there was a thick blood-red centipede hanging on his cheek. He looked up and gave him a ferocious smile, then he took the initiative to raise a thick and frightening axe, and with a "woo" sound, he tore through the void and chopped down on his head.

"These heavy armors and weapons are obviously obtained from the Linjiang Kingdom. The rich and abundant military supplies of the Linjiang Kingdom are like timely rain for the desperate Great Chu at Gaixia. Therefore, we must not let them succeed. We must kill them under the city of Xincai and completely put an end to the Great Chu." Feng Wuzhe turned his thoughts, shouted, and rushed forward with his spear.

With a loud "bang", Feng Wuzhe felt that the axe was very heavy, and his body trembled on the horse.

Just when he steadied his body and was about to thrust out with his spear, he discovered that the horse he was riding could not keep its footing and retreated several steps backwards.

Feng Wuze then remembered that he was still standing on the hillside, but he was hit by the axe and lost his footing. After the warhorse rushed up the hill and broke through the shield wall, its momentum was greatly slowed down. In addition, the terrain was narrow, so it could no longer take advantage of the collision and was completely in a state of being beaten.

Xiang Xi on the opposite side was overjoyed. He didn't care about the dizziness caused by the recoil. He rushed forward again, waving the big axe, and hacked at Feng Wuzhe with one axe after another, as if he wanted to chop him into meat paste.

The axe in Xiang Xi's hand was obtained from the Linjiang Kingdom's armory. The axe shaft was made of wax wood as thick as a wrist, and the axe head was heavy, rough and dark, with the main feature of being big, black, thick, solid and durable. Now he was desperate, smashing down with one axe after another, using it completely as a sledgehammer, and knocking Feng Wuze and his horse back from the mound step by step.

Faced with Xiang Xi's endless and intensive attacks that seemed like hammering nails into his body, Feng Wuzhe finally couldn't bear it anymore. He spat out a mouthful of blood, turned his horse's head back and fled.

Xiang Xi laughed wildly, his whole body was almost exhausted, and he almost sat on the ground. He knew that he was at a disadvantage on the flat ground, and if Feng Wuzhe turned over, he would be trampled to death with a sprint. He shouted and did not pursue the victory, but called the heavy armored soldiers who had the upper hand to retreat back to the mound.

After escaping a hundred meters away, Feng Wuze felt his chest blood boiling, his arms aching, and his surging anger had mostly dissipated. He reined in his horse and looked back, and found that the cavalrymen who had rushed forward with him had been swept away by the heavy armored Chu soldiers like a tide, and nearly half of them had been killed. The rest were no different from him, all fleeing in all directions, and their expressions were full of panic like frightened quails.

Feng Wuze's escort cavalry were all his relatives and fellow townsmen, and their combat effectiveness was unquestionable. Generally speaking, when they were sent into the battlefield, the enemy army would collapse. But I didn't expect that they would fail in front of Xincai City.

Seeing that Feng Wuze, Guo Ning and Guo Meng led the cavalry charge in person but to no avail, they were all repelled, and even the escort cavalry suffered heavy casualties, Lu Ze behind the formation took a long breath and turned to Gu Feng and said, "You lead 3,000 troops to raid the grain team, defeat the 2,000 Chu cavalry, and then turn back to attack the Chu army formation."

The 24,000-strong army besieged the 8,000-strong Chu army. Not only did they fail to capture the city after a long siege, but they also suffered heavy casualties and began to show signs of decline. Even the generals and their escort cavalry charging in person did not help. Lu Ze was forced to send his cavalry into the battlefield ahead of time.

Gu Feng also knew that the most critical moment had come. He glared at Shusun Tong who was shrinking his head beside him. He didn't expect that what the old man said was right. The Chu army was so difficult to deal with. He had fought for so many years and had fought against so many armies. Even the Qin soldiers who were known for their toughness in the past were far inferior to the Chu army in terms of fighting will.

Seeing Gu Feng leading three thousand Chu cavalry like a vicious centipede, quietly leaving the battlefield and rushing towards the food team behind the Chu army, Shusun Tong's eyebrows jumped, looked at Lu Ze and opened his mouth to speak, but finally closed his mouth quietly.

Seeing the Han cavalry rushing towards them, Xiang Chang, who was personally guarding the grain team, immediately waved his two large flags with the words "Chu" and "Xiang" in their names sharply. Then two thousand cavalrymen came out in full force, and under the leadership of Xiang Chang, they went straight to meet the enemy.

Xiang Chang, wearing bright armor and riding a black horse as agile as a dragon, rushed into the Han cavalry under the protection of several generals, and started a fierce cavalry confrontation with Gu Feng. The two cavalry formed a new battlefield outside the infantry battlefield, and the battle continued.

The Han cavalry had the advantage in numbers, and they were all from the same hometown and clan. They were united and had a stubborn will to fight. Even though the Chu cavalry had strong attack power, it was difficult to defeat them in a short period of time.

"Just now it seemed that Lord Ji Si had something to say?" Staring closely at the battle between the Han and Chu cavalry, watching the three thousand elite Han cavalry being suppressed by the two thousand Chu cavalry. Although they could still hold on for a while, it was obvious that defeat was only a matter of time. However, Lu Ze was not panicked at all. Instead, he suddenly asked in a cold tone.

Shusun Tong was stunned, turned his head to look at his expression, and said bitterly: "The Chu army is too fierce. In my opinion, it is difficult for 3,000 cavalry to defeat them. There is even a risk of defeat. That's why I wanted to remind the general just now."

At this point, Shusun Tong saw that Lu Ze's expression was still cold and solemn, without any fluctuations. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind. After a slight pause, he continued with a tone of a charlatan who had seen through it, "But with the general's divine military strategy and careful planning, I believe he must have already dealt with this. I'm afraid there is still a backup plan, so I didn't say much."

Lu Ze suddenly turned his head and looked at Shusun Tong in surprise. He looked at him for a long time and said, "I really underestimated Prince Ji before. An old Confucian scholar who is barely capable of tying a chicken is valued by the King of Han. He must have something extraordinary." As he spoke, Lu Ze waved his hand behind him.

Zhongjuan, who was standing behind him, immediately issued a military order. Not long after, a cloud of smoke was ignited in the rear, rolling out and rushing straight into the sky.

Then, dust rose like a dragon from the northwest, the earth shook, the sound of hooves was like drums and waves, and a cavalry of more than 7,000 people emerged on the horizon like ghosts and rushed towards the battlefield.

Even though Shusun Tong wanted to maintain the appearance of a mysterious master, he was still shocked by the sudden appearance of thousands of elite cavalry.

"This, this is..." Shusun Tong said with a laugh. As the elite cavalry approached, he saw the words "Hengshan" and "Wu" written neatly on the flags in front. He knew clearly and shouted, "Is it the army of 'King of Hengshan' Wu Rui?" "Yes!" Lu Ze couldn't help laughing again, "Haha" happily: "Little Xiang Chang has made great achievements in Gaixia and Jiangling. He can do what others can't do and has repeatedly created miracles. The military advisor attaches unprecedented importance to him. Now we know that this kid has come with 10,000 troops to escort the grain team with great fanfare. He must have something to rely on. How dare we pin the victory or defeat on these 30,000 troops? We must know that 'a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit'. Therefore, the military advisor rushed to the Kingdom of Hengshan to meet King Wu Rui of Hengshan and persuade him to send out this 7,000 cavalry as a surprise force. Now is the right time. - Little Xiang Chang, I will gladly accept the military grain."

It was seen that the 7,000 elite cavalrymen did not deploy to the two battlefields to help the Han camp defeat the Chu army. Instead, they unexpectedly made a circle and rushed straight to the grain train in the rear of the Chu army which had no troops to guard it.

Seeing this scene, Shusun Tong, who was familiar with military strategy, was startled. He quickly glanced at Lu Ze and secretly exclaimed: "How insidious! How vicious!"

——Military rations were the lifeblood of the Chu army. If they were taken away in one fell swoop by the 7,000 Hengshan cavalry, no matter how brave and skilled the Chu army was in fighting, the two battlefields where they fought with the Han camp would still fall into chaos in an instant and they would suffer a great defeat.

Lu Ze was indeed a famous general whom even King Liu Bang of Han feared, and he did not stick to the rules when employing troops.

Rushing to the grain carts, led by a burly general who looked like a bear, the seven thousand Hengshan King cavalrymen waved their spears and shouted, hitting the grain carts hard, trying to drive out the convicts who had hid under the grain carts, harness up mules and oxen, and properly transport the rations away.

Not only did Lu Ze set his sights on Xiang Chang's batch of military rations, he also wanted to use his forced labor and ox and mule team to transport them. He was killing people and destroying their hearts. He really treated Xiang Chang as his grain transport team leader.

"General, spare us, don't kill us. We will obey you and drive the car right away..."

Faced with the brutal expulsion of the Hengshan King's cavalry, the four thousand convicts kept begging for mercy loudly and crawled out from under the grain carts trembling with fear.

Just when the 7,000 Hengshan King Cavalrymen were relaxing with a strong look of sarcasm on their faces, a rapid and loud knocking of the crossbows was heard, and the 4,000 hard laborers flipped their hands at the same time, steadily lifted up the "Chuchang Crossbows", aimed at the ferocious Hengshan King Cavalrymen surrounding them, and "click, click, click" sharply pulled the trigger, and countless crossbow arrows burst out like a swarm of bees.

How could these be four thousand cowardly slaves? They were clearly four thousand elite troops.

On the battlefield, the slaves were always used as docile oxen and mules, but never as soldiers. The 7,000 Hengshan King Cavalry undoubtedly fell into this conventional cognition trap.

The sudden change caught them off guard, and the first two thousand soldiers of the seven thousand Hengshan King cavalry suffered heavy casualties.

In order to maintain mobility and flexibility, the current cavalry wore light leather armor, and the cavalry of Hengshan Kingdom was no exception. However, under the shooting of the crossbow arrows that Xiang Chang had improved and greatly increased their lethality, every arrow pierced through their armor and pierced into their flesh, turning them into hedgehogs and falling off their horses helplessly.

The bear-like general of the Hengshan Kingdom was greatly shocked and furious. He waved a huge spear and ordered the remaining cavalry to split into two groups. One group fought back with javelins, spears, and bows and arrows, while the other group pursued on horseback.

However, the Chu army had food carts to hide behind, so the arrows and spears did little damage to them. The Hengshan cavalry, who were trampling on the food carts, found that the food carts circled around the camp like a maze, and the horses either couldn't run or ran into a dead end.

During this period, the four thousand convicts hid on, under, and behind the grain carts, continuously shooting countless crossbow arrows from the gaps between the grain carts, continuously hunting down these cavalrymen.

This was perhaps the most frustrating and cowardly battle in the life of this fierce and bear-like general. He originally thought that it would be just an easy robbery of military rations as easy as picking up something, but in the end it turned into a one-sided hunt.

Seeing the bizarre scene of the 7,000 Hengshan King Cavalry being ridden and beaten by 4,000 convict laborers, Lu Ze behind the formation was shocked again!
At this moment, he was still unaware that he had obviously fallen into Xiang Chang's trap again.

Along the way from Jiangling City to here, with sufficient supply of rations, meat and uniforms, Xiang Chang used the camping time at night to train these 4,000 hard laborers into elite and qualified soldiers.

After all, the Hengshan King's cavalry has an absolute advantage in terms of manpower. As long as they are patient and ride their horses to drag the grain carts away, it is only a matter of time before they achieve final victory.

But Lu Ze obviously didn't want to delay for long, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk scanning the battlefield, and he was quickly thinking about where to transfer 2,000 of the 24,000 infantrymen besieging the Chu army to support the Hengshan King's cavalry. But at this moment, a burst of hurried and chaotic horse hoof sounds suddenly came from behind him.

When Lu Ze looked back, he saw a hundred or so cavalrymen covered in blood, with their armor in disarray, running towards him from the northeast canyon like stray dogs.

Lu Ze's heart suddenly sank again. He instinctively felt something was wrong, and a cold current that almost froze him stiff surged out from the bottom of his heart.

"The King of Chu is coming! The King of Chu is coming! General, the King of Chu has stolen the army's food supplies and is coming to kill us soon!" From a long distance away, the hundred or so terrified cavalrymen could not wait to howl loudly.

——The King of Chu?!
Lu Ze's heart jumped violently, as if someone had hit him on the head with a hammer, and he felt dizzy.

He had no doubt about the accuracy of this news. He and Zhang Liang were able to persuade Wu Rui to send 7,000 Hengshan King Cavalry to encircle and suppress Xiang Chang, so there was no reason why Xiang Chang couldn't come up with the same plan.

Far away, dust rose from the northeastern valley, the ground trembled, and a large Chu cavalry army rolled in like an angry dragon. In the front, two huge flags fluttered in the strong wind, with the two big characters "Chu" and "Xiang" on them, eye-catching and dazzling.

(End of this chapter)