My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 144: Strive to Cleanse
Soon, the west and north gates of Gaixia City were opened at the same time, and Xiang Zhuang and Ji Bu, who were fully armored, led two large Chu cavalry troops to charge out like two evil dragons with bared fangs and claws. The Han soldiers on both sides of the city wall who were stepping up the siege were caught off guard and were smashed to pieces in a short time, with heavy casualties.

Han Xin, who was standing on a high platform behind the battle formation, was not surprised but delighted when he saw the battle. He clapped his hands vigorously and said, "The Chu army has reached the end of its strength! The city will fall today!"

Liu Bang was also overjoyed and patted Han Xin on the shoulder. He was so proud that he said, "The King of Qi should take the first credit for winning this battle!"

As Han Xin's order was passed down, the Han army, which had been prepared for a long time, launched numerous tall and heavy chevaux de frise from behind the formation, some of which rushed to block the two wide-open city gates, cutting off the two cavalry's way back. Then, they formed a complex formation in front of the city, and set up tripwires in between to reduce the space for the two cavalry's activities and eliminate the violent impact of the Chu cavalry.

It must be said that Han Xin's move was indeed vicious, and it could be said that he made full use of the advantage of the Han army's small number of cavalry and large number of infantry. Once the Chu cavalry was trapped and lost its mobility and impact, it would only end up being strangled by the Han infantry.

The Chu cavalry led by Xiang Zhuang and Ji Bu came and went like the wind, unstoppable and brave. They fought hard to wipe out and trample on the Han soldiers attacking the city, thus relieving the pressure on the defenders on the city walls.

After charging and fighting for a while, a sound of gongs and drums suddenly came from behind the Han camp, and the Han soldiers attacking the city retreated rapidly like a tide.

The two generals were overjoyed and just breathed a sigh of relief. When they looked up, they saw countless Han soldiers pushing countless huge, heavy and sharp barriers coming from all sides of the Han camp. They were shocked and secretly thought that it was not good. When they returned to the city, they found that their retreat had been cut off.

Facing the Han soldiers who were rapidly approaching and closing the encirclement, Xiang Zhuang and Ji Bu knew that they had fallen into Han Xin's trap. They knew that if they continued to delay, the encirclement would close further, and their horses would be unable to gallop, and would be strangled to death by the Han soldiers. With the determination to die, they led the Chu cavalry to charge into the barricade, trying to break through it in one fell swoop.

Amidst a series of dull noises, the Chu cavalry, charging madly, paid a heavy price, and forcibly broke through several layers of barricades, and killed all the Han troops who were pushing the barricades.

However, the Han army had too many people, and they kept replenishing their forces, so they could not be killed at all. Then, loud "boom" and "boom" noises were heard, and the charging Chu cavalry began to be tripped and thrown to the ground by the trip wires set by the Han army.

Xiang Zhuang and Ji Bu, the main generals, rushed to the front. At this time, three of their war horses were lost and they were all injured. It was because their personal guards had been protecting them with all their strength and constantly risking their lives to rescue them that they did not die on the spot.

On the top of the city wall, watching the two Chu cavalry led by Xiang Zhuang and Ji Bu as if they were stuck in a quagmire, surrounded and hunted by countless Han soldiers. The situation became increasingly critical, and they were about to be annihilated. Ji Xin's eyes were about to burst, and blood was spurting from the corners of his mouth. He couldn't help but shouting: "General, I will lead an army out of the city to rescue them."

Zhong Limei's heart was completely chilled, his cheeks twitched violently and uncontrollably, his hands behind his back were clenched until they turned blue, and he made a "crackling" sound, but he opened his eyes wide, roared with a fierce and majestic look, "Shut up! Anyone who dares to talk about leaving the city to rescue will be killed!"

Seeing the angry faces of the generals, Zhongli Mei shouted: "Have a good rest, this is the precious time that our brothers have bought for us with their lives! Use your strength to attack the city in the Han army later. Killing one more Han soldier is revenge for our brothers!"

At this time, as the chevaux de frise quickly closed and squeezed, countless arrows and javelins began to be shot and thrown by the Han camp soldiers, indiscriminately attacking the compressed Chu cavalry that was gradually unable to gallop.

The situation then began to turn into a one-sided massacre.

Just as the eyes of the Chu general on the top of the city were bloodshot and his chest was about to explode with anger, a loud and long horn suddenly sounded in the southwest field, and soon thick yellow-brown dust rose into the sky like sea fog, blocking out the sky.

Beneath the dust, the sound of horse hooves could be heard from afar like the sound of a cauldron exploding or a jar cracking. Almost in the blink of an eye, a uniform mass of dark iron cavalry covered the plain, mighty and majestic, sweeping over with the momentum to engulf everything.

In the front, two large flags were rolling violently in the wind, and the two big characters "Chu" and "Xiang" on the huge flags were clearly visible from far and near.

"Overlord? Overlord! - The Overlord is back!" The generals on the city wall were surprised and delighted.

"The Overlord is back, brothers, hold on! Hold on!" The Chu soldiers on the top of the city were overjoyed and shouted at the Chu cavalry who were surrounded below the city.

Zhongli Mei's chest was also instantly filled with emotion. He punched the city wall hard, and the heavy burden on his shoulders disappeared. He said in a deep voice: "Huan Chu, lead the remaining 10,000 cavalry to go out of the city to rescue the trapped cavalry and tie down these Han soldiers."

Huan Chu was startled: "Aren't you going to help the Overlord?"

Zhongli Mei waved his hand and looked at the Han camp below the city. A stern look appeared on his face: "Does the Overlord need your support? Right now, the Han soldiers are gathered in front of the city, and there is no one behind the formation. The Overlord will definitely attack them from behind. You have done a great deed by holding back these tens of thousands of Han soldiers in front of the city."

Huan Chu looked excited. He bowed hurriedly, turned around and walked down the city wall.

After drinking a cup of hot wine, the western gate opened again, and Huan Chu led 10,000 elite Chu troops to rush out. This time, the Chu army came prepared, and while shooting arrows at the Han army, they also threw out flying claws to hook the barricades blocking the city gate, and dragged them away on horseback, thus steadily advancing to rescue the besieged Chu army.

It was exactly the same as what Zhongli Mei had inferred. Seeing the Chu cavalry trapped in the chevaux-de-frise array and being shot at will by the Han soldiers, the Chu generals who had returned from afar all had bloodshot eyes. They were eager to rush into the battlefield as soon as possible to cut these Han soldiers into pieces. However, the leading general remained unmoved, pointed his halberd directly at the Han army's rear camp, and rushed forward on horseback.

Although the Chu generals were puzzled, they did not dare to disobey military orders. They let out a sigh of regret and led their Chu cavalry to follow closely.

On the observation platform of the Han camp, Han Xin let out a long breath, looking relaxed. He bowed to Liu Bang and said, "Thanks to your Majesty's great fortune, I have been able to fulfill my mission. If nothing unexpected happens, you can stay in Gaixia City tonight and rest."

Liu Bang looked at the Chu cavalry who were trapped in the city and suffered heavy casualties. He felt extremely happy and shook his wide sleeves with great spirit: "Take down Gaixia and kill all the elite soldiers left by Xiang Yu in the city. Even if Xiang Yu recaptures Linjiang Kingdom, even if Ying Bu's Jiujiang Kingdom is added, what can he do? It's a complete waste of effort and a waste of time."

Just as the two kings were flattering each other, suddenly dust rose in the southwest, the sound of horse hooves rolled, and then thousands of shouts came like a landslide and tsunami: "The Overlord has returned! The Han army is doomed! Old Liu Bang is about to die!"

The two kings, who were full of energy, suddenly looked pale and hastily raised their heads to look southwest.

There was no telling how many Chu cavalry were galloping in the southwest. At a glance, there were at least tens of thousands of them. Liu Bang's hands were shaking, his old face was pale, and he was so frightened that he could not control himself: "This, this... Why are there so many Chu cavalry? How is it possible?"

In an instant, a terrible thought flashed through his and Han Xin's minds at the same time: not only was Lu Ze defeated, but something might have happened to the Hengshan Kingdom as well. Without the strong support of the Hengshan Kingdom, Xiang Yu would never have been able to form such a large cavalry army!
This galloping cavalry rushed to the front, but did not engage in a fierce battle under the city. Instead, it made a beautiful arc and charged straight towards the rear camp of the Han army.

Instinctively, Liu Bang rolled and crawled down the observation platform, and with the protection of Xiahou Ying, he fled backwards in panic.

"Overlord, you've come at the perfect time!" Han Xin's thick short eyebrows jumped, and he pressed his hand on his sword, shouting, "Wang Ling, lead the cavalry to meet the enemy! Xiang Yu has come a long way, and although he has many soldiers and horses, they are just spent force. His bluffing is just for show, and we can definitely defeat him in one fell swoop."

Thirty thousand Chu cavalry suddenly appeared and rushed towards the rear camp of the Han army, which was undoubtedly beyond the Han army's expectations. The generals of the Han army, as well as all the soldiers who were caught in the bitter battle, were all agitated and panicked.

When Wang Ling heard Han Xin's military order, he was so angry that he almost cursed: "If you want me to die, just say so. Why are you bluffing and defeating me in one fell swoop? Why don't you go in person for such a good thing?"

However, military orders were as heavy as mountains and could not be neglected or shirked. Wang Ling had no choice but to bite the bullet and command Ding Li, Zhang Yue, Dong Xu, Wang Jing and other cavalry generals to lead 20,000 Han cavalry who had been ready to fight against Xiang Yu's 30,000 cavalry.

Halfway through the charge, Wang Ling, with sharp eyes, opened his eyes and saw that the person under the two big flags of the Chu army was Xiang Chang, not Xiang Yu riding the black horse. The fear in his heart suddenly turned into joy. He then thought that Xiang Yu was hiding in the cavalry and specifically hunting down his main general, so he cautiously hid in the cavalry formation and ordered Dong Xu to lead 4,000 cavalry as the vanguard to test the situation first.

Dong Xu also found that the commander of the Chu army was Xiang Chang, not Xiang Yu, and was also surprised. Although they suffered a great loss at the hands of Xiang Chang in the battle of Gaixia, and the commanders all died at his hands, they were not killed because they ran fast. However, they did not think Xiang Chang was that strong in private, and they could not help but feel unconvinced when they recalled that battle. Now that they received the military order from Wang Ling, they were full of vigor and rushed forward head-on, and wanted to show off their skills in front of Wang Ling, Han Xin, Liu Bang and other superiors.

Seeing that the Han army had only 20,000 cavalry, but dared to fight against his 30,000 Chu cavalry, it was obvious that they were bullying his army which had been exhausted after a long raid. Xiang Chang sneered, and just as the Chu cavalry was about to collide with the 4,000 vanguards of the Han army, he raised his halberd high and swung it. Hundreds of cavalrymen beside him stood up from their horses at the same time, exhaled and shouted, raising their arms to throw hundreds of javelins.

Looking at the countless densely packed and crisscrossing spears, tearing through the void and flying towards him with a shrieking sound, Dong Xu's surprise instantly turned into cold sweat oozing out of his back. He hastily raised his spear and chopped forward wildly, constantly knocking away the flying spears.

After he managed to dodge the last spear in a panic, he turned around and found that there was no one around him. Hundreds of elite cavalrymen, including the guards, and their mounts were all pierced by spears like a felled forest. Those who were lucky enough to survive were also bleeding, their bodies twitching and struggling weakly, looking miserable.

And soon after, the Chu cavalry, like a surging tide, was imminent and rushing towards them.

There is no turning back now.

At this moment, whether retreating or fleeing, facing the cavalry charging at full speed, both would be a dead end.

Dong Qiu was like a wolf that was forced into a desperate situation, with a ferocious face. He roared to boost his courage while leading the remaining cavalry to continue charging forward.

It was like two high-speed moving mountains suddenly collided with each other. A dull roar was heard far away. In an instant, countless strong horses broke their bones and fell to the ground with howls. Countless cavalrymen flew into the air with screams, and then fell heavily to the ground. They were either killed or crushed into pieces by the horses' trampling hooves. For a moment, the whole battlefield was filled with sticky and splashing red.

Dong Xu waved a huge spear, stared at Xiang Chang who died on the big black horse, and decided to drag him along.

His own army's charge formation was severely damaged and dispersed by the Chu cavalry's spear array. He knew that there was no chance of him escaping this time.

But what surprised him and made him extremely angry was that the boy's target was actually him. Before he could thrust out with his spear, the thick halberd passed down from the Xiang family had already hit him on the head.

Dong Xu cursed angrily, roared fiercely, and fought back with all his might, waving his huge spear - he just couldn't believe that he, a brave general who had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, was inferior to a brat who became famous by relying on his father's power!

In the brief moment when the two horses crossed each other, Xiang Chang swung his halberd six or seven times with endless force, and suddenly Dong Qiu's aura changed from inexplicable anger and arrogance to fear and fear.

When Xiang Chang's last halberd strike came down, Dong Qiu's palm broke and the blood-soaked spear could no longer be held, so it flew out of his hand and his body shook as if struck by lightning. Fortunately, the stirrups under his feet gave him leverage and he barely did not fall off his horse.

Looking back at the young figure who was as agile as a dragon, waving a halberd and charging towards his own Han cavalry, Dong Xu felt a chill winding up from the soles of his feet, fiercely grabbing his heart in his chest, stimulating it to beat wildly.

"This villain is actually not inferior to Overlord!" Dong Qiu, who was stunned, had not yet finished his thought when a skinny Chu cavalryman with muscles throbbing all over his body, stared at him with greedy eyes, and actually stood up with his feet on the back of a galloping horse. Just as he rushed to him, he made a leap and pounced on him, smashing the short spear in his hand deep into his chest.

Dong Qiu turned around hastily, staring at the cavalryman in shock and anger. He wanted to see clearly that he had died at the hands of that general, but he saw that this man was not a general at all. Both his weapon and attire were that of an ordinary cavalryman!

The cavalryman raised his arms and shouted: "The conscripted soldier Chen Shu stabbed a Han general to death!"

Conscription?

As one of the most powerful generals in the Han camp, Dong Qiu, who thought highly of himself, would not allow himself to die in such a cowardly way, so he drew his sword in anger and killed this lowly nobody. But he was so angry that blood spurted out from his chest, and his eyes turned black, and he fell into endless darkness...

Chen Shu smiled brightly, chopped off Dong Qiu's head and hung it on the saddle, then pulled out his short spear, pushed the headless body off the horse, and then rode on Dong Qiu's strong horse, roaring, and continued to charge forward.

(End of this chapter)