My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 145 Offensive and defensive changes
Chen Shu had been thinking about killing a Han army general for a long time.

Last time, in front of Xincai City, he killed four Han soldiers in one go, and was rewarded handsomely and promoted to a general of 100. However, he unexpectedly discovered that a fellow soldier had only killed one Han soldier, but he was also rewarded like him and was also promoted to a general of 100. After asking, he learned that the man had killed a general!
——It turns out that the rewards for killing officers and generals are much higher than those for ordinary soldiers.

Therefore, before this battle, he made up his mind to target the generals and officers.

Xiang Chang wielded his halberd and knocked down the fierce general Dong Xiu in a flash, which gave an advantage to Chen Shu who took advantage of the opportunity. The Chu cavalry that charged fiercely behind him immediately swallowed up the remaining cavalry under Dong Xiu in one fell swoop, and continued to charge at the remaining Han cavalry with increasing momentum.

Seeing Dong Qiu's 4,000 elite Han cavalry being wiped out without even a ripple, Wang Ling, Wang Jing, Zhang Yue and other generals were all horrified, and their arms holding the spears began to tremble slightly.

How the hell can we fight this war? Isn't this just a way to die?
Ding Li, however, saw the clues and rushed to Wang Ling on horseback, shouting, "General, the Chu army is really exhausted. Immediately send all the cavalry to attack them. We will definitely win a great victory!"

If Ding Li had not been a steady and wise cavalry general, if someone else had said this, Wang Ling would have whipped him half to death with his whip!
Seeing Wang Ling's unhappy expression, Ding Li continued in a hurry, "Just now, when the 30,000 cavalrymen of the Great Chu attacked General Dong Xu's 4,000 troops, they actually used spears to clear the way and break up the formation of our cavalry. This shows that although the Chu army has a large number of people, it is actually weak inside. They are afraid of exposing their decadent status and are actually not sure that they can defeat my 4,000 elite cavalry in one fell swoop."

Wang Ling's eyes suddenly lit up, and he stretched his head to look behind the Chu cavalry. He saw that the Chu cavalry at the rear were not only in disarray, but also slow, scattered, and shaky. Seeing that they were exhausted, he felt relieved and shouted without hesitation: "Pass the order, all cavalry will press forward, charge!"

Zhang Yue and Wang Jing were both encouraged when they received the military order. Together with Ding Li, they led their elite cavalry and charged towards the Chu cavalry.

"Xiang Chang, don't be so arrogant. I'm here to teach you a lesson!" Wang Ling was afraid that the credit for killing Xiang Chang would fall into the hands of others, so he rode his horse and brandished his spear, rushing to the front.

Xiang Chang was furious, - teach me how to behave? Do you want to be my father? He urged his big black horse to go straight to meet him.

The remaining 14,000 elite Han cavalry charged at the same time, shaking the earth with overwhelming momentum. For a moment, their momentum was not much weaker than that of the Chu cavalry.

Just as the two armies were getting closer and closer and were about to collide with each other, the thousands of Chu army cavalry in the front suddenly dodged to the sides like wings, revealing a cavalry unit following closely behind.

This cavalry had more than a thousand men, and the number of men was not a big deal, the key point was that both the cavalry and the horses were covered from head to toe with a thick layer of armor! When they ran like this, it was like a meteorite rolling on the ground, and their momentum was unstoppable.

Wu Rui surrendered to the Chu State again, and naturally had to shed a lot of money to gain the trust of the Overlord. Xiang Chang had no intention of being polite to him, and first collected all the war horses of the kingdom and equipped all 30,000 Chu troops into cavalry.

If the Kingdom of Linjiang is famous for its abundant grain, then the Kingdom of Hengshan is famous for forging weapons. When the Hengshan Kingdom's treasury was opened, the weapons, armor, and blades inside were so sophisticated that they were simply incomparable to the Kingdom of Linjiang. At Xiang Chang's command, all 30,000 Chu troops had their armor, weapons, and blades completely renewed. During the process of changing clothes, he accidentally discovered that there were still a thousand or so sets of heavy armor in the treasury.

Xiang Chang was overjoyed, and ignored Wu Rui's flushed and painful face. He waved his hand and requisitioned all of them and equipped them with a thousand of the most elite Chu cavalry.

——These one thousand heavily-armored Chu cavalry were used by him as a powerful weapon.

When he arrived at Gaixia and was about to charge, he deliberately ordered a thousand Chu cavalry to wear heavy armor and replaced them with a thousand pre-prepared empty war horses, in order to give the Han cavalry a severe blow.

It must be said that Ding Li's vision was indeed sharp enough. The Chu cavalry had indeed reached their limit after a long-distance attack. Whether it was the spear-throwing army just now or the current heavy armored army, they were all trying to suppress the momentum of the Han army and avoid being overwhelmed in one fell swoop.

"Fuck him!" Wang Ling, Zhang Yue, Wang Jing, and Ding Li were all dumbfounded by the thousand heavily-armored cavalrymen who were charging towards them like a thunder bomb.

As for the power of heavy armored cavalry, those cavalry generals who were good at using cavalry were very clear about it. Fu Kuan, who died in the previous battle, had a cavalry unit. Although there were only 300 of them, they allowed him to roam the world for many years and defeated countless famous generals!

Thousands of heavily armored Chu cavalry suddenly rushed into the Han cavalry formation. As expected, they were unstoppable and invincible. They plowed through the Han cavalry formation and broke it into pieces.

The Chu cavalry then pounced forward, just like before, and relying on their numerical advantage, they overwhelmed the disorganized and disorganized Han cavalry.

Wang Ling and other generals were so frightened that they dared not continue to charge. They turned their horses around and fled.

Wang Ling was also unlucky. He had just arrogantly scolded Xiang Chang and provoked this Yama Luo, who was now staring at him.

Seeing that the fellow was escaping so swiftly that he could not catch up with him even with his big black horse, Xiang Chang took out his bow and arrow, bent the bowstring like a full moon, and with a series of sharp vibrations, a string of arrows flew out.

The first two arrows penetrated the back door of the strong horse that Wang Ling was riding. The strong horse shuddered all over, let out a long and heart-wrenching neigh, and its upper body suddenly stood up straight.

Wang Ling, who had been lying on his horse's back to avoid being shot by arrows, aimed his back at Xiang Chang. Then three more arrows were shot, hitting him in the back and knocking him off his horse.

Wang Ling was also very fierce, and he was wearing good armor. Even though he was hit by three arrows, he did not seem to be seriously injured. He just rolled over, got up, and continued to flee.

However, two more arrows shot out and hit his legs. He could no longer bear it and fell to the ground like a sack, unable to struggle.

Xiang Chang rode over and thrust his halberd downwards, piercing Wang Ling's back like a forked fish, and lifted him up into the air. He ignored Wang Ling's hands and feet, which were desperately scratching in the air like an octopus, and shouted, "Wang Ling is dead! Surrender immediately!"

"Wang Ling is dead! Surrender immediately!" The cavalry around Xiang Chang shouted in unison.

"Wang Ling is dead! Surrender immediately!" The 30,000 Chu cavalrymen then indiscriminately and madly killed the Han cavalrymen and shouted at the top of their lungs to destroy the Han cavalrymen's will to resist.

Hearing the roar that tore through the sky, Ding Li, Zhang Yue, and Wang Jing, who were fleeing under the protection of their personal guards, became even more terrified and fled in a hurry. The Han cavalry, trapped in the sea of ​​Chu cavalry, saw only the ferocious Chu cavalry and the sharp weapons that chopped and stabbed them. Even if they charged left and right and struggled desperately, they could not escape the decline. They were already on the verge of collapse, and now they heard that their commander was dead, they could no longer hold on. The ranks collapsed and fled in all directions like a stream of water. Those who were trapped in the encirclement and could not escape simply fell off their horses and surrendered with their hands raised on the ground.

The pressure on the Chu cavalry, who had been fighting desperately, was suddenly relieved. Seeing that the Han cavalry finally collapsed, they laughed wildly and divided their troops into several groups to chase and kill the Han cavalry, gather the straying war horses, and drive away the surrendered soldiers, all at the same time. Everything was done with ease and in an orderly manner.

As the 20,000 Han cavalry were defeated, a steady stream of barricades were pushed out from the rear camp of the Han army, forming a formation to block the 30,000 Chu cavalry from continuing their attack. Behind the barricades, the dense Han infantry, wearing full armor and holding bows and spears, were ready to engage in battle.

Xiang Chang was frightened and did not dare to continue the attack. He immediately decided to stop and personally led the heavy armored cavalry to cover the rear. He ordered the 30,000 cavalry to drive the captured horses in an orderly manner, escorting the surrendering Han army, and slowly retreated to Gaixia.

At this time, the 10,000 cavalry sent by Zhongli Mei also successfully rescued the trapped cavalry of Xiang Zhuang and Ji Bu. When the 30,000 cavalry retreated to the front of the city, Xiang Chang did not lead them into the city to rest, but ordered them to set up camp outside the city, which undoubtedly meant that the Chu army would give up the defensive position again and continue to take an active offensive posture.

"Han Xin, you bastard. General Wang Ling and deputy general Dong Qiu died in vain, and 20,000 cavalry were destroyed in one fell swoop, and you actually want to blame us? As the commander-in-chief, don't you have any sins at all? Have you won a victory since you took over as the commander-in-chief of the Han army? You are such an incompetent waste, and you still have the audacity to talk so shamelessly. If we were you, we would have committed suicide long ago!" In the tent of the Han army commander, generals such as Ding Li had tattered armor and were covered with wounds. They roared and cursed with their necks tilted.

Faced with such humiliation, Han Xin, who came from a humble background and had devoted his entire life to striving to rise to the top and become a supreme king or noble, turned pale and veins on his forehead throbbed.

He knelt down with his sword in hand, gritted his teeth and shouted, "How dare you! Twenty thousand cavalrymen, well-rested and well-equipped, can't stop the thirty thousand exhausted Chu troops who came from a long distance. You are so incompetent and useless. You even dare to roar and shout! Do you think that the military law can't kill you?"

Faced with the sudden return of 30,000 Chu cavalry, the entire rear camp of the Han army was in danger, looking like it would be killed in one fell swoop. General Han Xin acted promptly and sent 20,000 Han cavalry as mobile forces to provide sniper attacks and guard the rear camp. There was nothing wrong with this military strategy.

The only problem was that, in Han Xin's view, even if the 20,000 well-rested Han cavalry could not defeat the 30,000 exhausted Chu cavalry, they could at least fight to a draw. But in the end, they were defeated and fled with less than 10,000 cavalry. Wasn't that incompetence? According to military law, they would be punished.

However, in the eyes of Ding Li and other generals, the Chu cavalry was feared by the world, with a total of 30,000 people, but they had only 20,000 soldiers to resist. Isn't this a tactic of abandoning the pawn and sending it to death? And they suffered a great defeat as expected, and even suffered punishment. How could they accept it?

"General, please be patient. In my opinion, the 20,000 Han cavalrymen have blocked the Chu cavalry and protected the rear camp. From this perspective, they have not only done nothing wrong, but have done something valuable." Cao Shen coughed and suddenly spoke.

As soon as he spoke, Fan Kuai and other generals immediately followed suit, echoing and praising the achievements of the 20,000 Han cavalry.

Han Xin was almost angry to death at such blatant lies.

These 20,000 Han cavalry were the last cavalry left in the Han camp. Now that they have been defeated, the Han army is left with only infantry. They will inevitably be on the defensive, and even their food supply routes will be under the threat of the Chu cavalry.

Therefore, this seemingly ordinary defeat actually has far-reaching consequences.

Chen Ping, who was standing aside, had a gleam in his eyes and understood clearly in his mind: these important generals took this opportunity to challenge Han Xin and even the commander-in-chief Liu Bang!

Previously, with the support of Liu Bang, Han Xin forcibly implemented the "Qin Military Merit System", which caused great dissatisfaction among them. Now that they have the opportunity, they immediately began to fight back.

"According to the general's order just now, drag these bastards away and give them thirty military sticks. Ding Li just committed treason and questioned the general, so he will be given ten additional military sticks." Liu Bang, who was sitting aside, spoke coldly.

The law enforcement soldiers in the tent escorted General Ding Lisan out of the tent without saying a word, and began to enforce military law outside the tent with a "crackling" sound.

Liu Bang was so tough and refused to give in or retreat. Generals like Cao Shen were overwhelmed and kept their heads down, not daring to say anything.

"Do you all want to die? It's already this time, and you are still fighting among yourselves! The 30,000 cavalry of the Great Chu have returned, and the three kingdoms of Jiujiang, Hengshan and Linjiang have returned to the Great Chu. The Great Chu, which was originally defeated, is on the verge of revival. You all know how terrible Xiang Yu is. Do you want your entire clan to be slaughtered by him before you wake up?" Liu Bang slowly stood up, pointed his finger at the generals, looked furious, and cursed.

The generals were scolded so much that they lowered their heads and shrank their necks, not daring to breathe.

The atmosphere in the entire tent was extremely depressing, and everyone felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on their hearts.

How could the generals not know what Liu Bang said? After regaining the old land of Chu, the Chu army in Gaixia City no longer had to worry about insufficient military food, weapons and other logistics. In addition, Lu Ze's army was defeated and could not even intercept the food supply route of the Great Chu.

"General, there is no need to be discouraged. Victory and defeat are common in the military. I have already ordered Prime Minister Xiao He to escort all the elite soldiers trained in Hanzhong, the fierce cavalry, and sufficient food and weapons here. From now on, as long as we hold on for a while, we will still have an absolute advantage and there will be no doubt that we will defeat the Chu army!" Liu Bang patted Han Xin on the shoulder and said solemnly to comfort him.

I have to say that Liu Bang is really an extraordinary person. He is thick-skinned and resistant to rough situations, has a strong will, and never gets discouraged even when defeated. There are few people in the world today who can match him.

Han Xin was originally worried that Liu Bang's will was weak, but after hearing this, he knew that Liu Bang was determined to fight a decisive battle with the Chu at Gaixia, so he nodded slowly with a solemn expression.

The reason why Cao Shen and other important generals did not care about the successive defeats was that they knew that under Xiao He's governance, with the support of the entire Hanzhong and Guanzhong, Liu Bang's family background was very rich, and he had always had as many soldiers and military supplies as he wanted.

"Where is the King of Chu?" Chen Ping, who had been silent in the tent, suddenly spoke.

The generals were stunned and confused for a moment, not understanding what he meant.

(End of this chapter)