My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 152 Unstoppable
The 20,000 Han troops who were charging intensively were whittled down layer by layer by the endless crossbow arrows of the Chu army. Whoever rushed to the front and the hardest would die the fastest.

By the sixth round of crossbow shooting by the Chu army, four to five thousand Han soldiers had been killed, but they still had not yet engaged in battle with the first row of Chu soldiers holding spears and halberds.

Just as they were about to rush forward and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Chu army, they saw the seventh round of soldiers of the Chu army flash out again, holding the crossbow, his face cold and ruthless, without any fluctuation, like an evil god from the underworld who reaps lives, and he quickly pulled the trigger again.

The Han army soldiers who were approaching finally collapsed. Someone uttered a heart-wrenching cry: "Here they are shooting again, run away!" He threw away the weapon in his hand, turned around and ran away with his head in his hands.

It has to be said that the Han army soldiers were able to hold out until now, and only collapsed after suffering the seventh round of attacks from the Chu army's crossbows. Xiao He, who was stationed in Guanzhong, not only had a terrifying ability to produce troops, but also a terrifying ability to train troops!
Yong Chi, who had been watching the battle from the rear, was stunned when he saw the Chu army firing round after round of crossbow arrows as if there was no end. His face was dull and his body was stiff, like a stone sculpture.

"How is it possible? How is it possible! How is it possible—" He muttered only these words over and over again.

Yong Chi saw that the Han soldiers were about to rush to the front of the Chu army to fight with them. At that time, the Chu army's crossbows would undoubtedly be useless. But at this critical moment, as if the last breath of strength was lost, the entire front line of the Han army suddenly collapsed. The soldiers turned their heads and fled without caring about anything. They threw the whips in their hands to the ground and cursed: "Bastards! Bastards! A bunch of bastards!"

Although he cursed angrily, he knew that it was already remarkable that the Han soldiers had been able to hold out until now.

The Han soldiers in the front fled backwards, while the Han soldiers in the back were still charging forward according to military orders. The two groups actually collided with each other, causing chaos.

The Chu army formation in the rear continued to advance at a steady pace, and the rounds of crossbow arrows did not stop because of the defeat of the Han soldiers, and they continued to shoot steadily and persistently. As a result, the fleeing Han soldiers were hit in the back one after another, and continued to be cut off layer by layer, and died powerlessly on the way to escape.

At this time, Lu Shizhi was also stunned by the brutality of the battlefield. Although he was not proficient in military strategy, he was not completely ignorant. He said to Yong Chi in fear: "General Yong, this, this, what should we do now? Have we been completely defeated?"

Yong Chi glanced at him, unable to control his disgust any longer, and yelled, "Shut up!"

The soldiers who were attacking and fleeing were crowded together, the situation was in chaos and there was no way to clean it up. The Chu army was still advancing, and it would not be long before the 20,000 Han troops would collapse. Yong Chi's only hope was that the 10,000 cavalry who were attacking the Chu army would be able to achieve success in one fell swoop. As long as the Chu army was defeated before the 20,000 Han soldiers collapsed completely, there would be a glimmer of hope in this battle.

At this time, Lü Tai and Lü Chan each led 5,000 Han cavalry and went around the back of the Chu army. They were about to launch an attack, but they were shocked to find that a full 3,000 Chu infantry were pushing huge barricades to block them. The intention was self-evident: they did not want to kill them, but only to stop them.

The chevaux-de-frise array that Han Xin painstakingly researched caused great damage to the Chu cavalry. How could Xiang Chang not use such a practical war machine?

At this time, Lu Tai and Lu Chan also realized that the battle between the Han infantry and the Chu infantry in front was extremely unfavorable. The situation was urgent and defeat was imminent. They were urgently needed to kill their way through the Chu army to save them from danger and rescue them from dire straits.

The two men looked at each other, nodded heavily at the same time, and gave decisive orders, commanding 10,000 cavalry to charge towards the Chu army's chevaux de frise.

As expected, the Han cavalry fought hard despite heavy casualties, but progress was slow. What shocked the 10,000 Han cavalry was that they thought they could trample and slaughter the Chu soldiers at will after breaking through the barricades at the cost of a large number of lives and horses. But before they could urge their horses to gallop, their horses kept screaming in pain, their hooves softened, and they fell to the ground in large numbers, creating a cloud of dirt. As for the Han cavalry on horseback, they were also thrown to the ground, and some of them were unlucky enough to have their necks broken, their legs broken, and their chests pierced, which was a miserable sight.

The soldiers of the Chu army brandished spears and rushed forward continuously, "Puchi" "Puchi", like the god of death from the underworld, reaping their lives coldly and mercilessly.

Before their death, some Han cavalrymen saw a large area of ​​fist-sized "caltrops" made of pure iron scattered on the ground - their horses stepped on them, injuring their hooves and causing them to fall.

Behind the formation, Lu Tai and Lu Chan looked at each other, at a loss. Undoubtedly, this situation was completely beyond their scope and beyond what they could handle.

At this time, Xiang Chang personally led thousands of Chu cavalry, like an angry dragon, and attacked fiercely.

When formulating the plan for the great battle with the Han army, Xiang Chang's only worry was that the Chu infantry would not be able to withstand the charge of 10,000 Han cavalry. But now, seeing that the Chu infantry had successfully held back the 10,000 Han cavalry with the help of chevaux de frise and the "iron caltrops" he had ordered to be made, he was overjoyed.

Seeing Xiang Chang personally leading thousands of Chu cavalry to charge towards them, Lu Tai and Lu Chan's eyes instantly turned red.

——This is the murderer of my father!
The two men gave orders to abandon the attack on the Chu infantry and instead gathered all the remaining cavalry to charge at Xiang Chang. The two men also went against their previous cautious attitude and led the way under the protection of their own troops, charging at the large flag flying high among the Chu cavalry, marking Xiang Chang's location.

Looking down from the sky, the cavalry armies of Han and Chu were like two surging, rapidly rushing waves, and they collided violently!
For a moment, blood-red waves splashed, war horses, cavalry, weapons, and armor flew in the air, it was a bloody and cruel mess.

These 4,000 Chu cavalry were the elite of the entire Chu cavalry. Although they had followed Xiang Chang to defeat Ying Bu's army and had already experienced a fierce battle, they were still extremely fierce. When the Han cavalry engaged them, it was like hitting an iron wall, and the first three rows of cavalry were completely defeated.

The entire Chu cavalry camp seemed to contain a tremendous and irresistible force. It was unstoppable and continued to move forward, like a plowshare constantly turning over the soil, plowing the Han cavalry upside down and invincible.

Lu Tai and Lu Chan, who rushed towards Xiang Chang desperately, were soon trapped in the ocean of Chu cavalry. The guards beside them disappeared at an astonishing speed like snowballs licked by the waves of fire.

After rushing out less than a hundred steps, Lu Tai and Lu Chan were horrified to find that before they could engage in battle with Xiang Chang, there were only a few guards left beside them.

"How is this possible! When did the Chu cavalry become so powerful?" Such thoughts occurred to Lu Tai and Lu Chan at the same time.

They followed their father and fought countless fierce battles with the Chu Cavalry, and they were very clear about the combat effectiveness of the Chu Cavalry. The Chu Cavalry could only burst out with terrifying combat power under Xiang Yu's command. In addition, no matter Long Ju, Zhongli Mei, Ji Bu and other Chu generals, they were strong but not fierce. As long as they had twice the number of troops, they would be able to win the battle. Now facing the Chu Cavalry led by Xiang Chang, they still held this old view.

In their view, their own cavalry was twice as numerous as theirs, and Xiang Chang's cavalry had just experienced a great battle, so there should be no doubt that they would defeat them.

But when they engaged in battle, they discovered that the fighting power was beyond their imagination, even stronger than that led by Overlord himself!
The two brothers naturally didn't know that with the implementation of the "Great Chu Military Merit Reward System", after one battle after another, batches of officers and generals stood out for their outstanding performance and bravery in combat and were promoted to high positions. Large batches of soldiers were rewarded generously for their bravery in killing the enemy, changing their own and their family's destiny. In the eyes of the Great Chu army, the current Han army camp has become a synonym for women, land, houses, military positions, titles, etc., and the fighting is like snatching, and they are almost crazy.

The two brothers knew that they had made a wrong judgment. Under the continuous attack of the Chu cavalry, they did not even have the chance to engage in battle with Xiang Chang. They were killed by a hideous general with a bloody centipede on his face and a nimble and fierce young general who fell off their horses.

With the death of the two brothers, the 10,000 cavalry of the Han army collapsed. The quick-witted ones fled frantically on their horses, while those who were surrounded and unable to escape had no choice but to jump off their horses and kneel down in surrender.

At this time, under the continuous and tough attacks of the Chu army's infantry, the 20,000 infantry of the Han army also began to collapse.

Yong Chi, who was behind the formation, saw that the 10,000 Chu cavalry in the rear were defeated and annihilated. He was furious, his hands and feet were cold, and he kept cursing, but he knew that the battle situation was irreversible.

He immediately made a decision, took Lü Shizhi with him, and under the protection of the escorting cavalry, abandoned the army and fled in panic in the direction they came.

——It is true that he attaches great importance to the marquisate conferred by Liu Bang, but in the current situation, his own life is obviously more important.

Peng Yue, who led 40,000 cavalrymen from the northwest and came like a flood, reined in a swift horse with fur as red as flames outside the Han-Chu battlefield. His resolute face was as cold as iron. With a wave of his hand, the guarding cavalrymen behind him quickly pulled a horse to his front.

Sitting on the back of the warhorse was an old cavalryman who was as skinny as a monkey, with tattered clothes, his hands tied and a black leather bag on his head.

The guard reached out and took off the bag on the old cavalryman's head, revealing a haggard old face that was sallow, gray, cracked and had a chin like a shovel, which was very eye-catching. It was Wu She, the Right Counselor of the Great Chu.

"When two armies are fighting, envoys should not be killed. Doctor Wu, please go back." Peng Yue said in a cold tone.

On the day of Gaixia, Xiang Chang successfully persuaded Peng Yue to withdraw his troops. Fearing that Peng Yue would change his mind again and lose his determination to betray Han, Xiang Chang ordered Wu She to stay in Liang State as an envoy for a period of time to monitor Peng Yue's movements and prevent him from having ideological decline and going astray in life.

At the beginning, Peng Yue treated him with great respect and importance, and invited him to banquets almost every day. But after a while, he gradually became neglectful of him, and later on, he simply stopped meeting him.

Wu She gradually realized that something was wrong. Apparently, as the situation in the Han camp became more urgent, the conditions offered to Peng Yue became more and more exaggerated, causing the old man to become overwhelmed and shaken.

Peng Yue was under heavy guard and had little freedom, which was almost equivalent to house arrest. He was anxious but could do nothing.

After many unsuccessful attempts to meet with Peng Yue, Wu She knew that he could not delay any longer, so he said goodbye to Peng Yue and prepared to return to Gaixia to pass on the message.

However, not only was his permission not granted, but a black sheepskin bag was put on his head by the soldiers under Peng Yue's command, and he was tied to a war horse, and then he set off with the army in a daze.

He ran for more than ten days, except for opening the bag every morning and evening to let him eat. He never saw the sun, and kept running on horseback. The food he ate was also very rough. Wu She, the right counselor, suffered a lot and became very thin and frail, as if he had aged ten years.

He shook his head vigorously, opened his eyes tightly, and looked around.

When he saw clearly that they were back to Gaixia and the Han and Chu armies were fighting desperately in front of him, Wu She's heart sank. He instantly realized that this old thief had been persuaded by Liu Bang to turn against him again.

And this old thief deliberately brought me to Gaixia and released me just when the battle was about to start. It was obvious that he was afraid that I would go back and inform the enemy as soon as possible. He was determined to catch the Chu Kingdom off guard.

The key is that this old thief is the originator of guerrilla warfare, and his use of cavalry is superb. Even the Overlord is extremely troubled by his simple harassment without direct confrontation, and his unbreakable and unbreakable bullhide fighting style. Now that he supports the Han Dynasty and attacks the Chu Dynasty, I am afraid that the situation of the Chu Dynasty will be in danger.

Wu She didn't care about his exhausted body, nor did he flee back to the Chu. He stiffened his neck, raised his striking chin, and said sternly: "King Liang has forgotten the covenant with Overlord? Overlord personally appointed you as King Liang, which is a great favor. But now you are betraying him and stabbing him in the back. How is that different from old Liu Bang? Aren't you afraid of God's displeasure?"

"The King of Chu has shown me great kindness, but the King of Han has shown me even greater kindness." Peng Yue sat upright with his majestic figure like a mountain, speaking in a calm tone, "The King of Han has promised to give me not only the Liang territory, but also all the Qi territory."

Wu She's heart sank. Liu Bang offered such a huge reward, and it was really a price that Peng Yue could not refuse. An old man like Peng Yue who only cared about his own interests had no gratitude in his heart. He just looked at who offered the highest price. It was reasonable for him to betray Peng Yue.

"You idiot, you are really like a widow giving birth - you have a background! Have you ever thought that with old Liu Bang's stinginess, he was reluctant to give you even a title of king before, but now he is willing to give you such a large territory, what's the reason behind it? If he was not forced into a corner by the Great Chu and was not on the verge of defeat, would he be so generous? You are interested in his title of king, but he is interested in your wealth. Are you sure you really want to bet everything and join old Liu Bang in a gamble?" Wu She was unwilling and made his last effort, hoping to persuade Peng Yue to come back.

Peng Yue frowned, his face hesitant for a moment. However, looking at the battlefield of the Han-Chu War, his eyes slowly became hot again, and his gloomy words revealed great confidence: "Even if Liu Bang is at a disadvantage, my 40,000 cavalry are not enough to help him turn the tide of the war? - You, go quickly, if you keep talking too much, I will kill you first."

(End of this chapter)