My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 154 Uninvited Guest

Looking up at the Overlord with his flag flying in the air and leading the way like a god, Peng Yue smiled bitterly and muttered a curse: "You bastard, today you will be famous!"

Next, he raised his old head towards the sky, let out a miserable and violent roar, and rushed towards the Overlord on his horse, waving his spear!

The guards behind him also followed closely!

The Overlord was overjoyed when he saw this, and he also shouted loudly. He did not dodge or evade, but confronted the enemy head-on, swinging his halberd and striking violently.

When two heavy spears face off, the one that is harder, thicker, tougher and stronger will naturally win!
The Overlord Halberd slashed down from the air fiercely, like a thunderclap, splitting Peng Yue's spear in two at once, and the momentum did not stop at all, and in the process, chopped off the head and the upper half of the body...

Killing Peng Yue with one halberd was just an expected thing for the Overlord. He did not hesitate and continued to charge forward. After all, the number of generals with names and surnames who had died at his hands so far was only a few hundred, if not hundreds. It was difficult for him to be moved.

Under the leadership of the Overlord, the 14,000 cavalry were like a giant spear, strangling and piercing the 40,000 Liang cavalry. In addition, with Peng Yue dead, the army was leaderless and was eventually defeated.

Except for those who died in battle and those who were surrounded and had no way to escape, the rest of the defeated Liang cavalry were terrified and fled in all directions.

This is why it is difficult to completely annihilate the cavalry, and most of the time they can only be defeated. This is because every cavalryman is on horseback, so it is easy for them to escape.

Seeing that 40,000 Liang cavalry were fleeing in all directions, Xiang Yu left most of the cavalry to continue the pursuit, and he took 3,000 of his own troops and went straight to the rear of the battlefield where the Han-Chu war was taking place, and attacked Liu Bang, who was watching the battle with his hands out.

At this moment, as if father and son were of one mind, Xiang Chang, who defeated Yong Chi's army, also led three thousand elite cavalry and rushed fiercely towards the rear of the Han army.

When shooting a person, shoot the horse first; when capturing a thief, capture the leader first. Just like Peng Yue abandoned the battlefield of the Han-Chu war and attacked Gaixia, Xiang Yu and Xiang Chang also went straight to capture Liu Bang, the main bandit leader, at the same time!
Watching the 100,000-strong army of Ying Bu, Yong Chi, and Peng Yue, which he had placed high hopes on, being defeated, Liu Bang, who was standing on the observation platform, felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. His face turned pale and his whole body was trembling.

Especially at this time in the battlefield of the Han-Chu War, the situation of the Han army had reached its limit and was precarious. It could collapse at any time. Liu Bang was completely in despair.

As for Xiahou Ying and Cao Shen who were standing beside him, they were all frightened and panicked.

"Your Majesty, send all 12,000 cavalrymen to the battlefield. If you delay any longer, the situation will be over!" Cao Shen was extremely anxious. He looked at the cavalrymen who were still stationed there and shouted as if he had grabbed a straw.

"Where to go?" Xiahou Ying immediately retorted before Liu Bang could speak.

Cao Shen was speechless!
Yes, where to throw? At present, the entire Han-Chu battlefield is full of loopholes. No matter where you throw, even if you win, it will only solve a local crisis and cannot reverse the collapse of the overall situation.

Liu Bang's face changed and he remained silent for a long time. It was obvious that he didn't think this was a good idea.

At this time, seeing Xiang Yu and Xiang Chang, father and son, each leading an army, like a pair of thick and long chopsticks, "pinching" Liu Bang, the big meatball, ferociously, Liu Bang and the generals were even more shocked, and at a loss for a moment.

"King of Han, what are you waiting for? As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Although you have suffered a great defeat now, you can reorganize your army and fight again! Your Majesty has been defeated many times in the past, but you managed to rise again every time, didn't you?" Just when all the generals were silent, Xiahou Ying spoke first.

When Liu Bang heard this, his expression brightened up, but then became depressed again.

This defeat is different from any previous one. It can be said that all the family assets were spent. It sounds good to say that you can rise again after a defeat, but without soldiers and generals, how can you rise again?
Xiahou Ying saw Liu Bang's hesitation. To put it bluntly, he was reluctant to leave the army in front of him. He looked up and found that the Han army had begun to show signs of collapse on the battlefield of the Han-Chu War, and Xiang Yu and Xiang Chang were getting closer and closer. He hurriedly said:

"King of Han, although we are defeated now, at most we have only abandoned the Central Plains. Guanzhong is still a vast territory. Under the management of Prime Minister Xiao He, the foundation is solid and can be regarded as the foundation of an emperor. As long as we guard Hangu Pass, cultivate the interior, regroup, and fight a decisive battle with the Great Chu again, it is not too late."

"Although what you said makes sense, what can we do about the tens of thousands of soldiers in front of us?" Liu Bang said sadly, turning his head to glare at him.

Xiahou Ying suddenly realized it, waved his hand, and the guards beside him came forward, picked up Liu Bang and took him down the observation platform without saying a word, then mounted their horses and fled in haste.

Cao Shen and other generals did not say a word, and together with Xiahou Ying, they led 12,000 cavalry to leave the battlefield and escape.

The 12,000 cavalrymen of the Han army were fresh troops that had not been deployed to the battlefield, and now they were running away at a speed as fast as flying. The cavalrymen under the command of Overlord and Xiang Chang were exhausted after a long battle and were separated by a distance. After a while, they were actually getting further away.

The Overlord wanted to give chase but was stopped by Xiang Chang. The father and son led the army back to the battlefield of Gaixia together.

In the previous Battle of Pengcheng, Overlord led 30,000 cavalry to defeat Liu Bang's 560,000 troops. However, because he was focused on hunting down Liu Bang, he failed to effectively eliminate the Han army. In the end, Liu Bang escaped, gathered the defeated troops, reorganized them, and revived in the shortest time possible, greatly boosting his momentum.

This time, Xiang Chang doesn't want to make the same mistake again.

Almost all of Liu Bang's capable and battle-hardened soldiers were gathered at Gaixia. As long as they were destroyed to the greatest extent possible, even if Liu Bang escaped with his life, he would be left alone and would never be able to make any waves again.

"Liu Bang escaped, Liu Bang escaped..." At this time, the generals of the left, center and right armies of the Chu army commanded their soldiers and shouted in unison.

Originally the Han army had begun to collapse, and when they saw Liu Bang running away from the rear, all the generals were very aware of Liu Bang's usual tricks for escaping, so without saying a word, they abandoned their soldiers and tried to escape.

People like Zhou Chang, who was a tough man, and the central army infantry generals Wang Yi, Yang Xi, Yang Wu, etc., who led their troops to fight on the front line, were stuck in the quagmire and could not escape, and eventually all died in battle.

In addition, generals such as Fan Kuai, Zhou Bo, and Chai Wu were more quick-witted. When they saw that the situation was not right, they kept an eye on Liu Bang's movements behind them. When Liu Bang was fleeing, they followed him without hesitation. It can be said that they were almost in perfect sync, and thus they luckily escaped with their lives.

When Xiang Yu and Xiang Chang returned to Gaixia, they encountered the Han army being defeated all over the mountains.

"Surrender without killing!"

"Surrender quickly!"

……

Xiang Chang commanded the cavalry to block and drive away the fleeing Han army, while shouting in unison. At present, the Han army was mainly composed of infantry. Facing the pursuit of a large number of Chu cavalry, how could two legs outrun four legs? In the end, they had no choice but to surrender. As for those who resisted fiercely, the Chu army was not polite and immediately killed them on the spot...

By the time everything had settled and the battlefield was cleared, it was almost dusk.

A rough calculation shows that nearly 100,000 Han soldiers who surrendered were captured, more than a thousand war horses, and countless amounts of food, fodder, military equipment and armor were seized.

Faced with such a great victory, the entire Chu camp, whether generals or soldiers, were all excited and overjoyed. Especially high-ranking generals such as Zhongli Mei, who imagined the fear and panic of being surrounded by the 600,000-strong Han army and seeing the entire army annihilated, it really seemed like a dream.

After the meritorious soldiers were counted and the dead comrades were properly collected, the Overlord gave an order to set up camp in front of Gaixia City, light a bonfire, cook the dead and disabled horses and captured rations on the spot, and let all the soldiers have a hearty meal.

In the center of the camp, next to a huge bonfire, dozens of servants placed large pots on the charcoal fire, stewing horse meat with a "gurgling" sound. In addition, they also used branches to fork pieces of bread and kept turning them to bake. The rich aroma of meat and bread wafted out.

The Overlord sat at the head of the table, while the other important generals and ministers, including Xiang Chang, sat around the bonfire. On the desk in front of each person was a plate of horse meat, a few flatbreads, and a bowl of hot soup, just like all the soldiers in the camp.

Yes, up to this point, the generals of the Great Chu still maintained the same diet as the soldiers, and carried out their orders thoroughly and resolutely.

Although the food was crude, all the generals and ministers were in high spirits and did not mind it at all. They found the food extremely delicious.

While enjoying the food, the generals and ministers enthusiastically discussed today's great victory.

Xiang Guan drank a mouthful of hot soup, smacked his lips, slapped the documents with his hands, and shouted: "This battle is so exciting! It has been a long time since I felt so happy and so full of joy! - If there is wine to drink, it will be even better!"

At the end, Xiang Guan realized that he had said something wrong and revealed that the prohibition on alcohol was issued by Xiang Chang. He could not help but shrink his neck and sneak a glance at Xiang Chang, who was concentrating on cutting the horse meat and chewing it happily.

All the generals smiled when they saw this, but they didn't think there was anything wrong with Xiang Guan being so afraid of Xiang Chang.

Not to mention Xiang Guan, even Grand Marshal Xiang Sheng and General Zhongli Mei would all fall silent and listen attentively when Xiang Chang opened his mouth, just as respectful as when facing the Overlord.

Xiang Chang smiled, raised his head, waved to Xiang Zhuang beside him, and said: "This great victory is also rare! Didn't we seize some fine wine from the generals of the Han camp today? Pour a bottle for each general and minister. Send the rest to the military doctor and continue to distill it into 'detoxification medicine' to treat the injured soldiers."

Xiang Zhuang smiled and nodded, saying, "It's just as you expected. We seized a lot of fine wine from the Han camp this time. All of it was hidden in the hands of the Han army generals instead of being steamed into 'poison-clearing medicine' to treat the wounded. The seized fine wine is enough. Let's give each general three bottles."

Xiang Chang thought that the alcohol content of fine wine was only about 10 degrees, and the generals all had high alcohol tolerance, so drinking three bottles would be no problem. He immediately smiled and nodded in agreement.

After the wine was poured, the Overlord raised the wine jar and said with a smile: "Thanks to the blessing of God, the virtue of our ancestors, and your concerted efforts and bravery, we have once again won a great victory over the Han Dynasty. Today, everyone, please have a little fun. After we conquer Guanzhong, we will sit in old Liu Bang's nest and have a feast. We will not go home until we are drunk. - Everyone, drink to victory!"

"Cheers to victory!" All the generals and ministers, including Xiang Chang, raised their glasses at the same time and drank the wine in one gulp.

Although there were only three bottles of fine wine, the generals were in high spirits, flattering each other, and the atmosphere was lively. As they talked, they talked about the 100,000 surrendered soldiers.

A large part of the 100,000 surrendered soldiers were Han soldiers from Guanzhong and Liu Bang's old bases in Feng and Pei, which was a great source of instability. Moreover, if they were left alone, the daily food consumption alone would be a terrifying number. Immediately, some generals returned to their old ways and clamored for the Overlord to kill them all directly like before, simply and efficiently.

Overlord was also very tempted, but when he saw Xiang Chang frowning, he suddenly woke up and said calmly: "Leave all the surrendered soldiers to the eldest son to deal with."

Xiang Chang had already thought of how to deal with and settle these surrendered soldiers. The sons of Fengpei County who were loyal to Liu Bang, as well as the soldiers from Guanzhong, were all exiled to Hengshan and Linjiang Kingdoms.

The reason why they were able to win this war was that they had plundered the lands of the two major kingdoms of Hengshan and Linjiang, reduced the surrendered soldiers to slaves, and distributed them to the damaged nobles as a small compensation.

As for the rest of the soldiers, they followed the previous method, killed the officers, pledged their allegiance, and continued to join the army to expand their own military strength.

Just when the generals were talking enthusiastically, the Overlord's servant announced that an unexpected guest wanted to see him - Yang Tian, ​​Liu Bang's eunuch, was here on a diplomatic mission!
At this time, all the generals and ministers were eating hot horse meat in pancakes, drinking hot soup, and drinking three bottles of fine wine. They were all about 70% full. After hearing what he said, they all became interested. They immediately knelt down, trimmed their beards, and looked at Yang Tian who walked in timidly with a playful look on their faces.

"Greetings, Overlord!" Yang Tian bowed respectfully.

Neither the Overlord nor the generals felt that there was anything wrong with Zhongjuan's greeting.

Xiang Chang's face darkened, he pressed his hands on the documents, and said in a low voice: "How dare you! Why don't you kneel when you see the Overlord?"

Yang Tian was stunned. He turned his head and looked at Xiang Chang, and said, "Mr. Chang, why do you say that? I am here on behalf of the King of Han to visit the King of Chu. How can I kneel down and bow?"

"Bullshit! Old Liu Bang was conferred the title of King of Han by my father. When did he become qualified to be on equal footing with my father? As for you, envoy? You are not worthy! You are nothing but a servant sent by old Liu Bang to pay homage to my father, but you are good at flattering yourself! Will you kneel or not? If not, drag him out and behead him!" Xiang Chang shouted sternly.

When the generals and the Overlord heard this, they all thought it made sense.

They had been struggling to breathe due to the attacks from Liu Bang's Han camp in the past few years. As their days were numbered, their fears grew deeper and deeper, to the point that they had forgotten that he was the King of Han, and it was actually the Overlord who crowned him!

Seeing that Xiang Chang was filled with murderous intent, Yang Tian knew that he was now in a disadvantageous position, so he swallowed his anger and knelt down to greet him obediently.

All the generals burst into laughter, humiliating Yang Tian so much that his face turned red.

"What message do you have for old Liu Bang?" As soon as the Overlord opened his mouth, the laughter around him stopped immediately, and he spoke condescendingly and coldly.

"The King of Han wants to reaffirm the Honggou Alliance with the Overlord! As long as the Overlord agrees, the King of Han will retreat to the west of the Honggou, and all the lands in the east will be returned to the Overlord!" Yang Tian raised his head and said respectfully and solemnly.

(End of this chapter)