My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 155 Fire Fighting in the Backyard
Hearing this, the generals could no longer hold back and burst into laughter again.

"Go back and tell old Liu Bang that I will personally take back all the land he occupies and let him occupy it firmly!" The Overlord looked angry, with violent aura surging all over his body, and shouted sternly.

He kept his promise in the Honggou Treaty, but Liu Bang went back on his word and attacked him, making him a laughing stock. Now that this guy brought up the old matter again, he was naturally furious.

"Overlord, although the King of Han was defeated today, there are still hundreds of thousands of troops in Guanzhong, and the people's hearts are on his side. In addition, the King of Yan, the King of Zhao, and the King of Han each have 100,000 elite soldiers. At the command of the King of Han, the troops will attack together. Can the Overlord still be as lucky as today and continue to win the battle?" Yang Tian knelt on the ground and said anxiously.

The Overlord had a gloomy face and remained silent, too lazy to talk to him.

Xiang Chang stood up and walked over, squatted down, patted Yang Tian on the shoulder, and said leisurely: "Doctor Yang, just because you are kneeling on the spot, isn't the current situation of Chu and Han obvious enough? Go back and tell Liu Bang to clean his neck and wait for the chopping!"

Seeing Yang Tian being kicked out, Overlord had regained his composure and frowned, wondering, "Is Liu Bang desperate to seek help from anyone? Regardless of his shameless behavior of going back on his word last time or the current situation, how could I possibly agree to this Honggou Covenant?"

Xiang Chang smiled coldly, and looked towards the north with his hands behind his back: "He is reminding us that there are still the three kings of Yan, Zhao and Han. The world is still not peaceful. If we insist on attacking him, we should be careful that the three kings will cause chaos and set our backyard on fire. He is diverting trouble to others. After all, if we choose to pacify the three kings next, won't he get a chance to breathe?"

Xiang Yu and his generals suddenly realized.

In the next few days, the senior generals and officials of the Chu held military meetings one after another to discuss the next military strategy. After full discussion and consultation, the next war plan was finally formulated.

So four days later, after everything was in order and the soldiers had had enough rest, the Chu army that had been trapped in Gaixia for a long time was like a fierce dragon that had broken free from its chains. They rushed out in full force, left Gaixia, and divided into several groups to rush to various places.

One of them was led by General Zhongli Mei, who led 30,000 Chu troops to Jiujiang. Jiujiang Kingdom belonged to the old territory of Great Chu, and now there were still more than 10,000 troops of Chen Xi and Li Shang. With Liu Bang's defeat, they had to be eliminated as soon as possible and recovered in the shortest possible time.

Secondly, Grand Marshal Xiang Sheng led an army of 30,000, accompanied by prisoners, military rations, seized weapons, gold, silver, silk, etc., and rushed back to Pengcheng to reorganize the rear as soon as possible and consolidate the foundation.

Pengcheng was the base camp established by the Overlord, and was extremely important to the Chu. However, it had a rough fate and fell into the hands of the Han camp many times during the battles with the Han camp. The Overlord captured 60,000 troops from the Hengshan Kingdom, of which 40,000 troops went north to join General Li Yi in Qi, and recaptured all the cities he passed through, including Pengcheng. Therefore, Xiang Sheng only needed to go and take over this time.

As for the third route, Xiang Chang led 10,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry, passed through counties and prefectures, and attacked Ji County, the capital of Yan State.

The three remaining kings of Yan, Zhao and Han in the north were all loyal to the Han camp and had hidden plans. Xiang Chang was going to wipe them out in one fell swoop and completely eliminate these hidden dangers.

The last army, led by the Overlord Xiang Yu, with 30,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry, continued to pursue along Liu Bang's retreat route. Not only did they want to recover all the territory east of the Honggou, but they also wanted to directly attack Liu Bang's old nest, Guanzhong, and make sure to eradicate Liu Bang completely.

The simultaneous appearance of these four armies not only represented the transformation of the Great Chu from its previous precarious passive defense to a full-scale counterattack, but also represented the Great Chu's determination to conquer the world.

When Xiang Chang led his army from Gaixia to Yan State, all the counties and prefectures had originally fallen into the hands of the Han camp. However, Liu Bang occupied them for a short time, and many of them did not even have time to send soldiers to garrison. Even if there were soldiers stationed, they would flee at the sight of the enemy, and he easily recaptured them all.

The governors and magistrates of the counties and prefectures passed through were delighted. They collected food and clothing and supplied them along the way, ensuring that the army had sufficient supplies and had no worries at all.

After entering the territory of Yan State, King Zang Tu of Yan had apparently received the news early and withdrew the domestic soldiers back to the capital Ji County, obviously wanting to rely on Ji County's high city walls and thick walls to hold the city. This allowed Xiang Chang's army to advance straight in and successfully arrive at Zhuo County.

Zhuo County was the southern gate of Ji County, the capital of Yan State. Once Zhuo County was captured, there would be no more obstacles and the army would directly reach Ji County. Therefore, King Zang Tu of Yan sent his important general Gan Meng to lead 10,000 troops to guard the city.

Thirty thousand Chu troops set up camp at the foot of the city. Xiang Chang led his generals to the front of the formation to check.

Looking at the wide city of Zhuo County and the thick and tall city walls, Xiang Chang narrowed his eyes and asked, "How is the progress in persuading the defenders in the city to surrender?"

Qu Fu shook his head. "Gan Meng is quite a military strategist. He and Yan's general Gao Mao have served under Zang Tu since he started his rebellion. They are extremely loyal to Zang Tu. The envoy we sent into the city to persuade him to surrender had his nose cut off by him and he drove him back."

Xiang Chang frowned, and before he could say anything, a Yan army general on the top of the city stood with his hands on his hips and began to curse at the Chu army camp below the city:
"You bastards from Chu, I'm here. Come over here and see if I can pierce your assholes!"

"Xiang Chang, my boy, the place under the city of Zhuo County is where you will be buried!"

"Kill Xiang Chang, and you will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be made a marquis of ten thousand households!"

"Kill Chu Gou and protect our homeland!"

"If the Chu bandits are not eliminated, the world will be in turmoil!"

……

The generals accompanying Xiang Chang were furious and asked Xiang Chang for orders to attack the city.

Immediately afterwards, the dull and rapid sound of drums was heard on the top of the city wall, and countless soldiers emerged in dense crowds, lined up in teams, with shining weapons and bright armor, which made people feel chilled to the bone.

Seeing so many defenders, Qu Fu raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise: "Aren't there only 10,000 soldiers stationed in Zhuo County? How come so many suddenly appeared?"

The generals were greatly surprised and looked solemn.

The 30,000 Chu troops were able to capture the capital defended by 10,000 Yan troops with their extraordinary bravery and excellent tactics. However, facing the defense of 30,000 Yan troops, the chance of breaking through was inevitably greatly reduced.

Xiang Chang sneered, but his expression was relieved: "Don't be fooled by Gan Meng. He mobilized all the young and strong people in the city to pretend to be soldiers to defend the city. His intention is to scare us. He uses the untrained young and strong people in the city to defend the city to disrupt our own formation! Humph, since you don't want to accept the toast, there is no need to continue to talk to him. Pass the order to attack the city!"

After hearing Xiang Chang's words, the generals were greatly encouraged and immediately went down to make arrangements.

As the horn sounded, the Chu army rushed out in full force. The 20,000 infantry were divided into four groups, climbing up the ladders and launching a fierce attack from the four walls at the same time.

The defenders in the city were also extremely tenacious and fought desperately. Under the command of the main general Gan Meng, the city really felt as solid as a rock. The Chu army attacked for three consecutive days but failed to break through.

Gan Meng thought that the Chu army was just so-so, and his confidence increased greatly. He appeared on the top of the city wall, drew out his long sword and pointed at the Chu army, laughing wildly, and ridiculed Xiang Chang, saying that if he did not withdraw his army soon, he would completely destroy the city and leave no place for burial. Seeing this guy on the top of the city talking nonsense like this - Liu Bang's Han camp, which had a large number of elite soldiers and generals and was arrogant, was defeated by them, and now an unknown general from a small city was so arrogant, all the generals were furious.

Xiang Chang was also annoyed. He observed with keen eyes that facing the continuous fierce attacks of the Chu army, the Yan army on the top of the city, especially those civilians pretending to be defenders, were obviously tired and had difficulty continuing. He immediately shouted:

"Attack on all fronts, break the city today!"

After saying that, he walked to the big drum and beat the drum himself to boost morale!
Generals Qu Fu, Tian Jian and others also went to the front line to supervise the battle.

The morale of the Chu army was greatly boosted.

The siege equipment captured from the Kingdom of Linjiang, such as the Nest Cart, the Lin Cart, the Battering Hammer, etc., were all assembled at this time and immediately put into battle. The four generals Xiang Xi, Huang Zhong, Han Hu, and Meng Xia, wearing thick armor, led the troops and boarded the Lin Cart to attack the city.

Ten thousand Chu cavalrymen rushed to the front of the city on horseback, shooting arrows at the top of the city walls to suppress the defenders on the city walls.

It has to be said that the attack power of the Great Chu Army, which attacked on all fronts, was terrifying. In the shortest time possible, the defense line of Zhuo County was shaken to the point of collapse. Even if Gan Meng led a group of generals to fight to the death to boost morale, it was of no use.

After another morning of fierce fighting, in the afternoon, Huang Zhong, who had been beaten back twice in succession, finally succeeded in getting his chariot close to the city wall during his third charge.

Huang Zhong roared like a tiger and threw the big guillotine in his hand at the Yan army on the top of the city wall who were waving spears and stabbing at them.

The guillotine spun rapidly, blood spurted out, and it cut off five or six Yan soldiers at the front of the city wall. The remaining Yan soldiers were startled and retreated in panic.

Immediately afterwards, Huang Zhong's guards also shouted loudly and threw their spears out, stabbing dozens of Yan soldiers on the city wall to death with their howling.

A rare blank space appeared in this area on the top of the city.

Huang Zhong leaped up to the top of the city wall successfully, picked up the big guillotine on the ground, and chopped it back and forth, trying to hold back the Yan army that had overcome their fear and were rushing forward madly again, allowing more Chu soldiers behind him to leap up to the top of the city wall.

After all the Chu soldiers on the chariots had reached the top of the city walls and stood firmly on their feet, Huang Zhong led them to sweep back and forth without hesitation, charging and killing the Yan army, forcing them to retreat one after another. This allowed more and more Chu soldiers on the chariots and ladders to rush to the top of the city walls.

Upon seeing this scene, Qu Fu, who was supervising the battle at the foot of the city, hurriedly ordered his soldiers to set up the ladders here and climb up with all their might to provide support.

As a result, more and more soldiers of the Great Chu gathered on the top of the city and gradually gained the upper hand.

As time went by, when the top of the city was almost filled with soldiers of the Great Chu Army and the Yan Army defenders were hacked to death, Huang Zhong, who was covered in blood like a devil, led his soldiers to rush towards the city again, attacking the defenders at the city gate, trying to open the city gate and let in the Great Chu cavalry who were screaming in anxiety outside the city.

During this period, Gan and Meng organized military counterattacks many times, but the combat effectiveness of the Yan army was much inferior to that of the Chu army, and it was easily torn apart and defeated time and time again.

At this time, the Yan army on the east and north walls were breached one after another and continued to lose ground.

Faced with one bad news after another, Gan Meng, who was distracted, was desperate and led hundreds of elite soldiers to counterattack personally against Huang Zhongchong, intending to pile this hateful bastard to death here with his soldiers.

But he was too confident. By now, even the elite Yan troops under his command were all scared and trembling in fear facing the vicious Chu army. Huang Zhong, who was so angry that his eyes were red with anger, wielded a large guillotine and launched a counterattack, easily defeating them. He himself was almost hacked to death on the spot.

Gan Meng felt cold all over, completely terrified, and no longer had the energy to launch a counterattack. He almost watched helplessly as Huang Zhong led his soldiers to kill the defenders of the South City Gate and open the city gate...

As the Chu cavalry rushed into the city through the city gate, the situation of the Yan army in the city was completely out of control.

In the Chu army camp outside the city, watching the four walls of Zhuo County fall into the hands of their own army, 10,000 Chu cavalry also rushed into the city violently. Xiang Chang threw away the drumstick, and accompanied by generals such as Qu Fu and Tian Jian, stood in front of the army camp with his hands behind his back, quietly waiting for the follow-up military information to be delivered.

After a long time, teams of Yan soldiers, who had taken off their armor and weapons, raised their hands and walked out of the city one after another under the escort of the Chu army.

Suddenly, there was another round of excited cheers from the south gate. Huang Zhong led a team of soldiers and escorted a dozen Yan army generals who were tied up and came to present them to Xiang Chang. The leader was none other than Gan Meng, the main general in the city.

"Kneel down!" Huang Zhong came closer and kicked Gan Meng roughly, making him kneel on the ground.

The rest of the generals were also kicked over by the excited and high-spirited soldiers of the Great Chu.

"This guy was defeated by me, but he actually led some remaining troops to try to burn the military rations in the city. He is so hateful. I rushed over in time to put out the fire and captured him alive." Huang Zhong, who came from a poor family, glared at Gan Meng with hatred.

"If General Gan had known this would happen, would he have dared to hurt my envoy that day?" Xiang Chang looked down at him and said in a cold tone.

Gan Meng looked at Xiang Chang's overly young face, tilted his head, and said with a sullen face: "It's a pity that I didn't cut off your nose, a villain who harms the people!"

Xiang Chang didn't take it seriously and nodded, saying, "Haha, you are determined to be a loyal minister and filial son of Yong Chi! Do you think that my sword is not sharp enough to cut you into pieces?"

"Even if you cut me into pieces, what does it matter? I have many loyal and upright people in Dayan! If you have the guts, you can kill everyone in Zhuo County!"

"That's right! You, the Great Chu, have a history of massacring cities! Today I'll let you see. Are the people of Zhuo County, young and old, afraid of being massacred by you? I'm just afraid that you don't have the courage of Xiang Yu!" The other generals kneeling behind him knew that they had to fight such a brutal battle with the Great Chu to defend the city, and there was no chance of escape, so they all raised their heads and shouted loudly.

"Wow, you're quite a tough guy!" Xiang Chang gave a thumbs up and said with a teasing look.

"My Lord, since they have made the unanimous request, just grant their wish. From now on, our Great Chu will launch a counterattack against the Han Dynasty. This is the first city that dared to hold out and resist. For the sake of future plans, we must kill the chicken to scare the monkey!" Qu Fu couldn't help but stepped forward and bowed to report.

(End of this chapter)