My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 20: Outstanding Achievements
As Han Xin issued the military order to Guan Ying to hunt down Xiang Yu's isolated army, Liu Bang and his generals and loyal ministers began to wait in ecstasy mixed with anxiety and urgency.

Thinking that his mortal enemy Xiang Yu was really going to be destroyed tonight, Liu Bang, who was deeply traumatized, said impatiently:

"Young Xiang Yu has always been brave. Although the King of Qi's deployment is perfect, just in case, you may as well follow me as an extra insurance!"

As he spoke, Liu Bang jumped onto the warhorse beside him, whipped the horse, and rushed towards Gaixia City impatiently.

Now that Xiang Yu's arch enemy is on the verge of destruction, this old fellow has the idea of ​​watching the battle nearby, grabbing the title of "personally destroying the Overlord" to flatter himself, and at the same time putting a successful end to his long and bitter battle with Xiang Yu that lasted for several years.

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, who were accompanying him, understood what the old man was thinking. Although they did not agree with it, they mounted their horses and followed him.

Xiahou Ying hurriedly gave orders to the 3,000 elite cavalrymen in the central army who were guarding Liu Bang. The scouts in the front and the guards on both sides heavily protected Liu Bang as he headed towards Gaixia City.

Han Xin looked helpless and had no choice but to mount his horse and accompany him.

Along the way, they saw dead Chu horses and captured Chu cavalrymen who had strayed from the group. Xiahou Ying said to Liu Bang:
"Xiang Yu's lone army numbered no more than a thousand people. They were attacked last night, and although they managed to break out in the end, they also suffered heavy losses. It is estimated that at least half of them were killed."

When Liu Bang heard this, he was even more delighted. He tilted his helmet, scratched his scalp with his hand, and grinned at Han Xin beside him:

"So, Xiang Yu only has 500 defeated soldiers left, and they have been fighting all night and are extremely exhausted? Then, wouldn't it be even easier for Guan Ying to kill him?"

Han Xin also felt that what Liu Bang said was right, so he leaned forward on his horse and said:

"Your Majesty is right. This time King Xiang will definitely die."

Liu Bang was silent for a while after hearing this, but gradually, a strong smile appeared on his old face, and he couldn't help laughing out loud. The more he walked, the happier he laughed, and he trembled all over, and he almost couldn't sit still on his horse, so he had to stop the horse.

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, who were accompanying him, also looked relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off their shoulders. They smiled and exuded an inexplicable sense of ease.

Although both of them were extremely intelligent and could be considered the ceiling of the current human race's conspiracy wisdom, they still felt great pressure from the overlord who was unparalleled in bravery, outstanding in combat power, and invincible.

Even though they were determined, they suffered repeated defeats in the early stages and saw no hope of victory at all. They were shaken countless times on countless nights.

Therefore, when they heard Han Xin's precise and affirmative answer, they felt the same great joy as Liu Bang.

"Perhaps in this world, only this old man can withstand the pressure of the unparalleled overlord. Even though he is beaten to a pulp time and time again, he keeps fighting and never loses his spirit. Although he is thick-skinned and black-hearted, selfish and self-centered, disregarding his relatives, rude and dissolute, greedy for money and lustful, and loves to enjoy himself..."

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping were two smart men with endless wisdom. Zhang Liang was born into a great Korean noble family, but they were willing to submit to such a low-level rogue. It was because they saw the most shining and precious thing in this rogue, that is, his tenacious and indomitable will!

As for other talents and abilities such as being magnanimous and able to win people over, making them willing to serve you at first sight, having a keen eye for selecting the right people for the right positions, and being able to quickly pick out the most correct ones from a myriad of information and advice, these are of course also very important, but they are all based on this premise.

Therefore, although Liu Bang was a rogue, he was able to gain the respect of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, two of the most powerful minds of the time, from the bottom of their hearts.

"Congratulations, King Han, for defeating King Xiang and pacifying the world. Your achievements are unparalleled!"

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping congratulated Liu Bang loudly at the same time.

Liu Bang couldn't help but say "I'm happy too" repeatedly.

In this joyous atmosphere, there was a sudden commotion among the cavalry leading the way, and the frightened and confused shouts of the Han soldiers were heard:

"Don't go forward, retreat quickly." "We are under the command of General Guan Ying, and we were ambushed by the Chu army."

"It's over, it's all over, they're all dead, how tragic!"

"The Chu army has tens of thousands of soldiers. They are charging back. Run away quickly."

……

The smile on Liu Bang's face froze for a moment.

Han Xin was startled and rushed forward on his horse. He ordered the escort cavalry to capture several Han soldiers who were fleeing in panic and interrogate them carefully.

"Retreat, protect the King of Han, and quickly retreat to the rear army!" Before Liu Bang could speak, Xiahou Ying shouted, whipped Liu Bang's mount, and escorted Liu Bang back to the way he came with a group of elite cavalry.

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping hurriedly rode their horses to catch up.

The Overlord's past glorious record of turning decay into magic filled them with fear, and they did not doubt the shouts of the defeated Han army ahead.

It was like a gust of wind blowing past, and in the blink of an eye, the road that was originally noisy and bustling with people and horses became smooth and clean. Except for Han Xin, the dignified commander of the Han army, there was no one else and no horse.

I have to say that the Liu family's ability to escape, once activated, is without hesitation, and every escape is accurate.

After asking clearly, Han Xin turned around and found that Liu Bang and others had disappeared. He couldn't help but curse angrily.

After questioning, he was fully aware that although the Chu army had set up an ambush, they had already exhausted all their strength to destroy the 5,000 elite cavalry led by Guan Ying, and had no spare energy to fight back. The ambush Chu army was mostly infantry, and it would not be possible to destroy Guan Ying's 5,000 cavalry in a short period of time.

If Xiahou Ying had not acted on his own initiative, and had commanded these 3,000 elite cavalrymen to rush to the rescue immediately, at least some of the Han cavalrymen could have been rescued.

Of course, this is just his opinion and idea. From Xiahou Ying's perspective, his first priority is to protect Liu Bang's safety. As for the showdown with Xiang Yu, that is the business of the commander-in-chief Han Xin. What does it have to do with him?
Han Xin whipped his mount wildly and galloped back to the commander's tent without hesitation.

When he returned to the camp and issued military orders, he ordered Ding Fu to gather his cavalry and rush to the rescue. At the same time, he ordered Fan Kuai to lead 10,000 infantry to follow up, but it was too late...

Not long after, the Chu army ambushed 5,000 Han cavalry on the battlefield.

Liu Bang stood in front of a pile of Han soldiers' corpses that had been stripped naked and piled up in a mountain. He pulled his beard, his nostrils wide open and breathing out heavy white air, his old face revealing a look of exasperation.

Victory seemed imminent and they were about to achieve it in one battle, but who would have thought that the battle situation that seemed almost certain to win would actually be reversed. The Chu army unexpectedly turned the tables and not only managed to escape, but also wiped out the 5,000 elite Han cavalry that were pursuing them in one fell swoop!
Even though Liu Bang had fought Xiang Yu for many years and failure had become commonplace, he still found it hard to accept such results.

What made his heart bleed the most was that in the very front of the pile of corpses there were three straight wooden sticks with three heads stuck neatly on them. They were the Han army cavalry general Guan Ying and his two deputy generals Li Bi and Luo Jia!
Five thousand Han cavalrymen are gone, so they are gone. At worst, they can just recruit more. With the current financial resources of the Han army, they can raise several thousand or even tens of thousands of elite cavalrymen at any time. However, if three rare cavalry generals like Guan Ying are gone, they are really gone!

It can be said that the death of these three people is definitely a heavy blow to the current Han army.

It can be predicted that in subsequent battles, the Chu cavalry will become arrogant again, and the Han cavalry will return to the passive situation of being beaten and unable to resist.

"Take off the heads carefully, put them together with the body, and bury them with honor." Liu Bang bowed solemnly to the three heads, called the eunuch Yang Tian and gave the order dejectedly.

Behind him, Cao Shen, Fan Kuai, Zhou Bo and other generals who had rushed over had gloomy faces and looks of surprise. It was obvious that the Chu army was like a sinister and poisonous snake, which had devoured 5,000 elite cavalrymen while they were heavily surrounded. This ambush was beyond their expectations, and made them feel a chill in their hearts.

(End of this chapter)