My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 21 Breaking the pot
Liu Bang looked at the expressions of the generals, frowned, and then burst into laughter. He put one hand on his waist and waved the other in front of his chest, with a calm demeanor:
"I didn't expect that a carelessness would allow Xiang the thief to take advantage. However, even if 5,000 cavalry were lost, our army of 600,000 is still there, and the siege remains. What can Xiang the thief do? Haha, I can only say that his ambush was just a desperate struggle before death."

After listening to Liu Bang's words, generals Cao Shen, Fan Kuai and Zhou Bo felt that it made sense. Their expressions gradually relaxed and they became excited again.

Fan Kuai was filled with anger and shouted anxiously, "King of Han, what are you waiting for? Give the order to attack the city. Xiang Yu is so arrogant, teach him a lesson!"

"Okay, okay, you all go back and guard your camps. As for whether to attack the city or not, we still have to wait for the order from General Han Xin." Liu Bang patted Fan Kuai on the shoulder and laughed.

Fan Kuai and others had no choice but to return to their respective camps in disappointment and reorganize their soldiers.

Han Xin was checking the broken tripwires he had picked up on the battlefield, and questioned a few cavalrymen who had managed to escape. He frowned and looked serious:
"There are some extraordinary people in the Chu army who can actually make such a simple and practical device. With this thing, we must be careful in future cavalry duels."

Next to the pile of corpses of the Han cavalry, there were thousands of Han cavalry who had also surrendered. They were all stripped naked and thrown there in piles of three or five.

Xiahou Ying was originally happy, but when he went forward to check, his expression turned ugly. He waved his hand in disdain and asked his soldiers to rescue them and send them back to the barracks for resettlement. Then he turned back and whispered to Liu Bang:
"Although the Chu army did not kill these surrendered Han soldiers, they cut off their thumbs and broke their legs..."

Liu Bang's eye twitched, and Zhang Liang and Chen Ping beside him looked surprised.

Without their thumbs, these Han soldiers could no longer wield their weapons, and thus had no fighting power. With their legs broken, they also lost their ability to move, so each of them needed at least two soldiers to serve them, and also to take care of their food and drink...

With their understanding of Xiang Yu, they would not be surprised whether the 1,000 surrendered cavalrymen were buried alive or massacred. However, this sinister operation really shocked them, and they couldn't help but look very ugly.

Zhang Liang frowned slightly and Chen Ping looked down at the ground, and both of them fell into deep thought.

"This is definitely not the work of Overlord! It should be the work of the eldest son!" Zhang Liang said decisively.

At the same time, Chen Ping also raised his head, his face solemn, and nodded slowly.

"That guy first forced Xiang Chan to surrender to Han in advance, and specifically asked him to bring Yu Ji's body as a gift for advancement. Then, when Xiang Yu was trying to break out, he reported the news to him, which aroused the Overlord's anger, and turned the breakout into a night attack on the Han camp."

"All of this is laid out in the open, and is shown to us. - How can we see it? Of course, it is through the eyes of Xiang Chan's son Xiang Ju. In other words, Xiang Ju's betrayal after surrendering to the Han Dynasty was also part of his calculations."

"With Xiang Ju's betrayal, we relaxed our vigilance and thought that Xiang Yu was really an isolated army without support. But in fact, this guy had already secretly dispatched his soldiers and set up an ambush here, waiting to ambush our pursuers. Haha, this guy's plan is really well-connected and meticulous, but he even deceived us."

Zhang Liang put his hands behind his back, looked at Gaixia City from afar, and said with approval.

Chen Ping added:
"As I expected, he cracked your 'Four Sides of the Enemy' strategy last night and humiliated us in return. He also used the insidious tactics he used to tamper with more than a thousand surrendered Han soldiers before leaving them to us. All of these were probably done by this kid."

"The Chu army ambushing here are all arrogant and brave. Why would they obey this kid's orders? After all, he is just a small Lieutenant General. It must be because of his achievements last night that he subdued these soldiers and generals, so they are willing to obey orders."

Xiang Chang's painstaking plan was seen through by the two most powerful brains of the time.

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping looked at each other, and at once they both developed a strong interest in Xiang Yu's eldest son.

Although this kid's plan took advantage of hiding in the dark and acting unintentionally, it still fooled their two top strategists. It was like setting up a large formation right under their noses, which made them suffer a setback!
However, this kid prevented the King of Chu and his generals from implementing their planned breakout strategy, and instead asked them to risk their lives to attack the Han camp at night. Although the plan looked easy, it was actually very time-consuming.

Is it just that this guy puts in so much effort to boost morale and destroy the Han army's pursuers?

Is there a deeper purpose?

If so, what is it?

Just as Zhang Liang and Chen Ping were thinking secretly, "Dong, Dong, Dong..." Under the bright autumn sun, the drums on the top of Gaixia City suddenly sounded, and then the south gate opened, and the cavalry of the Chu army lined up neatly, marched out in a valiant manner, and assembled under the city. After receiving the message from the messenger, Liu Bang was shocked and blurted out: "What is Xiang Yu trying to do? Is he trying to take advantage of the great victory of destroying Guan Ying's cavalry to launch another surprise attack?"

In front of the south gate of Gaixia.

A total of 20,000 Chu cavalrymen lined up in neat rows, with fanatical eyes and faces full of admiration, looking at the majestic figure standing at the front of the queue.

At the front of the queue, the King of Chu was dressed in heavy armor, looking majestic and awe-inspiring, bathed in the golden sunlight, like a god of war.

At this time, the Chu army continued to transport large boxes out of the city and placed them on the open space.

When Huan Chu, a senior official in the Chu army, saw that all the large boxes had been transported out, he waved his hand and a soldier stood in front of each box and opened the lids of the boxes at the same time.

Even though the 20,000 Chu cavalry had already guessed something when they saw these large, sturdy boxes with gorgeous patterns and inlaid with copper and iron, and now that they saw it with their own eyes, they still couldn't help but let out exclamations full of greed and salivation.

The box was filled with gold, silver, jewelry, silk and brocade!
The Overlord at the front of the queue looked at the big boxes, his hands tightly gripping the reins, a trace of reluctance flashing across his eyes.

Xiang Zhuang, who was standing beside him, shook his head secretly, hurriedly urged his horse forward, and shouted sternly:

"Soldiers, all the treasures of the entire Chu State are here. They will be piled on the top of the city to reward meritorious soldiers. Anyone who fights bravely and wins in this battle will be rewarded handsomely."

When had the 20,000 Chu cavalry ever seen so much treasure? Suddenly there was a commotion, and a huge heat wave rose up.

Xiang Zhuang did not lie. These riches were indeed all the wealth of the current Great Chu Empire. Among them were all of Xiang Yu's private savings and Xiang Chan's years of accumulation. Last night, Xiang Chang forced him away, and all the accumulations of many years were taken away by Xiang Chang. In addition, Xiang Sheng, Xiang Zhuang and other Xiang clan members also contributed all their private wealth.

Seeing that the Great Chu Empire was on the brink of collapse, Xiang Yu and Xiang Sheng took the lead in destroying their family property to help the country, and all the Xiang clan members responded, showing unprecedented unity at this moment.

After all, Xiang Yu and other top leaders had controlled the wealth of an empire, and the private wealth they had accumulated was astonishing. Even after a series of defeats, there was not much left. If they all contributed this time, it would still be a huge fortune for these soldiers.

The Overlord of Chu urged his black horse forward, took a step forward, raised his halberd high above his head, and let out a thunderous roar:
“I swear in the name of the Overlord that if I defeat old Liu Bang in this battle, in addition to these treasures, all the soldiers will be given 500 acres of land each, which will be passed down to future generations.

In this battle, anyone who kills Liu Bang will be rewarded with 10,000 gold coins and be granted the title of Marquis of 10,000 households. Anyone who kills any of the generals, such as Chen Ping, Zhang Liang, Fan Kuai, Cao Shen, Zhou Bo, etc., will be rewarded with 1,000 gold coins and be granted the title of Marquis of 1,000 households. Anyone who kills a thousand soldiers, a five hundred soldiers, or an ordinary soldier will also be rewarded generously.

If you break this oath, I will die without a burial place!"

The twenty thousand soldiers looked at the boxes of dazzling golden treasures and listened to the oaths of the overlord they worshipped. Their blood boiled and their hair rose in anger. They looked at the Han army's tent in the distance. They were no longer looking at the enemy, but at the land, wealth, and titles that could be passed down to their descendants. Their eyes were burning, like hungry and thirsty tigers and wolves. They raised their weapons high and roared from their horses:
"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

……

Far away, in the tent of the Han army commander, the thunderous shouts of the Chu cavalry shook the sky. Liu Bang, Zhang Liang, Han Xin and others changed color at the same time, and a few words flashed through their minds at the same time:
"burn one's boats!"

Liu Bang felt nervous for a moment. He deeply understood what "burning the boats and breaking the cauldrons" meant. Even though he was surrounded by an army of 600,000, he still did not feel much safe.

(End of this chapter)