My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 50 Shortcomings and Strategies
Seeing the suspicious eyes of the generals, Han Xin was really angry, his eyebrows twitched, and his face turned pale. However, he also knew that impatience would ruin a big plan, so he held back his anger and explained:

"This is a divisive plot by the Chu army. Can't you hear it? I, Han Xin, am grateful and repay the kindness of the King of Han. How can I be like Ying Bu and Zhou Yin and rebel against him? Although the rear army has been defeated by Ying Bu, the King of Han is just escaping and should not be in danger of his life. Under such circumstances, we should focus on the front and work together to realize the military strategy that the King of Han had previously planned - to destroy Xiang Yu."

Facing Han Xin's patient explanation, Fan Kuai looked expressionless. He took a step forward, bowed slightly and said:
"General, we have no doubt about your loyalty to the King of Han. But now you want to continue to destroy the Chu army, you can, but please lead the Qi army to take the lead and set an example, and then our Han army and I, Fan Kuai, should follow closely behind."

"That's right. As long as the general leads the Qi army to attack Xiang Yu, we will naturally obey his orders and fight bravely for the first place." Li Shang also spoke to cooperate with Fan Kuai and squeeze Han Xin.

Fan Kuai's words were undoubtedly extremely blunt and hit the nail on the head for Han Xin.

Fan Kuai looked rough on the outside, but he was actually very meticulous on the inside. In his view, the most urgent task at the moment was no longer to destroy Xiang Yu's Chu army, but how to maintain the vitality of the Han army, especially to maintain the overwhelming military advantage over Han Xin's Qi army and Peng Yue's Liang army.

The Han army originally had 260,000 troops, Han Xin had 90,000 troops, and Peng Yue had 80,000 troops, which had always maintained a comprehensive suppression of Han Xin's and Peng Yue's armies. But now the Han army's rear army of 60,000 was destroyed, and coupled with the losses in the battles with Xiang Yu, Ying Bu, and Zhou Yin's armies, the Han army no longer had an advantage over Han Xin's and Peng Yue's armies.

If they continued to fight, and destroyed Xiang Yu, Ying Bu, and Zhou Yin's army, at least tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of men would be lost. Even if they won, how could they suppress the Qi and Liang armies after the war? Therefore, it would be better to withdraw the army now, wait until Liu Bang returned, regroup, and then force Han Xin's army and Peng Yue's army to join the battle. Wouldn't it be better for the three armies to unite to deal with the Chu army than for the Han army to bear the casualties of destroying the Chu army alone?

From Han Xin's perspective, he was appointed as the general by Liu Bang, and it was necessary for him to complete the established combat objectives and tasks set by Liu Bang. But killing Xiang Yu was the primary wish of Liu Bang, the King of Han, not his or Peng Yue's wish. Therefore, he could command Liu Bang's Han army as the main force to kill Xiang Yu. As for his Qi army and Peng Yue's Liang army, it would be fine to help encircle and kill Xiang Yu and play auxiliary. Fighting on the front line, especially having to withstand Xiang Yu's final violent attack, and making wedding clothes for the Han Dynasty at the cost of heavy casualties of their soldiers, they were out of their minds, how could they agree?

You must know that at present, Han Xin and Peng Yue, one actually obtained Qi and the other owned Liang. They both had gotten what they wanted and were content with it. How could they be willing to risk their own fortunes for Liu Bang?

As a result, the two sides had a disagreement and were stuck here for a while.

Han Xin angrily pulled the general's sword from his waist and raised it high: "Are you going to disobey my orders? I am still the general! Military orders are as heavy as a mountain. Those who disobey will be killed. You should think clearly!"

As a last resort, Han Xin used his authority as general to try to suppress the unrest of Fan Kuai and other generals.

Fan Kuai showed no fear at all, his eyes wide open, his beard standing upright, as powerful as an angry tiger, holding a shield in one hand and a sword in the other, he shouted:
"The position of the general of the King of Qi was also conferred by the King of Han. At present, the life and death of the King of Han is unknown. Our first priority is to find the King of Han as soon as possible and to maintain the vitality of the King of Han. Therefore, please forgive us for not being able to obey your order."

Fan Kuai was not only Liu Bang's childhood friend, a trusted and powerful general who had followed Liu Bang since he started the rebellion against Qin, but he was also Liu Bang's brother-in-law. He had a special status, and when he took the lead in disobeying orders, the surrounding Han army generals immediately responded, standing behind him, drawing their swords and glaring at Han Xin.

Before the Chu army could be defeated, the Han army was about to start a internal conflict.

From this it is not difficult to see that General Han Xin, with the support of Liu Bang, was able to ensure the smooth implementation of military orders; without the support of Liu Bang, for example, now, it is like a joke, and no one under Liu Bang really cares about him.

Han Xin felt powerless. Even though he was an expert in military tactics and commanding battle formations, he was powerless facing this scene.

In the past, Zhang Liang, Chen Ping and other advisers under Liu Bang used conspiracies and tricks to plot against Xiang Yu, causing Xiang Yu to suffer one loss after another. They couldn't help but feel very happy watching it coldly, but now that it has come their turn, they realize how damn painful it is.

Just as the air between the two sides seemed to be frozen and about to explode, messengers came one after another to report:

"Report, the morale of Zhou Yin's army and Ying Bu's army is greatly boosted. The soldiers of Jin Xu's army, Zhou Bo's army and Chai Wu's army who were blocking them have begun to flee. They are about to be unstoppable."

"Report, Xiang Yu has arrived at the frontline and started to lead the cavalry to charge. The troops of Dong Xu, Zhang Yue, Ding Li, Wang Xi and others who were besieging Xiang Yu are unstable and wavering. They are in danger under the attack of Xiang Yu's army."

"Report, the Chu army in Gaixia City, led by Xiang Sheng, suddenly rushed out and rushed towards General Cao Shen's central army. General Cao Shen asked the general to send troops to support immediately."

...News came one after another quickly, but there was not a single good news. They were all chain reactions caused by the defeat of Liu Bang's rear army.

However, even so, Han Xin remained calm and confident that he could pacify the rebellions one by one. Of course, the prerequisite was that the Han army soldiers would obey his orders.

"General, please order the troops to retreat." Fan Kuai requested in a deep voice.

"General, give the order to retreat." Li Shang stepped forward and bowed.

"General, give the order to retreat." All the Han army generals shouted in unison.

"Shut up! If you don't want to fight, I will dispatch Peng Yue's army and Kong Xi's army to join the battle. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We must destroy Xiang Yu today and we must not let it slip away!"

Han Xin drew out the general's sword and slashed it hard on the table, his hair and beard flying, and he shouted angrily.

Generals Fan Kuai, Li Shang and others were shocked. They looked at each other in silence and could not speak.

"Report, General, Peng Yue's army suddenly broke up their camp and began to slowly retreat to the northeast. General Kong Xi sent people to inquire, but received no reply. General Kong Xi asked what to do, should we stop, defend, or attack?"

Han Xin's tall body shook, his face full of disbelief, obviously shocked by this unexpected news. Fan Kuai, Li Shang and other generals also changed their expressions drastically.

"Peng Yue has also been persuaded by the Chu? Could it be God's will? Send a message to Kong Xi, and be on high alert. As long as Peng Yue's army does not take the initiative to attack, do not stop him, let alone attack him. Let him go." Han Xin gave the order hastily, turned his head and pointed at the Han army generals, angrily saying: "You guys are not worthy of being consulted!"

At this moment, Han Xin knew that defeating Xiang Yu and destroying the Chu State was completely futile. He sighed and gave up all hope. He said in a cold voice, "You can withdraw, but will you obey my orders? If you still disobey me, or pretend to obey but actually disobey, then you can do whatever you want and retreat."

Fan Kuai and Li Shang looked at each other and dared not complain any more. They said in unison: "The general has promised to withdraw the army. How can we not obey? If we do not obey, we will be punished by military law."

Both Fan Kuai and Li Shang knew that it was easy to withdraw the army in the current situation, but if they were not careful, it could turn into a rout. They certainly did not have the ability to calmly withdraw hundreds of thousands of troops from the battlefield and lead them out safely. After all, Xiang Yu, Zhou Yin, Ying Bu, Xiang Sheng and other hundreds of thousands of troops were still watching covetously, wanting to bite off a piece of fat meat from the Han army.

There is only one person who can do this at the moment, and that is the general Han Xin in front of him.

The reason why Han Xin was so highly respected in his time and even in later generations was because of his extraordinary ability to command troops.

Han Xin naturally knew his military laws, and it was a joke to these Han army generals at the moment, but he also knew that retreat was what they wanted, so he would not disobey and was too lazy to say more. He immediately began to pass down military orders one by one, arranging how the various troops should retreat.

Finally, he shouted again:
"Order each army to beat the war drums to boost morale. At the same time, send the military criminal team to patrol the camps. If there are any soldiers who are disorganized, or who are fleeing in disorder, they will be beheaded, regardless of whether they are generals or soldiers! Then send their heads to each camp!"

Fan Kuai and Li Shang looked at each other and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They had no objection to Han Xin's retreat strategy, and they greatly agreed with the drumbeats at the end to boost morale and the harsh suppression by the military criminal team, which forcibly calmed the morale fluctuations caused by the attack on the rear army and the uncertainty of Liu Bang's life and death.

The two followed Han Xin closely, not leaving his side. Especially Fan Kuai, with his hand on the sword and a fierce look in his eyes, it was obvious that if Han Xin failed to lead the retreat and the Han army fell into a state of defeat, he would kill him immediately without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)