My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 55: The Situation Reversed

Han Xin, Fan Kuai and Li Shang personally led 30,000 Han troops to launch a fierce attack on Zhou Yin's army and Jiujiang's army, replacing Zhou Bo's army and Jin Xu's cavalry, which were in a tough battle and in danger.

Zhou Bo's army retreated quickly to support Cao Shen's central army which was attacked by Zhongli Mei's Gaixia defenders. Jin Xu's cavalry rushed to support Fu Kuan and other cavalry, and together they attacked Xiang Yu's cavalry.

Han Xin was the general, Fan Kuai was the vanguard general, and Li Shang was the captain of the guard army. The three highest-ranking generals personally participated in the battle, and the 30,000 troops were fresh forces. For a time, the offensive momentum was like a hurricane passing through the wild, and the morale of the Zhou Yin army and the Jiujiang army was greatly boosted, making them lose their footing and retreat again and again.

After severely defeating the sharp edge of Zhou Yin's army and Jiujiang's army, Han Xin did not want to fight anymore, and immediately retreated slowly with Fan Kuai and Li Shang. Halfway, he met up with Jin Xu and Fu Kuan's cavalry, and the cavalry and infantry covered each other, and they kept retreating to the north of Gaixia City.

Most of Zhongli Mei's garrison at Gaixia were old, weak and disabled, and the elite were all in Xiang Yu's 20,000 cavalry. He had to leave some troops to defend the city and barely spare 10,000 troops to attack. Cao Shen's central army was Han Xin's Qi army, not directly under his command. He could not follow military orders smoothly, and now the morale of the army was unstable, so he was caught off guard.

Seeing that Cao Shen's central army was in disarray, Zhongli Mei was about to order an all-out assault to expand the victory and defeat him in one fell swoop, but Zhou Bo's army had already arrived and almost trapped him. He hurriedly led his troops back to Gaixia.

General Cao and General Zhou Bo's army were the main force of the Han army at the moment. They breathed a sigh of relief as there was no threat from the Chu army around them. They took the lead and quickly retreated to the north of Gaixia City.

Xiang Yu's cavalry finally joined forces with Zhou Yin's army and Jiujiang's army. The three armies marched side by side, closely following Han Xin's army, patrolling and swimming around, like three giant dragons with fangs bared, waiting for an opportunity to bite Han Xin's army hard.

Zhou Yin saw that the three generals Han Xin, Fan Kuai and Li Shang were personally on the front line to boost morale. The Han army was in high spirits and had the support of cavalry such as Jin Xu and Fu Kuan. The news of the defeat of the rear army had little impact on them. He could not find any opportunity to fight for a while and could not help feeling anxious.

As a trusted general of Xiang Yu, he was entrusted with the military and political power of his hometown, Chu, but he made a farce of pretending to surrender to the Han army and turning it into a real surrender, which completely cut off Xiang Yu's retreat. Although he has now turned back and put things right under the inspiration of the eldest son of Xiang Chang, the closer he gets to Xiang Yu, the more timid he becomes. He thinks about how to make a contribution to atone for his sins and make himself look better.

Seeing that Han Xin's army's defense was impeccable and there was no opportunity to exploit, he did not have Xiang Yu's patience in deploying troops. Upon hearing the report from the scouts that the retreating camps of Zhou Bo's army and Cao Can's army were in a panic and disarray, he gritted his teeth, separated 10,000 elite troops from his army, led them personally, bypassed Han Xin's army, and pounced on it like a wolf, attempting to fight a beautiful surprise attack!
However, in terms of military tactics, Zhou Yin was immature in front of the geniuses like Han Xin and Xiang Yu. Just before he led his troops to charge Cao Canjun, an elite cavalry suddenly rushed out from Cao Canjun and defeated his 10,000 Chu troops in one fell swoop.

This cavalry was the Qi cavalry that Han Xin had never been willing to use and was led by him personally!
Zhou Yin wanted to show off his face, but unexpectedly his butt was exposed. Fortunately, he was rescued by his personal guards and managed to escape with his life.

Zhou Yin suffered such a great defeat, and the following Xiang Yu cavalry and Jiujiang troops were shocked. In addition, the soldiers and horses had been fighting for nearly a day and were exhausted, so they did not dare to push too hard. They just acted as escort. At the end of the year, they watched Han Xin's army retreat safely to the north of Gaixia City.

The left army of the Han army, led by Kong Xi, which had been stationed in the north of the city, blew the horn at this time, changed the left army into the vanguard, and replaced Han Xin's army to resist Xiang Yu's army and Jiujiang army.

The 80,000 Liang troops led by Peng Yue stationed nearby had retreated without a trace.

After Han Xin's army slowly retreated to Kong Xi's army in the golden afterglow of the setting sun, they could no longer see the Xiang Yu Chu army, Jiujiang army, and Zhou Yin army inside and outside Gaixia City. Suddenly, they cheered loudly! All the soldiers raised their weapons, waved their flags, and kept shouting and jumping, venting their ecstasy, with their faces full of relief and joy after surviving the disaster!

The 600,000-strong Han army surrounded the small city of Gaixia, and the Chu army in the city, especially the defenders on the city walls, were under tremendous pressure every day, thinking that they had no way out and would die.

Many soldiers were even ready to die in battle. Who would have thought that the situation would turn around and they actually forced the Han army to retreat, successfully escaping this disaster. All the surviving Chu soldiers could not help but admire their king even more.

Hei Shi, who had just been promoted to a deputy general by Xiang Yu early in the morning, stroked his messy short beard, squinted his eyes, and said proudly to the young guard Chu soldier beside him:
"What did I say? No matter what time it is, no matter how dangerous and critical the situation is, as long as the king is here, there is no need to worry! The king will definitely lead us to defeat those ignorant bastards! Humph, who is the king? He is a giant spirit from the sky who has come to earth. How can an old coffin like Liu Bang be his opponent?"

The young guard Chu Bing's face flushed with excitement. He nodded vigorously, then suddenly hesitated and said:

"Last night you scolded all the Han army officers and officials from top to bottom. When you were tired and dozed off, I heard you talking in your sleep. You clearly said, 'It's over. I'm going to die this time. The king can't do anything about it.'..."

Hei Shi remained calm, sneered, and said without question, "You must have heard it wrong. Are you dreaming? Coward!"

After being refuted by this old scoundrel, the young guard Chu Bing became really unconfident and secretly wondered if he was really dreaming because he lacked confidence in the Overlord?

Sitting upright on his black horse, standing in the north of Gaixia City, watching the Han army slowly disappear on the horizon, Xiang Yu's solemn and stern face could not help but show a trace of relief.

"I never thought that Master Xiang Chang could really create a miracle! I am really old. I actually doubted the eldest master on the battlefield just now. Fortunately, the king did not listen to me, otherwise my Great Chu would be doomed!"

Xiang Sheng, standing beside Xiang Yu, looked at the setting sun in the west and felt a lot of emotions. If it weren't for Hei Shi's scolding and the king's worry about his son, he would have decided to withdraw his troops to Gaixia City. Everything would have been over. How could there be a chance to see the situation turn around?

"You don't have to feel guilty. Even I didn't expect Chang'er to be able to succeed. Not only you, I was also a little hesitant at that time." Xiang Yu shook his head and said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the eldest son is not as good as you in personal bravery and battlefield command. But in terms of strategy, lobbying, and even the control and understanding of the entire situation, he is no less than you." Xiang Sheng peeked at Xiang Yu's face from the side and said with a hint of caution in his tone.

(End of this chapter)