My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 64: Overjoyed
Along the way, Liu Bang gathered the defeated soldiers in the rear army and had to guard against the sudden attack of Ying Bu, who was like a mad dog. He made a long detour and it was already noon on the third day when he returned to Han Xin's newly established camp dozens of miles north of Gaixia City.

Han Xin, Fan Kuai, and Li Shang personally led a group of elite cavalry to meet the enemy more than ten miles away. When the king and his ministers met, Liu Bang's thick skin was really not exaggerated. It was obviously because of his abandonment of the army that the rear army collapsed, and the siege of Gaixia collapsed, but he looked proud and high-spirited, without any sense of shame.

After the generals and ministers had paid their respects to him, they surrounded him and returned to the camp, where they sat down in the tent of the commander-in-chief of the central army.

Liu Bang was grinning and smiling. Just as he was about to speak, General Han Xin stood up, walked to the hall, bowed on the ground, took off the broken General's Sword and raised it above his head:

"I am grateful to the King of Han for trusting me and appointing me as the general. I was defeated in the battle the day before yesterday, and lost many soldiers. I am ashamed and know that my ability is limited. I return the sword, seal and command arrow, and ask the King of Han to select another famous general to fight Xiang Yu again."

After hearing what Han Xin said, the generals like Fan Kuai and Li Shang standing in the tent couldn't help but blush with excitement.

Liu Bang looked calm on the surface, but he was just pretending. How could he be in a good mood after his rear army suffered such a great defeat? Moreover, he had been worried and uneasy during the days of fleeing. Moreover, the arrow wound on his arm had not healed and the pain was excruciating. He sat down and had not even waited to catch his breath when Han Xin did this in public. For a moment, he was filled with anger, annoyance, resentment and hatred. His facial features were all distorted. He instinctively wanted to jump up and chop this bastard into two pieces with the general's sword!

Chen Ping, who was standing by, hurriedly stepped forward, stood in front of Liu Bang, and said to Han Xin in a gentle voice:

"What is the reason for the King of Qi's words? The rear army was attacked by the treacherous thief Ying Bu, and the King of Han was shot by arrows and trapped in danger. Fortunately, God saw the opportunity and he was lucky enough to escape. Along the way, the King of Han ignored his own injuries and was most worried that the central army would also make mistakes."

"I heard that the King of Qi led the army and successfully forced the Chu army to retreat and escaped from Gaixia safely. I was overjoyed. I don't know how many times we have praised the King of Qi for his military proficiency. I can trust you to leave the army to you. It was the wisest decision he made. Why is the King of Qi resigning now?"

Liu Bang also came to his senses. The current situation made him more clear. If he wanted to realize the original plan to destroy Xiang Yu, only Han Xin could serve as the commander-in-chief of the army. No one else could do it.

Liu Bang stood up, walked around the desk, and when he came to Han Xin, his face was full of a kind smile. He personally helped Han Xin up and said gently:
"King Qi, please get up quickly! I know that you have been working hard these days, and not only have you not made any mistakes, but you have made great achievements! Don't refuse anymore. My trust in you remains the same as always. You will continue to work hard as the general. Ask other generals, who can use troops as well as you, the general, and have the ability to destroy the tyrant Xiang Yu?"

It must be said that Liu Bang was very good at winning over and appeasing useful people. In particular, he had already figured out Han Xin's character. In his eyes, Han Xin's behavior was like a child throwing a tantrum. He praised and flattered Han Xin, and within a few words, Han Xin was moved and touched, and he could no longer say the words of resignation.

It is known that the reason why Han Xin made such a scene was obviously because he was angry that the King of Han was in danger of death at that time, and he and other generals did not obey the military order, forcing him to retreat, thus missing the best opportunity to destroy the Chu army. At present, Han Xin was right; but at that time, they also felt that their opinions were the most reliable. But seeing that Han Xin was very upset, the King of Han had to personally go out to appease him. Fan Kuai and Li Shang looked at each other, stepped forward a few steps, bowed, and confessed their guilt in unison, willing to be severely punished by General Han Xin for their crime of not following the military order.

Liu Bang looked as if he had just learned about this, and he was furious, kicking the document away. Unexpectedly, the document was made of jujube wood, which was heavy and hard, and the recoil of his toes almost broke, causing him to grimace in pain.

Liu Bang pointed at Fan Kuai and Li Shang and yelled, "How dare you! What did I say? When marching and fighting, the worst thing is to have poor military orders! Once the general gives an order, everyone below us must obey it. Anyone who dares to violate it will be killed! How dare you question the general's order? How dare you! How can I convince the people if I don't execute you today? General, just give the order, don't indulge these two bastards because of me! Execute them and give the three armies a warning!"

Han Xin was certainly not a real fool. Fan Kuai and Li Shang were both Liu Bang's trusted ministers. Liu Bang's words were just nice words. How could he really kill them?
However, Liu Bang's rage still greatly pleased him, and he felt that he was much more important in Liu Bang's eyes than Fan Kuai and Li Shang. He coldly ordered that Fan Kuai and Li Shang's crimes be temporarily put on hold, and if they dared to disobey him again, they would be punished with both crimes and executed without mercy, so he let the matter go.

Fan Kuai and Li Shang were greatly annoyed when they saw that he actually used the mallet as a token of authority, and did not take advantage of the situation to forgive their crimes, but kept them for the time being and would punish them if they committed the same crime again later. However, considering that Liu Bang was beside them, they could only thank him and leave in anger.

"King of Han, looking back at the defeats we suffered in the battles with the Chu army in the past few days, the Chu army has taken full initiative on the battlefield and is almost completely leading us by the nose. In my opinion, the biggest reason is that Xiang Chan has been eliminated. We are completely in the dark about the internal movements of the Chu State, especially the core leaders. As the saying goes, only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. Therefore, the most urgent task is to re-place or bribe spies in the Chu State to act as our eyes and fully understand the internal situation of the Chu army so that we can formulate targeted response strategies."

At this time, Chen Ping stepped forward and spoke in a deep voice, breaking the awkward and angry atmosphere in the tent.

The generals were immediately attracted, especially those who had suffered setbacks in this battle, and they all nodded slowly, thinking it made sense. But whether it was bribery or planting spies, it was easier said than done. The generals left by the Chu State were like gold panned out of the gravel, all loyal fans of Xiang Yu who would rather die than regret it.

Liu Bang was also helpless, and then he seemed to recall something in the past that he was very reluctant to recall, with a strange look on his face: "There is such a person, maybe we can try to lure him into surrender, but we will talk about this later."

Liu Bang then fully understood the current situation of the army.

At Gaixia City, Han Xin led the Han army to fight against the Chu army, Ying Bu army, and Zhou Yin army. After counting yesterday, it was found that nearly 30,000 soldiers were lost. The 60,000 troops of the rear army gathered the remnants, but only about 15,000 were lost, and more than 45,000 were lost. The 70,000 troops of the left army, Kong Xi's army, were attacked twice by the Han army the night before, and suffered a great defeat, with less than 40,000 remaining.

After calculation, Liu Bang's Han army now has only 170,000 to 180,000 soldiers left.

Liu Bang sighed inwardly, knowing that it would be several times more difficult to defeat Xiang Yu with these troops than the day before. Fortunately, he was often defeated by Xiang Yu, and he was used to it. Although the ambush failed this time, the main force of the army was not damaged, so he was not discouraged.

He looked up and saw that the generals in the tent were all frowning and looking dejected. The atmosphere was extremely gloomy. He stroked his beard and laughed loudly:
"Why do you all look so angry? Right now, the main force of our army is intact and we have the upper hand. Although Xiang Yu has the help of Zhou Yin and Ying Bu, he also suffered losses in the battle the day before yesterday. I think there are only 110,000 or 120,000 soldiers and horses, and they are exhausted after a long battle. What is there to be afraid of? Come on, set up the wine, play music and dance, let's have fun and get drunk!"

It must be said that although Liu Bang's words were vulgar and his manners were crude, he was first-rate in creating an atmosphere. As the banquet was served, the music started, and the beautiful maids began to dance seductively, Liu Bang and the generals also played finger-guessing games, clinked glasses, called out to each other, and put their arms around each other's shoulders. Soon the atmosphere became extremely warm.

Dear readers, I beg you to read on, collect, recommend, and vote for me...Huoniu thanks you...

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(End of this chapter)