My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 83 Surprise and uncertainty
Xiang Chang's face, hidden behind the cowhide mask, was frighteningly pale. He closed his mouth tightly and tried hard to swallow the blood that was rushing up his throat.

The force of Ying Bu's stick was so terrifying that even with the armor protecting him, he was still knocked almost unconscious.

After barely catching his breath, he raised his head and shouted, "King Jiujiang, do you want another round?"

Until this moment, the guards of Zhongli Mei and other generals who were watching around the drill ground suddenly burst into an uproar, breaking the deathly silence:

"How can this be!"

"Who can tell me, is all this true?"

"Is the King of Jiujiang deliberately letting the opponent win? It doesn't look like that!"

……

Faced with Ying Bu's misfortune, Zhongli Mei, Ji Bu, Huan Chu and other generals looked at each other in disbelief. They looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes! They naturally would not be stupid enough to think that Ying Bu's elite cavalry had lost their kidneys due to the revelry last night, so they suffered a great defeat. Since the Jiujiang army was not weakened, there was only one possible answer, that is, General Xiang Changhou's guard cavalry was terribly strong!
But how is this possible? Xiang Chang's cavalry was only selected from the Zhou Yin army after he became the general, not from the Overlord's personal army. They knew the combat power of the Zhou Yin army too well. Even if the gods came down to earth, it would be impossible for them to be reborn so quickly and increase their combat power so dramatically.

Glancing at the surprised and delighted faces of Zhongli Mei and others, Xiang Zhuang sneered and tilted his chin up in the air at a forty-five-degree angle.

Ying Bu understood that Xiang Chang was trying to save his face. If he continued to lead his cavalry for a second round of attack without stopping, he, the dignified King of Jiujiang, would be in a miserable situation of being besieged by dozens of cavalrymen, like a drowned dog!

Especially the three cavalrymen who were hit by his stick, they showed their naked hatred for him without any concealment, and were eager to fight back, with a ferocious posture of surrounding him and giving him a good beating!

Knowing how cruel his move was, Ying Bu couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

But he did not look back. He could keenly sense the fear in the hearts of the dozen or so surviving cavalrymen behind him.

In the past, they were the only ones who defeated the enemy on the battlefield, killing them like ghosts and wolves, and leaving them with no resistance. But now the situation has reversed, and they - the famous Jiujiang elite cavalry - have been beaten to a point where they are vulnerable. It can be said that the fighting spirit of the dozen or so remaining cavalrymen has been completely destroyed, and they have lost the courage to continue fighting.

Ying Bu slowly took off his helmet, and threw it to the ground with force, with a bit of hatred.

The cavalrymen behind Xiang Chang, who had been staring at him intently, naturally understood what this meant. They waved their weapons vigorously and cheered.

Ying Bu urged his horse to the battlefield, jumped off, and walked quickly to the horse of a cavalryman who had fallen from Xiang Chang's team. He held the strange semicircular iron object hanging on the side of the horse's belly in his hand and examined it carefully with a serious expression.

General Zhongli Mei arrived at the battlefield almost at the same time as him and performed the same actions.

The two recalled the details of the confrontation between the two armies, and at the same time keenly realized that the reason why the combat effectiveness of Xiang Chang's cavalry increased dramatically was that their horses were equipped with this thing!

"This is the stirrup! With this, the cavalry can completely free their hands while on horseback, and their combat power will at least double! In addition, sitting upright on the horse is like having roots, and they will not be knocked off the horse as easily as before."

Xiang Chang jumped off his horse, walked up to Ying Bu, and explained to him with a smile and consideration.

The reason why Xiang Chang and the other four were still able to stay on their horses after being hit by Ying Bu's stick was that they relied on the stirrups to give their feet leverage, and transferred part of the force of the blow to the horses under them.

It has to be said that there are indeed few inventions like the stirrup in ancient warfare. It is extremely simple, but has extremely important historical significance. With the stirrup, war horses become easier to control, and cavalry and war horses are truly integrated into one. The power of war horses is completely released, and the lethality and attack power of cavalry are greatly increased.

In history, the invention of stirrups was not until the Eastern Han Dynasty, but Xiang Chang's appearance brought it forward to the end of the Qin Dynasty. Ying Bu's eyes lit up. Stirrups, such a simple and practical warhorse equipment, were like a window paper for a top general like him. Once it was broken, he immediately understood clearly. At the same time, he instantly evaluated the terrifying power that this thing could exert on the battlefield, and knew that Xiang Chang's words were indeed not exaggerated.

"Whose, whose is this..." Ying Bu held the crudely made stirrup in his hands, and looked at it over and over again with an infatuated look that he had never had even when looking at a peerless woman, and asked hesitantly.

"Does the King of Jiujiang think highly of this thing?" Knowing that Ying Bu had fully seen the value of this thing, Xiang Chang said with a hint of coldness: "If my father's 20,000 cavalry were all equipped with this thing, do you think they could break through the encirclement of the Han army commanded by Han Xin like a whirlwind, and raid your Jiujiang army like a tiger or a wolf, destroying your Jiujiang army in one fell swoop, and behead you, the King of Jiujiang, on the spot?"

Ying Bu's body trembled violently, and he raised his head abruptly, looking at Xiang Chang as if he was looking at a devil, full of uncontrollable horror.

"Now, King Jiujiang, do you still have doubts about what I said that day?"

Even though it was late autumn and the weather was cold, Xiang Zhuang, who was standing nearby, could clearly see a layer of fine sweat instantly seeping out of the forehead of Jiujiang King Yingbu.

There was not a single word of falsehood in Xiang Chang's words. The Chu cavalry had superb riding skills and were unrivaled in the world in controlling their war horses. Once equipped with stirrups, they were like a tiger with wings, and their combat power doubled. It was not easy for them to break through the encirclement of the Han army and defeat the Jiujiang army in one fell swoop, but it was absolutely beyond doubt.

Ying Bu slowly stood up straight, his expression changing constantly, he opened his mouth several times, but in the end he said nothing.

"I understand what you mean. Are you going to ask why we didn't use it that day to dampen Han Xin's arrogance and teach the Han army a lesson?" Xiang Chang chuckled. "This weapon of mass destruction is certainly powerful, but for a talented general like Han Xin, it can only be used once, so it must be used at the most important and critical moment! Liu Bang and Han Xin gathered 60 armies to besiege our Great Chu, and our Great Chu almost collapsed and turned into ashes. How can we defeat him in a light battle with such hatred that penetrates the sky? If we don't hurt him thoroughly and make him lose badly, and tremble all over when we think about it, wouldn't it be a waste of the power of this weapon of mass destruction?"

Looking at the endless madness and cruelty in Xiang Chang's eyes, Ying Bu, the famous general who had fought many battles, suddenly felt an inexplicable chill in his heart.

Originally Xiang Chang felt quite apologetic about his father sending Long Ju to kill Ying Bu's entire family, but today he learned from his father the truth about Ying Bu being made a king, and that the killing of his wife and children was his father's revenge after his rebellion. Furthermore, his wife and children were the daughter and children of Wu Rui, who was also ungrateful and betrayed his father. Not only did Xiang Chang's guilt disappear, but he was also filled with anger!

Looking back now, it was not an exaggeration to say that my father was very kind to Ying Bu, but this guy actually betrayed me without any gratitude at all.

Well, since he is a shameless utilitarian who fears power but not virtue, it will be easy. Just shock him severely and continue to hold his neck to make him act according to your intentions.

"King Jiujiang, I, the Great Chu, have shown you a powerful weapon like the stirrup without hiding anything. Can this be considered trust in you?"

Ying Bu nodded and was about to thank you, but Xiang Chang suddenly interrupted him rudely and mocked him in front of the generals who had gathered around him: "Okay, don't say any more nonsense about gratitude. We all know that the sincerity of your gratitude is not as good as the lies a prostitute tells her clients! The reason why the Overlord dared to give you the stirrup is, haha, tell me, besides this stirrup, do our Chu army have any other powerful weapons?"

Facing Xiang Chang's rude and humiliating words, Ying Bu was in a state of embarrassment, but he did not dare to get angry. The arrogance and domineering attitude he had just shown towards Zhongli Mei and his generals disappeared without a trace. He hesitated and asked, "Anything else?"

Xiang Chang raised his head and laughed loudly. He stepped forward and gently patted Ying Bu on the shoulder a few times, then smiled and said to him in a low voice: "Guess!"

Ying Bu naturally did not believe that the Great Chu had any other powerful weapons other than stirrups, but after hearing what Xiang Chang said, he became unsure and looked surprised and doubtful.

"I have other military affairs to attend to, so I'll excuse myself. Send the injured subordinates of King Jiujiang to the Injury Camp for treatment. Guard Commander, King Jiujiang will be in your care from now on."

After giving the order, Xiang Chang and the 100 guards removed the stirrups on both sides of their mounts and asked the ordnance forging camp to return and continue to guard it closely. At present, this powerful weapon is still highly confidential, and only a few people in the Great Chu camp know about it.

Seeing this scene, whether it was Zhongli Mei and other core generals of the Great Chu, or Ying Bu, the King of Jiujiang, they all knew what to do. Under the supervision of Xiang Zhuang, the captain of the guard army, they sternly issued a gag order to their respective cavalry guards.

(End of this chapter)