My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 94: What a Courage
In the south and northeast, the two Chu armies were like two violent dragons, tumbling and raging in the ocean formed by the Han infantry, advancing forward step by step.

Seeing that the distance to the flying flags of "Han", "Liu" and "Han" was still far enough, several figures in golden armor on the lookout tower next to the three flags were looking here leisurely, and it was unknown when they would be able to get closer. Xiang Zhuang, the captain of the Chu army, was very angry, and he wished he could rush under the flags in one step, drag those damn guys on the lookout tower down and chop them into two pieces!

However, even if the 40,000 cavalry of the Hanzhong Army were completely wiped out, there were still 80,000 remaining Han infantry arranged in a hedgehog formation. With their current Chu army of only 30,000, how could they kill them all in a hurry?

"General, look, what's going on?" Just as Xiang Zhuang was slaughtering the Han troops that were swarming around him, the cavalry guard beside him suddenly screamed.

Xiang Zhuang looked up and saw that a few miles to the west, under the clear blue sky, an extremely thick column of black smoke rose into the sky and swirled around.

It was the direction of Ying Bu’s left army!

Xiang Zhuang turned his head to look at Xiang Yu, and saw that the Overlord had a face as cold and hard as iron, and at this moment a trace of surprise suddenly flashed across his face!
Xiang Zhuang's palms were instantly filled with cold sweat, and a strong sense of uneasiness arose in his heart. The big iron spear in his hand suddenly became extremely heavy!
If the Yingbu Army...

Xiang Zhuang didn’t dare to think further!

Although he was full of confidence in Ying Bu, the elite cavalry under Ying Bu were equipped with stirrups, a powerful weapon. Logically speaking, even if they could not win, it would not be so easy for the Han army to defeat him!
Especially Han Xin, the most powerful general in the Han army camp, is now pinned down by the Overlord. The rest of the generals, like Cao Shen, Li Shang, Fan Kuai and so on, no matter which one of them faces Ying Bu, will be far inferior and have no chance of winning!

"No, Han Xin—" Xiang Zhuang's heart was pounding, and an uncontrollable panic thought emerged from the bottom of his heart: "What if..."

At this moment, a small group of Han cavalry came galloping from the black smoke-filled camp in the west, holding up a large red flag and waving it vigorously, while shouting loudly:
"King Han Xin of Qi defeated Ying Bu, the left army of Chu!"

"Ying Bu lost! Ying Bu lost!"

"Brothers of the Han army, kill! The Great Chu is doomed!"

……

In the distance, next to the high lookout tower of the Hanzhong Army, the big flag with the word "Han" was slowly lowered, and instead, the big flag with the word "Cao" was raised!

——Cao Shen!
The commander of the Han army that fought against the 40,000-strong army led by Overlord himself, the most powerful and fiercest in the central route of Chu, was not Han Xin, but Cao Shen!

"Your Majesty!" Xiang Zhuang's whole body stiffened and his scalp went numb. He instinctively turned his head and looked at Xiang Yu with a dull look.

Xiang Yu was very clear about this.

The Han cavalry fought bravely all the way and refused to retreat even at the cost of their lives, while the Hedgehog camp of the Han infantry defended with all their might. Even the rigidity of the battle formation and the delay in mobilizing troops all had their answers at this moment!
"Han Xin!" Xiang Yu's teeth were chattering, and a violent aura was surging through his body, like an angry beast!

Han Xin first used the tactic of sacrificing pawns, sending 40,000 Han cavalry to the Chu army to consume the Chu army's combat effectiveness, and then made the Han infantry shrink like a hedgehog to delay the Chu army's offensive pace. All these arrangements were for one purpose, to delay time!

This would give him enough time to defeat Ying Bu's army.

"Your Majesty!" All the Chu army generals around did not think so much, but they also knew that the Western Army had been defeated, and their Central Army had been unable to defeat the Hanzhong Army. This battle was already half lost!
The most important thing right now is, what to do next?
Glancing at the generals who were looking at him eagerly, the Overlord said without hesitation: "Retreat! Tell Zhongli Mei and Xiang Guan to lead the army to retreat to Gaixia immediately; as for us, we will also retreat to the east to meet General Xiang Chang's right army!"

The generals were greatly encouraged: Yes, although Ying Bu's army was defeated, as long as General Xiang Chang's right army can be preserved, the Great Chu will not be completely defeated and will still have the strength to fight again. After all, they defeated 40,000 Han cavalry and killed more than 10,000 infantry, which is also a remarkable record!
The Chu army blew the horn.

Zhongli Mei and Xiang Guanjun, who were advancing with difficulty on the Han army's chevaux-de-frise line in the south, immediately stopped their attack and began to retreat when they heard the military order from the horn.

It has to be said that the hedgehog formation deployed by the Han infantry was indeed very practical in delaying the attack of the Chu army, but it was not enough to justify it. Even if the Chu army wanted to retreat, they could only watch helplessly.

Xiang Yu, who was leading his cavalry to withdraw from the battlefield, had a hint of anxiety in his eyes. He thought more deeply, Han Xin paid such a huge price, was he only planning to attack Ying Bu's left wing? Looking at his current military strategy, I'm afraid he would adopt the old wisdom of "Sun Bin's horse racing" back then, using Cao Shen, an inferior horse, against his superior horse, Ying Bu, a medium horse, and then sending a medium horse to fight Xiang Chang, the weakest inferior horse in his army!
In this way, the central army paid the price of 40,000 cavalry and tens of thousands of infantry casualties to achieve a great victory for the left and right armies. Then, with the power of the great victory, the left and right armies surrounded and surrounded the central army of the Great Chu. At that time, what other options would the 30,000 tired soldiers and generals in the central route of the Great Chu have?

During the dozen days when the Great Chu Army was reorganizing and resting, Han Xin was obviously not idle either, and he planned such a sinister and vicious military strategy!

"Han Xin, you are so courageous! I, Xiang Yu, would not be a human being if I don't kill you!" Xiang Yu gritted his teeth and roared in a low voice!

Han Xin was indeed ruthless enough to implement the tactic of sacrificing pawns in order to gain the final victory at the cost of 40,000 elite cavalry and tens of thousands of elite infantry. It is no exaggeration to describe him as having "great courage".

"Your Majesty, the right army of Master Xiang Chang..." Xiang Zhuang also reacted at this time, thinking clearly about Han Xin's strategy, and rushed to Xiang Yu's side, his throat seemed to be burned, and he said in an anxious and hoarse tone. "It's not too late! As long as Chang'er holds on, when we get there, we will be able to defeat the Han army and rescue them." Xiang Yu shouted in a deep voice, not knowing whether he was trying to persuade Xiang Zhuang or himself.

Xiang Zhuang smiled bitterly: Han Xin had painstakingly arranged such a big chess game, and he was obviously determined to win the Chu army this time, so how could he leave any loopholes and give the Chu army a chance? Moreover, Xiang Chang's right army was the weakest among the three armies of Chu, and almost any general in the Han camp was enough to easily defeat him.

I shouldn't have supported him to be the commander of the right army that day. If Zhongli Mei had been the commander, there would probably be a glimmer of hope.

As Xiang Zhuang rode his horse and followed Xiang Yu to quickly escape from the battlefield, he felt frustrated.

Before the central army of the Great Chu could completely leave the battlefield, a burst of shouting that penetrated the sky suddenly rang out from the position of the right army of the Eastern Great Chu, and came from far away through the void.

The Han and Chu armies were both shocked and turned to look!
When the horn of attack sounded, the Overlord personally led 20,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry in the central army and marched straight into the center of the Han army camp. Xiang Chang also began to command the right army of the Great Chu and moved forward synchronously.

He knew that he was not as brave as his father, so he placed 5,000 cavalry behind 25,000 infantry, arranged a standard formation, and slowly advanced.

On the opposite side, in the Han army camp, under two red flags with the two big characters "Han" and "Kong" written on them, the commander-in-chief Kong Xi, wearing heavy iron armor, with his right hand on his waist and his left hand on the commander-in-chief's sword at his waist, stood on a high platform with an indifferent face, staring at the invading Chu army.

Especially when he saw the big flag with the word "Xiang" flying high in the center, a chill flashed across his eyes.

Deputy General Ding Li stood beside him, silent, with a look of worry on his face. He looked especially at the other generals who were gathered around him, laughing and cursing in a very rude manner, and his worry deepened a little.

"I heard that Xiang Chang is only sixteen years old and is the eldest son of the King of Chu!"

"That's right. I had never heard of him before. He was not very good at fighting and was unknown. He showed up unexpectedly during the siege of Gaixia City. He talked about the three kings in one day, which gave the Great Chu an unexpected chance to breathe from a doomed situation and survive until now."

"So, you are just a liar?"

"Well, you can say that!"

"Then can he be the commander of an army? But it's not too much of a joke?"

"This shows the importance of having a good father!"

"Hahaha, Xiang Ji's old habit of appointing people based on personal connections rather than ability seems like he's never going to change in this lifetime!"

"You have wronged Xiang Ji in this regard. He was quite methodical in employing Xiang Chang. After all, Xiang Chang had made real military achievements. He defeated the 70,000-strong Han army in a night raid!"

"To be fair, that battle was indeed a beautiful victory!"

"A kid who is good at talking can achieve such a great victory. Tsk tsk, if you don't know him, you would think he is a god of war like his father."

……

Generals Dong Xu, Zhang Yue, Wang Jing and others spoke in strange tones, without mentioning the commander Kong Xi directly. However, they ridiculed and mocked him in an extremely malicious way!

It shows the contempt and disdain for his commander to the fullest!
Ding Li was very indignant. He opened his mouth and then closed it dejectedly.

Why did these guys dare to be so arrogant? It was because they were all old heroes who had followed Liu Bang in his uprising, and had always been under the command of Cao Shen, Li Shang, Wang Ling, Fu Kuan, Li Shang, Fan Kuai and other important generals in the Han camp. They were famous for their outstanding military exploits and brave generals!
Among them, people like Dong Xu, Zhang Yue, etc. are far inferior to Deputy General Ding Li in terms of military achievements or reputation, and are not much worse than the main general Kong Xi!
With such a powerful backer, rich experience and brilliant military achievements, how could they be willing to obey the command of Kong Xi, their unlucky colleague who was originally on par with them in status and military rank and had just suffered a great defeat?

It's understandable that you're being sarcastic.

In fact, not calling him "Night Fighter Lame Leopard" to his face was already giving Kong Xi face!
Ding Li looked at Kong Xi, feeling anxious. He and Kong Xi were tied to the same rope. How could they fight the next battle when these generals were so unruly? Although Xiang Chang was soft, he was obviously not a softie. If such a great general on his side was disloyal, wouldn't that be courting death?

In fact, in order to facilitate Kong Xi's command and to strengthen the combat effectiveness of Kong Xi's left army, Han Xin transferred all the main generals of the Han camp, such as Cao Shen, Li Shang, Fan Kuai, Zhou Bo, Wang Ling, etc., and only kept the brave generals under their command.

In other words, Han Xin has done everything he can to support Kong Xi and help him avenge his previous humiliation. So now it depends on how Kong Xi can subdue these unruly generals! If Kong Xi still can't control the situation, it has to be said that he is a hopeless case!
(End of this chapter)