My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 95 The best of both worlds
As Ding Li kept giving anxious glances, Kong Xi finally turned around and said to the generals with a smile:
"I know that during this period of time, you have been secretly gloating over my defeat last time, mocking and teasing me, and even calling me 'the crippled leopard in the night battle' behind my back? Haha, it doesn't matter, you can scold me as much as you want, I am not angry at all, even I scold myself. We are all generals, and we all know the same thing, a defeated general is worse than a dog!"

After hearing this, the generals were stunned for a moment, and then they burst into laughter.

The scene was suddenly filled with a happy atmosphere!

Hearing Kong Xi's weak and powerless words, almost bowing to the generals, Ding Li became very anxious!
Is he hoping to win the support of the generals by his humble attitude? Oh my, how foolish! What these unruly bastards despise the most is weaklings!
As expected, the leader Dong Qiu immediately took advantage of the situation and said:
"After all, Xiang Chang is the son of the Overlord. He has been trained by the Overlord himself since he was young. His military strategy is obvious to all in the Chu and Han camps! The defeat of General Kong in the previous battle also deeply revealed this point! If General Kong is afraid of him, it would be too late to report to the King of Han and General Han. He might as well hand over the commander's command arrow and sword to us, and we will do the work for him. The general just needs to sit back and rest, and wait for the military merit after the war. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

Upon hearing this, Ding Li was horrified, especially when he saw the other generals standing behind Dong Xu with their ulterior motives exposed, glaring at Kong Xi with murderous intent, their intention to force him to abdicate could not be more obvious.

"That's good!" Kong Xi seemed oblivious, looking up and sighing, "But if I do that, won't I fail the trust of the King of Han and the general? Besides, in my opinion, you idiots are worse than me! If you sit in my position, I'm afraid that our 60,000 Han troops will all be killed here!"

Who would have thought that this fellow would become so arrogant as he spoke. He was just a defeated general, yet he dared not take them seriously. All the generals changed color and glared at him!

Kong Xi laughed loudly, feeling very happy: "Do you know what I like to see the most? It's seeing your suffocating faces that look down on me and despise me, but can't get rid of me, and instead have to obey me, and I may chop off your heads at any time!"

Immediately, Kong Xi's expression suddenly changed, and he quickly drew out his commander's sword, holding it in his hand with a ferocious expression:

"I am determined to win this battle! I will use a clean and beautiful victory to wash away the shame of my last defeat! Therefore, whoever dares to stop me is my enemy, just like that damn Xiang Chang kid! I will never hesitate to chop off his head first! The good thing is that chopping off your heads is at least much easier than chopping off that kid's head. I can chop it off whenever I want!"

"Right now, I just want to ask, who is tired of living, who wants to die, who the hell wants to stop me from washing away the shame, get out here!"

Hearing Kong Xi's last deafening roar and looking at his twisted and crazy face, it was obvious that he would kill anyone who dared to fart.
Naturally, none of the generals wanted to die so aggrievedly and worthlessly at the hands of an angry half-madman. All the contempt and disdain on their faces were put away, and they all bowed and replied in a muffled voice: "We promise to obey the general's orders, and we will never dare to shirk our responsibilities, be afraid of fighting, be arrogant, and work together to destroy the right army of Da Chu!"

When Kong Xi heard this, his anger turned into joy:

"Very good, very good! If you had known this long ago, you would have been my dear brothers! As the saying goes, a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit! I don't care if you scold me, but in the next battle, you must go all out and be cautious. If anyone underestimates that kid, is arrogant and careless, or shirks responsibility and fights poorly, don't blame me for turning hostile and beheading him with my own hands! Of course, if we can really win this battle, all the military merits will be shared with you, and I promise that I will not take any of the rewards given by the King of Han, and all of them will belong to you!"

Upon hearing this, the generals' ugly expressions improved a little and became much more relaxed!
After using both coercion and inducement, Kong Xi finally subdued the rebellious generals. He breathed a sigh of relief and immediately struck while the iron was hot and began to distribute military orders:
"Zhang Yue, you lead 20,000 infantry to charge the battle formation. Make sure to disperse the Chu army in one fell swoop." He then looked around at the other generals with murderous intent, "The rest of you, get ready as well. Wait for my order. Once the Chu army's formation shows signs of loosening, immediately press forward on all fronts. Make sure to be quick and decisive and defeat them in one fell swoop! Then we will lead the central army to help the general encircle Xiang Ji!"

Kong Xi made up his mind to use strength to overwhelm the enemy and to defeat the weak with force. He made full use of the advantage of twice the number of Chu troops. He defeated the Chu army with the force of a stone hitting an egg and swallowed it in one fell swoop!
If it wasn't so straightforward, so neat, and so satisfying, how could he dispel the hatred in his heart? How could he wash away the shame of his defeat that night?

He wanted to let Xiang Chang see that when two armies fight, it all comes down to strength!
Whoever controls the absolute military force will have the absolute advantage and will reap the ultimate victory!

The generals bowed and received the order, looking at the right army camp of the Chu army, as if looking at a yellow cow that had little attack power but was unusually large and plump, full of greed. Undoubtedly in their eyes, the right army of Chu led by Xiang Chang also represented the military merits that could be won at any time, and represented the rich and incomparable rewards and glory!

Not long after, amid the earth-shaking sound of drums, Zhang Yue led 20,000 Han infantrymen, broke away from the Han army formation, and rushed towards the Chu army.

Looking at the 20,000 Han infantry charging towards them with a mighty formation like a mountain and a tide, Xiang Ju, who was standing on horseback behind Xiang Chang, had a face as pale as a dead person, no breath from his mouth and nose like a dead person, and his body sitting on the horse was stiff, making him look even more dead!

As the son of the former Minister of State of Chu and the patriarch of the Xiang family, although he was no stranger to the battlefield, he had never been on the front line like he was now. The most important thing was that he was very clear about the danger of this battle. The right army of Chu had only 30,000 soldiers, while the opposing Han army had 60,000, exactly twice as many.

Xiang Ju had never eaten pork, but he had seen pigs running around. He knew that in a direct battle with horses and chariots displayed, a powerful attack against an enemy force twice as strong as his could achieve victory with a smaller force and reverse the disadvantage. Except for generals like Overlord and Han Xin who were born for the battlefield, and perhaps the two thieves Ying Bu and Peng Yue, most of the other generals could only flee in defeat.

Therefore, in his eyes, this battle was not only disastrous, but could even be considered a losing battle.

However, he turned his head to look at Xiang Chang in front of him. Not only did he have a firm face and no fear at all, but his eyes were as bright as winter morning stars, full of aggressive and vigorous energy. He was startled, and the panic in his heart miraculously subsided slowly.

"Everyone, whether our right army will become a force of tigers and wolves, or a force of bears, whether our Great Chu can truly change its destiny, turn the tide in desperate situations, and dominate the world again, all depends on our next battle." Xiang Chang glanced at the generals around him and spoke slowly.

Xiang Chang has always liked to keep his destiny firmly in his own hands and is not used to pinning his hopes on others. This is undoubtedly the same for such a crucial battle, even if that person is his father, a peerless genius, an invincible god of war, and someone he can rely on.

The generals were full of fighting spirit and looked excited. They waved their fists and expressed their opinions to him loudly. Xiang Chang nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand to let the generals disperse and rush to their respective camps to take charge.

In the rare calm before this violent and brutal battle, looking up at the 20,000 Han infantrymen rushing towards him, Xiang Chang felt that he was not nervous at all, and his mood could even be described as calm as an ancient well.

The Chu state implemented a system of rewarding military merits, reorganizing and upgrading the wounded camp, and providing pensions to soldiers killed in battle... He implemented all the methods he could think of and do to motivate and boost the morale of his soldiers. If he was still defeated in the end, he would accept it calmly without any regrets!
Before riding away, Tian Jian glanced at Xiang Ju who was standing behind Xiang Chang with a look of disdain. In his mind, he equated Xiang Ju with a coward. But when he saw Hei Shi, who was passing by with an undisguised look of arrogance and high spirits, he raised his eyebrows and a light flashed in his eyes.

He has been unwilling to accept Hei Shi for a long time!
On the night of the siege of Gaixia City, when Master Xiang Chang was shining, he and Hei Shi, both low-level officers, were selected and promoted by Master Xiang Chang at the same time, and their military positions were equal. Wasn't it because Hei Shi was good at cursing, and his cursing of the Han army went deep into Master Xiang Chang's heart, that he was appointed as the temporary commander, and led these newly promoted generals to set up an ambush in Gaixia City, and neatly and neatly destroyed the famous Han cavalry commander Guan Ying and his 5,000 elite cavalry in one fell swoop?
What's wrong with that? Shouldn't the credit go to Master Xiang Chang? However, he was appreciated by the Overlord for this achievement and was promoted by the Overlord himself, rising to the pinnacle of the middle-level generals of the Great Chu Army - the General of the Central Army!

The title of General of the Central Army is too important. For example, if they defeat the Han army this time and the siege of Gaixia is truly resolved, and the army is expanded later, this guy will immediately be the chief general leading an army! Under the iron-fisted promotion of the eldest son of Xiang Chang, the "Great Chu Military Merit Reward System" has been fully implemented. The invisible shield above the heads of these civilian-born generals has disappeared. As long as they have enough military merits, they will be promoted to chief general without a doubt!
A general of an army, what virtue and ability does he have? How can this not make people jealous to the point of deformity? This general should obviously be better than that guy in terms of marching, arranging battle formations, and leading troops into battle, to be qualified and suitable for the position!

Looking at Hei Shi's receding figure, Tian Jian felt as if his heart was stuffed with a handful of blazing charcoal fire, burning his whole body. He raised his head and looked in the direction of the Han army, his eyes revealing undisguised cruelty.

He placed all his hopes on today's battle!
He wanted to show off his full abilities and blind the eyes of all the right army generals including Master Xiang Changchang, especially to let Master Xiang Changchang know that he, Tian Jian, was far superior to Hei Shi!

Of course, Tian Jian also knew in his heart that there were many people in the right army who had the same idea, especially the middle-level generals who were promoted by Master Xiang Chang together with him and Hei Shi that night, such as Hou Xie, Guo Li, etc., who must have secretly been thinking the same thing.

However, he was not afraid!
A real man is not afraid of competition. What he fears is not having the opportunity to show off!

——It must be said that Tian Jian only thought that the middle-level generals were full of hunger for this battle, but he did not expect that all the low-level officers and ordinary soldiers had the same idea.

For example, Zhuang Zhuer, one of the hundred generals standing at the front of the queue, looked at Tian Jian, who was standing tall in full iron armor, with his eyes full of heat, and even his throat moved.

Zhuang Zhuer knew very well that Tian Jian, Kuroshi and others were originally low-level officers like him, and they rose to their current military positions entirely based on their military merits. Naturally, he secretly calculated what kind of merits he should make in this battle to be promoted to this level?
"Boss, if I chop off the heads of five Han soldiers, can I take your seat?" Zhuang Zhuer was thinking intently when a muffled voice suddenly sounded beside him.

What the hell is this? He is eyeing Tian Jian's position, how come someone is eyeing his own position too?
Zhuang Zhuer turned his head in annoyance and found that it was one of his soldiers with a sturdy and somewhat unbelievable body. He only had two pieces of thick cowhide tied on his chest and back. He was staring at him eagerly with a pair of bull eyes.

Zhuang Zhuer remembered that this was Huang Zhong, a Han soldier who surrendered to the army after Xiang Changchang surrendered. He grinned and said, "Why, do you have your eyes on my position?"

During this period, Zhuang Zhuer and other soldiers who killed five Han soldiers and were rewarded by the Overlord himself, constantly preached their experience of killing the enemy, receiving the reward, and the glory of the Overlord personally issuing the reward in the camp. Therefore, all the soldiers were very clear about the military merit reward system of the Great Chu and its authenticity. They were all excited and secretly thought of "fighting hard and becoming an officer".

The soldier Huang Zhong pulled out a large machete from behind him, and with his sturdy arms, which were big enough to support a child, he swung it twice in the air.

Zhuang Zhuer was startled. The machete was actually the one used in the military camp to chop grass for cattle and horses! It was half a man's height and half a man's width, with a thin blade and a thick back. Just looking at it made people feel cold!

The key is that it is extremely light in this guy's hand, like a straw stick, and he can chop a person in half with ease!

Zhuang Zhuer felt his throat dry and forced a smile: "It seems that you killed a lot of people when you were in the Han army!"

Huang Zhong shook his head like a rattle: "No! When I was in the Han army camp, I just wanted to save my life on the battlefield. I didn't want to kill anyone."

Zhuang Zhuer was stunned, feeling that his brain was not enough, and asked: "Then why are you willing to kill now?"

"Killing people gets paid! You get money for chopping off a head. If you chop off a few more, you can become an official like you. Why not?" Huang Zhong argued and looked at Zhuang Zhuer as if he was a fool.

Zhuang Zhuer's face turned purple from being blocked. After a long while, he managed to utter:
"Okay, okay, you are really a talented person!"

Thank you for the tips, subscriptions, and votes from the readers during this period...Huoniu bows his head in respect...



(End of this chapter)