Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

"Liu Bang, you dog, where do you think you're going to run to!" Zhongli Mo spurred his horse and galloped straight up the mountain.

As he fired his arrows, he was surprised to find that his range had decreased. He quickly realized that he was shooting upwards, so the reduced range was inevitable.

This is not a problem. As long as I charge forward a little further, I can shoot Liu Bang dead.

Looking down again, he saw that the two flanking Chu armies had already rushed far away. Even if Liu Bang rode down the mountain at this time, he would be caught up.

Zhongli Mo was overjoyed: "If we can capture him alive, we will!"

If we're talking about offering Liu Bang to Xiang Yu, a living Liu Bang is certainly better than a dead one. If a dead Liu Bang fell into Xiang Yu's hands, he would at most be chopped into mincemeat or thrown out to feed the wild dogs, which would be too lenient for Liu Bang.

If Liu Bang were to fall into Xiang Yu's hands, Xiang Yu would surely use every means to torture him, wanting to personally ask Liu Bang where he got the audacity to attack Pengcheng.

At that time, Liu Bang must have felt like he was living a life worse than death!

Only in this way can Xiang Yu's hatred be relieved.

In his joy, Zhongli Mo suddenly noticed something amiss above him. Looking up, he saw an arrow descending from the sky, aimed directly at his head. This arrow was unlike any other; it whistled through the air and possessed immense power. Even with his iron helmet protecting his head, he couldn't withstand it.

Zhongli Mo's hair stood on end. He pressed his hands on the horse's back, leaped up, and was about to jump off.

However, it was too late; the arrow pierced his armor and the arrowhead lodged in his left rib.

"Ah..." Zhongli Mo let out a miserable scream, which was no longer human. He fell off the horse and crashed heavily to the ground. His face was ashen and his breathing was weak.

If he had been even a fraction slower, the arrow would have pierced through his iron helmet and lodged in his skull, killing him instantly.

"General!" The Chu soldiers around him exclaimed, pulled on their reins, and their warhorses stopped and galloped down to surround Zhongli Mo.

A Chu soldier lifted Zhongli Mo's head, placed it on his lap, checked his breathing—weak—and, feeling a slight relief, shouted, "Medic! Medic!"

"The army doctor is still down there." A Chu soldier opened his eyes wide, looked around, and found that the army doctor accompanying the army was still down the mountain.

"Shield formation!" The Chu soldier who supported Zhongli Mo was a military officer. He remained calm and gave the order without panic.

The Chu soldiers around him took wooden shields from their horses, raised them in the air, and formed a shield formation.

"Retreat!" The military officer gripped the lower end of the arrow shaft with his left hand and the upper end with his right, snapped it off forcefully, threw away the broken shaft, then bent down to pick up Zhong Liming and hurried down the mountain.

The Chu army formed a shield formation, protecting them in the middle, and withdrew from the mountain plateau in an orderly manner.

"You hit the target!" Liu Bang was overjoyed. He put away his bow, picked up Liu Ying in his arms, and began to kiss her little face passionately, crying, "My good Ying'er! My good Ying'er!"

"Who are you? Don't try to claim kinship with me!" Liu Ying's face turned cold.

Liu Bang ignored him and started munching away, leaving Liu Ying's face covered in saliva.

Wiping the drool from her face with her sleeve, Liu Ying said disdainfully, "Why aren't you running? Are you waiting to die?!"

"Liu Ying, don't talk nonsense. Zhongli Mo has been shot by an arrow; he'll be injured even if he doesn't die. We're safe now." Xiahou Ying was overjoyed.

"Good!" Liu Bang nodded slightly.

"I'm afraid the Chu army will go berserk and relentlessly pursue us to avenge Zhongli Mo," Liu Ying warned. "We must take advantage of the Chu army's confusion and run!"

"Run! Run!" Liu Bang was the first to react and urged them on.

Liu Ying turned his head and saw three warhorses still on the mountainside. Zhongli Mo was important to the Chu army, so they used a shield formation to protect him as he descended the mountain. They couldn't manage the warhorses for the time being and hadn't been able to take them all. Liu Ying put his right hand in his mouth and blew hard. A whistle sounded, and the three warhorses came running at the sound.

At Liu Ying's whistle, three warhorses approached, then stopped at Liu Ying's whistle again.

Liu Ying stood up from his horse, jumped onto a warhorse beside him, held the reins with both hands, and rode down the mountain.

Liu Bang was taken aback, then spurred his horse to follow.

Xiahou Ying spurred his horse and followed.

Liu Ying whistled, and two other empty horses followed.

The Chu army, which had been flanking Zhongli Mo from both sides, immediately halted their encirclement and withdrew upon receiving news of Zhongli Mo's injury. Liu Ying and his men descended the mountain smoothly and soon reached the foot of the plateau.

By this time, they were no longer afraid of being surrounded by the Chu army, and the crisis was temporarily averted.

Furthermore, with three more warhorses, they could switch horses and escape. Even if Zhongli Mo were unharmed, he might not be able to catch up.

Liu Ying pulled on the reins, and the warhorse stopped. He turned the horse around and looked at the Chu army.

At this moment, the Chu army formed a battle formation, shield to shield, defending themselves like an iron barrel, so that not even a fly could get in.

Outside the Chu army's perimeter were hundreds of warhorses, some grazing with their heads down, others waiting quietly.

"That scoundrel Zhongli Mo is incredibly lucky to still be alive!" Liu Bang lamented.

"What a pity!" Xiahou Ying lamented.

If Zhongli Mo had died on the spot, the Chu army would either have retreated or gone mad, relentlessly pursuing Liu Ying and his men. The fact that the Chu army had formed a battle formation meant that Zhongli Mo was still alive.

It's such a pity that Zhongli Mo, who was being relentlessly pursued by Liu Bang, is still alive.

"Is that a pity?" Liu Ying asked Liu Bang.

"Isn't that obvious?" Liu Bang said irritably.

"Then let's go and kill another bunch," Liu Ying urged. "Such a golden opportunity, how can we let it slip by?"

"Those are several hundred people! You want me to go and slaughter them? You unfilial son, are you hoping for my death so you can become the King of Han?" Liu Bang roared in fury.

"You can't shoot horses?" Liu Ying pouted.

"Shoot a horse?" Xiahou Ying asked, puzzled.

"Excellent!" Liu Bang's anger turned to joy, and he loudly proclaimed his approval. He grabbed his bow with his left hand, drew an arrow with his right, nocked it, spurred his horse, and galloped away, full of pride: "Listen up, you Chu scoundrels! I, your lord, will slaughter everyone on the battlefield!"

The Chu soldiers heard him, but no one paid him any attention; they simply focused on their duties.

Liu Bang charged to a certain distance, his arrow pointing upwards, and decisively released the string. The arrow flew diagonally upwards before falling back down, striking a warhorse squarely in the neck. The horse let out a mournful neigh and died instantly.

"Your archery is unparalleled! It is rare in the world! What is Xiang Yu's archery skill compared to that!" Liu Bang was extremely proud and laughed wildly. He then drew his bow and shot an arrow that killed a warhorse.

Liu Bang's arrows never missed; every arrow killed a warhorse.

"You're getting sillier with age! Did you have to shoot him to death? Just wound him!" Liu Ying, watching from a distance, was very dissatisfied and loudly mocked Liu Bang.

"Liu Ying, what nonsense are you talking about? It would be better if you shot him dead!" Xiahou Ying did not understand Liu Ying's meaning.

Liu Bang was about to shoot another arrow when he heard Liu Ying's words. His eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Good Ying'er, you're so clever, only a little bit less so than me!"

An arrow was fired, but this time it didn't kill the warhorse; instead, it struck the rump of another horse. The horse, in pain, neighed and bolted, causing nearby horses to run amok.

Liu Bang shot another arrow and wounded a warhorse. The horse, in pain, ran wildly, and the chaos escalated once again.

Liu Bang's arrows never missed their mark; each arrow wounded a warhorse, and the chaos gradually escalated.

As Liu Bang wounded more and more of his warhorses, the chaos finally became uncontrollable. The warhorses neighed and fled, creating a scene of utter chaos.

The Chu army had no choice but to leave a portion of its men to guard the area, while the rest went to gather the warhorses. However, the warhorses had already fled far away, and it was impossible to gather them all. After much effort, they managed to gather only half of the warhorses.

Zhongli Mo should thank Xiang Yu for not following Qin Shi Huang's example and using arrows without barbs, which allowed them to be successfully removed and save his life. However, he remained unconscious.

After some discussion, the military academy decided to retreat.

Because half of the warhorses were lost, only half of the men could ride horses and take Zhongli Mo to retreat first. The rest had to either walk or try their luck to gather more warhorses.

Thus, Xiang Yu's pursuit of Liu Bang failed.

Liu Bang wanted to pursue and wreak havoc, but unfortunately, the Chu army was not afraid of him at all and was on high alert. Without an opportunity, Liu Bang had no choice but to retreat.

At this moment, Liu Bang was in high spirits. After being chased by Xiang Yu for thousands of miles, the resentment that had accumulated over the days dissipated, and he was in a good mood: "Haha! That Xiang scoundrel claims to have the courage of ten thousand men, unparalleled in the world, but can he be as powerful as me? I can kill my way in and out of ten thousand troops as if they were nothing!"

"The King of Han is mighty!" Although he knew Liu Bang was exaggerating, Xiahou Ying was still happy and pleased, so he praised him.

"Ying'er, come here, let's get to know each other better!" Liu Bang rode up to Liu Ying's horse, a warm smile spreading across his face. He looked at Liu Ying with increasing satisfaction.

"Who are you?" Liu Ying glared at Liu Bang and shouted.