Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 182

On the side of the main force of the Chu army, it is a pity that the main force of the Chu army and the anti-Qin coalition army failed to seize the opportunity to catch up with the enemy before the main force of the Qin army crossed the Huan River. The main force of the army was temporarily blocked on the north bank of Huanshui, unable to pose a direct threat to the main force of the Qin army.

The main force of the Qin army was able to safely retreat to the south bank of the Huan River. The credit should be credited to Zhang Han himself. After paying a heavy price to withdraw from the Zhang River, Zhang Han learned a lesson and decisively let the main force of the Qin army abandon most of the unnecessary military supplies. Retreating with heavy supplies and light equipment, and let the Great Wall Corps, which suffered heavy losses in Zhangshui, go first, and personally led the headquarters as the rear of the entire army, which greatly stabilized the morale of the main force of the Qin army. There is a flat corridor built in the middle, so the main force of the Qin army retreated extremely fast, and it took only a little more than a day to retreat all the way south from Zhangshui to Huanshui.

Contrary to the main force of the Qin army who ran for their lives decisively, the main force of the Chu army carried forward Xiang Yu's noble style of cutting weeds but not rooting them out. First, they made an alliance with the princes on the Zhangshui battlefield, wasting a lot of time, and then launched a pursuit. When the vanguard of the Chu army led by Bu and Chai Wu caught up with the Qin army, the rear troops of the Qin army led by Zhang Han had basically withdrawn across the Huan River. Yingbu and Chai Wu did not dare to risk crossing the river, so they could only watch helplessly. The main force of the Qin army calmly destroyed the Huanshui bridge, and temporarily blocked the main force of the Chu army from crossing the river with the help of the natural danger of Huanshui.

However, the main force of the Qin army only escaped temporarily, and it is still unknown whether it can get rid of the pursuit of the coalition forces of the princes. There is no other reason. , when the food and grass hoarded by Jiyuan run out, the main force of the Qin army will definitely be consumed alive. Therefore, if the main force of the Qin army wants to escape, it must retreat to a safe location west of Puyang as soon as possible. Turning danger into safety.

The situation was even more severe than Zhang Han and Wang Li had estimated. It was only after retreating to Jiyuan that Zhang Han and Wang Li discovered through statistics that the main force of the Qin army had lost nearly [-] troops in the battle of Zhangshui, which was extremely heavy. At the same time, bad news came one after another from the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Dong Kan’s mobile unit was defeated by the Young Marshal’s army, and Su Yu’s unit, who ventured to save Puyang by taking the road to the south bank, was also defeated by Xiang Kangyin. Even the chance to temporarily contain the hungry wolf of the Young Marshal's Army no longer exists, and the main force of the Qin Army retreating westward is likely to be blocked and attacked by the Young Marshal's Army.

In addition, the huge threat from the main force of the Chu army and the allied forces of the princes could not be shaken off. The day after the main force of the Qin army withdrew to Jiyuan, the main force of the Chu army and the allied forces of the princes chased them to the north bank of Huanshui. Zhang Han was frightened. Not only did the main force of the more than 5 Chu army chase after him, but also the other anti-Qin rebels on the Julu battlefield almost all went out. There were 16 soldiers and horses from all walks of life, and the total force directly broke through the 20 mark. , the strength is already enough to compete with Qin Jun head-on.

After a preliminary understanding of the enemy's military situation, Zhang Han summoned the generals of the Qin Army to hold a meeting to discuss the next tactical plan. To Zhang Han's surprise, although many generals of the Qin Army agreed to withdraw westward for food as soon as possible, they There are still some generals of the Qin army who advocate a frontal decisive battle with the anti-Qin coalition forces, and try their best to temporarily kill the anti-Qin coalition forces before retreating calmly to the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Those who advocated a decisive battle were mainly the generals of the Qin Army from the Great Wall Corps. Wang Li's two important deputies, Su Jiao and Shejian, both agreed with the decisive battle. Among them, Su Jiao pointed out to Zhang Han: "General, the battle of Zhangshui, our army The reason for the disastrous defeat was entirely because the army was flustered because they were eager to retreat, and they didn't have a firm determination to fight head-on with the bandits. This gave the bandits a chance to attack us halfway. If we don't learn our lesson, we still just want to retreat blindly If we don’t think about fighting hard, we will inevitably repeat the same mistakes on the way to the west. Only by boosting morale and raising the morale of the army with all our strength, and defeating the bandit army head-on, can we retreat safely.”

"That's right, we still have 30 troops, and we still have an advantage!" Shejian also yelled, "As long as we unite as one, motivate our soldiers to fight bravely, and fight the bandits head-on, we may not have a chance to turn defeat into victory." , defeating the main force of the bandit army head-on."

Zhang Han thought about not saying anything, and after a while he turned his gaze to Wang Li, who was also silent, and asked, "Marquis of Wucheng, what do you think?"

Wang Li's attitude was obviously very hesitant, and he said after a while: "General, what Su Jiao and Shejian said is somewhat reasonable, but how to make a decision, I still have to ask the general to make up his mind."

Zhang Han waited for this sentence, and immediately said: "Well, then the general will make up his mind. General Su and General She, although your ambitions are commendable, but your suggestion must not be adopted by the general. War is not a simple matter. Competing for strength, our strength is still superior, but if the decisive battle is unfavorable, even if it is a tie with the main force of the bandit army, our consequences will be unimaginable, because the bandit army and us can afford it, but we can't afford it. The decisive battle is a trifling matter with the lives of our 30 soldiers, we must withdraw westward as soon as possible, to a safe location west of Puyang, and establish an invincible position before we can plan a counterattack and revenge!"

After categorically rejecting the proposals of Su Jiao, She Jian and others, Zhang Han went on to say: "That's it, the camp will be withdrawn to the west tomorrow, and I will escort the food and military supplies first. General Wang Li, you will lead the army and be responsible for arranging the troops." With the cover behind the palace, march [-] miles a day, step by step, and retreat towards Hanoi!"

Seeing that Zhang Han directly made the final decision, Wang Li, who actually agreed with the risky decisive battle deep in his heart, had no choice but to clap his fists and sing promises with the generals. I had no choice but to accept the order obediently.

In this way, under the arrangement of Zhang Han, the main force of the Qin army, which had already been prepared to retreat, pulled out its camp early the next morning and retreated to the west in an orderly manner. In the pursuit, in order to break through the Huan River and catch up with the main force of the Qin army, the generals of the anti-Qin allied forces ran to Xiang Yu one after another to ask for orders to act as the vanguard and immediately launch a rush to cross.Xiang Yu also knew that the morale could not be discouraged, so he nodded in agreement immediately, and immediately dispatched three generals, Ying Bu, Shen Yang, and Sima Ang, to lead their own troops to attack, and the troops were divided into three groups to rush across at the same time.

In fact, the Qin army had a good chance of winning this battle. Relying on the fortifications built in advance and the blocking of the river, the soldiers of the Qin army who were in charge of guarding the ferry shot dead and wounded the soldiers of the anti-Qin coalition army who were driving across the river with their strong bows and crossbows. It was very difficult, and once repelled the enemy who rushed across the river at the beachhead. If the Qin army decisively increased its troops to cross the river, it would definitely be very hopeful to temporarily block the main force of the anti-Qin coalition army. At the same time, Wang Li, who was in charge of arranging the rear, was also eager to try. He also wanted to personally lead the army to reinforce Huanshui Ferry.

Zhang Han sent people to stop Wang Li, and asked the envoy to tell Wang Li clearly that no matter how beautiful the battle at the ferry was, the Qin army would at most stop the anti-Qin allied forces temporarily, and there was absolutely no possibility of killing the enemy. The abandoned Huanshui Ferry sent more troops to give the anti-Qin allied forces a chance to defeat the Qin army. It would be better to firmly maintain a unified action so that even if the anti-Qin allied forces broke through the ferry, they would not be able to directly threaten the Qin army brigade.In the end, Zhang Han ordered Wang Li not to reinforce the ferry, and let the defenders at the ferry, which numbered only more than [-] people, fight on their own, as long as they can last.

As I said before, thanks to Li Si's blessing, Qin Er Shi Hu Hai had already ordered Zhang Han to lead the Qin army's troops outside the pass, Wang Li's Great Wall Corps was also among them, so even though he was extremely dissatisfied, Wang Li had no choice but to take it back. After making the decision to increase troops at the ferry, he led the Great Wall Corps to retreat slowly, allowing the defenders of the ferry under his command to fight alone on the south bank of Huanshui, and missed a chance to win the battle.

Zhang Han's decision to prevent Wang Li from reinforcing the ferry certainly hurt the defenders of the ferry. They couldn't wait for reinforcements, and they couldn't withstand the fierce offensive of the anti-Qin coalition forces. At noon, the defenders of the ferry were finally defeated. Later, he was chased and killed by the anti-Qin coalition forces who succeeded in crossing over more than ten miles, and the loss was not small.As a result, after he fled back to his team with injuries, the general of the Qin army who commanded the guards at the ferry ran up to Wang Li with tears in his eyes, complaining, and asked why Wang Li didn't send him more reinforcements.

"It's not that I won't send you reinforcements, it's that the general won't allow me to."

When answering this sentence, Wang Li's confidence was obviously lacking. After the general of the Qin army who had hoped to guard the ferry was so wronged that he cried out, Wang Li couldn't help but lower his head, feeling increasingly dissatisfied and dissatisfied with Zhang Han, and secretly said: " Besides flattering Li Si and running for his life, what else would you do?"

Zhang Han's decision was actually quite correct. At least after quickly crossing the Huan River, he found that the main force of the Qin army had only retreated [-] miles before setting up camp. Planning to withdraw to Hanoi step by step, it will be difficult for the self-armed army to have the opportunity to defeat the enemy like the Zhangshui War, and the possibility of defeating the Qin army on the road is pitifully small.

But of course Xiang Yu didn't give up on this. Early the next morning, Xiang Yu decisively led the main force of the anti-Qin coalition army to stride westward, chasing the main force of the Qin army retreating westward with light clothes, and successfully caught up with the main force of the Qin army just after noon. Li's rear team, and Wang Li's rear team resolutely stopped and fought in order to buy time for the main force to retreat, preparing to hold on for a while before going back to chase the main force.

Seeing this scene, Xiang Yu, who was eager to catch up with the main force of the Qin army, of course ordered an attack immediately. Unexpectedly, Xiang Bo, who had recovered quickly from his illness, suddenly jumped out and said to Xiang Yu: "Nephew, wait a moment to attack. Since the tyranny of Qin The rear of the army is fighting in formation, and the terrain here is very open, which is suitable for the army to quickly pass through. Why don't we rely on the superiority of our troops to encircle them on all sides and lure the Tyrant Qin army to come back to rescue them?"

"Master Xiang, please think about it with your brain, okay?" The old man Fan next to him said angrily: "The Tyrant Qin army in front of us is only more than ten thousand soldiers, how could the Tyrant Qin main force give up the West for such a small army?" Withdraw, come back to rescue them, and delay the retreat of their main force?"

"Fan Zuoshi, please listen to the old man, okay?" Uncle Xiang retorted angrily, and said, "If the Tyrant Qin army leaves their rear behind, we will attack from all sides and kill the tyrants surrounded by us." The Qin army killed them all! Seeing the fate of their companions, you said that there will be a Tyrant Qin general who dares to lead the army behind, and dare to turn around when we are overtaken by us? If we want to catch up with the Tyrant Wouldn't it be much easier for the main force of the Qin army?"

Not to mention, Master Xiang, who has always been unreliable, really has a little truth in what he said this time. Even old man Fan couldn't find anything to refute for a while, and after Xiang Yu thought about it for a while, he also held it for the time being. Trying to think: "Forget it, anyway, the Tyrant Qin army is going to retreat step by step and slowly, we still have time, so let's give it a try."

After finishing speaking, Xiang Yu really adopted Xiang Bo's suggestion for the first time. He first withdrew the attack order, and then directed the anti-Qin coalition forces to step forward one by one. The reason for the quickness was that when General Zhao Shen Yang led his army back to the back of the Qin army, and at the same time two anti-Qin righteous divisions rushed to the left and right sides of the Qin army to set up defenses, the rear of the Qin army understood the intention of the anti-Qin coalition army, and hurriedly Initiate a charge to break through and escape.

The Qin army's rear team failed to break through, and was forced to retreat several times by the anti-Qin coalition forces fighting in formation, and was forced to retreat to form an formation to protect themselves. At the same time, they quickly sent people to Zhang Han and Wang Li for help.The result was just as old man Fan expected. When he learned that the [-] rear troops were surrounded by the anti-Qin coalition forces, Wang Li immediately sent someone to escort the messenger to meet Zhang Han, but Zhang Han didn't even bat an eyelid. Said: "Order the whole army to move on, let our rear team break through on their own, and don't drag our main force for [-] troops."

"General, our army is surrounded by thieves on all sides, we can't get out!" The rescue messenger heard his panic, and begged: "If you don't send reinforcements back, our ten thousand troops will be finished, and none of us will be able to escape!" I can escape! General, please, please!"

"Shut up!" Zhang Han cut off the pleading of the messenger with a stern face, and said, "As a general of the Great Qin, you should be prepared to die for the Great Qin at any time! If you want to survive, break out of the encirclement and rush over!"

After all, in addition to ordering people to carry away the messenger who cried out for help, Zhang Han also sent someone to give Wang Li a special order to leave, asking Wang Li to follow him with the Great Wall Corps and not to send a single soldier back to the division. Go rescue the besieged rearguard army.

It is conceivable that Wang Li was angry after learning of Zhang Han's decision, and the generals such as She Jian and Su Jiao beside him were all furious. [-] troops say no, then no, our surrounded soldiers die, what about their wives and children? Even if they are surrounded, who will dare to lead the army in the rear?”

"General Wang, General Wang." The messenger who asked for help also wailed loudly: "We had the opportunity to retreat immediately. We were trying to buy time for the main force, so we were surrounded by the bandits. We are loyal to Great Qin , we were surrounded for the main force!"

"Stop arguing!" Wang Li suddenly yelled, shocking everyone nearby, and then said to the messenger sent by Zhang Han: "Go back and tell the general, and say that I, Wang Li, are useless and my heart is too soft. I can't bear to let my trapped soldiers die in vain, I want to go back and save them! If he wants to pursue him, wait until I rescue my rear team, and then come back and plead guilty to him!"

After saying that, Wang Li yelled orders one after another, ordering the retreating Great Wall Corps to turn around on the spot and go back to rescue the trapped rear of the Qin Army. As a result, upon hearing this order, the generals of the Qin Army in the Great Wall Corps cheered like thunder. Immediately carry out the order without saying anything.But Zhang Han was shocked when he heard the news, and repeatedly cried out: "Wang Li, you are going to kill our main force!"

In this way, of course it was Master Xiang Boxiang's turn to be proud and arrogant. When he saw the Great Wall Corps suddenly turn around and kill him, old man Fan, who was not optimistic about this tactic, almost dropped his jaw in shock. Believe in your own eyes, but Master Xiang jumped three feet high, jumping up and down and shouting loudly, "Did you see it? Did you see it? I'm right, as long as we surround the rear of the Bao Qin army, The army of Qin will definitely come back to rescue, definitely will come back to rescue! Old man, I really can predict things like a god!"

"Uncle, I have you!" Xiang Yu also rarely praised his third uncle, and then shouted: "Form the formation, prepare to fight!"

Xiang Yu is always reassuring in terms of military affairs. Facing the menacing Great Wall Corps of the Qin Army with high morale, Xiang Yu sensibly avoided the edge for the time being and did not immediately launch an attack to confront Wang Li head-on. Instead, he ordered Shen Yang Deliberately get out of the way so that the besieged Qin army's rear can escape to join the Great Wall Corps, and then let Yingbu lead the army to attack the front of the Qin army's rear, forcing the Qin army's rear to flee westward. Sure enough, the army fell into the trick, and soon fled in a hurry under the expulsion of Yingbu, and gave the anti-Qin coalition army a free vanguard, which prevented the Qin army from using their best bow and crossbow tactics to defend against the enemy.

Then, although Wang Li sensed the danger, he immediately sent troops from the two wings to attack Yingbu from the left and right to cover the retreat of the rear of the army, so as to prevent the rear of the army from disrupting the front of his battle formation. When Bu fought, the rear team of the anti-Qin coalition army arrived immediately, and joined forces with Yingbu to fight with the soldiers on the two wings of the Qin army.

The Qin army once had the upper hand in the battle situation, and the morale of the Qin army who came back to rescue the friendly army was high. Even if the troops were slightly weaker, they could only fight Yingbu and other troops for a long time, but they were better than Xiang Kang. Xiang Yu, taught by Xiang Liang, was not in a hurry. He sneered and waited patiently for Qin Jun's mentality to change. The result was exactly as Xiang Yu hoped. There were signs of a gradual decline in morale, and the offensive was no longer so violent, so Xiang Yu calmly sent additional troops to reinforce the melee battlefield ahead.
Wang Li was also very decisive. When he saw Xiang Yu increasing his troops to the front line, he immediately understood that Xiang Yu wanted to use fueling tactics to gradually drag himself into the melee. The anti-Qin rebels were formed, and immediately dispatched elite troops to storm the right wing of the anti-Qin coalition forces.Xiang Yu laughed out loud when he saw this, and immediately ordered the cavalry of the Chu army to get ready to attack, and then told Cao Jiu, whom he had the most trust in the military, "Uncle Cao, you will be in command of the army for a while. Except for the right wing, the central army and The left wing is temporarily on the defensive, and I will return to command the entire army after I have defeated the soldiers on the right wing of the Tyrant Qin army."

"Nephew, you are the commander-in-chief of the entire army, why do you want to take the risk yourself?" Cao Jiu asked with a wry smile.

"Hands are itchy, if you don't kill dozens of Tyrant Qin bandits, your whole body will feel uncomfortable!"

After answering Cao Jiu's question very directly, the Qin army had just rushed to the right flank of the anti-Qin coalition army for a decisive battle. Xiang Yu shouted like a lion, and led five thousand cavalry from the Chu army, charged out from the central army formation, held high With his handsome flag, he rushed to the right-wing battlefield.As a result, Xiang Yu personally led the cavalry of the Chu army into battle. Of course, the anti-Qin allied army cheered like thunder, and their morale was greatly boosted.

Contrary to the anti-Qin allied forces, seeing Xiang Yu personally lead the army to fight from a distance, the Qin army was of course in an uproar, and Wang Li almost stared out of his own eye sockets, shouting: "Crazy! Crazy! The commander-in-chief of the entire army, who commanded more than 20 troops, even dared to lead the army into battle in person, aren't you afraid that a stray arrow will shoot you to death?!"

Xiang Yu's personal battle also seriously disturbed the minds of the Qin army's attacking army. Seeing the enemy's commander-in-chief rushing directly towards his own army, besides the generals of the Qin army who were attacking the right wing of the anti-Qin coalition army, there were countless Qin army soldiers. The soldiers involuntarily turned around to face Xiang Yu, shouting excitedly, "Kill! Kill! Kill the leader of the bandit army directly!"

The shouts of the soldiers of the Qin Army came to Xiang Yu's ears clearly, and Xiang Yu, who rode his horse to the front, also smiled slightly and said, "Kill, you should have a good time!"

(End of this chapter)