Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 362

"Useless! Stupid as a guinea pig! Is it possible for you to be a sack? If you can't hold the camp and get attacked by the Han bandits, you can't hold it for even a moment, but in a short time, you lost the entire camp, and it made us all tired." The soldiers of Chu also suffered heavy casualties! With such incompetence, how much face do you still have to live between the heavens and the earth? Why don’t you kill yourself quickly and apologize to the soldiers of Western Chu and Jibei who were imprisoned by you?”

Not having the guts to go mad at Xiang Guan, Xiang Yu's cousin who had also suffered a defeat, Zhou Yin could only pick the persimmons and pour all his anger on poor General Tian Xin, and beat Tian Xin to death in front of everyone. The scolding was bloody, the sky was dark, and all the responsibility for yesterday's fiasco was shifted to Tian Xin.

People in this era have always valued dignity, and they have always regretted their cowardly behavior of leaving the army to escape alone last night. Under the guilt, Tian Xin, who lacked a thick skin, yelled and really drew his sword will kill himself.Fortunately, Xiang Sui and others hurriedly stopped him, and Xiang Sui snatched his sword and shouted: "You can kill yourself? You are a man, and you want to get back your face on the battlefield! Don't dare to go Killing a thief, only dare to kill yourself, what kind of hero is he?!"

Shouting to Tian Xin, Xiang Sui turned back and complained to Zhou Yin: "Da Sima, victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs. General Tian made a mistake last night, but our loss did not reach an unacceptable level. Can't he be given a chance to take the crime and make meritorious deeds and kill the enemy for revenge? Why do you have to force him like this?"

He is also Xiang Yu's cousin, and standing behind him is Master Xiang Bo, who is notorious for making trouble. Of course, Zhou Yin didn't dare to offend Xiang Sui, so he could only change his words and said, "Okay, Tian General, I just said a few angry words, do I really need to draw my sword and kill myself? Well, it’s my commander who said something serious, don’t take it to heart, this is the end of the matter.”

After reassuring Tian Xin casually, Zhou Yin quickly changed the subject, and asked Xiang Guan who was standing beside him with his head bowed: "General Xiang Guan, have our losses been counted? How many troops were lost last night?"

"The infantry exceeded [-], and the cavalry approached [-]. In addition, three thousand generals were killed."

Xiang Guan's shameful answer made Zhou Yin frowned again, but he still didn't open his mouth to criticize Xiang Guan. Xiang Sui also frowned a little, then turned to Tian Xin and asked, "General Tian, ​​how are you doing?"

"It hasn't been counted yet, but it is conservatively estimated that the loss of soldiers is close to tens of thousands." Tian Xin replied even more guiltily: "In addition, most of the supplies, military supplies, and food were burned."

Xiang Sui sighed, forced a smile and said: "It's okay, the overall loss is not too big, it won't have a big impact on us, and the supplies and military supplies are not a problem. When we withdraw to Julu, Zhao Guo will definitely take care of it." Give us supplies."

"Big Sima, return to the teacher to take revenge! Please be the vanguard!" Xiang Guan gritted his teeth, begged Zhou Yin for orders, and said, "The main force of the Han thieves has followed us to the south. Take this opportunity to take the initiative to look back for the Han thieves." Let the army fight decisively, capture and kill Zhou Shupifu, and avenge the fallen soldiers of us and the Jibei Army!"

Zhou Yin shook his head and said: "Brother Xiang Guan, I understand your eagerness to take revenge, but there is no way, Uncle Zhou is treacherous and cowardly. When he sees us returning to the teacher and going north, he will definitely turn around and go north immediately." Let's go, we will definitely not fight us easily."

"Brother, don't be in a hurry." Xiang Sui also said: "You know Uncle Zhou's temper. He is very similar to our rebel brother in terms of military use. He will not easily fight with others. But don't worry, I bet that when we retreat to the Bairen area, Uncle Zhou will definitely go south at a faster speed and get closer to entangle us, and then we will have the hope of fighting him head-on."

"Bairen area?" Xiang Guan just recalled it for a while, and immediately came to his senses, and said, "Brother, do you think Zhou Shupifu will take advantage of the opportunity we have to cross the river to launch an attack?"

"That's also his usual method." Xiang Sui replied: "When he was in Jingxing, he took advantage of the opportunity of Zhao's army to cross the Mianmanshui and attacked halfway, defeating Zhao's army. We must go south to Julu. To cross the Sishui, he will never miss this opportunity. As long as we seize the opportunity he wants to opportunistically in the Sishui battlefield, we will adapt to the situation, and it will not be difficult to defeat the enemy."

"Brother Xiang Sui is right." Zhou Yin praised: "With Uncle Zhou's treacherous character, he will definitely not miss the opportunity to attack halfway across the Si River, as long as he does not hide in the turtle shell and cannot come out, or If he ran away when he saw us dispatching troops like a rabbit, and took the initiative to attack us, we would have plenty of opportunities to destroy him!"

Xiang Guan thought about it carefully and found out that it was true, so he withdrew his suggestion that Zhou Yin take the initiative to return to the division for a decisive battle. Xiang Sui then said: "Grand Sima, the Jinbei Army was defeated last night, which hurt the morale of the army and lost a lot of military supplies. It is no longer suitable to continue to be the rear for the baggage, so let the last general lead the army to be the rear."

Knowing that Xiang Sui was a stable man and acted calmly, Zhou Yin of course agreed to Xiang Sui's initiative to ask for a job. At that moment, the Chuji coalition forces quickly adjusted the order of retreating south, allowing the Jinbei army, which had already weakened their vitality, to go to the front and open the way to the west. The main force of the Chu army walked in the middle, and Xiang Sui led [-] elite soldiers to the rear of the whole army, and the three groups of soldiers and horses marched south together.The same is true for the Uncle Zhou Corps of the Han Army. They had just received the scout report from the Chu-Ji Allied Forces going south, and immediately set off south, keeping a certain distance from the enemy and heading south slowly.

After that, there was no more serious battle. The two warring parties just exchanged scouts to closely monitor each other's movements, and they lived peacefully for the time being.But in the afternoon of the next day, Zhao Jun, who was guarding Bairenyi in the south, suddenly sent someone to contact the Western Chu army, saying that Uncle Zhou sent envoys to take a small road and rushed to Bairenyi in vain, trying to exchange gold, jade, jewelry and high-ranking officials. They bribed the defenders of Borenyi to defect, burned all the bridges and ships on the Sishui River, and cut off the southward route of the Western Chu army. Fortunately, the defenders of Borenyi were very loyal, not only refused, but also took the initiative to report this important matter to Zhou Yin. Condition.

"Shameless traitor, you really are trying to get rid of the water!"

After cursing, Zhou Yin was not in a hurry, and after careful consideration, he decided to order the Jibei Army to speed up and rush to the Sishui Ferry to build a pontoon bridge, and set up a position to protect the ferry, pretending that he wanted to cross the Sishui as soon as possible and head south In order to lure the Han army to speed up their pursuit and actively narrow the distance with their own army.

As expected, the Han army was fooled. In the morning of the next day, Xiang Sui from the rear of the palace sent someone to send the news, saying that the front army of the Han army had taken the initiative to close the distance between them and the rear of the Western Chu army to about ten miles. At the same time, the main force of the Han army also increased their speed significantly, narrowing the distance to about [-] miles. Zhou Yin was secretly happy when he heard the news, knowing that Uncle Zhou had made up his mind not to miss the opportunity to strike at halfway, and the decisive battle opportunity he had dreamed of was already within reach.

On the afternoon of that day, the main force of the Western Chu Army retreated to the north bank of the Sishui River first, and joined forces with the Jibei Army who had rushed here to rush to build a pontoon bridge. The army also arrived at Sishui Ferry smoothly, and at the same time, the scouts also sent an urgent report, saying that the former army and the main force of the Han army rushed to the fifteen miles north of Sishui Ferry, stopped there, and immediately set up camp. , Putting on the posture of staying there for a period of time.

After confirming this point, Zhou Yin not only told the Western Chu Army to hurry up and continue to build the camp, but also hastily summoned the generals of the Western Chu Army to discuss the next step.As a result, Xiang Sui suggested: "Da Sima, it is best to arrange this way. Our army will rest for a while, and after we are ready for the decisive battle, let the Jinbei army first cross the river and go down the river to lure the Han thieves to send troops to prepare for an assault. Then our main force will take the opportunity to send troops. Go north and fight to the death with the traitors!"

"It is a way, but let's not underestimate Uncle Zhou." Zhou Yin said: "With his treachery, unless it is confirmed that our main force also initiates crossing the river, I am afraid that we will not leave the camp easily. Going north, he will definitely only defend and not fight, making it difficult for us to take his camp."

"Then how does Da Sima plan to defeat the enemy?" Xiang Sui asked.

Zhou Yin smiled ferociously, and said, "Don't uncle Zhou like surprise attacks at night? It's time for him to taste what it's like to be attacked by others. He just arrived with his army, and the camp is not yet stable. Tonight we dispatched the elite , sneak attack on his camp, and kill him by surprise!"

"Brilliant plan!" Xiang Guan applauded next to him, and said impatiently: "Uncle Zhou saw us setting up camp at the ferry, so he must have thought that we were going to prepare the soldiers accordingly before crossing the river or launching a decisive battle. We have just retreated to Sishui Ferry, and immediately sent troops to attack their camp, and to rob the camp tonight, we will definitely win a big victory!"

"That's why I asked the soldiers to hurry up and set up the camp." Zhou Yin said with a smile, "If you don't set up some false appearances to deceive Uncle Zhou, how can he be easily fooled?"

Xiang Guan applauded again, praising Zhou Yin's ingenious plan, Xiang Sui still hesitated for a while before saying: "If Da Sima insists on sending troops to rob the camp, then the general will not object, but for the sake of prudence, we must divide the army into two teams. , one team went forward to rob the camp, and the other team responded outside the camp, so that nothing would go wrong."

"Of course." Zhou Yin said with a sneer: "Tonight, General Xiang Guan, you lead the army in the front and are responsible for raiding the camp of the Han bandits. Brother Xiang Sui, you have a stable personality and are responsible for leading the rear army to respond outside the camp. We are waiting for your good news in the camp."

Seeing that Zhou Yin's arrangement was in order, Xiang Sui didn't say anything more, and Zhou Yin immediately dispatched troops, let Xiang Guan lead [-] strong soldiers to attack the Han camp, and let Xiang Sui lead [-] main troops to respond later. He seized the time to prepare enough things for the night battle, dispatched troops at the third quarter of the first shift, and sneaked towards the Han army camp fifteen miles to the north one after the other.

In order to hide their whereabouts, Xiang Guan's troops sneaked northward, and did not touch the gate of the Han army camp until it was close to the third watch. After a little preparation, it was confirmed that the rear army led by Xiang Sui had also arrived at the predetermined battlefield. Xiang Guan Immediately, with a big wave of his hand, the commando, all composed of elite soldiers, stepped forward, trying to sneak open the gate of the Han army camp, and directly entered the Han army camp protected only by a thin fence.

The door-stealing operation went even smoother than Xiang Guan had expected, because almost all the guards at the camp gate of the Han army were asleep. The soldiers sounded the gong to issue a warning. Seeing the rare opportunity, Xiang Guan decisively issued an order for a general attack. He personally led the [-] elite troops of the Western Chu Army to launch an assault, shouting like a tidal wave, rushing towards the wide-open gate of the Han army camp.

After rushing into the Han army camp almost unstoppably, Xiang Guan originally wanted to directly attack the Han army's Chinese army camp, but he hadn't been able to touch the serial car barrier in the Han army's middle army camp, and followed Xiang Kang to fight a lot of night raids. Xiang Guan, who was fighting, realized that something was wrong—although there were gongs and alarms everywhere in the Han army camp, the front camp of the Han army was empty, and almost no Han soldiers rushed out of the camp!

"Not good! It may have been tricked!"

When Xiang Guan came to this conclusion, it was already too late. Accompanied by the loud explosion of several primitive grenades, the left and right battalions of the Han army suddenly exploded with torches. Hurriedly leading the army to turn around and run out, the Western Chu army also immediately appeared in chaos in the night, and was quickly overwhelmed by the soldiers of the Han army who came to the left and right, and could only flee to the camp gate in a mess.

At the same time, seeing the torches in the left and right battalions of the Han army, Xiang Sui immediately understood the trick, and quickly ordered the soldiers to light the torches and line up to meet Xiang Guan's army. The sound of the original grenade explosion gradually receding, Xiang Sui was startled and looked back, the two places outside the gate of the Han army camp, there was suddenly a loud noise of killing, each with an unknown number of Han troops coming, Xiang Sui wailed loudly , can only urge the army to fight left and right.

After all, it is the elite main force of the Western Chu Army. In a hurry, even though the entire army was quite panicked and anxious, relying on the individual quality of the soldiers and their superior equipment, Xiang Sui's army was still able to hold off the ambush of the Han army for the time being. The ambushes of the Han army rushed straight to the chaos. At the same time, the former army of the Western Chu army was defeated and escaped from the camp. Xiang Sui's army fought and walked together. Although they were at a disadvantage, they did not break up quickly.

It's a pity that Xiang Sui and Xiang Guan were only able to take one step. Gritting their teeth and retreating for five or six miles to the south, something that surprised the West Chu army happened—the West Chu army camp in the south , It turned out to be dazzled by torches, and the flames were soaring into the sky, it was obvious that they had been attacked by the enemy.Xiang Sui, Xiang Guan and others were worried about the safety of the camp, so they could only urge the army to retreat at a faster speed.

This reminder is over. The army was already quite flustered, and when they saw the camp being attacked, they accelerated their speed and went south. The formation of the Western Chu army quickly became chaotic. There were signs of disintegration, and many soldiers began to flee alone to the deserted black ground, which caused a chain reaction, leading to more confusion and fear in the army, and more soldiers fleeing.

Seeing the opportunity, Chong Da, who led the army in pursuit, roared repeatedly, ordered his own soldiers to step forward one after another, and threw many primitive grenades one after another at the crowded place where the defeated soldiers of the Western Chu Army gathered. The crowd of the Western Chu Army became more chaotic, and the Chong Da Army Taking the opportunity to rush straight into the crowd of the Western Chu army, the rear of the Western Chu army was defeated, and the Han soldiers on both sides also took the opportunity to charge up, almost cutting off the Western Chu army in the middle. Xiang Sui was even more unwilling to fight, leading the front army just to flee , Xiang Guan also roared and led the cavalry to escape from the crowd again, and rushed to the south on horseback. The rear of the Western Chu Army finally collapsed completely.

It was only after he fled to the vicinity of the camp of his own army that Xiang Sui realized that his army had been fooled by the Han army. It was true that the camp of the Western Chu army was full of torches, but no single Han army entered the camp of the Western Chu army. However, there were only a small number of cavalry of the Han army wandering around outside the Western Chu army camp to disturb them. When they saw the defeated troops of the Western Chu army fleeing back, they immediately dispersed and fled without a trace. Xiang Sui cursed, but There was no other way but to quickly lead the defeated soldiers into the camp to hide.The pursuers of the Han army chased them all the way to the gate of the camp of the Western Chu army, and then retreated voluntarily.

In this battle, the loss of the Western Chu army in terms of strength was indeed not very great. They only lost a total of just over [-] soldiers. Those who lost the army were all well-equipped and elite soldiers in their prime of life. They were the core backbone of the Northern Front Corps of the Western Chu Army. Zhou Yin would rather sacrifice tens of thousands of second-line troops than lose these three thousand soldiers.So after counting the losses, Zhou Yin immediately yelled with a livid face, "Don't play with the Han thieves to raid the camp! Take a day off and send troops tomorrow to fight the Han thieves to the death!"

At the same time, in the Han army camp, Uncle Zhou also gave instructions to the generals such as Chong Da and Yang Xi who participated in the battle last night: "Go back and rest, let our soldiers who participated in the battle last night have a good rest, and hurry up to recover their physical strength. If there is no accident, we have eaten." The bandits from Western Chu who have suffered two major losses will definitely jump over the wall tomorrow and send troops to fight us to the death, let our soldiers be ready to win tomorrow's decisive battle."

"Decisive battle?" Chong Da was stunned, and quickly asked: "General, you don't plan to attack the Western Chu bandit army halfway?"

"The Western Chu bandits are not fools. Our main force is close at hand. Unless we are fools, we will cross the river and go down the river. Let us eat them one by one." Uncle Zhou smiled and said, "The reason why I chose to be in Bairen The reason for the decisive battle here is that the Western Chu bandit army has no way to retreat on this battlefield, so they can only take the initiative to fight, and they are determined to fight us to the end, so that we can wait for work at leisure, avoid extra problems, and don't have to worry about the danger of the long food road. I never expected to win by hitting halfway."

"That's the best!" Chongda changed his words without hesitation, and said, "Anyway, we don't need to be afraid of the Western Chu bandits. If we fight them to the death with dignity, we are still sure to win a big victory!"

"Dignified and upright?" Uncle Zhou laughed outright, and his smile was extremely deceitful.

(End of this chapter)