Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 411 It's Han Xin After All

The disadvantage is that they are fighting away from home without the support of intelligence, materials, and people's strength. Even though the distance is much shorter, the Han Army's Zhongli Mei Division actually arrived in Xiangcheng a day earlier than the Nanyang Army. ——If Xiang Kang hadn’t adopted Zhang Liang’s suggestion during the period and let Han Xin, who is familiar with the road conditions in Yingchuan, lead the way, which would have saved the Han army countless troubles, the Han army might not have won the long-distance marathon race against Han Xin in Nanyang .

Fortunately, the Han army not only won this large-scale extended marathon, but also had good luck. They kept rushing towards Xiangcheng without attacking the city or land. The Han army first took advantage of the Yingchuan area Because the defenders did not have time to react, they successfully seized the ferry bridges of Weishui and Yingshui, directly crossed these two medium and large rivers that were most likely to slow down the speed of the Han army going south, and successfully seized the target Xiangcheng enemy to respond Before that, they rushed to the city of Xiangcheng and completely killed the Nanyang Army and Xiangcheng defenders by surprise.

That’s not to mention, when the Han army suddenly arrived at the city of Xiangcheng, the Han army just caught up with a Nanyang army grain team and arrived at the city of Xiangcheng. Seeing the sudden attack of the Han army, the Nanyang soldiers who were transporting grain into the city ran away in a hurry When they returned to the city, they disturbed the defenders of Xiangcheng, not to mention that they also caused a large number of grain carts to crowd under the west gate of Xiangcheng, so that the defenders of Xiangcheng had no way to close the gate immediately, and took the lead in killing the cavalry of the Han army. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he resolutely dismounted and charged on foot, and successfully seized control of the west gate of Xiangcheng in the chaos. Immediately afterwards, when the Han infantry brigade came, the defenders of Xiangcheng had no hope of regaining the gate.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Tiao, the general of the Nanyang Army who was ordered to guard Xiangcheng, plucked up his courage and led the Xiangcheng defenders to start a street battle with the Han army. Ping Ping's combat effectiveness is also mediocre, but the Han army who is lightly armed and attacking is actually a large number of elites. Not only are they well-equipped with battlefield experience, but they also have eight streets of defenders in Xiangcheng. In the street fighting, Wang Cho was beheaded by the Han army in the streets of the city. The defenders of the city dispersed in a frenzy, some of them put down their weapons and surrendered to the Han army, while the other escaped for their lives through the east gate where there was no enemy. Henan fled.

During this period, of course, there were also some defeated soldiers of the Nanyang Army who wanted to flee westward to Jia County, but Zhima fell into the eye of a needle, because Xiangcheng was the first to break through the west gate, and not only the reserve team of the Han army lined up in the western suburbs of Xiangcheng to capture the city. The cavalry of the Han army who withdrew from the battlefield after the gate was successful were also lined up in the western suburbs of Xiangcheng. The soldiers fled to Jia County to call the police, so that Han Xinlen, who arrived in Jia County that night, did not know that Xiangcheng had actually fallen.

Zhong Limei didn't expect this, never thought that the Nanyang Army would never know that Xiangcheng had fallen, and when he received the scout report from the Nanyang Army that was rushing towards Xiangcheng at full speed, Zhongli thought it was the Nanyang Army After receiving the news that Xiangcheng was in a hurry, they came to reinforce. In order to lure the Nanyang army to come to die by themselves, they had an idea to let the Han army soldiers falsely plant the banner of the Nanyang army on the city, and they successfully lured the Nanyang army to the vicinity of Xiangcheng, winning Gained the advantage of waiting for work at leisure.

By the way, the main reason is that the time is too short and there is no time to make more preparations. The small city of Xiangcheng does not have city defense facilities such as urn city, otherwise Zhongli Mo would really like to lure some Nanyang troops into the city and launch an ambush for the Nanyang troops. An even bigger surprise.But then again, with Han Xin's intelligence and calmness, if he is really allowed to get close to the city, nothing else is needed, just take a look at the empty Xiangcheng pier and the traces left by yesterday's battle, Han Xin will immediately understand the situation No, the Han army can't even think about catching a turtle in a urn.

But this is enough. Seeing the Nanyang Army in Xiangcheng City suddenly disappear and replaced by the red flag of the Han Army, from Han Xin himself to the ordinary soldiers of the Nanyang Army, none of them is like falling into the abyss, like falling from heaven. Falling into hell, the morale of the army suddenly went up, and the morale immediately fell to the bottom. Almost everyone's face was full of disbelief and despair, and screams came and went, "What's going on? Why is it the flag of the traitors? We Where is the garrison of Xiangcheng? Where did our garrison of Xiangcheng go?!"

That's not to mention, amidst the sound of war drums, the west gate of Xiangcheng suddenly opened, and three thousand soldiers of the Han army who had been prepared for a long time suddenly shouted and rushed out, like a tiger descending from the mountain, they rushed towards the unprepared Nanyang army's front army, leading the Nanyang army's front team Although Kong Neng immediately organized an army to fight, but the morale of the Nanyang army had already dropped, and he had just rushed to attack, and had not yet had a rest. He was quickly killed by the Han army, and his defeat was quickly revealed.

Seeing such a scene, Zhou Bo, the fierce general of the Nanyang Army, was of course furious, and immediately asked Han Xin for orders: "General, please let the last general lead the army forward to meet the attack. The last general guarantees that this group of people who dare to go out of the city to make a surprise attack will be killed." Kill the traitors!"

At this time, Han Xin had gradually calmed down. He looked at the Han troops who dared to launch an assault with weak troops, and then looked up at the small town of Xiangcheng, which is not very large. Han Xin quickly made up his mind and said: " You can go, but after you go up, you are only allowed to lose, not to win, just deal with the bandits a little bit, and then immediately retreat!"

"Why?" Zhou Bo asked angrily, "The Han bandits don't have many troops out of the city, so we hope to kill them off?"

"Don't ask too many questions." Han Xin replied blankly, "I'll tell you the reason later. In short, remember, defeat is not allowed to win, and we have to pretend that we are very careless!"

Thinking of Liu Laosan’s orders when he set off on the expedition, Zhou Bo had no choice but to agree, and then immediately led an army forward, pretending to help Kong Neng in the battle, and then, as Han Xin expected, he left the city with high morale Sure enough, he was not afraid, and still maintained a fierce offensive. Zhou Bo took the opportunity to perfunctory with the Han army for a while, and then immediately pretended to be defeated and fled. Han Xin also decisively issued an order to retreat. But only three thousand Han troops were killed.

After fleeing for more than ten miles in one breath, the Han army out of the city was weak and did not know the enemy's situation. They were afraid that there would be an enemy in front of them, so they did not dare to continue chasing. After organizing the team and gathering the scattered soldiers, Zhou Bo rushed to Han Xin and asked, "General, can you speak now? Why did you let us feign defeat and suffer so many losses for nothing?"

"If I didn't let you feign defeat just now, even if you killed the traitors who left the city, are you sure you can take advantage of the situation and take back Xiangcheng?"

Han Xin didn't answer the question, and Zhou Bo had to keep his mouth shut. He had no choice but to admit that he would never be able to do this. Han Xin asked again: "Also, do you still remember that the Xinzheng urgent report we received was [-] Han? The thieves rushed into the hinterland of our Yingchuan, Xiangcheng is a small city, and they have hoarded so much food, grass and military supplies, can all [-] Han thieves enter the city and garrison?"

Zhou Bo gradually understood Han Xin's meaning, soberly said: "General, do you want to show the enemy that we are weak, so that the Han thieves think we are vulnerable, so you can safely divide your troops out of the city and set up a camp?"

"This is also our only chance to regain Xiangcheng." Han Xin replied coldly: "As long as the Han bandits are fooled and send troops out of the city to garrison, then as long as we manage to defeat the enemies outside the city, there is still hope to regain Xiangcheng. But If the Han thieves see our strong military strength, they will definitely grit their teeth and overcome difficulties, insist on stationing all of them in the city, and wait for their follow-up reinforcements, then we will have no hope of taking back Xiangcheng."

Zhou Bo silently nodded, admitted that this was indeed the only hope for the self-armed army to take back Xiangcheng, and asked, "Then what shall we do next?"

"Let's camp here." Han Xin replied, "Let's see what the Han bandits do next, and wait for the Western Chu army to join us. I hope Long Qie doesn't chase here directly, otherwise, we will take back the enemy." The hope of Xiangcheng is completely gone."

After all, the God of War is the God of War, and everything was expected by Han Xin. Seeing that the strength of the Nanyang Army is only so small, and the space in the city is too small, Zhong Limei, who originally wanted to divide his troops out of the city and set up a camp, really has no worries. On the same day, the [-] troops under his command were divided into two, and half of them were set up outside the west gate of Xiangcheng to set up a camp, so as to open up space for the soldiers of the Han army to rest well. , Build a strong camp to prevent the enemy from counterattacking.

This also allowed Zhou Bo and others to regain a little confidence in Han Xin. Jia County also quickly sent some urgently needed supplies and ordnance to the main force of the Nanyang Army, which eased the urgent need of the Nanyang Army. In Xiangcheng, when it was close to noon the next day, the bad news suddenly came to Han Xin-the Longqie troops of the Han army actually gritted their teeth and chased them to the battlefield in Jiaxian County, and defeated the rear of the Western Chu army on the way The army once again weakened the strength of the Western Chu Army.

"The traitors of the Han Dynasty can chase so far!" Han Xin punched the case table, and said bitterly: "It's completely hopeless now, as long as Long Qie and Zhong Limei get together, we will be reconciled." The Western Chu army joined forces, and we are not sure that we can regain our Xiangcheng before the main force of the Han thieves arrives!"

"General, what shall we do next?" Lu Jia also panicked, and said, "If the Han bandits join forces, it will be difficult for us to even retreat. The Han bandits have military provisions and grass from Xiangcheng as supplies, so we must return." They will continue to hunt us down."

Han Xin kept a dark face and didn't speak, but quickly calculated countermeasures, and once considered taking the initiative to return to Jia County, join hands with the Western Chu Army to break through Longqi, and then safely retreat southward and return to a safe zone to regroup. However, considering that the Han Army is not a fool, it must be They will send spies to Jia County to contact the Longqie army. The lightly armed Longqie army will see that Zhongli Mo has succeeded in attacking Xiangcheng. They will definitely come to Xiangcheng first to supply food, grass and military supplies. They will not risk a decisive battle with the Liu Xiang coalition army that has already joined forces. , and there are mountains in the south of Jia County blocking the road, it is difficult to retreat and it is easy to waste time, Han Xin dismissed this idea again.

"Send someone to contact the Western Chu Army and ask them to come and join us." Han Xin ordered casually, and then said: "Also, immediately build a pontoon bridge on the Rushui River and prepare to retreat south."

"General, let the Western Chu army come over to join us, and Long Qiefu will definitely come after us." Lu Jia reminded: "When we see us crossing the south and the Han bandits take the opportunity to launch an assault, we may not want to suffer heavy losses. It's all difficult."

"You'll know when the time comes, just do it." Han Xin has the same bad habit as the legendary Zhuge Liang, that is, he doesn't like to explain his intentions to his subordinates in advance. Lu Jia and the others have nothing to do about it. It is following orders.

Facts have proved that there is no need for Han Xin to send someone to ask the Western Chu Army to come in from the west to join his own army. In the afternoon, when the Nanyang Army was still urgently building a pontoon bridge, the Western Chu Army was already leaning against the rear of the Nanyang Army Xi Juan, in a panic They withdrew to twenty miles west of Xiangcheng, where they joined forces with the main force of the Nanyang Army led by Han Xin.Then as expected, not long after, the Han army's troops quickly followed and chased them nearby, like hungry wolves that smelled blood.

Not to mention, because the Han army had indeed rushed to Xiangcheng and succeeded, after meeting Han Xin, Liji not only did not dare to blame Han Xin for not waiting for him in Jia County for breaking his promise, but instead yelled at Han Xin as soon as they met. "General Han, why haven't you built your pontoon bridge yet? Xiangcheng has been lost, we have no food, no aid, and a serious shortage of supplies and armaments. If you don't hurry to the south, what are you doing here?"

"Soon, our pontoon bridge will definitely be built before dark." Han Xin replied calmly, "However, we have to discuss carefully how to cross the south and retreat, how to get rid of the possible pursuit of the Han thieves."

After saying that, Han Xin approached Liji and told Liji his plan in a low voice. Liji was startled when he heard it, but after listening to Han Xin's careful analysis of the pros and cons, Liji was still serious. He nodded emphatically, gritted his teeth and replied, "Just do it like this!"

…………

On Longqie's side, after leading the army to chase to the vicinity, in fact, with a little more effort, Longqie's troops could go east to the city of Xiangcheng and join forces with the Han army Zhonglimei's troops, but there was no way. Seeing Nanyang After the army was already building a pontoon bridge and preparing to cross the south and retreat, Long Qie felt greedy for merit and decided decisively: "Sleep on the spot! The bandit army is already building a pontoon bridge. They must retreat as soon as the bridge is built. Xiangcheng It's too far from here, if we get to Xiangcheng, we won't be able to attack the bandits halfway!"

After all, in addition to letting the Han soldiers sleep in the open, Long Qi sent scouts to closely monitor the movement of Liu Xiang's coalition camp, and was ready to send troops to attack as soon as Liu Xiang's coalition started to cross the river, and hurriedly retreated south. Liu Xiang's allied forces killed a happy one, and it also relieved the resistance for the Han army to go straight to Wancheng.During this period, Zhong Limei sent a fast horse to get in touch with Longqie, asking Longqie to withdraw to Xiangcheng to rest at ease, and also brought Xiang Kang's message to ask Longqie to be careful of Han Xin, but Longqie flatly refused - so good How could Uncle Long be willing to miss an opportunity to do meritorious service?
Everything was expected by the dragon. First, in the evening, the Nanyang Army built eight wide pontoon bridges on the Rushui River with the ordnance ferry urgently sent by Jiaxian County. It was said that Liu Xiang's allied forces had started to cross the river overnight. Long Qi was overjoyed when he heard the news, and immediately led the troops under his command who had been seriously behind to make a massive attack, and rushed aggressively towards the temporary ferry crossing of Liu Xiang's allied forces.

The assault went much smoother than Long Qie had expected. As soon as they arrived near the temporary ferry, the Nanyang army that was lining up to cross the river broke up and fled to a deserted place on the north bank. The formation and organization of the enemies on the south bank who were already running for their lives in a panic also became chaotic.As a result, at this moment, with the sudden sound of the fierce drums, the east and north sides of the ferry broke out together. The Nanyang Army and the West Chu Army rushed out separately, and joined forces to kill the Han Army Long Qie who had already messed up his organization. department.

There was not much suspense in the battle. The Longqie army chased and killed all the way from Xincheng, and their physical strength had already been severely reduced, and their combat effectiveness was greatly reduced. Although the Western Chu army was also exhausted, the main force of the Nanyang army under Han Xin's command had already gained After resting for more than a day, his physical strength recovered quite a lot. In addition, the Han army was suddenly flustered and was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of military strength. Forced to retreat to the east, the losses were not small.

During this period, the Han Army Zhongli Mei's Department stationed inside and outside Xiangcheng also discovered the change in the west, but before Zhongli Mei's Department took any action, an unknown number of enemies suddenly came. The Han army camp stationed outside the city shouted and fired arrows, charging and killing. In the dark night, the enemy's situation was unknown, and he shouldered the heavy responsibility of defending Xiangcheng's food and grass. The whole army was defeated by Liu Xiang's coalition forces, and fled for more than ten miles in embarrassment.

Immediately afterwards, taking advantage of the opportunity of the dragon and the hungry wolf being killed, Liu Xiang's coalition forces of course hurriedly initiated the crossing of the river, successfully robbing them all before the Han army made a new reaction. The lost Rushui Dahe retreated southward with light clothes, and then waited for the dragon to gather the defeated army. By the time Zhong Limo realized that the enemy outside the city was just an empty army, it was too late. The army has also missed the best time to hunt down.

"If what happened last night was really the trick of that bastard Han Xin, when he is caught, I will definitely skin him!"

This was the first sentence that Long Qie and Zhong Limo said when they met, Zhong Limo smiled wryly, pointed to Han Xin who was standing beside him and said: "Brother Long, next time you curse someone, you must remember to explain that it is that Han Xin." , don’t forget, there is also a Han Xin in our army.”

Embarrassed, he waved to Han Xin and pleaded guilty, and then Long Qie hurriedly said to Zhong Limei: "Brother Zhongli, quickly prepare the military supplies for me, and when my army has a rest, I will lead the troops to chase immediately I want to avenge last night."

"Don't worry." Zhong Limo shook his head and said, "First, the total strength of the Nanyang bandit army and the Xichu bandit army is higher than yours. As long as they get the supply of military supplies and take a short rest to recover their strength, you will not be sure. Having won them, it would be too risky to continue chasing them."

"Secondly, Your Majesty has explained to me before." Zhong Limei continued: "If we can't stop the Nanyang bandit army and the West Chu bandit army in Xiangcheng, we don't have to take the risk of chasing them, and we must give priority to keeping Xiangcheng's troops. Food and grass, to reduce our logistical burden, and to wipe out the hidden dangers of the remaining enemies around us and in the hinterland of Yingchuan, and also create opportunities for us to fight in the next step."

"What fighter will create the next step for us?" Long Qie asked curiously.

"Decisive battle in Ye County!" Zhong Limei replied very concisely, and said: "Your Majesty concluded that if Han Xin's dog thief can escape, he will definitely stop in Ye County. Deep ditches and high barriers will prevent us from going south to the hinterland of Nanyang. If we do this, our next battle will be easy.”

"General Zhongli." Han Xin next to him cautiously reminded: "Next time you scold that idiot, please remember to scold Han Xin of the Nanyang Bandit Army."

(End of this chapter)