Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 412 Can no longer make the right choice
Although they were lucky enough to cross the Rushui River, which was likely to cause huge casualties to Liu Xiang's coalition forces, and got rid of the hot pursuit of the Han army, and stabbed Long Qie of the Han army before leaving, the Liu Xiang coalition forces still Still like a frightened bird, even if he fled to Kunyang, he didn't dare to stop. He just took a rest, and then rushed south to Ye County. , At the same time gather the soldiers and wounded soldiers who fell behind along the way.

However, even so, Liji, Lu Jia and others still did not dare to be completely at ease. In addition to reminding Han Xin to send scouts to closely monitor the movement in the north, Liji also asked Han Xin worriedly: "Can you guarantee our food and grass?" Supply? If not, we'd better plan early and not stay here and starve."

It was Han Xin's turn to verify Xiang Kang's judgment. Fortunately, without blinking his eyelids, Han Xin replied immediately: "Don't worry, no matter what we think of, we will guarantee the supply of grain and grass in Ye County, and we can't do anything else." Any other plan can only be to stick to Ye County and wait for our reinforcements to arrive."

"Why do you have to stick to Ye County?" Liji was even more worried, and said: "Ye County is too far away from Nanjun, and it is difficult for your main force in Nanjun to quickly return to the north to reinforce us, and the main force of the Han bandits must be on the way south. , if the main force of the Han bandits arrives in Ye County first, our army will have to deal with the main force of the Han bandits' southern expedition alone."

"Can't we handle it?" Han Xin asked back, and said: "Before we retreated from Xincheng in a hurry, it was because the Han bandits attacked Xiangcheng and cut off our food supplies. If we don't retreat quickly, we will starve to death. Now that we have withdrawn to Ye County and re-opened the food road, we can rest assured and stick to the dangerous point with all our strength, waiting for our friendly troops to come for reinforcements, what else do we need to worry about?"

"And Ye County can definitely hold it." Han Xin said with great confidence: "You have seen the terrain of Ye County with your own eyes. There are deep mountains and old forests to the west, and lakes and swamps to the east. The thieves are deploying their forces, and only the north is the easiest place to defend, so if we take the initiative to give up such a good and dangerous place, wouldn’t it be a pity?"

"Also, the cities around Ye County have a large population, and it is easy to recruit food, supplies, and civilians. In a few days, we can gather the food and grass from the three surrounding counties of Kunyang, Wuyang, and Ji County to Ye County. It is enough for us to support for a period of time." Han Xin continued: "In addition, the autumn harvest is coming soon, we only need to persist for a while, and when the grain and grass in the hinterland of our Nanyang are harvested, the rear will be able to provide us with an endless supply. For the supply of food and grass, we are completely sure of confronting the main force of the Han bandits for a long time, and we don’t have to worry about running out of food.”

"And more importantly, stick to Ye County and wait for reinforcements. We can wait for reinforcements from the main force of your Western Chu Army sooner!"

Speaking of this, Han Xin still had a smile on his face, and said with a smile: "Since the king of Chu in the west likes decisive battles, as long as he receives news that the main force of the Han thieves has taken the initiative to attack us south, he will definitely raise troops to fight against the Han. The decisive battle of the main force of the thieves, if the main force of the Han thieves is really led by the traitor Xiang Kang himself, then the King of Western Chu will definitely not hesitate, and will definitely send troops south immediately to seek revenge for the traitor Xiang Kang. At that time, we will not only have The hope of turning defeat into victory is still quite high, and it is not impossible to defeat the main force of the Han thieves in one fell swoop on the Ye County battlefield, and capture and kill the traitor Xiang Kang!"

Hearing that Han Xin's eloquence was reasonable, Liji finally nodded and said, "Well, as long as you can raise enough food and grass, and the Han bandits give us time to prepare in Ye County, I will stick to it with you." Ye County, wait for our reinforcements to arrive."

After persuading Liji to lead the Southern Front Corps of the Western Chu Army to help him defend the important area of ​​Ye County with all his strength, Han Xin did not waste time and immediately went to the three cities of Ji County, Wuyang and Kunyang around Wen as the general of the Nanyang Army. Let the county magistrates of the three cities send all the grain, grass, and military supplies that can be collected to Ye County for hoarding. At the same time, use the various equipment provided by Ye County to let the soldiers of the Nanyang Army and the West Chu Army rush to work day and night, build fortifications with all their strength, and do a good job of long-term guards Ye County is ready for battle.

In addition, Han Xin naturally had to go to Wen Liu Laosan, explain the current situation to Liu Laosan, and ask Liu Laosan to immediately lead the main force of the southern line of the Nanyang Army to go northward and come to Ye County to help him, and at the same time decisively stop In order to lure the Han army into the hinterland of Nanyang, the Nanyang army in Xixian County and Danshui was instead asked to fully prevent Li Shang from sending troops from Wuguan, and to adjust the original strategic plan of the Nanyang army in an orderly manner.

The most important thing is of course the main force of the Western Chu Army led by Xiang Yu. In order to ensure that Xiang Yu personally raised troops to help, before he had time to confirm who the coach of the Han Army’s southern expedition was, he wrote to Xiang Yu in the letter asking for help. Han Xin still insisted that he had received accurate information, that Xiang Kang personally led the main force of the Han army in the middle to launch the southern expedition, and urged Xiang Yu to seize the opportunity when the main force of the Han army took the initiative to fight, and personally lead the army to Ye County to fight with the main force of the Han army. In a decisive battle, capture the thief first and capture the king completely reversed the current serious passive strategic situation of the Western Chu Army.

Ye County is indeed worth defending. In addition to the dangerous terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, before this, no matter whether it is the Qin Army or the later Shenyang Army and Nanyang Army, they have all spent a lot of manpower and material resources to build strong land in Ye County. Fortifications, these leftover fortifications can be reused immediately as long as they are slightly repaired, so it took less than three days. A strong camp was stationed separately, completely gaining a firm foothold in Ye County.

There is also something that makes Han Xin gratified. Although he has been recruited in large numbers before, because of the imminent autumn harvest, the officials of the Nanyang Army in Ji County, Wuyang, and Kunyang still sent enough troops to the Liu Xiang coalition army. The grain and grass and many military supplies used for half a month eased the urgent needs of Liu Xiang's coalition forces.In addition, on the side of Xiangcheng, the Han army did not dare to launch a southward pursuit because the main force had not arrived in time. Instead, they chose to divide their forces to capture the surrounding Jiaxian County and Yingyang and other places, and gave Liu Xiang's coalition forces in Yexian County. Deep trenches and high forts and plenty of time to recover.

At this time, the soldiers of the Nanyang Army and the Western Chu Army who were defeated and left behind basically returned to the team. After some inventory, Han Xin and Liji were overjoyed that even though they suffered a lot of losses on the way to retreat, the Southern Front Corps of the Western Chu Army still There are still about 2 troops left, and the Nanyang Army has about [-] troops left. Although the remaining troops are definitely not the opponents of the main force of the Han army, they are definitely used to guard the important land of Ye County. more than enough!
"There is still hope!" This is what Han Xin said in his heart, "Not only is there still a lot of hope, as long as our main force on the southern front can arrive in time, and Xiang Yu's reckless man also personally raises troops to help, we can definitely turn defeat into victory." , completely turned the tide of battle!"

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On the other hand, Liu Laosan also fulfilled Han Xin's wish. Han Xin's messenger traveled all the way south along the Chidao, and it took only five days to deliver Han Xin's letter of pleading for help to Liu Laosan who was still in Jiangling. After reading the letter, although Liu Laosan also yelled at Han Xin for being incompetent and cheating his father, he was so angry that he recruited Xiang Kang, a deadly enemy, for himself in advance, but after calming down, Liu Laosan only thought about it for a while, and immediately gritted his teeth and said: "Send the order, immediately Prepare to go north, and return to Nanyang tomorrow to reinforce our northern army! Also, send an order to Cao Shen to bring our main force from the southern expedition back and go north to reinforce the Ye County battlefield!"

"My lord, what a pity." Xia Houying said with great distress: "The last news I received was that Cao Shen and Lu Wan had already attacked Linxiang City, the prefecture of Changsha County, and there was hope of taking Changsha County. Wouldn't it be a waste of all their previous work if they were transferred back?"

"What can Naiweng do?!" Old San Liu cursed angrily, "The main force of the Han thieves has already gone south, and Han Xin's Shuzi and Liji's bastard were on the way to retreat. Hurry up and go back to help them. How could they hold Ye County for a long time and let the main force of the Han thieves drive straight into the hinterland of Nanyang? Wouldn't we lose our home? Just because Nanjun and Changsha have just been taken down How could we stop the Han thieves from continuing to march south?" (Remind, the level of development in the Yunmengze area was still very low at that time, not only was the population small and the economic foundation was weak, but it was also full of poisonous snakes and miasma. Not the land of fish and rice now.)
"Your Majesty, what about Changsha County?" Fan Kui asked, "There is also Nanjun County. Once our main force leaves, Yingbo will definitely make a comeback. With the help of the rest of his party, I am afraid that Nanjun County, which we have already taken, will not be able to." safe."

"We can only think of a way later." Liu Laosan replied very helplessly, and forced a smile to say: "But fortunately, we still have a chance. If it is really the traitor Xiang Kang who personally raises troops to march south, then Xiang Yu has a bad temper, and he will definitely bring the West Chu Army to find the little traitor Xiang Kang himself. With his help, not only will we never lose, but we will have a great chance to kill the little traitor Xiang Kang directly, and then what will happen? It's all easy to handle."

In this way, due to the sudden huge changes on the northern front, the main force of the Nanyang Army on the southern front had to adjust its strategy urgently, and was forced to give up the fat of Changsha County that had already been eaten, and instead went northward to reinforce Ye County, which Han Xin was determined to stick to. battlefield.During the period, although Liu Laosan ordered all the family members of the chief officials in Nanjun that had been annexed to go north and move to Wancheng, but because the Nanyang Army's foothold in Nanjun was not stable and the people's hearts were not attached, countless hidden dangers immediately appeared.

The chain reaction is not limited to this point. After confirming that the main force of the Nanyang Army has been forced to return to the north, and receiving a letter from Xiang Kang to personally lead the army to the south, the Hengshan King Wu Rui, who was still vacillating, immediately made a decision Determined to order the expulsion of the emissary sent by Liu Laosan to persuade him to surrender, while continuing to claim to maintain neutrality, he quietly marched through the horses, ready to stab Liu Laosan in the back at any time - the reason is also very simple, Yingbu It's Wu Rui's son-in-law, and my son-in-law's land was taken away by Liu Laosan. As long as the father-in-law has the opportunity, of course he has to avenge half of his son.

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What was supposed to come has finally come. When Liu Laosan hurriedly led the army northward for reinforcements, Xiang Kang finally led the [-] troops including the [-] Zhao army, via Xinzheng, Yingyin and Yingyang, etc. He went south to Xiangcheng, and joined forces with the former army led by Long Qie and Zhong Limei. At the same time, he took down Xinzheng and Yingyiner City on the way, and divided [-] troops to the troops who were transferred back from the Hanoi battlefield. Zhu Jishi, a general of the Han army, asked him to attack Yangzhai, where Zhou Chang was retreating, and completely dredged the fast grain road from Gou's to the front line. ——Although the autumn harvest has gradually begun, it is easier to collect grain and grass on the spot, but for the sake of caution, Xiang Kang, who is actually timid in his bones, still has to give priority to ensuring the smooth flow of his grain.

After the meeting, the first question Xiang Kang asked was, of course, is Han Xin still in Ye County?After getting an affirmative answer, he heard that Liu Xiang's coalition forces were desperately digging deep ditches and high fortifications in Ye County, accumulating grass and storing food, and prepared for a long-term defense. Xiang Kang applauded and said triumphantly: "Han Xin, you are really good!" I made the most correct choice! This time, let's see how I beat you to death with my own hands!"

Hearing this, the other Han Xin who happened to be present was of course extremely embarrassed. Long Qi, who had just been put together by Han Xin, was even more disgraced. The ambush caused many deaths and injuries to the soldiers under his command, but Xiang Kang waved his hands generously and said with a pun: "It's okay, it's okay, as long as you are okay, victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs, and that traitor Han Xin is so cunning. It's not surprising to suffer a loss, this king won't take it to heart."

"Thank you for your kindness." Long Qi hurriedly thanked him, and said even more impatiently: "My lord, when will you go south to attack Ye County? I ask you to be the vanguard and go to Han Xin to avenge your hatred."

"No rush." ​​Xiang Kang replied with a smile: "Sharpening a knife is not a mistake to cut firewood. Our main force has just arrived. It's not too late to take a rest before going south. I will also give Liu Ji some time to go north and let him come to the door on his own initiative." Sending them to death will save us the hard work of going south for a decisive battle, which is a waste of time and money.”

Xiang Kang's tone was so arrogant and arrogant, but none of Chen Ping, Zhang Liang, Tang Bing and others present reminded Xiang Kang not to underestimate the enemy. On the contrary, Chen Ping said to Xiang Kang: "My lord, in order to guard against The thieves in the county have run away, so we'd better use our old method, first send envoys to contact Han Xin and Lijipifu in secret, and pretend to design a separation to instigate rebellion, so that Han Xin and Lijipifu think that we are still going to come to the same old way, with the intention of Start from their insides and create combat opportunities. In this way, Han Xin and Liji will basically not run away in a hurry."

"Good idea. Instigating dissension has always been our signature method. If we don't use it, that traitor Han Xin may become suspicious and find out that the situation is not good." Xiang Kang nodded, and then casually ordered: "Mr. I'll leave it to you, and act directly after the arrangement is made, without my consent, anyway, Han Xin will never be fooled, so don't worry that it will backfire."

Chen Ping sang promises with a smile, but Xiang Kang changed his mind, beckoned Chen Ping to his face, and whispered into his ear: "The envoys who want to choose in Yingchuan must not know where we are. People who are interested in the situation, we must prevent the messengers in our main army from leaking the news, and let that traitor Han Xin know our trick to suppress the bottom of the box."

After Chen Ping agreed with a smile, only two days later, in addition to a letter persuading him to surrender was sent to Li Ji, the leader of the Western Chu Army, there was also a letter written by his old boss Feng Zhong to his old subordinate Han Xin, which was also sent to him by a loyal The captured soldiers of the Nanyang Army were taken to Ye County, and because Chen Ping personally confessed that Zhou Bo and others must not know about it, the letter that could indirectly prove that Han Xin and the Han army secretly colluded was also sent by the loyal The old man from Peixian County, Nanyang Army, was directly presented to Zhou Bo, Liu Laosan's best friend.

It's a pity that the Han army's reputation for instigating rebellion and dissension is too bad. Even standing on the cusp of the storm, it can still stand against the wind for ten miles. Therefore, not only was Zhou Bo not fooled, but he immediately sent the letter directly to Han Xin. He puffed his chest to express that he could trust Han Xin, and Han Xin thanked Zhou Bo for his trust first, then said through gritted teeth: "As expected, the country is easy to change, but the nature is hard to change. Xiang Kang, a traitor, is simply endless in instigating separations! Come on, I want to see what new tricks you Xiangkang traitor can play, how can you break through my impregnable Ye County camp!"

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Han Xin insisted on Ye County's choice, and it was indeed too correct. After a while, Han Xin's letter for help was finally sent to Xiang Yu who had withdrawn to the mainland. Not only Xiang Yu was tempted immediately, but even Old Man Fan didn't blink With a blink of an eyelid, he immediately said to Xiang Yu: "My lord, this is a good opportunity to capture the king first. The traitor Xiang Kang personally led the army to march south. Not only did he have no strong camp to defend, but he also had no way to guarantee food, grass and military supplies." , as long as we can rush to the Ye County battlefield before the Nanyang army is attacked by the Han bandits, we will definitely be able to defeat the main force of the Han bandits and directly capture and kill the Xiangkang traitors. We are very sure! Fighting opportunities are rare, please don’t miss them, my lord! !"

"Then why are you still staring blankly?" Xiang Yu immediately shouted: "Send troops immediately, go to Nanyang to find that traitor Xiang Kang and fight to the death!"

"Your Majesty, take the route of Chenjun to enter the army." Old Man Fan quickly suggested: "Although this road is not fast, it is far away from the Han bandits' central army and northern army. You mess up!"

Eager to seize the opportunity to kill his scumbag cousin, Xiang Yu also for the first time did not yell that he is not afraid of how many traitors come. He just nodded vigorously and said with a smirk: "Don't worry, Father Ya, I know the severity. This time, I must catch him." Opportunity, kill that shameless traitor with your own hands!"

This is also what Han Xin is right about. As long as he defends the important area of ​​Ye County, not only can he obtain an endless supply of food and grass supplies, but the main force of the Nanyang Army will return to the division for reinforcements. war situation.But, of course, the premise of the most correct choice must also be based on the fact that Han Xin can hold Ye County and wait for reinforcements...

(End of this chapter)