Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 500
As introduced by Xiang Guan and others, after being rescued from the prison by smashing the prison car by his brother Xiang Xiang, he just heard that the main force of the Western Chu Army is doomed. It was only confirmed that Liu Laosan had led the defeated soldiers to bypass the Western Chu Army camp and flee southward for his life. Xiang Zhuang, who had hated Liu Laosan for a long time, disregarded the good intentions of his cousins ​​to dissuade him, and immediately led the army. A dozen of his own soldiers who had followed him for many years galloped out of the camp to pursue Liu Laosan's defeated soldiers. sound revenge.

On this point, it’s really not that Xiang Zhuang wronged Liu Laosan. Assuming that Liu Laosan hadn’t deliberately slandered and framed the defenders of Hangu Pass who had changed the banner of the Han army, and insisted on provoking the conflict between Chu and Han for his own selfishness, the Western Chu army There was indeed no justifiable excuse to launch an all-out war with the Han army. Xiang Sui and Xiang Sheng, who had made great contributions to the Young Marshal's army, did not need to die innocently at the hands of the Han army soldiers under Xiang Kang's command.So going back to the source, Liu Laosan is indeed the inescapable culprit of the Xiang family brothers' fratricide.

Of course, Xiang Zhuang's actions were extremely impulsive and reckless. He completely forgot that Liu Laosan still had some soldiers of the Western Chu Army who obeyed his orders, and a considerable part of them were old confidantes brought back by Liu Laosan from Nanyang. , and it is absolutely impossible to help Xiang Zhuang deal with Liu Laosan's people. Even if Liu Laosan's troops are already in a panic like a frightened bird, and the soldiers' physical strength is seriously reduced, if they really fight, they can still easily kill Xiang Zhuang and his men. More than a dozen soldiers.

Unfortunately, being completely dazzled by hatred, Xiang Zhuang still did this. After leading more than a dozen personal soldiers out of the camp, Xiang Zhuang and his party galloped to the south at full speed, where dead bodies, flags and The seriously wounded man was looking for Liu Laosan's flag on his way south. With red eyes, he just wanted to cut off Liu Laosan's head with his own hands, completely forgetting the great danger of doing so, and forgetting that he was still wearing the military uniform of the Western Chu Army. At any time, it is possible to be mistakenly killed by the soldiers of the Han army who are chasing and killing the defeated soldiers of the Western Chu army as enemies.

Fortunately, luck temporarily stood on Xiangzhuang's side, and the Han army cavalry who chased and killed Liu Laosan and Ding Gu, the two defeated Western Chu army, had rushed to the front first, and the Han army brigade behind them had just followed Dongfang Mi's The defeated soldiers rushed into the camp of the Western Chu Army, and before they had time to launch a full-scale pursuit, there was a huge vacuum of troops between the Han army's cavalry and chasing soldiers. Xiang Zhuang and his dozen or so soldiers were exactly in this area In a relatively safe vacuum area.

This objective factor provided great convenience for Xiang Zhuang and others to pursue Liu Laosan. While galloping fast, Xiang Zhuang and his party only encountered some sporadic cavalry left behind by the Han army. More, the straggling cavalry of the Han army in twos and threes took the initiative to dodge, not daring to go forward to die. As for the other straggling soldiers of the Western Chu army, they ran to Xiang Zhuang one after another when they saw Xiang Zhuang and others coming from behind. Asking to return to the army, Xiang Zhuang didn't bother to pay attention to them at all. He just asked Liu Laosan's escape direction and ordered these stragglers to surrender to the Han army soldiers, and then continued to chase after them, and soon crossed the west bank of Surabaya. A small town in Liu County.

When he was about to arrive at Shilipu in the south of Liuxian County, seeing that it was getting late, Ma Shao, the captain of Xiangzhuang's personal army, had the courage to shout to stop. After Xiangzhuang temporarily reined in his horse in doubt, Ma Shao said cautiously: "General , Don’t chase after me? The battlefield is too chaotic, and we are still wearing Western Chu military uniforms. If we encounter a large army of the King of Han, it’s okay to be able to explain clearly immediately. Don’t we die too unjustly for rushing up and killing them indiscriminately.”

"Also." Ma Shao quickly added: "The cavalry of the King of Han rushed forward. If they can catch up to Liu Jipifu, it will be useless for us to follow. You still didn't kill Liu Jipifu yourself, General. hope, if they can't catch up, we are so late to start, of course it is even more impossible to catch up."

Unlike the irritable Xiang Yu, Xiang Zhuang, who has a stable personality, is a person who can listen to advice, no matter how impulsive he is, he can still keep a little calm, and he has already been driving for more than 30 miles, and was dazzled by anger Xiang Zhuang's head also gradually cooled down, so after listening to Ma Shao's persuasion, he looked at the military uniform of the Western Chu Army on his body. Xiang Zhuang hesitated for a moment, then nodded, and said: "That's the reason, whatever. , Listen, rest, prepare a white flag in advance, when the army of the king of Han comes, immediately raise the flag and surrender, and explain our identity to them."

Xiang Zhuang's more than a dozen soldiers were overjoyed when they heard that, and quickly followed Xiang Zhuang to dismount and rest on the spot, waiting for the Han army's pursuers to come up to join them, and because the troops were thirsty, Xiang Zhuang also agreed to the request of the soldiers, Together with them, they led the horses to the Sishui River in the far west to let the horses drink water, and took the water to gulp down.

The bad thing is this. After gulping water for a while, he washed his face with water. Xiang Zhuang was about to go back to the shore to rest and wait. He never wanted to look up at the scene on the other side of Surabaya not far , but it made Xiang Zhuang's heart suddenly moved - on the beach at that location, there were many messy footprints and hoofprints. It seemed that a group of people were crossing the river there and directly crossed Surabaya.

After a bit of calculation, Xiang Zhuang arranged for a soldier who knew water to try to cross the river there, and as Xiang Zhuang expected, the Surabaya at that location was really not deep, and the soldiers of ordinary stature walked across the river. Even in the middle of the river, the river water just flooded to the chest.Seeing this scene, Xiang Zhuang immediately had a thought in his heart, and said to himself: "That bastard Liu Ji, did he cross Surabaya here?"

After this idea was born, a past event that happened a few days ago suddenly jumped into Xiang Zhuang's mind-it happened the next morning after the main force of the Western Chu Army retreated from Huling. After coming down to rest on the spot, the main civil and military personnel of the Western Chu Army gathered around Xiang Yu. Xiang Yu casually asked where he was, and Liu Laosan not only answered clearly immediately, but also knew the surrounding terrain like the palm of his hand. (See Chapter 490 II above.)
"It's very likely this guy!" Xiang Zhuang came to a conclusion and said secretly: "This location is far away from the main road, and it is almost impossible for our defeated soldiers to flee here in groups, and even if someone comes here, they may not dare to try. Directly cross the river. Those who can lead this group of people to cross the river must be people who are very familiar with the terrain and hydrology of this area. Liu Ji has been a pavilion chief in this area for more than ten years. There are many locals in Pei County, they are the most suspect!"

Thinking about this, he made some calculations, and when Xiang Zhuang hurriedly asked if his soldiers had any dry food, Ma Shao immediately took out a bag of dried rice. Xiang Zhuang was overjoyed, and hurriedly ordered: " Gather up the dry food, eat sparingly, cross the river, and continue chasing south."

"General, why are you chasing him again?" Ma Shao asked with a wry smile.

"I have a hunch that if we don't chase, I'm afraid there will be no hope of catching up with that idiot Liu Ji." Xiang Zhuang replied: "With that idiot's treachery, if he escapes to Pengcheng by chance, he may not even be able to catch up with the city." He will go in, take a short break to replenish some food and grass, and he will definitely continue to run south immediately, and then neither we nor the army of the King of Han will have any hope of catching up with him."

"But general, Liu Ji may not be on the west bank of Surabaya?" Ma Shao said hastily.

"It doesn't matter." Xiang Zhuang replied: "If he is really not on the west bank of Surabaya, we will go directly to Pengcheng, find Xiang Xian and Xiang Dian in Pengcheng, and ask them to help us find Liu Ji. Xiang Xian and Xiang Dian have always listened to me. If so, they will not refuse my request."

Seeing Xiang Zhuang's insistence, Ma Shao and other soldiers did not dare to disobey, so they hurriedly followed Xiang Zhuang with their horses, crossed Surabaya, and then traveled westward for a certain distance, turning into the road from Liu County to Pengcheng. Continue to pursue south. ——This is why the Han army never found Xiang Zhuang and others on the east bank of Surabaya.

But it is still a pity that after crossing Surabaya, they followed the west bank road until it was completely dark. Although Xiang Zhuang and others found a village of pavilions and houses that had been looted by the rebels during the period, none of the people who were crying in the village Knowing which general of the Western Chu Army led the defeated soldiers to rob them of all their food, at the same time Xiang Zhuang and others never caught up with the group of defeated soldiers and had to stop and sleep in the open on the way.

Of course, Xiang Zhuang refused to give up. In order to fight for the last slim hope, and to return to Pengcheng as soon as possible to organize the defenders to search for Liu Laosan, the sky just dawned the next day, and Xiang Zhuang and his party hurriedly got up and continued southward, as fast as possible. Hurry to the south, planning to rush back to Pengcheng before sunset even if he can't catch up with Liu Laosan.

Maybe it’s hard work that pays off, riding a horse all the way south, when it was close to noon, a group of defeated soldiers from the Western Chu Army suddenly appeared in front of the road. The army, Ma Shao and other Xiangzhuang soldiers were overjoyed when they saw it, and immediately shouted loudly, "Wait a minute! Wait a moment! We are..."

"Shut up!" At the critical moment, Xiang Zhuang suddenly calmed down and shouted: "Shut up! Don't report my name!"

"General, why?" Ma Shao asked in surprise.

"If Liu Jipifu's army is in front, and my name is reported, we will be in danger." Xiang Zhuang said with an extremely serious expression, "Yesterday morning, in front of Liu Jipifu, I once persuaded the king I asked the king of Han for peace, and the king put me in the prison car in front of him. So if Liu Jipifu’s team is really in front, and he heard that it was me, he will definitely know that the situation is not good. The people who are watching him attack us, with our little people, it is not enough to put a gap between his teeth."

Thinking that this was indeed the case, Ma Shao and the other soldiers hurriedly shut their mouths, but it was a bit late, the Western Chu army in front had not only spotted Xiang Zhuang and the others, but also sent a cavalry soldier to take the initiative. Welcome, obviously intending to ask Xiang Zhuang and others about their identities.Seeing his panic, Ma Shao hurriedly said to Xiang Zhuang, "General, we have been discovered, what should we do?"

In a hurry, Xiang Zhuang, who has always been bad at stratagems, made quick calculations, and suddenly came up with a way, and hurriedly told Ma Shao: "Go and meet the person, don't let him approach me, just say you are my Uncle Ji... ..., no, no, that man must be worried about our Xiang family now, so he said..., that you are Ji Bu's personal soldier, protecting Ji Bu and escaping here, first lie to them, and then take the opportunity to ask Whose army is ahead."

Ma Shao agreed, and then asked, "General, if it's really Liu Jipifu's army, what should the little one do?"

"If it's really him..." Xiang Zhuang quickly made up his mind and said, "Just let him wait and say that Ji Bu is going to meet him right away. When Ji Bu has a festival coming, he will definitely go out to meet Ji Bu himself, and then we will rush up and stab him to death with a spear! Kill this man, and everything will be easy!"

Ma Shao agreed, and quickly rode his horse to meet the Western Chu Army knight, and very smoothly grabbed him before the Western Chu Army knight approached Xiangzhuang, and then the Western Chu Army knight immediately asked: " Whose team are you in? Let me see your ID badges."

Who is leading what kind of soldiers? Xiang Zhuang has a kind and honest personality. His personal captain Ma Shao is also a commoner. When he got the waist card, Ma Shao suddenly came back to his senses, and said to himself, "Why am I so stupid to show my waist card? Didn't this guy immediately know that I am a member of General Xiangzhuang?"

Thinking of this, Ma Shao quickly stopped his movements, forced a smile and said, "I am General Ji Bu's personal soldier, and our General Ji is right behind. May I ask the general, whose subordinate are you? The general leading our team in front is who?"

"Are you General Jibuji's personal soldier?" The Western Chu army knight's eyeballs moved slightly, and he immediately noticed that Ma Shao and his horse were covered with only dust, no trace of blood, let alone any damage—this was not the case. Strangely, none of the soldiers brought by Xiang Zhuang participated in the battle, so naturally there would be no blood or other traces left after the battle.

The knight of the Western Chu Army was also very calm. When he found out that something was wrong, he not only kept silent, but also pretended to be surprised and asked: "Are you General Ji's personal soldier? General Ji is right behind? Wasn't General Ji surrounded by Han thieves yesterday?" Is it? How did you escape here?"

"Of course they were killed. It took a lot of effort to get out, and finally escaped here." Ma Shao casually asked, "Brother, whose subordinate are you? Who is leading the team in front? "

The knight of the Western Chu Army hesitated for a while, and then said: "I am the subordinate of You Sima Peigong, and the leader in front is Peigong himself."

Unable to conceal the ecstasy that immediately appeared on Ma Shao's face, Ma Shao said quickly: "Brother, please report to Pei Gong that General Ji Buji is here, please wait a moment, General Ji will go right away Meet him."

Glancing at Xiang Zhuang and the others who were closer to him, the knight of the Western Chu Army nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go back and report to Duke Pei."

Ma Shao was overjoyed when he heard that, and quickly bowed his hands to thank the Western Chu Army knight. The Western Chu Army knight nodded, and then turned his horse's head and trotted to chase the defeated brigade led by Liu Laosan. Of course, Ma Shao also ran back immediately. Xiang Zhuang's side reported to Xiang Zhuang the situation of his negotiations with Liu Laosan's subordinates. Xiang Zhuang was overjoyed when he heard that, and subconsciously clenched the spear in his hand, looked forward with a grin, and said to himself: " Pifu, unexpectedly I actually caught up with you, come and meet Ji Bu who is useful to you, Xiang Sui, Xiang Sheng, wait a moment, I can avenge you right away!"

Of course, Xiang Zhuang was too happy too early, because what he never dreamed of was that at this moment, the knight under Liu Laosan who had just negotiated with his personal captain Ma Shao, was already trotting back to the brigade, I came to an extremely correct conclusion...

"Fake Ji Bu's personal soldiers! They say they are protecting Ji Bu from the siege, but there are no bloody wounds on his body, and his clothes and leather armor are also intact. He dare not show his waist card. It can't be more fake!"

"However, why did this man pretend to be Ji Bu's bodyguard? If he is really one of us, there is no need to fake it? Also, this man pretends to be Ji Bu's bodyguard, why do we have to wait for Ji Bu? Bu? In addition, after I said that the leader of the team is Pei Gong, the joy and joy on his face is definitely not fake, why is he so happy?"

"Could it be that they are...?"

Thinking of this possibility, the knight of the Western Chu Army was shocked, and subconsciously tightened his grip on the horse's reins.

(End of this chapter)