Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 177
It was noon, and the scorching sun was scorching the earth like fire.

In the northern outskirts of Jiuyuan City, a three-foot-high troop counting platform has been built with wooden frames, and a row of thatched sheds has been temporarily added to the front of the troop counting platform.

Under the shade of the thatched shed, Xiang Zhuang sat on the ground in the middle.

Jin Xiang was fully dressed in his usual belt, and stood behind Xiang Zhuang with a horizontal knife.

On the left side of Xiang Zhuang, Wei Liao, Wu She, Bai Lixian sat on the ground in turn, and on the right side were Huan Chu, Ji Bu, Gao Chu, Pang Yu, Tian Heng, Xiao Kai and other generals.

Under the platform, nearly [-] Chu troops stood in four square formations under the scorching sun.

It was already late September at this time, and it had been more than two months since Qin Jun returned to Chu. With Qin Jun's precepts and deeds, the Chu Jun's riding and archery level has been greatly improved.

And today is the three month period set by Xiang Zhuang, the day of big competition.

Gao Chu, Pang Yu, Tian Heng, and Xiao Kai each selected [-] cavalrymen with the most outstanding riding skills from their respective armies. Today's big battle in the army will be contested by these four cavalrymen.

Before the time came, Xiang Zhuang was chatting with Wei Liao.

"Military division, we will leave in a few days."

"Yeah, Hetao is so good, the old man is reluctant to leave."

"That's right, here in Hetao, it's really good to eat meat and drink mutton soup every day."

Next to him, Wu She stepped in: "No matter how good Hetao is, it's not our hometown after all."

Bai Lixian on the farthest side just shook his feather fan lightly, did not speak, and returned to Jiangdong. The Chu people returned to their hometown, but they, the old Qin people, left their hometowns, but it doesn't matter. , you should carry the three-foot sword and take the world as your home, so why bother to love your homeland?

Xiang Zhuang suddenly asked Baili Xian, "Ziliang, is there any new movement in Guanzhong?"

For Guanzhong, Xiang Zhuang has never let go of his attention. Bai Lixian also reported the situation in Guanzhong to Xiang Zhuang every now and then through the eyeliner who stayed in Guanzhong. In the past three months, Xiang Zhuang has grasped it very well. Some Liu Bang's intelligence, for example, that Guanzhong's autumn grain harvest this year has become a foregone conclusion.

The autumn grain harvest in Guanzhong this year means that Liu Bang will have to allocate war preparations from Bashu to relieve the people in Guanzhong. , I am afraid that within five years, they will not be able to mobilize teachers and mobilize the masses.

What's more, Liu Bang is also training cavalry on a large scale.

Obviously, Xiang Zhuang's aggressive training of cavalry in Hetao has stimulated Liu Bang's nerves.

Due to the lack of food and grass, it is impossible for the Han army to go northward to Hetao to expel the Chu army. However, with the vision of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, and Liu Bang's kindness, he will naturally not watch the Han army fall into tactical passiveness. At the beginning, Xiao He opened a horse market in Longxi and Beidi, and traded horses with the Qiang and Yuezhi people with ironware, cloth, and tea.

This is not good news for Xiangzhuang, because although Guanzhong under Liu Bang's rule has been ruined by the Chu army, Bashu is intact. , Yuezhi and other frontier barbarians traded a large number of excellent war horses.

In addition, Liu Bang also has Li Bi, Luo Jia and other former Qin generals under his command!

Li Bi and Luo Jia may not be as brave and good at fighting as Meng Ji, and it is even more impossible for them to have such high prestige in the Qin army, but they may not lose to Meng Ji in training cavalry. Qin Yi will train cavalry for Liu Bang, and in time, there will be a huge and powerful cavalry under Liu Bang's command!

However, these are the news of the past few months.

At that moment, Bai Lixian folded his arms and turned sideways, and said to Xiang Zhuang: "I heard that Zhou Bo, Fu Kuan, and Li Shang have each led [-] troops to Beidi, Shangjun, and Longxi to farm fields."

"Large-scale farming?!" Xiang Zhuang's brows immediately frowned.

This is really bad news for Xiang Zhuang and Chu Jun.

Farming is actually not new. As early as the Qin and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were records of all the countries in the Central Plains sending prisoners and pawns to the frontier to garrison fields. The main reason was to make the prisoners and pawns support themselves by garrisoning fields, and even subsidize the treasury in turn. Meng Tian led an army of 30 When attacking the Xiongnu in the north, what was implemented in Hetao was actually the military settlement system.

Large-scale military settlements are a great weapon to solve the dilemma of food shortage!

Historically, after capturing Hetao, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conscripted 60 soldiers to implement a large-scale military settlement in Hetao, thus supporting the decades-long war against the Huns and finally defeating the Huns.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, all heroes rose together, and Cao Cao, a traitor in troubled times, implemented a more complete military system of farming, which made Cao's army sufficient food. Although he was in the place of the Fourth World War, he was able to continue to fight abroad, and was able to finally dominate the Yellow River. The vast map of the north would be unimaginable without a perfect farming system.

Xiang Zhuang couldn't help turning his head to look at Wei Liao, and then both of them sighed at the same time.

In a short period of time, there is no need to worry too much. What is really terrible about the garrison system is the ability to continuously produce military rations, because once large-scale garrison bases are built in Guanzhong and Bashu, they can continuously deliver military rations to the Han army. As long as they survive these few years, the Han army will no longer have the dilemma of lack of military rations.

In this way, it is difficult to say whether the plan of frying millet is an advantage or a disadvantage.

The plan of frying millet made the autumn grain harvest in Guanzhong a foregone conclusion. Although it could make the Han army unable to raise troops in a short period of time, it also forced Xiao Heqiong to urgently seek change. Following the example of the first emperor, he sacrificed the big killer weapon of garrisoning the fields. Once the effect of garrisoning the fields appears If it comes out, the Han army will be able to continue to use troops abroad in the future. This is a good thing turning into a bad thing.

This time, Xiang Zhuang's good mood because of cavalry training was ruined.

At that moment, Xiang Zhuang turned his head and told Jin Xiang, "Jin Xiang, let's start quickly."

"Here!" Jin Xiang promised with a bang, strode to the backstage and waved his hand to the people below, and the hundreds of horn players standing under the stage against the scorching sun raised their horns one after another.

The next moment, the sound of the horn was loud and powerful, soaring into the sky.

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Seven or eight miles away, in the sparse Populus euphratica forest.

Po Jun, the captain of Gaochu's personal army, was leaning against a big tree and taking a nap. Although it was noon and the sun was scorching hot, there was a cool breeze in the woods, and there was no feeling of heat at all.

Beside Po Jun, there were three or four groups of pro-army soldiers resting on the spot.

All of a sudden, a deep and powerful horn sounded from outside the forest.

Po Jun immediately turned over and sat up. His soldiers had already brought his horse over. Po Jun turned on his horse and raised his horizontal knife loudly. All of a sudden, the soldiers who were lying on the ground and resting all rushed over. Get up, turn on the horse as quickly as possible, and then one after another raised Leng Sensen's double-edged sword.

A faint chilling aura instantly permeated the Populus euphratica forest.

All of a sudden, Po Jun gently urged the horse under his crotch, and then drew the horizontal knife in his hand forward, and the five hundred fine riders urged their horse under his crotch one after another, followed behind Po Jun, and slowly came out of Populus euphratica forest.

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On the platform, Xiang Zhuang, Wei Liao and others raised their heads in unison, looking at the Populus euphratica forest several miles away to the left.

Suddenly, a majestic knight in full armor emerged from the Populus euphratica forest like a ghost, followed by the second, third, fourth, and fifth riders...

The cavalry behind the armored knight gathered more and more.

The horse's head moved, the iron hooves rolled, and the five hundred cavalry began to charge.

A thousand steps away from the troop-pointing platform, the armored knight raised his sword and screamed again, and the cavalry who followed behind him suddenly changed their formation.

The cavalry in front slowed down slightly, while the cavalry in the rear accelerated forward, and the entire cavalry formation began to spread out towards the two wings. It took only a short breath before and after, and the entire cavalry formation was fully unfolded. A row of hundreds of cavalry rumbled and crushed towards the front of the soldiers' counting platform.

"Ow ooh..."

Seeing the momentum of the [-] cavalry, the [-] pro-army officers and soldiers standing in line under the counting platform immediately cheered like a tsunami. The cavalry is the most outstanding in the whole pro army, but the performance has just begun, and the good show is yet to come.

As he approached the platform, the armored knight raised his sword and roared again.

The next moment, the five thousand cavalry drew their swords back to their sheaths one after another, raised their bows from their horses, and then drew their hornbows towards the opposite side of the troop-pointing platform. The bowstring was released, and amidst the sound of piercing through the air, the five hundred grass figures standing in front of the pistol stand were already full of feathered arrows.

Although it has not been counted yet, almost no arrows have missed.

"Oh..." The next moment, the armored knight raised his sword and roared again.

The five hundred cavalry quickly unsheathed their bows, and drew out Leng Sensen's double-edged epee.

In a blink of an eye, the entire cavalry formation has already rushed into the forest of straw figures in front of them, and the next moment, the high-raised heavy swords slashed down one after another, and amidst the flashing cold light, the rows of straw figures fell down one after another. On the ground, the cavalry rumbled past, and when Xiang Zhuang and others took a closer look, all five hundred straw men had been cut in half!

Under the counting platform, [-] pro-army officers and soldiers suddenly cheered more and more frantically.

"Gaochu, great job!"

"Finally, we didn't embarrass Da Chu, haha!"

Huan Chu and Ji Bu also turned their heads to congratulate Gao Chu.

Xiang Zhuang also nodded slightly. Although the five hundred cavalry were all elites selected from ten out of ten, and could not represent the cavalry and archery level of the entire pro-army, at least it can be seen that the three-month cavalry training of the Chu army has been fruitful. , Next, should we consider adding some practical experience to the soldiers?

Thinking of this, Xiang Zhuang's eyes narrowed.

In this Hetao, the Chu army has no shortage of targets for actual combat training. Whether it is the Linhu people in the cloud, or the Xiutu people who love each other outside Gaoque Pass, they are the most suitable targets for the Chu army to train in actual combat.

(End of this chapter)