Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 18 Stirrups (ask for today's recommendation ticket)

Li Zuoche rushed to Han Xin's tent as soon as he received the order.

After listening to Li Zuoche's report, Han Xin frowned in disbelief: "Fan Kui was defeated by the Chu army?"

Han Xin was similar to Liu Bang. At the first hearing, he refused to believe that Fan Kui would be defeated by a group of Chu troops. Anyway, Fan Kui was also a battle-hardened veteran, and that Chu army was a It's just a rout of soldiers, how could the mob be the opponent of the [-] elite soldiers led by Fan Kuai?
However, the fact is that Fan Kui lost, and it was a disastrous defeat!
"Yes." Li Zuoche nodded and said, "The last general also thought it was a broken army with a weak morale, but it turned out to be nothing like that. Fan Kui chased after Shouchun, underestimated the enemy, and ended up killing him Falling into the well-arranged trap, most of the [-] elite soldiers were beheaded, and finally fled to Quyang with less than [-] remnants."

"Shouchun!?" Han Xin changed his expression slightly, "The Chu army fled to Shouchun?"

"En." Li Zuoche nodded again, "It's unbelievable to say that this remnant of the Chu army actually marched for more than two hundred miles in one day, directly from the vicinity of Dongcheng to the vicinity of Shouchun, and even more so. What people can't believe is that this remnant of the Chu army actually captured Shouchun, it is said that it didn't use any tricks, and I don't know what kind of crap Zhou Yin left behind to defend the city!"

"What, there is such a thing?" Han Xin immediately covered himself up, pacing back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back.

Han Xin is worthy of being a great military strategist. His military sense is unparalleled. He has already smelled a trace of danger from the only clues. It's not easy, running more than [-] miles in one day, although it's surprising, it can be imagined, after all, it's for escape.

However, next time Shouchun was taken down without bloodshed, and Fan Kuai was designed to be smashed, we had to arouse vigilance.

With only a few thousand rout soldiers who have lost their morale and fighting spirit, they can conquer a fortified city like Shouchun and defeat Fan Kuai's three thousand elite soldiers. This is not something anyone can do!This requires not only extraordinary leadership skills, but also extraordinary wit and strategy. Who is leading the remnants of the Chu army?
Why have I never heard of Xiang Yu having such a powerful general before?
Could it be Long Qi, or Fan Zeng?No, no, both of them are dead.

Seeing Han Xin groaning silently, Li Zuoche took out Liu Bang's edict again and asked, "Your Majesty, the King of Han has issued an edict that the last general will be the main general, with Jin She and Fan Kui as the deputy generals, and a combined force of [-] will attack Shouchun. To follow the edict or not to obey the edict?"

"Since it is the edict of the King of Han, of course it must be obeyed." Han Xin paused, and then said, "However, you should take the head of Xiang Yu and go there. After the army reaches Shouchun, remember not to underestimate the enemy and rush forward. Difficult to entangle, and difficult to break in a hurry, so I hurried to report back on flying cavalry, and went alone to raise an army to conquer."

"No!" Li Zuoche bowed respectfully, and went to accept the order.

Watching the figure of Li Zuoche go away, Han Xin still couldn't get rid of the question just now, who will be the main general of the remnant Chu army?

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When Xiang Zhuang strode into the blacksmith's shop, Yu Ziqi was forging an object by himself.

Seeing Xiang Zhuang, Yu Ziqi hurriedly handed the small hammer in his hand to the soldier beside him, and then went forward to greet Xiang Zhuang with a long bow, and said, "General, what you want will be ready soon." .”

"No hurry." Xiang Zhuang waved his hand and said with a smile, "General Ziqi, you are busy."

Yu Ziqi pleaded guilty, then took the small hammer from the soldier and began to jingle and beat it. The soldier swung the big hammer weighing dozens of catties, and under the guidance of the small hammer held by Yu Ziqi, , began to forge hard, under the forging of the two people back and forth, the object on the anvil gradually took shape, and it was a bronze stirrup with a simple shape!

At this time, the Huns may have invented the stirrup, but they certainly did not join in the promotion, let alone spread it to the Central Plains.

The impact of stirrups on cavalry was revolutionary. Before the appearance of stirrups, the only function of cavalry was to ride and shoot, and they could not engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The so-called riding and archery is actually riding to a place, then stopping to shoot arrows, and then running to another place, stopping again to shoot arrows. When riding horses, cavalry cannot shoot arrows, because the horses at that time did not have arrows. Equipped with stirrups, the cavalryman must free one hand to hold on to the saddle, otherwise he will fall off the horse's back.

Even Xiang Yu, who is born with supernatural power, can only fight on foot in melee, because horse fighting consumes too much energy.

However, the appearance of the stirrup changed this situation. The stirrup perfectly integrated the cavalry and the horse. Since then, the cavalry's hands have been completely liberated. It can carry out large-scale slashing and killing actions, and the combat effectiveness of cavalry has undergone a qualitative transformation since then!

Stirrups have completely subverted the status of cavalry. A small stirrup has transformed cavalry from an insignificant auxiliary arm into a decisive strategic arm!The Huns who were defeated by the Qin Empire, because of the revolutionary use of stirrups, became the lingering haze of the Han people!

As a traverser, Xiang Zhuang naturally knew how important the stirrup was to the cavalry.

Long before the Battle of Gaixia, Xiang Zhuang had thought about equipping the Chu cavalry with stirrups on a large scale. Unfortunately, the Battle of Gaixia broke out soon, followed by a big defeat, and then fled for his life with the remnants of the defeated generals. Xiang Zhuang There was no time at all to prepare and build the stirrups, and it was not until after the capture of Shouchun that they finally freed up some time.

The object was ready to be formed, so Yu Ziqi picked it up with iron tongs and immersed it in water. After cooling, he wiped off the water stains on the surface of the object with a rag, and then picked up another bronze stirrup that had already been forged next to him, and made a pair. Said to Xiang Zhuang: "General, at last you have fulfilled your mission. The last general has been built according to your design."

Yu Ziqi is indeed a famous blacksmith in Chu. Although the time was short, he still made the stirrups according to the pattern provided by Xiang Zhuang. Rough, but in terms of practicality, it will never be much worse than the exquisitely shaped stirrups of later generations.

Xiang Zhuang happily took the bronze stirrup, and immediately strode out of the blacksmith's shop.

In the yard outside the blacksmith shop, Gao Chu had already brought a black horse, and Jing Qian next to him was holding a saddle. This saddle was also custom-made by Xiang Zhuang's craftsmen, and the front part was tilted lower than that of this era. The bridge saddle is much higher, and the low bridge saddle basically has no protective effect on the knight's abdomen, but Xiangzhuang's customized saddle can perfectly protect the knight's abdomen.

Xiang Zhuang put the saddle on the Wuzhi horse himself, fastened the bronze stirrups tightly, and then jumped up and straddled the horse.

"Drive!" Xiang Zhuang just urged lightly, and the black horse immediately raised its head and hissed, and immediately threw off its four hooves and galloped.

Xiang Zhuang trusted his horse to rein, and let the black horse gallop forward along the street, all the way out of the west gate of Shouchun, and then set foot on the vast wilderness. The wind was strong, and the ground under his feet receded like a tide, and he felt extremely happy Under the circumstances, Xiang Zhuang couldn't help but screamed up to the sky. At this moment, Xiang Zhuang's long suppressed negative emotions were finally vented.

After all, Xiang Zhuang is also a body of flesh and blood, not a steel machine. After repeated defeats and continuous high-force marches, ordinary soldiers will be exhausted and nervous, and Xiang Zhuang will also feel exhausted. He has to think more and bear more burdens. If he hadn't been a soldier in his previous life, he would have already suffered a nervous breakdown.

It wasn't until half a day later that Xiang Zhuang returned to Shouchun City on a black-tailed horse.

This stirrup is indeed a good thing. If it is used well, it may really become a big killer to turn things around. Unfortunately, the Chu army only has a few horses now, so I want to use stirrups and cavalry on a large scale , can only think about it, this is just a dream.

The most urgent thing is to think about how to deal with the next wave of Han army's offensive.

This time, even if Liu Bang didn't come in person, he would never send a brave general like Fan Kui, and the number of troops would definitely not be thousands. Can the remnants of the Chu army stop the first attack of the Han army? In the second wave of offensive, Xiang Zhuang really didn't know what to do, but this battle must be fought, and it must be fought if not fought. The remnants of the Chu army have no way out.

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Li Zuoche's [-] troops have already arrived in Quyang County.

Speaking of Li Zuoche, many people in later generations don't know who it is, but when it comes to his grandfather Li Mu, everyone knows it. Li Mu, Bai Qi, Wang Jian, and Lian Po are also known as the Four Great Warring States Generals. Its use of cavalry was unparalleled in the same era. Xiang Yu's long-distance cavalry raid tactics in later generations were impressive, but it was just the fur of Li Mu.

Li Zuoche's military talent may not be as good as Li Mu's, but the difference will not be too far. When Han Xin defeated Zhao, if Chen Yu had listened to Li Zuoche's advice, it would have been impossible for Han Xin to win the battle of Jingxing. I'm afraid it's a different situation in the struggle, but it's a pity that there are no assumptions in history, but Li Zuoche's ability can be seen from this.

As soon as the [-] troops set up camp outside the city, Fan Kui bound his hands and entered Li Zuoche's camp.

Seeing this, Li Zuoche quickly got up and untied Fan Kuai, while smiling wryly, "General Fan, what are you doing?"

Although the King of Han ordered Li Zuoche to be the chief general, and Jin She and Fan Kui to be the deputy generals, Li Zuoche did not dare to regard Fan Kui as his general. It must be known that Fan Kui was a confidant of the King of Han, and he was also the brother-in-law of the King of Han, so his status was almost nonexistent. Under King Qi, Li Zuoche was just a member of the King Qi's account, so how could he dare to make a big deal in front of Fan Kui?

Fan Kui dodged two steps, not allowing Li Zuoche to untie him, and then said with shame: "General Li, Lao Fan is really ashamed to be thrown at grandma's house this time, you have to help Lao Fan."

Li Zuo said: "Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs, why should General Fan care about it?"

"But this time it's different." Fan Kui said anxiously, "Our old Fan has fought a lifetime of victories, but at the end he was defeated by a group of mobs and Xiang Zhuang, a small shrimp. It's really ashamed to say, So General Li, Lao Fan implores you to send five thousand troops, and Lao Fan is willing to be the front line, and vows to retake Shouchun to the death!"

Li Zuoche thought to himself that Fan Kui is also a veteran in the battlefield. He was defeated last time because he underestimated the enemy. Now that he has learned his lesson, he will never make the same mistake again. So it is reasonable to give him a chance to redeem his crimes. He nodded and agreed: "Okay , this general will give you five thousand elite soldiers to serve as the vanguard of the army, and take Shouchun in a few days!"

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PS：感谢楚汉争鼎、zzmhln、高高山顶立、纯情小猪猪、maomaomao365、1314亲切亲切、╆纳兰布衣╅、zhouen1972、黯然笑魂2010、缘分四月、十三小妖、飘过ing、1202191844、东方的东东等书友的慷慨打赏。

(End of this chapter)