Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 401
In the western suburbs of Deng County, the Han army camp.

Although it was late at night, Liu Bang's big tent was still brightly lit. Liu Banggao, king of Han, was the chief, two counselors, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, two generals, Zhou Bo and Lu Tai, sat on the left and right, and Liu Bi, the fierce general, stood by his sword. Standing behind Liu Bang, Hou Zhou Guanfu, the champion of the Hussar General of the Han Dynasty, was kneeling on the ground straight at this moment.

"Shengzhi, tell me, what happened to the defeat of the left-wing cavalry?" Zhou Bo blushed with anger, and before Liu Bang could ask, he couldn't help shouting at Zhou Guanfu. Xiang Yu's subordinates have almost never been defeated, but today, Zhou Guanfu has completely humiliated the Zhou family.

Zhou Guanfu said angrily: "Father, the Chu army has a terrible bed crossbow that can fire continuously!"

After a pause, Zhou Guanfu said to Liu Bang again with lingering fear: "Your Majesty, the cavalry of the minister at that time had already clung to the cavalry of the Chu army. Seeing that the cavalry of the Chu army was about to collapse like a mountain, but at this moment, the Chu army sacrificed. There was that terrible bed crossbow, the giant arrows as thick as a child’s arm were shot in row after row, we couldn’t resist it at all.”

"You have the nerve to say it!" Zhou Bo said angrily, "Do you know how many cavalry were lost?"

Zhou Guanfu didn't dare to look into Zhou Bo's angry eyes, and said dejectedly, "It's better to ride a few thousand more."

"Thousands of riders?!" Zhou Bo became more and more furious, "I tell you, boy, there are more than [-] riders, and this is not counting the casualties of the Yuezhi people, Xiutu people and Hunxie people. It is said that there are [-] riders!"

In today's battle, the Han army has indeed suffered heavy losses. The infantry and cavalry have exceeded 7 riders!
The right-wing infantry was suppressed and beaten by the Chu army from the very beginning. After half a day of fierce fighting, a total of [-] infantrymen were killed or injured. For the Han army, such a result is not surprising, and Liu Bang never expected his infantry to overwhelm the Chu army.

However, the defeat of the left-wing cavalry made Liu Bang and his ministers somewhat unacceptable.

Liu Bang had high hopes for the cavalry on the left wing. He thought that with the absolute superiority of his troops, he would be able to crush the cavalry of the Chu army in one fell swoop with the momentum of the autumn wind sweeping the fallen leaves, and then take advantage of the situation to intercept the right-wing infantry of the Chu army. The army won today's battle, but the final result was not like this at all.

The result of the left-wing cavalry's fight was completely beyond anyone's imagination!
20 Han cavalry plus 20 Hu cavalry, [-] cavalry attacked [-] Chu army cavalry, and in the end not only failed to win, but was defeated by the Chu army in turn. Stopping the chasing cavalry of the Chu army, the [-] cavalry is likely to be finished, and then the infantry on the right will also collapse...

Thinking of this, Liu Bang felt a little trembling in his heart, it's so dangerous, he almost fell down today!

"What? [-] cavalry were killed or injured?!" Zhou Guanfu suddenly looked up, his face full of disbelief.

A trace of irritability suddenly surged in Liu Bang's heart for no reason, and he waved at Zhou Guanfu immediately.

Seeing that Zhou Guanfu was still kneeling there in a daze, Zhou Bo roared angrily, "Get out soon?" Zhou Guanfu shivered tremblingly, then got up and walked out of the big tent in despair.

After Zhou Guanfu left, Chen Ping sighed, "Your Majesty, it seems that the situation is true."

Before Zhou Guanfu, Liu Bang had successively interrogated several defeated generals of the Han army and Huren Xiaowang. Their statements were basically the same as Zhou Guanfu. They were caught off guard and suffered serious injuries. Six out of ten casualties of the left-wing cavalry fell under this kind of crossbow.

Thinking of this kind of bed crossbow that can shoot continuously, Liu Bang felt like sitting on pins and needles.

At that moment, Liu Bang got up, and started to pace back and forth in the big tent with his hands behind his back. After a long while, he said with a depressed expression, "Is it possible that the child in Xiangzhuang really has God's help? First he made heavy cavalry, and now he is a bed that can launch continuously." Crossbow, why did all these good things fall on his head? Why don’t you have such luck?”

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping hurried forward and tugged Liu Bang's sleeve, signaling him to be cautious.

Zhou Bo and Lu Tai also looked at each other in blank dismay. If these words were spread, it would greatly damage the morale of the Han army. Even the King of Han admitted that Xiangzhuang was the destiny of fate and fate, and the struggle between Chu and Han must continue. what?

Only then did Liu Bang realize that he had lost his composure, and he said in embarrassment: "Well, that's what the widow said."

Chen Ping quickly followed Liu Bang's tone and said: "My lord, the bed crossbow is just a kind of military weapon, and has nothing to do with fate and luck. If I am not mistaken, this bed crossbow that can be fired continuously Most of them were made by the Mohist contemporary Juzi Gongshuche for Xiang Zhuang, we can imitate them as long as we manage to get one."

"Imitation?" Liu Bang frowned, and said again, "Can you tie that big guy to Guanzhong?"

"The minister has already passed the letter to Ziling Feige and asked the shadow guard to figure out a way." After saying this, Chen Ping continued, "However, even if the shadow guard can tie the bus to Guanzhong, the weapon workshop will I'm afraid it's too late to build it, so we have to find another way to break the Chu army's continuous shooting bed crossbow in this battle."

"That's true." Liu Bang nodded, then looked around the crowd and said, "Do you have a good strategy?"

Lu Tai had obviously considered this question for a long time, and immediately replied without hesitation: "My lord, although the Chu army's continuous shooting crossbow is sharp, it has a fatal flaw, that is, it is huge and heavy, and it is extremely inconvenient to move, so as long as you don't Given the opportunity for the Chu army to calmly deploy their formations, this kind of continuous shooting bed crossbow will not play any role."

"Don't give the Chu army a chance to calmly deploy their formation?" Zhou Bo shook his head and said disapprovingly, "It's not easy!"

Having said this, Zhou Bo said again: "The old minister thought that it would be better to cut down more giant trees and ordered the soldiers to step up to build heavy oar shields. Although the Chu army's continuous shooting bed crossbows are extremely sharp, it is absolutely impossible to shoot through heavy heavy sculls that are more than half a foot thick. Scull shields, like this, our army puts heavy scull shields in front of the army as a barrier, and we are not afraid of the continuous crossbows of the Chu army."

Liu Bang's gaze finally fell on Zhang Liang, and asked, "Ovary, what do you think?"

Zhang Liangdao: "Your Majesty, I think what the General and the Taiwei say are both reasonable. What the General said is an offensive tactic, while what the Taiwei said is a defensive tactic. They are both feasible and good strategies. However, I still have a countermeasure here. , that is to stick to the camp and avoid battle, so the Chu army's Liannu will be useless."

Liu Bangdao: "Does Zifang mean sticking to the camp and watching the changes?"

Zhang Liang nodded and said: "Yes, my king doesn't need to be in a hurry to attack, just wait for changes in Huainan or Western Shu, and Xiangzhuang's army will naturally retreat. Once the troops retreat, the Liannu will become a burden. At this time, the cavalry will cover up the attack It's not difficult to break through." Zhang Liang's implication was that he should stop fighting the Chu army, as the Han army would definitely be defeated in a positional battle.

Liu Bang nodded lightly, then frowned again and said, "However, Han Xin has been unable to succeed in the Huainan battlefield, and Qiangdi in the west of Shu has not been moved. If things fail, what should we do?"

Zhang Liang was silent for a moment, then sighed and said: "If things fail, you should retreat to the Guanzhong."

Liu Bang's face changed slightly when he heard the words, and after a long while he said in a lonely way: "Retreat to Guanzhong?"

Seeing Liu Bang's disheartened appearance, Zhang Liang couldn't bear it, and persuaded him: "Your Majesty, no one can match the King Qi's army, and Bi Shu is definitely not an opponent. Can't stop, our army only needs to stay for half a month, and we will usher in an opportunity to counterattack, the general situation of the world depends on this battle, my king should rise up."

Liu Bang woke up with a start, and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Zifang, I will never give up until the last moment! Even if things fail in Huainan and Western Shu, I can retreat into the Guanzhong and stick to it. If Xiang Zhuang's son wants to break into the Guanzhong It's wishful thinking." After saying this, Liu Bang said again, "What's more, I firmly believe that there will be good news in Huainan and Western Shu."

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The spy sent by Pang Yu to the Jinchuan Valley has returned to Mount Meng, and brought back extremely important information.

"In three days' time, it will be the sacred tree festival for the burning tribe?" Pang Yu looked at the flickering lights on the many branch lamps, and asked again, "What is the sacred tree festival?"

Xizuo replied: "Reporting to the general, the sacred tree festival is the most grand event of the Qiangdi tribes. It is held once a year and is very grand, just like our Spring Festival. At that time, bonfires will be lit in the sacred forests used by various tribes for sacrifice. All the clansmen are singing and dancing around the bonfire, enjoying wine and meat, and unmarried girls and boys will also come out to choose a spouse at this time."

"So that's how it is." Pang Yu groaned silently, this is a good opportunity to wipe out the Shaodang tribe.

After thinking for a while, Pang Yu said again: "What about the other three large tribes in the Jinchuan River Valley, why is their sacred tree festival not on the same day as that of the Shaodang tribe?"

Xi Zuo hurriedly said: "I don't know, the general, these barbarians are different from us Central Plains people. The sacred tree festivals of the various tribes in Qiang Di are randomly designated by the elders of the clan, and they are not fixed." Xi Zuo suddenly remembered another thing, Then he said, "By the way, this time, Yueyingsha, the youngest daughter of Shaowang Dawang, will have to compete with Wu to choose a mate."

"Choose a spouse through martial arts competition?" Pang Yu frowned, "What do you mean?"

Xi made a smile and replied: "General, the Qiangdi tribe is very popular in martial arts. When choosing a mate, many young ladies not only look at each other, but also test the younger ones' riding and archery and martial arts. , It is said that King Shaodang wants to recruit a son-in-law who is outstanding in riding and archery to take over his throne."

Pang Yu said: "Doesn't this burning king have no sons?"

Xi Zuo said: "Yes, there are more than a dozen, but they are all rubbish."

Pang Yu said: "Such a good opportunity, shouldn't the other three tribes let it go?"

Xi Zuo nodded, and replied: "There is no definite news, but I have heard a lot of rumors. It is said that King Wu Ge, King Yuan Jian, and King Wu Liu will all send their most powerful sons to participate in this competition."

"Okay!" Pang Yu tapped the knot lightly, and said in a deep voice, "This is an opportunity!"

(End of this chapter)