Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 429 The Battle of Mianshui
At the moment when the sun was rising from the eastern horizon, a dark wave of Han soldiers finally appeared on the western horizon of Mianshui. The field of vision was endless, like a herd of bison migrating, and they were absolutely well-trained. The neat and orderly herd of bison swept across the mountains and plains.

In the vast ocean of the Han army's tide, there are towering large ordnance, there are hundreds of well rails, nest carts, and hundreds of catapults. They are not lever-type simple catapults, but It is a counterweight catapult with a complex structure and a huge body, which is enough to launch a boulder weighing [-] catties to [-] steps away!
Among the hundreds of well fences, nest carts and catapults, there stands an exceptionally tall nest cart. , It is also like standing out from the crowd and extraordinary. Of course, this nest car is the highest command center of the Han army.

Liu Bang stood against the wind with his hands on the guardrail.

On the left and right sides of Liu Bang, there stood the dignified General Lu Tai of the Han Dynasty.

This battle of Mianshui between Chu and Han was more dangerous than the decisive battle of Gaixia. In the battle of Gaixia, Liu Bang gave the command of 70 coalition troops to Han Xin, and finally got a rich return——Xiang Yu was defeated by Gaixia , died in the Wujiang River, and in this battle of Mianshui, Liu Bang also did not plan to lead the army himself.

Liu Bang was able to rise to today's status from a rogue in the market, relying on knowing people and being good at assignments, not on his own ability. In history, Han Xin once commented on Liu Bang, saying that he had no more than one hundred thousand soldiers, but he was good at generals. General, this is indeed the most pertinent commentary, and Liu Bang is indeed not good at using soldiers.

Liu Bang is not good at using soldiers, but he is very self-aware. He knows that his ability is limited and he cannot command so many troops, so he simply gave up the command power to Lu Tai.

However, Liu Bang still had some regrets in his heart.

Xiang Zhuang has a military strategist like Bi Shu under his command, but he no longer has a figure like Han Xin under Liu Bang's command. Although Zhou Bo and Lu Tai can be regarded as famous generals, compared with military strategists of the level of Han Xin and Bi Shu, they are still Quite worse, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping are just counselors, not commanders. As for Bai Mo, there are more than enough political and strategic strategies, but insufficient military strategies.

Seeing that Liu Bang's will was somewhat depressed, Chen Ping, who was standing behind him, suddenly smiled sinisterly and said, "Your Majesty, Bi Shu Huainan's great victory, if Xiang Zhuang is defeated in Mian Shui, wouldn't the state of Chu have a situation where the monarch is weak and the ministers are strong? This is a misfortune rather than a blessing, hehe."

"Huh?!" Liu Bang was immediately refreshed when he heard the words. Yes, if he can defeat Xiang Zhuang in Mianshui, then the state of Chu will really become a situation where the monarch is weak and the ministers are strong. This is not a good phenomenon. No matter how open-minded Zhuang is, and no matter how loyal Bi Shu is, I'm afraid there will be all kinds of rifts between the two of them, right?
At that moment Liu Bang turned his head to look at Lu Tai, and said, "General, everything is up to you."

Lu Tai turned around, cupped his hands and bowed, and replied solemnly: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will definitely do my best!"

"Just let go and do whatever you want." Liu Bang waved his hand and said with emotion, "I believe in your ability. Although Xiang Zhuang's son has won the three armies bravely, he is just a man after all. The widow's leader is only one hundred thousand soldiers, and Xiang Zhuang's son is probably only five. However, this Mian Shui battle is at the level of 50, and Xiaoer Xiangzhuang is definitely not your opponent."

Lu Tai nodded, and said again: "I am only worried that the Chu army will not fight."

"That's okay." Liu Bang waved his hand and said loudly, "Then attack the Chu army's camp!"

Standing behind Liu Bang, Zhang Liang smiled slightly and said: "If the Chu army defends the camp, although they can rely on the strong camp to resist for a while, they will also give up the initiative on the battlefield. Standing in an invincible position, once our army breaks through its camp defenses, the Chu army will surely be defeated."

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In the world, if there are advantages, there are bound to be disadvantages. It is absolutely impossible for you to take advantage of all the advantages without any disadvantages.

Xiang Zhuang felt a little nervous at this time. It is true that the strong defense of the camp can resist the Han army, but the problem is that the Chu army will be locked in a "cage" by the Han army. In other words, the Chu army also lost the opportunity to compete with the Han army on an equal basis. Once the camp defense is broken by the Han army, the Chu army will definitely be finished.

Therefore, it can be said that there are both risks and benefits in defending the battalion. It depends on whether the Chu army can hold it. As long as they can hold it, everything will be fine.

Of course, in addition to defending the camp, the Chu army can also choose to fight the Han army in the field.

However, Xiang Zhuang is really not sure of winning the field battle with the Han army now. The Han army not only has the cavalry with absolute superiority, but now it has a group of catapults that can suppress the Chu army's continuous crossbow. Xiang Zhuang couldn't imagine how the Chu army could win after losing the suppression of Liannu in the cold weapon era.
Of course, if Bi Shu were here, the situation would be completely different!
The so-called military strategists have reached the level of Bi Shu and Han Xin, the advantage of the cavalry is not insurmountable, they can completely weaken the impact of the cavalry by changing the formation layer by layer, and finally annihilate the opponent's cavalry in the ocean of their own infantry, so Xiang Zhuang The only thing to do now is to stick to the camp until the moment when Bi Shu arrives at Mianshui!
Liu Bang knows people well and is very self-aware, so why doesn't Xiang Zhuang have self-knowledge?
Xiang Zhuang knew very well that letting him lead a small number of elite divisions to charge into battle or run long distances can be said to be like a fish in water, like a fish in water, like a fish in water, allowing him to lead an army of hundreds of thousands to win a decisive victory against the opponent on the battlefield. That's just a matter of reluctance. If the commander is determined to win the battlefield, who in the world can match Bi Shu and Han Xin?
The day Bi Shu arrived was the time when Liu Bang's 60 troops were destroyed!

Thinking of this, Xiang Zhuang couldn't help but a cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Although the Han army has the upper hand, its advantage is really limited. Although the Han army has an absolute advantage in cavalry, the cavalry is of little use in the battle. The headache is the catapult. Although this thing is not a big threat to individual soldiers, it is a huge threat to the battalion fortifications!
However, just a few hundred catapults may not be enough to break through the strong camp defense of the Chu army.

All of a sudden, there was a faint sound of horns on the local horizon. Bai Lixian raised his feather fan and put it on his forehead. After looking forward for a while, he turned to Xiang Zhuang and said, "My lord, the Han army is here."

Xiang Zhuang nodded, raised his right hand and waved forward lightly, saying: "Every army is ready."

In an instant, Xiangzhuang's military order was quickly conveyed, and all armies, battalions, and ministries began their final preparations before the big battle. Groups of archers began to climb up the arrow towers and low walls, row after row. Armored soldiers with swords and shields slowly advanced behind the wall of the village to form an array, while groups of light soldiers stuck flying spears at their feet.

There is also a cavalry messenger galloping back and forth in the camp, conveying military orders back and forth.

Sima, lieutenants, and generals stood in front of their respective queues, making the final mobilization before the battle. Accompanied by their passionate, low, or angry words and body movements, the soldiers of the Chu army stood in line They can't help but slap their shields with knives, strike the ground with halberds and spears, or simply hammer their chests with big iron fists, while shouting loudly, the blood, bloodthirsty and pride of soldiers, In this moment fully revealed.

The murderous atmosphere before the war completely enveloped the entire Chu army camp in an instant, and even the air was already filled with a strong bloody atmosphere.

On the Mianshui River on both sides of the north and south, more than 600 naval warships were also placed side by side, but the Liannu that was nailed to the bow with big iron nails was It was covered with a reed mat, and from a distance, it looked like a pile of debris was piled up on the bow of the ship, and it was impossible to see that it was a big killer.

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The sudden appearance of the Chu army on the Mianshui River did not cause the Han army to be too vigilant. Although the Chu army camp was built on a river bend surrounded by water on three sides, the water army could indeed provide near-shore support, but it was only for support. That's all, this battle of Mianshui is still a decisive battle on land after all, so what can be done with the thousands of archers of the Chu State Navy?

Therefore, not only Liu Bang and Lu Tai didn't take Chu's navy to heart, but peerless counselors like Zhang Liang and Chen Ping couldn't foresee the threat lurking on the Chu's navy's warships.

Amidst the endless sound of horns, more than 50 Han troops formed a huge rectangular formation, slowly approaching from west to east towards the Chu Army Camp located on the Mianshui River Bend. Five hundred paces away, the infantry in front and the cavalry on both wings stopped their positions one after another, and only the well rails and catapults in the rear were still moving forward.

Looking down from a high altitude, the Mian River has turned a big bend here, forming an east-west "several characters". Of course, this is not the size of the river (Yellow River), but just a distance between the left and right river channels of no more than a thousand steps. Xiaoji, the camp of the Chu army is at the top of this word, and the Han army is now stopping outside the gap below the word.

Due to the limitation of the river channel, if the Han army advances further, it must change its formation, because the width of the river beach between the north and south river channels is only about a thousand steps, which cannot accommodate the huge rectangular formation of the Han army at all. The cavalry was about to be squeezed into the cold swill.

Fortunately, the distance of [-] steps is not too far, and it is already within the strike range of the catapult.

Amidst the endless sound of horns, a full two hundred towering catapults slowly stepped forward from the passage opened by the infantry, and finally stood at the forefront of the Han army matrix. From a distance, the two hundred catapults The car is like two hundred giant beasts crouching down. It is huge, ferocious, cold and full of murderous aura, which makes people shudder.

On the towering nest car, Lu Tai turned his head to look at Liu Bang, who nodded slightly.

Lu Tai suddenly turned his head, raised his right hand and pressed it forward lightly, and said indifferently: "Attack."

(End of this chapter)