Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 446 The Plague

Gao Chu drew his longbow and aimed at the small school of the Han army who was galloping on the mountain road ahead.

The next moment, Gao Chu loosened his right hand lightly, and the spiked heavy arrow on the string was shot out like lightning. There was only a pop sound, and it hit the vital point of the Hanjun Xiaoxiao's vest. He screamed and fell from the horse's back, and then he and the horse rolled and fell down the deep ravine on the side of the road.

Gao Chu shot and killed the small school of the Han Army with an arrow, and then strode back to the pass.

With the sound of hurried footsteps, Xu Jiang hastily came to Gao Chu, and reported with hands folded: "General, Wuguan has been captured."

Gao Chu nodded, and now, surrounded by Xu Jiang and dozens of soldiers, he slowly climbed to the top of Wuguan City.

Standing on the top of the city and looking down, I saw that the fighting in Guancheng had gradually subsided. The Chu army who had already controlled Guancheng was fighting fires everywhere. The sound of killing came, needless to say, it was the broken army of the Han army who was chasing and killing the defeated Han army fleeing south.

After this battle, Gao Chu finally understood what it means to plan things with people, and to achieve things with God!
Gao Chu originally thought that with a guide and the complete marching route, the march from Jinniuguan to Wuguan should be easy, but in fact it was completely wrong. At the beginning, he took three thousand elite soldiers and walked for nine days. That's not counting, and more than 500 people fell to death along the way!
The time limit given by Xiang Zhuang was ten days, but Gao Chu almost missed the military plane!
Also, Gao Chuyuan thought that after arriving at Wuguan, there would be a fierce battle. Even if Wuguan could be successfully captured in the end, the [-] elite soldiers he brought would surely suffer heavy casualties, but the result was quite different. The slack was beyond imagination, and the high school unit was taken down with almost no effort.

In fact, we can't blame the defenders for being lax, because Wuguan is backed by Guanzhong and facing Nanyang, and its sole purpose of existence is to prevent the Kwantung army from invading Guanzhong from Nanyang.

Because of this mentality, the defensive focus of the Wuguan garrison is Kanto. They have never thought that they will be attacked from the direction of Guanzhong. In addition, there are successive food transport teams from Guanzhong to Nanyang, and Gaochu's troops intercepted and killed them. He formed a grain team, so it was easy to sneak into Wuguan, and became hasty, and the five thousand Han troops who closed the pass were quickly defeated.

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Liu Bang rested in Rang County for two days, and gradually gathered some defeated soldiers. Guan Ying, Shu Sun Ying, Wang Suo's troops, plus the army left behind in Rang County, gradually had more than 2 people, but the good times were not good. Long, soon there was a report from the scouting horse. The Chu army's pursuers had approached twenty miles away, and all who came were cavalry.

At this time, although the Han army gathered more than 2 defeated soldiers, their morale was weak and their morale was low, and they were chasing after the cavalry army from among the three forbidden armies of Chu. The fire burned Rang County and came all the way to Wuguan. Liu Bang really didn't have the heart to stay in Guandong. At this moment, he just wanted to return to Xianyang earlier.

However, after walking less than twenty miles in the direction of Wuguan, there was shocking news——Wuguan fell!
"What did you say?!" Liu Bang couldn't believe his ears, grabbed the Hanjun Xiaoxiao who came to report the news, and said hoarsely, "It's so good, why did Wuguan fall?!"

Guan Ying, Wang Xi, Shu Sunying and other generals of the Han army also looked at each other in blank dismay. Now there is a big trouble.

There are only three ways to go back to Guanzhong from Nanyang. One is to enter Hanzhong through Shangyong and Xunguan, then go back to Xianyang through Chencang Road, Baoxie Road or Ziwu Valley Road, and then go back to Xianyang through Rang County and Wuguan. The way is to go east to Yingchuan, then enter Sanchuan County through Hulao Pass, and then return to Guanzhong through Hangu Pass.

After the defeat of Mianshui, Liu Bang fled all the way to the north. Now there are all Chu troops behind him. It is impossible to go back to Hanzhong Road, so there are only two roads left. Now Wuguan is cut off by the Chu army. The only way to go is to go east to Yingchuan, but the question is, can Yingchuan Road work?Will it also be intercepted by the Chu army?

The Hanjun Xiaoxiao said sadly: "We were attacked from behind and lost Guancheng by surprise."

"Sneak attack from behind?" Liu Bang said angrily, "Are you coaxing ghosts? How could the Chu army go around behind Wuguan?"

"Your Majesty, this matter is absolutely true!" The Han Army junior swore, "It is true that the Chu Army came out from behind, but their strength should not be large, at most 3000, and now it may not even reach [-]. If Your Majesty leads the army to fight back, he can take advantage of the Chu army's unstable foothold and take Wuguan back."

Liu Bang looked back at Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, and said anxiously, "Zi Fang, Chen Ping, what should we do now?"

Chen Ping said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, since Wuguan has fallen, this road must not be followed." There may not be many Chu troops attacking Wuguan, but now the Han army is weak and has no fighting spirit. If you don't go back to the checkpoint, and let the Chu army intercept the back road, then there is really no way to go to heaven and no way to go to earth. This risk must not be taken.

"I also think you should go to Yingchuan Road." Zhang Liang nodded, and said again, "However, you should send flying cavalry to Sanchuan, and order the defenders of Sanchuan to strengthen their guard, especially at Hulao Pass. There must be no more mistakes!" Zhang Liang couldn't help worrying that if the Chu army attacked Hulao Pass, the Han army would have to go back to the pass over the mountains, and even if they didn't die, they would have to lose their skin.

Liu Bang nodded again and again, and immediately told his uncle Sunying: "General Shusun, please take a walk."

"Here!" Uncle Sunying responded with a bang, reined in his horse and turned around. At that moment, Liu Bang ordered the whole army to turn around and return to Rang County.

It's just that, the Chu army's pursuit was getting closer and closer. As a last resort, Liu Bang could only leave Wang Su to lead the five thousand troops, and he had to resist for a while no matter what.

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Not to mention Liu Bang's hasty escape, the plague in the Chu army finally broke out.

"How did this happen? Well done, why are so many soldiers sick all of a sudden?" Xiang Zhuang asked as he strode into the camp. As soon as he entered the gate, a wounded doctor handed him wet towels. Although the medical skills of the times were backward, as a wounded doctor accompanying the army, he still knew the basic precautions.

Xiang Zhuang took the wet towel and put it on his face, and when he looked around, he saw that the entire camp was already full, and many wounded soldiers could only lie in the open air because they had no place to rest. Flushing, chapped lips, and some seriously wounded soldiers were even on the brink of death.

Porridge-like vomit was everywhere on the ground, and many soldiers’ battle robes were even covered with feces. The air was filled with a strong stench, which could not be covered by the wet towel covering their faces. Xiang Tuo, Heng Chu and others who followed Xiang Zhuang also frowned instinctively, even though they also had wet wipes on their faces.

Seeing this scene, Xiang Zhuang's heart skipped a beat, vomiting?This is not a good sign!

Xiang Zhuang couldn't help thinking of two terrible words - plague!It shouldn't be a plague, right? !
As a time traveler, Xiang Zhuang certainly knows how terrible the plague is. He has counted all over the world, and the most terrible plague is of course the Black Death in Europe in the 14th century. The so-called Black Death is actually the plague. Even in the 21st century, The mortality rate of the plague is also as high as [-]%. It is simply the sickle of death, and it is terrifying!
The obvious symptoms of plague are fever, vomiting, and diarrhea!

If there is really a large-scale outbreak of plague, including his Xiangzhuang, the three 10,000+ Chu troops here are afraid that none of them will survive. Not only the three 10,000+ people will not survive, but the entire China will also suffer an unprecedented The catastrophe, after the catastrophe, the population of the entire Central Plains region is likely to experience an unprecedented drop!
However, Xiang Zhuang believes that the possibility of the plague outbreak should be small, and the biggest possibility is influenza!
The obvious early symptoms of influenza are fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, but even if it is a flow, it is deadly enough in this ancient time when medical skills were backward. In the 21st century, the outbreak of influenza is a very serious topic, and every year Many people died due to the outbreak of influenza, let alone in ancient times more than 2000 years ago?

The most frightening thing is that if there is really an outbreak of influenza, it will be too late for any remedial measures. The air, water, and even wild animals in the entire Nanyang County may already be full of influenza viruses. All the wounded soldiers in the hospital were buried alive, but it still couldn't stop the spread of the flu.

With a heavy heart, Xiang Zhuang asked the medical order in charge of containment furiously, "The epidemic is already so serious, why didn't you report it earlier?"

The doctor said with a sad face: "Reporting to Your Majesty, at the beginning, only more than 100 people were sick, and the villain didn't pay much attention to it. He thought it was just a seasonal epidemic, so he prescribed some medicine for them, but today, the number of people who got sick suddenly increased. When there were more than 5000 people, the villain felt that something was wrong, so why don't you report this to the king immediately?"

After saying this, the medical order lowered his voice and said, "My lord, maybe this is a plague!"

Xiang Zhuang wanted to slap the doctor's order to death, so he suppressed his anger and asked, "What are the specific symptoms?"

The medical order replied: "In the beginning, there was only a fever and fatigue, and then weeping and crying. On the second day, they began to vomit and vomit, and the weak and wounded soldiers would also have convulsions and other symptoms."

Xiang Zhuang is basically sure that this should be a flu outbreak!

Influenza has already broken out on a large scale, and it is extremely difficult to control the epidemic.

At this moment, Xiang Zhuang could only lament the bad luck. In the 21st century, due to the advancement of medicine, the mortality rate of influenza is indeed not high, but in this era, influenza is an out-and-out killer!Soldiers with strong physique may be able to carry it through, but those who are wounded or weak in physique can hardly escape this catastrophe.

(End of this chapter)