Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 81

Liu Bang, Yingbo, Wu Rui, and Zangtu allied forces stopped when they reached Puyang.

First, going forward, it will be difficult for the grain and grass transported from Guanzhong and Sanchuan counties to be delivered to the army in time. Moreover, the center of the net with four positives, six odds and ten sides designed by Zhang Liang is almost Puyang. Liu Bang's army is stationed in Puyang, and can get news from Qi, Zhao, Han and Liang in the shortest time, and then can respond quickly.

In the Puyang Governor's Mansion, four multi-branched lamps illuminated the entire hall as bright as day.

Liu Bang, Zhang Liang, and Chen Ping were standing solemnly in front of the screen, on which hung a topographic map of Qi, Zhao, Liang, and Han drawn by Zhang Liang himself. On the map, Zhang Liang had already drawn a marching route, starting from Linzi, Passing through Bochang, Dixian, Lixia and Gaotangyi, this was drawn by Zhang Liang based on urgent reports from various places.

Zhang Liang pointed to this marching route and said to Liu Bang: "Your Majesty, according to the express reports from various places, I have roughly deduced the Chu army's action route for the past few days. About seven days ago, the Chu army succeeded in a surprise attack on Linzi, and then burned it down. In the big city of Linzi, tens of thousands of private houses and thousands of shops and warehouses were all burned down."

"This Xiangzhuang is even more ruthless than Xiang Yu?!" Liu Bang said in horror, "When the Chu army ransacked Guanzhong, Xiang Yu didn't even burn Xianyang." After saying this, Liu Bang sighed again, "However, this Once the fire burns, the people and financial resources of Qi will probably shrink a lot, alas, the money and food in Linzi may not be counted on."

"My lord, I'm afraid the loss is not just money and food." Chen Ping said in a deep voice, "The Chu army burned, killed and looted in Qi, all under the banner of the Han army. Xiang Zhuang is ruthless, and Wei Liao is even more vicious. , I am very worried, now the common people in Qidi probably hate the king to the bone!"

"Ah?" Liu Bang was shocked, "What should I do?"

Zhang Liangdao: "This matter is really troublesome. The people in Qidi have preconceived ideas. Now we are posting bulletins everywhere, and it is too late to try to refute the rumors. Fortunately, most of the powerful families in Qidi can distinguish right from wrong. They will never be killed by the Chu army. They have been deceived by tricks, so the king can still get their support."

"That's fine." Liu Bang hurriedly said, "As long as there is support from a powerful family."

Zhang Liang nodded, and said again: "The Chu army rested in Linzi for two days, and then went north to plunder Bochang County, then Di County, and then Lixia County. During this journey, the Chu army did not hide. , and did not go to attack the city, but just looted the villages and towns along the way on a large scale, and its intention is self-evident, it is to discredit the reputation of the Han army in Qi."

Liu Bang's complexion was a little unsightly. Thinking back when he and Xiang Yu were in a stalemate in Xingyang, he asked Peng Yue to use this trick against Xiang Yu, and achieved unexpected results. Now, Xiang Zhuang'er used the same trick to fight back Come to deal with him Liu Bang, this is really shooting yourself in the foot.

After a pause, Zhang Liang continued: "Two days ago, the Chu army ransacked dozens of villages near Gaotang Township and Yuan Township, snatched hundreds of fishing boats, and lost their whereabouts after crossing the river! Obviously , The Chu army wanted to repeat the old trick, sneaked under the city of Handan without anyone noticing, and then killed Zhao Jun by surprise."

Chen Pingdao: "I have summed it up and found a rule of the Chu army. They always advance quietly first, taking advantage of people's unpreparedness to make a sneak attack, and then make a big fanfare and build momentum everywhere. While killing people, setting fires and looting supplies, they deliberately destroy the image of the Han army. And then stealthily kill the next target, the Liang land is like this, the Qi land is like this, and the Zhao land is mostly like this."

"Hmph." Zhang Liang snorted softly, and said coldly, "But one thing can't be done again. If the Chu army wants to repeat the old trick this time, then they have made a mistake!" After saying this, Zhang Liang Then he said to Liu Bang, "Your Majesty, now you can send an order on flying horses to let Zhou Bo, Wang Xi, Mei Yu, Fu Kuan, Li Shang, Xia Houying and other six elite soldiers encircle Handan!"

As early as three days ago, Zhou Bo and Wang Xi each led [-] elite soldiers across the river from Baimajin and entered Zhao territory.

Almost at the same time, the [-] elite soldiers of Wang Su and Mei Yan also crossed the river from Dunqiu to the north, and the [-] elite soldiers of Li Shang and Xia Houying should have crossed the river from Guanyi by now.

"Okay!" Liu Bang immediately turned his head and shouted, "Immediately send flying cavalry and order the six armies to attack Handan!"

"Promise!" The guards outside the camp agreed loudly, and within a short time, dozens of fast horses galloped out of the camp of the Han army in Puyang, and rushed to Zhao's land in six routes.

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When Liu Bang ordered the six armies to attack Handan together, the Chu army had already quietly entered the dense forest near Shaqiu.

More than 5000 soldiers of the Chu army ran around all night, and fell asleep one after another after eating dry food. There were only a hundred or so scout cavalry scattered on the edge of the dense forest, responsible for vigilance.

Speaking of which, the Chu army now has more than 500 war horses, plus more than 700 mules and horses snatched from Qi and Wei, it is almost enough to form a cavalry, but this is just a good wish. It is not so easy to form a cavalry. In addition to having enough horses, you must also have soldiers who are proficient in riding and shooting.

What Xiang Zhuang wants is not a group of infantry on horseback, what he needs are real cavalry!

Of course, as long as there is enough time, Xiang Zhuang has enough confidence to train all these 5000 people into excellent cavalry, but unfortunately, Xiang Zhuang has no time at all now!Therefore, the matter of forming cavalry can only be discussed later. The only thing Xiang Zhuang can do now is to form a small-scale scout cavalry.

Zhang Liang knew the weaknesses of the Chu army clearly, how could Xiang Zhuang and Wei Liao not know?
The biggest weakness of fleeing combat is that you can't grasp the deployment of the enemy in time, so if you are not careful, you may fall into the enemy's siege.

There are many such cases in history.

Shi Dakai defeated Daduhe because he had no information about the Qing army.

Li Zicheng, the most famous king of rogues in history, was cornered by the siege of four corners, six corners and ten sides by Yang Sichang, Minister of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty. Thousands of people huddled in Shangluo Mountain, unable to advance or retreat. Forcing the Ming court to transfer away the main force of the frontier army, Li Zicheng was about to starve to death in Shangluo Mountain.

Only the Red Army was an exception, but the reason why the Red Army was able to break through the heavy siege of the national army was the continuous information provided by Shanghai Teke.

The Chu army also had no intelligence support. The reason why they fled to Wei and Qi in the past, and achieved brilliant results, was because the defenses in Wei and Qi were empty. Now Liu Bang's army has returned to the division. Zhao's battle will never be as easy as the previous two, the real test has just begun.

Now, the only thing Xiangzhuang can rely on is more than 100 scout cavalry!
Xiang Zhuang selected more than 5000 sharp men who can ride and shoot well from more than 100 people, and formed a scout team. Zuo Sima Gongsun, who first boarded the camp, served as the team leader himself. Xiang Zhuang also equipped each scout with two good horses. The horses were ready to be replaced at any time. For the sake of confidentiality, Xiang Zhuang did not equip the scouts with stirrups. This thing is a big killer, and it will be used when the real cavalry is formed.

At this moment, Xiang Zhuang, Wei Liao and Wu She were sitting around on the grass, discussing tactics against the map.

Not far outside the forest is Shaqiu, and less than two hundred miles south of Shaqiu is Handan.

Although Shaqiu is not big, it is a famous historical city. King Shang Zhou once built a palace here and raised all kinds of exotic animals. The famous allusion "Jiuchi Roulin" describes Shaqiuyuantai. King Zhao Wuling, who made Zhao Guo into the forest of powerful countries, starved to death in the Dune Palace in the end. Later, Qin Shihuang, the emperor of the ages, also died of illness in the Dune Palace.

From Shaqiu Town to the south, you begin to enter the core area of ​​Zhaodi. Not only are there many cities in this area, but there are also countless villages and towns. Most of the land is an endless plain, so it is difficult for the Chu army to hide after passing through Shaqiu.

Sneak attacking the gates of Handan City is not a problem. Whether it is Qiao dressing up as a barbarian entering the city, or pretending to be a trafficker to enter the city, or simply sending a sharp soldier with good water skills to sneak in from the drain, or even a multi-pronged approach, it is worth trying. The real problem is, five How can thousands of troops move to the outside of Handan City without anyone noticing?

Handan is surrounded by plains for hundreds of miles, densely populated and without forests, so how can it be hidden?Five thousand Chu soldiers can't fly over from the sky, or drill a hole in the ground, can they?But as long as you walk on the ground, you will definitely be discovered. Once your whereabouts are exposed in advance, the sneak attack will become a strong attack.

The three have been discussing for a long time, but there is still no good solution.

"If it doesn't work, let's attack by force." Xiang Zhuang said, "Since it's a war, casualties are inevitable!"

Since coming out of the Dabie Mountains, the Chu army has really not fought any major battles. The sneak attack on Aocang only caused dozens of casualties. I'm afraid it won't be too small, especially if there are 200 dead soldiers in the camp first, there may not be many left after this battle.

Wei Liao shook his head, and said worriedly: "General, the old man is not worried about casualties, but whether Liu Bang will set up pockets in Handan, waiting for us to drill in?"

Wu She said awe-inspiringly: "Military Master, you mean that Liu Bang has already seen through our strategy?"

Wei Liao shook his head and said: "Liu Bang is just a rascal in the market, how can he see through the old strategy? However, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping beside Liu Bang are wise men born in the world. If you succeed in sneak attacking Wei and Qi, and if you want to sneak attack Zhao, it may not be so easy."

Xiang Zhuang couldn't help being silent, yes, why did he ignore this?
Although Wei Liao's strategy is formidable, it can break Liu Bang's power to sweep the world, but Zhang Liang and Chen Ping under Liu Bang's tent are not idle people, how can they watch Liu Bang lose power?

If Zhang Liang and Chen Ping had seen through Wei Liao's strategy, then the situation would be complicated.

It is conservatively estimated that Liu Bang should know the news that Linzi was burned nine days ago. With these nine days, Liu Bang is enough to make sufficient arrangements. Could it be that Handan is really in danger? #################################################### #############PS: Thank you: Blue Boiling Point Star, 5420520, the last love is to let go of your hands, sgqsdxsw, Seven Nights Rain, 1314 cordial, L Liying, zwtlxl rand, Drifting bait, the sunshine of two people, the story of the starry sky, love without limit, cruel C, not looking at Fangyuan, blue broken hair, ancestor of swordsmanship, cry-loving Xiaozi, quiet gentleness, and other generous rewards from book friends, Thank you so much.

(End of this chapter)