Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 378 The price of obsession

In fact, the number of Han troops who came to reinforce the battlefield in the plains was not much. The Jibei Army and the Western Chu Army scouts quickly checked and confirmed that the reinforcements of the Han Army that suddenly appeared on the west bank of the Yellow River were only about [-] cavalry, and they even had heavy tents. None of them were carried, and they could only sleep in the open in the wilderness. Obviously, they were the rushing light cavalry dispatched by the Han army in a hurry, and it was absolutely impossible for the Han army to follow behind them.

There is also a more critical point, that is, the ships in the plain area have basically been controlled by the Chuji coalition forces, and almost all of them are docked on the east bank of the Yellow River. The Han army scraped three feet on the west bank, but only found a few Small fishing boats, with shipping power, can even carry [-] soldiers across the river at a time, let alone break through the interception and defense of the Chuji Allied Forces, and rush into Pingyuan City to help Feng Zhongjun.

But fortunately, this is enough for Feng Zhongjun for the time being. The cohesion of the army is quite good, and the city is well-located to defend. It will be clear that the reinforcements have arrived, the dawn of rescue has appeared, and Feng Zhongjun will explode immediately. With combat power exceeding its heyday, Leng Shengsheng first repelled the ant attack of the Chuji coalition army that was about to succeed, and then relied on the condescending advantage to smash the soldiers of the Chuji coalition army under the city wall with stones, gray bottles, and beating wood. Crying like ghosts and howling like wolves, there were so many casualties that they had to take the initiative to retreat and regroup.

Immediately afterwards, the Chuji coalition forces, who were unwilling to give up, used the remaining siege weapons to launch two strong attacks on Pingyuan County. Both times could only end in failure. Both times, almost no soldiers were able to charge up the city wall, and they were directly killed and retreated by Feng Zhongjun with high morale. They paid countless casualties in vain, but in the end it was futile.

When it was completely dark, seeing that there was no way to rush to the top of the plain city again, and seeing that the siege weapons prepared before had been exhausted, Tian Du, Ding Gu, Zhou Lan and others had no choice but to let the soldiers Ring the golden gong for retreat, and lead the army back to the camp dejectedly.As a result, needless to say, seeing that the Chuji coalition forces were forced to retreat, the Han soldiers on both sides of the Yellow River cheered loudly, and Feng Zhongjun in Pingyuan City hurriedly sent people down to the city to destroy the trenches that the Chuji coalition forces had erected on the moat. Bridge cars, cut off the enemy's road to the city to protect the safety of the city.

After withdrawing his troops and returning to the camp, Tian Du seized the time and discussed the next action plan with his confidant Liu Hua. In the end, Liu Hua made two suggestions to Tian Du, saying: "Your Majesty, the matter has come to this point. , we have only two choices, the first is to take this opportunity to abandon Chu and vote Han, help the Han bandits clean up the Western Chu army in Jibei County, return the family members of the Han bandits' important ministers to the Han bandits, and sell them for a day. The traitors of the Han Dynasty took advantage of the big favors, and they also took the opportunity to turn to Xiang Kang in an all-round way, and from now on they will be enemies of the King of Western Chu."

Before Liu Hua finished speaking, Tian Du shook his head and said, "You can't do this. The king of Western Chu has treated me with such kindness as a mountain. Not only was the throne granted by the king of Western Chu, but Tian Rong's rebellion back then At that time, it was also the King of Western Chu who came to rescue me personally with the army, if I were ungrateful and acted on the wind, I would definitely become the laughing stock of the world and be scolded by people all over the world."

After finishing speaking, Tian Du added another sentence, saying: "Besides, the overall strength of the king of Western Chu is far superior to that of the Han bandits. How can we have the reason to abandon the strong and surrender to the weak, and turn our backs on Chu and return to the Han? We betrayed the Western Chu. King Chu, in the future he will conquer the world, do we still want to live?"

Seeing that Tian didn't even want to consider defecting, Liu Hua didn't dare to insist, so he could only change his words and said, "My lord, then we have only one last choice, which is to use the natural danger of the river to temporarily prevent the Han bandits from crossing the river and directly reinforce them." Feng Zhongpifu, while continuing to attack the plains, helped the King of Western Chu to capture the family of the Han bandits at all costs, and showed the King of Western Chu that we are loyal to him. In addition, we have to make two-handed preparations, we must immediately Ask the King of Western Chu for help, and ask him to send us reinforcements as soon as possible, lest the Han thieves jump over the wall in a hurry and deploy too many troops to reinforce the plain battlefield, making it difficult for us to deal with it."

"That's right, we should ask the King of Western Chu for help immediately." Tian Du nodded immediately, and said, "Our main force has penetrated deep into the hinterland of Zhao, and it is difficult to get back to our homeland. We have to ask the King of Western Chu for help as soon as possible. Only when we send reinforcements to help, can we be sure that we can stop the Han bandits from further reinforcing the plain battlefield."

Having made up his mind, Tian Du didn't hesitate any longer, and wrote a letter to Xiang Yu himself that night, reporting the current situation on the Pingyuan battlefield to Xiang Yu, and asking Xiang Yu to send reinforcements to help his own army as soon as possible.In addition, for the sake of caution, Tian Du also wrote a letter to Qi Wang Tian Jia, who was supported by Xiang Yu, asking Tian Jia to send reinforcements to him as soon as possible, so that he could be more confident in blocking further reinforcements from the Han army.

In the morning of the next day, Tian Du invited Ding Gu and Zhou Lan to his camp again, and discussed with them the next battle plan. Needless to say, Tian Du was determined to help the Western Chu Army Fighting the Han army to the end, Ding Gu and Zhou Lan of course raised their hands to support them, and also agreed to temporarily prevent the Han army from directly reinforcing the plain by relying on the natural danger of the Yellow River, freeing up their hands to attack the plain with all their strength, and grab the follow-up reinforcements of the Han army at all costs Take the plains before arriving, and at the same time ask for help from the main force of the Western Chu army led by Xiang Yu himself, and prepare for a large-scale decisive battle with the Han army in the plains.

After unifying the tactical decision, the Chuji coalition forces immediately split up. The Jibei army took advantage of its own army's superiority in local snakes and water power, and collected all the surrounding ships as much as possible and docked on the east bank of the Yellow River. , There is no way to directly reinforce the plain by crossing the river by boat.At the same time, learning the lessons of the siege battle of the first day, the Chuji coalition forces did not dare to continue to be careless this time. In addition to rushing to build various siege weapons, they also organized manpower to fill the road outside the plain city that was neither wide nor deep enough. The moat directly opened the road leading to Pingyuan City, and no matter how Feng Zhongjun shot arrows to block it, he refused to stop working.

Tian Du refused to take this opportunity to abandon Chu and return to Han. Perhaps it was right, because during this period, the Chu-Ji coalition forces discovered two situations that were very beneficial to their own army. On the second night, the patrolling soldiers deployed by the Chu-Ji coalition forces outside Pingyuan City hijacked a Han army reinforcement soldier who was trying to sneak to the city to deliver a letter. After the Han army messenger died, the soldiers of the Chuji coalition army found a letter from the Han army reinforcements to Feng Zhong from him.

The content of the letter written by the reinforcements of the Han army to Feng Zhong is very simple. It is to ask Feng Zhong to hold on. How many reinforcements came, it is obvious that the Han army on the west bank of the Yellow River also has no idea about the follow-up reinforcements, so they can only give Feng Zhong a reassurance first, so that Feng Zhong has the confidence to persist for a longer time.Tian Du, Ding Gu and others were also secretly happy after watching it, and they became more and more confident in taking Pingyuan smoothly.

What made Tian Du, Ding Gu, Zhou Lan and others overjoyed was still to come. On the afternoon of the third day, the Zhao Jun in Dongwu City on the west bank of the Yellow River contacted the Chu-Ji Allied Forces, which not only proved the East-West relationship between Julu and the plain. Wucheng and Cuo County are still in the hands of Zhao Jun, and he also introduced the latest situation of the Julu battlefield to the Chuji coalition forces, saying that Zhang Er is still leading the army to hold on to Julu City, and restraining the Han army for the Chuji coalition forces The main forces of Zheng Bu's troops, as well as the main forces of the Qi State Army and the Zhao Army were also on their way south to aid Julu City. At the same time, the main forces of the Western Chu Army's Northern Front Army and the Jibei Army also blocked the Han Army's Northern Front Army. The anti-Han coalition forces still have the upper hand, and there is absolutely no possibility for the Han army to send too many troops to the plains to reinforce Feng Zhong!
After confirming these situations, Tian Du and the others felt even more at ease, and Tian Du openly scolded: "The traitor raised by the servant girl, after a long time, your situation on the battlefield of Zhao State is not so good, is it? Dare to be so arrogant and clamor that you want to kill the whole family of this king, causing this king to be a false alarm! When this king takes Pingyuan, how will I deal with your family?!"

Under such circumstances, on the fourth day, even the general Guan Ying of the Han army rushed to the west bank of the Yellow River with [-] cavalry and supplies to reinforce the west bank of the Han army. Disapproving, Guan Ying sent people across the river to negotiate, and in exchange for the alliance between the Han army and the Jibei army and the recognition of Tian Du as the king of Jibei, he persuaded the Jibei army to abandon Chu and return to the Han, and to help the Han army cross the river. Flatly refuse.

Not only that, in front of the envoys of the Han army, Tian Ju yelled even more arrogantly: "Didn't your general Zheng Bu let go, saying that if the king does not retreat, he will kill the whole family of the king without leaving any traces behind?" Is there no need for him to lead troops to fight Boyang, the king will wait for him to kill him in the plain, as long as he can cross the river, I will accompany him to the end!"

"My lord, have you really thought it through?" The envoy of the Han army was clearly threatening, and said with a sneer, "This is an opportunity given to you by our Han army. The old and the weak, women and children of the Han army were murdered, and in the future we will cross the river and enter Jibei, and our revenge will not be doubled or tripled."

"Bold! What are you, dare to threaten this king?" Tian Du was furious, and roared: "Come on, beat this traitor messenger out for this king, take him to the bank and drive him across the river. He is not allowed to take the next step by relying on Yuancheng!"

"You don't need to be so troublesome! I don't need to go to the plain city!" The Han army envoy hurriedly said, "I'm not afraid of the king, you know, in fact, we have already got in touch with General Feng Zhong in the plain city. We will fight to the end and wait for the main force of our reinforcements to arrive. In short, please remember, Your Majesty, stay on the front line so that we can meet in the future. If your Majesty does everything right, it will be too late to regret later.”

After saying that, the envoy of the Han army turned around and left arrogantly. When Tian Du saw it, he was even more furious. He hurriedly ordered the guards to come forward and beat him with sticks, and drove the envoy of the Han army out of the camp. Time to fill the river, and rush to build siege weapons, within three days, we must completely fill the moat of Pingyuan City for this king, and prepare enough siege weapons!"

The reason why the Chu-Ji Allied Forces took six days to prepare for the second large-scale siege was due to two reasons. One was to learn the lesson of the lack of and too single siege weapons last time. In addition to rushing to build a sufficient number of flying ladders In addition, it is necessary to manufacture some large siege weapons such as ramming vehicles and ladder vehicles with complex craftsmanship, which naturally consumes a lot of time.The second is that the plain is located at the center of the road, and has always been a battleground for military strategists. Years of wars have cut down all the suitable timber in the surrounding area. If we want to rush to build siege weapons on a large scale again, we must go far to cut suitable timber. It is also a waste of time to send it to listen to, so even if they know that the plain should be captured as soon as possible, the Chuji coalition must settle down and prepare for the attack—after all, siege warfare Unlike field battles, without enough weapons to attack fortified areas, even with an army of one million, it would be difficult to deal with a small county town.

Fortunately, thanks to the joint efforts of the Chuji coalition forces, by the afternoon of three days later, the Chuji coalition forces had made all the pre-war preparations. In addition to completely filling up all the moats in Pingyuan City except for the west gate, they also rushed Twelve ladder vehicles and fifteen ramming vehicles were built, and there were countless flying ladders. The total number of siege weapons was more than enough to attack a county-level city, not to mention a small county.

The situation report came before Tian Du, Ding Gu and the others. Tian Du and the others were overjoyed, and immediately ordered a feast for the soldiers tonight to boost the morale of the army. In addition, Tian Du, Ding Gu and the others were still in the central army tent of the Jibei Army A meeting was held, and it was decided to launch a full-scale siege early the next morning, and never retreat until the Pingyuan County was taken!
"Yes, if we don't take down the plains tomorrow, we will never retreat!"

Tian Du's proposal made Ding Gu, Zhou Lan and others applaud unanimously, and then Ding Gu said with a grin on his face: "We just want to take Pingyuan under the eyes of the Han bandit reinforcements, and take all their families back to Pengcheng." Go cook us alive and see what the traitors can do to us!"

"Report—!"

Old General Ding hadn't finished speaking when an emergency report came from outside the tent. Immediately afterwards, a guard of the Jibei Army rushed into the tent of the Chinese Army, knelt down on one knee and said to Tian Du: "Qi Report to Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the pier, and reinforcements from the Han bandits have arrived on the other side of the river."

"It's coming again?" Tian Du frowned slightly, not very worried, but just asked casually: "How many are here?"

"Reporting to the king, there are about ten thousand infantry soldiers."

The guard's answer just made Tian Du, Ding Gu and others frown again, and then Ding Gu said very relaxedly: "This is probably the most troops that the Han bandits can mobilize. Anyway, there is a big river in the way, so we don't have to worry about it." They can cross the river for reinforcements, and it will not affect our siege battle tomorrow."

Tian Du nodded in agreement, first waved the guards to go down, then smiled and said: "It's okay, it doesn't matter much, at most it just makes the bandit army in Pingyuan City more courageous to defend, it won't affect our siege tomorrow, let's eat first , When the traitors light the torches in the evening, we will go to see the situation of the traitors."

Everyone agreed, and Tian Du also asked the guards to bring the banquet that had been prepared long ago. Together with the important civil and military personnel of the Chuji coalition army, they enjoyed the good wine and food carefully prepared by the kitchen in the army. While discussing how to attack the city the next day, they discussed After capturing the family members of the Han army, how to deal with these old and weak women and children who dared to escape, and even discussed whether to let some Han troops cross the river on purpose tomorrow, so that the Chu-Ji coalition with sufficient troops can attack halfway, and teach the Han who do not know the heights of the sky and the earth. Army reinforcements.

"Report—!"

The guards who rushed into the big tent of the Chinese army again disturbed King Tian and Old General Ding and others, and knelt down to Tian Du with a very nervous expression, and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, another Han bandit reinforcements have arrived, and the strength is not yet there. How much do you know?"

"Trash!" Tian Wu scolded angrily: "Standing on the high ground on the east bank, I can't tell how many reinforcements the traitors have come?"

"Forgive me, my lord, I really can't see clearly, because there are too many Chinese thieves, the front team has already reached the west bank of the river, and the rear team has not finished, so our scouts can't quickly find out the number of reinforcements from the Chinese thieves. "

The guard answered with a sad face, causing the bronze wine cup in Tian Du's hand to fall on the table with a bang, and old General Ding Guding jumped up in surprise, shouting: "What? There are so many people here! Han thieves? How is it possible? Where is the Zhao army? There are also the Qi army, the Jibei army, and our main force on the northern front. Where did they go? How could so many Han thieves come directly to the plains for reinforcements?"

No one could answer Old General Ding's question. After exchanging glances, Tian Du, Zhou Lan and the others could only hastily put down their chopsticks and got on their horses. Check the situation on the highlands on the east bank of the Yellow River.

Needless to say, when they arrived at the scene, the Pingyuan City was already filled with thunderous cheers, resounding throughout the city. Countless soldiers of Feng Zhongjun jumped up and down on the city wall, frantically celebrating the arrival of the main rescuers.On the land on the west bank of the Yellow River, the red flags of the Han army are all over the mountains and plains. The soldiers' heads are like ants, spears are like forests, densely packed, and there is no end in sight. Even if there is the Yellow River blocking it, the soldiers of the Chuji coalition army are daunted. .

"At least another [-] troops have come!"

The first to come to this conclusion was General Zhou Lan of the Western Chu Army, and old General Ding Guding silently nodded, agreeing with this judgment, while Tian Du swallowed with difficulty, and said with a face full of disbelief: "The Chinese thief is crazy? How could you let so many troops go deep alone and march directly to the door of this king's house?"

"Who told you to surround the countless family members of the traitors and Xiang Kang's wife and son at your door?"

Zhou Lan and Ding Gu murmured in their hearts together, and then Zhou Lan comforted: "Your Majesty, don't worry, there is a big river blocking, as long as the bandit army can't cross the river, even if a million troops come, we don't have to be afraid, it won't affect our tomorrow." siege battle."

Tian Du didn't dare speak up this time, because Tian Du was already thinking about an important question - what if the Han army was determined to take revenge?Even if I take down Pingyuan City by relying on the temporary obstruction of the Yellow River, if the Han army is determined to take revenge, sooner or later they will find a way or enough ships to cross the river. Tian Du didn't even dare to imagine what kind of fate the Jibei Army would end up in.

At this time, the old general Ding Guding suddenly had an idea, slapped his thigh and shouted: "Opportunity! This is a good thing! The Han bandits came to save the plain at any cost. The lone army went deep, the transportation of food and grass was difficult, and there was a big river blocking the way. Hold the ferry to prevent the Han thieves from getting through, and wait for our main force to go north for reinforcements, maybe we can kill the main force of the Han thieves on the plain battlefield!"

"That's right, it's indeed an opportunity." Zhou Lan woke up and said hastily: "Our king has always hoped to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Han thieves, but the Han thieves just hid in the city or camp and did not come out to fight. Now we are trapped to death They can't do without a decisive battle if they don't want to. We just need to temporarily hold the ferry for a period of time, and wait for our king to personally lead the troops to come to the rescue. Not only can we turn the situation around, but we can also win a decisive battle for our king and the Han thieves Chance."

At this point in the matter, Tian Du, who had already offended the Han army to death, had no choice but to nod his head in agreement, and couldn't wait to send people to ask Xiang Yu for help, but the matter was not over yet. At this moment, another horse The fast horses of the Jibei Army rushed in front of Tian Du, and said to Tian Du: "Report to the king, Ge County urgently reported that in the early morning of today, a group of Han bandit cavalry suddenly rushed to the ferry of Ge County, and hired local civilian ships with a lot of money. Go to the west bank of the big river to listen to it, and it may be initiated at the ferry of Ge County to cross the river!"

"Ge County?!" Tian Du's heart trembled, and he thought to himself, "It's only about seventy miles away from the plain."

(End of this chapter)