"King Xiang! We two have no ties to you, and we are willing to serve as your vanguard to bolster your morale!"
"King Xiang! We have disobeyed military orders and are willing to accept punishment!"
Xiang Yu swept away several enemy soldiers with his halberd and turned back to say, "Then fight to the death with me! Hahaha... With the two of you here, I'll have to win three more times to feel satisfied! Follow me!"
"Yes, sir!" the two Chu soldiers replied in unison.
Xiang Yu led the two men through the enemy's encirclement and headed straight for Guangling. Duan Hong's deputy general quickly ordered the remaining troops to pursue them.
Seeing this, the remaining twenty-six Chu cavalrymen on Dushan Mountain also descended the mountain from the south and headed straight for Wujiang Pavilion.
Northwest of Dushan, Fan Kuai, who was originally preparing to send troops to search the mountain, also heard Xiang Yu's earth-shattering roar and immediately led his army eastward.
Yang happy also led his troops to catch up at this time, his face full of greed. Xiang Yu was indeed here!
"Hmph!" Fan Kuai glanced back at Yang happy and suddenly sped up.
Yang happy, not to be outdone, hurriedly chased after him. He believed that merit would be known to those who were capable, and unlike Lü Matong, he was not afraid of Fan Kuai.
"Xiang Yu is just ahead! Chase after him!"
Fan Kuai and Yang happy rounded Dushan and saw a group of Han cavalry chasing three Chu soldiers eastward. They were surprised to find that Xiang Yu only had two soldiers left, just one step away from becoming a marquis!
However, the army closest to Xiang Yu was Fan Kuai's men. Yang happy was extremely anxious, how could he let such a great opportunity slip by in front of him?
Xiang Yu spurred his horse forward at full speed, but as he ran, he gradually fell behind the two Chu soldiers behind him.
Having fought for days without rest, their warhorses were already quite tired. They could manage a short gallop, but couldn't run any further.
Xiang Yu had no choice but to slow down and wait for them, but this was by no means a good idea, as the enemy would catch up soon.
Now that things had come to this, Xiang Yu could only give it his all. "You two continue eastward, while I, the king, will lure the enemy away to the north!"
Two Chu soldiers exchanged a glance. "King Xiang! Take care!"
Then, the two reined in their horses, turned around, and charged back, shouting, "Kill!"
Xiang Yu had only taken a few steps north when he saw this scene and spurred his horse back, shouting, "If you two won't leave, then I, the king, will fight you to my heart's content! Kill!"
The Han cavalry, numbering around a hundred, was closest to Xiang Yu and his men. They never expected them to turn back so suddenly and were caught completely off guard, with screams filling the air.
Puff! Puff! Puff! ...
Ahhh...
Those who accompanied Xiang Yu out of the encirclement at Yinling were all the elite of the Chu cavalry. Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and even if the men and horses were exhausted, they were still no match for the Han cavalry.
Xiang Yu was like a tiger among sheep, his halberd relentlessly reaping the lives of the enemy.
However, Fan Kuai and Yang happy's army eventually caught up.
Fan Kuai was overjoyed. The soldiers who surrounded and killed Xiang Yu were all his own. How could Yang happy compete with him? Fortunately, he had left a backup plan at Dushan, otherwise this merit would have been lost.
Just then, Yang happy raised his right hand, "Archers, prepare...fire!"
Were there skilled archers among the Han cavalry? The answer is yes, but not as many as in the original Chu army, and most of them defected to the Han army when they were surrounded by enemies.
Guan Ying had some reliable men selected from among them and incorporated them into the vanguard, and Yang happy had dozens of such elites under his command.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
The dozens of arrows were not many, but they landed accurately around Xiang Yu and the two Chu soldiers.
Puff puff puff...
Ahhh...
The Han cavalrymen who were trying to surround and kill Xiang Yu were all killed by arrows. Xiang Yu used his halberd to block the arrows, and his gaze couldn't help but fall on two other Chu soldiers.
One of them was riddled with arrows, but even in his dying moments, he maintained a charging posture, his spear piercing into an enemy knight who was also riddled with arrows.
The other man, though riddled with arrows, still clung to life. With his eyes wide open, he roared with his last breath, "King Xiang, flee!"
"Hahaha... Wait for me to avenge you!" Xiang Yu's eyes were bloodshot as he rode his horse towards Fan Kuai's army, wielding his long halberd!
Fan Kuai sneered, "They're at their last gasp! Charge! Surround and kill Xiang Yu!"
"Kill!" Xiang Yu, like a blood-soaked demon god, swung his halberd and unleashed a furious barrage.
Xiang Yu was skilled in both offense and defense. Although he mostly used offense as a means of defense, he was rarely injured in his lifetime of battles.
Now, Xiang Yu has completely unleashed his power and is launching a full-scale attack!
Is Heaven going to destroy me? Then let's see what happens!
Puff puff puff...
Ahhh...
Whew~~~~
People and horses were thrown about, and limbs, corpses, and blood were splattered everywhere!
Fan Kuai was shocked to discover that the soldiers surrounding and killing Xiang Yu were not replenishing their ranks as fast as they were dying, and Xiang Yu was getting closer and closer to him!
I have to run, or I'll die!
Fan Kuai was suddenly enveloped by an aura of death, and then he quickly turned his horse around and galloped off in the northeast.
The Han army was too numerous, and Xiang Yu judged Fan Kuai's location by the large banner with the character 'Fan' on it.
However, by the time Xiang Yu reached the vicinity of the flag, Fan Kuai had already vanished, and he had cleverly avoided running in the direction they had come from.
"Kill!" Xiang Yu cleaved Fan Kuai's banner in two with his halberd, also cleaving the banner bearer and his horse in the process. The two halves of the body fell to the ground, and the horse's head also fell to the ground with a thud!
Fan Kuai had already fled, his banner had been cut down, and Xiang Yu was so fierce that Fan Kuai's army collapsed upon seeing this.
Yang happy was dumbfounded from a distance. Could a human really kill someone like that?
"Enemy general! Die!" Xiang Yu spotted Yang happy and the banner beside him again and charged straight at him.
hoo~~~
Yang Xi's warhorse glanced at Xiang Yu unintentionally, and immediately retreated, even urinating!
Yang happy himself was also quite frightened. "Ah! Stop him! Fire arrows!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Clang clang clang...
Xiang Yu wielded his halberd with the speed of the wind, protecting himself and his horse, deflecting all the incoming arrows, and charged into the ranks of archers like an ancient beast.
They smacked and popped, taking it or leaving it, and in the blink of an eye, they had slaughtered most of them.
By this time, Yang happy had already scrambled away a great distance, because his horse was completely ruined!
Chapter 119 Wujiang Pavilion
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Xiang Yu cut down the banner bearing the character "Yang," but Yang happy had vanished without a trace. His troops also collapsed, leaving only a few wailing wounded soldiers on the battlefield.
Xiang Yu wiped the blood from his face. His back ached slightly, and he didn't know when he had been injured.
The enemy had retreated. Xiang Yu clasped his hands in a salute to the spot where the two Chu soldiers had died, then rode his horse to the Wujiang Pavilion by the river.
The Wujiang Pavilion, dating back to the Chu-Han period, is located near the modern-day Wujiang Town. Originally just a small village, it was established as Wujiang County during the Western Jin Dynasty.
According to the Continued Comprehensive Statutes, in the sixth year of the Taikang era of the Western Jin Dynasty (285 AD), Wujiang County was established in the territory of Dongcheng. At that time, Wujiang County was largely separated from the Dongcheng area, and also included a part of Tangyi.
Therefore, some nitpickers seize upon a historical record stating that Xiang Yu died in Dongcheng and use that to deny the major event of Xiang Yu's suicide at Wujiang, which is truly speechless.
After Zhou Yin, the Grand Marshal of Jiujiang Commandery, rebelled, most of the cities in Jiujiang Commandery surrendered, but Liyang City, located southwest of Wujiang Pavilion, did not.
Therefore, Xiang Yu's initial plan was to break out of Gaixia, go to Liyang, and then cross the river back to Jiangdong from there.
However, after being ambushed at Yinling and Dushan, Xiang Yu felt that even if Liyang was not captured by the Han army, there were probably troops lying in ambush along the way, making it very dangerous to go to Liyang.
Therefore, Xiang Yu changed his mind and ordered his soldiers to go to Wujiang Pavilion.
Although that small village couldn't possibly have any large ships, and there wouldn't be many small boats either, Xiang Yu's troops were also pitifully few at the moment. Even if there was only one small boat, if there was enough time, they could cross the river twice and be done with it.
What Xiang Yu didn't expect was that Zhang Liang would go to such extremes, having already sent Fan Kuai with a large army to the riverbank to seize all the boats.
"Have you found the ship?" asked Chu soldier A anxiously.
"Hey! Forget about the boat, there's not even a door left!" Chu soldier B slammed his fist on his thigh.
“No need to look anymore. According to the villagers, a few days ago a group of soldiers dressed in various uniforms stormed into the village, looted boats, seized doors, cut down trees, and took everything that could be used to cross the river. They didn’t just loot Dongcheng, they even looted Liyang.” The Chu army junior officer also returned to the assembly point in the village.
"Damn it! They're practically leaving us no way out! Xiang Yu risked his life to lure the enemy away, but we can't even complete such a simple task as finding a boat!" Soldier A roared.
"Stop complaining. There are enemy troops stationed in Liyang, so we can't go there. There's a forest forty miles to the north. Let's hurry back, cut down trees, and transport them over to make rafts," the Chu army junior officer decided decisively.
At this moment, another Chu soldier walked over with a middle-aged man dressed as a villager.
"Sir, this is the head of the Wujiang Pavilion. He has some questions to ask you."
"Uh, may I ask, sir, are you truly Xiang Yu's army? Do you have any proof? Where is Xiang Yu?" the Wujiang Pavilion Chief asked, bowing respectfully.
The Chu army junior officer sized up the man, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "King Xiang is currently leading his troops in a battle with the enemy and has specially dispatched us to come ahead and find boats. As for credentials, my rank is too low to have any official seal, and even if I did, it would probably have been stolen or found. What use would it be to you?"
The ferryman of Wujiang nodded and said, “I see. To be honest, I can only believe half of what you say, sir. So I still advise you to run away quickly. Although those who stole the boats did not station troops nearby, they have placed spies in the village. I’m afraid that as soon as you enter the village, they will have already run off to report the news and claim their reward.”
"Hiss..." Everyone gasped. So it was too late for them to run back and cut down trees now.
The Chu army junior officer bowed deeply. "Thank you for your advice, Pavilion Chief. But I would like to ask, if we completely believe that King Xiang is right here, what would you say? If you have a way to help King Xiang cross the river, please tell us the truth. There are enemies ahead and pursuers behind. King Xiang is risking his life to draw away the enemy forces and will soon meet us here. If he cannot cross the river, he will have to go elsewhere."
The ferryman hesitated for a moment. “If you believe me completely, or if Xiang Yu is here, I will indeed tell you how to cross the river. But that’s enough. If you are truly sent by the enemy to trick me into leaving the boat, then it is Xiang Yu’s fate. I have hidden a small boat on the riverbank. If Xiang Yu comes here, I will risk my life to help him cross the river.”
"The village head is truly righteous, I admire him! We have only been in the village for a short time, perhaps the messenger has not yet contacted the enemy. Let us go after him now, and if we can intercept him..." Before the Chu army junior officer could finish speaking, he suddenly saw a plume of smoke rising into the sky in the distance outside the village!
"Lord Pavilion Chief! We will now proceed to intercept the enemy army. If King Xiang arrives here, we would be grateful if you could escort him across the river and inform him that we have already crossed ahead of him! Thank you, my benefactor! All of you, mount your horses!" The Chu army junior officer bowed deeply.
"Thank you, benefactor!" The other Chu soldiers bowed in gratitude, then resolutely mounted their horses and headed straight for the direction of the beacon fire.
The ferryman of Wujiang bowed deeply, saying, "I will certainly not fail in my mission..."
How could a Chu army with only twenty-six riders stop the enemy's large army?
It was nothing more than sacrificing their lives to lure the enemy away!
All the generals and soldiers of the Chu army understood this point: the only way to save the enemy was to lure them away so that Xiang Yu could have an opportunity to cross the river.