"General, we think we've seen the King of Han!" a Han army junior officer said, trembling.
"Huh? The King of Han? Are you out of your mind! How could the King of Han be here!" Lü Sheng cursed inwardly. Was he seeing a ghost in the middle of the night? Bah, the King of Han isn't dead, how can you call it seeing a ghost!
Lü Sheng spurred his horse and squeezed through the gap to the front, then felt a chill run down his spine.
"Hiss... Han, the King of Han?"
Chapter 102 Inhuman Acts
Lu Sheng's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
It turned out that there was a T-shaped wooden frame standing next to Xiang Yu, with a genuine corpse tied to it.
Why not a living person?
Because the head was placed on top of the wooden frame, it was misaligned and separated from the body, meaning it was a decapitated corpse, with the head and body separated.
but!
The head is Liu Ji's head, the body is Liu Ji's body, and the clothes he wears are the same clothes Liu Ji wore!
Xiang Yu grabbed Liu Ji's head and lifted it up, saying, "The King of Han, whom I have appointed, is here. Why don't you pay your respects? What are you waiting for!"
Upon seeing this, the Han cavalrymen began to sob, "King Han... Waaah..."
"Alas! The King of Han died such a tragic death, not even a complete corpse! This is not the work of a human being! Brothers, avenge the King of Han! Kill!" Lü Sheng cried out in grief, and immediately threw the spear in his hand at Xiang Yu.
"Kill!" Several Han cavalrymen charged toward Xiang Yu with bloodshot eyes.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lü Sheng spurred his warhorse and swiftly bypassed the battle.
"Wow, that's a good move! We can't let him get away!" Before Hao Jiu finished speaking, Xiang Yu had already spurred his horse and chased after him.
Historically, Lü Sheng also participated in the dismemberment of the Overlord. This grudge must be avenged. It's quite interesting to think about avenging himself by dismembering his own body.
"Where do you think you're going!" Xiang Yu roared, casually swatting away the two riders blocking his way.
"Ah!" Lu Sheng was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He couldn't understand why Xiang Yu hated him so much. His head wasn't worth much!
Ugh!
Pfft!
Lu Sheng's head was smashed to pieces by the Ruyi Halberd, just like a rotten tomato.
Perhaps because Lü Sheng's death was so gruesome, all the surrounding cavalrymen were stunned on the spot. Liu Ji had his head chopped off, but Lü Sheng's head was smashed to pieces. The Overlord Xiang Yu was indeed terrifying!
"Get out of here! Go and send a message to Lü Ze: Liu Ji is dead. I don't want to kill him outright. Meet me at this bridge tomorrow! Get out!" Xiang Yu suddenly roared, startling the group into saying "Yes, sir!" and quickly riding their horses across the bridge, flying towards Jiangdong as fast as they could.
Not long after, Lu Matong and Yang Wu's defeated troops, who had been pursued by Xiang Sheng, also arrived at this battlefield.
However, when Lü Matong saw Lü Sheng's troops fighting with the Chu cavalry from afar, he guessed that the pontoon bridge was no longer passable and decisively fled eastward.
If Cao Can's Qi army were still in Liyang, the two armies, once joined together, should have been able to fight Xiang Yu; otherwise...
In fact, Guan Ying thought the same thing, but the further east he ran, the more confused he became, and the more bewildered he looked. He didn't believe that Xiang Yu would leave him a way out.
The waterways in this area mostly flow out of Chaohu Lake, pass through Juchao, and flow into the Yangtze River. Larger rivers have stone bridges, while smaller ones have wooden bridges and shallows. If there is no one to defend it, crossing the river is easy, but if there are soldiers to defend it, it is difficult.
The cavalrymen fled quickly and soon reached the first river. Fortunately, the Chu army had not set up defenses there.
Of course, Guan Ying was also wary of the Chu army. He deliberately chose a route close to the Yangtze River and far from Juchao. In this way, even if the Chu army in Juchao finished attacking Liu Ji's camp without resting, they wouldn't have much time to build a defensive line.
Moreover, the further away from Juchao and closer to Liyang the Chu army was, the less time they had.
Everything went smoothly. Guan Ying led the army, stopping and starting along the way, crossing several rivers that blocked their path, and finally they reached Liyang.
However, Guan Ying sensed that Xiang Yu's Chu cavalry were following closely behind, so he dared not delay for even a moment.
There are two small rivers in Liyang, both flowing from the direction of Hanshan County. In Hanshan County, it is one river, and then it forks halfway through.
The defensive line that Cao Shen built to prevent Xiang Yu from breaking through to Liyang was constructed using this river as a base.
It hasn't been long since Xiang Yu launched his surprise attack on Liu Ji's camp, so the Qi army shouldn't be retreating so quickly, right?
Guan Ying arrived at the riverbank full of hope and sure enough, he saw firelight and figures on the opposite bank. There were people guarding it, which meant that the Qi army had not left yet!
"Don't shoot arrows, you on the other side! We are General Guan Ying's troops!" The Han army junior officer led his troops onto the bridge, shouting as he ran.
Then,
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Puff puff puff...
Ahhh...
"Hahaha... Guan Ying! Huan Chu has been waiting here for a long time!"
After the Qi army retreated, Huan Chu occupied the defensive line built by Cao Can. He did not pursue the Qi army, because even if he did, he could not do anything. His troops were all new soldiers and laborers. They were good at defending the high ground or intimidating people, but they did not have much chance of winning in open field battles. However, he did not expect that Guan Ying would come here to deliver a great achievement to him.
Guan Ying's face turned ashen instantly. The Qi army had fled! Not only had they fled, but the defensive line they had built had just benefited the Chu army in Liyang!
"Huan Chu! Jiangdong has been trampled flat by my army of ten thousand cavalry. Why don't you surrender now? Surrender quickly or you will make a mistake!" Guan Ying said through gritted teeth.
"Hahaha... Guan Ying, do you not know that King Xiang has already taken Liu Ji's head? Why don't you surrender now? Surrender quickly or you will make a mistake!" Huan Chu looked at Guan Ying with disdain.
"Hiss... Nonsense! Absolutely impossible!" Guan Ying felt a chill run down his spine. Just how fast could Xiang Yu catch up with Liu Ji to be able to kill him and then run to the riverbank to set up an ambush for them?
"Xiang Yu's army should be right behind you, right? If nothing unexpected happens, you will soon see Liu Ji. If you want to make a last-ditch effort, go ahead and attack. You can try to see if even one of you can break through the defenses I am holding!" Huan Chu shouted sternly.
Guan Ying felt that Huan Chu was not lying to him. Xiang Yu's military tactics were always swift, and Liu Ji had chosen an extremely risky way to break through the encirclement. If the news leaked, it was possible that he would be quickly killed by Xiang Yu.
At this time, news of Liu Ji's death at the hands of Xiang Yu spread rapidly through Guan Ying's army. Some believed it, while others did not, but the generals had lost all desire to attack Huan Chu's army.
"Send the order down: the entire army must defend and hold out for reinforcements!" Guan Ying was exhausted and didn't want to fight anymore.
Not long after, Lü Matong also arrived at Guan Ying's army. Yang Wu and Lü Matong split up and fled in two groups, their whereabouts unknown.
"What? The King of Han has been killed by Xiang Yu?" Lu Matong's heart sank to the bottom. He had just entered the camp when he heard such terrible news.
"It's too early to draw conclusions now," Guan Ying said, sitting dejectedly in the tent. "How far is Xiang Yu from here?"
"I'm afraid it will happen soon." Lü Matong's eyes were unfocused. After Xiang Yu successfully broke through from Gaixia, he had thought that Liu Ji might be defeated by Xiang Yu, but he did not expect it to be so soon.
The good days are over so quickly... No, what good days? He's spent almost the entire past month on horseback.
No, that's not right. Compared to being killed by Xiang Yu or becoming a slave, life is indeed good now, but... what can we do?
"Report! General! Xiang Yu's army has arrived, and they have brought with them the head of the King of Han!" the soldiers shouted as they ran.
"Ouch..." Guan Ying slammed his thigh hard. "I'm too late! Waaah..."
"General, please don't blame yourself. It was all due to the poor protection of Chen Ping, Xiahou Ying, and the others. General Guan, please accept my condolences." Lü Matong slowly walked towards Guan Ying.
“That’s right, it’s all because of Chen Ping’s incompetence! General Lü, now that things have come to this, what are your plans? I’ve heard that you were once Xiang Yu’s personal guard and had a deep friendship with him?” Guan Ying wiped away his tears.
“I, Lü, was indeed once a personal guard of Xiang Yu, specializing in tending his horses. On the day of the battle against Han Xin at Gaixia, King Xiang only brought me with him. Judging from this, we were indeed quite close. As for my plans, I will naturally follow General Guan.”
However, as Lü Matong spoke, he secretly pulled out a short knife from his lower back...
Chapter 103 Tokens
Upon confirming that Liu Ji had been beheaded by Xiang Yu, Guan Ying was overwhelmed with grief, but he remained relatively calm and did not order the entire army to attack immediately and fight Xiang Yu to the death.
The problem is that his army is already surrounded by the Chu army. Unless a large number of ships come to their aid, the only outcome is total annihilation, it's just a matter of how they are annihilated.
For the entire army, it was a choice between fighting to the death or surrendering directly; the former would result in many deaths, while the latter would allow many to survive.
For an individual, the options were either to die for loyalty, to be defeated and taken prisoner, to flee, or to achieve great merit and transform from a Han general into a Chu general.
At this critical moment, Guan Ying was joined by a person with a special identity, namely Lü Matong, a former personal guard of Xiang Yu.
If Xiang Yu still cherishes past relationships, then having Lü Matong negotiate on their behalf would provide them with more protection.
However, if Xiang Yu hates him to the core, Lü Matong's attempt to negotiate might backfire, and it wouldn't be easy to quell Xiang Yu's anger.
Lü Matong himself was even more aware of this.
Xiang Yu was a man who valued old friendships, but he also deeply hated traitors, as evidenced by the tragic fate of Xiang Bo.
Lü Matong regretted it. He wanted to return to Xiang Yu's side, but he was afraid that Xiang Yu would not accept him. So his only chance was to make a great contribution!
“We had a deep friendship, but you betrayed King Xiang. I imagine King Xiang must hate you even more now…” Guan Ying said, then suddenly grabbed the sword hidden under the table and stabbed it backward.
puff!
Lu Matong stared in astonishment at the sword in Guan Ying's hand that had brought him such icy pain. The dagger he had raised a moment ago fell to the ground with a clatter, and then he slowly slumped down.
“You…”
"You treacherous scoundrel, you even dare to assassinate this general? Bah!" Guan Ying spat, then swung his sword at Lü Matong's neck.
...
A cold wind howled, and Liu Ji's blood-stained and dried beard swayed wildly.
The Chu soldiers were poised outside the enemy camp, ready to charge and raze the hastily erected, makeshift camp as soon as Xiang Yu gave the order.
Guan Ying's army was at its wits' end. Whether to fight to the death or surrender and give up the struggle was up to Guan Ying.
"How does the Overlord intend to deal with Guan Ying?" Hao Jiu didn't have much ill will towards Guan Ying. Although in history Guan Ying pursued Xiang Yu all the way from Gaixia, that was his duty. Dismembering Xiang Yu had nothing to do with Guan Ying.
Guan Ying, on the other hand, spent his entire life on the battlefield, working diligently and conscientiously like an old ox, never enjoying a comfortable life. It wasn't until Emperor Wen of Han dismissed Zhou Bo from his position as prime minister that Guan Ying became prime minister and reached the pinnacle of his life.
Even so, when the Xiongnu launched a large-scale invasion, Emperor Wen of Han still sent Guan Ying to meet them off. Guan Ying was already very old at this time, but he still managed to repel the Xiongnu. He died in office as prime minister the following year.
"Does the God of Wine think that I, Your Majesty, can subdue him?" Xiang Yu asked in his heart.
"It's difficult, but Guan Ying is indeed a talent. It would be a shame not to try to subdue him." Hao Jiu said this, but subduing an enemy general is not that simple. All that domineering aura and the trembling of a tiger's body are useless.
Xiang Yu remained noncommittal, saying, "Someone has arrived, and it seems they've brought gifts."
Hao Jiu glanced at the man and realized that it wasn't Guan Ying, but he was a general. The gift was covered with a black cloth and placed on the shield. It looked like a human head. Could it be that Guan Ying refused to surrender and was killed by his men?
"Who goes there?" Xiang Guan pointed with his spear.
"This humble general, Wang Shang, pays his respects to King Xiang! By order of General Guan Ying, I present this small gift and beg King Xiang to accept our surrender and spare the lives of our soldiers." Wang Shang knelt on one knee before Xiang Yu and raised the shield he was holding high.
Xiang Guan used his spear to poke at the black cloth, and sure enough, a fresh human head was revealed, a head that died with its eyes wide open in disbelief.