Liu Xiu pondered for a moment, "Let's split up and break through. The Wen River is not far ahead. We can send a small group to escort the grain and supplies by water towards Yancheng. I will lead the main army lightly armed and lightly armed to cross Ziyun Mountain back to Kunyang. After Brother Song has held out for a while, he can lead the cavalry to retreat towards Dingling. If the enemy stops pursuing, then go to Kunyang to meet up with me."
"Huh? That's great! Xiuer, you've finally figured it out! Hahaha..." Song Tiao exclaimed with delight.
Liu Xiu's face darkened. "Brother Song, I am no longer a child. Please do not call me Xiu'er anymore. How about you call me Wen Shu instead?"
"That won't do. Trying to take advantage of me? No way! Haha, time is of the essence, prepare quickly. If we don't have enough boats, let them go to Yancheng by land." After saying that, Song Tiao looked at the scout. "You're already wounded, so leave your warhorse behind and go with General Taichang along the mountain road. Go and treat your wounds first, lest you bleed to death."
"Yes, sir." The scout bowed and accepted the order.
"I'm going to assemble my troops and form a battle formation to meet the enemy!" Song Tiao waved his hand and turned to leave.
"Brother Song!" Liu Xiu shouted loudly.
"Hmm?" Song Tiao stopped in his tracks.
"Take care!" Liu Xiu clasped his hands in a bow.
Song Tiao smiled slightly, "See you in Kunyang."
"See you in Kunyang!" Liu Xiu nodded heavily.
...
Five miles is a short distance for cavalry, provided their horses are strong enough.
Therefore, Song Tiao did not think there was any problem with the fact that the new army had not caught up for a long time. If he were a general of the new army, he would definitely let his warhorses rest frequently to maintain their strength before continuing the pursuit.
Song Tiao was also happy to meet the new army later, partly to allow his warhorses to rest properly, and partly to buy more time for Liu Xiu's side.
However, as time went by and the enemy troops failed to arrive, Song Tiao began to feel that something was amiss.
"Who is the commander of the pursuers?" Song Tiao suddenly asked.
“There are two people in total. One is called Ju Wuba, and I don’t recognize the other, but he doesn’t look like an ordinary person,” the Gengshi Army junior officer replied.
"We can't wait any longer. Liu Xiu and the others should have already entered the mountains. Let's retreat ten miles to the south." The more Song Tiao thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Could it be that the enemy had already bypassed their route and surrounded them?
Just then, enemy troops gradually appeared in the north, and the sound of horses' hooves grew louder and louder, thundering and rumbling...
Xiang Yu pointed his halberd at the Gengshi army ahead and shouted, "All troops, charge!"
Chapter 242 Victory
Why did Song Tiao dare to use a thousand cavalry to hold off a pursuing force of five thousand cavalry?
Firstly, cavalry is highly mobile and fast, making it easier to break out of enemy lines. If they can't win, they can run away; at worst, their warhorses will die, and they can become infantry and continue running.
Secondly, Song Tiao was indeed a bit arrogant. Since the uprising against the Xin dynasty, the rebel army had not only been unstoppable but had also suffered few defeats. He felt that he could first cover Liu Xiu and then retreat calmly.
In fact, Song Tiao's confidence was not unfounded. Most of the main force of the Xin Dynasty army was consumed by the Red Eyebrow Army in the north. Wang Yi's army, which claimed to be a million strong, was mostly a new army, a rookie army.
If it weren't for Wang Yi's 100,000-strong army behind them, Song Tiao would have dared to use his 3,000 men to confront the 5,000 pursuing cavalry head-on.
The most capable generals of the new army, Yan You and Chen Mao, have already been defeated by the Green Forest Army. As for Wang Yi and Wang Xun, they don't know how to fight at all, so what is there to fear?
Even with Wang Yi's 100,000-strong army behind him, Song Tiao was not afraid as long as he wasn't entangled by this pursuing force or blocked at Yangguan.
But now, Song Tiao was genuinely scared. The pursuers had timed their attack perfectly, and it would be disastrous if they were truly surrounded.
"Kill them!"
"Charge!"
Rumble rumble...
The new army charged in with overwhelming force, their shouts and the clatter of hooves creating a chilling atmosphere.
"The entire army should retreat south immediately!" Song Tiao believed that he had bought enough time for Liu Xiu and there was absolutely no need to fight this battle.
However, Song Tiao hadn't run far when the sound of horses' hooves came from both the east and west, and the enemy had indeed divided their forces to surround him.
However, Song Tiao was not too panicked because he discovered the situation in time. Even if the enemy surrounded them from all sides, each side would only have a little over a thousand cavalry, while his own force also numbered a thousand cavalry, and was more elite than the new army. Breaking out to the south would not be a problem!
"The enemy has few troops blocking our lines. No one is allowed to linger in battle. Break out immediately!" As Song Tiao gave the order, he also raised his spear, thinking to himself that it would be great if he could kill one of the enemy's generals during the breakout.
At this moment, a tall figure suddenly appeared in front of Song Tiao's Gengshi army, a terrifying behemoth like a small mountain!
Song Tiao had heard of elephants, but this was the first time he had ever seen one. It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid. If such a huge body charged at him, who could withstand it?
Not to mention those long, thick trunks and tusks; one hit and you'd be dead.
However, Song Tiao quickly calmed down, because although the elephant was strong, there was only one, and there didn't seem to be many troops blocking the way. There was no reason for his thousand cavalry to fail in their breakout attempt.
There were more than ten carriages next to the giant elephant, which seemed quite strange.
All the vehicles had their rear ends facing them, and they were carrying large boxes or similar items. Because the boxes were covered by a curtain, it was impossible to tell exactly what they were carrying.
However, the mystery was automatically revealed the next moment...
Ju Wuba snapped his long whip, "Unveil the curtain, open the floodgates!"
Click, click...
Several tigers, black bears, and other ferocious beasts burst out of their cages, roaring incessantly with their mouths wide open.
"Awoo~~"
The carriages pulling the cages started moving instantly and sped south, the drivers unable to stop them.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Ju Wuba swung his whip and lashed the ground repeatedly. With a roar from the giant elephant, the beasts finally began to advance, accompanied by continuous roars.
Song Tiao's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Could this person be the legendary Ju Wu Ba, who could command ferocious beasts?
The legend is actually true!
hoo~~~
The warhorses of the Gengshi army were instantly terrified by the roars of tigers and other beasts, and even more so when they saw tigers and other ferocious beasts. They were completely out of control, some stopping and refusing to move, some spinning in place, some turning back and running away, and many even throwing their riders off their horses by raising their front hooves.
Some troops changed their breakout direction on their own, attempting to bypass the enemy's forces from the left and right, thus turning the already understrength Gengshi army into a three-pronged attack.
The scene was extremely chaotic. Song Tiao couldn't stop them even if he wanted to. Moreover, when things got chaotic at the front, the people at the back of the line didn't understand what was going on and their first reaction was to slow down and stop.
If we stop now, the pursuers on three sides will catch up!
Song Tiao finally managed to control his frightened warhorse. "All troops, listen to my command! Follow me and break out to the southeast!"
At this moment, two troop formations emerged from behind Ju Wuba. Although each formation consisted of only five hundred cavalry, they had no problem stopping the completely scattered Gengshi army.
In fact, when Xiang Yu allocated his troops, he placed the real elite troops here, with one man and two horses rushing to this place to ambush, while the troops in the north were the weakest in terms of combat strength.
With an inherent advantage in troop strength, coupled with the enemy general's overconfidence and some command errors, and Xiang Yu's use of stratagems, the outcome of this battle was entirely predictable.
Of course, if Xiang Yu wanted to, he could have wiped out this thousand enemy cavalrymen all by himself. The fact that the battle was fought this way is already quite low-key.
Ju Wuba was extremely grateful to Xiang Yu for giving him a chance to make a great contribution and even lending him troops. If he had followed the strategist Jiao's idea of forming a frontal battle, the enemy would have turned around and fled, and his achievement would have been much smaller.
As the sounds of battle subsided, the Gengshi army left behind more than 700 corpses and more than 200 prisoners. Only a dozen or so riders broke through the encirclement and fled in the southeast.
"Sound the retreat and quickly clean up the battlefield!" Xiang Yu didn't take a single head in this battle, nor did he charge forward much. However, he did manage to bring back two ferocious beasts that were trying to escape in the chaos.
After becoming a celestial horse, Wuzhui became arrogant and didn't take mortal creatures seriously at all. He was incredibly reckless, chasing tigers away like sheepdogs herding sheep.
As the gong sounded, Ju Wuba locked all the wild beasts back in their cages.
"Hahaha... General Wang, this battle was truly exhilarating! Thank you for your help, General Wang!" Ju Wuba was overjoyed. With these achievements, there would be no problem for him to be promoted to general when he returned. At that time, when others called him general, it would not be just politeness or flattery.
"Ah~ General Ju, there's no need for thanks. You deserve the greatest credit for our victory. I didn't help much." Xiang Yu waved his hand. Hao Jiu had told him to say these words, in short, not to take credit and to keep a low profile.
Of course, no matter how low-key Xiang Yu tried to be, he couldn't be that low-key; his strength simply didn't allow it. What could he do?
Ju Wuba was taken aback, "If it weren't for General Wang's brilliant plan..."
"Alas~ This is not my brilliant plan, but the brilliant plan of the strategist, Mr. Jiao. I am new here and do not want to be too conspicuous. Besides, I am already the General Who Pacifies the East, and it is unlikely that I will be promoted further. This merit is of no use to me."
Xiang Yu was telling the truth. He was just a passerby. What use was military merit? Finding the target system, eliminating it, and completing the mission was what truly mattered.
"Oh, I see. General Wang is indeed very insightful. However, I still thank General Wang for his guidance. If there is anything I can help with in the future, please don't hesitate to ask!" Ju Wuba said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
"What a coincidence, I happen to have a favor to ask of you." Xiang Yu smiled slightly.
Chapter 243 Ambush
Upon hearing that Xiang Yu had a request, Ju Wuba immediately replied solemnly, "Brother, please speak. I will do my utmost!"
"If anyone asks, just say that this brilliant plan was secretly told to General Ju by the strategist. What do you think? I hope General Ju will grant my request," Xiang Yu said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
"Brother Wang, why is that?" Although Ju Wuba wasn't very bright, he could understand that Xiang Yu wanted to curry favor with the strategist and make friends. If such a good thing was attributed to making friends, the other party would definitely be happy to admit it. But if he said it as Xiang Yu had instructed, wouldn't that be the same as giving this goodwill to him?
"I received orders to go to war as soon as I arrived today, and I haven't had a chance to meet many people," Xiang Yu said, shrugging.
Ju Wuba suddenly realized, "I understand. Leave this to me. I will explain it to the strategist when I have the chance."
“Alas, General, there’s no need for such formality. Although I’ve only met the strategist once, I know he’s a remarkable man. No need to spell it out, everyone understands. Making it clear would only be worse.” Xiang Yu repeated Hao Jiu’s words, somewhat puzzled. “God of Wine, why do you say this? Is it to keep a low profile?”
Hao Jiu smiled slightly, "It's necessary to keep a low profile, but I'm very interested in making friends... Uh, I suspect he might also be the host, or even if he isn't, he might know that Wang Yi. It doesn't matter if I'm wrong, we won't lose anything anyway, and what if we can fool the target system?"
"Hide my role in this battle? What was the outcome of this battle in history?" Xiang Yu asked.
"I don't know the specifics, but I imagine Liu Xiu and his men managed to escape successfully. We're the only ones who can barely use this beast army." Hao Jiu guessed that this battle in history didn't actually happen because Liu Xiu ran away decisively and returned to Kunyang first.
Just then, a soldier came to report.
"Reporting to the two generals, no rebel commander was found among the prisoners and corpses, so it seems he escaped."
"Alas! What a pity!" Ju Wuba exclaimed, pounding his chest and stamping his feet.
Xiang Yu waved his hand, "It's alright. Interrogate the prisoners. The enemy has a total of three thousand men, and less than a thousand are here. Find the whereabouts of the other two thousand, and then we'll fight another battle. If nothing unexpected happens, they should have fled towards Kunyang."
Ju Wuba's eyes lit up. "Leave this to me. I'm good at interrogation!"
"Okay, everyone else, take a break and eat some dry rations." After saying that, Xiang Yu found a relatively quiet place and closed his eyes to rest.
...
Ziyun Mountain, although its main peak is only a little over a hundred feet high, is not a single mountain, but a collective name for a small mountain range, and the mountain road is not easy to walk.
Liu Xiu didn't want to leave, but he had no other good options. The only way to escape the cavalry's pursuit was to leave from here.