What if Liu Ji really gets killed by Xiang Yu... No, no, Liu Ji is incredibly lucky. He's survived so many crises, he'll definitely pull through this time too!
Lu Matong kept hypnotizing himself, telling himself that he was the vanguard officer and the first person to rescue Liu Ji, which was a great achievement, and he should at least be granted a marquisate...
But Ding Gu had also saved Liu Ji's life, yet Liu Ji chopped off his head as a warning to others!
After much deliberation, Lü Matong decided that he shouldn't try to achieve any great feats. He should just be a general and have the opportunity to serve under Lü Ze in the future. Since they were both surnamed Lü, he wouldn't have to change his surname to be a retainer. How wonderful!
Just as Lü Matong was lost in thought, a rumbling thunder suddenly came from the east. The sound was exceptionally loud and easily drowned out his 5,000-strong scout vanguard.
Rumble, rumble...
"Hiss... Not good! Retreat! Turn around quickly!" Lü Matong knew that a cavalry unit of the Qi army had also crossed the river, but even if they had also crossed the river and returned, there was absolutely no way they could have run from Liyang to this side.
The answer is obvious: those were Xiang Yu's cavalry!
Moreover, they intercepted them from their right front.
If you continue forward, you will definitely run into it head-on; the only way to escape is to turn around immediately.
As for charging headlong into a fight to the death, that option simply doesn't exist; only someone who's tired of living would do that!
One moment you're accelerating forward, the next you're suddenly forced to turn around and retreat. No matter how fast you go, there's always a process of slowing down and turning around.
The most crucial point is that the vehicle suddenly slowed down, and before the command could be relayed to the rear, a major rear-end collision occurred.
Whew~~~~
"ah!"
"Ouch..."
These Han cavalrymen weren't particularly skilled riders to begin with, and when this happened suddenly, chaos ensued, with many being trampled to death.
Then came the rain of arrows from the Chu cavalry, truly a double whammy.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Puff puff puff...
Ahhh...
Only now did Lü Matong realize what a huge mistake he had made, but who could blame him for being somewhat absent-minded and careless before?
To be honest, Lü Matong was just Xiang Yu's stable boy. He was ambitious but overestimated his abilities. He wanted to be the second Han Xin, but he didn't have the skills. He only learned a little bit of Xiang Yu's skills.
They're good at winning battles when things are going well, but their ability to adapt to changing circumstances is far from what a general should be capable of.
Even the historical Lü Matong was a very useless fellow. Before Xiang Yu committed suicide, he met Lü Matong and wanted to give him his head so that he could be made a marquis with ten thousand households.
As a result, Lü Matong did not dare to go forward to take it. Only after Xiang Yu committed suicide and Yang happy, Wang Yi and the like rushed forward did Lü Matong dare to follow and dismember the body.
He was originally supposed to receive the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households all by himself, but it ended up being shared equally with several other people.
...
Guan Ying was flanked by Lü Sheng on his left and Yang Wu on his right. It was so late at night, marching through the night, and it was hard to get through without chatting.
"Where do you think Xiang Yu is right now?" Guan Ying had been pondering this question the whole way. If Xiang Yu had guessed that Liu Ji would flee to Shouchun, he would surely have chased after him all the way, and most likely had already caught up with him.
"This humble general thought that Xiang Yu was sleeping soundly in his bedroom. The Han King's 100,000 troops are not so easy to defeat. Xiang Yu must have paid a great price to conquer the camp in such a short time."
After losing track of the King of Han, Xiang Yu will likely send more scouts to track him down. Once they find a clue, they will pounce on him with overwhelming force. Lu Sheng shuddered as he said this.
"So, Xiang Yu must be in Juchao. Juchao isn't that far from here!" Yang Wu subconsciously looked in the direction of Juchao.
Guan Ying nodded slightly. "Indeed, they are not far away. However, there is an army that is closer to Juchao than we are. Even if Xiang Yu is going to fight through the night, he should pursue them first. Of course, we should leave this dangerous place as soon as possible. The farther away from Juchao we are, the safer we will be."
“Yes, yes, even if Zhou Bo’s troops want to withdraw from Juchao, they shouldn’t have gone very far now. For the Chu cavalry, Zhou Bo’s army is definitely a piece of easy prey.” Lü Sheng felt much more at ease.
Yang Wu nodded thoughtfully, then quickly spurred his horse to catch up with Guan Ying and Lü Sheng.
In truth, Guan Ying still believed that Xiang Yu would pursue Liu Ji immediately, and would search frantically, never giving up until he achieved his goal.
But there's no harm in marching faster; arriving in Shuxian sooner will allow us to get a proper rest.
Just then, a commotion broke out ahead.
"General Guan! Xiang Yu is attacking! The Chu cavalry are coming!" Lü Matong ran back, his helmet and armor askew, followed by more than a thousand riders, most of them wounded and looking miserable.
Rumble, rumble...
"Hiss... Why would Xiang Yu's Chu cavalry appear here!" Guan Ying gasped. The sound of that force was enough to make up tens of thousands of cavalry! He had already learned from Chen Bi that Xiang Yu's surprise attack force numbered at least 10,000 cavalry, and with the Chu cavalry in Juchao, that made more than 20,000.
Twenty thousand elite Chu cavalry against fifty thousand Han cavalry—the result of the battle would inevitably be a crushing defeat for the Han cavalry. No, now there are fewer than fifty thousand.
"This is bad, we've fallen into a trap! Lü Matong and Yang Wu are leading troops to block the enemy! The rear guard has become the front guard, we must return to Jiangdong immediately!" Guan Ying never expected that he was just worried about Liu Ji's safety, and now he was worried about himself.
The sky has fallen...
Chapter 101 Seeing a Ghost
escape!
Only by escaping back to Jiangdong can this cavalry force be saved!
No one understood the power of the Chu cavalry better than Guan Ying, especially the elite Chu cavalry led by Xiang Yu!
With Lü Matong's remaining troops plus Yang Wu's five thousand cavalry, they should be able to hold out for a while, right?
If all else fails, leave Lü Sheng behind as well; we must at least preserve 30,000 of the 50,000 cavalry.
However, now that Xiang Yu has come for them, Liu Ji should be able to reach Shouchun safely, right?
Guan Ying felt a little relieved after thinking about this. The ancient floating bridge was not far ahead, and he would be safe once he crossed the bridge.
As for leaving Jiangdong, you can simply go from the edge of Tongling, go to Fanyang first, and then cross the river north from Lujiang County, or just take care of Prince Gong Ao of Linjiang. That fool still wants to stay out of it.
As he pondered, Guan Ying heard the sound of the river and saw the bridge and a man and a horse in front of it.
It was none other than Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King, and his steed, Wuzhui, the Cloud-Stepping
"Lü, Ma, Tong!" Guan Ying was furious. That scoundrel Lü Ma Tong had actually lied about military intelligence!
"General Guan, what should we do?" Lü Sheng also saw Xiang Yu at the bridgehead.
"We can't cross the bridge anymore. If we do, Xiang Yu will cut it down, and we'll be finished. Xiang Yu and his horse can swim, and he can jump into the river, but we can't! Head west! We have to run west!" Guan Ying made up his mind immediately because the west was Hengshan County, which was Wu Rui's territory. In short, it was best to leave Jiujiang County as soon as possible.
However, before Guan Ying's army could turn around, the sound of thunderous hooves came from the west.
Rumble, rumble...
The scale of the operation was equally impressive, as if every horse was wearing iron boots!
Lü Sheng's face turned ashen instantly, and then he heard Guan Ying roar at him, "Lü Sheng! Quickly lead your troops to resist!"
"Yes, yes!" Lü Sheng gritted his teeth and led his five thousand soldiers to meet them.
Guan Ying led the remaining 35,000 cavalrymen eastward. Although he didn't want to go there, he had no choice.
Xiang Yu stood at the bridgehead, frowning. "I am all alone here. Even Guan Ying's tens of thousands of cavalry dare not come over?"
"Maybe he's learned his lesson?" Hao Jiu glanced at the Ruyi Halberd in Xiang Yu's hand. He had originally wanted to forge a cool and stylish gold Ruyi Dragon Halberd as a reward for Xiang Yu, but Xiang Yu had refused.
Hao Jiu thought that being too flashy was indeed not good, and the cooler the look, the more energy points it would cost, so it would be better if he disagreed.
So the new halberd looks roughly the same as the original one, except that it is much heavier. Considering that a heavy weapon would affect the speed of the black horse, the weight was temporarily set at 600 jin.
Of course, this "jin" refers to the ancient Chinese unit of weight, which is roughly equivalent to half of the modern "jin". In other words, the weight of this halberd is equivalent to 300 jin or 150 kilograms in modern terms.
The black horse had undergone a life-or-death test that pushed it to its limits and had also consumed a lot of 'miracle drugs,' so it was stronger than before. Now it could carry an extra 600 jin (300 kg) and still maintain its original speed and endurance.
If An Qisheng saw the current state of Wuzhui horse, he would probably get excited again.
It's impossible not to be excited. There are very few things in this world that can help one become an immortal. Often, only one such thing appears every few hundred years. An Qisheng always thought that the jujube tree he found was the only chance to become an immortal.
Actually, although that jujube tree had a bit of a magical jujube-like quality, its effects weren't as exaggerated as those of the black horse.
Hao Jiu understood that although the main function of the healing medicine was to heal wounds, there must be some unusual things in its raw materials that helped the body transform; otherwise, it wouldn't have such a miraculous effect.
It can cure illnesses and strengthen the body, making it a veritable miracle drug and health product.
The same applies to stamina potions. These additional functions may not seem like much in intermediate planes, but for people in lower planes where spiritual energy is scarce, their effects are quite remarkable.
However, Hao Jiu has no intention of giving Xiang Yu the healing and stamina potions like candy. After all, the true purpose of these medicines is clearly stated, and they are not cheap. It would be a waste to use them to improve physical condition and strength.
To put it bluntly, it all comes down to being poor. Hao Jiu only has 5,000 energy points right now, but the things he wants to buy are numerous and expensive.
Fortunately, Xiang Yu is not in a hurry to improve his strength. At least in this Chu-Han Contention timeline, Xiang Yu is basically invincible.
One person alone has already scared away 30,000 to 40,000 people, what more do you want?
Of course, Guan Ying mainly considered that even with tens of thousands of cavalry, they would not be able to capture or kill Xiang Yu, so going there would be pointless, which is why he decisively fled.
From an outsider's perspective, it was clear that upon seeing Xiang Yu standing at the bridgehead, they immediately turned and fled, showing no intention whatsoever of surrounding and killing Xiang Yu.
Xiang Yu divided his forces into three routes. One route was led by Xiang Sheng with 10,000 cavalry to intercept Lü Matong. The second route was led by Lü Sheng to hold off Xiang Guan and Xiang Han with 10,000 cavalry. Both routes consisted of 5,000 elite Chu cavalry and 5,000 hastily trained Chu cavalry. The third route was led by Xiang Yu himself, who cut off Guan Ying's retreat.
In the battle north of the pontoon bridge, after Guan Ying's main force fled, the Chu army clearly had the upper hand in terms of troop strength, so the outcome of this battle was completely without suspense.
"All troops, listen to my command! Charge across the bridge for me!" Seeing the situation was dire, Lü Sheng decided to take a gamble. What if Xiang Yu was unwilling to destroy the bridge? He could surround Xiang Yu with a few dozen cavalrymen, and then lead the others across the bridge.
Of course, the key to this plan is that there can't be too many people; the more people there are, the more likely Xiang Yu is to destroy the bridge.
At this moment, only a few hundred of Lü Sheng's five thousand cavalry remained. They had already done their best to buy time for Guan Ying, so that they could break through the encirclement.
But Xiang Guan and Xiang Han couldn't easily let Lü Sheng attack Xiang Yu; trying to extricate themselves from the chaos of battle would come at a price.
When Lü Sheng charged out of the battle and reached the vicinity of the pontoon bridge, he only had a few dozen riders left with him; the rest had either been killed or wounded, or had surrendered.
However, a few dozen riders could buy Lü Sheng some time, so let's fight!
"Charge! Xiang Yu is only one man, he can't stop us!" Lü Sheng pointed his long spear forward.
"Charge!"
"Kill them!"
The remaining men charged forward, shouting and yelling, without the slightest hesitation or fear. If they wanted to surrender, they would have surrendered long ago; they were die-hard loyalists who had come to fight to the death.
Lu Sheng deliberately slowed down, closely following the cavalry on the side and behind, preparing to accelerate past them from the side once the men in front engaged Xiang Yu in battle. After all, someone among them had to go to Jiangdong to report the news, so why couldn't it be him?
However, the cavalrymen in front suddenly stopped their horses without prior arrangement, forcing Lü Sheng to slow down and stop as well.
"Why did you stop!" Lu Sheng was both shocked and furious. Were these people suddenly so afraid of death?