I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a black mist suddenly appear right next to the Wujiang River. I had seen it a few times before when I escorted the Allied forces back home; it looked just like that. I said to Xiang Yu, "That's it. Let the soldiers go in."
However, after the order was given, the soldiers in the front ranks hesitated. Most of them were seeing this thing for the first time and had no idea what it was for. To the average person, the military road was just a cloud of mist, with the raging river just ahead. Xiang Yu's order for them to continue advancing looked like he was telling them to jump into the river.
Xiang Yu rode forward and angrily shouted, "Why are you disobeying military orders?"
A Chu soldier hesitated at first, then stepped forward and shouted, "Your Majesty, we are not afraid to die, but we must die with value. Rather than jumping into the river, let's fight the Han army to the death!" Many soldiers echoed, "Yes! Let's fight the Han army to the death!" Some even thought themselves clever and said, "Does Your Majesty want us to burn our boats again?" Someone nearby immediately said, "But we don't have any boats now."
After listening, Xiang Yu smiled slightly and said, "So that's how it is. I don't want you to die, but to live. Just charge forward boldly."
The soldiers remained hesitant. The veterans who had served in the allied forces were few and far between, and unable to lead the charge. Seeing this, Xiang Yu roared, "Black Tiger!"
A burly man in black armor carrying a meteor hammer spurred his horse forward and replied, "Here!" I've seen this man before; he was one of Xiang Yu's original weapons of mass destruction. It's said that he died in the Battle of Pengcheng in the original history. I didn't expect that he would survive Xiang Yu's return to the Chu-Han Contention.
Black Tiger's appearance was awe-inspiring, and all the soldiers fell silent...
Xiang Yu said, "Black Tiger, how about you die for me once?"
Black Tiger said, "Good!"
Xiang Yu nodded and pointed to the Wujiang River: "Then you jump first."
Without a word, Black Tiger tightened the chain of his meteor hammer around his body and charged forward on horseback. To the astonishment of his soldiers, Black Tiger and his horse vanished into the black mist. Xiang Yu laughed, "Did you see that? There's no sign of Black Tiger's body in the river, is there?"
The veteran soldiers of the allied forces then shouted, "Your Majesty, let us lead the way!" Xiang Yu waved his hand, and the veterans joyfully plunged into the black mist. From a distance, it seemed as if one of their feet was about to step into the river, but then suddenly disappeared, though they clearly did not fall into the water.
The others saw it clearly. At first, they hesitated and waded across step by step, but in the end, they finally realized what was happening and seven or eight out of ten of the 50,000 men rushed in all at once. I pulled Xiang Yu aside and said, "Brother Yu, we still need to throw some things into the river to create a false impression, so that it doesn't make things too difficult for Bangzi."
Xiang Yu said, "Yes, I forgot about that." He ordered his men to throw all the unimportant and unnecessary things into the river. In no time, tattered clothes, pots and pans, and Chu army flags were thrown in, floating on the river as if an entire army had actually jumped into it. Seeing that it was enough, I quickly called out, "Alright, any more throwing things in is not environmentally friendly. Let's all move to the main road."
I looked at Xiang Yu and Yu Ji and said, "Brother Yu and sister-in-law, you should go too. I'll cover the rear."
Xiang Yu said, "How can that be? You take A Yu and go first!"
I heard the shouts of the Han army were almost upon me, and I shook my head, saying, "Stop arguing. We can't let anyone see you running away alive and kicking. Give me your armor and let's go."
Xiang Yu thought it made sense, so he didn't say anything more. He took off his golden armor and handed it to me, then escorted Yu Ji into the military tunnel.
By now, I could vaguely see the banners of the Han army approaching in the distance. I dismounted, found some branches to prop up my golden armor, and held it high. Then I heard someone from the Han army in the distance shout, "Look! Xiang Yu is there!"
As they ran a few more steps closer, I suddenly cried out in a hoarse voice, "Alas! I, Xiang, a hero of my generation, have been defeated by petty villains!"
Someone exclaimed, "It really is Xiang Yu—oh dear, the entire Chu army has jumped into the river and committed suicide!"
The illusion worked; now, if I spoke the command, the tunnel would close automatically. Holding my armor, I cried out in anguish, "Alas, Heaven has forsaken me; it is not my fault in battle!" Normally, all I had to do was recite the command, throw my armor into the river, and crawl into the tunnel, and everything would be fine. But suddenly, I was inspired to write poetry, feeling it necessary to further flesh out Xiang Yu's image of grief, shock, and despair, so I recited a few more lines aloud. The Han soldiers involuntarily stopped, all saying, "Let's hear what he has to say."
I recited with great emotion: "With strength to uproot mountains and spirit to cover the world, the hero went forth and never returned. In my dreams, I did not know that I was a guest, and mistook Hangzhou for Bianzhou."
The Han soldiers muttered among themselves, "What does this mean?"
With a splash, I tossed my armor into the river and stealthily slipped into the tunnel. The black mist gradually thinned and finally disappeared completely into the night…
As soon as I entered the military road, I saw Yu Ji waiting for me with a smile. She laughed and said, "Xiao Qiang, what does 'In dreams, one does not know that one is a guest, and treats Hangzhou as Bianzhou' mean? Although I don't quite understand, the sense of sorrow and regret is really well done."
I chuckled. Then I saw Xiang Yu's face turn green with rage, and he cursed, "Go ahead and ruin me!"
I laughed and said, "With my revision, this poem will definitely become a hit. Besides, this is much better than yours, 'The rabbit, the rabbit, can't escape (骓不逝兮可奈何), what to do with my wife (虞兮虞兮奈若何)'."
When I called it "rabbit" again, the horse sprayed me in the face...
Xiang Yu and I spurred our horses to the front of the column. This was my first time venturing into the military road, and the scene was similar to sitting in a golden goblet. Perhaps because the speed was slower, it wasn't as colorful, but otherwise it was just like walking under an overpass, except for the lack of vendors selling phone charms and beggars.
Xiang Yu asked, "How far do you think we can get?"
I shook my head and said, "It's hard to say, but there must have been people who visited our Yucai School."
Xiang Yu said, "The closest thing to me and Liu Bei is the Three Kingdoms, right? I really want to go and see Brother Guan."
I stroked my chin and said, "No, there's still Lord Su in between."
Xiang Yu chuckled and said, "You mean Su Wu? If we really get to him, it'll be a disaster. Our 50,000 men will be eating sheep."
I said, "Don't be too optimistic. Do you think there's plenty of wool? Even Lord Su was frugal with this stuff."
We were half worried and half joking, but at least we felt much relieved to be spared the prospect of fighting Liu Bang's brothers. As for the 50,000 men, they wouldn't starve; we could simply work as bandits for a while. Xiang Yu didn't need to worry about his reputation being ruined—even if he flew the Chu army flag, no one would recognize him.
Chapter 177 If only Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, were alive, the barbarian horses would never dare to cross the Yin Mountains.
We walked slowly for three or four hours when suddenly a light appeared ahead. I said, "We must have arrived."
Xiang Yu brandished his great iron spear, spurred his horse, and rode out to scout ahead. His figure vanished briefly before reappearing at the entrance, saying, "Tell everyone to come out; it's safe for now. We've reached a mountain."
I went outside and, sure enough, there was a desolate mountain beyond the military road, the air crisp and fresh. It was just past dawn, barely light, and the morning star was already very faint.
When the 50,000 Chu soldiers emerged from the military road and saw that they had truly escaped death and entered another world, they were momentarily stunned before cheering.
Xiang Yu smiled and let them make a fuss for a while, then waved his hand, and the disciplined soldiers immediately stopped making noise and lined up in neat rows to wait for Xiang Yu to give the next order.
Xiang Yu sent out scouts to reconnoiter the surrounding area and ordered his men to check the supplies. The remaining grain was enough for the entire army for two days. There was a mountain spring nearby, so everyone set up cooking pots and prepared a meal. As dawn broke and the morning mist began to dissipate, many of the highly vigilant soldiers simultaneously noticed what appeared to be a large group of people hiding in the low bushes below the mountain. Upon closer inspection, they all exclaimed in unison, "It's an army!"
Xiang Yu made a gesture. The soldiers swiftly extinguished the flames and crouched low to observe. What they saw was alarming: on the other side of the mountain, another group of men was slowly advancing, heading straight for the grove of trees. Xiang Yu wondered, "What are they doing? Did they know we were coming and are they here to surround us?" He quickly added, "No, the group in the grove is waiting to ambush this group—we're in for a show!"
As they spoke, the marching troops had fully entered the enemy's encirclement. From our position, we could see the men and horses lying in ambush in the grove showing signs of restlessness. As soon as the enemy's vanguard entered the encirclement, the archers immediately opened fire, and at the same time, the more than 3,000 men and horses in the grove charged out with shouts. The ambushed army was momentarily startled, but their reaction showed they were all well-trained soldiers, each drawing their weapons and engaging the ambush troops in battle.
Once the two sides clashed, we finally got a good look at the attire of the ambush troops. These men mostly wore leather and iron plates sewn onto their chests, crudely crafted, and carried large weapons. They were generally strong and fierce, somewhat resembling the Mongols. However, their tactical command lacked the Mongol-like finesse; they relied entirely on brute force. The ambushed force was significantly better equipped, with uniform armor and clothing, though still inferior to the armies of the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties. Most of them, judging by their skin color, were clearly Central Plains soldiers. We were newcomers, inexplicably arriving in this place, and before we could even do anything, we encountered this. Unable to determine the era, we naturally didn't know who they were. After observing for a while, I vaguely felt the ambush troops' attire looked familiar. Suddenly, it dawned on me—Attila the Hun, the Hunnic king, seemed to have a similar appearance in the computer game I played. So, these people were Hunnic soldiers?
Before the Tang Dynasty, the only dynasties that fought large-scale wars against the Xiongnu were the Qin and Han dynasties, but another group of people were clearly not from those two dynasties.
The Xiongnu soldiers, having gained the upper hand and possessing superior strength and speed, caught the enemy completely off guard. The ambush-stricken force could only manage a meager response, their ranks in disarray, unable to mount an effective counterattack. Just when it seemed all hope was lost, a general suddenly charged out from the center of the army on horseback. He drew his sword, felling two Xiongnu soldiers, and shouted orders: "Zhang San, you and your men hold the left flank; Li Si, have your men hold the right flank; the rest of you, charge with me! Let the brothers from behind reinforce us!"