Puff puff puff...
Ahhh...
Three thousand Chu cavalry surrounded the south end of the bridge from the southeast and west, while the Han army had only managed to cross the bridge at this time, with only one thousand cavalrymen remaining due to the width of the bridge.
It was a three-against-one situation, and it was three elite Chu troops against one Han army!
Although the Han army could receive reinforcements from the bridge, it was clear that they could not replenish many troops at once, making it difficult to launch a counterattack. They would always be surrounded by the Chu army, which was a major taboo for military strategists.
Even though the accuracy of arrows is low in the dark, the enemy forces at the south bridgehead are densely packed, and many can still be killed by mistake.
Under wave after wave of arrows, the Han army's attempts to break through the Chu army's encirclement or to scatter and hide were all in vain.
Gradually, the Han cavalry on the bridge slowed down, and fewer and fewer Han cavalrymen stepped onto the south bank.
"Charge! Kill them all!" Huan Chu gave the order, and the Chu army surged forward.
"kill!"
...
Meanwhile, the Han cavalry on the Tuyi Bridge had already reined in their horses and, seeing the Chu army launch their charge, decisively turned back.
After realizing something was wrong, Lü Matong and Lü Sheng hurriedly ordered the cavalry on the north bank to stop crossing the bridge and commanded the cavalry on the bridge to retreat quickly, but it was too late.
"Hey!" Lü Sheng slapped his thigh. Now he finally understood why Lü Matong always seemed a bit fearful when he mentioned Xiang Yu.
Lu Matong gave a bitter smile. He had guessed correctly that Xiang Yu did not intend to burn the bridge, but he had not guessed Xiang Yu's purpose in not burning the bridge.
"It seems Xiang Yu left most of his troops here. Wang Yi should be able to hold the pontoon bridge, right?"
"Should we continue to try and capture the bridge?" Lü Sheng asked instinctively.
"How do we seize it? Should we hand over another victory to the Chu army? Or should we set up camp here, get some rest, and wait patiently for news from Wang Yi?" Lü Matong shifted his body, sighing inwardly. He was truly exhausted. Had he known this would happen, why had he betrayed Xiang Yu?
...
The original pontoon bridge no longer exists where it once stood.
Starting from the north end of the bridge, Xiang Yu dismantled the pontoon bridge section by section in front of the enemy. Half of the eastern pontoon bridge fell apart in no time and was then washed away by the water.
Yang Xi and Yang Wu on the north bank considered sending soldiers downstream to collect the remains of the pontoon bridge, but later decided it was too tiring in the middle of the night, and they didn't know where the pontoon bridge fragments would end up on shore, so collecting them wouldn't be easy.
"Awu, things have come to this, and I'm afraid we can't catch up with Xiang Yu anymore. What should we do?"
Yang happy glanced at Wang Yi, who had an arrow stuck in his face, and inexplicably felt a sense of shared sorrow.
He originally thought that with so many troops, even if capturing and killing Xiang Yu wasn't a piece of cake, at least he wouldn't be killed by Xiang Yu in return.
As a result, Wang Yi was shot through the head by Xiang Yu's arrow right under their noses and was dead beyond any doubt.
Having never fought against Xiang Yu, one has no idea how terrifying he was. It seems that Zhang Han Wang Li's defeat was not unjust, Liu Jia's death at Xiang Yu's hands was normal, and Guan Ying's loss of soldiers and generals was nothing compared to that.
It's laughable that he previously regarded capturing and killing Xiang Yu as an easy achievement. Is there really anyone in the world who can kill Xiang Yu?
Yang Wu was silent for a moment. "Xiang Yu destroyed the Dongfu Bridge. He will probably have to go back to Tuyi Bridge to rescue it. Even if the two Lü brothers capture the bridge, they will still face Xiang Yu's counterattack. Perhaps we should rush over to support them as soon as possible."
"I'm going back to the main camp to rest. Wang Yi's troops are yours. I don't want a single soldier. I'll leave the support to you." Yang happy urged his horse to leave without waiting for Yang Wu's reply.
Yang Wu hesitated for a moment, rubbed his backside, gritted his teeth and said, "Order that Wang Yi's troops be incorporated into our army and immediately head west to Tuyi Bridge!"
"Yes, sir." The messenger beside him was on the verge of tears. They still had to go to Tuyi? Had the general gone mad? Didn't he know how tiring it was?
In fact, the one who truly didn't feel tired was Xiang Yu. After arranging things at Dongfu Bridge, he rushed back to the Tuyi camp alone without stopping.
Huan Chu came forward and said, "King Xiang! In this battle, we annihilated two thousand enemy cavalry! We captured nearly a thousand fine warhorses, and another five hundred or so lightly wounded warhorses. The remaining warhorses are more seriously injured, so they can probably only be eaten, haha."
"You've worked hard. It's getting late, go and get some rest." Xiang Yu was also somewhat surprised that a tactic he had casually devised could yield such great results.
"Here you go." Huan Chu was still excited, not because he had never won before, but because he truly saw the hope of turning defeat into victory.
"If we continue fighting like this, there's no need to return to Jiangdong. I'm confident I can prevent the enemy from crossing the Huai River. What do you think, God of Wine?" Xiang Yu asked in his heart.
"Deploying defenses on the south bank of the Huai River might allow us to roam freely in Jiujiang County for a short period, but it won't last long. Our forces are limited, and the enemy will always find a loophole in our defenses to get behind us, putting us at a disadvantage again."
It's best not to fight over the gains or losses of a single city or territory. The key to victory is to annihilate the enemy's manpower. Jiangdong is our rear area and must be secured. Jiujiang County can serve as the battlefield. To annihilate the enemy, we must first put them into the battlefield.
Moreover, the longer the enemy's battle lines are stretched out, the more problems will gradually emerge in terms of supply and reinforcement. The larger the territory that Liu Ji swallows up, the more difficult it will be to digest. Why not give Jiujiang County to him?
"Of course, we can't let the enemy cross the Huai River easily right now. Perhaps there's a surprise waiting for us in Yinling." Hao Jiu suddenly had a bold idea.
"Not concerned with the gain or loss of a single city or territory, but with annihilating the enemy's manpower and letting the enemy into the battlefield..." Xiang Yu slowly raised the corners of his mouth, then let's take that surprise first.
Chapter 46 Battle of the Huai River (Part 8)
Liu Ji suddenly opened his eyes in his sleep and immediately saw a person who terrified him.
"Xiang, King Xiang? How did you get in!"
"Liu Ji, prepare to die!" Xiang Yu raised his sword and slashed.
"King Xiang, spare my life..." Liu Ji could not dodge in time and could only block with his arm.
puff!
"Ah!!!" Liu Ji clutched his left arm and sat up abruptly, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, his mouth agape, breathing heavily.
"Your Majesty..." Lady Qi clutched her chest, terrified. The voice was so loud and so pitiful.
"Why did you exclaim? Is Your Majesty alright?" Guard Guo Meng asked from outside the door.
Liu Ji waved his hand, "I am fine, it was just a dream. You should continue to rest."
"Yes, sir." Guo Meng replied and lay back down on his bed. Liu Ji and Lady Qi slept in the inner room, while he slept in the outer room, which was really unbearable, but as Liu Ji's personal guard, he had no choice but to do so.
Liu Ji was very agitated these past two days. Putting aside the matter of the Chu army's breakout from Gaixia, Han Xin actually insisted on returning to Qi despite his objections.
Of course, Han Xin had good reasons to return to Qi. The remnants of the Tian family were still causing trouble in Qi, and Ji Bu and Zhongli Mei's Chu army intended to escape into Qi.
Most importantly, the Battle of Gaixia was over, and Xiang Yu's army had been reduced from 100,000 to 50,000 or 60,000, including more than 20,000 Jiujiang soldiers who had been turned against him and the troops of Ji Zhong and his men.
Moreover, Xiang Yu only had about 6,000 cavalrymen with him. Liu Ji had annexed the Jiujiang army and had Ying Bu's Huainan army to assist him. No matter how you looked at it, Xiang Yu was no match for him. At most, Xiang Yu could only escape back to Jiangdong.
It's understandable that Han Xin wanted to secure his position as King of Qi first. Moreover, Han Xin also sent Ding Fu and Chen Xi to deal with Zhongli Mei and Ji Bu. He also promised Liu Ji that after he returned to Qi, he would send Cao Can, the general who was stationed in Qi, to lead an army south to support Liu Ji.
With this arrangement, what could Liu Ji say? He couldn't very well say that without Han Xin, no matter how many men they had, they were no match for Xiang Yu, could he?
Xiang Yu was already difficult to deal with, and now he has the help of the system. Liu Ji has experienced the system's magic firsthand, especially that little blue pill...
"Old Hei, I just dreamt that my arm was severed by Xiang Yu's sword. What does that mean?"
"This is an ominous sign; it means you are about to suffer another defeat," the black dragon said slowly.
"Ah? What can we do!" Liu Ji didn't even need to ask Heilong; he had already thought of this himself. Losing an arm was a significant loss.
"Let's increase the luck value a bit more. With enough luck, everything will naturally go smoothly." The black dragon grinned.
"You need to boost your luck again? Why are you using it up so quickly?" Liu Ji asked in confusion.
Black Dragon chuckled, "Times have changed. Do you know how much Xiang Yu's luck increased after he got the system? Anyway, I'm just giving you a suggestion. You are the host, and the decision is yours."
Liu Ji clicked his tongue. "Someone! Bring Xiang Bo's two sons here!"
"Yes, sir!" Guo Meng responded from outside, and then went to relay the order.
Soon, Xiang Sui and Xiang You arrived at Liu Ji's temporary residence.
The two of them walked and thought the whole way, completely baffled as to why Liu Ji had called them here so early, before dawn.
"Greetings, King of Han." Xiang Sui and Xiang You bowed in unison.
"No need for formalities, no need for formalities. Alas, I am deeply saddened by Xiang Bo's matter." Liu Ji held a short knife in his hand and blew on it, showing no sign of sadness whatsoever.
"My father died a worthy death for the King of Han. The King of Han need not be sad. It is important to take care of your health," Xiang Sui said, bowing.
"King of Han, my father died a terrible death! King of Han, you must avenge my father! Waaah! I am willing to follow you to the death, and I only ask that one day I can personally kill Xiang Yu to avenge my father!" Xiang You cried bitterly.
"Alright, alright, stop crying and disturbing my beloved concubine's rest. You've probably misunderstood. The reason I'm upset is because Xiang Bo gave me false information. Otherwise, how could Xiang Yu have escaped? Hmm~?" Liu Ji questioned the two men, pointing a knife at them.
"ah?"
Xiang Sui and Xiang You were both dumbfounded, and then they both knelt down.
"King of Han, when my father delivered that intelligence, Xiang Yu hadn't changed his mind yet," Xiang Sui said, somewhat flustered.
"King of Han, I suspect that after my father's intelligence was sent, one of Xiang Yu's spies learned of it and reported it back to Xiang Yu. Only then did Xiang Yu realize that my father was King of Han's man, and that's why he took drastic measures to change the plan." Xiang You had been thinking about how Xiang Bo was exposed, and after much consideration, he still felt that this was the most likely possibility.
"How dare you! Are you saying that I leaked information and caused Xiang Bo's death?" Liu Ji glared at him.
"This humble one would not dare, Your Majesty has misunderstood." Xiang You hurriedly kowtowed to the ground.
“He said it, it has nothing to do with me,” Xiang Sui also kowtowed.
Liu Ji changed the subject abruptly, "Hey? What are you doing? Get up, get up! Xiang Bo has made many great contributions, and I promised to marry my daughter to one of you. I haven't forgotten that."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Sui and Xiang You were overjoyed. If they could really marry the princess, that would be wonderful.
"But the problem is, I only have one daughter. Who should she marry? Did Xiang Bo make any arrangements before he died?" Liu Ji shrugged.
Xiang Sui hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the King of Han, my father has already made arrangements, and it is I who will handle them."
"Nonsense! My father designated me as the one to marry the princess!" Xiang You retorted angrily.
“I am the eldest son in the family! I am your elder brother! I should marry him first!” Xiang Sui retorted defiantly.
Xiang You scoffed, "What's wrong with being the eldest son? My age is more suited to the princess; you're too old!"
"How dare you! You disobey your elder brother!" Xiang Sui slapped him across the face.
"What kind of elder brother is it to steal his brother's wife!" Xiang You had anticipated this and dodged the punch, then returned the blow with a punch.
"How dare you! How dare you fight in front of me? Do you even respect me?" Liu Ji said, feigning anger.
"Your Majesty, please forgive us." The two men kowtowed to the ground.
"Hmph, since you two want to settle this with a fight, then let's decide it this way: the winner will marry my daughter, and the loser will go and report this good news to Xiang Bo, saying that I have fulfilled my promise and married my daughter to his son." After saying this, Liu Ji threw the small knife in his hand between Xiang Sui and Xiang You.
"Does the King of Han intend for the two of us to fight to the death?" Xiang Sui asked incredulously.
Liu Ji smiled without saying a word and pointed to the short knife on the ground.
"Brother, I'm sorry!" Xiang You grabbed a small knife from the ground and stabbed it into Xiang Sui's ribs with lightning speed.
puff!