General Wang, please be careful not to let these ferocious beasts frighten your warhorses; try to keep them as far away as possible. Also, General Wang, please try your best to avoid conflict with that giant Wu Ba; peace is the best policy.”
"I see, thank you for the reminder, General Yan." Xiang Yu's lips twitched. Driving wild beasts into battle seemed powerful, but in reality, it had many limitations and might even assist the enemy. No wonder all the generals were unwilling to fight alongside the beast army.
"General Wang, you're too kind." Seeing that Xiang Yu hadn't backed down, Yan You felt even more respect for him. After helping Xiang Yu select five thousand elite cavalry, he led Xiang Yu to the camp of the Beast Army.
Awooo...
roar……
Dozens of armored vehicles were equipped with iron cages containing all sorts of animals, including jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, but the majority of them were wolves, each with a fierce glint in their eyes.
The striped tiger was quite large, and judging from its breed, it should be a Siberian tiger. It had the character "王" (king) on its head and was extremely powerful. A person sat next to its iron cage, with a strong back and a thick waist. It was the legendary Ju Wuba.
"General Ju, this General Wang will be accompanying you in this battle. It's getting late, so please set off as soon as possible to prevent those rebels from getting wind of it and escaping. General Pingdong, this humble general will take his leave now." Yan You clasped his hands in a bow, then strode away from the Beast Army camp, not wanting to stay there for even a moment longer.
"General Ju, I have long admired your name." Xiang Yu thought to himself, what a fierce general you are.
“Likewise, let’s set off immediately.” Ju Wuba stood up, a head taller than Xiang Yu.
Xiang Yu frowned. "When we go on a campaign, we should distinguish between primary and secondary roles. I am the General Who Pacifies the East, appointed by His Majesty. What kind of general are you?"
“Captain, after this battle you will become a general,” Ju Wuba said coldly.
"Then I will take the lead. I hope that Commander Ju will obey my orders on this mission," Xiang Yu said solemnly.
"How can a lamb lead a beast? Dare to exchange a few blows?" Ju Wuba tilted his head and chuckled.
Xiang Yu snorted coldly, "I couldn't be happier!"
Ugh!
Suddenly, Ju Wuba raised his left arm and threw a powerful punch straight at Xiang Yu's face.
Xiang Yu neither dodged nor flinched, but raised his right hand to meet Ju Wuba's fist, his five fingers spread wide and grasping it firmly.
Bang!
He caught it! And Xiang Yu didn't retreat even half a step, as if his feet were rooted to the ground!
Ju Wuba's pupils shrank sharply, and he swung out another fist, more than twice as powerful as before. It turned out that he had only used one-third of his strength in his first punch.
Xiang Yu's eyes lit up, and he took a half step back with his right foot while simultaneously opening his left hand with five fingers to meet Ju Wuba's iron fist!
Bang!
laugh……
Xiang Yu slid back half a foot while still in that position and then stopped. "Is that all the strength you have?"
Upon hearing this, Ju Wuba flew into a rage. He leaned forward and exerted all his strength in his arms, this time using every ounce of his power, even straightening his legs.
Hey~!
creak...
During their struggle, it seemed as if the bones were groaning under the strain. Although they appeared to be locked in a stalemate, Xiang Yu's expression was clearly more relaxed.
Ju Wuba's face turned red, and he gritted his teeth, putting all his strength into it. "How dare you look down on me!"
Xiang Yu smiled slightly, then suddenly dodged to the side and pulled the opponent along, while simultaneously extending his foot to lightly trip them.
Ju Wuba's eyes widened in disbelief. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust!
"It seems that a big size doesn't necessarily mean a ferocious beast." Xiang Yu had already made a judgment in his mind. This person's strength was not much different from his own a year ago, but his martial arts skills were not on the same level. Moreover, he was slow in his movements and didn't seem to be very bright.
During the battle between Xiang Yu and Ju Wuba, Hao Jiu did not show himself, but instead instructed Xiang Yu to keep an eye on the target system.
Xiang Yu's golden double pupils can see the system, something the system definitely wouldn't expect. As long as the other party accidentally shows themselves or helps Ju Wuba, Xiang Yu will immediately discover them.
Unfortunately, the target system didn't appear even after Ju Wuba lay on the ground. Perhaps it wasn't even on Ju Wuba. Although this guy was quite strong, his brain was really not suitable to be a host.
Of course, if you're just using someone as a temporary host, then it doesn't matter whether you have a brain or not.
Ju Wuba slowly stood up, his face ashen, and said, "You are very good."
"Not convinced?" Xiang Yu beckoned with his hand. "Come and fight!"
Ju Wuba drew a long whip from his waist and cracked it onto the open ground. "Draw your sword!"
Xiang Yu glanced at the whip in Ju Wuba's hand and smiled slightly, "No need."
"Heh heh! Then don't blame me for being merciless with my whip! Take this!" After saying that, Ju Wuba swung the whip and brought it down on Ju Wuba's head.
Instead of retreating, Xiang Yu advanced, dodging the whip attack while grabbing the whip in one swift motion. He then kicked Ju Wuba squarely in the lower abdomen. The whole process was as fast as lightning.
In the blink of an eye, Ju Wuba's enormous body flew up and crashed into the tiger cage with a loud bang!
Ju Wuba's eyes were filled with stars. He shook his head violently and immediately flew into a rage. If the other party had used a trick to throw him to the ground earlier, he had no excuse this time. The other party really didn't need to use a weapon.
"Damn it!" Ju Wuba had never lost a fight since he was a child, but he never expected to lose so badly this time, and his whip was even taken away.
Click!
Enraged, the giant tiger pulled the lever on the cage, and the spotted tiger leaped out.
Roar!! Awooo~
The tiger's roar jolted Ju Wuba back to his senses. His expression immediately changed, and he quickly ordered the tiger, "Go back!"
However, the tiger ignored him and pounced on Xiang Yu with its mouth wide open.
Ju Wuba then remembered that he usually used the whip to signal when taming beasts, but he didn't have the whip now, and opening the cage was a signal to attack!
What can be done? He has committed a capital offense before achieving even the slightest merit?
Ju Wuba's mind went blank, but he was suddenly awakened by a loud clap of thunder.
"You beast, how dare you!" Xiang Yu roared, his eyes wide with fury.
"Ooh~"
The ferocious tiger drooped its ears and closed its eyes. When it landed, it even tucked its neck back and twisted its body, fleeing back to its cage as if flying!
Ju Wuba, "..."
Chapter 241 Pursuit
Hao Jiu's lips twitched violently. This tiger was almost scared into meowing like a cat. It really made the tiger proud.
To be honest, Xiang Yu's gaze combined with his roar was indeed incredibly intimidating, at least historically it terrified Lou Fan and Yang happy.
However, this wasn't exactly Xiang Yu's unique skill. Zhang Fei also scared Xiahou Jie to death with a single roar, which happened to coincidentally coincide with a heart attack.
At this moment, the tiger was frightened back into its cage by Xiang Yu. This incredible thing was witnessed by Ju Wuba himself, and he was completely distraught. What kind of god had he offended? He must not make an enemy of him!
"General Ju, why haven't you closed the cage door properly? It would be bad if the beasts escaped and injured our friendly troops, wouldn't it?" Xiang Yu threw his whip at Ju Wuba.
"Oh, right." Ju Wuba hurriedly closed the cage, locked the tiger, and then wrapped the whip back around his waist.
"Shall we continue fighting?" Xiang Yu smiled slightly.
Ju Wuba shook his head, "I will not fight anymore. This humble general admits defeat."
"In that case, let the army set off immediately," Xiang Yu ordered.
"Yes, sir." Ju Wuba clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, and then commanded the beast army to set out.
They said they would depart immediately, but in reality, it wasn't that fast.
During this time, Xiang Yu inquired in detail about the combat methods of the Beast Army, since the two armies needed to cooperate, and Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu were also quite curious.
Each beast-riding war chariot has two soldiers, one responsible for driving and the other for opening the cage. In addition to being equipped with a long spear and a lasso, they also have a lasso pole. In battle, they must first form a battle formation and point the rear of the chariot at the enemy.
Ju Wuba brought up the rear, with powerful beasts like tigers and black bears in front of him, and smaller beasts like jackals further ahead.
After the battle begins, first release small ferocious beasts such as jackals, and then release powerful beasts such as tigers and black bears, and command them to drive the herd forward to attack the enemy.
In addition to the uses mentioned above, the Beast Army can also release beasts while the wagon is moving, but they can only be released behind them, either to block pursuers when escaping or to catch up with the enemy from behind.
It is said that the tactics of these two beast armies were created by a strange man surnamed Jiao who was proficient in the military strategies of sixty-three schools. The method of large beasts driving small beasts made up for the shortcoming of the number of beasts that Ju Wuba could tame. However, it was not easy to catch these wild beasts after the battle, and the only way was to use lasso poles.
Ju Wuba could only control about ten tamed beasts. Any more than that and he couldn't manage them all. In battles involving thousands or even tens of thousands of people, how many people could ten beasts kill, no matter how fierce they were?
Watching the ferocious war chariots drive out of the camp, Hao Jiu was truly at a loss for words, both amused and exasperated.
The army of beasts looked quite spectacular at first glance, especially since the giant Muba was riding an elephant!
But isn't this actually just a big circus?
How much wildness can a wild animal retain after being tamed by a trainer?
Siberian tigers have all turned into big cats!
Wang Mang wanted to use these wild beasts to defeat the Chosen One?
Are you kidding me!
In fact, the "wild beast" tactic is not entirely useless; if used properly, it can be surprisingly effective.
Compared to killing enemy troops, the greatest role of the beast army should be to intimidate the enemy, especially their warhorses.
Imagine if the cavalry's horses stopped obeying commands, how much fighting power would the cavalry have left?
However, to achieve this effect, the cavalry of the Beast Army must first undergo some training. At the very least, their own warhorses cannot be thrown into disarray by the roar of a beast.
The problem is that when two armies are facing each other, these wild beasts will inevitably be closer to our side. If they are not controlled properly, our own cavalry may suffer first. If one warhorse is frightened, it may cause a group of warhorses to become restless, or even lose their fighting ability.
Therefore, the "beast warfare" tactic is a double-edged sword, requiring long-term training and refinement to ensure that it only harms the enemy and not oneself.
Unfortunately, the new dynasty's army has not had a long period of adjustment with the wild beasts. The new army's warhorses have not yet fully adapted to the beasts and are unable to withstand the pressure at close range. The margin for error is extremely low, and it all depends on whether Ju Wuba can deliver.
...
Fifty li north of Kunyang.
Song Tiao led a thousand cavalrymen to cover the rear, but the main army, despite its best efforts, was still overtaken by the Xin Dynasty's army.
"Report! Your Excellencies, the new army is only five li away from here, and there are at least five thousand cavalry!" the scout, his shoulder stained with blood, said, clutching his wound.
"I will lead the cavalry to hold them off for a while. You take the infantry and leave quickly. Throw away any supplies and provisions you can, and get out of here!" Song Tiao said to Liu Xiu.
“No, the enemy outnumbers us. How can Brother Song resist? What if the enemy splits their forces and tries to bypass us? We are still fifty li away from Kunyang. Our army will be caught up sooner or later,” Liu Xiu said solemnly.
"Do you have some other brilliant idea?" Song Tiao asked with some surprise.