Thunderous cheers erupted outside Jiyuan City.
Xiang Yu fought against four enemies alone for another thirty rounds. His bravery did not diminish at all. At this moment, E Lai was on the verge of being unable to hold on any longer. He was on the verge of defeat.
Bai Qi raised his head and looked at the sky. The blazing sun was high in the sky, and it was already noon.
"Sound the gongs to retreat!"
"General?"
Zhang Han was taken aback. Retreating at this time was a little unromantic.
Bai Qi fell silent.
Seeing this, Zhang Han could only give the order to retreat.
The moment the order was given, an uproar broke out outside the city.
Both sides were dissatisfied.
The outcome of this great battle had not been decided yet, so why did they have to retreat?
There was nothing they could do about it.
No matter how unwilling Zhang Liao and the other generals were, they could only retreat.
E Lai was the only one who heaved a sigh of relief. E Lai was the first to enter the battlefield. He had fought more than a hundred rounds with Xiang Yu. E Lai felt as if his internal organs had been displaced.
Xiang Yu did not give chase. In fact, he was also a little tired. It was hard to say who would emerge victorious if the battle continued.
Seeing that the Qin army was retreating, the anti-Qin army became even more arrogant and clamored outside the city.
Xiang Yu sat on his Ebony Horse, enjoying the cheers and worship.
Ten minutes later, seeing that the Qin army was avoiding the battle, Xiang Yu lost interest and gave the order to retreat. Just like that, the great battle ended in a hurry, leaving behind many regrets.
In the afternoon.
After the battle, Xiangyu was exhausted, so he took a good nap at noon.
However, his sweet dreams did not last long.
At around three in the afternoon, a messenger rushed out of the tent in a panic.
"Who is it?!"
The messenger was stopped by a guard.
"This is an emergency. I need to report it to the general."
"No, the general is taking a nap. We can't disturb him."
The battle in the morning had made Xiang Yu's image even more prominent. The guard was naturally proud of him.
"It's urgent. We can't delay it."
The messenger looked anxious.
When the guard saw this, he was in a dilemma.
Just as he was at a loss, Xiang Yu's voice came from inside the tent, "Who's making a ruckus outside the tent?"
The guard's face paled. He replied shakily, "General, it's the messenger."
"General, something bad has happened!"
The messenger shouted from outside the tent when he saw this.
"Impudent!"
Xiangyu bellowed, clearly very displeased.
"Forgive me, General! Please forgive me, General! "
Hearing this, the guards and messengers all knelt outside the tent with terrified expressions.
Xiangyu was a hot-tempered man. If he did not agree with him, he would not be able to avoid a whipping.
There was silence in the tent.
After a long time, Xiangyu's voice was heard, "Enter!"
Hearing that, the messenger walked into the tent and knelt down again.
Xiangyu frowned and scolded, "Why are you so flustered?"
"General, General Ying Bu lost!"
"What?"
Xiangyu was shocked. He slammed the table and stood up.
"There's a report from the frontlines. General Ying Bu was ambushed outside Anyang City. His entire army was almost wiped out."
Xiangyu remained silent for a long time.
There was a dead silence in the tent.
The messenger did not even dare to breathe heavily for fear of disturbing Xiang Yu.
"Let's go!"
Xiangyu said tiredly. Even the battle in the morning did not make him this tired. Even the Overlord had times when he was too weak.
"Yes, sir!"
The messenger scurried out of the tent as if he had been pardoned.
Xiangyu knew what kind of chain reaction Ying Bu's defeat would cause.
An army of fifty thousand had failed to take down Anyang City.
Xiangyu did not doubt Ying Bu's ability to lead an army.
The only explanation was that Anyang City was a bait set up by Bai Qi all along.
How brilliant!
As their headquarters, Jiyuan City had holed up and attracted all the attention of the volunteer army. However, they had secretly used the inconspicuous Anyang City to set a trap for the volunteer army.
With Ying Bu's army defeated, Xiangyu naturally did not have any expectations for the thirty thousand mutant army that had arrived earlier.
In an instant, Anyang City had devoured eighty thousand soldiers. It was terrifying.
A huge sense of defeat rose in Xiangyu's heart.
If that was the case, then the battle in the morning was just a premeditated show?
What a good plan.
Heh, to think that Xiangyu was so full of himself and did not even know that he had fallen into a trap.
Xiangyu's heart was filled with endless bitterness.
No, I will never admit defeat!
Xiangyu's eyes glinted as his fighting spirit soared.
The news of Ying Bu's army's defeat quietly spread throughout the army.
Other than that, the news of Di Chen's army being wiped out also spread like wildfire.
The consecutive defeats caused the volunteer army's camp to fall silent.
The volunteer army, which was already at a disadvantage in terms of military strength, had lost eighty thousand soldiers in an instant.
Everyone felt that the future of the volunteer army was beginning to dim.
Some of the smarter ones even sensed a hint of danger from the news of Anyang City being occupied.
Food!
This curse was finally tightly wrapped around the volunteer army's head.
Unease shrouded the volunteer army's camp. The jubilation in the morning had completely turned into a joke.
In the evening, the defeated Ying Bu's army fled back to the camp.
Seeing the tragic state of Ying Bu's army with their own eyes, the volunteer army became even more uneasy. The entire camp was in an uproar.
As for Di Chen's army, they did not have the face to return to the camp after their defeat. No one knew where they were hiding in the wilderness.
Han Xin?
Heh, there was no need to think about it anymore.
The moment Ying Bu returned, he rushed to Xiangyu's tent to beg for forgiveness.
Unfortunately, he could not even enter the main tent.
Xiang Yu was so furious that he almost slashed Ying Bu's sword.
Helpless, Ying Bu could only kneel outside the tent.
That night, Xiangyu summoned all the feudal vassals for a meeting.
When the feudal vassals saw Ying Bu kneeling outside the tent, none of them looked at him.
Some were sympathetic, while others were gloating.
Everyone knew how unfavorable the situation was for the volunteer army.
Fan Zeng's grain transport team would arrive at Giant Deer in a few days. Once Anyang City was occupied, the volunteer army's grain transport route would be cut off.
Such a situation was truly despairing.
Inside the main tent, Xiangyu's expression was gloomy. He looked around and said through gritted teeth, "Attack Anyang City at all costs."
"Yes, sir!"
All the feudal vassals knew that they were in a hopeless situation. They could only fight to the death.
Unfortunately, Bai Qi would not give the volunteer army that chance.
The next day, before Xiangyu could make his move, the Qin army in Jiyuan City had already turned out in full force. The army got into formation outside the city, eyeing the volunteer army covetously.
The Qin army's goal was obvious. They wanted to delay the volunteer army.
If the volunteer army dared to attack Anyang City, they would have to face the pursuit of millions of soldiers.
After all, Anyang City was guarded by more than a hundred thousand soldiers. To take down Anyang, they would have to send at least two to three times that number, or two to three hundred thousand soldiers.
The volunteer army did not have an advantage in terms of military strength. If they were to send two hundred thousand soldiers, how could they withstand the Qin army's attack?
Just the thought of it was despairing.
For a moment, the volunteer army was in a dilemma.
The feudal vassals came up with emergency measures to deal with the situation.
At this point, Xiangyu could no longer make a decision.
Sending Ying Bu's army to attack Anyang City was his decision. Xiang Yu had obviously made a mistake in this matter. He had underestimated the Qin army, which led to their defeat.
Ying Bu knelt outside Xiangyu's tent for an entire night, but he did not get to see Xiangyu.
Everyone knew that Xiangyu was the real culprit, but no one dared to say it out loud. Poor Ying Bu had become a scapegoat.
Hesitation arose in the volunteer army.
Time waited for no man.
Just as the volunteer army was wavering, Wang Li's main force of one hundred thousand soldiers arrived at Anyang City.
At the same time, the Imperial Guard Corps followed Bai Qi's plan and left Anyang City quietly. They advanced eastward, targeting the grain transport team led by Fan Zeng.
The news Fan Zeng received was that the Qin army was trapped in Jiyuan City. He did not expect to be intercepted by the Qin army along the way. Facing the Imperial Guard Corps, the grain transport team could only surrender obediently.
The grain that the Chu army had painstakingly gathered ended up in the hands of the Qin army and was transported to Anyang City. Even Xiangyu's strategist, Fan Zeng, was captured by the Imperial Guard Corps.
Ouyang Shuo did not think highly of Fan Zeng.
Compared to Zhang Liang, Fan Zeng, as Xiangyu's number one strategist, was overshadowed.
Not only was Fan Zeng's political foresight a far cry from Zhang Liang, but he was also inferior in the art of persuading a monarch. Some people said that it was Xiangyu's obstinacy that prevented Fan Zeng's plan from being implemented.
But in reality?
As a top strategist, if he could not use a suitable method to persuade the monarch to accept his plan according to his character, it was a failure in itself.
Fan Zeng liked to take advantage of his seniority and was curious about the plan, but he did not consider Xiangyu's character. When the two of them collided, it naturally aroused Xiangyu's disgust.
Therefore, it was true that Fan Zeng was intelligent, but he was not a qualified strategist.
A truly qualified strategist would not suggest the appointment of a 'King of Chu', which would impede Xiangyu and make him bear the crime of 'regicide'.
A truly qualified strategist would not allow Han Xin to be put in an important position in Xiang Yu's camp.
A truly qualified strategist would not beat around the bush at the Banquet at Hongmen. He would have killed Liu Bang directly and made it a fait accompli. What would Xiangyu do then?
A truly qualified counselor would have noticed Liu Bang's plan and warned his master, Xiang Yu, when Liu Bang was secretly plotting against him.
A truly qualified strategist would not have been detested by Xiangyu after being crowned with the title of 'Second Father'.
Ouyang Shuo looked uncertain as he looked at the old man in the hall.
Baihua said, "Wuyi, do you want to recruit this man?"
Fan Zeng was captured by the Imperial Guards, so he was naturally in Ouyang Shuo's hands.
Ouyang Shuo shook his head.
"Why? You don't want him? Just don't give him to me. "
Baihua took advantage of the situation when he heard this.
"In your dreams."
Fan Zeng was not a cabbage, so Ouyang Shuo naturally would not let him go so easily.
"Then what do you think?"
Baihua was speechless.
Fan Zeng was ashamed and resentful. He did not expect that he would be so disliked.
"This man is very useful. Don't forget that Xiangyu has a Divine General under him. Think about it, if we exchange Fan Zeng for that Divine General, will Xiangyu agree? "
When Bai Hua heard this, he gave Ouyang Shuo a dirty look. "Wuyi, you're too bad!" (To be continued)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
