Ragnarok is born

Cao Jiu obviously sent a messenger to report the military situation to Pengcheng, but there was no messenger back from Pengcheng.

He remembered what Zhang Liang had said in the battle meeting that day, and he knew that Liu Bang still had a powerful force under his command that could easily block the communication between Cao Jiu and Xiang Yu, causing the enemy to lose contact.

When Han Xin figured this out, he was secretly curious, guessing that this might be Liu Bang's most powerful team.

But the number of them will definitely not be many, so during the Battle of Pengcheng, this team did not show its strength.

On the contrary, in small-scale battles, he was able to fully display his strength, so he was able to easily intercept and kill the messenger Cao Jiu sent to Pengcheng.

However, this is just Han Xin's private guess.

Even though his wisdom is as deep as the sea, he can't imagine that the reason why this situation happened is actually the reason why Liu Le stepped in.

And Liu Le didn't simply intercept and kill the messenger sent by Cao Jiu, but directly hit Xiang Yu in front of him.

It even triggered a riot of the "power of the black dragon" contained in Xiang Yu's body, which almost made Xiang Yu lose control.

Finally, through a series of chances and coincidences, the "Black Dragon" and Satan were subdued, and Xiang Yu's loss of control was also contained.

As for the messengers sent by Cao Jiu, Liu Le threw them into the "Cloud Realm" and got the same treatment as Xiang Yu back then.

Therefore, in the midst of Cao Jiu's eager anticipation, Xiang Yu, who was sitting in Pengcheng, knew nothing about his situation.

However, Xiang Yu suffered an unprecedented setback under Liu Le's hands, so he ignored Cao Jiu's situation for a while.

Once he came and went twice, it became a situation where Cao Jiu, who had mediocre military skills and didn't know how to adapt, was attacked by the Han army unilaterally and was unable to fight back.

It happened to give Han Xin the opportunity to train soldiers.

In the Central Division of the Western Chu Army, Cao Jiu recalled the increasingly difficult battle situation these days, his expression was bitter, and his mood was extremely depressed.

Neither he nor the overlord Xiang Yu thought that what should have been an easy pursuit could turn into a major defeat for the Western Chu army.

No, it was not just a possibility, but the failure of the Western Chu Army was already doomed when the first deserter appeared.

Cao Jiu, on the other hand, was the first important general of Western Chu to be defeated by the Han army after he had just won the great victory in the Battle of Pengcheng.

Cao Jiu couldn't figure it out, how could the situation become like this?

It was agreed that Liu Bang fled with only a dozen cavalry, and the Han army was only concerned about fleeing for their lives, so they were defeated and unable to resist?

One by one came to his mind, the process of leading the army to the west suddenly showed a look of sudden realization, and he smiled wryly.

Perhaps at the beginning, the routs of the Han army were really powerless to resist. When all the routs saw the banner of the Chu army, they immediately fled.

But when he led his army into Jingsuo, everything became completely different, but he didn't wake up in time.

He should have expected when the small group of Han army routs no longer appeared, but gathered into a larger army.

The enemy has effectively gathered most of the defeated troops, and has reorganized, posing a sufficient threat to the Western Chu Army.

However, Cao Jiu at that time, although already aware of it, was too cautious and his inflexible character made him choose to report to the rear Pengcheng instead of actively changing his strategy.

Since then, everything has slipped into an irreversible abyss.

The strange roar of the Han cavalry reached Cao Jiu's ears, and the scouts hurried into the tent to report, and the enemy launched a tentative attack again.

Cao Jiu opened his closed eyes, and saw that all the generals under his command looked depressed, and their morale was no longer as high as when they set out.

He could even faintly guess that at this moment, what these guys in front of him hoped for the most was to hear the news that he had ordered the troops to retreat?

Amidst the eager anticipation of everyone in the camp, Cao Jiu finally made up his mind, and ordered with a deadpan expression, "Our army is at a disadvantage in battle, let's withdraw."

There was a brief moment of silence in the camp, and then loud discussions suddenly broke out.

Cao Jiu's lieutenant forced a smile and said, "Our army is too far away from Pengcheng, and our army has penetrated deep into the hinterland of the enemy's country."

"Our army does not know the geographical position, and it is difficult to move an inch. On the other hand, the Han army is very familiar with geography, so it is not effective in fighting."

A middle-aged general with beards and tired eyes agreed loudly, "The enemy dare not fight with the main force of our Chu army, and they only harass our vassal troops."

"Although the main force of our army has no damage to its combat power, the other troops are panicked and have a fear of the Han army."

The general beside the bearded general looked at Cao Jiu and said, "Grand Sima, with the cunning of the enemy army, we will definitely not easily let us retreat calmly."

"I don't know what plan you have, to successfully escape the sight of the enemy scouts before being discovered by the enemy?"

Cao Jiu sighed lightly.

What good plans can I have?All in all, first dispatch the cavalry under his command, even if it is pretending, and drive the cavalry of the Han army to the farthest place.

Lest they find out their intention to retreat.

**** **** **** ****

Guan Ying couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw the gate of the Central Army of the Western Chu Army opened wide, and began to call to the soldiers of the "Langzhong Cavalry" under his command to prepare to retreat.

The elite cavalry of the Western Chu Army swarmed out from the open gate and charged straight at the Han cavalry showing off in the tents of the vassals on both sides.

The sound of horseshoes hitting the ground made a huge thunderous roar. When the elite cavalry of the Western Chu Army launched an impact, the huge morale of the rainbow rushed over, and it was simply unstoppable.

Guan Ying suddenly changed color.

Li Bi and Luo Jia also showed shock on their faces, they reminded Guan Ying with one voice, "General, we can withdraw our troops now."

Guan Ying waved his hands and gave the order to retreat.

The "Langzhong cavalry" withdrew from the position of the Western Chu vassal army like a tide.

However, this time, the elite cavalry of Western Chu, under the leadership of a bearded general, did not return after chasing casually for a while as before.

Instead, he followed behind the "Langzhong Cavalry" and clung to it, making all the "Langzhong Cavalry" soldiers complain endlessly.

Fortunately, after leading the Western Chu cavalry around for a few laps, the "Langzhong cavalry" finally managed to throw off the enemy and return safely to the army camp.

When Han Xin saw Guan Ying, the latter looked aggrieved, annoyed that he was driven all over the mountain by the Western Chu army.

After reporting today's battle situation to Han Xin, Guan Ying couldn't help sighing softly, "The Western Chu cavalry are indeed amazing in combat power, and they are indeed the world's famous elite."

"Although the Langzhong Cavalry has gathered the best cavalry and archery soldiers in our Han Kingdom, there is still a big gap compared with the Western Chu Army."

After experiencing several times of raging against the vassal troops of the Western Chu Army, the successive "victories" greatly increased Guan Ying's confidence.

However, this defeat, being chased away by the elite soldiers of Western Chu, finally reminded him of the horror of being dominated by the overlord Xiang Yu on the battlefield.

Li Bi and Luo Jia were also full of regret.

The two of them did not follow Liu Bang to participate in the Battle of Pengcheng.

Therefore, although he knew that the combat power of the Western Chu Army was terrifying, he didn't actually have an intuitive concept in his heart.

In the process of being chased by the enemy, some "Langzhong Cavalry" soldiers who had a grudge against the Chu people couldn't hold back their emotions. They wanted to rely on their geographical advantages and organized a wave of small counterattacks, but they were defeated by all the Western Chu troops in the blink of an eye. wiped out.

Only after seeing it with my own eyes did I know the true strength of the Western Chu Army.

Han Xin asked Guan Ying, Li Bi, Luo Jia and other generals of the "Langzhong Cavalry" in detail about the battle situation this time.

When everyone finished their detailed reports, he showed a pensive look, stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then asked everyone, "What do you think Cao Jiu intends to do?"

"Compared to the previous few trials, this time Cao Jiu let the cavalry force pursue and kill you. What does such an abnormal situation mean?"

Guan Ying shook his head nonchalantly, and replied in a muffled voice, "The clay figurine still has a bit of anger, so this old boy Cao Jiu must have his own temper."

"Some time ago, he was almost shitted on his head by our army. No matter who it is, he can't swallow this breath."

"It would have been unbearable for me to change it."

A smile flickered in the corner of Han Xin's eyes, and then he turned to the other generals.

Li Bi and Luo Jia looked at each other, and after exchanging opinions, they said cautiously, "Commander, according to the opinion of the two generals, does Cao Jiu want to retire?"

Guan Ying was stunned when he heard the words, and asked in bewilderment, "How is it possible? The main force of the Western Chu army was not damaged, so how could Cao Jiu retreat at this time?"

Han Xin nodded and agreed, "Even though Cao Jiu didn't want to retreat, if our army had prepared early, we would always be prepared."

However, when Guan Ying led the "Langzhong cavalry" to harass the camp of the Western Chu army again the next day, he discovered that the situation was abnormal.

Due to yesterday's defeat, this time the "Langzhong cavalry" of the Han army are on guard. The enemy's central army will suddenly rush out just like yesterday.

Who knew that even though the vassal troops of the Western Chu Army were disintegrated, the elite cavalry troops of the Western Chu Army still did not show up.

By this time, no matter how dull the "Langzhong Cavalry" soldiers of the Han army knew something was wrong.

The banners of the Central Army of the Western Chu Army were still flying, and behind the gate, there were still patrolling soldiers walking back and forth.

But with sharp eyesight like Guan Ying, Li Bi, Luo Jia and others, in the process of chasing after the Western Chu vassal army, finally discovered the panic and uneasiness revealed by the patrolling soldiers in the enemy's central camp.

This is not how the unparalleled Western Chu soldiers should behave.

The Feather Arrow passed through the void and fell into the tent of the Central Army of Western Chu. The pretending patrol soldiers could no longer maintain their composure and suddenly dispersed.

After the escaped patrol soldiers of the Central Army of Western Chu were captured by Langzhong cavalry, the "Langzhong cavalry" learned that they were not real soldiers of Western Chu, but soldiers of the original vassal army in disguise.

Cao Jiu had already led the soldiers under his command the night before, taking advantage of the darkness, he left the battlefield overnight.

Three days later, the Western Chu cavalry led by Cao Jiu was overtaken by the "Langzhong cavalry" of the Han army. The Han army fled after a small victory.

After Guan Ying returned to the camp, he couldn't help but sigh when he brought up this matter.

Chapter 73: Xiang Yu's Uneasiness

Cao Jiu cut off his tail to survive, and threw the soldiers of the vassal states who had surrendered to Western Chu, as well as the soldiers who had just been recruited, to the Han army as bait.

However, he led the real troops of the Western Chu Kingdom and ran wildly all the way, advancing by leaps and bounds in the direction of Pengcheng.

Although the Han army soon learned the truth, and also dispatched "Langzhong cavalry" to pursue, even once caught up with the Western Chu cavalry.

It's a pity that the "Langzhong Cavalry" has not been in the army for a long time. Even though they have burst into powerful combat power during the constant grinding, they still cannot be compared with the elite cavalry of Western Chu.

When they first discovered that the Han army was chasing them, the Western Chu army was in a hurry, and Guan Ying led the "Langzhong Cavalry" to attack for a while and won a small victory.

When the Western Chu Army suppressed their position, they showed their true strength again, and the "Langzhong Cavalry" could no longer gain an advantage.

Instead, he fell into a crisis. Fortunately, Guan Ying saw that the situation was not good, and immediately led the "Langzhong cavalry" to break out of the encirclement before being surrounded by the enemy.

This is why the "Langzhong Cavalry", which was formed with great difficulty, was eaten up by the dumplings made by the Western Chu Army.

Even so, since the establishment of the "Langzhong Cavalry", it has never experienced a single defeat, and it was terminated because of this defeat.

Not to mention that Guan Ying was afraid of returning to the camp of the Han army after the journey. After the Western Chu army was overtaken by the Han army, everyone was in a panic. Fortunately, they managed to drive away the enemy.

All the generals of the Western Chu Army under Cao Jiu were taken aback by the reaction speed of the Han Army, so they sped up their escape again.

In this case, it took nearly 20 days for the departure, and less than a quarter of the time for the return journey.

After Cao Jiu led the Western Chu army back to Pengcheng, he discovered that the capital of the Western Chu Kingdom was in a tense atmosphere, and there was a strange situation where a storm was about to come.

The generals who set out for the expedition had not yet met the overlord Xiang Yu, but their ears had already been stuffed with all kinds of weird rumors.

How can there be a peerless master who assassinated the king and forcibly broke into the palace of Xichu, although he failed, he retreated unscathed?

What overlord Xiang Yu was attacked, seriously injured, unable to deal with political affairs, unable to get up from the sick bed?

The most outrageous rumor involved the battle situation in Qi State, saying that the Western Chu Army had been defeated by Tian Rong's army, and even the great general Long Qie had died...

I also don't know how the enemy's spies spread these rumors all over the territory of Western Chu in such a short period of time, and they spread it so clearly that people can't believe it?

Originally, Cao Jiu and the others were uneasy because they failed to return from the expedition, but after hearing so many rumors, they became even more depressed.

It wasn't until meeting the overlord Xiang Yu and seeing Xiang Yu who was in good health despite being mentally weak, that he regained his spirit a little.

Cao Jiu was ashamed, and pleaded guilty to Xiang Yu, "The last general is guilty of failing to live up to your majesty's entrustment, please your majesty to punish!"

A trace of fatigue flashed across Xiang Yu's eyes, looking at the ashamed Cao Jiu and the others, he did not convict them, but excused them, "What are you guilty of?"

"Actually, Da Sima's defeat in this battle is because the king miscalculated the situation and asked you to pursue it immediately, so he returned in vain."

"It's my fault, you don't need to blame yourself."

Although Cao Jiu was an old man in the Western Chu Kingdom, he had never seen Xiang Yu who took the blame on himself, and his heart became even more terrified.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to denounce his incompetence, Xiang Yu waved his hand to stop everyone from blaming themselves, and asked everyone about the defeat in this battle.

Cao Jiu hurriedly described his march and the countermeasures he had taken when he encountered the Han army, with Xiang Yu in detail.

He said that when he sent a messenger to come to Pengcheng to report to the king, he found Xiang Yu's face trembling slightly, and he felt strange in his heart.

Immediately pretending that nothing was wrong, he continued to tell the story of how the Han army had been avoiding fighting with its main force and constantly sending troops to make a fuss about the vassal army.

In the end, he whipped the soldiers of the subordinate army with low combat effectiveness and low morale, thinking that it was these people who did all the harm but no benefit.

Weaving them into the Western Chu Army did not achieve good results, but would instead drag down the combat effectiveness of the Western Chu Army.

Xiang Yu didn't say a word, and listened quietly to Cao Jiu's narration, a pair of heavy eyes flickered thoughtfully from time to time.

When I heard that the Han army had newly formed a cavalry unit, which was still playing a very important role in combat, I couldn't help but sigh secretly.