Chapter 320: Battle of Kuaiji, Yi Xiaochuan offers advice?

Chapter 320: Battle of Kuaiji, Yi Xiaochuan offers advice?

At the same time, on the battlefield of Kuaiji, the situation of the Chu army was taking a sharp turn for the worse. With the successive loss of the three important counties of Fuchun, Tonglu and Jiande, the solid defense line that the Chu army had built with great difficulty collapsed in an instant. What was even more serious was that the Chu army had no extra troops to deploy.

The army led by Ji Bu suffered heavy losses in the previous battles. First, they lost nearly 8,000 people in order to retake Wushang County, and then lost more than 20,000 elite troops in the defense battles of Fuchun and other three counties. Originally, the Chu army had a total of only 60,000 people. After a series of fierce battles, there are only more than 20,000 people left. With such a weak military force, if they want to divide their troops to resist the powerful enemy from the south, it is tantamount to a foolish dream, and there is no way to turn the tide.

It has been more than half a month since Gao Yao left. During this period, Han Xin led his army to advance with great momentum. Now, nearly 80% of the territory in the entire Kuaiji area has fallen into Han Xin's hands. Although Han Xin is fully capable of directly attacking Wu County, he is well aware of the interests involved and has to carefully consider the various problems that may be faced in the subsequent war.

Even if he could defeat the Chu army in Wu County, if he could not completely eliminate the possibility of the Chu army's resurgence, then this victory might only be temporary. Therefore, in order to eliminate the trouble forever and ensure that the Chu army would never have a chance to make a comeback, Han Xin would rather spend more precious time to steadily capture the remaining counties that have not yet fallen. Only in this way can he truly consolidate his victory.

At this moment, the 30,000-strong army led by Han Xin was gradually approaching Wu County with overwhelming force. This originally peaceful county was now in a desperate situation, as if it was tightly strangled by an invisible hand, and could no longer find any barriers and means to resist the invasion of foreign enemies. There were only two choices before them: one was to defend Wu County until death; the other was to quickly break out and evacuate Kuaiji in order to seek a glimmer of hope.

At this critical moment, the atmosphere in the Wu County Magistrate's Mansion was solemn. Xiang Yu, Fan Zeng, Ji Bu, Yi Xiaochuan and other important officials gathered together to discuss countermeasures. Everyone's face was heavy, and their eyes showed anxiety and uneasiness.

"In my opinion, the most urgent task should be to order a withdrawal as soon as possible! Our army has lost the power to resist continuously. Even if we force a battle, the final result will probably be just to serve as cannon fodder for the imperial court in vain. Doing so will not be worth the loss!"

Fan Zeng sighed, revealing deep helplessness. Since the war with the Southern Border Army, almost all the tactics were carefully planned by him. Unfortunately, although Fan Zeng had predicted the Southern Border Army's every move with his extraordinary wisdom, when the two armies really clashed, his side was ruthlessly crushed in many aspects, including weapons and equipment and the quality of soldiers, causing the war situation to deteriorate again and again.

"Father, are we going to give up Kuaiji just like that?" Xiang Yu's face still looked unhappy when he heard Fan Zeng's words. For the proud Xiang Yu, the battle with the Southern Territory was almost a complete disadvantage, especially the direct defeat by Gao Yao. This was definitely a shame for Xiang Yu.

In Xiang Yu's eyes, although there was a certain gap between the two sides, it was far less than what the outside world had rumored. The situation at the time was indeed a bit complicated, and he was inevitably distracted. However, even though he was unwilling, Xiang Yu clearly understood one fact: if you lose, you lose, there is no doubt about it. Because of this, now that the Southern Border Army is at the gates of the city, Xiang Yu's unwillingness is surging like a tide, and he is eager to fight them again and avenge his previous shame.

At this moment, Yi Xiaochuan, who had been quietly observing the situation, finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward, trying to persuade Xiang Yu to give up this seemingly hopeless battle.

Yi Xiaochuan said solemnly, "Brother Yu, as the saying goes, 'If you keep the green mountains, you will never worry about lack of firewood.' At this moment, the imperial army must have arrived at the city of the southern border, and Han Xin must be extremely anxious. In my opinion, at this moment he will definitely attack Kuaiji with all his strength, vowing to wipe us out completely to avoid future troubles. After he successfully captures Kuaiji, he will quickly mobilize troops to rush to the southern border for reinforcement. If we insist on staying and fighting them to the death, the final outcome may only be a futile effort, which is really disadvantageous to us!"

Xiang Yu frowned and stared into the distance, seemingly not completely moved by Yi Xiaochuan's words. After all, in his heroic character, there was never any word of retreat. But Yi Xiaochuan knew the stakes, so how could he watch Xiang Yu act so rashly?

So, he continued to persuade him earnestly: "Brother Yu, you may not know much about Han Xin. But I know him inside and out! He is a man of meticulous mind and a master of military tactics. He is definitely not an ordinary person. If we fight him here, it will undoubtedly be using our own weaknesses to attack his strengths, which is not a wise move! Besides, we have more important missions to complete, and we must not miss the big things because of a momentary anger!"

"What Xiaochuan said does make sense. Under the current situation, Han Xin is obviously more anxious than us. In this case, we might as well help him and give up Kuaiji. You know, given the current situation, whether we give up Kuaiji or not, it actually doesn't make much difference. Besides, Han Xin is really difficult to deal with. Although he is eager to annex Kuaiji, he can still stick to his original intention and take every step carefully, leaving no hidden dangers for himself. In this way, the chances of our army winning are very slim!"

Fan Zeng also had some respect for Han Xin at this time. Although Yi Xiaochuan had said before that Han Xin was not simple, he was still a little-known person after all. Although Fan Zeng said that he should pay attention to him, he could not help but underestimate him in his heart. After all, Han Xin's age was there. Fan Zeng was still somewhat proud in his heart, but the current situation confirmed Yi Xiaochuan's words. Han Xin was indeed a master of military strategy.

"Young General, the situation today is all due to Ji Bu. If it weren't for his greed for merit and recklessness, which repeatedly caused Mr. Fan Zeng's plans to fail and his strategies to become ineffective, how could we end up in such a situation? Ji Bu is willing to die to apologize for his crime. I only ask that Young General avoid the enemy's edge for the time being, and when the time is right, return to Kuaiji and restore the former prestige of our Chu army!"

At this moment, Ji Bu, while speaking, drew out the sword from his waist without hesitation. Then, he suddenly raised his hand, and the sharp blade slashed straight towards his neck.

"Ding..." A crisp and sharp sound suddenly sounded, as frightening as lightning that cut through the night sky! Just as the extremely sharp sword was about to touch Ji Bu's fragile neck mercilessly, Xiang Yu suddenly attacked with the force of thunder. He raised his sword and a flash of cold light flashed, and in an instant, it chopped straight at the sword that Ji Bu was holding tightly like a storm.

"Bang..." With a deafening metallic collision sound, the long sword in Ji Bu's hand could not bear the weight and broke, turning into countless fragments scattered all over the ground. Without the support of the weapon, Ji Bu's body softened and he staggered back a few steps involuntarily. However, Xiang Yu did not seem to be relieved. His eyes were burning with anger, and then he kicked Ji Bu hard in the chest.

There was a dull "bang" sound, and Ji Bu flew backwards several feet like a fallen leaf caught in a strong wind, and finally fell heavily to the ground.

“How can you accomplish great things when you are so weak! Victory and defeat are common in the military. Since you lose today, you must win it back double in the future!” Xiang Yu was furious, his powerful roar was like bursts of thunder, at this moment, the domineering and majesty emanating from him made people shudder.

"Yes" Hearing Xiang Yu's words, Ji Bu immediately responded, with a look of guilt in his eyes.

At the same time, Xiang Yu was also very clear in his mind that the situation had reached a point where it could not be reversed, and there was no other way but to act decisively. However, what to do in the future was still an unresolved problem.

Just as everyone was lost in thought, Yi Xiaochuan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Brother Yu, Mr. Fan Zeng, I have an idea, but I don't know if it is feasible?"

"Xiaochuan, just speak, we are all family here." Xiang Yu still trusted Yi Xiaochuan, so he let Yi Xiaochuan speak boldly.

Yi Xiaochuan went directly to the map hanging in the room, looked at the people in front of him with a sharp gaze, and slowly said: "Please look at the current situation. Now the main force of the court has almost come out in full force and stationed in the southern border area. As far as I know, the number of troops left to guard Xianyang City is at most 30,000. With the great reputation accumulated by the Xiang family over the years, if we can cleverly maneuver and let the scattered rebels on the way take the initiative to make way for our army, then when we are close to Xianyang, I can transform myself into Meng Yi"

"Meng Yi's status and position are enough to shock all directions. At that time, I will be able to lead the army back to Xianyang City easily with his status. After Brother Yu leads his troops into the city, this huge Qin Empire will surely be destroyed by Brother Yu! Moreover, we can occupy Xianyang in the name of destroying the tyrannical Qin and recruit volunteers for Brother Yu's use."

However, Yi Xiaochuan actually had a selfish motive in his heart when he said this. After all the twists and turns and hardships he had experienced in the past few days, he already knew that he was no match for the mysterious Yi Xiaochuan; at the same time, it would be extremely difficult for him to avenge Gao Yao. Fortunately, the complicated situation before him just provided him with a golden opportunity, an excellent opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.