Chapter 2: Xiang Yu Kills His Way Here

  Xiang Yu galloped on horseback, with thousands of cavalrymen from Jiangdong following closely behind him like a shadow. The thunderous sound of hooves shook the earth as they swept away all obstacles in their path, heading towards the small city of Yongqiu amidst the raging wind and rain.

  The earth shook, the mountains cracked, and the rivers burst. The brave warriors of Jiangdong, led by Xiang Yu, fought their way north, leaving a trail of defeated Qin soldiers in their wake. With his uncle Xiang Liang by his side, they slaughtered their way through the provinces, earning the Chu army a reputation for ferocity that was unmatched. This only added to Xiang Yu's already considerable arrogance.

  "The Qin people are just a bunch of grass bandits; Song Yi is an old rustic, how dare he look down on our family." Xiang Yu led the army to come and rescue, it was received the urgent report from the commander-in-chief of the Western Expeditionary Army Liu Bang.

  The Chu army mobilized its most elite cavalry units and tens of thousands of strong soldiers, making the inequality on the battlefield even more pronounced.

  Li You's troops were too few.

  After defeating Chen Sheng, the Governor of Sishui, Zhang Han, under the pretext of attacking Xiang Liang, transferred the main force of Li Jue's three rivers' troops and left behind only a small number of local soldiers whose combat effectiveness had sharply declined. If Li Yuan's team hadn't been delayed in returning from their reconnaissance mission, they would have also been transferred to Dingtao by Zhang Han. In Dingtao, Zhang Han's opponent was Xiang Liang. After Chen Sheng's death, Xiang Liang had become the new leader of the anti-Qin forces from various routes in Guandong.

  Wild grasses fall down.

  The Chu army is like this.

  "General Xiang Yu, how majestic!" The various lords, including Liu Bang, who had been battered and bruised in the battle at Yongchu City, looked on with a mixture of shock and suspicion as they beheld the imposing army of Chu.

  Xiang Yu's reputation had spread far and wide with the successive victories of the Chu army, along with his bravery and martial prowess, as well as his unruly temper. The people of Chu were known for their ferocity and love of fighting; it was common for them to draw swords at a moment's notice if someone uttered a single word that displeased them. And in one-on-one combat, who could be Xiang Yu's match?

  There is Xiang Liang to suppress him, and Xiang Yu may not act rashly. Now that Xiang Liang is gone, how can Liu Bang and others possibly control Xiang Yu? Moreover, Liu Bang has been attacking for a long time without taking down the city, with tens of thousands of soldiers from several routes besieging a small city with less than 3,000 Qin troops, yet they couldn't take it down in several days. This made Liu Bang lose face greatly. However, this future Han Gaozu had already reached the pinnacle of his study on the art of being thick-skinned and black-hearted.

  Can't take down Yongqiu, no big deal, let the more capable Xiang Yu come and take it. As for being ridiculed by others, what's the big deal? I, Liu something, established myself among the vassals relying on my extensive network of connections, not brute force.

  "Kill!"

  Wū zhuī mǎ qián tí dào lì, xiàng yǔ dà hǒu yī shēng, shǒu zhōng dà jǐ zhí zhǐ chéng shàng, yíng miàn, yǔ chǔ jun duì shàng de, zhèng shì lǐ yuán shēn hòu de jīng qí.

  The Chu army soldiers abandoned their horses and rushed towards the city wall, with arrows and crossbow bolts falling from the sky like locusts. This time, the attacking Chu army did not hesitate at all, they risked being hit by rolling stones and hot oil to climb up to the top of the city wall.

  "Hey!" On the city wall, the Qin army soldiers' shouts rose and fell, blocks of stone and wood were carried up, and then quickly smashed down.

  Defending the city, Li You had enough experience. In the Battle of Yingyang, Wu Guang's troops besieged for several months and still could not make the Qin army in the city surrender. Although the city wall of Yongqiu was not as strong as that of Yingyang, Li You still had confidence to resist the first wave of Chu army's attack.

  Li Yu regarded Xiang Yu as Wu Guang.

  It's no wonder that Xiang Yu's reputation is not as loud as Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, who were the first to raise the flag of rebellion.

  The Chu army charged forward in formation.

  Xiang Yu adhered to the battlefield principle of strength against strength, and tactics such as detouring and avoiding reality were not his preference. Facing Li Jue, who had defeated Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, Xiang Yu's will to fight was unwavering.

  "Ah!"

  A sturdy Chu soldier was shot in the eye socket by a strong arrow, this Chu soldier pulled out the three-edged arrow and continued to climb along the gap in the city wall with blood flowing all over his face.

  On the wall, a Qin army's lieutenant saw an opportunity to take advantage of, and from the mouth of the city gate, he thrust out half his body, and stabbed at a Chu soldier with a spear. The sharp tip of the spear tore through the thin armor, and lodged in the hot chest cavity.

  "Ah!" In the midst of a mournful cry, Chu Zu stretched out his hand and grasped the copper spear, pulling with great force. Instantly, he pulled the stumbling Qin army commander off the city wall.

  Two men with a halberd, under the action of inertia, fell down to the city, and the falling Qin army's camp commander had not yet woken up, was pierced by several long spears into a hedgehog.

  A life for a life, blood for blood.

  In the face of the Chu people's desperate charge, the Qin army's defense line was on the verge of collapse.

  The Qin army's formation began to loosen, the losses in the first line grew larger and larger, while the follow-up soldiers who advanced were mostly new recruits. After seeing the heavy casualties, the morale of the new recruits began to plummet. Some new recruits standing in the front row started to look around in terror, and those who were timid had already begun to retreat.

  Li You on the city wall also saw the disadvantage, and he was still using flags to mobilize the follow-up troops in the city, trying to control the increasingly unfavorable trend.

  But his efforts were in vain, the garrison of this branch of Qin army was only a second-rate county soldier, their fighting will could not be compared with the elite of Qin country who guarded the Great Wall. When they faced an easy victory, they could be morale-boosting and fearless, but when they faced a tough battle, their gap began to appear.

  At first, it was one or two auxiliary soldiers at the back of the formation, then a single soldier on the front edge of the formation. The Qin soldiers who retreated to the rear became more and more numerous, while the remaining Qin soldiers who continued to defend the city walls became fewer and fewer.

  Li Yuan thrust out with his spear and knocked down a Chu soldier who was climbing up, taking advantage of the gap in the mouth, he let out large mouthfuls of scorching hot blood gas.

  He guarded this section, located in front of the city gate, and withstood the greatest pressure. If not for his timely reinforcements from left and right, the Chu army would have broken through several times.

  "Enemy approaching from the left flank and right side!" A shout of alarm came from behind.

  Li Yuan turned his head and saw that the left and right wings had almost disappeared from view, with the black armor of the Qin army replaced by piece after piece of bright red.

  The two wings of the Qin army have collapsed, and it is useless to continue defending.

  Li Yuan let out a despairing sigh, in the face of absolute military superiority, the Qin army's resistance was nothing but a fleeting illusion, Li You had already gathered hardly any reinforcements, otherwise, he wouldn't have allowed the city walls to be occupied by the Chu army.

  When the city is surrounded and breached, the entire army will be lost.

  The Qin army is already defeated and collapsing like a mountain falling down.

  Li Yuan led his troops to fight and retreat, escaping also requires strategic consideration, alternating withdrawal is the best approach, on the contrary, leaving one's back completely exposed to the enemy is the most foolish move.

  "Hmm..."

  A shrill cry of despair rose up from behind, almost right at the back of his head. Li Yuan exerted himself to grab the panting and gasping Ruo Jia, turning around to face the charging Chu soldier.

  The copper spear pierced out, and in the midst of the intense clashing of weapons, Li Yuan's tiger mouth was shattered by a massive force, his chest also felt a wave of dizziness. Such a powerful strength, the enemy soldiers behind him were not easy to deal with.

  "The dragon is here, the enemy will retreat!" Amidst a thunderous shout, Li Yuan saw an armored enemy general charging towards him with his sword.