Chapter 12: The Battle of Han Yin, where the Qin army suffered a great defeat, and the troops regrouped at Shi Quan to pursue the Shu soldiers.
Here is the translation:
As for King Huai of Chu, 100,000 Chu soldiers clashed with 100,000 Qin soldiers in a single location. Within this location, there were two separate battles: one between 30,000 cavalrymen from both sides and another between 70,000 infantrymen from both sides. This was a one-on-one showdown, a fight to the death.
The Chu army, inspired by King Huai's bravery, fought with renewed vigor, having already killed three Qin generals in a single battle. The Qin army, on the other hand, had suffered consecutive defeats, and their commander, Sima Cuo, had almost lost his life at the hands of King Huai. As a result, the Qin soldiers' morale was low, and they were repeatedly forced to retreat.
King Huai took advantage of this situation and charged straight into the Qin army's cavalry formation with his long spear. The Qin cavalrymen who tried to block him were either killed or severely injured. The 30,000-strong cavalry formation was torn open, and no one could stop King Huai.
With his long spear, King Huai aimed directly at King Huiwen of Qin. Sima Cuo saw this and cried out in alarm, "Not good!" He swung his large knife with all his might, fighting to protect his king. Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sima Cuo ignored the pain in his arm and fought hard to block King Huai's three consecutive attacks. Earlier, Sima Cuo had already been forced to retreat three steps after being beaten by King Huai, with blood flowing from his palm and tiger mouth. How could he possibly withstand King Huai's powerful triple attack? This was a testament to the power of loyalty and the willingness to die for one's lord.
King Huai's killing intent surged, and he let out a loud roar. His spear struck with the force of a thousand jun, and Sima Cuo knew he couldn't resist it. He shouted, "Your Majesty, quickly escape!" Using all his strength, he tried to block King Huai's attack.
The two clashed, and Sima Cuo was forced to retreat three steps, his large knife flying out of his hand and landing a zhang away. It happened to land on a Qin general who was rushing over to rescue the king, beheading him in the process.
King Huiwen of Qin was frightened and his face turned pale, he hastily patted the horse to escape. At this time, the Qin cavalry saw the situation and rushed to rescue him, causing the Qin army's horse array to suddenly become chaotic. King Huai of Chu wielded a long spear, sweeping left and right, front and back, and the Qin cavalry fell to the ground one after another.
The Chu army saw King Huai of Chu charge into the enemy formation, and 30,000 iron cavalry followed him in a desperate charge, the Qin army's array was already chaotic, unable to withstand the desperate impact of the Chu cavalry, and retreated in disorder. King Huai of Chu held his spear horizontally with his left hand, and drew out the sword of the king of Chu with his right hand, chopping and killing left and right.
This King Huai of Chu swung his sword at the helmet of a Qin cavalryman, cutting off the head of the Qin cavalryman along with his helmet. Several long spears of the Qin cavalry thrust forward, and King Huai of Chu's precious sword swept across, cutting off the long spears of the Qin cavalry.
In an instant, dozens of Chu generals and cavalrymen rushed to King Huai of Chu's side to protect him, killing all the Qin cavalry who had rushed to his side. Hundreds and thousands of Chu cavalrymen charged towards the Qin cavalry surrounding King Huai of Chu.
The 30,000 Qin cavalry saw King Huiwen of Qin and General Sima Cuo fleeing in retreat, and hastily rushed to their side to protect them. At this time, the Qin cavalry's formation was completely chaotic, unable to withstand the attack of the Chu cavalry. The Chu cavalry took advantage of the situation to launch a pincer movement, killing and wounding many Qin cavalrymen, causing them to flee in defeat.
King Huai of Chu saw the situation and ordered 10,000 iron cavalry to take advantage of the momentum to charge at the Qin army's infantry. The 70,000 Qin infantry were engaged in a fierce battle with the Chu infantry when they were suddenly charged by the 10,000 Chu cavalry, causing them to fall down one after another.
The front line of the Chu infantry was like a raging tide, rushing forward to kill the Qin army. In an instant, more than half of the Qin infantry were killed or wounded, and their entire line collapsed in defeat. The Qin cavalry saw the situation and hastily turned around to charge back, covering the retreat of the infantry.
King Huai of Chu personally led 20,000 iron cavalry to intercept them, and the 10,000 Chu cavalry who had charged at the Qin infantry earlier turned around to charge at the Qin cavalry. King Huiwen of Qin saw the situation and hastily ordered his entire army to retreat quickly. The Chu army took advantage of the momentum to launch a pincer movement, killing and wounding more than half of the Qin army.
After that, King Huai of Chu personally led an army of 100,000 cavalry and infantry to pursue the Qin army for 40 miles, until they reached Shiquan County (present-day Shiquan County), where they finally stopped to rest and have a meal.
On this side, 100,000 Chu troops and over a million Shu troops clashed. In terms of military strength, the Shu army had several tens of thousands more, but the Shu cavalry was only 25,000, which was 5,000 less than the Chu cavalry. Moreover, the Shu generals were no match for Zhao Yu, who had defeated two Shu generals with his spear. As a result, the morale of the Shu army was low, while the Chu army saw Zhao Yu defeat the Shu Hou and kill two high-ranking Shu generals in succession, their morale soared instantly. In the intense battle, the most important thing was the overall morale of the troops. The difference in morale between the Chu and Shu armies led to the Shu army being defeated by the Chu army, retreating continuously and unable to hold its ground. Zhao Yu's long spear was unmatched, sweeping and thrusting, killing over a dozen Shu cavalrymen in a row. The Shu cavalry saw this and retreated in disarray. After the 30,000-strong Chu iron cavalry charged, the Shu cavalry's formation was completely disrupted, and both sides fell into chaos. The Shu cavalry was already at a disadvantage, and after this chaos, they suffered heavy casualties. Zhao Yu observed the situation and assessed the overall situation before dispatching 10,000 Chu cavalry to attack the Shu infantry from the side. These 10,000 Chu cavalrymen rushed towards the Shu infantry's flank, charging into the Shu infantry formation. Although the Shu infantry was numerous, they could not withstand the left and right attacks of the 10,000-strong Chu cavalry. Instantly, the Shu infantry formation fell into chaos, and the Chu infantry in front surged forward like a tidal wave to attack the Shu infantry. The Shu army could no longer resist, retreating in disarray with heavy casualties. When the Shu Hou saw that his army was defeated, he knew that the situation was hopeless and hastily ordered his cavalry and infantry to retreat quickly. The Chu army took advantage of the momentum to launch a pursuit attack, killing over half of the Shu army. Zhao Yu then led his main force to pursue the Shu army for 40 miles, almost simultaneously joining forces with King Huai of Chu at Shiquan (present-day Shiquan County).
King Hui of Chu saw the arrival of Zhao Yue's large army and Zhao Yue said to King Hui, "The enemy has just been defeated, with more than half casualties. The combined forces of Qin and Shu have only 100,000 left, they are like a frightened bird. If we don't pursue them now, when will we? I've been chasing and killing the Shu army all the way here, so I ordered my soldiers to capture over 10,000 war horses. Now my 10,000 infantry has become cavalry." King Hui was delighted and said, "Well done! You're really something. On my side, I also captured over 10,000 Qin cavalry warhorses. It seems our battle results are equal, haha! What you said is exactly what I wanted to hear. Now the enemy must be cooking not far ahead. If we launch a surprise attack with our cavalry now, not only can we catch them off guard, but maybe we can even eat their free food!" Zhao Yue said, "Right! I'll lead 50,000 cavalry to charge forward and 50,000 infantry will follow behind. Your Majesty can lead the main force to follow up afterwards." King Hui said, "Good!" Then he ordered the whole army to bring enough dry rations for one day. Zhao Yue led 50,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry at the front, while King Hui personally led the main force to follow behind.
At this time, the Chu army was no longer 200,000, but 180,000, with an additional 10,000 wounded soldiers. In the Battle of Han Yin, both the Qin and Shu armies suffered 50,000 casualties each, while the Chu army suffered 30,000 casualties. However, at this time, the Chu cavalry was no longer 60,000, but 80,000. In the Battle of Han Yin, both the Qin and Shu armies' cavalry suffered over 10,000 casualties each, while the Chu cavalry suffered 10,000 casualties, but they captured over 20,000 war horses from the Qin and Shu armies, so the Chu cavalry became 80,000 strong. Half an hour later, the Chu army had finished eating and drinking, everything was ready, and Xiang Yu led 50,000 Chu cavalry and 50,000 infantry to rapidly pursue forward, while King Huai of Chu led 30,000 iron cavalry and a large contingent of troops followed behind, with over 10,000 wounded soldiers escorting the grain carts.
