War ancient city Chu Huai beheads rhinoceros head

  In the autumn of 324 BC (the fifth year of King Huai of Chu), King Huai of Chu ordered Zhao Yang to lead an army of 100,000 men to set up defenses in the area of Xuchang (present-day Xuchang City, Henan Province). At the same time, he ordered Tang Mei to lead an army of 100,000 men to set up defenses in the area of Xiangfan and Nanyang. Meanwhile, he led an elite force of 200,000 soldiers (50,000 cavalrymen and 150,000 infantrymen) out of Fangcheng (Fangcheng County, Henan Province), proclaiming that they would punish the State of Wei for its unjust actions in 329 BC (the eleventh year of King Wu of Chu).

  King Hui of Wei heard the news and immediately sent a message to King Xuan of Han, asking him to send 100,000 troops to join forces with Wei and attack Chu together. They would then divide the land of Chu into two parts, Fang and Ye. At the same time, King Hui personally led an army of 200,000 (50,000 cavalry and 150,000 infantry) along with General Xi Shou to fight against the Chu army.

  King Xuan of Han received the message from King Hui and immediately convened a meeting with his officials to discuss the matter. The king said: "Now that King Huai of Chu is leading an army of 200,000 to attack Wei, seeking revenge for when King Hui of Wei took advantage of Chu's national mourning period to launch a surprise attack on their territory. However, since then, Chu has been very powerful and prosperous, having defeated the Qi army at Xu State, and in recent years, King Huai of Chu defeated the Shu Hou at Xi Ba three years ago, and last year defeated the combined forces of Qin and Shu at Bao Han (Hanzhong), killing over 190,000 enemy soldiers. The morale of the Chu army is high as ever, and I'm worried that if we engage in battle with them now, we will suffer a defeat.

  Although Wei is not as powerful as it was before, King Hui is still recognized as the leader among the feudal lords, and he is also our neighbor. It's not good to offend him, and if we don't follow his request, I'm afraid he will cause trouble for us in the future. This is a difficult decision, and I hope you can come up with a good strategy to help me.

  One of the officials suggested: "The Chu army is too powerful, and it's not possible to confront them head-on. Your Majesty can lead an army of 100,000 out of Xinzheng to respond, but don't engage in battle with the Chu army. Let the Wei and Chu armies fight each other first, and when they are exhausted, we can take advantage of the situation and reap the benefits."

  King Xuan of Han then led an army of 100,000 out of Xinzheng.

  In early August, the 200,000-strong army of Chu State's King Hui and the 200,000-strong army of Wei State's King met at Gu Chengyi (now Yuzhou City) and Po Hu (now Yuzhou City). King Hui of Chu rode forward on his horse and said, "Are you not the King of Wei?" The King of Wei replied, "I am." King Hui of Chu said, "You are the leader of the alliance of all the feudal lords under heaven. How can you lead your army to invade my territory on the day I announce the mourning period for my father? This is an act of unrighteousness and shamelessness that a hegemon would not do." The King of Wei said, "What do you know? What is your territory? The mountains of Xian and the city of Xu are all part of the great Wei State. They were taken from me by your father, and I am just taking them back now. Don't talk about righteousness and shamelessness. Whoever can take it is righteous." King Hui of Chu said, "If that's the case, then today I will take it back from you." The King of Wei said, "I'm afraid you don't have the ability to do so." King Hui of Chu was enraged, and without saying another word, he slapped his horse and charged forward with his spear. This King Hui's black armor horse galloped like a mad wind, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived at the King of Wei's side. A dark light flashed towards the King of Wei, who raised his square heaven halberd to block it hastily. The King of Wei was also a man with great strength, known for his bravery in the alliance of feudal lords and his mightiness in lifting the tripod in Luoyang. His square heaven halberd was wielded with divine speed, and his martial arts were not inferior to those of Xizhou. This was a head-on collision between two powerful forces, and all that could be heard was a loud crash, with sparks flying everywhere. The spear of King Hui of Chu had struck the fork of the King of Wei's halberd, deforming it. The King of Wei stumbled backward, his hands shaking slightly. King Hui of Chu saw this and thrust his spear forward again. The King of Wei raised his halberd to block it, but his left hand sank downward, and his long halberd tilted. King Hui of Chu swung his spear horizontally, while the King of Wei wielded his halberd diagonally. King Hui of Chu struck with his spear again, and the King of Wei blocked it with his halberd. The two clashed once more, and the King of Wei's square heaven halberd was knocked open, showing that his strength was not as great as King Hui of Chu's spear force. All that could be heard was King Hui of Chu shouting loudly, striking down with his spear. The King of Wei hastily raised his halberd to block it horizontally, and the sound of the impact shook the King of Wei's horse, causing it to whinny. Clang! Clang! Clang! King Hui of Chu struck three times in a row, forcing the King of Wei to retreat five steps with his horse. With a whooshing sound, King Hui of Chu's long spear had already pierced through the King of Wei's defensive line and reached his side. The King of Wei cried out loudly, frightened and covered in cold sweat. He hastily raised his halberd to block the spear, but King Hui of Chu lifted his spear with great force and struck again. The sound of the impact caused the King of Wei's hands to ache, and his square heaven halberd flew out of his hands and fell to the ground with a clang. Some soldiers from the Wei army rushed out to retrieve the King of Wei's halberd and saw that it had been split open, with bloodstains on the handle. Oh! The King of Wei's palms must have been cracked and bleeding. The King of Wei was so frightened that he didn't care about the pain in his hands and hastily slapped his horse to escape back to his army. Not bad, he could still fight ten rounds with King Hui of Chu, which was more than Xizhou could do. Actually, King Hui of Chu did not really want to kill the King of Wei but wanted to capture him alive. The Chu army roared like thunder, and Zhao Yu saw that the main general of the Wei army, Xizhou, and two other generals had killed their way out. He shouted loudly, "You cannot bully us with your numbers!" and then slapped his horse to charge forward, swinging his spear to attack the incoming generals.

  King Hui of Chu saw the situation and swept his long spear to the left and right, making a loud clanging sound. The two Wei generals on the left had their spears knocked away three steps, while the main general, Xi Shou, had his large knife knocked away half a step.

  At this time, Zhao Ying arrived and caught General Xi Shou's knife. In an instant, the five people formed two groups, with King Hui of Chu fighting against two opponents, all using long spears. King Hui of Chu swung his spear to the left, and the Wei general on the left raised his spear to block hastily. However, the spear suddenly swept to the right, and the Wei general on the right saw it and quickly raised his spear to parry.

  A loud "ding" sound was heard, which was the sound of the spear handles colliding. The Wei general on the right was hit so hard that he almost fell off his horse, and his spear almost flew out of his hand. The Wei general on the left saw this and stabbed forward with his spear. King Hui of Chu used the recoil from the spear collision to deflect the attack and counterattacked, stabbing forward with his spear.

  The Wei general on the left hastily dodged and raised his spear to block, but King Hui of Chu pressed down on the spearhead and swept it forward, almost hitting the Wei general's chin. The Wei general was so frightened that he hastily retreated backward.

  King Hui of Chu was about to attack again when the Wei general on the right raised his spear to attack. King Hui of Chu swung his spear to the right, striking the Wei general's spear handle and causing him to stumble backward three steps, his hands bleeding from the impact.

  King Hui of Chu then swung his spear to the left with great force, and the Wei general on the left raised his spear to block. A loud "ding" sound was heard as the spear was knocked to the ground, and the Wei general's palms were shattered by the impact. He retreated several steps before King Hui of Chu stabbed forward with his spear, hitting him in the throat.

  The Wei general fell off his horse and died. The Wei general on the right raised his spear to rescue his comrade, but King Hui of Chu swung his spear to the right, knocking the spear out of the general's hand. King Hui of Chu then followed up with another attack, stabbing the Wei general in the heart.

  The spearhead struck the general's head, causing it to split open. In just five rounds, both of the Wei army's high-ranking generals were killed by King Hui of Chu's spear.

  On this side, Zhao Ying and Xi Shou clashed, their weapons flashing in the sunlight. Xi Shou was a top general of Wei, wielding a massive rhino-headed sword. In the tenth year of Chu's King Wu, when the Chu army invaded Wei, the king sent Xi Shou to lead the troops against them. The two armies met at Lu Mountain, where Xi Shou beheaded three brave generals of Chu in succession. No one in the Chu army could match him, and King Wu was forced to retreat back to Fang City.

  That year, Xi Shou was only twenty-two years old; now he was thirty-eight, a year older than King Hui of Chu, in his prime and at the height of his strength. His swordsmanship had improved even further since sixteen years ago.

  Just then, King Hui shouted, "Zhao Ying, retreat!" He spurred on his horse, which galloped towards Xi Shou with incredible speed. The long spear flashed in the sunlight as it struck Xi Shou's head. Xi Shou saw that the king had fled and two generals were killed instantly; earlier, when he charged forward, he had also received a blow from King Hui's spear.

  Knowing that King Hui's strength was greater than his own and his martial arts skills surpassed those of Zhao Ying, Xi Shou naturally did not dare to be slow. He raised his sword with both hands to block the attack. The sound of metal clashing echoed through the air as sparks flew everywhere. The spear struck the blade of the sword, creating a dent in it.

  Xi Shou's body involuntarily retreated, and his massive sword was knocked out of his hands by a foot. His hands felt numb. King Hui saw this and launched another fierce attack with his spear. Xi Shou hastily raised his sword to block it. The impact was like a thousand pounds of force, striking Xi Shou's left hand downward and his right hand upward.

  His massive sword tilted, and he retreated a step along with his horse. King Hui struck again with his spear, this time at an angle to the left. Xi Shou raised his sword to block it, but the blade was knocked out of his hands by a foot. His hands felt a searing pain.

  King Hui launched another attack with his spear, striking fiercely to the right. Xi Shou's massive sword was knocked aside to the lower left side. At this point, there was no way for him to block the heavy blow that followed. Xi Shou's body hastily leaned backward and to the right, and a loud crash echoed through the air.

  The spear struck the horse's back, and Xi Shou let out a mournful cry as he fell to the ground. The massive sword also fell to the ground. It turned out that the horse's backbone had been broken, and it collapsed. The horse kicked its hind legs several times before dying.

  The Chu army erupted in cheers, their morale reaching new heights. When the Wei army saw this, five top generals charged out of their formation, rushing towards King Hui and Xi Shou to try to rescue their commander. However, they were too late. King Hui swept his spear downward, striking Xi Shou with a loud crash.

  Xi Shou was thrown over a zhang away and died on the spot.

  The Wei general, with five riders, charged forward, shouting loudly. Chu Huai Wang saw the three Wei generals charging and clamped his legs together, urging his horse to gallop forward. He swung his spear horizontally, striking two of the Wei generals who were approaching him from the front and back. The first Wei general raised his spear to block the attack but was knocked off his horse and fell onto the second Wei general who was charging from behind. Both of them fell more than 20 feet away and died.

  The third Wei general turned around and fled, with Chu Huai Wang chasing after him on horseback. His horse galloped like lightning, and in an instant, he caught up to the fleeing general. Chu Huai Wang raised his spear horizontally and stabbed the general from behind, piercing through his armor and lifting him off the ground. He then threw the general's body into the Wei army formation, striking down two cavalrymen.

  The two Wei generals who were fighting against Zhao Yue saw this and did not dare to continue fighting. They hastily retreated on horseback. Chu Huai Wang drew out his sword and led 60,000 Chu cavalry in a swift charge towards the Wei cavalry, while 140,000 Chu infantry charged forward like a raging tide.

  Chu Huai Wang rode at the forefront, charging into the Wei formation with his left hand holding a spear and his right hand wielding a sword. He targeted the Wei king, with Zhao Yue following closely behind him. The Wei king saw Chu Huai Wang approaching and hastily retreated, but his army was thrown into chaos.

  The Chu generals also charged forward, striking down the Wei soldiers. Chu Huai Wang severely injured the Wei king and killed several high-ranking Wei generals, including Xi Shou. The Wei army formation had already collapsed, unable to withstand the onslaught of Chu Huai Wang and Zhao Yue. The Wei cavalry fell one after another, creating a path through the chaos.

  The Wei generals shouted for their king to flee quickly, but they were unable to hold back the tide of the Chu army's attack. In an instant, hundreds of Wei cavalrymen fell to the ground. Chu Huai Wang wielded his spear and sword, striking down anyone who dared to resist, while Zhao Yue used his long spear to sweep aside any opposition.

  The Wei king fled in panic, with Chu Huai Wang chasing after him on horseback. The Wei cavalry surrounded their king, trying to protect him as they retreated from the battlefield. However, the Chu generals and cavalry launched a fierce attack, scattering the Wei cavalry and causing them to flee in disarray.

  Zhao Yue and the other Chu generals took advantage of the lack of high-ranking officers among the Wei army and charged forward, striking down anyone who stood in their way. They fought as if they were in an empty land, with no one able to resist their onslaught.