Xiang Liang made several decisions in succession. Xiang Yu and Liu Bang marched westward, while Xiang Liang moved to fight in Dingtao, hoping to open up the Chu army's food transport route and prepare for the future // invasion of Guanzhong.

Of course, if Zhang Han's army in Puyang is not wiped out, Xiang Liang will still be at the forefront of the storm. Zhang Han in Puyang is like a wounded wolf. He is injured now and will lie dormant, but once he seizes the opportunity, , would also counterattack the Chu army and cut off the Chu army's retreat. Therefore, Fan Zeng did not agree with Xiang Liang's move to fight in Dingtao at this time. He hoped that before the Qin army's reinforcements arrived, Xiang Liang should capture Puyang first. Kill Zhang Han completely to avoid future troubles.

Moreover, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang's westward advance will only distract the strength of the Chu army, and the gains outweigh the losses.

But Xiang Liang wanted to enter Bingguanzhong. He could no longer listen to any suggestions. Even Fan Zeng, whom he had trusted so much in the past, could not persuade him at all.

At this time, after more than 50,000 Chu troops left Puyang, they left two ambush troops halfway. Then, the main force slowly retreated. This was to prevent Zhang Han from taking the opportunity to pursue him. The team was huge and marched south. Finally, on the second At noon that day, the Chu army arrived at the foot of Dingtao City.

At this time, Dingtao's guard was Yang Xiong. Ever since Yang Xiong was defeated by Zhou Wen in the Battle of Hangu Pass, he had been wandering east of the river. Because of this, Yang Xiong received documents of condemnation from the court three times, accusing Yang Xiong of being too easy. The abandonment of Hangu Pass caused turmoil in Guanzhong, the Qin court was shaken, and Yang Xiong almost died because of it. If Yang Xiong had not spent huge sums of money to move around the court, I am afraid that at that time, he would have been the scapegoat for the defeat in Guanzhong.

Since Zhang Han left Hangu Pass, he has been invincible and invincible. As a result, the Qin State has gradually strengthened its efforts to suppress bandits, and the country has become stable. The second emperor no longer interferes with the government affairs, and everything has returned to the past. Yang Xiong also moved to Zhizhi because of this. Li Neishi applied for money and food, recruited troops, and now has more than 50,000 troops.

Zhang Han defeated Dong'a, and the whole country was in turmoil. He asked for reinforcements from all walks of life. Yang Xiong was one of the reinforcements. He crossed the river from Xia Yang and went directly to Dingtao. He stationed troops here to wait and see the situation. It happened that not long ago, Zhang Han Han was defeated all the way, and his troops marched into Puyang, where they defended the city and resisted the Chu army. This made Yang Xiong think that an opportunity had come.

As long as both Zhang Han and the Chu army are defeated, Yang Xiong can march into Puyang within two days and wipe out the remnants of the Chu army. By then, the credit for destroying Chu will be his alone, but Zhang Han will be blamed for the defeat. , you may even lose your life because of it,

But maybe God had mercy on Zhang Han. After several battles, Zhang Han was gradually exhausted. If the Chu army attacked Puyang several more times, Puyang would be defeated. However, Xiang Liang withdrew his troops. He divided his troops into two groups and marched all the way. He came all the way from Hangu Pass to Dingtao. What Yang Xiong couldn't bear the most was that Xiang Liang actually used his main force to surround Dingtao City.

Could it be that Dingtao's army and horses were far more of a threat than Zhang Han's?

Yang Xiong cursed secretly in his heart. At this time, the rumbling drum beat woke up Yang Xiong from his meditation. He couldn't help but look at the bottom of the city. The Chu army had begun to form a formation and was preparing to attack the city. At this time, Yang Xiong He waved his hand to a lieutenant general, who trotted over and said, "General, what are your orders?"

"Deploy another three thousand troops to garrison the city. Don't be rude."

,,,,,,

Under the city, Xiang Liang, surrounded by people, rode his horse to the gate. He looked up at Dingtao. The tall city was crowded with people. From the number of Qin army flags, Xiang Liang could accurately tell that the Qin army was in Dingtao. The strength of the troops is no less than tens of thousands,

However, the army was pressing down and could not retreat easily. Xiang Liang withdrew his gaze, looked at Xiang Sheng and Xiang Han, and ordered: "You two will each command 10,000 troops and attack Dingtao."

The two men sang a promise, rode out on their horses, and ran towards the armies to gather their troops. At this time, Fan Zeng, who was beside him, looked a little anxious and said with his hands raised: "Wu Xinjun, you are thinking about it. I think... we should give up the decision." Tao Bar,”

As soon as Fan Zeng finished speaking, Xiang Liang became furious and scolded: "How can you increase other people's ambition and destroy my prestige? If it weren't for your old age, I would definitely kill you without mercy at this time. This has shocked the army."

Xiang Liang's words also angered Fan Zeng. Fan Zeng has always been a stubborn person. At this time, he had already handed over his hand and said: "Since Lord Wu Xin insists on attacking the city, please use my head as a sacrifice to the flag."

Fan Zeng's words were neither arrogant nor arrogant, and Xiang Liang was furious. Song Yi, who had always been silent, saw the two confront each other and hurriedly stopped him: "Mr. Fan, why are you doing this? Since the army is approaching the city, how can we retreat easily? I think we might as well attack the city first. A few days to explore the enemy's situation before making a decision."

Fan Zeng wanted to say something else. In the distance, the rumble of drums sounded again. The 20,000 Chu troops who had already prepared, led by Xiang Sheng and Xiang Han, swarmed towards Dingtao City. The war started at this moment. ,

Seeing the Chu army struggling to attack the city with great excitement, Fan Zeng knew that he could no longer persuade him, so he could only shake his head with a wry smile. This scene was seen by Xiang Liang, and he couldn't help but said with hatred: "Uncle Xiang has been delivering supplies. After arriving in Shouchun, I will head north soon to transport the army, but I am worried that Qin soldiers will attack me along the way and cut off my food and grass. Therefore, Mr. Fan might as well lead his troops to receive this batch of food and grass for me."

After Xiang Liang finished speaking, he handed a token to Fan Zeng,

Is this an order to expel guests? Fan Zeng was extremely angry in his heart, but he had no choice but to do so. Since ancient times, loyal advice has been offensive to Xiang Liang's ears. The way to stability, thinking of this, Fan Zeng took the token and handed it over on his horse: "In that case, I will retire first,"

Looking at Fan Zeng's leaving figure, Xiang Liang snorted coldly. At this time, a scout's report sounded in the distance: "General, the defenders on the city are tightly guarded. Our army suffered heavy casualties. General Xiang Sheng asked me to Come here to ask for instructions whether to attack the city by force,"

"No matter what the cost, you must capture Dingtao City for me," Xiang Liang glared at the scouts and ordered coldly,

,,,,,,

Xiang Yu and Liu Bang's two armies, with nearly 50,000 troops, were advancing westward in a mighty manner, preparing to march towards Hangu Pass.

On the way, the two talked happily. Liu Bang even told Xiang Yu how he met Xiang Zhuang, how he freed prisoners in Daze Mountain, how he killed snakes to revolt, etc. Xiang Yu couldn't help laughing.

Xiang Yu has always regarded "righteousness" in his life and values ​​​​people who are loyal. Because of this, Xiang Yu respects Liu Bang as an elder brother. The relationship between the two gradually became closer, and they talked about everything.

At this time, the army passed through Jiyang and was about to cross the Jishui River. Suddenly, a scout came galloping towards them. He cupped his hands in front of the two men and said: "Two generals, the Qin army has been found in front, with more than 70,000 people."

Liu Bang was shocked after hearing this. Seventy thousand Qin troops, what kind of army could this be?

But Xiang Yu didn't take this Qin soldier seriously. He waved to the scout, and the scout reined up his horse and retreated. At this time, Xiang Yu looked at Liu Bang and sneered: "We can't beat this army."

On the Ji River, the Chu army temporarily built three pontoon bridges, and the Chu army began to cross the river. On the bank, Xiang Yu immediately stood on the mountain. Looking at the mighty Chu army, he couldn't help but order Long Qie and others beside him: "Follow me." Crossing the river,"

Thirty miles away from the west bank of the Ji River, the Chu army that was marching all the way began to form an array. The Chu army was divided into two camps. One was Liu Bang's 20,000 Chu army. Under the command of General Fan Kuai, they lined up to wait. , On the other hand, Xiang Yu's army also began to form an array. Long Qie, Yu Ziqi and others were well-commanded, and the formation was completed.

Not long after, Xiang Yu and Liu Bang led their generals out of the gate banner and looked across. Seventy thousand Qin troops were also waiting in formation. In front were countless groups of chariots, and behind were cavalry, crossbowmen and spearmen. Hunting with flags is truly terrifying,

Xiang Yu has always been fearless. He rode his horse to the formation of the two armies, held his big halberd horizontally, and glared in front of him. On the opposite side, a general wearing silver armor walked out of the Qin formation and came to the opposite side of Xiang Yu. The Qin general looked coldly. He shouted: "Who is coming?"

"I am Xiang Yu, who are you?" Xiang Yu smiled scornfully.

There was no immediate answer from the other side. The Qin general thought for a moment and then said: "I am Li You, the governor of Sanchuan County. If you know the truth, please quickly dismount and surrender. I will spare your life."

At this time, Li You had raised his spear and looked coldly at Xiang Yu. Although the story of Xiang Yu's defeat of Zhang Han had spread all over the world and Li You had heard about it, he did not take Xiang Yu seriously. After all, Li You also experienced it. The men of Bai Zhan fought fiercely against Wu Guang for several years, and Xingyang was never lost. At this time, after looking at each other for a moment, the two men rode out at the same time and charged towards each other.

The weapons Li You had learned since childhood were mainly spears, and his spear skills were superb. At this time, he met Xiang Yu, and the spearhead had pierced Xiang Yu's face. Xiang Yu waved his halberd, pushed the spearhead away, and then turned over. The halberd pole was swept towards Li You. Li You lay on his side on his horse and dodged Xiang Yu's powerful blow.

The two horses separated at an extremely fast speed. At this time, Xiang Yu stopped his horse, turned the horse's head, and turned around to see that Li You had turned around and glared at him. The two of them roared, and then rode out again to face each other. kill,

After about thirty years of healing, regardless of victory or defeat, Xiang Yu became more and more courageous as he fought, but Li You felt that his physical strength was gradually exhausted. Every time Xiang Yu attacked, he was extremely powerful. Although Li You could take the attack, he had to exert four times the usual effort. At this time, Li You had sweat on his face, but his persistent character made him unwilling to give up.

Not far away, Li You's deputy general Pang Delong saw it in his eyes. He knew that Li You could no longer withstand it. In an extremely critical moment, Pang Delong had to ride his horse out and roared: "General, don't panic, Pang Delong is here."

But it was too late for Pang Delong to appear. Just when Li You thought he would defeat Xiang Yu and stabbed Xiang Yu in the face with a spear, Xiang Yu raised his halberd horizontally, pushed aside Li You's spear, and then drew it out from his waist. A dagger was thrown out, and the dagger hit Li You in the back. Li You fell off the horse immediately.

Xiang Yu turned his horse's head, came to Li You, and with all his strength lifted Li You into the air with a halberd. At this time, Pang Delong had already rushed forward. Xiang Yu swung his halberd forward, and Li You's body flew over. Pang Delong reached out to catch Li You's body, immediately reined in his horse and ran towards the Qin army's formation.

Liu Bang saw the opportunity, brandished his bronze sword, pointed forward, and his 20,000 soldiers and horses rushed towards the Qin army like a landslide and tsunami. At this time, Xiang Yu was still immersed in the joy of victory, until Liu Bang's soldiers and horses killed him. When Xiang Yu came out, he waved his halberd and waved it forward. Long Qie took the lead and ran out. Behind him, 30,000 Chu troops also came out and went straight towards the Qin army.

Li You's death in battle demoralized the Qin army. Especially when the Chu army charged out, the Qin army collapsed instantly and retreated.

The Chu army pursued the Qin army all the way. Along the way, corpses were scattered all over the field, and flames shot into the sky.

Pursuing straight to Waihuang, the Qin army rushed into the city. The two men gave up and camped under the city of Waihuang. They gathered their men and prepared to attack the city the next day and completely crush the Qin army.

Suddenly, it rained heavily for days. Xiang Yu and Liu Bang discussed with each other that it was not convenient to attack the city, so they had to besiege Waihuang and wait for the weather to clear.

...
Chapter completed!