Lu Bu cut the Gordian knot with a quick move, and the effect was immediate.
In just a cup of tea, he calmed down all the officials who were disturbed by the rebellion of Grand Marshal Zhou Yin, and eliminated a turbulent undercurrent.
Seeing that the cheap guy seemed to be standing there in a daze, doing nothing, Lu Bu smiled, and the coldness and indifference between his eyebrows suddenly turned into a sly look: "Brother Han, you have worked hard. It is not too late for Bu to come, right?"
Brother Han smiled and said jokingly, "Brother, you have been running back and forth, and you killed the rebel leader easily with your sharpshooting skills, and you also have to manage the overall situation, but you don't feel tired. And I just took a nap in the camp, how can you say that I am tired?"
Lu Bu shook his head, feeling proud in his heart, but said modestly: "If the person in charge was not Brother Han, how could I dare to leave so easily?"
He was told to hurry as fast as possible, fearing that if he returned at night, everyone would be gone.
Han Xin saw that although his eyes were still bright, his face was exhausted. He felt distressed and advised, "Everything is over for now. Go and have a rest quickly, my dear brother."
“No hurry.”
Lu Bu wiped the remaining water stains on his face and stood up absent-mindedly. The next moment he suddenly realized that he was still wearing wet battle clothes. He frowned and ordered someone to get him clean clothes to change.
When his clothes were brought to him, he had something on his mind and was too lazy to avoid Han Xin or let the servants serve him. He took off his wet clothes in front of Han Xin and put on dry clothes with great fanfare.
After changing into clean clothes, he did not sit down again, but walked to Han Xin, looked at him with a sharp gaze and said, "Bu has entrusted you with an important task, I hope Brother Han will not refuse it."
His attitude was serious, and Han Xin did not hesitate, saying: "As long as you ask me, although I am not talented enough, I will do my duty."
Seeing his brother being so sensible, Lu Bu smiled with satisfaction and naturally put his hand on Han Xin's left shoulder: "To be honest, I just led the army westward, but because I was worried about the situation in Xianyang, I didn't wait for Liu Haozi and returned. This thief is cunning and cautious, and has been plotting Xianyang for a long time. I'm afraid he has other tricks up his sleeve. I hope Brother Han will take care of him."
With me personally taking action, the turmoil in Xianyang can be easily resolved!
Lu Bu looked calm and composed, admiring the results of the battle, and was actually feeling very proud.
Considering that Xiang Hanzi had the foresight to pick me to be in charge of his important lair, I will just be generous and give him some face.
It also let him know from now on that I have extraordinary abilities... which are definitely not comparable to the small defeat I suffered in the fight with bare hands that day.
Han Xin was still sighing in his heart, not realizing that his younger brother had already been secretly raising his head high.
Although he guessed that his brother would most likely not be able to engage in battle with the Han army when he saw him traveling so quickly between Ziwu Road and Xianyang, he still felt warmed in his heart when he heard that it was because he was 'concerned about what was happening in Xianyang'.
He knew very well that the reason why his brother gave up his personal hatred and hurriedly led his troops back was not because he did not trust his ability to lead troops in battle.
Instead, this decision was made after careful consideration and in order to reduce the losses of the elite Chu army.
Han Xin was naturally not afraid of the Grand Marshal Zhou Yin, who was ignorant of military affairs. Even though his troops were several times more numerous than his own, with such a strong commander, they were nothing more than a leaderless mob.
However, due to Zhou Yin's order, the two armies were bound to clash in the end.
The longer the battle lasts, the more disadvantageous it will be for Chu, no matter which side suffers greater casualties.
Not to mention that there are still fishermen lurking inside and outside the pass, ready to take advantage of the opportunity.
Now, my dear brother, with his superb archery ability, shot that amazing arrow and killed Zhou Yin on the spot; then he used the king's sword Long Yuan to intimidate the entire army and make them surrender; finally, he was able to take over the capital in a natural way. He is the best choice.
—Only if you are both brave and wise, and decisive and resolute in making decisions, can you implement this strategy.
Lü Bu didn't know that Han Xin was secretly praising him in his heart without saying a word, and he kept muttering to himself: "The city has been roughly cleaned up, and I caught a rat named Sui He in the inn. He has shifty eyes and talks nonsense, and he is trying to get away. He must be a lobbyist sent by the thief Liu... I have thrown him into prison and let him stay with the toilet. These two cunning people will know that their evil plan has failed and the thief Liu will definitely end up in trouble. They will be so angry that they are half dead..."
His deliberately bad behavior really made Han Xin laugh.
Lü Bu changed the subject and said, "But that old thief Liu is very cunning. Now that he has united all the forces, this battle will not be over in a short time. The king is also impatient and likes to fight a quick battle. He does not know the importance of protecting the granary and the source of troops. He may return to the bad habit of slaughtering the city and killing the prisoners to vent his anger because of the failure of the attack. We always need people-" Lü Bu almost stopped and swallowed the words "beat his head to wake him up", and reluctantly changed his words: "Watch from the side and give him some advice."
These words may sound simple, but they are actually the bitter lessons that Lu Bu experienced in his previous life.
Without a stable base, there will be no stable supply of military rations, and one will always have to run around, living in fear of one's future.
Even if you have an army of fierce warriors and the courage of ten thousand men, what can you do
As time went on, the competition became less about the strength of the troops and more about which side could withstand more losses in food and money.
Lu Bu had suffered the hardships of insufficient food and fodder, difficulty in recruiting soldiers, and lack of popular support. He knew that it would be difficult for the princes to gather together to fight against the powerful Chu. If he did not want to become a stupid elephant bitten to death by ants, he needed to wake up and manage carefully to consolidate the rear.
The Guanzhong area has a large population and thousands of acres of fertile farmland. It is surrounded by fortresses on all sides, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
How could we allow the enemy to take away such a vital piece of land with both food and people
Moreover, Xianyang lies between Hangu Pass and Hanzhong. As long as this place is blocked for one day, the food and grass that Liu Haozi looted in Bashu or Hanzhong will be unable to be transported out.
The princes' army seemed to be in high spirits at the moment, but in Lu Bu's eyes, it was only because they caught Xiang Hanzi off guard and took advantage of the Chu army's underestimation of the enemy that they were able to capture Zhao, Qi and Yan in one go.
Although Xiang Hanzi is not very smart, he is very brave and invincible in the world.
Moreover, the damage to Chu territory seemed serious because of the burning, killing and rebellion led by Ying Bu's army alone, but compared with the vast land, the vitality of Chu was actually not damaged.
The Chu army swore to attack for revenge. At this moment, they had new hatreds and old grudges, and they were humiliating themselves by avenging the traitors. Moreover, they were fighting on their own land and were familiar with the terrain, so their morale must have been unprecedentedly high.
There is no need to mobilize the entire Chu army to pursue only the armies of Ying Bu and Wu Rui.
As long as the Overlord was not too foolish and knew that he only needed to send one or two brave generals to pursue, while he himself stabilized the area around the old capital of Chu and made some repairs, he could regroup, find opportunities to defeat the enemies one by one, and thus take back the three places.
As soon as Lü Bu spoke of the lessons he had learned at the cost of his life, they were immediately recognized by Han Xin.
So Lu Bu made a decisive decision and left Han Xin in the Chu capital Xianyang to guard the city together with Zhang Han to prevent the scoundrels from causing trouble again; he himself still took only 5,000 soldiers from the Xianzhen Camp and advanced eastward.
There were two reasons why he did not choose to stay alone but instead asked Han Xin to send troops to reinforce.
First, Han Xin's military genius ability was only known to him. Xiang Hanzi was tall but not very smart, and was really a fool who didn't know what was good. I'm afraid that if the military genius was sent, he would only be used as a cook, how could he be of any real use? It was really a waste of talent.
If Han Xin stayed in Xianyang, he would have the old Qin soldiers to help him maintain order and Zhang Han would be easy to bully, so he could show his skills and do what he wanted.
Secondly, this trip was ostensibly to reinforce the battlefield in the east, but in reality he had to be on guard against the foolish king who might get angry and start a killing spree, or make another stupid move, thus ruining his important plans.
Apart from him, who else in this world would be willing to risk his life to confront that strong and reckless man
Recalling the injuries he suffered that day due to impulse, Lu Bu still felt a dull pain in his body.
well!
It’s a pity that we missed the opportunity to catch and kill Liu Haozi.
However, given that the other party is full of cunning schemes and has a superb ability to escape at the sight of the enemy - now that he knows that Zhou Yin has been executed and Xianyang has been pacified, the old thief Liu is certain that his way forward will be blocked and he will probably retreat back to Hanzhong. He will not act rashly without waiting for an opportunity.
Lu Bu knew that he had missed the opportunity. Rather than staying there and staring at the rat that had no idea where it had hidden itself and getting even more angry, he might as well vent his anger on someone else.
Han Xin didn't know that his brother had such a plan, but seeing that he had made up his mind, he hesitated for a while and swallowed the persuasion that was about to come out of his mouth and made his own decision.
Knowing nothing about his cheap brother's plan, Lu Bu just waited for the heavy rain that had been falling all night to stop, then braved the continuous drizzle in the early morning, broke through the hazy morning fog, and led his army eastward, heading towards the land of Eastern Chu with a grand momentum.
To his surprise, the army had just left Hangu Pass and traveled the first twenty miles when it ran into a large army head-on.
Lu Bu had amazing eyesight, and the jade lion under him was the fastest, so he had already seen through the thick fog and vaguely made out the shapes of the army ahead.
Judging from the armor pattern on the soldier, he must be a Wei soldier...
He was stunned for a moment, his eyes rolled, and his mind flashed with lightning, and he understood everything in an instant.
Hurrah!
I thought that the one eyeing Xianyang was only that thief Liu Bang, but I didn't expect that there was another group of smart guys who also set their sights on this piece of fat meat and rushed to get a share!
Lu Bu's eyes lit up and he rubbed his hands ready to fight.
How could such a good thing happen to me
I was just walking on this road, and a group of stupid fat sheep came to my door!
It's a pity that this Wei army set out from Hedong three days ago, and was full of vigor and high spirits, waiting to reap the benefits and divide the Guanzhong area with the Han army.
But halfway through the journey, they were hit by a downpour. Since they were on a mountain path, there was nowhere to hide. Everyone was soaked like a drowned rat, and their faces were listless.
The night rain was already cold and gloomy, and there was a strong wind. The 20,000 Wei soldiers were shivering in their wet clothes as they marched through the mud, and their marching speed naturally slowed down significantly.
Normally it would only take two days to travel this distance, but even with General Bai Zhi urging them to hurry up, it still took them three days to arrive.
Just as they thought that Hangu Pass was not far ahead, the Wei soldiers tried their best to cheer up and quicken their pace, but unexpectedly, the thick white fog in front of them was suddenly dispersed, and a group of Chu soldiers rushed out like wolves and tigers!!!
Lu Bu was delighted to see the prey, and while the Wei army was stunned and unaware of their presence, he led his troops to charge head-on.
Five thousand strong cavalry against twenty thousand infantry and charioteers. If they were to engage in a head-on confrontation with full preparation, the latter would still be able to fight.
But now he was caught off guard. One moment he was walking tiredly, and the next moment he was attacked by the brutal Chu soldiers...
The front army didn't even see the people clearly, and they were instantly defeated by the cavalry. They fled in all directions crying for their parents, and almost thought they were possessed by evil spirits.
The rear army only saw the inexplicable chaos in the front army. Although they didn't know the specific situation, they were also frightened when they heard the wailing sounds one after another.
Bai Zhi, who was in charge of the central army, was shocked to see a sudden commotion in front of him and a group of evildoers suddenly appeared.
Even though he reacted quickly and reorganized the formation to meet the enemy, the Chu general, who was dressed in fancy clothes and riding a jade lion, was already arrogantly waving his Fang Tian Hua Ji, sweeping away thousands of enemies alone and shattering the formation that had been organized with great difficulty.
Blood kept splattering on General Chu's face and he screamed incessantly, but it failed to stop his charge for a moment.
What frightened Bai Zhi even more was that the Chu general suddenly raised his head, apparently catching sight of the person who gave the order. He immediately abandoned the enemy soldiers in front of him and rushed towards him fiercely!
But in the blink of an eye, the Chu general had rushed forward.
Under Bai Zhi's horrified gaze, the Chu general who was so close to him was covered in blood, his handsome face was cold and expressionless, and he swung the long spear in his hand without blinking!
Bai Zhi instinctively raised his gun to block it, but the agile and strong Chu general was incredibly strong, and his seemingly casual swing actually carried a tremendous force.
The moment the weapons touched, he felt his entire palm go numb.
He gritted his teeth and held on, but his arms were out of control and he suddenly felt a sharp tearing pain.
He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and suddenly his scalp went numb - he was hit by such a huge force that his palm was actually torn apart!
Bai Zhi knew that if he dropped the weapon, he would die. Even though the pain was unbearable, he still gritted his teeth and struggled to hold the weapon tightly.
But Bai Zhi wanted to make a last-ditch effort, but Lu Bu was too impatient to play with him anymore.
"Tell me your name." Lu Bu looked down at the sweaty Bai Zhi and said indifferently, "I will not kill that nameless general under my halberd!"
Bai Zhi gritted his teeth, subconsciously impressed by his aura, and shouted, "Wei General Bai Zhi is here! What are you doing—"
Lü Bu smiled contemptuously and stabbed with his halberd arrogantly: "It's your father, Lü Fengxian!"
A man as powerful as him can tell the opponent's strengths as soon as they fight.
Since it was easy to see that Bai Zhi was not someone who could handle a fight, he simply didn't bother to hold back when he attacked.
Even if he openly exposed his flaws, the opponent would not be able to seize the opportunity and could only fend off in a helpless and futile manner while he continued to speed up his attack.
After a few rounds, Bai Zhi could no longer resist, and was so embarrassed that he was swept down by Lu Bu's halberd. With a grab of his long and powerful shoulders and arms, he caught the tall man on the back of the jade lion like an eagle's claws catching a chick.
Lu Bu had originally planned to cut off the enemy general's head as usual, but just as he drew his sword, he changed his mind.
… After all, he is a Wei general who can lead 20,000 soldiers. It would be nice to keep him for questioning.
So he just punched the struggling Bo Zhi unconscious, threw him onto the horse of the soldier who came to help, and said concisely: "Tie him up and take him away."
Seeing their leader being captured with their own eyes, the Wei soldiers, who were already dizzy from the sudden attack of this powerful force, lost all morale.
Then they heard the ferocious Chu general, who looked like an evil star descending from the earth, calling for surrender, and they all laid down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.
With a serious expression, Lu Bu stared at this group of frightened Wei soldiers, whose number was more than twice that of the Xianzhen Camp, with an unpredictable look of joy and anger for a moment. Suddenly, he clapped his hands crisply and made a decision.
—So an hour later, Han Xin, who had just seen off his brother, was greeted with a generous gift of Wei prisoners of war, with a mixture of laughter and tears.