The Myth of Daqin: The Soul of Yi Xiaochuan

As a result, the troops of Meng Yi, Meng Yuan and Sima Yan, and the coalition forces of Pang Bo and Jin Shanshui, totaling about 100,000 people, began to withdraw in an orderly manner.

Under Meng Yi's arrangement, Han Xin personally led 5,000 cavalry to cover the rear.

During the march, the weather became increasingly worse and a sandstorm was approaching.

Han Xin led the remaining cavalry and looked around vigilantly.

Suddenly, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds were heard. It turned out to be a small group of Hun stragglers coming to harass.

"Be alert!" Han Xin shouted loudly, his voice sounding particularly loud in the wind.

"General, what should we do?" a cavalryman asked nervously.

"Don't panic!" Han Xin replied calmly, "Captain, lead a group of soldiers and pretend to retreat, then lure them into the encirclement."

Following Han Xin's command, the cavalry began to retreat in an orderly manner.

Seeing this, the scattered Hun soldiers thought they had an opportunity and started chasing after them.

"Haha, these Han people are such cowards!" the leader of the Xiongnu skirmishers laughed triumphantly.

However, they did not realize that they had fallen into Han Xin's trap.

When the Hun scattered soldiers entered the encirclement, Han Xin gave an order and the cavalry rushed towards the enemy.

For a moment, shouts and sounds of weapons clashing were heard one after another.

"Oh no, we've fallen into a trap!" the leader of the Hun skirmishers shouted in horror.

But at this point, they had no way to escape. Han Xin led his cavalry and fought bravely, quickly annihilating all the Xiongnu scattered soldiers.

As the army gradually approached Jiuyuan City, the soldiers' fatigue was mixed with the joy of returning home.

Finally, this team that had experienced the baptism of war arrived in Jiuyuan safely.

Meng Yi looked at this important border city with a lot of emotions in his heart.

Although countless heads were cut off during this Northern Expedition, Maodun's main army was not defeated, leaving hidden dangers. However, it did bring temporary peace to the northern border.

On the other side, inside the Kuaiji City County Magistrate’s Mansion.

The atmosphere in the conference room was solemn. Xiang Liang, Xiang Yu, Heng Chu, Xiang Bo, Xiang Tuo and Xiang Zhuang all sat upright.

Xiang Liang looked around and said in a deep voice, "I recently received a letter from Zhao Ping (Chen Sheng's rebel army). I feel that the time is ripe to cross the river and fight westward."

After hearing what Xiang Liang said, Xiang Yu stood up suddenly, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He said, "Uncle, I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. I am determined to do something big. I heard that my brother Yi is now leading the army to the north to fight against the Xiongnu. Let my brother Yi see how powerful I am."

Xiang Liang nodded slightly, his eyes fell on Xiang Yu, with a hint of relief and expectation, he slowly said: "Don't worry, Yu'er, this matter still needs careful planning."

Heng Chu also spoke up, "General, the Qin army's strength cannot be underestimated. We must have sufficient food and supplies to cross the river and fight."

Xiang Liang agreed and said, "Brother Huan, please take care of the preparations."

At this moment, a soldier hurried into the meeting room.

His face was pale, he was panting, and his voice was trembling as he said, "Report, Your Majesty, Taimo County has been occupied by a Qin army coming from the south, and our soldiers have suffered countless casualties."

There was an uproar in the conference room, and everyone's faces became solemn.

A flash of anger flashed in Xiang Yu's eyes. He clenched his fists tightly and said with gritted teeth: "Damn Qin army, how dare you be so arrogant!"

Xiang Liang's expression darkened. He turned to look at the soldier and asked, "How many men are there in the Qin army? What are their equipment like?"

The soldier tried to catch his breath and replied, "According to preliminary estimates, the Qin army has 7,000 to 8,000 men. They are well-equipped and well-trained, though a bit ragged."

Xiang Liang frowned even more tightly, as he knew very well that the attack of the Qin army would have a great impact on their plans.

He looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, we must reassess the situation and formulate a new battle plan."

Xiang Yu nodded and said, "Yes, uncle, but we cannot let the Qin army's arrogance continue to spread. We must recapture Taimo County as soon as possible."

Xiang Liang nodded slightly, then his expression straightened. He looked at Xiang Tuo and said in a deep voice, "Xiang Tuo, I order you to quickly send someone to find out who is leading the Qin army in Taimo County!"

Xiang Tuo took the order and left.

Not long after, Xiang Tuo brought back news: "General, the commander of the Qin army is Li Xin."

When Xiang Liang heard this, he was immediately furious. He took a deep breath and tried hard to control his anger.

He said, "It's this man! Li Xin has always been famous. He led an army single-handedly to destroy the State of Yan. Later, he led 200,000 Qin troops to attack Chu, hoping to destroy Chu in one fell swoop. But my father led 200,000 Chu troops and defeated Li Xin's troops, forcing them to flee in disgrace."

Xiang Liang paused, his eyes revealing a hint of helplessness and sadness. He sighed and said, "Alas, but later Wang Jian and Meng Wu personally led 60 Qin troops to attack Chu, and Li Xin also came with the army. In the end, my father was defeated and committed suicide. Li Xin should not be underestimated."

Xiang Yu, Xiang Zhuang and other Xiang family members were all very sad when they heard the news.

Xiang Yu clenched his fists and said loudly, "Uncle, if that's the case, enemies will be jealous of each other! Li Xin also has a share in my grandfather's vengeance. I must kill Li Xin with my own hands to comfort my grandfather's spirit in heaven!"

Xiang Zhuang echoed, "Right! We must avenge Grandpa! Let Li Xin pay with blood!"

Xiang Liang looked at Xiang Yu and Xiang Zhuang with satisfaction and said, "Don't be impulsive. Although Li Xin is a formidable enemy, we must plan carefully before taking any action."

Xiang Yu suppressed his anger and nodded.

"Uncle, are we just going to stand by and watch?" Xiang Yu's face was full of resentment.

Xiang Tuo suggested, "General, we can first send spies into Taimo County to find out the enemy's strength."

Everyone praised it.

So Xiang Liang arranged for his spies to sneak into Taimo County quietly.

A few days later, the spies reported back, not only figuring out the layout of the city, but also discovering that the Qin army had many wounded soldiers, and that although their food and grass had been replenished, they were not sufficient.

Xiang Yu was overjoyed when he heard this, "Uncle, if we don't attack now, when will we attack?"

Xiang Liang pondered for a moment and said, "The Qin army has just occupied Taimo County, and their foundation is unstable. We can first send spies into the city to spread rumors and disrupt the morale of the army. Then we can send in the main force to besiege it. That way, we can attack from both inside and outside. We will definitely be able to capture Taimo County."

So several soldiers who were good at hiding quietly sneaked to Taimo County.

A few days later, various uneasy rumors began to spread among the Qin army in the city, such as a large army was approaching from the south and food and grass were about to be cut off.

Li Xin noticed that the army's morale was unstable and ordered a strict investigation.

Xiang Liang, on the other hand, took advantage of the internal strife in the Qin army and quickly assembled his troops.

Xiang Yu volunteered to be the vanguard, and Xiang Liang agreed.

Xiang Yu, along with Long Ju, Ji Bu, Zhongli Mei, Yu Ziqi and others, led five thousand elite soldiers and rushed towards Taimo County.

Mountains and forests outside Taimo County.

Long Qie said, "General, the enemy's main camp and the county town are mutually supportive, and they have a large number of troops. If we attack the town, our army will definitely be at a disadvantage. We can send a small force to pretend to attack the county town, lure them to send troops to rescue them, then pretend to be defeated and flee, and finally concentrate our forces to intercept them halfway."

Xiang Yu pondered for a moment and nodded slightly to show his agreement.

As for Zhuang Jia, he thought he would be rich and famous if he offered his head, but Wang Li looked down on such a traitor and imprisoned him.

In prison, Zhuang Jia was filled with regret and cried out, "I am so foolish! For a little fame and fortune, I betrayed the King of Chu! I regret it so much!"

At night, a dark shadow sneaked into the cell. Zhuang Jia was terrified and before he could shout, the shadow cut his throat.

The shadow looked at Zhuang Jia's body and murmured, "Traitor, how can you live in this world?"

Then he gently wiped the dagger in his hand, as if erasing the sin that had just been committed.

Outside the cell, the guards were dozing off, unaware of what was happening inside.

The shadow quietly left the cell and merged into the darkness, as if he had never appeared.