The Myth of Daqin: The Soul of Yi Xiaochuan

Chapter 290 Li Ze is blocked

In Sishui County, after fighting around four weeks, Liu Bang already had 30,000 soldiers under his command, in addition to the soldiers stationed in various counties.

Most of the county towns in Sishui County had been recaptured by Liu Bang and his men. The people were grateful for Liu Bang's protection. Since Liu Bang had previously served as the acting magistrate of Pei County, they all called him Pei Gong.

However, in the neighboring Qi area, Tian Rong saw that the Qin army led by Liu Bang was growing stronger in Sishui County, and he couldn't help but want to send someone to test it and see if there was a chance to occupy Sishui County.

Therefore, Tian Rong sent his trusted confidant Tian Zhong with more than a thousand elite soldiers to sneak into the border of Sishui County. This force disguised as refugees slowly approached Liu Bang's sphere of influence.

At this time, Liu Bang was busy organizing the soldiers he had just conquered and arranging the defense of the various counties. One day, a young officer under Liu Bang, with fifty men, spotted this group of suspicious people while on patrol and immediately approached them for questioning.

"Who are you? Why are you wandering here?" The young general had a stern expression on his face, holding a spear and staring at Tian Zhong and others with sharp eyes.

Tian Rong's confidant Tian Zhong was startled, but he pretended to be calm on the surface, only slightly evading the question, "We are refugees who have fled from elsewhere and want to find a place to stay here."

The young general noticed something was wrong. He glanced at the bags and weapons of Tian Zhong and the others. "Your bags are so neatly packed, and your weapons are so well-equipped. You don't look like refugees, but rather a well-prepared army. Tell me, who are you?"

Tian Zhong's expression changed slightly. He knew he couldn't hide it any longer, so he said with a stiff upper lip, "We are indeed the military, but we are just passing through here and have no ill intentions."

"Just passing by?" The young general sneered, "You are so sneaky, it's obvious you have some ulterior motive. I advise you to tell the truth, otherwise don't blame me for being rude."

Seeing that the other side had fewer people and that his side had the advantage, Tian Zhong took advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness, suddenly drew his sword, and ended the enemy's life with one blow.

Seeing this, the remaining patrol soldiers hurriedly resisted, but they were too few in number and were no match for Tian Zhong and his men, and their entire army was wiped out.

Afterwards, Tian Zhong took the opportunity to lead his men to occupy Fuyang City.

The news soon reached Liu Bang's ears. He was shocked and worried about the situation after Fuyang City fell into the hands of the enemy.

Liu Bang quickly called everyone together to discuss the matter.

"What should we do?" Liu Bang frowned. "Fuyang City is our important stronghold. We must not let it fall into the hands of the Qi army."

Fan Kuai was impatient. He slammed the table and shouted, "Brother, we can't just sit there and wait for death. We should immediately send troops to retake Fuyang City."

But Cao Shen shook his head in objection. He calmly analyzed, "Fan Kuai, don't act rashly. We know nothing about the enemy's situation. If we rush to attack, we might fall into their trap. We should first ascertain the enemy's strength and the situation in the city before making any decision."

Liu Bang pondered for a moment and nodded. "Brother Cao Shen is right. We cannot act blindly at this moment. However, we cannot let Fuyang City fall into the hands of the enemy for too long. We must find a way to recapture it as soon as possible."

So, Liu Bang sent out several small teams to conduct secret investigations, and at the same time deployed decoy troops in the surrounding areas to create the appearance of an imminent invasion.

After Tian Zhong occupied Fuyang City, he thought Liu Bang would attack immediately, but he saw a large army mobilizing outside the city, which made him feel uneasy. He stood on the city wall, watching the movement outside the city, his brow furrowed.

"General, Liu Bang's army seems to be preparing to attack the city. What should we do?" a deputy general asked anxiously.

Tian Zhong took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and said, "Don't panic. We have strengthened the city defenses. As long as we hold on to the city and wait for reinforcements to arrive, we will be able to hold Fuyang City."

Tian Zhong sent someone to ask Tian Rong for help, hoping that he could send reinforcements to support Fuyang City as soon as possible.

A few days later, Liu Bang received accurate intelligence that there were only a thousand Qi troops in the city. Although they were well prepared, they were short of food and fodder.

Liu Bang saw the perfect opportunity and said to Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai, "Brothers, tonight is the perfect time for us to recapture Fuyang City. Lead two thousand elite soldiers and sneak to the city gates under cover of darkness. Use an insider to open the gates and charge into the city."

Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai exchanged a glance and said in unison, "We obey your command!"

At night, Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai led two thousand elite soldiers and quietly marched towards Fuyang City.

They carefully avoided the Qi army patrols outside the city and finally arrived at the foot of Fuyang City.

With the help of an insider, Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai used ladders and ropes to quickly climb up the city wall.

The Qi army in the city was caught off guard by this sudden attack and soon fell into chaos.

Tian Zhong was awakened from his sleep and heard the shouting and killing outside. He was shocked. He hurriedly put on his armor, picked up his weapon, and rushed out of the room.

"What's going on?" Tian Zhong asked loudly.

"General, Liu Bang's army is attacking!" a soldier answered in panic.

Tian Zhong's face turned pale, knowing he could no longer withstand Liu Bang's attack. He sighed helplessly and said, "The situation is hopeless, let's surrender."

In the end, Tian Zhong was killed by Zhou Bo and Fan Kuai, and Fuyang City returned to Liu Bang's hands.

On Li Ze's side, the vanguard troops discovered that Zhang Han's reinforcements were on their way.

"Zhang Han's reinforcements are here!" a soldier shouted in panic.

Li Ze pondered for a moment, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, and he decided to take a risky move.

"Send out 8,000 men to continue pretending to be the main force and launch a feint attack in the direction of Liyang to attract Zhang Han's attention." Li Ze ordered calmly.

"But, General, this is too dangerous!" said a general worriedly.

"No need to say more, just follow the order!" Li Ze interrupted him decisively.

He took the remaining 2,000 elite troops and, under the cover of night, launched a sneak attack on Zhang Han's rear.

Li Ze still underestimated Zhang Han's ability. After all, Zhang Han was well-versed in military books and commanded an army of 200,000 to fight east and west.

"This must be Li Ze's trick!" Zhang Han sneered as he looked at the 8,000 troops feinting an attack in front of him.

He quickly saw through Li Ze's plan. On the one hand, he sent a small number of troops to contain the 8,000 troops who were making a feint attack, and on the other hand, he personally led the main force to turn around and encircle and suppress Li Ze's 2,000 elite troops.

When Li Ze led his troops to advance, he was suddenly surrounded by Zhang Han's army and was immediately caught in a tough battle.

"Brothers, follow me and fight!" Li Ze shouted loudly, waving the sword in his hand.

"Kill!" The soldiers were in high spirits and fought bravely.

Li You, who was stationed in the Zhengguo Canal area, learned of Li Ze's dangerous situation and knew that if Li Ze was destroyed, the central army on the southern expedition would be wiped out.

So he made a decisive decision and personally led 5,000 soldiers to rescue.

Li You rushed to the edge of the battlefield overnight, but was not in a hurry to break into the encirclement.

"All the generals, listen up! Gather branches and hay, make many straw men, and tie them behind the horses' tails!" Li You shouted loudly.

The soldiers acted quickly and soon made many straw men.

When everything was ready, Li You led 3,000 troops to attack Zhang Han's flank.

"Kill!" Li You took the lead and rushed towards Zhang Han's army.

The remaining two thousand people raised dust with the sound of their horses' hooves, and the horses dragging the straw men galloped away, as if they were an army of thousands.

Zhang Han looked from afar and was shocked, thinking that the northern border army was ambushed here.

"Oh no, there is an ambush!" Zhang Han hurriedly dispatched troops to deal with it.

Li Ze seized this opportunity and led the remaining troops to break out.

"General Li Ze, please be patient!" Li You shouted.

"General Li You, thank you very much!" Li Ze said gratefully.

Li You took advantage of the situation and the two of them joined forces to temporarily stabilize the situation.

Zhang Han realized that he had fallen into a trap and became angry and wanted to encircle the enemy again.

At this extremely critical moment, heavy rain suddenly fell from the sky, the roads became muddy, and Zhang Han's army could hardly move quickly.

"God is really helping me!" Li Ze was overjoyed.

"Let's retreat quickly!" Li You shouted.

Li Ze and Li You took advantage of this godsend opportunity to successfully evacuate the battlefield and retreat back to Liu Bang's camp.