Volume 3 Chapter 50: Mr. Zi Fang

  Smoke is rising!

  Upon receiving the news, Qin Jia's heart skipped a beat in Peng City. Tongshan had fallen so quickly? If it fell, with the enemy at the city gates, how long could Peng City hold on? Qin Jia suddenly felt his energy drained, and he was overcome with despair.

  Peng Chengxi's Yong Chi also saw it, the wolf smoke was a signal for Tongshan to ask for help, accurately speaking, it was a signal for him to ask for help. Previously, Qin Jia had an order, his task was to defend Pei County for Liu Ji, and another was to support Tongshan in the south at any time.

  He had already sent someone to investigate, Liu Ji returned to Pei County and came up with the title of Duke of Pei, and even changed his name to Liu Bang. Yong Chi couldn't help but sneer, Liu Lao San was still just a scoundrel after all. Did he think that changing his name would make him a god or an immortal? What a joke!

  Although Liu Zidu called himself the Duke of Pei, established his own household and expressed his condemnation of Jing Ju and Qin Jia, he did not take any actual action. He only recruited soldiers and trained them, but when it came to counterattacking Pengcheng, he didn't even dare to fart. This made Yong Chi feel complacent, which is why he looked down on Liu Bang.

  There are usually two types of people who look down on others, one is those with strong status and power, the other is arrogant and self-conceited, the latter often die miserably.

  Considering that Liu Bang's side was peaceful and had no unusual movements, Chen Liao from Tongshan sent a distress signal again. Yong Chi immediately assembled his 3,000 troops and set off southward, as the distance to Tongshan was only about 30 miles away, and they would arrive soon.

  The terrain around Peng City is relatively flat, the only trouble is the Kuai River. Fortunately, the river water is not very deep, and it can be crossed forcibly, and at worst, trees can be cut down to make a raft or a wooden bridge. The two banks of the Kuai River are densely forested with large tracts of woodland, making it very convenient to gather materials locally.

  It wasn't long before Yong Chi brought people to the banks of the Kui Shui River. Fortunately, due to recent droughts, the water level was not high. It was easy to wade across the river on foot, which saved a lot of trouble. In the rush, Yong Chi didn't notice that the surface of the mud and sand by the Kui Shui River was dry, but inside it was wet all over. Even birds flying overhead wouldn't land in the nearby woods. Details determine success or failure, sometimes even life or death...

  To advance quickly, the troops stretched out a long line to cross the river. The weather was scorching hot and it felt refreshing in the icy cold water of the river. Unknowingly, the soldiers slowed down their pace, wanting to indulge in the coolness of the river for a moment, but little did they know that death had already arrived.

  A loud rumbling sound approached, the fierce river waters roared in, and when the soldiers realized what was happening, they let out terrified screams. They rushed to the shore one after another, and at times like these, there were always people who cursed their parents for not giving birth to a few more legs.

  The horses stood on the riverbank, their eyes revealing infinite terror, silently blaming themselves for being careless, why didn't they notice someone was ambushing? Everything was already too late, about 700-800 people had successfully crossed the river, less than a thousand were left on this side who hadn't crossed yet, and the rest were in the river. Accompanied by terrified screams, cries for help, and the roaring of the river water, the soldiers almost all disappeared into the river, drifting away to far-off places.

  Yong Chi was about to cry without tears, and his face couldn't hide his surprise. The earth-shaking battle cries came from the woods on both sides. Yong Chi suddenly discovered that the leader of the army was none other than Liu Bang, whom he had looked down upon. In a state of desperation, he angrily scolded: "Liu old three, how did you end up here? You despicable villain, what kind of skill is it to launch a sneak attack? If you have the ability, let's have a fair and square battle." He didn't expect that the one who ambushed him was Liu Bang, the Liu old three he looked down upon.

  Liu Bang burst out laughing and exchanged a glance with the middle-aged scholar who had come together, saying loudly: "Yong Chi, Yong Chi, when can you change your stinky habit? Don't you understand that 'a soldier is not afraid of deceit'?"

  Fan Qiang said disdainfully on the side: "Your skills are inferior to others, and you still have the face to speak? You really don't know shame!"

  "You..." The words reached the tip of his tongue and stopped halfway, leaving him speechless. What others said was indeed true, that's just how things were.

  "Yong Chi, you are surrounded, surrender now!" Fan Kuai shouted loudly, and the Pengcheng soldiers around Yong Chi trembled under his mighty presence.

  "Surrender?" Yong Chi's gaze fell on Liu Bang's body, squeezing out a wry smile of helplessness, just about to shake his head when he was interrupted.

  Liu Bang's loud voice said, "Yong Chi, as the saying goes, it's better to resolve grievances than to create new ones. Past grudges have already passed... Now it's time to consider yourself and these thousands of brothers." The middle-aged scholar on horseback beside him couldn't help but nod in agreement, revealing a smile of approval, thinking: A leader who can tolerate others has the capacity for greatness, is good at accepting advice... His gaze already held several points of admiration.

  Yong Chi was shocked and disbelieving, staring at Liu Lao San, wanting to ask questions but unable to speak, until Liu Bang nodded again. Yong Chi's subordinates also realized that if they didn't surrender today, they would surely be annihilated. Tongshan had already sent out a distress signal, and their own three thousand troops were on the verge of defeat; how much longer could Pengcheng hold out? However, with over ten thousand defenders resisting Xiang Liang's more than forty thousand men, under the pressure of life and death, the mental defenses of the soldiers were quickly torn apart.

  Yong Chi could clearly feel the gaze of his subordinates, he was unwilling, but... after all, he couldn't let his own momentary anger affect thousands of people. Moreover, as long as there are green hills, there's no need to worry about firewood for the future. After a long silence, Yong Chi finally nodded, dismounted, and knelt down to bow, lowering his "noble" head to the scoundrel Liu Lao San.

  Pengcheng will surrender to Peigong with 1762 soldiers, and Liu Bang's army reaches 5,000. The big army sets off quickly to rush to Tongshan to assist Yin Xu in breaking the enemy, this is their agreement, a must-keep promise.

  Liu Bang had originally planned to let Yong Chi go and pretend to open the city gate, but soon discovered a problem. The Kuai River suddenly surged, mixed with so many failed corpses, and the defenders of Tongshan could not have known nothing. However, after arriving, he found that his worries were unnecessary - the Battle of Tongshan had already ended.

  That's right! Just recently, Tongshan fell, and it didn't even need to be deceived, the city gate opened by itself, which was the handwriting of Deputy General Su An. After coming down from the city head, Su An felt depressed, a good intention was insulted by you, a group of mobs will perish sooner or later, do I have to die with you? Su An thought for a moment, adding to his impulse and ambition, he opened the city gate in the name of inspection.

  Yin Xu seized the opportunity and led his troops into the city. The exhausted defenders were still unclear about what was happening when they found themselves under attack. Yin Xu charged forward on horseback, entering the city, and only after engaging in battle did he realize that the actual combat strength of the Pengcheng army was not impressive. Over the past few months, Xiang Liang had been recruiting soldiers and intensifying their training in Jiangdong. The military strength of the Kuaiji army should be among the best of all the rebel armies, but without the protection of the city walls, the Pengcheng army could only be slaughtered at will.

  Less than half a time, the Pengcheng army in the Tongshan Castle was completely defeated, and this southern barrier of Pengcheng announced its defeat. After witnessing the combat power of the Kuaiji army, Su An felt that his choice was not wrong. Looking at the scene where the commander-in-chief Yin Xu led the charge and fought bravely, he knew it. At dusk, when the 5,000 troops from Pei County arrived, Su An was even more grateful. Chen Liu was still waiting for reinforcements, but didn't know that they had already set a trap for him...

  Upon learning of Liu Bang's approaching troops, Yin Xu and Ying Bu took Xiao He to meet them. Outside the north gate of Tongshan, Yin Xu saw a middle-aged man riding towards him on horseback. This man had a dignified appearance, with a straight nose bridge and no depression between his eyebrows, and his beautiful beard made him look even more majestic.

  Without needing Xiao He's introduction, Yin Xu knew that this person must be Han Gaozu Liu Bang. He immediately rode his horse to welcome him and cupped his hands in respect, saying: "Yin Xu has met Liu Pei Gong!"

  Liu Bang was also secretly sizing up Yin Xu, and indeed he was young, with a vigorous and elegant demeanor, calm and composed. Now it seems that Xiao He was right, this person is not simple after all. With a polite smile, he said: "General Yin's youthful vigor is truly renowned."

  Ying Bu stepped forward to pay his respects, and couldn't help but exchange a few pleasantries. Yin Xu's gaze fell on the person beside Liu Bang, Xiang Yu was not by his side, this person should be the third most important figure in the Pei County army, who is it? He turned around to look at Xiang Yu beside him, only to see Xiang Yu with a stunned expression, clearly not recognizing him.

  "Who is this?" Yin Xu was shocked. Liu Bang saw the situation and smiled in time, "Let me introduce to you all, this is Mr. Zhang Liang from Xinzheng."

  Yin Xu said in surprise: "Mr. Zi Fang?"