Sixty-One Battle (Part 1)

  Many years later, Emperor Xiaohui still remembered the Battle of Huai River in 11 BC. He felt a sense of clarity emerging from the bloody battlefield. In a way, his life's journey began with that battle. He needed this war to affirm his growth, and Xu Xiang provided him with a window through which he approached the cruel and real battlefield without limits. At one point, the enemy's sword had already reached his face.

  For this reason, he had a lifelong sense of gratitude towards Xu Xiang.

  Having experienced the cruelest things, there's nothing left to be timid about.

  Liu Ying's life had gone through three wars, and the first war that truly made sense was this Huai River War. The Huai River War taught him bravery and perseverance. With this battle, he stepped onto the formal political stage before ascending to the throne, allowing his ministers to examine their future emperor, and also affirming himself. His second war was a heavy and colorful stroke in his life, where he gained his whole world, but also temporarily lost her. In the third war of the largest scale, as the emperor, he coordinated and directed in Dai Prefecture, with countless soldiers and supplies flowing through the case files, working intricately, but his heart had long been calm.

  The Emperor Xiaohui spent the second half of his life never fearing war, for he firmly believed that every war had its own necessary reasons to fight. And on the ruins after the war, a more prosperous and thriving future would be built.

  When the scout reported to the crown prince's headquarters that Ying Bu's troops were approaching, the rebel army of Huainan was only eight miles away from the crown prince's main camp. Liu Ying suddenly stood up, "The front line of the central army is guarded by Han troops everywhere. Why can they still be deceived by the rebels?"

  "This little man really doesn't know, but the Huai River's shoreline stretches far and wide. I see that the armor on the bodies of the Huainan army is still not completely dry, probably because they came here after crossing the river."

  "There's no time to guess how they got here." Fan Jiang, dressed in armor, said as he lifted the flap of the tent. "Let's think quickly about how to deal with this. Unfortunately," Fan Jiang clenched his fist and sighed, "we thought there wouldn't be any battles at the central camp, so my father took 5,000 soldiers away a few days ago. Now, including the servants and horsemen, there are less than 4,000 people in this central camp." He looked up at Hou and asked, "How many rebels are there?"

  The scout hesitated for a moment, "Didn't see clearly ---- there are at least one or two thousand people."

  It is three thousand horses.

  To pull out the plug from the bottom of the pot. It is a method of pulling out the firewood from under the cauldron.

  He knew that if he continued to stalemate with the Han army, even if he was invincible and brave, he would ultimately end up defeated and his clan would be punished. The only way out was to make a desperate move, abandon the foundation of Huainan for several years, take 2,800 elite soldiers and horses, and pass through the small road that was unknown to the Han army, like an awl inserted into the heart of the Han army.

  Crown Prince Liu Ying entered the capital.

  The sky was about to brighten but had not yet done so, and the air seemed to suddenly become sticky. With rolling black smoke, beacons of fire rose straight up from the camp, piercing the sky.

  "Your Highness," in the midst of the bustling and trampling central army tent, Zhang He hastily advised, "Take advantage of the rebels not having arrived yet, and avoid them for now. As long as you can make it to the nearest city, Ying Bu will be unable to catch up."

  "No."

  Under the blazing torches of burning pine resin, Liu Ying smiled slightly, raised her head, and spoke in a resolute tone like cutting gold and jade. The scattered lanterns reflected the brilliant light of the armor, dazzling people's eyes. Under the brilliant light, the young man's eyes shone brightly and intensely.

  "In the Zhong army camp, although there are not many people and horses, Ying Bu has come stealthily with even fewer men," Liu Ying drew her sword and hastened on, turning back to say, "Why should I be the one to avoid? And not him?"

  "Although this is the case, Your Highness cannot take any chances. And Ying Bu is a skilled and brave warrior..."

  "My northern expeditionary force isn't one to be trifled with----" Liu Ying's eyebrows shot up.

  "Ah, solitary days of reading military books. I also know that in marching and fighting, it's all about morale. If I flee, our army's morale will be completely lost. The rebel army is like a broken cauldron sinking to the bottom, pursuing us all the way, and by the time we reach the border city, half of them may already be dead or wounded." He pressed his hand firmly on the hilt of his sword at his waist, as if he heard the sound of clashing steel, "Why not stay here and have a good fight? The outcome is still unknown."

  Which young man does not have a single thread of blood and energy in his heart? Zhang He was silent for half a moment, and various possible calculations flashed through his mind for a while. In the end, he suddenly raised his head, "Yes."

  "Your Highness can rely on me, but Your Highness must promise me that you will definitely ensure your own safety."

  "Of course." Liu's clear laughter, "I'd like to see Ying Bu the old man surrender with his hands tied behind his back too."

  Huai River beacon fire.

  The vast border city stood tall in the quiet night, and the news of Huai River's beacon fire reached the ears of the guardian general who was drunk at the banquet, causing him to drop his cup. He rushed hastily to the top of the city wall to look at the distant military camp, where a lone smoke signal rose into the air. His expression was grave. "The crown prince's military tent... If something has happened to the crown prince, this world... will be turned upside down."

  Huai River beacon fire.

  With five thousand cavalrymen having just set foot on the territory of Huainan, the Marquis of Wuyang Fan Kuai turned his head back on horseback, took a cold breath, and his face turned pale.

  "I regret that I, old Fan, was greedy for war. Before departing, the Emperor and Empress repeatedly entrusted me with the safety of the Crown Prince and the Lu family, saying that if anything were to happen to the Crown Prince, even if no one else did, I would have to jump into the Huai River myself."

  Huai River Beacon Fire

  The Taifu Zhou Bo, who was fighting fiercely under the city of Liu'an, frowned and stared at the city in front of him, which was about to collapse, gritting his teeth.

  It seemed that Liucheng would be captured soon, but something unexpected happened.

  "Retreat." Zhou Bo said resolutely with a wave of his hand.

  "General," said the officers on either side, unwilling to give up, "give me another hour, no, just half an hour, and this city of Liu'an can be taken!"

  "What do you know?" Zhou Bo shouted fiercely, "As long as the central army is fine, these six counties of Huainan will be placed here and won't move. One day they will become part of the Han army's spoils. But if the crown prince is captured by Ying Bu,"

  He sighed and said, "My life's work may be lost in this battle."

  "Return to the army."

  The beacons of Huainan were transmitted from the south bank of the Huai River, passing through beacon towers one after another, and arrived at the imperial capital Chang'an. Upon hearing this news, Princess Ruyuan fainted and couldn't get up. Even Empress Lü, who had been ruthless and cunning all her life, was also trembling with fear for a moment, unable to hold her cup.

  "Ying Er."

  Lü Zhi clasped her hands and prayed to the heavens, "I, Lü Zhi, have suffered hardships for half my life. I've never asked anything of heaven before. But now, I ask you, return my daughter to me. For this, I am willing..." A line of sorrowful tears rolled down her resolute cheeks.

  A wisp of dark cloud drifted across, blocking the clear and cold moonlight. The east had already revealed a hint of pale dawn, with a few stars still hanging in the sky, shining with a faint light.

  At the time when ordinary people sleep most soundly, the outline of the Huainan army has already appeared, stopping outside the Han military camp, with over a thousand men making only a slight rustling sound.

  At a very close distance, there were only a few lanterns lit in the main account, neither particularly strict nor particularly slack.

  Suddenly, the sound of three war drums came from the camp, and in an instant, the Han army launched a fierce attack, with countless arrows shooting out of the camp. It turned out that the Han army had launched a surprise attack first.

  One hundred and twenty paces away, the arrows were already powerless to penetrate, except for those that hit the face, arms, or shoulders. There was no great harm done. The rebel army of Huainan emerged from the woods, worthy of their reputation as the finest troops in the land, advancing calmly and steadily into the hail of arrows. The metal armor glinted with a cold light, and one of the officers, dressed in formal attire, pointed his sword towards the camp and shouted, "Brave men of Huainan, charge forward! We must capture that little Liu Ying before the Han reinforcements arrive."

  As long as Han Taizi is captured, for a time, the Han army will have to retreat and avoid fighting for three days.

  This war was originally a battle of wits between the Han army and the Huainan rebels. Before the war began, both sides had already made it clear.

  Huainan army let out a loud shout, drew their swords and charged into the Han camp. Within a hundred paces, over ten men fell down hit by arrows, but the rest didn't even bat an eyelid, trampling on their companions' corpses to continue charging forward. The ferocious and fearless atmosphere sent chills down people's spines. The rebel army charged to within ten paces away. Suddenly, the Han archers quickly crouched down, and two hundred crossbowmen immediately took their place.

  Four stones of strong crossbow. Ten steps can penetrate armor. This round of attack is much more powerful than the previous bow and arrow attack, the rebels were caught off guard, and dozens of people fell down with their heads shot.

  Huainan troops were well-trained, and the two wings suddenly opened up, surrounding all the crossbowmen. The sky was still dark, and the crossbowmen couldn't see their targets in an instant. In a flash, they were trampled, and hundreds of crossbowmen lost their combat effectiveness instantly, with heavy casualties. Commander Han Duwei didn't even blink, waving his hand and shouting loudly, "Spearman, halberdier advance, axe man, prepare to stop the rebels from advancing another step into the camp!"

  Halberds are long weapons that can attack the enemy's hands when they are separated from their bodies, so when the enemy breaks through the bow and crossbow defense line, they generally use halberd-wielding soldiers to meet them first. However, this thousand-strong rebel army was armed with iron swords, which are close-range melee weapons, showing that these thousand Huainan soldiers had come with a determination to fight to the death.

  The two armies clashed instantly, and for a time blood and flesh flew everywhere, with heavy casualties.

  But Lü Bu drew out his sword from his waist, you Huainan army have the heart to fight to the death, don't we Han army?

  In front of them, the rebels suffered more than 100 casualties and finally rushed to the place opposite the Han army.

  At this point, no strategy or tactics matter, only the most primitive method can be used to brutally kill the opponent's life. Whichever side falls first, the other side is the winner, standing out from the blood of their companions, a bleak winner.

  The Han army hastily set up three defensive lines in the camp. The first line was at the gate of the camp, led by several northern military officers, with 1,800 northern soldiers guarding it; the second line was at the central fortifications of the large camp, led by Fan Kuai, with 1,000 soldiers from Beidi and Xiangyang, as well as internal guards; the third line was on the mountain behind the large camp, personally led by Han Crown Prince Liu Ying, who led his elite troops to defend it to the death.

  On the mountain, Liu Yingzi poured a cup of wine and handed it to Fan Qiang, saying gloomily, "Originally, the Marquis of Wuyang was going to keep you, my brother-in-law, in my central army to ensure your safety, but unexpectedly, you had to take the lead against the enemy yourself."

  "It's nothing." Fan Jian downed the cup of wine in one gulp, and flung the wine vessel out, with a distant clinking sound. "What is there for a man to fear about being wrapped in horse hide after death? It's just that if I were to have an untimely death, it would be a pity for Rui'er."

  He grew up with Cao Shen's daughter, Cao Rui, from a young age and their relationship was not ordinary. They had just gotten married before arriving in Huainan.

  They fell silent for a moment, and Fan Qiang wiped the wine stain with his sleeve. He said calmly, "If something unexpected happens to me from now on, I hope you will take good care of my wife in the future, Your Highness."

  After Liu Ying nodded heavily, he led his men down the mountain without looking back.

  The sound of slaughter filled the air from the front camp, on the mountain ridge, the black Han banner fluttered fiercely in the morning wind. Zhang Heng leaned his ear and listened, smiling leisurely to ask his friend, "Your Highness, are you afraid?"

  He meant to encourage Liu Ying, but did not hear her response.

  He turned back in surprise, seeing the flag deeply planted in the mud, with heavy armor and a young man supporting the flagpole, his face was strange, his eyes were deep and far, as if he was recalling something nostalgic.

  The morning light flickers, the young man's complexion also flickers. At this critical moment when the great army is approaching and life and death are at stake, the person who has been defending thousands of Han soldiers with his life suddenly thinks of his own heart affairs in the midst of the killing sounds that pierce his ears?

  I know most of you won't like watching war dramas, and I'm not good at writing them either. So, it will end soon.

  By the way, today is March 3rd, I heard it's Girls' Day, so, Happy Girls' Day to all the girls!

  I actually wanted to wish a happy Shangsi Festival (after all, this is the local land), but Shangsi is on the lunar calendar.

  No need for likes anymore. How about collecting and recommending instead?