That night, there were bright lights on the other side of the river.
Xiang Yu stood at the ferry and looked at the tents on the other side of the river.
"Military Advisor, believe it or not, I can lead the army across the Wujiang River in just one night." Xiang Yu suddenly said to Lin Han beside him.
"The Overlord is a military genius, so naturally I believe him. But I am also curious why the Overlord is so confident." Lin Han said.
"Liu Bang's troops are retreating under cover of darkness."
"How did Overlord know?" Lin Han asked in confusion.
"I've been on many battlefields, and I understand Liu Bang and his men," Xiang Yu said confidently. "Han Xin has taken Pengcheng, cutting off Liu Bang's retreat. If he doesn't leave, his retreat will be cut off, and he will be surrounded. He knows the dangers of the Siege of Gaixia better than I do. But they dare not retreat in front of me during the day, as I could easily cross the river and pursue them. They can only retreat under the cover of darkness."
"Since you knew Liu Bang was retreating, why didn't you chase him?" Lin Han asked.
"We have made arrangements," Xiang Yu said. "At dusk, we sent scouts to the other side. When they spotted Liu Bang retreating, they used the horn sound as a signal."
Xiang Yu pointed to the opposite bank and said, "Tonight is the time for the army to cross the river."
“No horn sound was heard.”
While the two were talking, suddenly, a horn sounded from the other side.
"I'm coming."
Xiang Yu laughed heartily.
In the quiet night, the horn sound was particularly distinct, and could be clearly heard by troops on both sides of the Wujiang River. The horn sounded, indicating that Liu Bang's troops were retreating, and the vanguard had already moved some distance.
The bugler not far away hurried over, received Xiang Yu's order, took out the bugle from his waist, and blew it towards the sky.
In just a moment, the entire Chu army camp was filled with the sound of trumpets and drums. Many soldiers lit torches and shouted at the shore. The flames shot up into the sky, as if they were about to cross the river.
Lin Han watched from the side, extremely confused.
Those who don’t know might think that something is being celebrated here.
Seeing this, Xiang Yu explained, "The horn sound is merely a signal to frighten Liu Bang's troops. This will cause confusion in the rear. Once the horn sounds, I will blast the horns and drums in the camp together. Liu Bang's men will surely think we've crossed the river and the front troops will retreat, throwing the rear troops into disarray. This will slow their retreat and also undermine their morale."
"The Overlord is good at using military tactics. I admire him." Lin Han said.
No wonder Xiang Yu was so confident to the point of being conceited.
No one can match him in terms of military strength, command, military tactics or military formations. With such terrifying abilities, the presence of counselors is just icing on the cake.
As Xiang Yu said, if there were food and grass during the siege of Gaixia, the outcome would be uncertain against the conspiracy of Han Xin and Zhang Liang.
"It's not good to use soldiers well. The defeat at Gaixia tells me that making good use of talents is the kingly way." said the Overlord.
Lin Han next to him smiled indifferently. Since Xiang Yu had this idea, the Battle of Gaixia would not be in vain.
…
At this time, the soldiers in Liu Bang's camp on the opposite bank who were quietly retreating heard the shouts and drums from behind, and subconsciously quickened their pace.
The camp, which had been in good order just a moment ago, suddenly fell into chaos.
The Chu army is about to cross the river and attack.
Liu Bang and others who were leading the retreat in the vanguard were shocked when they heard the sound of war drums and trumpets from behind.
Soon, a messenger came riding over and reported hurriedly.
"Your Majesty, Xiang Yu learned that our army had retreated overnight and was preparing to cross the river. The troops in the rear were in chaos."
"What?" Liu Bang was shocked. "Where's Cao Shen?"
"The general is the rearguard and is assembling his troops to prepare to meet the enemy."
"Okay, I understand."
Liu Bang frowned, feeling caught in a dilemma.
It is not returning to provide support, nor is it retreating.
A moment later, another scout came riding at full speed.
"Your Majesty, General Cao Shen said that Xiang Yu may have known about our retreat and feinted an attack to disrupt our formation and allow us to cross the river again. The general ordered Your Majesty to evacuate first and not delay the retreat. He will be in charge of the rear."
"good."
Liu Bang gave the order to march again.
The assembly horn sounded in the rear, finally calming down some of the panicked soldiers.
The soldiers gathered and waited on the shore for the Chu army to cross the river. However, after waiting for an hour, there was no movement on the shore, and no Chu army crossed the river.
"Xiang Yu wants to delay our army's retreat."
Cao Shen realized that something was wrong and knew that Xiang Yu was making a feint attack, so he immediately ordered his troops to continue retreating.
The troops tried to stop the retreat again, and at that moment, the regular drumbeats sounded again, as if sending some kind of signal. The fire on the other side of the river went out, and it was pitch black.
When Cao Shen saw this, his expression changed drastically.
Half of the vanguard troops led by Liu Bang had already left, and now the morale in the camp was low after the shock they had just experienced. If Xiang Yu crossed the river, they would surely be defeated.
Xiang Yu's gesture of putting out the fire and stopping the drums frightened him more than the flames rising into the sky just now.
It was late at night and there was no moonlight, so he couldn't see the situation on the other side of the river at all.
Such dead silence is unsettling.
"The Chu army is about to cross the river. Send orders to speed up the march and retreat quickly."
The retreat of Liu Bang's army quickened, and the rearguard remained in a state of panic. Only under the control of Cao Shen did they manage to retreat in an orderly manner, but they were unable to take away some of the baggage.
Suddenly, shouts and screams came from the southern riverside.
A Chu army avoided Cao Shen's army formation on the river bank, broke into the camp from the side, set fire and killed people.
The battle broke out suddenly, the whole camp was in chaos, and flames shot up into the sky.
"kill."
On the other side of the Wujiang River, bonfires and drum sounds rang out again, and the flames illuminated the entire river surface. Xiang Yu's soldiers crossed the river by boat and were only tens of meters away from the shore.
Seeing this situation, Liu Bang's troops were demoralized.
First, they feinted an attack to cover the troops on the side crossing the river, then they extinguished the bonfire and pretended to cross the river. When Cao Shen was guarding the river bank in front, the Chu army quietly crossed the river under the cover of darkness downstream and rushed into the camp, and then the front suddenly lit up the army crossing the river.
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