A glimmer of hope

The outskirts of Jiangzhou, the Han army camp.

As a large county with a population of more than one million, and bordering Linjiang, Ba County usually has garrisons. However, the military system of the Han army is different from that of the Chu army. The Chu State has implemented a mixed military system of recruiting troops (immortal troops) and adding troops to the government, while the Han army followed the Qin army's military system and still implemented a new system.

The so-called re-employment system means that all male men aged 16 to 50 in the civilian country must serve in the military, and then take turns to the border, Xianyang or various counties to serve in the military and receive military training. Generally speaking, they are re-employment per month, so there are about 150,000 re-employment per day (without 1.8 million strong men).

Of course, Lu Tai's 20,000 cavalry is an exception, and these 20,000 cavalry are permanent troops.

This time, when the northern expedition of the Xiongnu, Liu Bang ordered three households to issue one person, and a total of 600,000 soldiers were recruited, of which 500,000 were sent to Jiuyuan to fight the Xiongnu, and the remaining 100,000 were stationed in Xianyang and various counties to maintain local public order. Jiangzhou was the capital of Ba County, and more than 5,000 Han troops were stationed in the Daying of the city.

The sound of killing in Jiangzhou City was shocked, and the Han army in the camp had been alarmed.

Amid the chaotic footsteps, the county magistrate Xiahouzao was wearing heavy armor and surrounded by dozens of personal soldiers to the outside of the tent. Xiahouzao was Xiahouying's eldest son. During the Battle of Dabie Mountains, he followed Xiahouying to chase the remnants of the Chu army in Xiangzhuang. Although he was young, he was a long-time general on the battlefield who had experienced many battles.

"Blow the trumpet and gather troops!" As soon as the tent was released, Xiahou Zao issued a military order.

As a veteran who has experienced many battles, Xiahou Zao knew very well that the combat effectiveness of an army lies in the powerful force formed by hundreds of soldiers acting in a unified manner. Therefore, no matter what happens, gathering the army in time and allowing the soldiers to receive effective command will always be the first priority.

With a command, the endless sound of horns rang out in the camp.

Although Xiahou Zao was just a small county lieutenant, he never relaxed his requirements for himself. Xiahou Zao even conducted almost cruel military training for the reign of Ba County. Xiahou Zao had seen the military front of the Chu army, so he always used the high standards of the Chu army to demand that his ba County lieutenant under his command.

After ten years of rest and ten years of training, the soldiers of Ba County have become an elite force.

The soldiers of Bajun Gengzhang were indeed well-trained. As soon as the trumpet sounded, the Han soldiers who were still watching the fun turned around and rushed to the schoolyard at a speed of 100 meters. The originally boiling sky, and the hustle and bustling military camp also became silent in an instant, and only the distant and low trumpets were still echoing repeatedly in the night sky.

In less than a moment, the five thousand Han troops completed the assembly.

Xiahou Zao raised his right hand and pressed forward. The five thousand Han troops turned around in unison, held the shield and raised the sword, and rushed towards Jiangzhou City in an orderly manner.

However, the army had just moved less than half a mile away, and there were spots of fire in the wilderness ahead.

Xiahou Zao's heart suddenly became stern. Seeing this posture, it was probably a large army that was approaching quickly. At that moment, Xiahou Zao suddenly raised his right hand and clenched his fists. The five thousand soldiers who were following behind him stopped one after another, and then quickly formed a dense square array of numbers under the shouting of the generals at all levels.

Square several formations, which can be defended or attacked, are the first choice for night battles.

In less than a moment, the flames in front of them had gathered into a sea of ​​fire. Under the fire, a strong army and aura were advancing towards this side. Xiahou Zao's pupils suddenly shrank slightly. The Chu army would actually be the Chu army! Moreover, there were at least 30,000 troops!

When the two armies were hundreds of steps apart, the leader of the Chu general raised his right hand slightly, and the Chu soldiers following behind him stopped their pace of progress, and then quickly set up the tit-for-tat digits of the finite array. The square array can attack or defend, but the finite array is a pure attack formation. Obviously, the Chu general opposite is a guy who advocates attack.

With five thousand to three thousand, the Han army was at an absolute disadvantage, but Xiahou Zao was not afraid of anything.

"The halberd is coming!" Xiahou Zao stretched out his hand, and his personal soldiers had already presented a large iron halberd weighing more than 60 kilograms.

Xiahou Zao's iron halberd was in his hand, and his aura suddenly changed, like a sword originally hidden in a box. Once it was unsheathed, its sharpness was revealed. At that moment, Xiahou Zao immediately stepped forward and shouted loudly: "The Great Han Kingdom, Xiahou Zao, the chief water captain of the Ba County, is here, who dares to fight with a certain battle?"

"roar!"

"roar!"

"roar!"

Five thousand Han troops suddenly shouted and roared to help the momentum.

On the opposite side was Gao Chu, and Jin Xiang led 30,000 Chu soldiers. Seeing that the Han generals were out of the battle, Gao Chu's mouth suddenly had a disdainful sneer. Just when he was about to take off his horse, Pojun had already come out. While urging the horse to dance and take Xiahouzao directly, he said without looking back: "Why use a ox knife to kill a chicken? General, let's see if the last general cut off the head of the Han general!"

Seeing that the general of Chu came out of the battle, Xiahou Zao immediately turned his horse's head and urged the horse to meet him.

The two cavalry advanced and immediately met. Xiahou Zao's big iron halberd and Pojun's long sword came in a tricky way. In the midst of lightning, the two cavalry had already crossed and galloped forward dozens of steps. Xiahou Zao stopped, and then handed the big iron halberd to his left hand, raised his right hand and pointed at Pojun and shouted: "Boy, you are far from it."

"What? It's so arrogant!" Po Jun was furious when he heard this and urged the horse to move forward again.

While urging the horse to greet him, Xiahou Zao continued to tease: "Boy, it's still time to return to the horse now, otherwise it would be too late to regret it if someone cut off his head."

"Damn it! Aoya... let's take a certain knife!" Po Jun became more and more furious and tried his best to slash Xiahouzao's neck with one sword.

The Pojun Changdao came in a fierce manner, but Xiahou Zao was not surprised but happy.

Xiahou Zao raised his halberd and just slid it lightly. Pojun's powerful sword slid against Xiahou Zao's right shoulder. Pojun used too much force and almost fell from the horse's back with one knife. Fortunately, this guy reacted quickly and quickly grabbed the horse's belly with his long legs, and luckily did not fall off the horse.

However, the mount under his crotch was so painful that he was held by Xiahou Zao. He immediately raised an extremely shrill sad hiss and staggered to the right several steps before he could barely stabilize his body.

When it was too late to be released, Xiahou Zao was already in the saddle.

The next moment, Xiahou Zao had already had a bow with his left hand and a arrow with his right hand. With the sound of exhaling, the bowstring was already full. Then he looked at Pojun who was more than ten steps away, and he could hear the sound of breaking through the air behind his head. Pojun suddenly burst into tears, and he suddenly turned sideways in a hurry, but the arrow hit his right shoulder.

"Ah!" Po Jun screamed, then left after he beat the horse.

"I just want to leave now, it's too late!" Xiahou Zao turned his horse's head and urged the horse to chase him quickly.

Xiahou Zao horse was fast, and in just a moment, he barely caught up with Pojun. The heavy iron halberd was raised high, and the cold front of the man had already slashed into Pojun's neck.

Seeing that the Chu general was about to be awarded the title, the five thousand Han troops suddenly cheered like a tsunami.

Gao Chu was furious and immediately urged the horse to come out of the battle. He pulled the bow and arrow toward Xiahouzao's big iron halberd, and then shouted loudly: "Don't be rampant, let's take the arrow of this general!"

With a "ding" sound, Gao Chu hit the horizontal blade of Xiahou Zao's iron halberd. The iron halberd that had originally slashed towards Pojun's neck suddenly turned and almost rubbed against Pojun's forehead, but only cut off Pojun's leather and a few strands of black hair. Until the black hair fell along his cheeks, Pojun realized that he was almost dead just now.

Xiahou Zao's heart was terrified. It was not uncommon to shoot the iron halberd across the edge of the halberd at a hundred steps, but it was not easy to shoot the iron halberd at high speed and it was at night! Seeing that the Chu general was urging the horse to approach, Xiahou Zao was already timid, and turned his horse's head and headed straight for the formation.

Seeing the Han general rushing back to the formation, Gao Chu suddenly laughed.

Suddenly, Gao Chu raised his right hand and pressed forward. The 30,000 elite soldiers who were waiting for the battle behind him immediately took off their big strides and launched a tide-like charge towards the Han army opposite.

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On the road leading to Langzhong in Jiangzhou, 20,000 Chu troops were advancing at night.

The Shu Road is difficult and dangerous, which refers to the road from Hanzhong or Linjiang to Sichuan. However, once it enters Sichuan, the flat plain in the middle of Sichuan can no longer stop the Chu army from advancing.

After succeeding in the sneak attack on Jiangzhou, the Chu army divided into two groups. Gao Chu led 20,000 government troops and the Huben camp of Jinxiang. He took the main road to Chengdu and swept across the Sichuan plain. Xiang Zhuang personally led 10,000 government troops and the Tianlang camp of Huyan Zhengde, and took the small road to Langzhong. On the one hand, he blocked the ancient road of Langzhong and resisted the Han army's counterattack, and on the other hand, he could wait for an opportunity to seize Hanzhong.

The Chu army's entry into Sichuan seemed to be very smooth, but Xiang Zhuang knew better that there would be no more time left for the Chu army. With such a big noise in the Chu army's entry into Sichuan, it would be absolutely impossible to completely block the news. Liu Bang would soon know about the Bashu Incident, so the Chu army must seize the Langzhong Ancient Road before the Han army reacted.

As long as the Han army blocked the Langzhong Ancient Road before it reacted, Bashu would belong to Chu from now on!

Of course, it would be great if the Han army could seize Hanzhong before it could react. Once Hanzhong belongs to Chu, the strategic situation between Chu and Han will be completely reversed. From then on, the Chu army will take the strategic initiative, and the Han army must always be wary of the Chu army's surprise attack on Guanzhong from Chencang Road, ridge Road or Ziwu Valley.

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On another closer but more dangerous path from Jiangzhou to Langzhong, Jin Xi was risking his huge life to run wildly. Xiang Zhuang knew the strategic significance of the ancient road in Langzhong to Bashu. As the county magistrate of Bashu, Jin Xi also knew that once Bashu was missing, his head would definitely not be able to be protected.

Not only can I not keep my head, but I am afraid that the entire Jin family will also be done with it.

Therefore, we must rush to Langzhong as quickly as possible, quickly summon the strong men in Langzhong to fight to the death, and then report the news of the Chu army's sneak attack on Bashu as soon as possible to report to Xianyang, and ask the King of Han to send a large army to rescue. Only in this way can Bashu be safe and the whole family of his Jin family have a glimmer of hope.
Chapter completed!