As introduced by Xiang Guan and others, after being rescued from the cage by his brother Xiang Xiang, he had just heard that the defeat of the main force of the Western Chu Army had been decided, and Master Xiang's father and son, who loved his life, had fled out of the camp, and he didn't even have time to understand Xiang Yu's current situation, but it was confirmed that Liu Laosan had been the first to escape south with the defeated army camp to the south, and Xiang Zhuang, who had long hated Liu Laosan, ignored the good intentions of several cousins to dissuade him, and immediately led more than a dozen personal soldiers who had followed him for many years out of the camp and pursued Liu Laosan's defeated soldiers. is determined to personally kill Liu Laosan, who took the lead in provoking the Chu-Han War, to avenge his cousins Xiang Sui and Xiang Sheng, who died innocently.

At this point, it is really not that Xiang Zhuang wronged Liu Laosan, assuming that Liu Laosan did not deliberately slander and frame the Hangu Pass defenders who had changed the banner of the Han army, and insisted on provoking the Chu and Han wars for their own selfishness, the Western Chu army really could not find a justifiable excuse to launch a full-scale war with the Han army, and Xiang Sui and Xiang Sheng, who had made great contributions to the young marshal's army, did not need to die innocently in the hands of the Han soldiers under Xiang Kang. So tracing back to the source, on the issue of the Xiang family's brothers fratricidal affairs, Liu Laosan is indeed the unshirkable culprit.

Of course, Xiang Zhuang was extremely impulsive and reckless in doing this, completely forgetting that there were still some Western Chu soldiers around Liu Laosan who obeyed his orders, and a considerable part of them were Liu Laosan's henchmen and old subordinates who brought back from Nanyang, and it was absolutely impossible to help Xiang Zhuang deal with Liu Laosan.

It's a pity, completely carried away by hatred, Xiang Zhuang still did it, after leading a dozen personal soldiers out of the camp, Xiang Zhuang and his party quickly whipped up, and just galloped south, looking for Liu Laosan's banner on the way south full of dead bodies, banners and seriously wounded, with red eyes, he just wanted to cut off Liu Laosan's head with his own hands, completely forgetting the great danger of doing so, and forgetting that he was still wearing the military uniform of the Western Chu Army, and he could be mistakenly killed by the soldiers of the Han Army who were chasing and killing the defeated soldiers of the Western Chu Army as enemies at any time.

Fortunately, luck temporarily stood on Xiang Zhuang's side, chasing Liu Laosan and Ding Gu, the Han cavalry of the two defeated troops of the Western Chu army, had rushed to the front first, and the Han army brigade behind had just followed the defeated troops of Dongfang Mi to rush into the camp of the Western Chu army, and they had not yet had time to launch a comprehensive pursuit, so there was a huge vacuum area between the Han army's infantry and cavalry pursuers, and Xiang Zhuang and his more than a dozen personal soldiers were also in this relatively safe vacuum area.

This objective factor provided great convenience for Xiang Zhuang and others to pursue Liu Laosan, while the fast horse galloped, Xiang Zhuang and his party only encountered some sporadic Han army stragglers, not only did they not pose a threat to them, seeing their large numbers, the Han army stragglers also took the initiative to dodge, not daring to step forward to die, as for the other Western Chu army stragglers, not to mention, seeing Xiang Zhuang and others coming from behind, they also ran to Xiang Zhuang to ask to return, Xiang Zhuang didn't bother to pay attention to them at all, Just asked Liu Laosan about the direction of his escape, and instructed these stragglers to find the Han soldiers to surrender, and then continued to chase after him, and soon crossed the small town of Liuxian on the west bank of Surabaya.

Or when he was about to arrive at Shilipu in the south of Liuxian County, seeing that it was not early, Xiang Zhuang's personal soldier captain Ma Shao had the courage to shout loudly to stop, Xiang Zhuang was puzzled and temporarily strangled the war horse, Ma Shao said cautiously: "General, don't chase it?" The battlefield is too chaotic, and we are still wearing the military uniforms of Western Chu, if we encounter a large army of the King of Han, it is good to be able to explain it clearly, if the soldiers of the King of Han are in a hurry to make meritorious contributions, and rush up indiscriminately to kill them, wouldn't we die too unjustly. ”

"And." Ma Shao hurriedly added: "The cavalry of the King of Han rushed ahead, if they can catch up with Liu Jipifu, even if we follow it, it is useless, general, you still have no hope of killing Liu Jipifu with your own hands, if they can't catch up, we set off so late, of course, it is even more impossible to catch up." ”

Unlike the short-tempered Xiang Yu, Xiang Zhuang, who has a steady personality, is a person who can listen to persuasion, no matter how impulsive he is, he can keep some calm, plus he has been galloping all the way for more than 30 miles, and his head that was carried away by anger has gradually cooled down, so after listening to Ma Shao's advice, he looked at the military uniform of the Western Chu Army on his body, Xiang Zhuang hesitated for a moment, nodded and said: "That's the truth, okay, listen to it and rest, prepare a white flag in advance, the army of the King of Han is coming, Immediately raise the flag and surrender and explain to them who we are. ”

Xiang Zhuang's more than a dozen pro-soldiers were overjoyed when they heard it, and hurriedly followed Xiang Zhuang to dismount and rest on the spot, waiting for the Han army to chase the soldiers to come up to meet, and then because the men and horses were thirsty, Xiang Zhuang also agreed to the request of the pro-soldiers, and led the horses to the Surabaya River in the far west to let the war horses drink water, and took the water to swallow it.

The bad is bad at this point, after taking a big sip of water for a while, and washing a few handfuls of water, Xiang Zhuang was trying to go back to the shore to rest and wait, and he didn't want to look up at random, not far away from the scene on the other side of Surabaya, but Xiang Zhuang suddenly moved in his heart - on the beach in that position, there were many messy footprints and hoof prints, and it seemed that a group of people were there to cross the river and cross the Surabaya directly.

After a little calculation, Xiang Zhuang arranged for a personal soldier who knew how to go there to try to cross the river, and then it was not as expected by Xiang Zhuang, the Surabaya in that position was really not deep, and the soldiers of ordinary stature crossed the river with water, even if they reached the center of the river, the river water was only flooded to the chest. Seeing this scene, Xiang Zhuang immediately had a thought in his heart, and said secretly: "Liu Ji, that puppet, could it be that he crossed Surabaya here?" ”

After giving birth to this thought, a past incident that happened a few days ago suddenly jumped into Xiang Zhuang's mind again - it was what happened the next morning after the main force of the Western Chu army retreated from Huling, when the main force of the Western Chu army stopped to rest on the spot, and the main civil and military forces of the Western Chu army gathered around Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu casually asked where he was, Liu Laosan not only answered clearly immediately, but also knew the surrounding terrain well. (See chapter 492 above.) ）

"Chances are it's this puppet!" Xiang Zhuang came to a conclusion and said secretly: "This location is far away from the main road, and it is almost impossible for our defeated soldiers to escape here in groups, and even if someone comes here, they may not dare to try to cross the river directly." Those who can take this group of people to cross the river here are definitely people who are very familiar with the topography and hydrology of this area, Liu Ji's puppet has been the pavilion chief in this area for more than ten years, and there are many Peixian locals around him, and they are the most suspicious! ”

Considering this, and thinking about it a little, Xiang Zhuang hurriedly asked if his own soldiers had dry food, Ma Shao immediately took out a bag of dried rice, Xiang Zhuang was overjoyed, and hurriedly ordered: "Put away the dry food, save it, cross the river, and continue to chase south." ”

"General, why are you chasing again?" Ma Shao asked with a wry smile.

"I have a hunch that if we don't chase it, I'm afraid there will be no hope of catching up with Liu Ji's horseman." Xiang Zhuang replied: "With the treacherous nature of that horseman, if he escapes to Pengcheng by luck, it is likely that he will not even enter the city, and after a little rest to replenish a little grain and grass, he will definitely continue to run south and flee south immediately, and then neither we nor the army of the King of Han will have almost any hope of catching up with him." ”

"But general, Liu Ji's puppet may not be on the west bank of Surabaya?" Ma Shao hurriedly said again.

"It's okay." Xiang Zhuang replied: "If he is really not on the west bank of Surabaya, we will go directly to Pengcheng, go to Pengcheng to find Xiang Xian and Xiang Dian, and ask them to help us find Liu Ji's husband, Xiang Xian and Xiang Dian have always listened to me, and they will not refuse my request." ”

Seeing that Xiang Zhuang insisted, Ma Shao and other personal soldiers did not dare to disobey, so they hurriedly followed Xiang Zhuang to lead the horse, crossed Surabaya with flowing water, and traveled a distance westward, turned into the road leading to Pengcheng in Liuxian, and continued to pursue south. This is the reason why the Han army never found Xiang Zhuang and others on the east bank of Surabaya.

However, it is still a pity that after crossing Surabaya, they took the west bank road and chased it until it was dark, during which Xiang Zhuang and others found a pavilion village that had been looted by the rebels, but the people in the village who were crying did not know which one of the generals of the Western Chu Army took the defeated soldiers to rob them of their food, and at the same time, Xiang Zhuang and others never caught up with the group of defeated soldiers, and had to stop and rest on the way.

Xiang Zhuang of course refused to give up, in order to fight for the last faint hope, and in order to return to Pengcheng as soon as possible to organize the defenders to search for Liu Laosan, the next day the sky was just dawn, Xiang Zhuang and his party hurriedly got up and continued to go south, as fast as possible to the south, planning to catch up with Liu Laosan even if they could not catch up, but also to rush back to Pengcheng before sunset.

Maybe it's because the hard work pays off, riding a horse all the way south, close to noon, a group of defeated soldiers of the Western Chu army with a number of about four or five hundred people suddenly appeared in front of the road, but there was no flag, I don't know whose army it is, Ma Shao and other Xiang Zhuang soldiers saw the great joy, and immediately shouted, "Wait a minute!" Wait a minute! We are ....... ”

"Shut up!" At the critical moment, Xiang Zhuang suddenly calmed down and shouted: "Shut up for me!" Don't give my name! ”

"General, why?" Ma Shao asked in surprise.

"If there is Liu Jipifu's army in front and reports my name, we will be in danger." Xiang Zhuang's expression was extremely serious, and he said: "Early yesterday morning, in front of Liu Jipifu, I once persuaded the king to ask the king of Han for peace, and the king also put me in a prison car in front of him. So if it was really Liu Jipifu's team in front of him, and he heard that I was coming, he would definitely know that the situation was not good, and if he took his people to attack us, it would not be enough for us to stuff his teeth. ”

Thinking that this was indeed the case, Ma Shao and other pro-soldiers hurriedly closed their mouths, but it was a little late to do so, and the crowd of the Western Chu army in front of them had not only discovered Xiang Zhuang and others, but also separated a cavalry to take the initiative to greet them, obviously preparing to ask about the identity of Xiang Zhuang and others. Ma Shao saw the great urgency, and hurriedly said to Xiang Zhuang: "General, we have been discovered, what should we do?" ”

Xiang Zhuang, who has never been good at scheming, quickly thought about it, and suddenly came up with a solution, and hurriedly instructed Ma Shao: "You go to meet the comer, don't let him get close to me, just say that you are my Uncle Ji's ......, no, no, no, that puppet must not be at ease with our Xiang family now, just say ......, just say that you are Ji Bu's personal soldier, protect Ji Bu and escape here, first deceive them, and then take the opportunity to ask whose army is in front." ”

Ma Shao agreed, and then asked: "General, if it is really Liu Jipifu's army, what should I do with the small one?" ”

"If it's really him......." Xiang Zhuang quickly made up his mind and said: "You just let him wait, say that Ji Bu will go to meet him immediately, with the treacherous and slippery of that puppet, I heard that I and Ji Bu, who had a holiday, will definitely personally send a team to meet Ji Bu, and then we will take the opportunity to rush up and stab him to death!" Kill this puppet and everything will be easy! ”

Ma Shao agreed, and hurriedly rode his horse to meet the knight of the Western Chu Army, and very smoothly caught him before the knight of the Western Chu Army approached Xiang Zhuang, and then the knight of the Western Chu Army immediately asked, "Whose team are you?" I'll take a look at the identity waist card. ”

What kind of soldier does Xiang Zhuang have, Xiang Zhuang has a kind and honest personality, and his personal soldier captain Ma Shao is also a good person, after hearing the request of the knight of the Western Chu Army, he subconsciously touched the identity waist card hanging on his waist, but when he touched the waist card, Ma Shao suddenly came back to his senses and said secretly: "Why am I so stupid, show my waist card, didn't this horseman immediately know that I was General Xiang Zhuang's person?" ”

Thinking of this, Ma Shao hurriedly stopped his movements, forced a smile and said: "I am General Ji Bu's personal soldier, and our General Ji is behind, dare to ask the general, whose subordinate are you?" Who is the general who led us in front? ”

"Are you General Tibuji's personal soldier?" The eyes of the knight of the Western Chu Army moved slightly, and he immediately noticed that Ma Shao and his war horse had only dust on their bodies, not the slightest trace of blood, let alone any damage—this is not surprising, none of the personal soldiers brought by Xiang Zhuang participated in the battle, and naturally there would be no blood and other traces left on their bodies after the battle.

The knight of the Western Chu Army was also very calm, and not only did he not say anything after finding out that something was wrong, but he also asked in surprise: "You are General Ji's personal soldier?" General Ji is behind? Wasn't General Ji surrounded by thieves yesterday? How did you escape here? ”

"Of course it was killed, it took a lot of effort to kill it, and it was not easy to escape here." Ma Shao said casually, and hurriedly asked, "Brother, whose subordinate are you?" Who's leading the team in front? ”

The knight of the Western Chu Army hesitated for a moment, and then said: "I am a subordinate of the right Sima Peigong, and the leader in front is Peigong himself. ”

It was difficult to hide the ecstasy that suddenly appeared on Ma Shao's face, and Ma Shao hurriedly said: "Brother, then please report to Pei Gong, just say that our General Ji Buji is here, please wait a while, and our General Ji will go to meet him immediately." ”

Glancing at Xiang Zhuang and the others, who were closer to him, the knight of the Western Chu Army nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go back and report to Duke Pei." ”

Ma Shao heard the great joy, and hurriedly thanked the knight of the Western Chu army, the knight of the Western Chu army nodded, and then turned the horse's head and trotted to chase the defeated army led by Liu Laosan, Ma Shao of course immediately ran back to Xiang Zhuang's side, and reported to Xiang Zhuang about his negotiations with Liu Laosan's subordinates, Xiang Zhuang was overjoyed when he heard it, and subconsciously clenched the spear in his hand, looked ahead with a cruel smile, and said to himself: "Pifu, I didn't expect to really catch up with you, come and greet Ji Bu who has a holiday with me and is useful to you, Xiang Sui, Xiang Sheng, wait a little longer, I will be able to avenge you immediately! ”

Of course, Xiang Zhuang was too happy, because what he never dreamed of was that at this moment, the knight under Liu Laosan, who had just negotiated with his personal army captain Ma Shao, had already trotted back to the brigade on the way back to the brigade and came to an extremely correct conclusion......

"Fake Jibu pro-soldiers! said that he was protecting Ji Bu to fight his way out of the encirclement, but there was no bloodstain on his body, and his clothes and leather armor were intact, and he didn't dare to show his waist card, so fake that he couldn't fake it anymore! ”

"But why did this puppet pretend to be Ji Bu's personal soldier? If he's really one of ours, there's no need to pretend to be? Also, this puppet pretended to be Ji Bu's personal soldier, why should we wait a little longer for Ji Bu? In addition, I said that it was Pei Gonghou who led the team in front, and the joy and joy on his face were definitely not faked, why was he so happy? ”

"Are they ......?"

Thinking of this possibility, the knight of the Western Chu Army was suddenly shocked in his heart, and subconsciously clenched the reins of his horse.