Instead of saying anything, he took advantage of the loyalty of the enemy's general to set up tricks, deliberately let a very important enemy general escape, and used him to bring false news to intimidate the enemy into taking the initiative to abandon the fortified city capital with high walls and sufficient food, and then not only can you easily take the enemy's national capital, but even the enemy's hinterland can be easily taken!

This shameless trick carefully arranged by Xiang Kang and the Han army, if it is used on others, it is very likely to succeed smoothly, but there is no way, Xiang Kang and the decision-making level of the Han army are playing axes in front of Luban this time, selling articles in front of Confucius Temple, and the general of the Nanyang Army, who fled back to Wancheng with injuries, has just explained the situation, Liu Laosan and Han Xin, who are familiar with Xiang Kang's bad temperament, immediately understood that Xiang Kang was just bluffing with a counter-plot, not only Xiang Yu definitely did not ignore Nanyang's priority to rescue Qidi, but even Qidi's rebellion, It's definitely fake news pulled out by Xiang Kang's ghost!

Seeing that Xiang Kang was so anxious to scare the main force of the Nanyang army to go south, in the case that the Han army had successfully taken Yangcheng, Liu Laosan and Han Xin not only resolutely gave up the last chance to retreat to the Hanshui defense line, but also held a military meeting on the same day, showing the determination of the Nanyang army to die in Wancheng and waiting for reinforcements, and solemnly swore to live and die with Wancheng, and never retreat half a step to defend the city!

Liu Laosan and Han Xin's decision won the unanimous support of the Nanyang Army civil and military, reluctant to give up Wancheng as a second hometown, and full of confidence in Wancheng's impregnable city fortifications, in addition to singing the promise of the Nanyang Army led by Peixian small partners, accepted Liu Laosan's decision without hesitation, and rushed to make a poisonous oath, vowing to coexist with Wancheng and the country, and the city is in the people! The city is dead, the people are dead!

Of course, there are also discordant voices, at least the commander of the Southern Front Corps of the Western Chu Army, Li Ji, is resolutely opposed to defending Wancheng, even if Liu Laosan has made his attitude clear, Li Ji refuses to stay to help Liu Laosan, just agrees to move to other battlefields and share the pressure on the flank for the main force of the Nanyang Army - of course, the money, food, supplies and baggage of the Southern Front Corps of the Western Chu Army, as well as the beauties and good banquets for General Li's feet at night, cannot be less at all, and must be continued to be supplied by the Nanyang Army.

Although Liji's request is shameless, he doesn't know that it is in the hands of Liu Laosan, because although Wancheng is a big county city, if you want to let a total of nearly 50,000 people (including the army brought back by Cao Shengang) of Liu Xiang's coalition army all stationed in the city, the space is still very difficult and tight, stationed outside the city without the protection of the city wall, and it is clear that it is to send people to the Han army, and at the same time, Liu Laosan is now seriously unable to believe in Liji, of course, he has to prevent Liji from making ghosts after entering the city, and he should cooperate with the Han army to easily take Wancheng. Therefore, Liu Laosan immediately agreed to Liji's request that there was still room for him, and also let Liji choose to move to one of the cities in Lixian and Jianyang.

As Liu Laosan expected, just after a little consideration, Li Ji soon chose to lead the army to move to Jianyang City, forty miles south of Wancheng, which not only played a little restraining effect for Liu Laosan, but also facilitated the Western Chu army to flee south or withdraw to the Western Chu mainland when the situation was critical.

After agreeing on this, the current position is only a little shaken Li Ji led the army south on the same day, and couldn't wait to take the southern line of the Western Chu Army to Jianyang, in order to maintain friendly relations with the Western Chu Army, Liu Laosan also personally went out of the city to see each other, and some talked and laughed to send the already unreliable Li Ji away, as if he was sending his friends south to play.

However, after parting with Liji, Han Xin, who accompanied Liu Laosan out of the city to see off Liji, came up and said in a low voice: "King, send Lijifu to Jianyang, although it clears a hidden danger for us, and also continues to leave the hope of asking for help from the Western Chu army, but seeing the friendly troops withdraw before the big battle, I am afraid that it will have a great impact on the morale of our army and people, and this problem must be solved as soon as possible." Otherwise, I am afraid that it will be disadvantageous in the war. ”

The news of the loss of Yangcheng has gradually spread on the battlefield of Wancheng, but the Western Chu army, which has been fighting side by side with the Nanyang army for more than half a year, has withdrawn south ahead of schedule, which will inevitably affect the morale of the soldiers of the Nanyang army and the people of Wancheng. ”

"Lijifu went south to protect the Yushui (Baihe) grain route for us, as well as the front of the Western Chu reinforcements that were preparing to receive us." Han Xin replied in a low voice, and said in a gloomy voice: "Also, our detailed investigation has accurate information, when Xiang Kang traitor personally led the army to attack Yangcheng, he was shot in the chest by a stray arrow and was seriously injured, and his life was in danger, but Xiang Kang's little traitor was afraid of affecting the morale of the Han thief, so he didn't dare to announce this situation." ”

"Brilliant plan!" Liu Laosan applauded, and said with a cruel smile: "Hearing this news, we must be excited by the army, even if Xiang Kang's little traitor knows this situation, he is destined to be unable to defend himself, even if he is on the battlefield in person, we can also insist that he is going into battle with injuries to appease the army's heart, but in fact, he is already in pain and is about to die." Just do it, do it. ”

Han Xin agreed, and immediately arranged for people to act according to the plan, and then soon, the reason why the Western Chu army moved south to Jianyang spread in the Nanyang army army and Wancheng City - the Western Chu army did not run because it was afraid of death, but because the vital water and grain road needed to be protected by heavy troops, so as to ensure that there was no shortage of grain and grass in Wancheng, and news came from Western Chu itself that Xiang Yu had sent a front army to reinforce Wancheng urgently, so the Western Chu army was also ready to take the front team to receive reinforcements from the Western Chu army, so as not to be broken by the Han army.

Of course, this has received a lot of effect on stabilizing the hearts of the army, but what makes the soldiers of the Nanyang Army and the soldiers and civilians of Wancheng ecstatic is that in the evening of the same day, a fast horse also galloped from the direction of Yangcheng, and before entering the city, he couldn't wait to spread the good news, saying that the Nanyang Army had made absolutely accurate news, and Xiang Kang, who deserved to die and was sure not to die well, had evil retribution, and was shot in the chest by the stray arrows of the Nanyang Army when attacking Yangcheng, and was seriously injured. It's already a rabbit's tail, and it's destined to not grow!

Needless to say, after hearing this good news, Liu Laosan and Han Xin of course made the good news public as soon as possible, and then naturally, the soldiers of the Nanyang Army and the people of Wancheng were of course cheering, and their morale and confidence increased greatly. At the same time, in the streets and alleys of Wancheng, such rumors quickly spread, saying that the brutal and cruel Xiang Kang was seriously injured by a stray arrow, and in a fit of rage, he had issued an order to massacre the city after breaking Wancheng, and he vowed to kill Wancheng without leaving any chickens and dogs. Many people in Wancheng who did not know the truth believed it, and suddenly strengthened their determination to help the Nanyang army defend the city, which greatly increased the cohesion and centripetal force of the Wancheng army and people.

Correspondingly, during this period, after hearing these rumors and rumors, the Han army spies lurking inside and outside Wancheng naturally had to send their men north to report the situation to Chen Ping, the head of the Han army's spies, and soon let Xiang Kang, who was seriously injured by a stray arrow, know about it. As a result, Xiang Kang didn't get angry when he heard it, and laughed directly, and said with a smile: "Dare to play a heart-to-heart battle with me?" Guan Erye played with a big knife in front of him, looking for death! ”

After resting in Yangcheng for a few days, he assigned people to help the people of Yangcheng harvest the autumn grain that was almost delayed, and at the same time bought the hearts of the people and also got some grain and grass supplies, Xiang Kang finally led the main force of the Han army with more than 90,000 troops to set off south, and killed Wancheng unhurriedly. At the same time, more than 20,000 Han troops in Hanzhong also marched out of Wuguan under the leadership of Li Shang and Yingbu to attack the cities in the west of Nanyang, and were also preparing to launch a war to recover Nanjun and Changsha County, crushing Liu Laosan's hope of continuing to flee south after the defeat of Wancheng.

As when they went south from Yexian before, considering that the land around Wancheng had been heavily developed and suitable materials were scarce, the Han army still removed the most important throwing arm of the counterweight trebuchet and brought it with the army, so as to save the preparation time for the siege. As a result, after Liu Laosan and Han Xin discovered this situation through the scout's reconnaissance, they were immediately overjoyed, knowing that as long as the self-army withstood for a period of time, they would definitely be able to force the Han army to re-cut wood and build trebuchets and win breathing time for the self-army - this is absolutely true, because the throwing arm of the trebuchet is also a consumable, and if it is used too many times, it will age and wear out and break, and the throwing arm must be reinstalled to continue the throwing stone.

In the nervous waiting, after more than three days, the main force of the Han army successfully arrived at the Wancheng battlefield and chose to set up camp on the bank of the Yushui River ten miles outside the north gate of Wancheng, but to the surprise of Liu Laosan and Han Xin, at the same time as setting up the camp, Xiang Kang personally led 20,000 Han soldiers to the south and rushed to the north gate of Wancheng first. Liu Laosan and Han Xin were of course extremely surprised when they heard this, and they both said, "What are Xiang Kang's traitors going to do?" It is enough to go to the city to explore the terrain and bring a cavalry, how can you bring so many troops? Are they going to immediately attack the city? Their siege weapons can't be ready now, right? ”

Puzzled, out of curiosity, Liu Laosan and Han Xin simply led the important civil and military forces of the Western Chu Army to the North Gate City, condescendingly to check the situation of the Han army, and then not long after, under the leadership of Xiang Kang's banner of the Han King with teeth and claws, the 20,000 Han army quickly drove to the north gate of Wancheng, and quickly lined up outside Lixu, and at the same time, the sharp-eyed Liu Laosan and Han Xin also faintly saw that there were many Han soldiers and soldiers behind the Han thief formation who were busy fiddling with some wood, and they didn't know what the hell they were doing.

The mystery was quickly revealed, and after a while, a messenger of the Han army with a white flag suddenly came out of the battle, rode his horse towards the north gate of Wancheng, and went directly to the moat stone bridge of Wancheng, and shouted loudly at the city: "Please ask the general of the city, report to your Nanyang King Liu Ji, please come to the north gate of Wancheng in person, and our Han King will come to the north gate of Wancheng and answer him in person!" ”

"Xiang Kang's traitor wants to come to the north gate of Wancheng in person? Speak to the king in person? He is not afraid that this king will shoot arrows indiscriminately, and send an army to kill him suddenly, and directly kill his dog?! ”

Liu Laosan, who was more noble than Xiang Kang, almost thought that he had heard it wrong, and when he looked at Han Xin next to him suspiciously, Han Xin was also puzzled, and then said: "King, don't be in a hurry to show up in person, you might as well ask Xiang Kang what the traitor wants to answer first." ”

Liu Laosan nodded, and then nodded to Cao Shenyi, who was in charge of the main battlefield at the North Gate, and Cao participated in the meeting, and immediately stood next to the arrow stack and asked loudly: "You Han King, what do you want to say to our king?" Tell General Ben first, and then General Ben can report to our king! ”

"That's right." The voice of the envoy of the Han army was very loud, so that Liu Laosan and the others heard it very clearly in the city, and said loudly: "Our Han king received the news, and your king of Nanyang spread rumors, saying that our king was injured by a stray arrow when he was in Yangcheng, and our Han king was too lazy to argue with you, so he came to show your king in person, and also showed you with your own eyes, whether our Han king was injured by your stray arrow!" ”

"Wouldn't it? This kind of rumor can provoke Xiang Kang's little traitor to the point that he wants to go to the king in person to verify the truth or falsehood?! ”

Liu Laosan was even more surprised, but Han Xin next to him frowned, and immediately guessed that Xiang Kang's desire to meet Liu Laosan was fake, and it was true that he took the opportunity to cheat people, but how Xiang Kang was going to cheat people was that even Han Xin couldn't guess for a while and couldn't figure it out.

At this time, seeing that the Nanyang army did not reply, the envoy of the Han army shouted again under the city and said loudly: "What? We, the king of Han, dare to ignore the danger and come to the city of Wancheng to answer with your king of Nanyang, don't you king of Nanyang even have the courage to stand on the city wall and talk to our king of Han? ”

Although he knew that this was just a superficial and radical plan of the envoy of the Han army, out of curiosity, and with a glimmer of hope, after a little calculation, Liu Laosan, who really didn't have to take any risks, gritted his teeth, stood up, and said loudly: "The erector is arrogant, Nai Weng is here!" Nai Weng is the king of Nanyang, called Xiang Kang traitor, this king wants to see with his own eyes today, whether he was seriously injured by the stray arrows of this king's soldiers! ”

"You are the King of Nanyang?" The Han army envoy who had never seen Liu Laosan was suspicious, or the Nanyang army soldiers on the city wall opened their mouths to angrily reprimand the Han army envoy's unreasonable questioning, and the Han army envoy hurriedly said: "Okay, please wait a moment for the king of Nanyang, and the little envoy will go back to report to our king." ”

After that, the envoy of the Han army really turned the horse's head and put on a posture of preparing to go back to Xiang to recover his life, but after turning the war horse around, the envoy of the Han army did not rush to charge with the horse, but instead took a few sips of the water hyacinth on his waist, and then turned back to Liu Laosan and said: "The king of Nanyang forgives the sin, the villain almost forgot a big thing, our king asked the villain to ask you face to face, the general Liji of the Western Chu army, did he try his best to persuade you to give up Wancheng and go south, and retreat to the Hanshui line in advance?" ”

Han Xin, Xiao He, Fan Xu and other insiders next to him were stunned together, and Liu Laosan was even more strange, and asked loudly: "Why are you asking this?" ”

"Back to the King of Nanyang, General Liji accepted the benefits of our Han King and deliberately helped us say so!"

The envoy of the Han army said loudly with a smile: "As for the reason, it is because our king is worried that you will escape in advance, run to Hanshui to establish a defense line, and waste our precious time to crusade against you, and know that you will definitely suspect that General Liji was bought by us, and you will definitely listen to General Liji's words in reverse, so I deliberately asked General Li to persuade you to run south quickly, and then you were really fooled, not only did you not run in advance, but also concentrated all your troops in Wancheng to wait to be annihilated by us!" ”

Liu Laosan and Han Xin opened their mouths together, and Xiao He, who was resolutely opposed to retreating to Hanshui, was even more dumbfounded, and blurted out: "Won't it?" Could it be that we have really fallen for the tricks of Xiang Kang's traitors? ”

"And!" The envoy of the Han army smiled again and said loudly: "Your general Fang Gong is indeed true that we deliberately let him go, and the news that the King of Western Chu has entered the land is also true that our king deliberately let the Fang Gong know!" But our king knows that he has deceived you, and he also knows that you will definitely think that we are using a counter-strategy, bluffing, and deceiving you to take the initiative to withdraw from Hanshui, so that we can easily take Wancheng! ”

"But in fact, our king is trying to capture the old man, deliberately letting you see through our bluff, and tricking you into staying in Wancheng and waiting for death! King Nanyang, you are clever but you are mistaken by cleverness and fooled! It's the big deal of our Han King! Hahaha! ”

Speaking of this loudly, the envoy of the Han army, who was actually the executor of Xiang Kang's strategy, couldn't hold back any longer, and actually laughed wildly directly on the moat bridge, and scolded while laughing wildly, "Liu Jipifu, didn't expect it?" Our king actually wants you to stay in Wancheng and wait for death, no matter how cunning and shameless you are, you still fell for our king's clever plan! Wash your neck and wait for death, the hatred of Hangu Pass, and the hatred of this Wancheng at the beginning, we must get it back with interest! ”

It was still when Cao Shen was furious and ordered the arrows to be released, that the Han army envoy hurriedly grabbed the war horse, scattered his legs and ran north, shouting as he ran. "Nanyang Thief Army, despicable and shameless! He even fired an arrow at our Han army envoy! What kind of identity is our Han King, how can he answer with a young mouse like you, Liu Jipifu? Today's meeting and answer has been cancelled! Wash your neck and wait for death! ”

The envoy of the Han army laughed wildly and quickly rushed away, Liu Laosan also began to turn pale at the north gate of Wancheng, and after a while, Liu Laosan asked without looking back: "Really?" Did the little traitor Xiang Kang really use his shameless tricks against us to stay in Wancheng and wait for death? ”

Xiao He, Fan Xu and the others were unable to answer this question, but Han Xin hesitated for a moment before he said: "It is possible that the Han thieves are continuing to bluff and make up such nonsense to shake the morale of our army, so that we think we are really deceived and lose confidence." But ......, it is also possible that it is true. ”

Liu Laosan didn't have any expression, and his heart involuntarily began to tremble, and he had to worry that he had really fallen for Xiang Kang's tricks? At this time, the mutation was born again, under the protection of a row of long shield hands, a team of Han army crossbowmen suddenly rushed quickly, and the guards of the Nanyang Army hurriedly stepped forward to protect Liu Laosan, Liu Laosan didn't pay attention to it, but said repeatedly in his heart: "If this king really fell for the trick of the Han thief?" What to do? ”

Surprised the Nanyang army again, and trotted to the near north gate of Wancheng, the long shield and crossbowmen of the Han army suddenly dispersed, and the two long shields protected a crossbowman as a unit, extending to the two wings of the north gate of Wancheng, at the beginning, Liu Laosan and Han Xin and others were extremely strange why the Han army did this, or when the Han army's crossbowmen began to shoot arrows above the city wall, and shot the feather arrows directly into the city of Wancheng, Han Xin woke up and said angrily: "Not good! The thieves are in the archery book, ready to further shake and blow the morale of our army! ”

It's useless to understand this, the strong enemy is outside the city, and they don't dare to send troops to assault, the only thing the Nanyang army can do is to try to suppress the Han army's crossbowmen with arrows, but relying on the protection of the long shield, the Han army's crossbowmen still shot hundreds of arrows into Wancheng City very smoothly, and then quickly retreated with the protection of the long shield and returned to the Han army's main formation.

Of course, an arrow book was quickly presented to Liu Laosan, and after Liu Laosan snatched it with his hand, he saw that the Han army first told the Wancheng soldiers and civilians about Liji and Fang Gong directly to the Wancheng army and people in the arrow book, and by the way, he laughed at his own cleverness but was mistaken by the cleverness, and clearly told the Wancheng soldiers and civilians that the Han army was the only enemy who attacked Wancheng this time! The other Wancheng soldiers and civilians, as long as they lay down their arms and surrendered, will be forgiven and not killed, and they can also give a little reward as appropriate!

"Send someone into the city immediately, collect all these arrow books and destroy them, and dare to spread the preacher, and immediately kill them!" Han Xin first ordered with a blushing face, and then said to Liu Laosan: "Don't worry, the king is just bluffing and shaking our military morale, as long as we win a battle in the defense of the city, the military spirit will be completely stabilized immediately!" ”

Liu Laosan nodded slowly, and then his pupils contracted violently, because Liu Laosan suddenly saw that two Han army counterweight trebuchets that had appeared on the battlefield in Yexian suddenly drove out from behind the Han army and slowly drove towards the north gate of Wancheng. Han Xin next to him also immediately woke up and blurted out: "It's not good! The Han thieves are going to throw stones at the north gate of Wancheng, use their trebuchets to show off their military might, and further hit the morale of our army! ”

"Come on." Liu Laosan said with a gloomy face: "This king just happened to see with his own eyes what kind of role their trebuchets could play when attacking the city!" ”