The Han army led by Liu Xiu suddenly came up from behind Kaixiao's army and really caught Kaixiao's army off guard.
Although there were 30,000 to 40,000 Kaixiao troops surrounding Fuxiang, they were scattered throughout the company camp. Moreover, the defense focus of Kaixiao army's company camp was towards Fuxiang, not behind them. They were caught off guard.
It was completely unable to withstand the impact of five thousand Han troops.
The battle was not fierce. The Han army led by Liu Xiu easily broke through the encirclement of Kai Xiao's army and successfully entered Fuxing.
When the Han army, who was trapped in their hometown, saw reinforcements coming from their own side, all the soldiers in the army were delighted and excited.
However, seeing that there were only 5,000 reinforcements, people were a little dumbfounded. Only these few people came to rescue them. Isn't this a meat bun beating a dog?
The partial general Lu Jin, with a group of generals, left the village to meet the Han army who came to rescue them.
When everyone saw Liu Xiu dressed as an ordinary Han soldier, they couldn't believe their eyes. Lu Jin looked at Liu Xiu eagerly and stammered: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty?"
Liu Xiu smiled, took two steps forward, and said in a calm tone: "It's me!"
Lu Jin was shaken, and hurriedly knelt down, kowtowed forward, and said: "I am a humble minister... I don't know if you are your majesty... your majesty..."
The generals behind him also knelt down and kowtowed forward.
Hearing that Lu Jin claimed to be a guilty minister, Liu Xiu stretched out his hand to help him up, then waved to the other generals and said, "Everyone, please get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Liu Xiu looked at Lu Jin and said, "General Lu led his soldiers to stay in Fuxing for many days. How can he be guilty of this?"
When Lu Jin heard this, his old face turned red. They were able to hold on in Fuxiang because Kaixiao's army did not attack in a big way at all. They surrounded Fuxiang but did not attack. This was obviously a tactic of encirclement and reinforcements.
He thought that we could see through the enemy's tactics, and either we would not come to the rescue, or we would bring in a large army to rescue him. But he didn't expect it. We only sent five thousand soldiers, and the most terrible thing is that even His Majesty personally came to rescue him.
coming.
Doesn't this mean that we have led His Majesty into a desperate situation? The lives of more than 10,000 of their soldiers, bundled together, are not as valuable as His Majesty's life!
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty should not have come! Your Majesty should not have come to Fuxing in person! The enemy army surrounded Fuxing without attacking it. It was obviously a tactic of encirclement and reinforcements. Apparently, the enemy army numbered 30,000 to 40,000 people, but in
I don’t know how much I have hidden in the dark..." Lu Jin became more and more anxious as he spoke, his eyes turning red.
Liu Xiu could understand his mood. He patted Lu Jin's arm and said: "General Lu, our army headquarters is also being chased and intercepted by a large number of enemy troops. Once they come to Fuxiang for rescue, they will only attract more enemy troops."
When we get here in Fuxiang, it will be even more difficult to escape."
Lu Jin nodded repeatedly and said: "In this case, Your Majesty should not have come! Even if we are trapped in Fuxiang, we will never surrender to the enemy. Even if we die to the death of every soldier, we will fight with the enemy."
The army will fight to the bitter end!”
Liu Xiu said solemnly: "As the emperor and the leader of this western expedition, I will never abandon the trapped soldiers. I am not leading the army to rescue this time, and I am not here to die. General Lu also
Cheer up and break out of the siege with me, lead your brothers and withdraw the third auxiliary!"
Lu Jin and other trapped soldiers were deeply moved after hearing Liu Xiu's words.
People all knelt down once again, kowtowed forward, and said with choked sobs and trembling voices: "We are willing to be smashed to pieces for Your Majesty, and our livers and brains will be bruised to the ground, no matter what!"
With our own side in such a passive situation, how could the emperor, in order to save these more than 10,000 unknown soldiers, lead only 5,000 soldiers and horses deep into the enemy's hinterland and come to the rescue? How could the officers and men not be deeply moved? Even Liu Xiurang now
They were about to die. They could draw their swords without hesitation and wipe their necks to commit suicide without asking any reason.
Most of the people in Fuxiang had fled, leaving only a few orphans and widows. The trapped Han army built a temporary Chinese military tent in the center of Fuxiang.
After entering the Chinese army's tent, Liu Xiu did his duty and sat in the middle. The other generals stood on both sides. Liu Xiu lowered his head and saw that the desk in front of him was too small. He asked someone to move the desk away and lay out the map directly.
on the ground.
Then, he waved to everyone and motioned for everyone to come forward and talk. People gathered around and looked at the map. Liu Xiu said: "General Lu just said that the enemy's tactic is to encircle points and call for reinforcements. I deeply agree."
Everyone present nodded. Liu Xiu continued: "Currently, there are thirty to forty thousand enemy troops besieging Fuxiang. Our soldiers are more than fifteen thousand trapped in Fuxiang. The enemy's strength is twice that of
Our army is implementing the tactic of encircling a point and calling for reinforcements. The enemy's strength is slightly insufficient and may not be safe unless the enemy can predict in advance that our army will only send a small force to assist."
All the generals nodded, indicating that Liu Xiu's analysis was reasonable. Liu Xiu continued: "So, I think General Lu's judgment is correct. The enemy army appears to be 30,000 to 40,000 people, but secretly, there should be more.
Soldiers and horses, but where are these hidden enemy troops?"
Liu Xiu looked at Lu Jin. The latter frowned and did not speak immediately. Liu Xiu said: "When I rushed to Fuxiang, I also carefully observed the terrain around Fuxiang. Most of them are flat and flat, making it difficult to hide troops."
Lu Jin said: "Your Majesty, Wei Chen also sent scouts out to investigate, but none of the scouts sent out came back alive. Wei Chen thought that the most likely hiding place for the enemy troops was Fushan to the north of Fuxiang.
The foot of the mountain, or the foot of Fushan in the south of Fuxiang. Fushan is the only place where the enemy can hide."
After hearing his words, Liu Xiu immediately lowered his head and looked at the map.
He kept swiping his fingers on the map, nodded thoughtfully, and said: "To the north of Fuxiang, it is unlikely that the enemy will hide troops. After all, our army will not run north, and it is impossible to go north.
Our reinforcements appear."
"Then, the only area left is the southern part of Fuxiang!"
Liu Xiu clicked on the map and said: "Nine times out of ten!" As he spoke, he looked at everyone present and said loudly: "If we retreat, we cannot retreat to the south, let alone the north. There is only one way.
Road, retreat eastward!"
Lu Jin nodded his head and said: "In this way, we can avoid the ambush in the south of Fuxiang and make the enemy's ambush useless!"
After choosing the direction of retreat, Liu Xiu discussed with everyone the specific steps of the retreat. "Now, our army has 20,000 soldiers. Who will lead the battle and who will take the rear?"
Before the generals could speak, Liu Xiu immediately added: "I have already considered it, Lu Jin!"
"Wei Chen is here!"
"You and Xu Ying, Xu Ting, and Xu Fei will lead the battle with 18,000 soldiers. I will lead the remaining 2,000 soldiers in the rear." After hearing Liu Xiu's arrangement, everyone was shocked and said in unison: "Your Majesty,
This is too dangerous!"
Liu Xiu waved his hand and said: "The rear may not be dangerous, but leading the battle is the most dangerous! Now that the enemy knows that our reinforcements have arrived, they must strengthen their defense. It is not easy to tear a hole in the enemy's camp and rush out.
.”
As he spoke, Liu Xiu's eyes naturally fell on Lu Jin and said: "Lu Jin, your burden is quite heavy. When you lead your troops to break out, the main force of the enemy army will definitely surround you."
Lu Jin immediately held up his hands and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will be crushed to pieces, even if I die..."
Before he finished speaking, Liu Xiu shook his hand and said: "I don't want you to die, I just want you to take as many soldiers out alive as possible, out of the enemy's encirclement, and bring back the third assistant!"
The eyes of Lu Jin and all the generals present felt the same heat, and there was a layer of mist in their eyes. Lu Jin said with a nasal voice: "Your Majesty, I am a humble minister... I will certainly live up to your Majesty's mission!"
Liu Xiu patted Lu Jin on the shoulder and said, "Without further ado, start preparing now. When it gets dark, our army will begin to break out!"
He had led his troops to return to the countryside after a long journey, and was exhausted. He also wanted his soldiers to rest, but he did not have the time.
Geng Yan has led the main force to withdraw the third auxiliary. If the enemy cannot catch up with Geng Yan, they will inevitably turn back and use all their strength to deal with their troops. The longer they delay, the more difficult it will be for them to withdraw the third auxiliary.
There was nothing to say during the day. At night, the Han army began to take action. Lu Jin, Xu Ying, Xu Ting, and Xu Fei led the Han army of 18,000 people and launched an all-out attack on the Kaixiao army camp to the east of Fuxiang.
attack.
Liu Xiu, Luo You, Long Yuan, Long Zhun, and Long Bo stayed in Fuxiang with the remaining two thousand Han troops and did not move for the time being.
Their task was to defend the rear, not to break through the enemy. They only had to wait until Lu Jin's troops tore a hole in the enemy's defense line, and then they could follow the breach and pass through.
They couldn't see the battle between Lu Jin's troops and Kai Xiao's army, but they could hear bursts of shouts of killing and the crisp sound of countless iron weapons colliding with each other.
Luo You put her little feet up, stretched her neck, and looked at the battlefield in the night ahead. Although she couldn't see anything, she still looked nervous. She asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, General Lu and the others... can they break through smoothly?
?"
Liu Xiu smiled and said: "If I weren't here, they couldn't, but now that I'm here, they can definitely do it."
What he said was ridiculous, but it was true. Liu Xiu's arrival not only brought five thousand new troops, but more importantly, he greatly improved the morale of the entire army.
The soldiers all know in their hearts that His Majesty is watching them from behind. If they don't fight hard now, when will they fight hard?
In order to rescue your own side, Your Majesty did not hesitate to take personal risks and go deep into the enemy's territory. Now, even if you risk your life, you have to repay Your Majesty!
As the saying goes, if one man fights hard, ten will be defeated. Eighteen thousand Han troops fought hard together. Even though Wei Xiao's soldiers were numerous and powerful, it was indeed difficult to resist them.
While they were watching, a scout galloped over. When he got close to Liu Xiu, the scout dismounted, knelt down on one knee, stepped in and saluted, and said: "Your Majesty, our army has broken through the enemy's camp defenses and entered the enemy's company camp!
"
Liu Xiu's eyes flashed and a smile appeared on his face. Breaking through the enemy's camp is the most rare thing. Now that our soldiers have successfully broken through the enemy's camp, it means that the breakout is more than half successful. He said: "Let's talk and report again!"
"
The scout responded with a shout, remounted his horse, and ran forward again as fast as he could.
The spies were like a revolving lantern, sending back news of the battle ahead one after another.
The Han army, led by Lu Jin, Xu Ying, Xu Fei and Xu Ting, was really overwhelming. In the enemy camp, they repelled round after round of enemy attacks and attacked from the west side of the company camp.
Go to the east of the company camp.
It was only at this time that Liu Xiucai ordered the whole army to advance. The two thousand Han troops did not engage in any fighting, and almost entered the Kaixiao army camp in a swagger.
The camp gate of the company camp was wide open, and there were corpses scattered on the ground. Among them were corpses of Han soldiers, but more of them were corpses of Wei Xiaojun.
Entering the camp and continuing to walk forward, there were more corpses on the ground. In some places, the corpses were not spread on one layer, but on several layers. They were stacked up so high. This shows how bloody the battle just happened.
Liu Xiu's 2,000-strong Han army now seemed more like a scavenger hunt. When encountering scattered enemy troops, they immediately rushed forward, surrounded and annihilated them. When encountering injured enemy troops who were not dead, they immediately rushed forward to make up for the enemy's injuries.
With a spear, he was stabbed to the ground.
Along the way, hundreds of officers and soldiers of the Kaixiao Army were killed by them.
The main force led by Lu Jin had successfully broken through the eastern defense line of the company camp and successfully broke out from the company camp of Kai Xiao's army. It was not until this time that Liu Xiu's troops behind them encountered a sizable enemy force.