stonecrandall Chapter 854: Mental game!
Chapter 854: Mental game!
Even Xiang Yu, a veteran of hundreds of battles and a leader of the three armies, felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of this possibility! Gao Yao was a man who often used troops in unexpected ways, ruthlessly and decisively. He could definitely do it!
Shock, confusion, a subtle tinge of fear… a multitude of emotions mingled fiercely within Xiang Yu. His initial confidence in capturing the city the next day was drastically shaken at this moment. He discovered that his earlier assessment of Gaoyao's "end of the road" might have been fatally inaccurate!
"Quick! Explore again! Keep a close eye on the movements of that cavalry! Find out how many people there are in them and where they are going! Quick!" Xiang Yu roared at the messenger, his voice a little hoarse due to his urgency.
The messenger rolled over and got up, then ran away.
Xiang Yu stood there, gazing at the dark northern sky, his brow furrowed in the shape of a "chuan" (Chuan) character, his fists clenched with a creaking sound. The light from the torches outside the tent shone on his moody face. The sleepiness and excitement of tomorrow's attack had long since vanished, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity and doubt.
Xiang Yu reined in his horse, brow furrowed. His fingertips unconsciously caressed the reins of his black horse, the metal armor plates glistening coldly in the twilight. This was the first time he had felt an elusive stagnation before a battle—Gao Yao was like a ball of cotton wool soaked in oil, seemingly loose, but in reality, every collision would send out unexpected sparks.
"Cavalry... five thousand..." he whispered to himself, his voice as heavy as the dark clouds pressing down on the city. The scouts' intelligence was unmistakable. Nanjun was peaceful and tranquil; there was no way the Southern Border Army's reinforcements could slip past his ears and eyes. Could it be that Gao Yao's cavalry had emerged from the ground?
He recalled previous encounters. Behind Gao Yao's seemingly chaotic defenses lay cunning opportunities for counterattacks. The defenders, numbering less than five thousand, had leveraged the strategic position of the pass and their endless array of defensive equipment to wear down nearly twenty thousand of his elite troops. Every time he thought the city was about to fall, a reserve force would swoop in from an unexpected angle, whether it was flaming arrows, falling rocks, or a desperate counterattack by death-defying warriors.
And now, these five thousand extra cavalrymen, appearing out of nowhere, completely disrupted his plans. Cavalry was incomparable to infantry. Maintaining one cavalryman cost as much as several soldiers. How could Gaoyao have harbored such a force, only now showing its fangs? Xiang Yu's gaze swept over the solemn cavalry under his command. They were also cavalrymen, but he could almost imagine what the enemy cavalry hiding behind the wall looked like—lightly armored and swiftly mounted, skilled in charging and slashing, ready to pounce at the decisive moment and strike at his weakest point.
"Show the enemy weakness, hide your edge..." Xiang Yu snorted coldly. Gao Yao was playing exactly this trick. If he dared to send 5,000 cavalry to attack his camp, the city's defenders must be no fewer than that, or even more. Otherwise, sending out all the troops would be courting destruction. Gao Yao was no fool. So, the most likely scenario was that this man had received at least 10,000 reinforcements.
This number made Xiang Yu's stomach lurch. Ten thousand fresh troops, combined with the old, stubborn veterans who had been like maggots on the tarsal bone, had transformed Yangping Pass from a formidable nut to a thorny iron urn. Tomorrow? The original plan for a general attack now seemed so pale and ridiculous. He could almost see it, as his army pounded against the walls like a tide, in the midst of a bloody battle, suddenly from the flanks or rear, smoke and dust billowed, and the five thousand well-rested enemy cavalry swooped out like venomous snakes, heading straight for the central commander's banner...
The setting sun sank completely behind the mountain ridge, its massive shadow engulfing the sprawling Chu army camps. A chill spread with the night wind. Xiang Yu took a deep breath, the icy air stinging his lungs. He waved for the messenger, his voice calm but loaded with weight:
"Order each camp to reinforce the stockades, set up more antler barricades, and send out scouts twenty miles away. Tomorrow... suspend the attack."
The order was given, but he remained standing, his gaze as sharp as a torch, as if trying to pierce the gradually thickening night and burn the figure behind the wall. Gao Yao, how many tricks do you have up your sleeve?
Inside Yangping Pass, the atmosphere in the general's residence was no less relaxed than that of Xiang Yu's main camp. The flickering candlelight cast Gao Yao's tense figure against the rough walls, stretching it out and swaying slightly, just like his current state of mind.
His fingertips pressed hard against the edge of the sand table, practically digging into the wooden model representing Yangping Pass. Outside the city lay Xiang Yu's tens of thousands of Chu troops, a dark cloud bearing down on the city. Inside, his exhausted defenders struggled to hold on. Tension, like a tangible rope, coiled around his heart, tightening ever tighter.
This wasn't just a military game; it was a thrilling psychological warfare. He set up a trap, dangling the alluring bait of "five thousand cavalrymen," betting on Xiang Yu's suspicion and caution. But would Xiang Yu take the bait? Gao Yao had no confidence. The Overlord of Western Chu was exceptionally brave, but not a foolhardy man. After suffering several setbacks, his vigilance was at its peak. If this ruse was discovered and the main force of the Chu army failed to be diverted, then tomorrow, Yangping Pass would face its most brutal and potentially final assault.
Can it be held? This question, like a cold dagger, pierced his back. Xiao He's calm, almost cruel, analysis was still fresh in his mind: "General, with one thousand more decoys or one thousand less, Yangping Pass would have been taken. It would have been taken eventually. It's just a matter of seeing Xiang Yu's flag hoisted atop the city walls a half day sooner or a half day later."
These words were harsh, but they were the harsh reality. The disparity in strength between the two sides could not be completely bridged by just one or two strategies.
The reason he had to fight to the death here, risking everything, was far more serious than simply "holding Hanzhong." Hanzhong could be lost, and if lost, it could be recaptured. But Xianyang—the city he had painstakingly built and considered his ultimate foundation—could not be lost! He had relocated his family, and almost all the relatives of his generals, to Xianyang under the guise of "centralized protection and ease of resettlement." This was originally intended to rally the people and stabilize the rear, but now it had become a sword hanging over his head, a chain that pinned him to Yangping Pass.
Once Yangping Pass fell, Hanzhong would be wide open, allowing the Chu army to march straight in. Even if Xianyang, with its high walls and deep moats, offered short-term protection, the entire strategic situation would be completely shattered. If the news spread, military morale would inevitably be shaken. What would the generals whose families were in Xianyang think? And what a blow would this have on the people's morale? By then, Xiang Yu wouldn't even need to storm Xianyang; perhaps the internal panic and pressure would be enough to crumble his forces. He was too powerful to afford the loss of Xianyang, let alone the collapse of his cohesion.