stonecrandall Chapter 920 Yi Xiaochuan is scared, should he chase him?
Chapter 920 Yi Xiaochuan is scared, should he chase him?
But Gao Yao's next order stunned everyone who heard it: "Deyou, I will hand over all 2,000 black-armored cavalry to you. Your current task is not to charge with me, nor to cover the rear to stop the enemy - but to immediately take all the cavalry and turn to the mountains to the south and hide completely!" Gao Yao pointed to a rolling hill with relatively dense forests not far away.
"Your Majesty... this..." For the first time, Deyou's voice was filled with hesitation and confusion, his eyes filled with bewilderment beneath his mask. At this critical juncture, shouldn't the most powerful mobile force be used in the most dangerous direction of the breakout? Why hide it instead? This was tantamount to tying one's own hands.
Gao Yao naturally understood his concerns. He took two steps closer and lowered his voice, yet it was filled with immense gravity. "Deyou, listen carefully! Whether we can ultimately escape this battle depends on you, the Black Armored Cavalry! In a head-on battle, two thousand cavalrymen deployed against a field of ten thousand would be a drop in the bucket. What I want you to do is provide a 'surprise attack'!"
He continued his deployment, his thoughts frighteningly clear: "Hide yourselves. Do not allow any Chu scouts to discover you. Wait until the main force of the Chu army, pursuing us, has passed your hiding place for more than an hour—remember, it must be more than an hour, to ensure they are deeply in pursuit and unable to quickly return for support—then you must reappear with great fanfare!"
Gao Yao's eyes flashed with calculation. "At that time, you must order the soldiers to raise as many flags as possible, even if they have to make do with improvised branches tied with cloth strips! Send out far more scouts than usual to scout everywhere, and act cautiously, with a large army approaching the border and searching for the enemy. You must create the illusion that... the vanguard of our reinforcements from the southern border has arrived and is cautiously responding! Once the Chu army's rear scouts discover you and report back to Yi Xiaochuan or Xiang Yu, they will inevitably worry about being attacked from both sides and being surrounded by our army. Under such doubts, their pursuit momentum will inevitably be thwarted, and they will at least stop to investigate! This is the most precious time window for our main force to reach the city of Xianyang!"
"Yes!" Deyou answered without hesitation this time, his voice filled with the resoluteness of sudden enlightenment. He understood that the king was not afraid of fighting, but was using the Black Armored Cavalry in a more deadly and crucial psychological warfare situation.
Ying Bu, standing by, also roughly understood Gao Yao's overall plan. Although he still felt heavy-hearted about the troops about to be sent out to bear the risk, he couldn't help but admire Gao Yao's ingenious strategy. At this point in the battle, conventional tactics were powerless to turn the tide. Only by taking risks and taking unexpected actions could one find a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation.
Although this plan was full of gambling elements - gambling that the Chu army would be confused, gambling that Deyou could hide well, and gambling that the Chu army would hesitate in the face of the illusion of "reinforcements" - but looking back on Gao Yao's various decisions along the way, especially the astonishing act of breaking through in desperation, his soldiers had developed an almost instinctive trust in him.
"We, the generals, will obey the king's orders!" Ying Bu clasped his fists and replied in a deep voice. At this moment, questioning was useless. Only resolute execution could one seize this seemingly impossible opportunity.
Gao Yao looked around at the generals with a resolute gaze: "Success or failure depends on this one move! Each of you take action. We will meet again at the foot of Xianyang!"
With the order given, the vast army began to move like a precision machine. In the enveloping twilight, they quietly disintegrated, a maze of life and death slowly unfolding across this vast plain. In the distance, the clatter of the pursuing Chu army's horses, like the clatter of a war drum, drew closer and closer.
The clatter of horse hooves died down like thunder, and the dust slowly settled, revealing the exhausted but still alert figures of Yi Xiaochuan and his cavalry. They stopped at a slightly open fork in the road, and the scene before them made Yi Xiaochuan's heart sink.
The road, which should have been a clear trail of a marching army, now resembled a piece of cloth torn apart by a mischievous child, tangled into four strands, each pointing in a different direction. Ruts, horse hoof prints, and chaotic footsteps of infantry intertwined, varying in depth, stretching towards the rolling hills and barren plains in the distance. Abandoned, damaged baggage, even a few mud-stained Qin flags, were carelessly discarded at the intersection, a silent mockery.
Yi Xiaochuan reined in his horse and raised his hand to signal the entire army to halt. His brow furrowed slightly, his gaze scanning every direction for clues. Gao Yao had actually divided his forces? And so thoroughly, so decisively? This was completely unexpected. He had expected Gao Yao to retreat in a panic, concentrating all their forces, huddling together for support, and swiftly escaping to Xianyang.
Dividing the troops means dispersing the power, which is tantamount to seeking death in the face of powerful pursuers - unless this is not a simple division of troops, but a carefully designed trap.
A chill ran down Yi Xiaochuan's spine. He immediately recalled a painful lesson learned not long ago. That night, eager to win, he had underestimated Gao Yao's cunning and recklessly pursued him, only to run headfirst into a carefully laid ambush. Arrows rained down, shouts and cries of death filled the air, and his men were caught off guard, suffering heavy losses. Not only had he failed to detain Gao Yao, but he had also lost many elite troops and nearly been caught in the act himself. The feeling of defeat and the guilt for the sacrifices were still fresh in his mind.
"We can't split our forces..." Yi Xiaochuan muttered to himself, gripping the reins tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the strain. He forced himself to calm down and analyze the situation. Gao Yao still had nearly 20,000 troops under his command. Though defeated, they were still fighting like a cornered beast and should not be underestimated. Of these four armies, which one was real? Which one was fake? Or perhaps a combination of real and fake, true and false?
If he rashly divided his forces to pursue them, any route would likely be ambushed by Gao Yao's main force. With his advantageous terrain and his advantage of waiting for his opponent's fatigue, Gao Yao was fully capable of defeating and completely annihilating each of his detachments. Not only would he fail to capture Gao Yao, but his own vanguard cavalry would also likely be killed, further disrupting Xiang Yu's subsequent deployment of his main force, with disastrous consequences.
The setting sun's afterglow stretched his figure, casting a long shadow across the rutted loess road. Behind him, the cavalrymen were silent, awaiting their commander's orders, only their horses occasionally snorting impatiently and paddling their hooves. The air was thick with tension and anxiety. A fierce struggle raged within Yi Xiaochuan. The desire to pursue burned within him. Gao Yao was so close; if he could capture and kill him, he could end the battle prematurely, bringing comfort to the countless sacrifices. But reason was louder and colder: Gao Yao was cunning and scheming; this was clearly a ploy to lure the enemy. He must not fall into his trap again.