Seven years.

In the blink of an eye.

In the troubled times when heroes are vying for the throne, time flies even faster. When the Chu army crossed the border that had been peaceful for a long time with a ferocious look, and when blood-red flags appeared on the land of Qin, the real decisive battle for unification finally arrived.

.

Although it was a full three years later than the four-year war between Chu and Han in history, the Xin Qin under Li Yuan's rule was vastly different from the early Han Dynasty, which had been depleted by successive wars.

The foundation of the old Qin people in Guanzhong, after being recovered by the Qin army, with the re-dredging of water conservancy ditches, the application of advanced farming technology, and the promotion of new varieties of high-yielding crops such as wheat, agricultural production has developed rapidly, and has become the Qin State's foundation.

A veritable big granary.

In the Bashu area, although the cold and humid weather can bring suffering to people, the irrigation area of ​​the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Project is still expanding year by year, and the rice planting technology, area and output are also in a stable social environment.

Increased year after year.

As for other places in the Qin State, after the Huns fled and the internal riots subsided, they also began to show signs of recovery, including Guanzhong's Gu Zhao, Gu Yan, and Gu Chu.

In front of the people, they gradually began to accept the governance of Qin.

In contrast, the people under Xiang Chu's rule had a much harder time. The Northern Conquest of Yan was a disastrous defeat, followed by the Jiangdong Battle with Yingbo. The financial and national power was overdrawn again and again, leaving the once prosperous Chu State

The east fell into a deadlock of repeated entanglements. Xiang Tuo was indeed capable in governance, but Xiang's narrow-mindedness in employing people made Chu fall behind in the competition.

Although Xiang Yu, Xiang Zhuang's uncle and nephew support him, Xiang Sheng, Xiang Xiang, Xiang Han and Xiang Bo, who are considered outstanding among the Xiang family's children, have only the ability to do so in the world.

It can barely be regarded as average. In the competition of patience, talent reserves, and comprehensive national strength, Xiang Yu finally lost his temper.

Handan.

Due to the intrusion of the Chu army, the former capital of the Zhao State was in a state of nervousness and busyness. After being occupied by the Qin State, it was once again showing its important position as a major town in Hebei Province. The mobilization order issued by the county government was urgent.

All the county soldiers and young men from the counties surrounding the county city have been recruited into the county city.

After a year of recuperation, the people of Zhao County expected to live a stable life in peace, but unexpectedly, bandits from Chu State came again.

The county guard, Zhao Xie, also had difficulty walking out of the Shaqiu County Mansion. He listened to the military information sent from various places in the county with a panic expression.

Since ancient times, the winner is the king and the loser is the enemy.

There are only a handful of failed kings who can start well and end well. After witnessing the violent deaths of Shen Yang, Sima Yin, Liu Bang, Wei Bao and other former princes and kings, Zhao Xie became more and more admired for his decision to surrender to Qin.

Zhao Xie, who was not very ambitious, lived a comfortable life after surrendering to Qin. The governor of Qin State had great power and had many things to do. However, Zhao Xie also knew who he was. What if he really worked hard?

I'm afraid that the county guard will be dismissed after taking over everything. I can only act like this now. As a nominal county guard, I can safely leave any matters in the hands of the county lieutenants, county magistrates, and county magistrates below.

is the right choice.

West of the city, sand dunes.

Important officials from Handan County gathered together to discuss measures to deal with the Chu army's invasion.

"The Chu barbarians invaded, and our army is weak. Why not report it to Marquis Wu and ask for help?" Zhao Xie, who has been with Qihuang all day long and dreams of living in peace until his death, faces the intrusion of the Chu army.

Panicked. Don't know what to do.

"Counter, please be patient. Our Handan City is guarded by tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians. How can it be captured by tens of thousands of Chu barbarians? The most urgent task now is to gather soldiers from various counties and soldiers and civilians to strengthen the city to resist the invasion of Chu barbarians.

." County Lieutenant Ji Xin looked cold and determined, and comforted him in a deep voice.

After returning from Yan, Ji Xin was appointed Lieutenant of Handan County. This position was prominent enough locally and could be said to control the military power of a county, but Ji Xin was not satisfied.

If he had not seen the incomparable bravery of the Qin frontier army, he might have been proud of his abilities like other people. But after seeing the thrilling scenes of the frontier army fighting the Huns, he

Ji Xin longed to be a member of the pioneering army, and she had no regrets even if she was buried in horse leather.

Ji Xin intends to be a general. The people of Yan and Zhao have always been brave. Under Ji Xin's training, the young and strong soldiers of Handan County are not much inferior to the Chu army. In the face of the Chu invaders, these soldiers soon

The farmer who was holding a hoe before was able to climb the city wall after a little training and became a soldier guarding the county.

Zhong Limei tried to persuade him to surrender but to no avail.

The Chu army then attacked the city with chariots and ladders. However, the army and the people of Handan worked together, and Ji Xin was at a young and vigorous age, which was in sharp contrast to Zhong Limei, who was getting older. The Chu army came from a long distance.

After five days of siege, the fortified city of Handan could not be broken.

When the Battle of Handan City reached a stalemate, the main forces of Li Yuan and Xiang Yu surrounded Xingyang in Sanchuan County and Hedong County, and the battle for the Hulao front line became increasingly fierce.

June 27th.

Xiang Yu personally led three thousand Chu cavalry to escape at night and traveled more than 300 miles day and night to capture Chaoge, an important town in the hinterland of Qin. After some burning, killing and looting, the Chu army's light cavalry turned north again, towards Handan.

The county's troops were galloping forward, and they were likely to encircle the Qin army in Handan with Zhongli Mei's army.

Faced with the Chu army's crazy counterattack regardless of their retreat, Li Yuan chose a wide range of countermeasures. The 5,000 Qin army's elite cavalry who came all the way from Hexi, led by Li Zhongxiang, chased after the Chu cavalry all the way.

Qin Qi took advantage of the advantage of riding two horses and was able to pursue the enemy much faster than Chu Qi.

One party was robbing and killing people everywhere, and the other party was in hot pursuit.

On the land of the Central Plains, the two cavalry armies were entangled in one place, as inseparable as sisters. As time went by, and they were far away from their own supply areas, Xiang Yu's cavalry army's attack momentum continued for half a month.

After that, he finally started to feel depressed.

July 10th.

After losing nearly a thousand cavalry, the Chu cavalry had to stop in the chasm area. In this cavalry chase, although Xiang Yu relied on his superb commanding skills, he repeatedly succeeded in counterattacks, which made the young Li Zhongxiang suffer.

Although he suffered a lot of hardships, the gap between the two sides in the supply of war horses and the quality of the cavalry still caused Xiang Yu to lose.

After losing the land of Yan, Chu's pastures were only left with sporadic mountainous areas in the south. Although the horses raised in these places could also be used, compared with the tall and strong horses from the north, they were not as tall as they were tall or tall.

The endurance is much worse.

At the same time, due to the lack of systematic training, Chu's three thousand cavalry have reached the limit of support. In comparison, Qin currently has two cavalry regiments in Hexi and Jiuyuan, with tens of thousands of cavalry from the grasslands.

The athletes lived almost every day on horses, and many of them had experience fighting the stronger Huns.

chasm.

It is connected to Yingshui in the south, passes through Daliang and crosses Dahe River, and is connected to Pushui and Jishui in the north.

This artificial canal was excavated during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and supervised by King Hui of Wei himself. It was an important waterway connecting the north and south during the Warring States and Pre-Qin Dynasties.

The Chu army retreated to the chasm, which meant that they gave up the initiative to attack and moved to defend the already captured beams. The Wei area in Chenggao area had nothing to gain from attacking the Qin hinterland, so it took a step back to preserve the fruits of victory.

It is indeed a safe step for Chu State.

Unfortunately, it is already very difficult for Xiang Yu's plan to be realized.

Li Yuan was by no means a person who only took beatings without fighting back. He had been suppressing his strength before, which was just a gesture to win support for his attack on Chu.

"Chu is unruly, unfaithful, and cruel, but the whole world will punish him!" When the Chu army broke the oath of peace and friendship made a year ago and rushed into Qin, when a letter of emergency was plundered by the Chu army from all sides.

The army flew to Luoyang. When groups of displaced people cried out about the destruction of their homes, the anger of the Qin army generals was also pushed to the highest point.

In the face of threats to the righteousness of the family and the country, and the humiliation of betrayal of trust and loyalty, Qin soldiers from different places and with different accents, under the dispatch of first-level orders, held high the flag of Qin and sang "Jiujiao Lao Qin, Resurrection"
Chapter completed!