The Counterattack of the Villains

Yi Xiaochuan marched very fast, and rushed from Wuguan to Shangluo in three days.

The closer he got to Xianyang, the more impatient he became and it was difficult to maintain a calm mind.

Fortunately, Meng Tian also came on the march in a hurry. The same man was too tired to wait for work, so he was caught off guard when Yi Xiaochuan was not able to gain a firm foothold.

Both sides had to go to camp separately to let their troops rest first.

Regarding the battle between Meng Tian and Yi Xiaochuan, Li Mu did not intend to intervene and let the two brothers fight for their lives on their own.

Unless the Han army was really no match, he would choose to intervene.

In terms of military strength, the gap between the two sides is quite large.

Now Yi Xiaochuan's army has exceeded 500,000, but Meng Tian only has half of his strength.

However, in this kind of large army battle, the superiority of troops is not absolute. If the general does not command well, the army will collapse, and no matter how many troops there are, the army may be defeated.

Otherwise, there would be no such thing as Xiang Yu's tens of thousands of Chu troops defeating 400,000 Qin troops.

However, Yi Xiaochuan may not necessarily lose against Meng Tian, ​​because the person who commands the army for him is named Han Xin, the person who advises him is named Zhang Liang, and the person who manages internal affairs and logistics for him is named Xiao He.

Xiao He and Yi Xiaochuan were old acquaintances. When Yi Xiaochuan escorted Lu Gong's family to Pei County, he came up with the idea of ​​using seats to collect money.

At that time, Xiao He was the chief official of Pei County, and Lu Gong had an irreconcilable relationship with the magistrate of Pei County, so the county magistrate sent Xiao He to guard Lu Gong and register the people who came to congratulate him at the door.

At that time, he had already dealt with Yi Xiaochuan, but he was not friends with Liu Bang yet. On the contrary, he looked down on Liu Bang very much.

Liu Bang's "congratulations on money", if Yi Xiaochuan had not come forward at that time, Xiao He would have almost beaten him up.

After Yi Xiaochuan's uprising, he relied on this friendship to serve the Han army and was reused by Yi Xiaochuan.

Of course, Xiao He is not a fool who rose to power solely through connections. He has real materials and is worthy of Yi Xiaochuan's trust.

…

After the army rested for two days, Yi Xiaochuan was discussing matters with a group of civil servants and generals in the central tent of the Han army. Suddenly, a soft shout sounded outside the tent: "Report."

Yi Xiaochuan said: "Come in."

The messenger soldier entered the tent, clasped his fists and bowed, saying: "Report to the King of Han, the Qin army has sent envoys to see you."

A Han general asked curiously: "What does the Qin army want to do when it sends an envoy to see you?"

Another person laughed and said: "You're not here to surrender, are you?"

Zhang Liang said: "It's unlikely. According to the spies' report, the Shangluo defenders are the Meng family troops who have just arrived from Shangjun."

"This is the most elite army in the Qin army. General Meng Tian rarely suffers a defeat. This battle can still be fought."

Han Xin also said: "Wei Mengtian of Great Qin is worthy of a battle."

Yi Xiaochuan frowned. To be honest, he was not willing to break up with Meng Tian.

Although he knew full well that he was not Meng Yi, Meng Tian always regarded him as his younger brother and always treated him well.

Although he was ungrateful, he was not ignorant.

But he has no choice. Shangluo is the last hurdle that prevents him from entering Xianyang. He must break through.

As long as he passed this level, there would be no resistance later, because after arriving in Xianyang, Gao Yao would open the door for him and welcome him into the city, and there would be no obstacles after he went to Luo.

There's no point thinking about it now. He's come this far and he won't give up no matter what.

Now if anyone dares to stop him from picking up Yu Shu, he will go there without hesitation.

After reaffirming his belief, Yi Xiaochuan said to the messenger: "Bring him in."

"promise"

The messenger came to the camp gate and brought the Qin envoy to the Chinese army's tent.

When Yi Xiaochuan saw the envoy, he couldn't help being surprised and said in astonishment: "Old Pang, why is it you? Aren't you in Tu'an?"

The person who came was none other than a general named Pang Gui who was in charge of their corvee team when he went to build the Great Wall.

Later, Tuan raided the section of the Great Wall where they were, and he and Yi Xiaochuan were captured by Tuan's army and taken to Tuan to become slaves.

He and Yi Xiaochuan have experienced many things together, and it is a fateful friendship.

And because of Yi Xiaochuan and Yu Shu, they and other slaves decided to settle in Tu'an.

But what Yi Xiaochuan didn't expect was that he would see him here, and that he would become the Meng Family Army.

Pang Gui looked at Yi Xiaochuan with complicated eyes and said in a deep voice: "Why do you want to rebel?"

Yi Xiaochuan was startled when he heard this, then pointed at the civil servants and generals in the tent and said: "You shouldn't ask me this question. You should ask them, ask the brothers outside who followed me in the uprising, and ask them why they rebelled."

Pang Gui stared at Yi Xiaochuan and said, "I won't ask them, I'll ask you, because they have nothing to do with me, but you are my brother."

Yi Xiaochuan's face trembled, he turned around and closed his eyes.

He really felt guilty about this issue. No matter how high-sounding his external rhetoric was and how noble and upright his slogans were, in the final analysis, the fundamental reason for his rebellion was for Yu Shu.

He is not that great, nor does he have such a high consciousness to save all people from water and fire.

He has always been just a small person who just wants to live his own life.

A member of the Night who followed Yi Xiaochuan from the Xianyang base and has now become a general of the Han army said: "General Pang, right? As the saying goes, the people are forced to rebel by the government, and the people have no choice but to rebel."

"Nowadays, a tyrant is in power and the people are in dire straits. As long as the people in Guizhou have a way to survive, who is willing to do such a thing that will kill their heads?"

"Since you are a good brother of the King of Han, you must also be a compassionate and righteous person. You should advance and retreat with him instead of asking why the King of Han rebelled here."

Pang Gui didn't even look at the man, and still stared at Yi Xiaochuan's back. After a long time, he said, "Can we talk alone?"

Yi Xiaochuan turned around and said to the civil servants and generals: "Everyone, my good brother and I have not seen each other for many years, and I would like to talk in private."

Seeing this, everyone stood up, clasped their fists, and said, "I, the last general, please retreat."

They all simply exited the tent, and no one worried about Yi Xiaochuan's safety because they were very confident in Yi Xiaochuan's martial arts.

After everyone went out, Yi Xiaochuan said to Pang Gui: "Sit down and tell me why you are here."

Pang Gui sat down silently and said slowly: "When you suddenly disappeared, I searched all over the world, from Tu'an to Daqin, but I couldn't find any trace of you, so I had no choice but to give up."

"When I was in Shangjun, it happened to be the time when the Meng Family Army was recruiting troops. I had heard about the Meng Family Army's loyalty for a long time, so I joined the Meng Family Army."

After listening to Pang Gui's words, Yi Xiaochuan was secretly moved.

When Yushu was sent to Daqin for marriage, he secretly conspired with General Jin to snatch her back.

Because the matter was so important, he did not inform anyone and acted secretly.

Later, he had a big fight with Meng Tian and fell off a cliff, recovering from his injuries for more than a month.

After that, they traveled over mountains and ridges, and took Yu Shu with Meng Tian to Xianyang. Naturally, Pang Gui couldn't find him.

Yi Xiaochuan sighed in his heart and did not mention what happened back then. He just said: "Then why did you come to see me this time?"

Pang Guidao: "General Meng wanted to see you alone. When he sent someone, I took the initiative to ask Ying to be the envoy."

Yi Xiaochuan smiled bitterly and said: "The war has already reached this point, what else is there to say?"

Pang Gui's eyes darkened and he said, "Don't you dare to go to the meeting?"

Yi Xiaochuan shook his head and said: "Old Pang, you don't need to provoke me. Now I am no longer alone. I have to be responsible for the brothers under me."

"Meng Tian wants to see me alone. You can open the city gate and surrender. I will set down a banquet and have a private chat with him."

Pang Gui said expressionlessly: "You know this is impossible. The Meng family army will never surrender even if they fight to the last soldier."

"General Meng guessed that you might not keep the appointment, so he had a second plan."

Yi Xiaochuan said: "What plan?"

Pang Guidao: "After two days of rest, the Han army must have recovered. You should attack the city tomorrow."

"When the time comes, General Meng will ride out of the city alone and meet you between the Han army's formation and the city wall. Do you dare to go to the meeting?"

Now that Meng Tian is defending the city, Shangluo is not an isolated city, and there is no problem with logistical support. When the gap in military strength is too large, he will naturally not go out of the city to set up a tough battle with the Han army.

When Li You of Yongqiu leads his army to join them, they will have a showdown with the Han army.

Yi Xiaochuan pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "This arrangement is no problem. You go back and tell him that I will attend the meeting."

Pang Gui nodded when he heard this, stood up and said, "See you on the battlefield then!"

Yi Xiaochuan quickly stood up and said: "Old Pang, today's Great Qin is not worthy of your loyalty at all. Why do you have to fight for that tyrant with me?"

"I don't ask you to turn against me, I just ask you to save your life. If I conquer the world in the future, you will always be the rich one."

Pang Gui glared at Yi Xiaochuan and said in a serious voice: "Are you insulting me and the Meng family army?"

Yi Xiaochuan said angrily: "I didn't mean to insult anyone. You are loyal to Bao Qin, but where do you put the righteousness of our brothers?"

Pang Gui hesitated for a moment, then turned to face the tent door, with his back to Yi Xiaochuan, and sighed: "Since ancient times, it is difficult to have both loyalty and justice. Since I joined the Meng family army, I can only choose to be loyal to the country."

Yi Xiaochuan scolded: "Fuck you, your uncle's loyalty can't be balanced. You're just being loyal to the country. You idiot. If Meng Tian loses his mind, you will lose your mind too."

"Since you insist on seeking death, there is no need to go back today. Someone is here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of sergeants who were dressed in unique clothes and completely different from the ordinary Qin army rushed in.

Pang Gui suddenly turned around, glared at Yi Xiaochuan and shouted angrily: "Do you want to break the rules?"

Yi Xiaochuan sneered: "Rules? If I follow the rules, I won't rebel. Besides, the rules of the battlefield are that two armies are fighting. If you don't kill the envoy, you are not allowed to detain the envoy."

After saying this, he waved his hand and said: "Take him down and arrange a tent to entertain him with good food and drinks. You Flying Tigers will watch him personally."

"If you dare to cause trouble, you'll be beaten by me. As long as you don't hurt his life and don't let him leave the camp, you can do anything."

"Send another person to the city to tell the Qin army that I have accepted Meng Tian's invitation, and Lao Pang will stay with me for a few days."

"promise."

Pang Gui was shocked and angry. When he entered the camp, his weapons had been confiscated and his hands were empty.

The members of the Flying Tigers, the night killers, heard Yi Xiaochuan's order and knew what he meant. None of them drew their swords, but came to catch him with bare hands.

Pang Gui pushed away a team member's arm and punched the opponent's door with his backhand.

The team member was fearless and used his extremely agile left arm to punch him in the stomach with his right hand.

The strong and thick armored stomach failed to protect him in any way. A strong force blasted through the armored stomach into his abdomen, making him bow down immediately.

The two team members took the opportunity to hold his arms behind his back, one on the left and the other on the right, restraining him.

"Yi Xiaochuan, you bastard, let me go..."

…

Early the next morning, we went outside Shangluo City.

The flags of the Han army were flying, and they were arrayed two miles outside the city. As far as the eye could see, it was boundless.

Yi Xiaochuan was dressed in silver armor, with a long sword hanging from his waist and a spear in hand, riding alone towards the city wall.

At the same time, the gates of Shangluo City were opened wide, the suspension bridge was lowered, Meng Tian rode Heifeng, stepped across the moat, and also ran forward.

Finally, the two men met in the center between the Han army's array and the city wall.

Meng Tian stared at Yi Xiaochuan and said in a deep voice: "My Meng family has been loyal for generations, but I didn't expect that in this generation, there would be a rebel."

Yi Xiaochuan said impatiently: "I have said many times that I am not Meng Yi and have nothing to do with the Meng family."

"This is not out of anger or anything, but I am very convinced of this because I know my identity very clearly."

Meng Tian raised his head, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled it slowly, then looked at Yi Xiaochuan again and said, "That's it, as of now, this issue is no longer important."

"I must meet you, and I just want to ask you one question. Are you rebelling...for Concubine Li?"

Facing Meng Tian, ​​a man who also loved Yu Shu, Yi Xiaochuan did not hide anything and readily admitted: "Yes."

Meng Tian continued: "If it weren't for Li Fei, would you rebel?"

Yi Xiaochuan sighed: "If Yu Shu hadn't come to Daqin to get married, maybe our children would be all over the place now. Who would have the heart to rebel?"

Meng Tian's face immediately filled with sadness when he heard this, and he mocked himself: "So if we look to the bottom of it, did Great Qin fall at the hands of a small border country like Tu'an?"

Although Tu'an had been destroyed by him, both the First Emperor and Fusu died at the hands of the Tu'an people. Yi Xiaochuan, the rebel who swept the world, rebelled because of Princess Tu'an.

There is some truth in saying that Great Qin died at the hands of Tu'an.

Meng Tian knew very well that he could not stop Yi Xiaochuan at all, because Da Qin was indeed seriously ill and Yi Xiaochuan was now the people's support.

The only thing he can do now is to fight to the end, hold on for as long as he can, show his last loyalty to the Qin Dynasty, and give the Meng family army a happy ending.

"Fight!"

After Meng Tian said these last two words, he turned his horse's head and ran towards Shangluo City.

Yi Xiaochuan looked at his back, sighed, and turned back to the army.

However, what the Qin army guarding the city didn't expect was that the voice of Ming Jin's retreating troops could be heard from the Han army.

Meng Tian, ​​who returned to the city wall, looked at the Han troops retreating like a tide, but he felt no sense of relief in his heart.

He had already found out clearly that the reason why the Han army was invincible and advanced so quickly was because there were a large number of assassins in the city before the war.

Often at night, the generals who defended the city would be dead, and then the assassins would raid the city gate, seize the gate, and let the Han army enter the city.

Meng Tian naturally responded to this matter, but he had no idea whether he could prevent the elusive assassin.

…

Yi Xiaochuan cherished the lives of his soldiers and never wanted to engage in siege warfare.

When fighting in the field or fighting in formation, he was not afraid at all. With Zhang Liang's plan and Han Xin commanding the army, he was not afraid of any opponent.

In the past, there were Luowang killers who cooperated with them along the way, but now in Luo City, he did not wait for the Luowang people to take the initiative to contact him. He guessed that the Luowang branch in the city had been exterminated by Meng Tian.

Along the way from Jianghan to Wuguan, the Flying Tigers were hardly used.

Now that Luo Wang has lost hope, it is naturally time for the Flying Tigers to play their role.

The next day, the darkest hour before dawn.

Of the 400 members of the Flying Tigers, except for a group of ten who were left to guard Pang Gui, all the others went out to attack.

Meng Tian did make corresponding arrangements, but he only guarded the inside of the city.

Tens of thousands of crossbowmen, in units of hundreds, armed with rifles and repeating crossbows, were ambushing everywhere in the city. Once traces of the assassins were discovered, they would immediately be covered with arrows.

He even sent three thousand crossbowmen at the city gate to hide in the houses near the city gate. If anyone tried to seize the city gate, he would be shot into a hedgehog in an instant.

It must be said that Meng Tian's arrangements were very thorough, but what he never expected was that this time the assassin came not from within the city, but from outside the city.

He never dreamed that the city wall, which was more than two feet high and had sergeants patrolling back and forth, could not stop the invasion of assassins.

The Flying Tigers spread out, forming a group of three people, and relied on the wall-walking skills of the gecko to climb up the city wall and slaughter all the defenders on the wall in an instant.

Then it was divided into two, and half of the people avoided the front of the city wall, climbed down the wall from the side, got into the house where three thousand crossbowmen were ambushed, and started a bloody massacre.

The other half, after hearing the noise in the house, immediately seized the city gate and winch, opened the city gate, and lowered the drawbridge.

When the city reacted, the Han army, led by Yi Xiaochuan, had already entered the city gate. The Meng family army was caught off guard and was crushed by the Han army's neat formation, and Shangluo City was swept down.

Meng Tian led his soldiers to fight the Han army in a bloody battle to the end. No one escaped and was eventually wiped out. After Meng Tian was injured by members of the Flying Tigers, he decisively drew his sword and killed himself, and he was not taken prisoner even after he died.

Although the Han army caught the Meng army by surprise in this battle, it also paid a heavy price, with more than 60,000 casualties.

Yi Xiaochuan ordered Meng Tian to be buried generously, and then led his army straight to Xianyang.

A few days later, the Han army arrived at Xianyang City. When they arrived, the defenders on the city wall were hacked to death by their own robes right in front of them.

Those who attacked Pao Ze had a white cloth tied on their arms to distinguish themselves.

Then the Han army flag was erected on the city, the city gate was opened wide, and Li Mu was standing on the city tower waving to Yi Xiaochuan.

"Xiaochuan, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"Lao Gao, I knew you wouldn't let me down, and I didn't let you down either, right?"

Downstairs, Yi Xiaochuan shouted excitedly.

"Hahaha..." Li Mulang said with a smile: "Of course, if we brothers join forces, it will be a dimensionality reduction attack. How can there be any reason to fail?"

"Hurry into the city, Yu Shu is waiting for you, I will take you to see her."

Hearing the next words, Yi Xiaochuan's heart became hot. He turned around and said to Han Xin: "General Han, restrain the army and don't disturb the people in the head of Guizhou."

Han Xin clasped his fists and said: "The last general takes orders."

Yi Xiaochuan added: "The Flying Tigers, Yulin Army, and other princes will follow me into the palace."

"promise."

The Yulin Army was the first 50,000 troops that Yi Xiaochuan founded.

After many conquests along the way, thousands of men were lost, but he quickly selected sergeants from other troops to add them, and now the strength is still 50,000.

This is his direct lineage army, and in the future it will also be the garrison of the capital and palace, the so-called Forbidden Army.

This army has always been controlled by Yemu members. The first batch of Yemu members were all slaves, and slaves did not have surnames, so Yi Xiaochuan gave them all the surname Yi.

In other words, this Yulin Army can also be called the Yi Family Army. It is his absolute confidant and his foundation.

Those groups that Li Mu sent later and now make up the Flying Tigers have surnames given by Li Mu based on the surnames of hundreds of families.

After Yi Xiaochuan entered the city, he saw that Li Mu had mounted a horse and was waiting in the middle of the road. Yi Xiaochuan rode alongside him.

"How is the situation here in Xianyang?"

Li Mu smiled and said: "Aren't you still at ease when I do things? All the civil and military ministers were already under my control when they went to court this morning, and Hu Hai was also captured, waiting for you to deal with them."

"It's up to you to take care of those ministers. Use those who can be used. Those who can't be dismissed or beheaded, as you like."

Yi Xiaochuan nodded and finally asked the question: "Where is she?"

Li Mudao: "If nothing unexpected happens, I should be waiting for you at Zhangtai Palace now."

When Yi Xiaochuan heard this, he subconsciously knocked his feet on the horse's belly and sped up.

As soon as he accelerated, the Flying Tigers and the Yulin Army behind him naturally accelerated, and Zhang Liang, Xiao He and other civil servants also followed closely behind him.

After a while, the palace gate was in sight, and everyone dismounted and entered the palace. Under the guidance of Li Mu, they walked quickly to Zhangtai Palace.

When he arrived in front of Dezhangtai Palace, Yi Xiaochuan saw the beautiful figure standing in front of the palace gate at a glance, and his eyes turned red instantly.

His voice trembled as he called out the name: "Yu Shu."

"Ogawa."

Seeing Yi Xiaochuan, Yu Shu couldn't hold back and immediately ran towards him.

The two ran in both directions and finally embraced each other.

"Xiaochuan, Xiaochuan, I have finally waited for this day."

Yu Shu burst into tears, and Yi Xiaochuan hugged her tightly, as if he was hugging the whole world.

"From today on, no one can separate us anymore."

Li Mu and his entourage followed. At this time, there were seventy or eighty chambermaids standing in front of Zhangtai Palace, as well as thousands of Luowang members dressed in black and holding swords.

"Clang...poof"

A sudden change occurred just when Yi Xiaochuan said the words "No one can separate us anymore."

The deputy general standing behind Yi Xiaochuan, a night member named Yi Tian, ​​pulled out his long sword without warning and stabbed Yi Xiaochuan in the lower back decisively.

His attack was so decisive and so fast that Yi Xiaochuan could not react at all.

The long sword pierced Yi Xiaochuan and Yu Shu together without any accident, and the expressions on their faces froze at the same time.

Yi Tian did not pull out the sword, but let go of the hilt and retreated empty-handed.

The long sword penetrated Yi Xiaochuan's lower back until it reached the hilt, and then penetrated through her abdomen. Then it penetrated Yu Shu's abdomen and exited from her lower back.

Zhang Liang, Xiao He and others' minds instantly went blank, and they all stood there with their mouths wide open.

They were in a daze, but the night killers would not be in a daze.

I don't know when, the group of civil servants headed by Zhang Liang and Xiao He were surrounded by the Flying Tigers.

When Yi Tian stabbed out the sword, they also took action without warning and killed all the civil servants around them.

Zhang Liang and Xiao He did not understand until their death what exactly happened and why it happened.

"Yi Tian, ​​Yi Mu, have you lost your mind and gone crazy?"

"You traitors, what do you want to do?"

Someone in the Yulin army screamed hysterically, but it was Chen Sheng and Wu Guang who had defected to Yi Xiaochuan.

However, at the moment when they shouted, their immediate superiors, the Lieutenant General and Lieutenant General of the Habayashi Army, who were standing in front of them, suddenly drew their swords together and pierced their chests with their backhand swords.

In an instant, a river of blood flowed in front of Zhangtai Palace.