aircannonsinc Chapter 776 The prerequisite for defeating the enemy is to first admit that the enemy is strong!
Chapter 776 The prerequisite for defeating the enemy is to first admit that the enemy is strong!
"how?"
Gao Yao's voice was not loud, but it was like a stone thrown into a calm pond, instantly breaking the brief silence in the hall.
He looked around, sweeping across those faces that still had some astonishment and disbelief - Zhang Liang's slightly furrowed brows, Xiao He's fingers twirling his beard in thought, Ying Bu's shoulders subconsciously tensed, and the surprise in the eyes of several generals. A barely perceptible smile with a hint of control passed across the corner of his mouth.
"Does this surprise you?" he repeated, the deliberate indifference in his tone contrasting with the people in front of him.
His sight finally landed precisely on Han Xin. He was sitting upright at the moment, without much expression on his face, but his thoughts were running at high speed under his slightly drooping eyelids.
"Han Xin," Gao Yao called out his name directly, his tone unquestionable, "You have also fought against the Chu army, and you have gained experience through real blood and fire. Here," he raised his hand and gently tapped his temple, "there is no evaluation more reliable than yours. Tell me, what do you think of the Chu army compared to our army?"
When this question was raised, the air seemed to become even gloomier. Everyone's eyes were focused on Han Xin. Gao Yao knew that if he had not personally taken action in the battle of Kuaiji and defeated Xiang Yu with lightning speed, Han Xin would have been able to win in the end, but it would have been a protracted, bloody tug-of-war.
At that time, the southern border was in flames, and time was exactly the luxury they could not afford. Every day of delay meant the fall of more cities and the suffering of more people. Gao Yao's choice at that time was the optimal solution with the lowest cost, but it did not mean that Han Xin's talent was covered up.
Han Xin slowly raised his head, his eyes as calm as a deep pool. He did not answer immediately, as if he was weighing the weight of every word. After a moment, a deep but clear voice sounded in the tent:
"The Chu army..." He paused, as if recalling every detail of the fierce battle, "It is indeed very strong. The elite of its army and the bravery of its soldiers are only comparable to ours." His words were plain, but carried a heavy weight.
When Han Xin mentioned Xiang Yu, his eyes became unusually sharp, and his tone was also filled with a subtle solemnity that only appeared when facing a truly powerful enemy: "As for the commander of the Chu army, Xiang Ji, his personal bravery... can be said to be unparalleled in the world. From what I have seen, the only one in the world who can fight him head-on to such a shocking and earth-shattering extent is the Prime Minister."
He looked at Gao Yao, this was a recognition from the bottom of his heart, and also a recollection of that peak battle. "His bravery is the best among the three armies, and it is not an empty statement. What is even more feared is his ability to command troops." Han Xin's voice became more solemn, "Under the same number of troops, with his exquisite command and dispatch, his quick response on the battlefield, and his strong control over morale... Looking at the world, there are only a handful of people who can match him. He is truly one of the best and most powerful generals in the world!"
Han Xin's pertinent and even highly evaluative words were like a huge rock thrown into a calm water. Ying Bu, who was sitting at the bottom, suddenly became extremely ugly. He clenched his fists on his knees so hard that his joints crackled.
He was convinced by his defeat to Gao Yao, because that was a power beyond the limits of mortals. But Xiang Yu? In Ying Bu's eyes, Xiang Yu at this time was far from the "overlord" who suddenly appeared but failed to shine. His reputation was far less powerful than in the original history.
Ying Bu had never fought him before. At this moment, hearing Han Xin praise Xiang Yu's bravery and leadership, a strong fire of dissatisfaction and competitiveness burned in his chest, almost breaking through the dam of reason. His nostrils flared, and he forced himself to suppress the rebuttal that almost blurted out, but his tense jawline and the fierce light in his eyes had already exposed his thoughts.
Han Xin ignored Ying Bu's reaction and continued to calmly analyze another pillar of the Chu army: "Moreover, there is another person in the Chu army who must not be underestimated."
He glanced at Xiao He and Zhang Liang, "That is his military advisor Fan Zeng. He is a shrewd and calculating man with a myriad of clever schemes, especially good at government operations and strategic planning. His insight into the general trend and his ability to plan and control the overall situation..." Han Xin paused slightly, as if looking for the most accurate wording, "...I'm afraid he is not inferior to Prime Minister Xiao and Mr. Zifang. He is a truly unfathomable genius, and a major threat to our army."
When Han Xin mentioned Fan Zeng, his tone was even filled with a hint of lingering fear. Behind the tragic victory of the last battle of Kuaiji was a bloody lesson that Fan Zeng had taught him.
"In the last battle, our army fell into an elaborate ambush when it first entered Kuaiji." Han Xin's voice deepened, as if he saw that sudden ambush again. "Fan Zeng was able to accurately predict the main attack route of our army, and even calculated the position and timing of the vanguard's advance... In the first battle, I suffered a great loss under his scheme, and the elite Black Armor Army suffered heavy losses!" He said the four words "heavy losses" with extreme severity, for it was a rare setback in his military career.
"Although we won in the end," Han Xin's tone was not full of joy, but rather full of deep reflection, "it was not because my command and dispatch was better than Fan Zeng's layout. In fact, it was because his understanding of the Southern Border Army was limited after all, and he had a serious lack of understanding of the true combat power limit of our Black Armor Army - equipment far superior to ordinary people, war horses as fierce as dragons and tigers, and training intensity that was almost extremely strict. Our army used absolute hard power that far exceeded his expectations and forcibly tore through the net he had set."
"The subsequent battles were even more difficult," Han Xin continued, speaking faster, revealing the stalemate of the war at the time. "Fan Zeng deployed decoy troops along the coast to tie up our army's energy, while at the same time building an iron barrel defense with three strong cities as the core. The three cities were able to flexibly mobilize troops, have smooth food routes, and support each other, forming an extremely tough nut to crack."
"Our army's several strong attacks, detours, and divisions were all cleverly resolved by him, wasting manpower and making it difficult to make any progress. If not for..." Han Xin's eyes once again turned to Gao Yao, with deep gratitude and a hint of complicated emotions, "If the Prime Minister had not made a decisive move and personally taken action to defeat the main force of the Chu army with a thunderous force, this battle would have become a protracted quagmire!"
He concluded with a tone of regret that was hard to let go: "By the time the Prime Minister left, the main force of the Chu army had been defeated, but its core skeleton had not been completely and thoroughly destroyed by our army on the battlefield. In the end, our army completely captured Kuaiji, largely because Fan Zeng saw that the general situation was hopeless and took the initiative to withdraw, leading the remaining main force of the Chu army to withdraw from Kuaiji in an orderly manner. Therefore," Han Xin's voice was filled with the persistence and unwillingness unique to soldiers, "in my heart, this battle... cannot be regarded as a true, thorough defeat of the Chu army in an upright battlefield confrontation. This is a great regret in my heart."