Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

Yi Xiaochuan's original plan was temporarily shelved at this time. Seeing that the plan was about to be implemented, Fan Zeng stopped it in time. Fan Zeng knew a truth: if victory comes too easily, people often don't know how to cherish it. Therefore, he deliberately slowed down the pace of the Chu army's attack and deliberately created an illusion for the Xianyang defenders, making them mistakenly believe that the Chu army's offensive was exhausted.

Wang Ben seized this opportunity and made a surprising move - he resolutely led part of the Qin army out of the city to fight! Perhaps it was because of the long-term defense that he could not hold back his temper, or he wanted to take this opportunity to break the deadlock in one fell swoop. But unfortunately, Wang Ben still underestimated Fan Zeng's wisdom and the powerful fighting power of the Chu army.

Although the number of Chu troops was not large, only more than 20,000 people, the remaining soldiers were all experienced and well-trained elite soldiers. It is appropriate to describe the current Chu army with the phrase "the quality of soldiers is more important than the quantity". These Chu soldiers were all experienced warriors who not only possessed superb fighting skills and tenacious fighting spirit, but also had an unshakable belief in victory.

The leader Xiang Yu's fearsome bravery made the situation even more powerful. With his keen insight and outstanding military talent, he foresaw Wang Ben's possible sneak attack and quickly responded. Because of this, the Chu army not only did not suffer much loss itself, but instead dealt a heavy blow to the defenders.

This result made Wang Ben, who was already cautious, even more afraid to act rashly, and he could only choose to hide in the city and hold on. However, with the arrival of various princes, the situation gradually changed. Looking at the nearby Xianyang City, the princes were all anxious and could not suppress their inner impulses, and they could not wait to launch siege operations.

Unfortunately, the result was not as expected. Although the allied forces of the princes were aggressive, the final result was not satisfactory. However, this situation was exactly what Fan Zeng expected to see. Because he knew that the princes were suspicious of each other and it was difficult for them to work together, he formulated such a seemingly ruthless strategy - to use the opportunity of attacking Xianyang to let the princes consume each other's strength.

It must be said that this plan does sound quite excessive. But in that chaotic era, the princes had their own thoughts. Who could trust others without reservation? What Fan Zeng had to do was to show off that Xianyang must be taken down on the one hand, and on the other hand, to ensure that after taking Xianyang, the Chu army had absolute say, and the other princes dared not to resist Xiang Yu. Only in this way could Xiang Yu seek greater benefits.

The atmosphere in the Chu army camp was heavy and depressing. Xiang Yu, wearing heavy armor, walked into the camp quickly with an anxious look on his face. His steps were hurried, like a gust of wind and rain sweeping over.

In the tent, Yi Xiaochuan and Fan Zeng were sitting opposite each other, concentrating on playing chess. When they heard Xiang Yu's anxious footsteps, they raised their heads at the same time.

"We're forcing the city every day, and the battle is fierce!" Xiang Yu muttered as soon as he came in, with a hint of anxiety and uneasiness in his voice. "The coalition forces have suffered heavy losses, with more than 60,000 casualties so far, but this Xianyang city is still as strong as a rock and difficult to conquer!"

At this point, Xiang Yu could not help but frown, with a hint of worry in his eyes. "Especially the King of Wei, his army actually retreated after losing 20,000 men! The current situation is really a headache."

Xiang Yu took a deep breath and continued: "During this period of time, we have not only launched rounds of fierce attacks on Xianyang, but also have to be vigilant against enemy troops from other places rushing to reinforce Xianyang."

"Although the number of troops coming from all over the place to reinforce Xianyang is not large, with the maximum number being thousands and the minimum being only hundreds, they are arriving continuously and successively. So far, there are probably about three to five thousand reinforcements joining the defenders." Xiang Yu shook his head, a helpless look on his face.

"Brother Yu, the master has already told us before you came back that we have to start taking action! There is not much time left." At this moment, Yi Xiaochuan stared at Xiang Yu closely, with a helpless look on his face.

In fact, long before Xiang Yu returned, the resourceful Fan Zeng had already determined that as the war progressed, Xiang Yu's temperament would become more and more impatient, especially after experiencing today's fierce siege, this trend would become more obvious. And everything that happened before his eyes was exactly the same as Fan Zeng's prediction.

"Father, have you anticipated this situation?" Xiang Yu widened his eyes and looked at Fan Zeng in astonishment, obviously very surprised at Fan Zeng's foresight.

Fan Zeng smiled and nodded confidently, "This is a natural thing. Now, we just need to tell other princes that the Southern Border Army has successfully cut off the grain supply line of the imperial court's expedition to the Southern Border and occupied the two counties of Bashu, then they will certainly not dare to withdraw their troops easily."

Hearing this, Xiang Yu was slightly startled at first, but soon came to his senses. He instantly understood the deep meaning of Fan Zeng's plan - this was clearly to convey a message to the princes that the imperial army had suffered a disastrous defeat in the southern border. After all, even the food and grass for logistics support had been cut off by the southern border army, so how could the imperial army continue to support it? This would also relieve the princes of their worries. Thinking of this, Xiang Yu couldn't help but secretly admire Fan Zeng's wisdom.

"Why didn't we inform the various princes as soon as we intercepted the intelligence?" Xiang Yu frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"Of course there is a deep meaning behind this." Fan Zeng, who was standing nearby, stroked his beard and said slowly, "If the information is leaked out too early, those princes may not go all out to attack the army defending the city. Only by letting them fight with the defenders to a draw and consuming as much of the defenders' strength as possible, can it be more conducive to the implementation of our subsequent plans."

"Oh? A plan?" Xiang Yu was startled when he heard this. He turned his gaze to Fan Zeng and asked anxiously, "What exactly do you mean by a plan? I hope you can explain it clearly."

Fan Zeng smiled and said confidently, "I have been planning for a long time. I plan to send out 5,000 elite soldiers and horses, and let Xiaochuan lead them to break through and enter Xianyang City."

"What?" Xiang Yu was slightly startled when he heard this, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. Because this decision was obviously different from the strategy that everyone had discussed before. From entering alone, it became entering Xianyang with troops.