Chapter 1230: Race against time
Chapter 1230: Race against time (Part 1) (Additional chapter for leader Yu Yuanchuyu)
Since mid-April, the Jin army's ships in the Shicheng area have been so numerous that they almost fill the surface of the river.
More than 300 Liang soldiers who retreated to the sandbar in the middle of the river in the first half of the month had been captured by the Jiangzhou navy. Now they were building a camp there, focusing on guarding the direction of Wankou.
However, with the successive fall of Danglipu and Hengjiang ferry crossings on April 15, some Jin army ships were withdrawn to prevent the Liang army from crossing the river, and they were simply running around in a desperate situation.
Against this backdrop, on April 18, more than 2,000 soldiers from the Silver Spear Camp successfully landed on the south bank, located in the western border of Chungu County (now Tongling area).
There is no ferry here, and the river bank has not been properly maintained, with reeds, shrubs and weeds aplenty.
The silt brought by the Yangtze River accumulated here, forming sandbars above and below the water.
In addition, there were many tidal flats that were submerged in water at high tide and exposed at low tide. The landing conditions were very poor, and it took a long time to drag equipment and military supplies ashore, but no one came to stop it.
This so-called river defense has become useless.
On the 19th, Yang Qin brought almost all his troops here to join the newly landed people, totaling 4,300 people - and nearly 200 wounded and sick soldiers remained in Shicheng.
I kept receiving messages on the road——
The Shen clan of Wukang fought a fierce battle with Yu Tan and defeated him, but Liu Chao arrived shortly afterwards and defeated the Shen clan, capturing Changcheng and Wucheng.
The Zhou clan is still holding out in Yangxian. The city has been under siege for two or three months, and it is unknown how long they can hold out. Currently, they are besieged by troops from Wujun and Kuaiji.
Liu Kun seemed to have fallen ill due to anger and his time was running out.
There was also an unexpected news: Sun Song, Lou Guochang and others broke through the siege and fled to Wuxing. Along the way, people kept intercepting Lou Guochang, who got separated between Moling and Yongshi, and was captured by the villagers and beheaded as a thief.
I heard that he was so sick that he couldn't move, and there were only a few close followers around him, all of whom died.
Shi Zhen was captured in the north of Yangxian and claimed to be a relative of Concubine Shi Guipin and begged for surrender. Liu Chao ordered him to be beheaded.
Sun Song, Zhang Qin, Qian Feng and a few dozen others fled to Wuxing in a panic and were taken in by the Shen family.
Yang Qin was deeply moved when he heard it, it was really tragic.
It is not something that ordinary people can do to march alone behind enemy lines. However, it is an indisputable fact that Jincheng had been in turmoil for two months, attracting countless bandits and killing and wounding tens of thousands of people, which made Liu Kun furious.
If it weren't for them, Zhao Yin's troops might have already moved south. Would the Zhou and Shen families still dare to rebel?
After the battle, the emperor will give them generous rewards, and even their descendants may be brought into the palace to study and practice martial arts with the princes.
On April 23, after a long journey, they saw endless camps on the eastern horizon in the distance.
Yang Qin ordered to set up camp on the spot and make weapons.
******
After nightfall, it was already the second drum beat.
The crescent moon hung in the sky, and the croaking of frogs in the wild gradually disappeared, as if these little creatures sensed some unusual atmosphere.
The air around was a little humid, making people feel a little uncomfortable.
Occasionally, the south wind blows, bringing with it a rotten, fishy smell.
Yang Qin put on his armor and climbed onto a creaking platform.
The Jin army camp was brightly lit.
Of course they had noticed our presence. Whether out of fear or what, they did not launch an attack while our side had come from afar and had not yet established a firm foothold. Instead, they guarded the camp carefully and responded to all changes with the same strategy.
But if the enemy doesn't attack, he will attack.
The third drum beat sounded.
Dark clouds obscured the waning moon, and the earth suddenly became dark.
The sound of orderly footsteps was heard in the wilderness.
Sounds came from all directions. In the night, there were shadows of people. No one was making noise, no one was shouting. There was only silence and determined steps.
Night battles are never easy.
The south wind suddenly grew stronger, as if blowing away the clouds and revealing the true face of the bright moon.
The earth suddenly lit up.
Wang Ying climbed up the platform and wiped his eyes before he saw an endless array of troops in the wilderness ahead. A quick glance showed that there were at least several thousand men, but the night was dim and he couldn't see how many more there were in the darkness in the distance. Could there be tens of thousands?
Shouts were heard from the westernmost camp. Even people who knew nothing about military affairs could hear the tension and panic contained in them.
They have fought with the Liang people!
The dark army began to move forward.
The sound of drums replaced the croaking of frogs, and the sound of horns covered the sound of flowing water.
The silent army formation was like a mountain, pressing towards them with great momentum.
Wang Ying's eyes widened.
Under the moonlight, the armor shone with silver light, and the spears stood like towering trees.
Large shields were held high in front of the chests. The black shields concealed the faces and also concealed murderous intent.
Apart from the rustling footsteps, there was no noise or any sense of disorder, which made people wonder if they were living people!
Wang Ying's palms were slightly sweaty and his expression became serious.
The opposing army suddenly stopped.
In the deepest night in the west, a few flames were lit, and the rumbling sound of drums came out from the flames and spread throughout the earth.
The army broke the silence.
From left to right, the sound of drums responded continuously, and for a moment, the sound of commands and the collision of instruments were endless.
When the drumbeats of the last square formation stopped, the wilderness returned to calm, without a sound, as if nothing had happened, except that the military formation became more strict and the murderous intent became more severe.
The footsteps sounded again.
The mountain-like military formations were like ferocious beasts in the dark, approaching step by step, baring their fangs step by step.
The sound of a machine string being pulled was heard from the wall, and one thick arrow after another was pushed up.
"Whoosh!" The first crossbow arrow shot out.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" Then the second and third ones followed. The night suddenly darkened, and in the darkness there was a crashing sound.
The rustling footsteps continued.
When the moon climbed to the top of the dark clouds again, Wang Ying couldn't believe his eyes. The mountain-like military formation was almost intact and there was no change at all.
The pace of the Spear Jungle quickened, and Wang Ying found himself actually feeling a little further away from them.
"Rewind the string! Rewind the string quickly and shoot!" he roared in his heart.
But the soldier operating the crossbow was too slow, perhaps because he was nervous or something!
The army advanced quickly, constantly closing the distance with the camp.
Their spears were already raised diagonally forward, their bows had been untied from their waists, and their large shields were gradually raised diagonally upwards.
"Hoo! Hoo!" As if hearing Wang Ying's call in his heart, the powerful crossbows on the wall of the village launched the second round of firing.
Under the bright moonlight, the army formation was greatly damaged, just like bricks and stones collapsing from a city wall, falling down in a large area.
Wang Ying was about to laugh, but the smile froze on his face.
The soldiers in the back row took two quick steps and came up, and the battle was restored to its original state without any abnormality.
There was a noise and faint shouting on the wall of the village.
A moment later, a group of people opened the camp gate and rushed out in a line. They stood in a row outside the wall, holding individual crossbows and firing at the same time.
Wang Ying stared at the front, but saw another piece of "bricks and stones" flying in the Liang army's formation.
Many soldiers fell to the ground while walking, and the formation instantly became incomplete as if it had been bitten by a dog.
But soon, another sergeant from the back row came up silently and continued to move forward.
The battle is back to normal!
Wang Ying swallowed subconsciously.
The army continued to advance, as if nothing could stop them.
Just as the Jin soldiers' crossbowmen were busy reloading their crossbows outside the camp, a desolate horn sounded from the west.
The Liang army formation stopped in unison.
Countless people bent down at the same time, placed their spears at their feet, then drew their bows and arrows and raised them together under the moonlight. It was a spectacular sight for a moment.
"Woo!" A short horn sounded.
"Buzz!" A vast amount of arrows flew obliquely into the sky. When they landed on the ground, few Jin army crossbowmen were still standing.
Drums sound.
The Liang army all bent at their waists, picked up their spears, and continued to advance.
At this time, there was even a gap in their army formation. A large group of strong men holding knives and axes, carrying firewood, holding ropes, and even driving cattle shouted and rushed forward with their heads covered.
The axe struck the antlers, chopping them into pieces.
The chevaux de frise was removed, the caltrops were cleared, the pits were filled...
During this process, arrows kept falling from the wall, and the strong men cried out in pain.
Some people simply ran away with their heads in their hands, but what faced them was a forest of spears that stretched as far as the eye could see. They were pierced up and covered in blood.
The long horn sounded for the second time.
The soldiers bent their bows and fired a second volley.
The crossbow on the wall fired a swift crossbow arrow.
Arrows rained down on the wall and corpses fell like rain.
Crossbow arrows broke into the formation, plowing a bloody path.
The people on the wall ran away in panic.
Commands were heard throughout the formation, and the soldiers in the back row quickly stepped forward to fill the vacancies.
The able-bodied men rushed to the camp wall, crying and shouting, laid makeshift wooden boards on top of the trench, and then put straw on top.
Some brave men hung the hook on the camp gate and connected the other end to a leather harness and tied it to the ox.
There were constant casualties throughout the process, but no one dared to retreat.
"Buzz!" Dense arrows kept falling on the camp walls.
The brave Wu people hid behind large shields and shot from a high position. People were constantly killed and wounded in the process, and gradually no one dared to move forward.
"Boom!" A camp gate was pulled to the ground, splashing a large pool of mud and water.
The Liang army seemed to have received a signal, and hundreds of people stepped out of the crowd and advanced along the wall.
There was a lot of debris behind the camp gate, but it did not pose an obstacle.
They crawled forward with unsteady steps, enduring arrows shot from all directions and spears stabbed from high above, and then rushed to the front of the Jin soldiers.
The close combat was almost unremarkable. They broke through the Jin army's obstruction and broke into the camp.
The crossbows on the wall stopped.
The officers of the Jin army kept calling for reinforcements and tried to block the camp gate. But it was too late. In the bright night, the silver-armored warriors rushed into the camp like a tide. Wherever they passed, corpses were scattered all over the place, and blood flowed like a stream, like hell.
The defenders opened the camp gates and fled.
The silver-armored warriors followed behind, carrying them to the second camp, and then the third...
That night, they broke four camps in succession and beheaded more than 3,000 people. The Jin army on the west bank of the Lujiang River almost collapsed completely. Even Shan Xia escaped on a boat and commanded the remnants of the defeated army to retreat to the lower reaches of the Lujiang River.
The Jin army on the east bank of the river were all frightened. Without any orders from anyone, they set fire to the camp and left.
Overnight, the threat to Xuancheng was lifted.
There was no longer any obstacle between the Liang armies on the east and west routes.
(End of this chapter)