Chapter 1354 Cross the River!

Chapter 1354 Cross the River!

Chapter 1354 Cross the River!

The Li soldiers on the other side of the river stood near the Banlazi Mountain City, quietly looking at the overwhelming Liang soldiers on the other side of the river, their faces pale.

There is no need to compare with anything else. Just look at other people's armor, equipment, and war horses, and then look at your own. Wouldn't you feel inferior?
"Hurry up and get to the riverbank, they are going to cross the river." There was a loud bang behind them, and everyone was startled and stood up straight.

Dahuan pushed aside several soldiers who were blocking his way, climbed up half of the stone wall in a few steps, and looked forward.

Dahuan is the general who supervised the construction of this city, and his current official title is "Yannan City Guardian Lower Division Daxiong".

After the construction is completed, he will be appointed as the "Yannancheng Governor" and "Yannancheng Mayor".

In the official system of Goguryeo, the "brother" type of officials was the second largest system after the "jia" type of officials.

In short, Guchujia, Xiangjia, Dajia and Xiaojia generally correspond to the five previous nobles.

However, Goguryeo was a centralized country, and the newly conquered lands were rarely given to the five tribes. Instead, they were ruled by the royal family themselves, with management at the three levels of city, valley, and village, each with its own officials.

At the same time, he tried every means to divide the five tribes, and gradually nationalized the retainers of the five tribes, such as "envoys", "black clothes", and "ancestors", that is, the appointment and dismissal of retainers also required the consent of the court, intending to undermine the nobles of the five tribes, but at the same time provide the nobles of the five tribes with a channel for promotion, that is, to serve as officials and generals in the court.

Official titles such as "Daxiong" and "Xiaoxiong" evolved from "Zaoyi" and "Xianren". Originally it was "Zaoyitou Daxiong", and gradually it became suffixes of various civil and military official titles, ranking below "Jia" type official titles, but with great real power.

Dahuan looked for a while and saw that the Liang people had collected more than ten ferries, so he stamped his feet and sighed.

The enemy came too quickly and no one had time to react. However, Feiliu Shui (Fule River) and Yannan Shui (Hun River) were important shipping hubs with a large number of ships. If they were not destroyed in advance, they would become aids to the enemy.

Well, speaking of this matter, it also involves Jumong, the "founding emperor" of Goguryeo.

This man was originally a prince of Buyeo. He fled due to political struggles and was chased by the enemy to Yannan River. Jumong could not escape, so fish and turtles floated to the surface of the water to form a bridge. After Jumong crossed the river, the fish and turtles dispersed, so he escaped.

After the founding of the country, he saw vegetable leaves in the water, so he went upstream to the Feiliu Kingdom and conquered it.

The story is a bit far-fetched, and just like Jumong claiming to be the grandson of Habaek and being born from a shell, it is all made up for the sake of mythology itself. But since the first conquest of the Biryu Kingdom by transporting supplies by boat, the Biryu River and the Yannan River basins have become important shipping centers for Goguryeo, and there are many small ships.

If it is searched by the Liang people, it will be a big disaster.

But Dahuan did not dare to take the initiative to send troops across the river. As for the reason -

"Hurry up and dig ditches and set up deer horns on the road!" a "young man" shouted not far away.

Some soldiers took action, while others stood there blankly, at a loss as to what to do.

It’s not their fault.

The best troops in the country went west, but Maru had to leave some men behind, so he mobilized a group of local troops to go to the capital on fast horses.

There are not many people, but their ethnic groups are very diverse.

Take the mountainous area on the other side of the Maru River as an example. Many tribes are native Woju people. Although their customs are similar to those of the Chinese people, they speak a local dialect. They are also only subordinates to the court and manage themselves on weekdays. The court only assigns a Dajia to be responsible for their "rent, tax, cloth, fish, salt, and food from the sea". In addition, they collect some beautiful women as maids and concubines, but do not attach importance to them, "treating them like slaves."

There are many Woju soldiers in Marudu City, Zi'anshan City and Yannan City, and it is very difficult to talk to them.

Dahuan was not confident enough to use these soldiers to fight against the Liang people. Fortunately, it was difficult to see their battle array or defense from a distance, and they would be exposed in a real fight.

I just hope that Liang Bing is also at the end of his strength...

******
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Shao Yu once again found that everyone's eyes were on him.

The palms of my hands began to sweat again, but much less than last time.

He took a deep breath and turned to look behind him.

The river valley here is quite open and filled with soldiers.

Shao Yu's thoughts almost drifted back to the days when he was young and followed his father to fight in the wars. He almost subconsciously walked into the crowd of soldiers.

The soldiers automatically made way for a path.

At this moment, Shao Yu felt his blood boiling and his heart pounding. His intuition told him that he should make that decision.

But there was a voice in my heart that quietly objected: This is an illusion. Once you make that irreversible decision, you will regret it.

He tried hard to recall his father's teachings and secretly wondered what his father would do in this situation.

A soldier standing right in front of him was disheveled, his armor was covered in black blood, one of his deerskin boots was torn and the sole was about to fall off.

He hesitantly reached out his hand and patted the man on the shoulder.

The sergeant was stunned.

As the shot was taken, Shao Yu felt as if a barrier had been broken, and all kinds of memories flooded in. He cleared his throat and asked, "How many years have you been fighting?"

The sergeant replied, "More than ten years."

"Are you short of military merit?"

"There is too much gong to be used up."

"Why not use it?"

The sergeant remained silent.

Shao Yu understood and said, "After this war, no matter how difficult it is, I will write to Your Majesty and ask for wasteland in Gaoping, Dongping and other counties to be allocated for you to choose and buy."

The soldier's eyes lit up, and he didn't care about the difference in status, and asked, "Your Highness, are you serious?"

"My father keeps his word, and I also keep my word." Shao Yu was not sure whether his father would agree, but he could not hesitate at this time and gave an affirmative answer on the spot.

When the nearby Zuo Feilong Guards heard this, their eyes widened, their faces full of hope.

Wasteland is usually sold at a discount or even given away, and the money required to exchange it is very small. For them, being able to buy land in their hometown is definitely a great thing.

Shao Yu continued to walk forward, and his movements of patting people on the shoulders became more and more skillful, without any sense of sluggishness. He looked at the eyes of these old killers of Zuo Feilong Guard with sincere eyes, and said: "You have many children, but you suffer from lack of land, and even the separation of flesh and blood. I also sighed when I heard it. But——"

He paused and said, "If there is no special merit, how can there be special grace?"

Everyone held their breath, waiting quietly for the King of Yan to make his offer. The warriors who had been in and out of the dead were not so naive. All benefits had a price, and it depended on whether it was worth risking their lives.

"Do you dare to follow me across the river?" he asked. "After defeating the bandits and taking over Wandu, what does land mean to us? Even if you are a member of the government army, if you fight bravely, you will have the opportunity to be promoted to government soldiers. I will keep my promise and I will never break it!"

The noise suddenly grew louder, and the soldiers and followers of Zuo Feilong Guard began to whisper to each other, and the noise gradually spread throughout the entire valley.

Shao Yu deliberately waited for a while, and when he saw that most of the soldiers knew about it, he raised his right hand, faced everyone, and said, "A real man, why would you be as shy as a woman? Do you dare to follow me across the river?"

"Cross the river!" Someone shouted, and soon others echoed.

For a while, the sounds of "crossing the river" rose one after another, gradually becoming unified, like a tsunami.

Shao Yu put down his hand, and the noise died down.

Then he raised his hand again, and the sound of "crossing the river" echoed into the sky. Many soldiers simply hit their shields with their swords and roared loudly, as if they were afraid that King Yan could not hear them.

"Just follow me!" As if a sudden inspiration came to his mind, Shao Yu drew out his sword and said loudly.

Having said that, he walked ahead.

"Just follow me!" The soldiers of Zuo Feilong Guard followed one after another, shouting.

******
"Splash!" More than ten small boats that had been searched earlier were lowered into the water.

The soldiers rushed into the cabin one after another like wolves and tigers.

Shao Yu put on golden armor and held a long spear in his hand. When he was about to jump onto the boat, he was stopped by his subordinates.

"Your Highness!" Guo Shi drew out his sword, put it on his neck, and said with glaring eyes: "If Your Highness crosses the river in person, I will commit suicide here."

Shao Yu was shocked and said subconsciously: "Why is it so..."

"Your Highness is in charge of the three armies, so don't act rashly. If there are just a few enemy troops, I will lead my men across the river to defeat them." Guo Shi said loudly.

Shao Yu had no choice but to whisper: "At this moment, I must lead the troops and boost their morale, so that we can win."

Guo Shi refused to listen and just said, "Since I entered the palace, I have been treated very well, but I have not made any achievements. I feel guilty. Please help me, Your Highness."

Shao Yu was stunned for a while, then sighed and said, "Just follow Mr. Guo's advice."

Guo Shi bowed to the ground and said, "I have four sons, none of them are talented, but I have one grandson who can be considered intelligent. If Your Highness thinks he is capable of being trained, you can take care of him. I will die without regrets."

After that, he turned around and jumped onto the boat, waving a flag and shouting, "What are you waiting for? Set sail!"

"Set sail!" About twenty small boats were lowered onto the shore one after another. Each boat carried more than ten people, all of whom were warriors of the Zuo Feilong Guard wearing helmets and armor. At this moment, they drew their weapons and roared in unison.

Amid the loud shouts of "Sail!", the soldiers who were manning the boats blushed and rowed the boats hard.

The ship broke through the water and rushed towards the other side like an arrow, with great momentum.

When they were halfway through the journey, a volley of arrows flew over from the other side of the river. The soldiers held up wooden signs and tried their best to block them.

Guo Shi was furious when he saw this. He quickly removed his armor, baring his chest. Then he threw his helmet into the river, holding only a steel knife, and shouted, "What's the use of this! Baring my body will defeat the enemy."

Seeing how brave he was, the soldiers on the boat were greatly encouraged. They urged them to row faster and cursed at the south bank of the river.

"Your Grandpa Zhang is here to take your head!"

"Tell your mother to wash herself clean, I'm coming!"

"I haven't eaten meat for three days. I was just about to try some of your leg meat."

"Hurry up and row! Otherwise I'll chop you off too!"

The curses continued on the river. Soon, the first boat rushed onto the river beach. Seven or eight soldiers rushed up with swords, shields and spears in their hands. There were also several archers on the boat who drew their bows and arrows. Their archery skills, which had been honed over the years, were magical. Every time an arrow flew out, an enemy fell down.

More and more people washed ashore, gradually reaching hundreds.

Guo Shi's chest hair was exposed, black and white. He was about fifty years old, but he rushed forward bravely like a young man, easily dodged a spear that was thrust at him, and with a swipe of his steel knife, he hit the enemy's neck heavily.

The gushing blood soaked him.

Guo Shi laughed loudly, with his blood-red chest hair puffed out, and rushed straight to the high ground on the river bank.

In front of him, dozens of soldiers bravely rushed forward and scattered the two or three hundred enemy troops who were blocking them.

The enemy troops were in a panic and fled to both sides, with many of them accidentally falling off the cliffs.

Almost three hundred soldiers had gathered on the river bank, and the boats returned one after another to carry the second group of people across the river.

The soldiers of Zuo Feilong Guard surrounded Guo Shi in the middle, shouted loudly, and advanced with drums beating, climbed over the half-built stone wall, broke into the city, and fought with the Goguryeo people.

Yannan City had not yet built city gates, and there were city gates everywhere. The Li soldiers ran around in panic as if they were stunned, and escaped from various gaps.

Guo Shi stared closely at an enemy general in iron armor. Just as he was about to go forward to fight him, there were people everywhere in front of him, and he became extremely anxious.

Suddenly, he pulled out a short spear from the back of a soldier beside him, and threw it out in the man's astonished eyes.

"Whoosh!" The short spear crossed the short distance of twenty steps and hit the enemy general in the face.

The cheers resounded like a mountain torrent, and the Li soldiers fled in panic as if they had lost their parents.

"Chase!" Guo Shi brandished his steel knife and roared, "Cut them all to pieces, leaving no blade behind."

"Don't leave a blade of grass behind!" The responses came one after another, and the soldiers chased the enemy northward with murderous intent.

In just one encounter, the two thousand Li soldiers were chopped to pieces by the three hundred government soldiers who crossed the river.

Even the most optimistic person before the war did not expect this result.

Fighting requires courage!

(End of this chapter)