Yu Qiujin emerged from the water, and the fire started behind him. Several personal guards jumped into the water and accompanied him to protect him as he swam towards the river bank. By the time Yu Qiujin stood up, the fire was already raging, igniting the water village and turning the several arrow towers in front of the water village into soaring torches.
The ships of the Yongzhou Navy dispersed, intercepted the fleeing ships, and shot only the fallen soldiers with arrows. Looking at the water village shrouded in flames, Yu Qiu was heartbroken. He had been fighting for most of his life, but he never expected to suffer such a big loss.
Some of the escaping ships saw the guards waving and approached. Yu Qiujin boarded the ship and ordered: "Go back to Xiakou quickly."
Zhunkou stronghold no longer exists. Beware of Yongzhou Navy taking the opportunity to attack Xiakou. Xiakou has the grain, grass and baggage needed by tens of thousands of troops for half a year, and must not be lost.
The navy of the Yong Army captured five ships and seven boats. Qian Lei ordered the cloth bags prepared in advance on his ship to be loaded into the cabins of the captured ships. No flaws could be seen from the outside.
The cloth bag is filled with dry thatch, reeds and other materials, and the canned black powder is placed aside, ready to be sprinkled at any time.
Qian Lei and more than a hundred soldiers put on Jin army uniforms and said to Yu Fei: "I will take one step first, and General Yu will respond later."
Yu Fei nodded and warned: "Fire and water have no mercy, swords and guns have no eyes, so be careful."
Qian Lei took the prisoner ship down the river and rushed to Xiakou. Along the way, he met more than ten fleeing ships, and they all fled to Xiakou together. The ships were afraid of being chased by the Yongzhou navy, so they were all in a panic and rushed forward. No one noticed that there were Yong troops among the ships accompanying them.
It only takes more than an hour to go down the river from Zhunkou to Xiakou. At the beginning of the day, the boat Yu Qiujin took escaped to Xiakou.
Yu Qiujin was originally the general stationed in Xiakou. Although he accompanied Wang Zhongde to fight in Jiangxia, Xiakou was still under his jurisdiction. The defenders of the water village saw clearly that it was him who had returned, and quickly opened the water village to let him in.
Soon, the sound of the horn sounded over Xiakou Village. The soldiers heard the horn and closed the gate of the village, boarded the archery tower and stepped up their vigilance. From the camp on the shore, the sound of drums rumbled, and Yu Qiu came to gather the generals to discuss matters.
After hurriedly washing, Yu Qiujin sat in the tent. The generals saw that his face was a little pale and his gray beard was tangled, making him look old.
After learning that the Zhunkou stronghold had been captured by Yong's army, and all the generals in the tent requested a battle, Yu Qiujin ordered strict vigilance to prevent Yong's army from attacking while they were victorious.
The affairs were still being discussed in the tent, and Qian Lei's ships, mixed with the defeated troops at Jiukou, had arrived outside Xiakou stronghold. The highest ranking among the defeated ships was General Liwu Zheng Ming. Zheng Ming shouted loudly to the defenders and ordered them to open the gate of the village and let them in.
The soldiers guarding the stronghold did not dare to let him go, so they reported to Wang Ning, the general guarding the stronghold. Wang Ning and Zheng Ming were friends. Seeing that Zheng Ming did not doubt his presence, Wang Ning ordered the stronghold to be opened and let him go.
Ships filed in, and the ships led by Qian Lei were mixed in and entered Xiakou Village. After entering the water village, Qian Lei ordered to sprinkle gunpowder on the cloth bag and light it, and then quickly left the boat.
Zheng Ming and Wang Ning were talking on the bamboo flat, and the soldiers who got off the ship were gathered together, ready to be placed after questioning.
Qian Lei was not in a hurry to take action, and signaled the accompanying soldiers to follow the arrangements and followed the soldiers of Xiakou Division toward the shore.
Just after walking a few dozen steps, the flames in the cabin had already burst out. A violent explosion sounded immediately, and flaming debris sprayed everywhere. Bamboo rafts are used to connect roads and boats are densely packed in the water village, all of which are flammable, and the fire will soon become uncontrollable.
Seeing the fire behind him, Qian Lei pulled out his sword and shouted loudly: "Rush."
Fire and water are merciless, and fire cannot tell the difference between friend and foe. Qian Lei led his men and ran towards the limelight.
When Wang Ning saw the fire, he immediately knew that enemy troops were mixed into the boat. He pointed his knife at Zheng Ming and shouted: "Zheng Ming, you actually surrendered Yong's army and came to deceive the camp and take your life."
Not being able to tell the difference, Zheng Ming was dumbfounded, dodging left and right, and said clearly: "Brother Wang, I haven't surrendered to the enemy yet, please wait a moment."
The navy in the stronghold was in chaos, and Qian Lei and others quickly mixed in with the Jin army, making it impossible to distinguish between friends and foes. The gong sounded loudly, and someone shouted "put out the fire".
The sound of the gong alerted Yu Qiujin, who was discussing matters in the camp on the shore. He hurriedly came out of his tent to take a look. He saw flames billowing in the water village. The fire was spreading along the wind. It seemed that the fire was difficult to extinguish.
Suffering successive fire attacks from Yong's army, Yu Qiu entered the heart and
Swaying, Qiang Zhi calmly ordered: "Quickly order the ships to leave the water stronghold, and the soldiers on land will gather in the city to guard against Yong's army coming to attack."
Before he finished speaking, dozens of warships appeared on the river, and it was Yu Fei who led his army.
The string sound of "Beng Beng" continued, and the crossbow cart set up on the bow of the ship fired crossbow arrows towards the water village and sealed the gate of the village. The unlit boats in the water village were scurrying around like headless flies, looking for an unburned village gate to escape.
The wind is blowing from the southeast today, and the wind direction is northwest. Qian Lei found a midship ship in the southeast direction, which was preparing to leave the water village.
Qian Lei ordered his men to wave and the ship docked. Qian Lei led his men to rush onto the ship without rushing to take action. After the ship sailed away from the water stronghold and out of danger, Qian Lei drew his sword and cut down the Jin army beside him, and shouted: "Do it."
There were more than a hundred Jin troops on the ship. Qian Lei had arranged his subordinates beside these people in advance, and when he said "take action", they drew their swords and faced each other. Those Jin troops were not prepared for what Pao Ze next to him would do, and they were immediately cut down in large pieces. The remaining Jin troops saw that something was not going well and jumped off the boat one after another.
Qian Lei did not pursue him and asked his soldiers to hold boats and approach Yu Fei.
At this time, Xiakou Village had become a sea of fire, and Yu Fei led his army to pursue the scattered fleeing ships on the river.
On the bank of the river, Yu Qiujin's face was ashen, and he reluctantly got on his horse. He glanced back at the water village behind him, shouted "Let's go", and led the defeated troops towards Xiakou City a few miles away.
The navy of Yong Army pursued Xiakou's defeated army until the end, and then left with more than 20 captured warships.
By the time the reconnaissance cavalry sent by Xiakou City came to inspect the battle, the water stronghold had been burned down. There were still scattered flames on the remaining wooden pillars, and thick smoke lingered in the air. There were floating corpses everywhere on the river surface, and burnt wood and bamboo debris were scattered everywhere, making it a miserable mess.
At the time of the attack, Yu Qiujin received the report that the Jinkou Division had lost more than 170 warships and more than 2,200 casualties and missing soldiers; the Xiakou Division had lost nearly 200 large and small ships and more than 1,600 casualties. people. There were less than fifty naval vessels left, and the advantage on the river was gone.
Yu Qiujin sent people to warn Wang Zhongde of Anlu and Xunyang of Jiangzhou to beware of the Yongzhou navy's attack.
Qian Lei led the victorious army back to the Hengsangkou garrison. In the setting sun, the soldiers sang fishing songs and there was great joy. …
Anlu City, the seat of Jiangxia County. Wang Yi and Wang Zhongde, the governor of Jiangzhou, received the news that Zhunkou Stronghold and Xiakou Stronghold were successively attacked by the Yong Navy, and urgently summoned his generals for discussion.
Wang Zhongde was a native of Qixian County, Taiyuan. He was the younger brother of Han Situ Wang Yun and the seventh grandson of Wang Mao, the governor of Youzhou. His father was a high-ranking official in the Fu Jian Dynasty of the former Qin Dynasty, with an official rank of two thousand shi.
After the Feishui War in the former Qin Dynasty, everyone rebelled and separated. Wang Yi, who was 17 years old at the time, led an army with his brother Wang Rui (Wang Yuande) to attack Murong Chui of Later Yan Dynasty. He was defeated and escaped and was trapped in Daze. He was rescued by a white wolf and crossed the water to meet his brother. The two crossed the river. The Yellow River reached Huatai and was retained as a general by Zhai Liao.
A few years later, the two brothers saw that it was difficult for Zhai Liao to succeed, so they abandoned Zhai Liao and fled south to the Jin Kingdom. They were chased by Zhai Liao's cavalry. When they fled at night, it seemed as if there were torches in front of them to guide the way. After escaping for more than a hundred miles, the two brothers arrived. Settled down in Pengcheng.
Wang Zhongde heard that Wang Yu was a prominent figure in the court and that although the two families were not from the same ancestor, they were both from Taiyuan County, so he went to Jiankang to seek refuge. However, Wang Yu treated Wang Zhongde very poorly. Huanxuan captured Jiankang and garrisoned Gushu, and Wang Zhongde defected to Huanxuan.
In the second year of Yuanxing (403), Huanxuan usurped the throne. Liu Yu prepared to launch an army to attack Huanxuan. Brothers Wang Yuande and Wang Zhongde acted as internal correspondents in Beijing. Liu Mai reported the secret, and Wang Yuande, Xin Huxing, Tong Houzhi and others were arrested and killed by Huan Xuan, while Wang Zhongde escaped.
When Liu Yu defeated Jiankang, Wang Zhongde hugged Wang Yuande's son Wang Fang back to greet him on the roadside. Liu Yu got off his horse and hugged Wang Fang back, crying bitterly with Wang Zhongde. Afterwards, Liu Yu presented Wang Yuande as a posthumous gift to Shizhong, restored him to the county marquis, and appointed Wang Zhongde as a soldier to join the army.
After that, Wang Zhongde followed Liu Yu in the southern and northern campaigns, and his military exploits ranked first among the generals. He was awarded the title of General of the Auxiliary State, Marquis of Xingan County, and was appointed governor of Jiangzhou, ranking first among the generals under Liu Yu.
When Ningyuan General Zhu Lingxiu learned that the Jiekou stronghold had been captured, he said anxiously: "Zhenkou connects Anlu and Xiakou and connects the Han River. If Jiangxia is cut off, it will become an isolated land and Quling will not be stable. Jiukou is a must for military strategists." To fight for the land, Yu Yuan led 3,000 soldiers and horses to garrison at Jingkou and set up a beacon tower to convey the news."
There are still 60 warships in Anlu City, Jiukou and Xiakou
The division suffered heavy losses, and the remaining navy was unable to compete with the Yongzhou Navy until the Jiankang Navy arrived for reinforcements.
Longxiang General Zhu Mu said: "Judging from General Yu's report, the Yong army's naval force should not exceed ten thousand people. The lone army can go deep and rely on the rivers to attack the city. I thought there was no need to rush to compete with him on the rivers. We only need to guard the city and wait for the imperial navy to arrive, then establish Xiakou and Jinkou strongholds, and then look for opportunities to fight with them."
Wang Zhongde said: "Yuan Wang is right. I think the purpose of Yang Anxuan's navy to attack Jiukou is to mobilize our troops and look for opportunities. He ordered Lu Zhongyuan, the defender of Quling, to guard the city. If Yong's army comes, Ignore the provocation and ignore it. Tell Yu Qiujin to secure Xiakou and not allow any loss of food, grass and baggage. Wait for the arrival of the Imperial Navy before engaging in battle with the Yongzhou Navy. Inform Nanxin of the defeat of the Jiukou and Xiakou divisions. Shen Tianzi of the city told him to watch out for the Yong army's troops to attack."
In the next few days, Qian Lei led his navy to roam around Xiakou, Jiukou, Quling, and Anlu areas to lure Wang Zhongde to send troops to fight. However, the defenders in each city received strict orders from Wang Zhongde, even if the Yong army set fire outside the city. I couldn’t bear to leave the city even if I didn’t have enough food.
Qian Lei had no choice but to send a small boat to inquire about the news. On the other hand, he sent a messenger to inform Yang Anxuan in Yunshe City and ask him to make a decision.
Yang Anxuan is in Yunshe City, where battle reports from all over the place are constantly gathering. After Wang Zhen's evil soldiers arrived at Ningling, Liu Yu's army temporarily retreated to Mengxian and Yuxian, and the siege of Suiyang was temporarily lifted; in the south of Daxian Mountain, Hu Fan and Liu Huaishen's army fought several battles, with each winning or losing; Yizhou Tan Daoji won With the help of Liu Cui's navy, he was attacking Nan'an City with all his strength. Du Ji crossed the Mo River at night and defeated Fan Ning's troops. Tan Daoji had to send Liu Cui and Gao Jinzhi to Yanniu City (today's south bank of Hanyuan City) to support them. The pressure of Yin Ji was relieved. Reduced; Liu Zhong of Ji Nancheng could not leave the city, Sima Chuzhi led a partial army to capture Zhijiang, Liu Daolian ordered Liu Zhong not to divide his troops for rescue...
June has arrived, the wheat in the fields is ripe and golden, and the battle for grain is about to begin.
