On the water of the river leading to Wuhu, large ships were touching the sky, small boats were interspersed among them, drums were beating, and shouts of killing were heard on both sides of the river.
The ships of the two armies fired at each other with bows and crossbows, and arrows were flying.
Or use the boat to hit the boat at an angle, waiting for an opportunity to join the string and jump to help.
Wu Jun's side also had the "water ghost" with extraordinary water qualities. A fierce man plunged into the river and disappeared, but secretly used a chisel to dig into the bottom of Cao Jun's ship, causing it to sink and capsize.
From time to time, people who were hit by arrows would sink to the bottom of the water, or dead bodies would float to the surface. The offensive of Cao Jun in this battle was much more intense than the confrontations and tests in the previous days.
The war was in full swing on the west side of the river, but on the river going eastwards, the light boat carrying ten thousand Qing Xu soldiers, Zang Ba and Yin Lu went smoothly, and they were almost at Jingkou without encountering the enemy.
This is not so much Wu Jun's negligence as it is a helpless move caused by insufficient military strength.
As strong as Cao Wei, they could only rely on key cities to deploy defenses on the long border, not to mention Soochow, which had just been seriously injured.
Zang Ba, who was nearly sixty years old and a few years younger than Liu Bei, was standing on the bow of the ship wearing a helmet, armor, robe and skirt, holding a sword.
Facing the upcoming desperate attack, Zang Ba didn't feel much fear in his heart, only a sense of frustration and exhaustion.
Although his name only bears the word "hegemon", he has no ambition to dominate the world.
From beginning to end, he wandered among many forces, just wanting to be a local overlord in the land of Qingxu.
But the reality has made him see clearly the naivety of his original idea. In a world of great struggle, he could either climb to the top by stepping on corpses.
Either surrender or die.
There is absolutely no other way to go.
I have been going around in circles for most of my life, and now I am buried up to my neck in soil. I still have to face a choice.
And this time there is one less choice, only surrender or death...
In the distance, we have seen several Jiangdong boats cruising outside Jingkou.
"Hiss-huh..." Zang Ba closed his eyes and exhaled a deep breath, but he couldn't get rid of the suffocating feeling of being dominated by fate.
Choking!
His eyes suddenly opened angrily, and he drew his sword and moved forward: "Attack——!"
Tom, tom, tom tom…
The war drums suddenly sounded and became more and more passionate. Five hundred boats carrying these Qingxu soldiers who were forced to become death squads rushed forward without hesitation.
He overtook and engulfed the small Jiangdong boats and headed towards Jingkou.
There are only a small number of Jiangdong defenders in Jingkou. Although this place is a hub for transporting grain to Jianye, it is not a city with stable city defense. It is just a town developed along the docks along the river.
The Jingkou garrison that was suddenly attacked did not receive any advance warning. Cao's army had never fought here in previous battles, so they suddenly panicked.
Zang Ba led his army to land in Jiangbei first and stormed the city defenses in Jiangbei. Unlike the panicked Soochow defenders, Qingxu soldiers, mobilized by Zang Ba and others, came with the determination to die this time.
Although the military discipline of Qingzhou soldiers and Xuzhou soldiers is worrying, they are undoubtedly one of Cao Wei's sharpest minions.
These Cao soldiers, who were inspired with ferocity, launched a fierce attack on the Jiangbei city defense. However, within a moment, the Soochow defenders in Jiangbei were frightened and the city gate was broken!
Cao's troops who invaded the city were like wolves among sheep, killing thousands of people in a short period of time. Their corpses lay on the streets, and even the rain could not wash away the blood on the ground.
Seeing that the Jiangbei garrison was defeated, Zang Ba and others did not wait long, nor did they stop moving forward.
He knew very well in his heart that this level of victory was not enough, and now was not the time to give up when things were good.
They must move forward, and move forward, until they find a reason why Cao Pi cannot punish him, and kill until they can no longer kill!
As for whether they can go back alive after that, it depends on fate...
Zang Ba gathered his troops and boarded the ship again, decisively crossed the river and rushed to the south bank!
Within one day, Jingkou was defeated.
The news that Cao Jun had captured Jingkou was quickly sent to Sun Quan and Lu Fan via waterways.
Even Sun Quan, who was closer, received the news earlier than Lu Fan.
The war was stalemate, and Sun Quan didn't know how the old Liu's side was doing, and whether he could put enough pressure on Cao Pi to force him to retreat. It was a time when he had trouble sleeping and eating recently.
Suddenly I heard that Jingkou was attacked and defeated. I was shocked at first. I thought that Cao Wei had found a breakthrough and would move south after defeating the defenders.
After I realized that there were only about 10,000 death squads, I felt a little relieved, but then a burst of anger surged into my heart.
waste! big eater! What are they doing to eat!
Guarding the natural chasm of the Yangtze River, we were actually attacked by waterways, cutting off a grain route on the eastern front!
But Sun Quan had seen big scenes after all. Although he was angry, he knew that now was not the time to hold people accountable.
"Assemble Xu Sheng and He Qi to quickly support them and encircle them from the north and the south. We must completely annihilate this enemy force! Order Lu Fan and others to continue to hold back Cao Xiu's main force at the entrance of the cave and not to allow reinforcements!
"Instruct Wujun Zhenze (Taihu) navy to be ready to support at any time, Danyang and Kuaiji reserve county troops to be ready, and be ready to be mobilized to support the front line!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As long as Cao Xiu's main force cannot cross south in a large scale, this death squad will only become a meal in his mouth.
Having said that... Sun Quan, who was defeated first, still felt that he was disgraced. If he could not launch a beautiful counterattack, it would definitely damage the morale of the army.
"You should work harder! Where was your son's energy when he beat me in Jingzhou?! Take it out!" Sun Quan couldn't help but roar in his heart.
Since Red Cliff, there has never been a moment where he hopes Liu Bei will fight a good fight like he does now...
…
He Qi's troops set out late and had been stationed in Xinshi before. After receiving the battle report, they immediately led their troops to intercept.
Ruxuwu's defense system was complete, and Cao Zhen had no good solution for a while, so Xu Sheng followed the order and led his troops to the east for support.
Lu Fan and others felt deeply guilty for their strategic misjudgment, and tried their best to hold Cao Xiu back so that he could not reinforce Zang Ba.
Cao Xiu was already prepared for Soochow's counterattack and responded calmly without appearing impatient.
As for Zang Ba, who went deep alone... he had already arranged for supporting troops.
But whether they can come back alive depends on God's will. He, Cao Xiuren, has done his best. Even if the whole army is wiped out... he cannot be blamed.
Jiangdong has rich water systems, and it is much faster to mobilize troops for support than to travel by land.
Zang Ba and others attacked and looted all the way. Although their momentum was amazing, the size of the army was too small and they did not dare to chew any hard bones. In fact, they did not cause any damage to the muscles and bones.
Just before the Taihu navy was ready to move north to support, He Qi finally led his army to stand in front of Zang Ba.
In the past, there was the Jinfan thief Gan Ning, Pan Zhang who loved wine and beauties the most, and Lu Fan who had a luxurious style, and now He Qi was no less generous.
Not only are the warships carved with colorful decorations, but the cyan canopy, crimson curtains, masts, oars and weapons are all decorated with patterns of flowers and fruits, even the armor and equipment of him and his soldiers are very gorgeous and exquisite.
In the land of Jiangdong, there seems to be no shortage of such "local tyrants", and their extravagant style can be seen.
Zang Ba didn't want to kill Jiangdong in a serious battle. Seeing that he had successfully mobilized reinforcements from the Wu army and achieved his goal, he immediately turned around and ran away without hesitation.
The momentum of the previous fierce and deadly battle was completely gone.
The decisiveness of the fleeing figure made He Qi jump to his feet and curse, leading his troops in hot pursuit...
Seeing that Zang Ba was about to escape back to Jiangbei with an almost perfect record, he was still a step too late, and was finally blocked by Xu Sheng who was crossing east.
"Alas... I will die on this day!"
Zang Ba looked at the intercepting boat master in front of him, sighed secretly, and had no choice but to lead his army to fight to the death.
Under the pincer attack, not only did Qingxu's soldiers suffer more than half of their deaths or injuries, but Yin Lu, who had been following them all the way, also finally suffered from hatred.
"Hmph! Anyone who infringes upon our territory as a great Wu will be struck down..."
"Report——! General, another boat division is coming from the north of the Yangtze River. It seems to be reinforcements from Cao's army!"
"Sheng must attack and break...what?" Before Xu Sheng could finish his words of relief, he was interrupted by an unexpected situation.
Looking to the north of the river, a large flag with the word "Zhang" can be vaguely seen on the approaching warship...
(End of chapter)
