Free Web NovelChapter 158: Sun Jian Defeats Huang Zu!
"Indeed, my chosen lord! If one wishes to achieve greatness, there’s no way without a bit of ruthlessness!"
Long Chen naturally understood this principle.
In times of chaos, to achieve greatness, ruthlessness is an essential quality of a hero.
Like that Liu Xuande, although he could gain a certain status in the chaos with his benevolence and righteousness.
But ultimately, the one who unifies the realm under heaven is not him.
And his benevolence and righteousness have also cost him many opportunities...
"Well, in that case, it’s easy!
My lord just needs to... just needs to... just needs to..."
Guo Jia leaned close to Long Chen’s ear and whispered softly.
The more Long Chen listened, the more shocked he became, and the more he listened, the more his eyes sparkled...
Sun Jian led his army towards Fancheng, intending to capture the various counties of Jingzhou.
Huang Zu had long received orders from Liu Bei to ambush crossbowmen on the riverbank.
Wearing a red suit of armor, Huang Zu, with his large build and round waist, was squatting in the lush grass by the riverbank.
Just then,
A scout hurried over and clasped his fists, saying:
"General, there are dozens of warships appearing on the river!"
Hearing this, Huang Zu’s eyes flashed with determination as he ordered:
"Spread the order! When the warships are within range of the crossbows, unleash a volley of arrows!"
"Yes, sir!"
They didn’t have to wait long.
Sun Jian’s army had already approached the shore in their warships.
As the ships approached the shore, a barrage of arrows was unleashed.
The sky, which had been clear, suddenly seemed to be swarmed with locusts, dark and dense!
Like the Milky Way cascading down.
Buzzing...
Boom...
Sun Jian’s dozens of warships were covered densely with a barrage of arrows!
Pfft...
Pfft...
Ah...
The soldiers of Changsha standing on the warships suffered countless casualties for a moment.
Sun Jian furrowed his brows, angrily cursing Liu Bei’s cunning!
He had set up an ambush in advance!
Immediately, he ordered the troops not to move rashly, pressing their bodies against the sides of the ships to avoid being hit by arrows.
They only pretended to come back and forth on the ship to lure the enemy.
Sun Jian knew very well that if he charged ashore while the enemy’s arrows were plentiful, most of his soldiers would probably be injured or killed!
Cheng Pu suggested, "My lord, we only need to send a few soldiers to stand on the ship.
They can come and go, consuming the enemy’s arrows. When the enemy’s arrows are exhausted, it will be our time to go ashore!"
Upon hearing this, Sun Jian immediately gave the order.
For three consecutive days, the ships approached the shore dozens of times.
Huang Zu’s army only focused on shooting arrows until they ran out.
But Sun Jian pulled out the arrows from the ships, totaling tens of thousands.
"General! We’ve been tricked!!!"
"Sun Jian actually tricked us into shooting arrows, causing us to lose over ten thousand arrows for nothing!!"
The deputy general came to report, his face full of sorrow.
Huang Zu, upon hearing this, was also flushed with anger!
"Damn it! Sun Jian, this guy, actually has such a cunning plan. It seems we underestimated him!"
"Send out the order for the soldiers along the river to be on high alert, and absolutely do not let Sun Jian’s men break through!"
...
One day,
With a favorable wind, Sun Jian made a decisive decision to quickly approach the shore with the warships, and as they approached, he ordered the soldiers to unleash a volley of arrows.
At the same time, Sun Jian raised his ancient halberd high!
And shouted:
"Where there’s war, there’s gold to be won!!!"
Boom!
It’s as if a huge hole was torn in the sky.
A fierce flame surged directly from the heavens, shooting down to the sharp tip of the ancient halberd.
A thick, golden-red aura suddenly billowed out, surging towards Huang Zu’s army on the shore.
Crash—
A gigantic tiger shadow, enveloped in flames, roared ferociously!!!
Confronted with such momentum, most of Huang Zu’s soldiers on the shore fell into a state of fear. fгeewebnovёl.com
Their eyes dimmed, revealing expressions of panic.
Their intended resistance froze for a moment!
By Sun Jian’s side, a sturdy young man of similar height looked at Sun Jian with admiration.
He wore a fiery red cloak identical to Sun Jian’s and donned sturdy red armor, his face resolute.
In his heart, he thought, "Father is truly a hero of his time! I must become like my father in the future!!!"
As if sensing something,
Sun Jian glanced back at the young man beside him and smiled kindly, speaking:
"Ce’er, observe carefully and learn well!"
"Father cannot protect you forever. You must become strong early to protect yourself, your mother, as well as Xiang’er and Quan’er..."
Sun Ce immediately clasped his fists solemnly: "Yes!"
Cheng Pu and the other three generals of Jiangdong also smiled at their lord and young master.
Meanwhile, on the shore,
Affected by Sun Jian’s skill,
Huang Zu’s army on the shore could no longer hold their ground and had no choice but to retreat.
Sun Jian’s army landed ashore, with Cheng Pu and Huang Gai splitting their forces to attack Huang Zu’s camp directly.
Han Dang and Zu Mao led the troops to advance rapidly from behind.
With attacks from three sides, Huang Zu suffered a major defeat and had to abandon Fancheng, fleeing to the adjacent Dengcheng.
Sun Jian ordered Huang Gai to guard the ships while he personally led the troops in pursuit.
Huang Zu led his army out of the city to confront Sun Jian, setting up his troops in the wilderness.
Sun Jian also arranged his formation and rode out under the banner.
Sun Ce was fully armed, holding a spear and standing beside his father.
Like two fierce tigers, their momentum was formidable and fierce!
However, one was a fully grown tiger, while the other was a young tiger showing its first fangs.
Huang Zu sent his two most formidable generals to battle.
One was Zhang Hu from Jiangxia, and the other was Chen Sheng from Xiangyang.
Both were third-rate warriors with extraordinary strength!
Huang Zu whipped his horse and cursed loudly:
"You Jiangdong rats, how dare you invade the territory of the imperial relatives of the Han dynasty!"
Sun Jian knew he was in the wrong and remained silent, only looking at Huang Zu coldly.
Huang Zu hastily ordered Zhang Hu to challenge Sun Jian.
Han Dang from Sun Jian’s side rode out to meet him.
The two clashed for more than twenty rounds. When Chen Sheng saw that Zhang Hu was faltering, he came to assist him.
Sun Ce saw this, held his spear, drew his bow, and wrapped the arrow feathers in fiery red molten flames.
Like a roaring fire dragon.
"Fire!!"
Sun Ce shouted.
The arrow feathers transformed into a fire dragon and shot out in an instant.
Directly hitting Chen Sheng in the face, "Roar!", after a dragon-like roar, Chen Sheng fell off his horse with a tragic scream.
The intensity contained in this arrow is truly terrifying.
Sun Jian saw it and applauded, saying, "Haha! Ce’er, well done! However, although the strength is there, the speed is still somewhat lacking."
Sun Ce scratched his head and nodded in agreement.
Zhang Hu, seeing Chen Sheng fall, was shocked. Han Dang seized the rare opportunity, and the power of the rushing river condensed in his blade, forming a surging wave.
Caught off guard, Zhang Hu was unable to react in time.
With a single strike, Han Dang cleaved off half of Zhang Hu’s head.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the veteran Cheng Pu rode forth to capture Huang Zu.
Sensing the danger, Huang Zu immediately discarded his helmet and warhorse, blending into the infantry and fleeing in panic.
"Soldiers!"
"Follow me in the charge!!!"
Sun Jian shouted loudly.
The momentum of the fierce tiger surged to its peak, with Sun Jian’s support.
The soldiers of Changsha, as if empowered by multiple layers of buffs!
Attack power increased!
Defense power increased!
Morale boosted!
For a moment, they were unstoppable.
Sun Jian pursued the defeated enemy until they reached the Han River.
Due to the obstruction of the Han River,
Sun Jian immediately ordered Huang Gai to sail the ships into the Han River for anchorage.
After Sun Jian’s battle with Liu Biao began, Long Chen was also not idle.
After receiving Guo Jia’s strategy,
Long Chen immediately began extensive preparations.
The current situation was clear.
The strongest leader in Yangzhou was Long Chen, who controlled three counties.
Originally, there might have been some concerns due to Yuan Shu and Liu Biao in the west, coupled with the unrest among the local mountain tribes, insufficient food and grass, and untrained new soldiers, which deterred them from attacking Lujiang County.
But now,
Everything seemed to fall into place.
The timing was ripe,
And Lujiang County could now be taken...
Inside the tent,
Long Chen wore a silver armor adorned with a unicorn pattern, the silver armor shining brightly. His right hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
With a solemn expression, he silently watched the generals in front of him.
At present,
Almost all of Long Chen’s forces had gathered in the tent, including Zhao Yun, Jiang Qin, Ling Cao, Zhou Tai, and Xu Chu.
However, they would not all be deployed for the battle in Lujiang County, as some had to remain behind to defend the home front.
Beside him, Guo Jia wore a plain blue robe, shaking his folding fan, and nodded slightly to Long Chen.
Long Chen gestured, then spoke seriously:
"Jiang Qin, Ling Cao, heed my command!"
"We obey!" The two generals knelt on one knee and responded in unison.
"I want you two to lead ten thousand naval troops, depart from Chengde County in Jiujiang, and advance south along the rivers. Then, launch a surprise attack on Liu’an County, Huoshan, and Longshu County in Lujiang County!"
Through the investigation of the Jinyiwei, it was discovered that the garrisons in each of these counties were less than five thousand, consisting mostly of elderly and infirm individuals.
The reason the Lujiang County Prefect dared to defend so boldly was because they occupied the natural defenses of the rivers and were not afraid of enemy attacks.
Moreover, these county towns were located deep within Lujiang County, making it very difficult to reach them.
Therefore, Long Chen believed that with Jiang Qin’s comprehensive strength, they could surely accomplish the task he assigned.
If their plan succeeded, then the Lujiang County Prefect would definitely divert troops to defend.
By then, Long Chen could take advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack!
"Understood, my lord!!!"
The two generals were excited, nodding vigorously in agreement.
Especially Ling Cao, who was most excited!
Since joining Long Chen’s side, he hadn’t fought in a large-scale battle yet.
But now he had the opportunity, and he was even leading his own troops!
This time, he planned to bring his son, Ling Tong, to let him gain some experience.
So that in the future, he could become a capable general under the lord’s command!!!
These navy troops had been trained for a long time. They began preparations when Long Chen first settled in Jiujiang County.
Therefore, most of the navy troops from Jiujiang were well-trained elites!
Not to mention the special skill of Jiang Qin, which could accelerate the training speed of the navy!
Jiang Qin was very confident about this battle.
Launching surprise attacks along the river from the river surface, this was his specialty!!!
Following that,
Long Chen once again gave orders: "Zhao Yun, heed my command!"
"At your command!"
Zhao Yun, dressed in white robes and armor, knelt on one knee. His sword-like eyebrows furrowed, and a righteous aura emanated from his whole being.
"You shall quickly select five thousand elite light cavalry from the military camp and accompany me to Lujiang County (central)."
"I obey!"
With that, Zhao Yun turned and left.
"Xu Chu, you shall accompany Zhao Yun to the barracks and mobilize five thousand Tiger Guard troops!"
"Zhou Tai, you shall go to the barracks and mobilize twenty thousand infantry, along with five thousand Yellow Turban warriors!"
