Four hours passed quickly, and Liu Pan's frown deepened. "Why is the army still crossing the river?!" Liu Pan was a little angry. His twenty thousand soldiers were still crossing the river. The navy was already prepared, but the army had yet to fully disembark.
"Men, drag out the trash in charge of the disembarkation and behead him!" Liu Pan was ready to kill. Four hours. That was the time Liu Pan had given him four hours ago. He had not only used four hours to deploy the troops, but more than half a day had passed. However, the twenty thousand troops were still dragging their feet as they disembarked. How could Liu Pan not be angry?
This was also because of the rebellion in Xinye. Otherwise, with Hao Shao's ability, how could he have given them so much time to disembark? They would have been killed long ago.
Half a day had passed, but a portion of Jing Province's soldiers were still on the south bank of the Yangtze River. How could Liu Pan not be angry?
"Yes!" “
Please spare our lives! Please spare our lives! " The two captains in charge of the disembarkation panicked. Liu Pan was already angry. If they didn't give him a good explanation, they might really be dragged out and beheaded.
"Sir, please calm down. This isn't their fault. It's really, really! These ships aren't military ships at all. "The deputy general pleaded with Liu Pan on behalf of his subordinates.
"Damn Cai Mao!" Liu Pan's impression of the Cai Clan dropped a notch. If the 30,000 elite troops in Fan City were in his hands, Liu Pan wouldn't have acted like this. He wouldn't have had to use fishing boats to disembark.
This was Jing Province's army, the former overlord of the Yangtze River. If word got out, people would laugh to death.
"Sir, most of these soldiers are new recruits. Please bear with them!" These fifty thousand soldiers were hastily formed in the last few months. Apart from fifteen thousand soldiers who were veterans and elites, the rest were newly recruited. Before they became soldiers, they were farmers.
"I can bear with them, but can I bear with them?!" Liu Pan said angrily. He wanted to end the battle quickly. Liu Pan wanted to control the elite troops, which would allow him to achieve great things. However, reality was always the opposite of ideal. The recruits didn't even have a warship.
"General, we've already crossed the river with fifteen thousand soldiers. The thirty thousand soldiers here are also ready. How can forty-five thousand soldiers not be able to take down a mere five thousand enemy soldiers? What's more, it's not good to change generals at the last minute! "The deputy general continued to persuade.
"Hmph! You can avoid the death penalty, but you can't escape punishment. Men, drag them out and flog them 20 times each! " Liu Pan waved his hand. There was nothing the Deputy General could do. It was already good enough that Liu Pan didn't kill anyone. The twenty beatings were very solid. Very quickly, the two were dragged in again. Their buttocks were stained with blood and they groaned in pain.
"All of you, listen to my orders. Attack the Yangtze River Stronghold immediately. Attack from both inside and outside. Tonight at sunset, I will hold a celebratory feast in the Yangtze River Stronghold. If we fail, you will meet me with your heads!" Liu Pan snorted coldly at the two captains who had just landed. After saying that, he left in a huff.
"Yes!" The two captains endured the pain in their buttocks and cupped their fists. "Farewell, Military Advisor!"
"Military Advisor really wanted to kill us just now!" One of the captains said with lingering fear.
"If it wasn't for Deputy General, our heads might have already been sent up. Who asked us to delay the military intelligence!"
"Second Young Master is really arrogant. It's not like we wanted to. How could these small fishing boats finish transporting the goods so quickly? Isn't he deliberately looking for trouble? If Military Advisor Cai was here … "One of them was not surprised. No matter who it was who was almost killed just now, they would definitely complain now that they were alive. They were the lowest level in the army and had served under Cai Mao before. When they compared Liu Pan to Cai Mao, they naturally felt that Cai Mao was better.
"Be careful with your words!" The other captain hurriedly stepped forward to stop him. Liu Pan hadn't gone far. If he heard them, the two captains would be finished. Now that Cai Mao had been stripped of his official position, as a superior, the most important thing was for his subordinates to remember the good deeds of the previous leader. If that happened, how could he, the new leader, put his face? Now that Liu Pan had become the military advisor, he was getting more and more dissatisfied with the things that Cai Mao had left behind. Originally, those who were related to the Cai Family, or those who were promoted by the Cai Family, were all replaced by Liu Pan's own people. Therefore, these old subordinates of Cai Mao naturally had their own opinions.
"At sunset?" One of the captains looked at the sky outside the ship. The sun was still setting in the west, and there were only two to four hours left before sunset. "Brother Zhang, can we really take down the Yangtze River Bandits before sunset?" One of the captains voiced his doubts.
"Of course!" Captain Zhang smiled bitterly and shook his head. "If we can't take it down, our heads will be removed! Therefore, we have to take it down even if we can't! "
"Although we didn't have all of our troops on land, we still have 15,000 troops. There are also thousands of Wuling elites among them. With a pincer attack on land and water, it should be enough to take down the Yangtze River Stronghold!" If 45,000 troops couldn't take down a stronghold defended by 5,000 people, they could really commit suicide. However, taking down the stronghold was one problem, and time was another.
"Don't waste time! Let's wait for the Military Advisor's orders! "
Soon, war drums sounded on the Yangtze River. The people on land could also hear the drums.
"Prepare for battle!" This was the sound of war.
"Has the request for reinforcements been sent out?" Only Hao Shao's deputy general and 5,000 troops were left in the Yangtze River Stronghold. Hao Shao had brought 5,000 men to rescue Xinye. Now, the Yangtze River Stronghold was in trouble.
"Reporting to Deputy General, Shouchun, Lujiang, Yiyang, and Zaoyang have already been sent out!" The request for reinforcements was not sent to just one place. Shouchun was the base of the Yangzhou Army. Lujiang was where the Yangzhou Army was stationed. Zaoyang and Yiyang were where Wei Yan's Yiyang Soldiers were. As long as one place sent reinforcements, they would be able to defend.
"Deputy General, why didn't you send a request for reinforcements to the General?" The lieutenant general had sent out a request for reinforcements to everyone, but he had forgotten to send it to Hao Shao, who had already gone to Xinye.
"The General is there! Let's not disturb him! " The Deputy General shook his head. It seemed like Hao Shao was the fastest to come back. However, when he thought about the rebels in Xinye, the Deputy General did not want to distract Hao Shao. Otherwise, if Hao Shao rushed back, not only would they lose Xinye, but the Yangtze River Stronghold would also be lost. On the other side, the war drums had already been beaten.
"Pass down my orders, all troops are ready to fight!" The Yangzhou Army was not to be outdone. All the bows and arrows were already in place.
Attack! The Jingzhou Navy started attacking the Yangtze River Stronghold from the waterways. The quality of the Yangtze River Stronghold was not bad. They used cement and Hao Shao was an expert in defense. Thus, the Yangtze River Stronghold could be considered impregnable.
Even the Jing Province Navy's attack was repelled. The ballistae on the Yangtze River never stopped firing. Soon, countless corpses floated on the surface of the Yangtze River. Some belonged to the Jing Province Navy, while some belonged to the Yangzhou Navy.
"Turtle shell is really hard!" Liu Pan stood on the flagship and looked at the Yangtze River Stronghold. He realized that he had underestimated the Yangtze River Stronghold. It could actually withstand the full force of 30,000 soldiers.
"You are strong on the front, but what about the back?" 20,000 Jingzhou Navy had already stepped onto Yangzhou soil. Under the command of their officers, they suddenly appeared behind the Yangtze River Stronghold.
"Kill, kill, kill!" Twenty thousand men and horses attacked the back of the Yangtze River Bandits. Although these twenty thousand men and horses were mainly recruits, they also had fighting power. Moreover, there were thousands of Wuling's veterans among them. Under the leadership of the veterans, these recruits were full of morale. It was no wonder. Their generals had told them that there were less than five thousand people in the Yangtze River Bandits, while they had fifty thousand people altogether.
It would be a joke if they could not take down the Yangtze River Stronghold with 10 times the number of soldiers.
As long as they took down the Yangtze River Stronghold, they would naturally be rewarded. Thus, all the soldiers were full of fighting spirit.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The battle cries soared into the sky. Like ants, people started attacking the Yangtze River Stronghold from the back.
"Lord Deputy General, Lord Deputy General, bad news, bad news, bad news, behind us, behind us, there are enemy troops!" A messenger reported while panting.
"Behind us?" The deputy general's eyes widened. "But those are the rebels from Xinye!" The back of the Yangtze River Stronghold was Xinye City.
"No, no, it's the Jingzhou Army, the Jingzhou Army!"
"The Jingzhou Army!" The Deputy General smiled bitterly when he saw the Jingzhou Navy attacking in an orderly manner. He should have thought of this earlier. The front of the Yangtze River Stronghold was made of cement and could be said to be impregnable. However, the back wasn't as sturdy as it was mostly made of wood. Originally, the back of the stronghold was near Xinye City and there were 10,000 soldiers in the Yangtze River Stronghold that were enough for daily use. They could monitor the entire Yangtze River. If the enemy tried to cross the river, they would definitely attack them halfway. However, after Hao Shao took away 5,000 soldiers, the Deputy General didn't dare to send any soldiers out to monitor the Yangtze River. He didn't even have time to guard against the Jingzhou Navy.
He did not have the time to guard the stronghold. Therefore, it was impossible for Jingzhou not to take advantage of such a big loophole. In the past, the deputy general had a wishful thinking. He thought that the enemy did not know the situation and did not dare to cross the river. However, it seemed that the enemy had infiltrated Yangzhou quite well.
"Lieutenant Hu, take 2,000 soldiers to the north gate of the stronghold. We must stop the enemy!" The deputy general said to the 1,000 soldiers beside him.
"Deputy General, I took 2,000 soldiers with me. What about here?" The entire Yangtze River Bandits only had five thousand soldiers and horses. The North Gate only had five hundred soldiers. The remaining four thousand and five hundred soldiers and horses were all at the South Gate. If two thousand soldiers and horses were transferred away, the South Gate, which was already short of breath, would be even more difficult to breathe.
"Go quickly! I have a plan here! "The deputy general said to Lieutenant Hu.
"Yes!" Lieutenant Hu looked at the deputy general's calm expression and thought that he had a plan. He quickly took 2,000 soldiers to reinforce the south gate.
"A plan?" The Deputy General smiled bitterly. He didn't have any solution. His solution was to fight to the death. If the city was broken, then the people wouldn't be able to live alone. "Pass down my order, kill the enemy!" The Deputy General pulled out his saber and rushed towards the top of the city wall.
"It would be great if these elites were given to me!" Liu Pan stood on the flagship and looked at the Yangzhou soldiers in the Yangtze River Stronghold. The news that the Yangzhou soldiers were all elites had spread all over the world. Originally, it was because of the Lvbu's Army's Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry and the Formation Breaker. The Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was the best cavalry in the world. The Formation Breaker was also one of the few heavy armored infantry. Later, the Urban Management Bureau, Black Chess and White Horse slowly appeared in Yangzhou. The only one in the world who could stand shoulder to shoulder with the elites of Yangzhou was Cao Cao who occupied the north.
Liu Pan looked greedily at these elites. He asked his subordinates to persuade them to surrender. He wanted to see if he could recruit these Yangzhou elites. However, he soon knew that it was useless. These soldiers did not rebel when Zhang Xiu, Liu Bei, and Sun Ce besieged Yangzhou, let alone now.
"Since I can't get it, I'll destroy it!" Liu Pan's face turned ferocious. If he could not get it, he would not leave it for Yangzhou. On the surface, the Yangzhou soldiers were evenly matched with his Jingzhou soldiers. However, Liu Pan could see that the Yangzhou navy was an arrow at the end of its flight. They only had 5,000 soldiers. If one of them died, they would be one less soldier. Liu Pan had 50,000 soldiers. It could be said that even if one of them died, he would still benefit.
"Brothers, take down the Yangtze River Stronghold. Xinye is still far away! Military Advisor said that we can do whatever we want with Xinye! " Whether it was the soldiers on the water or on land, they were all conveying the same message.
"Military Advisor, Xinye used to be Jingzhou's territory! Those people are innocent! We can just take Xinye. Why do we have to do this? This is going against the natural order! " In other words, they could burn, kill, and loot without any restrictions. It could be said that in terms of civilization and humanity, the people of Jingzhou were the most cultured. They were also the most benevolent. Because of the Lumen Academy, even if many people couldn't enter, they were still influenced by what they saw and heard. The people of other provinces and prefectures naturally didn't care about etiquette when it came to eating in the capital.
As the saying goes, one should know etiquette when one has enough. Jingzhou was an affluent place, and the commoners had enough to eat and wear. Xinye used to be Jingzhou's territory, so these captains couldn't bear to see it.
"Are you the military advisor or am I the military advisor?" Liu Pan turned around and asked the lieutenant. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Do you want to teach me how to fight?"
"I don't dare."
"If you don't dare, then do it. This is the first and last time. If you disobey again, you will be beheaded!" The lieutenant still wanted to persuade Liu Pan, but he was stopped by his fellow officers. Liu Pan's words were the law in the Jingzhou army. Whoever dared to go against Liu Pan's orders would die. If they dared to go against Liu Pan now, they would be throwing away their lives.
Going against the natural order? Did Liu Pan have a choice? Half of Jingzhou's elite soldiers were lost on the Yangtze River, and the other half were in the hands of the Huang and Cai families. Although Liu Pan was given the right to recruit soldiers by Liu Biao, these soldiers could not be trained in a day or two. If there was enough time, Liu Pan was confident that he could train an army that was not inferior to Wuling soldiers. However, time did not favor Liu Pan. The war between Jingzhou and Yangzhou could not be delayed. Yangzhou had already occupied Jiangxia. Even the capital of Jingzhou's South County, Jiangling, had fallen into Yangzhou's hands.
If it wasn't for the fact that Jing Province had sunk their ships in the main river channel and blocked it, they might have already launched an all-out attack on Jing Province.
However, this blockage could only stop them for a while. Once Yangzhou was united, what could Jingzhou use to stop the Yangzhou Army?
Therefore, Liu Pan had to quickly train an elite army. There was a quick way to train an elite army, and that was to burn, kill, and plunder.
Relying on burning, killing, and plundering to stimulate the evil spirit of these soldiers and their greedy thoughts, and relying on the flesh and blood of the common people to dispel their fear of killing corpses on the battlefield, to let them see blood. Xinye was Liu Pan's training ground.
"Take down the Yangtze River Bandits and advance to the five counties of Xinye." There were more than a hundred thousand people in Xinye, and Liu Pan wanted to use these lives to train his troops.
With the stimulation of benefits, the Jingzhou Army's attack became stronger.
"Deputy Lord, we can't hold back anymore!" On the north gate of the Yangtze River Bandits, this was already the seventh time the enemy had attacked. There were corpses on the city wall, some of them were the enemy's, and some of them were their own. Although there were more enemy corpses, there were fewer Yangzhou Army soldiers in the Yangtze River Bandits.
"Gather the troops!" The deputy general panted heavily.
"One, two …" The numbers in front of the deputy general made him feel bitter. Of the two thousand five hundred soldiers at the north gate, less than a thousand were left in less than two hours. If this continued, the Yangtze River Bandits would be breached before sunset.
"Deputy Lord, let's go!"
"Go? Go where? " The deputy general shook his head. The Yangtze River Bandits was different from a city. They only had two gates. Now that there were enemies at the north and south gates, where could they go?
"Deputy Lord, let's break out from the north gate. Let the brothers cover your escape!"
"If I leave, what will happen to the bandits?" The deputy general said to his subordinates.
"Deputy Lord, where there is life, there is hope. We will leave the bandits to them. It won't be too late to take it back when we return to Yangzhou and get reinforcements from the lord!" “
You can go! " The deputy general stood up. "I promised the general that the Yangtze River Bandits will live. If the bandits are breached, we will not live alone."
"Sir!"
"No need to say more. Go! I will cover you! Let's leave as many as we can! " The Yangtze River Bandits could not be held back. Without reinforcements, it would take a day for the nearest reinforcements to arrive from Yiyang.
"Sir, we won't go!"
"Sir, we won't go either!" Some wanted to stay, and some wanted to leave.
"Er Gouzi, didn't your wife just give birth to a baby for you? You should leave. You can't let the baby be born without a father!"
"Xiao Li, your eldest brother has already entered the Hero Palace. Your Li Family hasn't blossomed yet. Leave your roots for the Li Family!"
In the end, they decided to leave four hundred men as the main force. Three hundred men who were injured and could not leave would cover the other three hundred to leave through the north gate.
"It's going to be sunset soon!" The two Jingzhou captains outside the north gate started to get anxious. Although the advantage was in the hands of the Jingzhou soldiers, the two of them couldn't be happy because they had received Liu Pan's order to take down the north gate before sunset. If they couldn't get through the north gate, they would be in trouble.
"I will lead the next wave of attack!" One of the Lieutenants gritted his teeth. He was ready to lead the charge himself.
"You are crazy!" Attacking a city was the most dangerous thing. Anything could fall from the top of the city wall. If they were not careful, they would be killed by the enemy. Moreover, both of them were injured.
"What else can we do? If we take the north gate, neither of us will survive! "
"That's the only way!" Since they were going to die anyway, they might as well take the risk. The two of them decided to lead the charge.
"Look over there!" The north gate of the Yangtze River Bandits suddenly opened.
"Are they surrendering?"
"How is that possible?" Previously, Liu Pan had asked the people in the city to surrender. As long as they surrendered, they would be treated the same. They could even be promoted and become rich. Liu Pan had wanted elite troops for a long time. If he brought these elite troops to Jingzhou, he would definitely be rich. However, he was rejected. That was why Liu Pan gave the order to attack the city with all their might.
"Kill!" After the Yangzhou Army came out of the city gate, they did not even organize themselves and directly charged towards the Jingzhou Army.
"They are crazy!" If they had the city wall, they could still resist the Jingzhou Army. However, if they went out of the city to fight, then the Yangtze River Bandits would definitely fall.
"Who cares if they are crazy or not. As long as we take down the Yangtze River Bandits, we will be saved!" The other Lieutenants obviously did not think so. As long as they took down the Yangtze River Bandits, then they would not be punished by military law. They would not have to die. Why not?
"That's right! Pass down our orders! Charge! Break through the Yangtze River Bandits! " Without needing the two Lieutenants to say anything, the Jingzhou Army began to charge. Soon, the Yangzhou Army and Jingzhou Army began to encounter each other in the wild.
The Jingzhou Army originally had 20,000 people. Even if they lost a lot of people in the siege, they still had 15,000 to 6,000 people. However, there were less than 1,000 people who came out of the city. They were quickly submerged in the enemy's army. The two forces clashed together.
Since they did not have the advantage in numbers, the Yangzhou Army could only rely on their own elites to kill. For a moment, they were evenly matched with the Jingzhou Army.
However, how could one person fight against an enemy that was several times more than him? They were not generals. It was only a matter of time before they were swallowed up by the enemy.
"Turn around and charge out!" The Yangzhou Army was like an awl in the sea of Jingzhou Army. A Lieutenants raised the Yangzhou Army's flag and followed the war flag. They changed direction and charged towards the other side.
"Eh? They want to break through the siege? " The two Lieutenants naturally knew what the Yangzhou Army wanted to do. They wanted to break through the siege because they were charging towards the weakest part of the Jingzhou Army.
"You want to run? Impossible!" One of the Lieutenants wanted to bring his subordinates to block the entrance and prepare to kill the Yangzhou Army that was trying to break through the siege.
"Hey! Don't go! "He wanted to move, but he was stopped by his comrade.
"What are you doing? They are running away! "The Lieutenants who were stopped by his comrade were anxious.
"If they run away, then let them run away!"
"Eh?"
"Our target wasn't them in the first place! There's no need to waste your troops! " He pointed at the Changjiang Water Stronghold. The gate of the Changjiang Water Stronghold was closed again. However, the Changjiang Water Stronghold was now an arrow at the end of its flight. The only living force had already broken through the siege.
The more people that broke through the siege, the weaker the Changjiang Water Stronghold's defense was.
"Yes!" The two Lieutenants' eyes lit up. Seeing that there were thousands of soldiers breaking through the siege, the Changjiang Water Stronghold's strength must be weak. They would be able to take down the Changjiang Water Stronghold before sunset. Perhaps, the merit of breaking through the city would fall on them.
"Pass down the order to stop chasing. Attack the Changjiang Water Stronghold with all our strength!" The Jing Province Army immediately changed their direction. They did not care about the Yangzhou Army that was breaking through the siege. Instead, they went towards the Changjiang Water Stronghold.
"Huff, Kill, Huff, Kill!" Dai Yun gasped for breath. His body was soaked in sweat and blood. He was a thousand-man general that was stationed in the Changjiang Water Stronghold. When they stopped Liu Bei's Army in Yangzhou, he was one of the hundreds of soldiers under Hao Shao's command. He slowly rose from a Sergeant to a Marquis. Now, he was a thousand-man general. He could be considered an intermediate general. Originally, Dai Yun's aptitude had been recognized by many people. Hao Shao was even prepared to recommend Dai Yun to Lord Liu Mang and let him be a thousand-man general under General Huang Zhong. However, he did not expect this to happen.
Hao Shao's Changjiang Water Stronghold was about to be broken through.
"Sir Huang!" Dai Yun looked at the fire above the Changjiang Water Stronghold. The Changjiang Water Stronghold was already on the verge of collapse. After they escaped, they were even weaker. It was only a matter of time before they were broken through. Dai Yun looked at the ruined Changjiang Water Stronghold with tears in his eyes. Hao Shao's deputy was called Huang Xin. It was Huang Xin who sacrificed himself to let them break through.
The Changjiang Water Stronghold was finished. According to Huang Xin's nature, if the Changjiang Water Stronghold was broken, Huang Xin would die. Dai Yun knelt down and kowtowed towards the direction of the Changjiang Water Stronghold. "Sir Huang, take care! “
"Sir Huang, take care!" The soldiers that rushed out with Dai Yun also kowtowed towards the Changjiang Water Stronghold.
Dai Yun wiped his tears. "Find the general! Let's go find the general. We must take revenge! "Dai Yun wiped away his tears and said firmly.
"Yes, let's go find the general. We must take revenge! Those who are lightly injured, walk on your own. Those who are not injured, take the heavily injured in groups of two. We will go to Xinye! " Dai Yun counted. Out of the one thousand people that broke through, there were only three hundred left. The other seven hundred people were not in the army formation. They went towards the direction of Xinye in the north.
"Boom, boom, boom!" Just as everyone was supporting each other and leaving for a long time, a rumbling sound came from the horizon behind them.
Dai Yun's eyes widened. Could it be that the Jing Province soldiers wanted to kill them all?! A heavy cavalry appeared on the horizon. They came with the setting sun, looking like the army of the Grim Reaper.
"Enemy attack!" Dai Yun roared loudly. The three hundred people were either injured or crippled. Even so, these three hundred people still gathered together and waited for the enemy to arrive!
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