My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 353 Annihilation in One Battle

Sun Ce lost.

They lost completely.

Looking at the soldiers of Sun Ce's army around him who had completely collapsed, some fleeing in panic, others kneeling and begging for surrender, Sun Ce felt little anger.

Because they did right by themselves.

Under Sun Ce's leadership, these staunch supporters of the Sun family launched two full offensives.

Sun Ce originally thought he only had one chance, but his retainers gave him far more than he expected.

But in the end, it was still a crushing defeat.

Sun Ce personally led three hundred elite cavalry to break through the enemy lines, but Gan Ning successfully thwarted their attack. Dong Xi's troops also held off Han Dang's cavalry on the flanks.

When the second wave of attacks reached its climax, Xu Huang led a thousand cavalrymen from the Southern Expeditionary Army to circle around to the rear of Sun Ce's army and directly crushed Sun Ce's right flank.

At that moment, Zhao Yun unleashed his 500 armored soldiers, delivering the decisive blow. Sun Ce's army was powerless to resist the armored soldiers' fierce attack and could no longer hold on, beginning a rout that quickly spiraled out of control and resulted in the complete collapse of the army.

At this point, the annihilation of Sun Ce's army was a foregone conclusion; it was only a matter of time.

Reports of defeats kept coming in from all directions.

Sun Jing's eldest son, Sun Gao, was killed in battle by Gan Ning, and his second son, Sun Jiao, was captured by He Qi. Han Dang fought desperately, but was eventually captured alive by Xu Huang and Dong Xi.

Covered in blood, Chen Wu led his personal guards to cover Sun Ce's retreat.

"General, I swear to protect you and help you break through the encirclement!"

Although Sun Ce's army was surrounded and had suffered a major defeat, the Southern Expeditionary Army numbered only 10,000, of which no more than 1,000 were cavalry.

It would be very easy for Sun Ce and his few hundred men to escape.

Looking at the collapsing battlefield, Sun Ce felt despair and wanted to die there.

Just then, Zhu Zhi sent another messenger.

Upon seeing Sun Ce, the messenger immediately dismounted and reported to him: "General, Liu Zheng's banner has crossed Qiantang! Colonel Huang, Colonel Rui, Colonel Song, and others are fighting desperately but are unable to hold out and their formation is in chaos. If no reinforcements arrive, they may only be able to hold out for another quarter of an hour before their army is defeated and routed."

Sun Ce's face was completely bloodless, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. His inexhaustible strength seemed to have been drained away.

If Chen Wu hadn't been quick-witted and agile, Sun Ce would probably have collapsed on the spot.

Chen Wu was extremely loyal to Sun Ce. Sun Ce was not only his mentor but also his benefactor.

Despite being in dire straits, Chen Wu remained steadfast, his only thought being to help Sun Ce break through the encirclement.

"General! General!"

Chen Wu helped Sun Ce up and called out to him repeatedly.

Sun Ce felt as if his head was exploding, the pain unbearable. Forcing himself to stay upright, he said to the messenger, "Let Uncle Zhu and the others decide for themselves. In any case, it is my incompetence that has wronged my uncles..."

At this point, Sun Ce suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, then his head drooped and he fainted.

Chen Wu and those around him were all shocked. Although Sun Ce's foundation in Jiangdong was not stable, his personal charm was quite high. His style of doing things was generous and passionate, and he was quick to avenge wrongs, which was very much in line with the aesthetics of the Han Dynasty. His confidants were also very loyal.

"Our lord is alright; he is merely experiencing a temporary surge of blood and qi. Our immediate priority is to protect him and help him break through the encirclement before considering any further matters."

After touching Sun Ce's neck and finding his pulse and heartbeat to be normal, Chen Wu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then he said to Zhu Zhi's messenger, "You know the lord's intentions. You can report back to General Zhu and ask him to make his own decision. No matter what decision he makes, the lord will not blame him in the slightest."

That legendary figure was also one of Zhu Zhi's trusted personal guards. Upon hearing this, he nodded emphatically: "In that case, I will certainly relay General Sun's order to the general. I entrust General Sun's safety to you all."

Chen Wu nodded, and the messenger took his leave.

Subsequently, Chen Wu gathered his reliable personal guards, numbering over thirty. Sun Ce's main force still had nearly two hundred cavalry, but only about a hundred of them still had warhorses.

Chen Wu first surveyed the battlefield and discovered that the only way to survive was to risk escaping from the banks of the Qiantang River.

This passage is very narrow, and even a few remaining soldiers would face great risks in trying to break through from here. After all, the Qiantang River is full of the Southern Expeditionary Army's navy, and there are also Southern Expeditionary Army forces blocking the land.

As for a large force, that's just wishful thinking.

Chen Wu chose this path without hesitation, because no matter how dangerous it was, it was a path to survival, while other places were all dead ends.

Chen Wu had his personal guards help Sun Ce onto his horse, and then personally led the team, secretly heading towards the banks of the Qiantang River.

********
When the fourth batch of the Southern Expeditionary Army crossed the river, Liu Feng also personally crossed the river.

After crossing the river, the banner of the Southern Expeditionary Army was raised in Jiangnan, which immediately boosted the morale of the Southern Expeditionary Army on the battlefield to its peak.

Originally, Huang Gai and his men could have held out for another quarter of an hour, but the soldiers of Gao Shun and Jia Kui were all incredibly brave and fearless, and with just one wave of attack, they tore apart the enemy's formation.

Already on the verge of collapse, they could not withstand such a heavy blow, and the three groups immediately collapsed.

Huang Gai and Song Qian were able to gather some troops and defend themselves after their crushing defeat, but the brothers Rui Liang and Rui Xuan lost all their personal guards, leaving only a handful of men.

Not all of these personal guards fled; some were swept away by the fleeing soldiers.

But the Southern Expeditionary Army didn't know this.

Rui Liang and Rui Xuan were not stubborn at all and immediately tried to escape.

However, Gao Shun's troops had been besieged for almost two and a half hours, and now their eyes were bloodshot. They were not about to let the enemy escape.

Gao Shun personally led the armored soldiers, who had just rested for a moment, in a decapitation strike.

Rui Liang and Rui Xuan were both captured by Gao Shun.

Ironically, Rui Liang and Rui Xuan were mediocre, so they had no will to resist and were able to survive, becoming Gao Shun's prisoners.

On the contrary, Song Qian was quite capable. After the great defeat, he still wanted to gather his defeated troops, but Jia Kui launched a fierce attack and killed him in one battle.

Huang Gai wanted to rescue Song Qian, but it was too late. He and Yuan Xiong could only cover each other and move towards Zhu Zhi.

Zhu Zhi was facing Taishi Ci, but the two armies were evenly matched. Although Zhu Zhi had more troops, he could not defeat Taishi Ci.

When Zhao Yun appeared behind Sun Ce's army, the morale of the entire Sun Ce army plummeted. Although Zhu Zhi tried his best to deal with it, he still couldn't help but give Taishi Ci the upper hand.

Now Huang Gai's side has completely collapsed. The Rui brothers have been captured, Song Qian has died in battle, and Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Yuan Xiong have barely managed to gather their defeated troops and turn to their side.

Zhu Zhi's face was quite grim. Although he was still managing to hold on, his situation was much better than that of Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and the others.

But he knew perfectly well that this was just a case of the pot calling the kettle black. He didn't even need Gao Shun and Jia Kui to spare a hand; he could defeat them together with Taishi Ci simply by joining the battle with Liu Feng's reinforcements who had landed.

Zhu Zhi could only first receive the remnants of Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Yuan Xiong's troops and lure them into the enemy formation.

At this time, the combined number of defeated soldiers that Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Yuan Xiong had managed to gather was only about 1,300 to 1,400. Originally, this was an army of 15,000, meaning that less than one-tenth of them remained.

Subsequently, under Zhu Zhi's command, they gradually broke away from Taishi Ci's forces and formed ranks with their backs to the mudflats.

Zhu Zhi was able to leave the front lines not because he was particularly capable, but because Liu Feng didn't want to waste any more troops.

Perhaps because he was a time traveler, Liu Feng always valued human life above all else when waging war, and he would never risk the lives of his subordinates unless absolutely necessary.

This time, Liu Feng's decision to have Gao Shun and his troops land one by one seemed extremely foolish. He abandoned his numerical advantage, resorted to piecemeal tactics, and even directly crippled Gao Shun's forces.

But all these sacrifices were worthwhile.

When Zhao Yun's army appeared behind Sun Ce's army, countless fierce battles were saved for the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Even in a conventional battle, with the current navy of the Southern Expeditionary Army plus the ships plundered from Wu, they could only transport at most tens of thousands of men across the river at once, and would need to send them in at least three waves to overtake the enemy in terms of troop strength.

Prior to this, Sun Ce's forces still held a significant numerical advantage.

Even setting aside all that, in terms of battle formations alone, the Southern Expeditionary Army's winning rate was extremely high, almost 100% barring any unforeseen circumstances.

After all, in terms of soldiers' combat strength, weaponry, morale, training, and the ability of generals in battle, the Southern Expeditionary Army was undoubtedly superior to Sun Ce's army in every aspect.

But this lead cannot replace sacrifice.

Even if the Southern Expeditionary Army wins the battle, it will suffer at least tens of thousands of casualties, with the number of dead likely exceeding four thousand.

Most importantly, such a victory is at most a rout. Given the capabilities of Sun Ce and his military officers, they are likely to be able to regroup the defeated troops and successfully retreat, especially since he still has Yuji County as a strong support point in his rear.

Even if the Southern Expeditionary Army pursued and killed them, it wouldn't necessarily have much effect.

But now?

Liu Feng achieved victory in one battle with only a few thousand casualties!
Although Zhu Zhi's force of over ten thousand men still maintained its organizational structure and combat effectiveness, it was clear to anyone with eyes to see that they were nothing more than turtles in a jar.

Liu Feng did not want Zhu Zhi to be a cornered rat attacking a cat, thus increasing the casualties of the Southern Expeditionary Army. Therefore, he ordered Taishi Ci to allow the enemy to leave the battle line, but absolutely not to allow the enemy to show any signs of breaking out.

After the two sides spread out, Zhu Zhi had no intention of breaking through.

With his abilities, he could see very clearly that the other party was not forced to retreat by him at all; they were clearly giving him a dignified surrender.

Given the current situation, the Southern Expeditionary Army doesn't even need to fight. After besieging the army for a day or two, Zhu Zhijun's troops will collapse from thirst. Perhaps it won't even take that long before people surrender in droves.

Therefore, Zhu Zhi summoned all the senior officers, completely disregarding the threat that the Southern Expeditionary Army might take the opportunity to launch an attack.

"Gentlemen, we are now in a desperate situation. What are your thoughts? Please feel free to express them."

There were more than ten people standing in front of Zhu Zhi, including five captains: Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Yuan Xiong, Han Yan, and Sun Xiu.

At this moment, everyone was dejected and their eyes were lifeless, but Sun Xiu was still somewhat energetic, after all, he had now learned that his father had surrendered to Liu Bei!
Sun Xiu was somewhat annoyed. He should have surrendered the city back in Fuchun; otherwise, he wouldn't be in this awkward situation now.

Despite his spirited demeanor, he kept his head down and dared not utter a sound.

Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were both veterans of Sun Jian's generation, while Yuan Xiong and Han Yan were trusted generals promoted by Sun Ce.

Even Zhu Zhi was a veteran official of two dynasties and a meritorious official who raised an uprising in Qiantang in response to Sun Ce.

Sun Xiu, being from a distant branch of the family, truly dared not provoke him.

What if I say something wrong and get killed by these people? Would that be a case of injustice?
The officers present were undeniably loyal to Sun Ce.

Every single one of them is a die-hard loyalist of the Sun family.

But as Zhu Zhi said, we are now in a desperate situation.

Not surrendering means death.

It doesn't matter if I die, but what about my men?
Especially Zhu Zhi, whose 4,000 soldiers were all his staunch supporters. Among them, more than 1,400 were clan soldiers from Guzhang, and the rest were powerful figures from Qiantang and Yuhang who strongly supported him.

********
"Wan Sheng!"

"May the Southern Expeditionary Army be victorious!"

"General Liu, may you be victorious!"

With his banner flying high, Liu Feng, dressed in a set of gleaming armor and riding a gleaming lion, arrived at the front of the battle under the protection of Xu Chu, drawing wild cheers from the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Under Liu Feng's command, the Southern Expeditionary Army was virtually invincible, achieving victory in every battle.

Several key battles were launched, all at minimal cost.

Nowadays, even a field battle involving tens of thousands of people can be turned into a war of annihilation with such low casualties.

Although detailed statistics are not yet available, a brief calculation suggests that the casualties are at most only a few thousand.

This series of victories, with minimal casualties but brilliant achievements, gradually led to the mythologizing of Liu Feng's army in the southern campaign.

In a sense, Liu Feng had already enhanced the fighting strength of the Southern Expeditionary Army. As long as Liu Feng was in command, the morale, organization, and combat effectiveness of the Southern Expeditionary Army would be greatly improved.

This is the effect of having a famous general.

Regardless of Liu Feng's actual command ability, his ability to do this already makes him a qualified, or even outstanding, general.

It's no exaggeration to say that if the two sides were in different positions today, with Sun Ce's army surrounding the Southern Expeditionary Army, the Southern Expeditionary Army would definitely perform better than Sun Ce's army, and would certainly be more resilient and courageous in battle.

The Southern Expeditionary Army has already developed its own military spirit, although it is not yet strong enough, but the difference between having it and not having it is like heaven and earth.

Gao Shun and Jia Kui's troops also surrounded them.

Although they suffered heavy casualties and were extremely exhausted, they were now in a great victory and reinforcements had arrived. The soldiers did not need their commanders to urge them on; they spontaneously formed ranks and marched forward.

Soldiers are human beings too, especially soldiers of this era. Talking to them about ideals and responsibilities is not as effective as talking to them about rewards and merits.

Although Gao Shun's troops had suffered more than 50% casualties, the soldiers, boosted by their great victory, showed no signs of heavy losses or fatigue from prolonged fighting. Instead, they were all full of fighting spirit.

However, if you look closely, you can still see the physical exertion they've expended. Some people are trying to stand up straight, but their calves are trembling slightly, indicating that their strength has long been depleted.

Taishi Ci, Gao Shun, and Jia Kui had already arrived before Liu Feng.

Liu Feng personally dismounted and went forward to greet his teacher and beloved generals.

(End of this chapter)