Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 66: All Stars Surround the Moon
Because the grain ships hit the reefs one after another, the noisy voices of the soldiers and laborers on the shore almost drowned out Linghu Yu's shouts for people to shoot arrows.

What's more, that place is still more than half a mile away from Linghu Yu and Jia's son.

By the time the nervous and panicked river-guarding officers and men reacted and began drawing their bows and arrows to stop the Han army from forcing a crossing, the first two boats were already sixty or seventy steps away from the north bank.

Before the Wei soldiers on the north bank could launch the first round of volleys, the crossbow arrows fired from the Yuanrong crossbows in the hands of the Han heavily armored warriors had already hit them first.

There was a moment of wailing.

Because the Han army had fewer soldiers and fewer crossbows, there were few casualties. However, in the dark of night, the Han army and the crossbow arrows came so suddenly that the Wei army's formation was thrown into chaos.

The troops led by the sons of Xue and Liu families in Hedong were the first to bear the brunt of the Han army. Fortunately, the family troops were commanded relatively calmly and the army formation was quickly maintained.

Under the command of Xue's son, who was good at archery, more than 200 hard bows nearby shot left and right, and began to fire arrows at the Han army's river boats.

At a distance of just a few dozen steps, the lethality of the infantry bow almost reached its limit. Even if the Han soldiers were wearing heavy armor, they could still effectively penetrate and kill.

This was the reason why Linghu Yu and the young men of the Hedong tribes were so fearless and relied on transporting food overnight.

However, just as Linghu Yu equipped the grain ships with wooden shields and wooden plaques to resist the arrows of the Han army from Zhongzhou, since the Han army decided to attack at night, how could they not prepare wooden plaques and wooden shields?
The heavily armored soldiers of the Han army who were responsible for holding the shields had already spread out their wooden shields and wooden plates, protecting the vital parts of the upper bodies of the more than ten people on the boat.

There was a knocking sound.

The impact of dozens of arrows hitting a wooden shield at the same time was quite strong. If the person holding the shield had not been supported by other soldiers behind him, he would have fallen backwards.

However, it was not known whether there were not enough archers on the shore or they had not received good formation training, but in any case, the round of shooting that the Han army expected did not come.

After shooting a round, the archers on the shore put their arrows on the spot, leaving the Han army with room to counterattack.

Then several ships shot dozens of crossbow arrows to the left and right.

The Hedong County soldiers, who were standing in formation with spears in front of the archers on the river bank but had no shields to protect them, wailed and nearly ten of them fell to the ground. Some of them began to retreat in fear.

When the second round of arrows on the shore were ready to be fired, the first boat of more than ten Han soldiers was less than forty steps away from the north bank.

More than a hundred arrows flew towards him.

They easily withstood the second round of hard bow fire, and no one on the more than ten troop transport ships was killed, with only a few injured.

At this time, more than ten ships and more than a hundred Yuanrong crossbows were all within the effective killing range.

When the Wei army drew their bows for the third time, the Yuanrong crossbows once again poured a wave of crossbow arrows onto the shore.

More than ten unprotected front-line soldiers of the Wei army fell, and some began to retreat and charge the formation. Xue's son and Hedong Sima tried to stop them but failed.

Central Continent.

In the light of the bonfire on the shore, Deng Zhi and Zong Yu could easily see that the Wei army formation facing the bow had been disrupted by their own people.

"This...the invaders who came to support Wei are so vulnerable?" Deng Zhi frowned, finding it hard to believe.

Zong Yu's solemn expression also eased slightly.

In recent preparations for war, the imaginary enemy has always been the elite troops led by Zhang He, which has caused Deng Zhi and Zong Yu to feel quite stressed.

Moreover, this grain team composed of nearly 10,000 Wei people had not made any mistakes in patrolling the terrain, lighting the way, and organizing the defense.

In addition, they did not stay overnight in Meiwu, but instead transported food westward overnight, which made Deng Zhi and Zong Yu feel that unless these Wei people were the elite among the elite, it would be impossible for them to act so risky.

However, the fact was that apart from arranging many wooden shields on the grain ship, the Wei soldiers on the shore did not even have a shield.

It seemed that they had completely unexpected that the Han army would cross the river to attack.

The soldiers downstream were urgently gathering shields from the grain ships and rushing upstream.

But by the time this group of shield-bearing soldiers finally arrived at the riverbank and lined up in front of the bow, the two ferry boats at the front of the Han Dynasty were only twenty steps away from the riverbank.

"Push the boat back into the river!" Linghu Yu, wearing helmet and armor, also rushed to the front of the battle with shield raised.

While ordering the military commander to gather up the army formation that seemed to be on the verge of collapse and move forward, he also ordered the armored soldiers to hold the long oars and get ready.

As soon as the Han army's ships approached the river bank, they pushed them back into the river to prevent the Han army from landing.

However, the idea is beautiful, but the reality is cruel.

The Han army had already surveyed the water conditions. When the Wei army's oars were just able to reach the water, more than 30 heavily armored soldiers on the first two boats jumped off the boats one after another.

More than ten people pressed forward with large shields in hand, and more than ten people thrust forward with spears through the gaps in the shields.

Several other people worked together to turn the boat sideways, then stood firmly and used the ropes to secure the boat to prevent it from drifting with the water.

Although the Wei army had several thousand soldiers lined up here, the line was too long. In addition, because the Han army was backed by the Wei River, there were only forty or fifty people who could engage in head-on combat with the more than thirty heavily armored soldiers who landed.

"Get into the water! Surround them!" Linghu Yu obviously also discovered that although there were many people, most of them were unable to join the battle and could not bring out their own military advantage.

Soon, under the urging of the supervisor, some Wei troops gave up their advantage of attacking from a high position on the shore and went into the water to prepare for an encirclement.

However, at this time, more than 30 Han soldiers on the two subsequent ships also arrived at the battlefield on wide wooden planks.

After jumping off the boat, they did not expand the width of the battle line to the left or right, but instead huddled together with the vanguard Han army, trying to maintain the battle line in a narrow range and waiting for subsequent reinforcements to arrive at the battlefield.

The battle lines of the two armies neither advanced nor retreated for a while.

It seems that no one can do anything to anyone.

But this stalemate was short-lived.

When two more ships of heavily armored warriors arrived at the battlefield, the quality and quantity of the Han army's warriors finally reached a critical point, and the situation on the battlefield changed.

The elite death warriors under the command of Zhao Yun began to form a dense formation and pressed forward towards the Wei River embankment under the cover of the front row of shield soldiers.

With abundant physical strength, indomitable morale, and the heavy armor seized from Cao Zhen, the line of one hundred heavily armored death-defying warriors was able to crush the Wei army with overwhelming force. In less than half a minute, they tore a big hole in the Wei army's line.

The Han army suffered no more than ten casualties, while the Wei army suffered nearly a hundred casualties. The invaders retreated one after another, and the front line was on the verge of collapse.

By this time, all 200 death-defying soldiers of the Han army had successfully disembarked, and the subsequent troops on Zhongzhou also crossed the river on a simple pontoon bridge.

Linghu Yu, who had been hiding in the back row and watching the command, was left dumbfounded by the beating.

How could he not see that the heavy armor on these 200 Shu army vanguards was mostly of the Wei style?!
The general's 30,000-strong army could probably only muster three or four hundred sets of these heavy armors, and only personal guards and middle and high-ranking officers could wear them. As a result, they were seized by the Shu invaders!
I don’t even know who has the ability to coordinate and gather such valuable spoils in one place and arm such a group of soldiers who can cross the river!

Zhao Yun?

Liu Chan?

He certainly understood the importance of selecting elite troops for the military, but he had never seen such a selection.
The Hedong County soldiers are not without elite soldiers.

But two thousand county soldiers and three or four hundred brave warriors wearing tube-sleeved armor were already quite luxurious and could be considered elite.

The rest is half crotch armor and half leather armor.

The 3,000 troops contributed by the Jia, Pei, Xue and others to protect the food supply and follow the expedition were even less armored than the county soldiers.

After all, Wei Lu was there, and anyone who privately cast armor would be executed.

Although noble families such as the Jia and Pei families, who were relied upon by the imperial court, were allowed to maintain a small number of private soldiers, the number of armors they could possess was still restricted, and they were prohibited from forging fine armor.

Comparing the two, how could these two hundred Han soldiers be considered death warriors? They were practically invulnerable to weapons, so how could they die?!

Before they could get ashore, the Wei army stabbed them to death and injured dozens of people from a high position.

Since they successfully landed and formed a battle formation, the Wei army found it difficult to inflict effective casualties on this group of heavily armored warriors.

The Wei army's formation was originally thin and long, and difficult to command at night, so it was quickly penetrated by these 200 death-defying soldiers, who then began to exert pressure from both sides.

The reinforcements from Zhongzhou soon came ashore one after another under the sparse arrows and formed a battle formation to meet the enemy. The Wei army's retreat was unstoppable.

Seeing this situation, Linghu Yu and the sons of the Jia and Pei families in Hedong finally took advantage of the opportunity when the Han army in Zhongzhou had not yet landed, gave up their command and fled with their personal guards.

On Wuzhangyuan, Liu Chan saw torches and figures moving from Zhongzhou to the north bank of the Wei River. He also saw torches on the north bank of the Wei River being extinguished one after another, and figures fleeing eastward.

"Is this... a victory?" The victory came too suddenly, causing Liu Chan to be a little dazed for a moment.

From start to finish, this night crossing assault seemed to last less than two quarters of an hour.

Dong Yun, who was standing by his side, also felt that the victory seemed too easy:

"I thought that since they dared to transport food overnight in front of our army, they must be elite troops sent by the Wei invaders to test us. I never thought they were just a mob."

Zhao Guang, the Zhonglang of Longxiang, and Huang Chong, Ma Bing and others who were watching the battle here all nodded.

Only Liu Chan remained silent and just looked at the battlefield quietly.

This battle was indeed won quickly. The subsequent soldiers in Zhongzhou probably had not even started to warm up before the war came to an abrupt end.

Soon, the Zhongzhou soldiers who rushed to the north bank of the Wei River began to hold torches and chase eastward along the Wei River, as if they were going to pursue them relentlessly.

"Didn't we tell Deng Yangwu and General Zong not to pursue further?" Liu Chan frowned slightly.

Victory came too easily, and Liu Chan was somewhat worried that some soldiers would pursue him further for the heads and military merits. It would be disastrous if they unfortunately fell into Cao Wei's strategy of luring the enemy deep into their territory.

Dong Yun, standing beside Liu Chan, looked eastward and said, "Since Your Majesty has given the order, Deng Yangwu and the Right General will not disobey. They should just chase the drifting grain ship."

Liu Chan looked eastward and suddenly realized something.

Judging from the firelight, most of the grain ships were tied up at the battlefield.

A small part drifted for two or three miles, sometimes running aground.

Several other ships were already six or seven miles away from the battlefield, in the middle of the water.

About half a minute later, Liu Chan saw grain ships sailing south from the north bank of the Wei River.

He stood up from the wooden chair, shook his sleeves, and started walking down the mountain.

"Where are you going, Your Majesty?" Dong Yun was slightly stunned as he looked at the emperor's back.

Liu Chan did not even turn his head and continued walking forward: "I will go to the river to take a look."

Zhao Guang and dozens of Longxiang Lang guards quickly followed.

Dong Yun's voice came again from behind Liu Chan:

"Your Majesty, the night is already dark, and the battlefield is quite bloody. Why not rest for a night and wait for the soldiers to clean up? It won't be too late to visit and comfort the troops tomorrow morning."

Liu Chan stopped and looked at Dong Yun first, then turned and looked at the river bank. After a moment, he said:

"Minister, tonight's victory was indeed unexpectedly quick, but I think it is inappropriate to attribute this victory entirely to the fact that the Wei invaders are a mob.

"If it weren't for Deng Yangwu and the Right General of the Central Army who recruited these brave men and women who risked their lives to fight for their country, how could I sit here in peace?"

Dong Yun, Zhao Guang and others were all startled, and the Longxiang Lang guards who were responsible for protecting the emperor's safety also had strange expressions on their faces.

Liu Chan's expression relaxed and he said:
“If the battlefield is far away, I can go there tomorrow, but this place is only half an hour away from the battlefield. The soldiers probably know that I am watching here. If I don’t go, won’t they be disappointed?
"Or perhaps... there are soldiers on their deathbed right now? They've lived for dozens and dozens of years, finally dedicating their lives to their country, to me.

"If I am unwilling to walk even this short distance of half a quarter of an hour, without taking one last look at them, I feel uneasy."

After Liu Chan finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the stable.

Zhao Guang and Longxiang Langwei immediately followed.

In the end, even Huang Chong and Ma Bing, who were standing there in a daze, came forward and wanted to go down the mountain with the emperor.

Under the pavilion, Dong Yun looked at the emperor who was leaving like the moon surrounded by stars, and felt a little dazed for a moment. Why did the emperor look more and more like the previous emperor?
The seven or eight miles from Wuzhangyuan to Zhongzhou in the Weishui River were always lit and soldiers were patrolling everywhere.

Liu Chan and his companions rode their horses from the plateau to Zhongzhou, which took them a little longer than during the day, but still less than a quarter of an hour.

Deng Zhi and Zong Yu did not expect that the emperor would suddenly come down the mountain at night. After receiving the news, they hurried out of the camp to welcome him.

"Your Majesty!" They both saluted.

Liu Chan strode forward and helped the two of them up, smiling and praising them:
"General Yangwu, Right General of the Central Army, you two really led the soldiers in a great battle!

"I, the Minister of the Interior, Pijiang and the others have been watching from the mountain.

"I never imagined that in less than two quarters of an hour, the Wei invaders had been so frightened and driven into flight by the soldiers!"

Deng Zhi, Zong Yu and the deputy generals behind them were all excited when they heard that the emperor had indeed been watching the battle.

Deng Zhi hurriedly reported the results of the battle:

"Your Majesty, the Wei invaders have forty-two grain ships. Except for four that drifted too far downstream and could not be brought back, the remaining thirty-eight are all under our control. We estimate that we will obtain more than ten thousand dan of grain!"

Now the Xiegu plank road has not been repaired yet, the food supply route is blocked, and there are many prisoners and civilians.

The food and grass in Wuzhangyuan Stronghold were not enough to last for 30 days, which made everyone quite worried. They were afraid that if the construction period was delayed, there might be a risk of running out of food.

And now they have received another 10,000 dan of grain, which can last for another eleven or twelve days. It is estimated that they can definitely hold out until the plank road is repaired. It is hard not to be happy.

Zong Yu also said with a pleased look:

"Your Majesty, our Han Dynasty has 20,000 soldiers in Guanzhong, and another 20,000 prisoners and civilians.

“How could you stay here for so long and do so many things when the plank road was cut off?

"It's just four words: rely on the enemy for food!

"Including these 10,000 dan, 40,000 dan of grain were taken from the Pseudo-Wei!
"If it weren't for your Majesty's alertness that day and sending people out to seize the grain, we would probably be helpless in Xiegu and unable to do so much."

Deng Zhi also said:

"Not only that, in my opinion, the reason why we easily won this victory today is also due to the great power of Your Majesty!

"All the soldiers are willing to die for your majesty, so they can advance fearlessly and kill the Wei invaders so fiercely that they flee like rats."

Liu Chan was embarrassed by the beating and quickly stopped:

"The soldiers fought bravely, and the two generals commanded wisely. I am just sitting here on the plateau. How can I take credit for all this?"

These two are also senior officials of the Han Dynasty. How can they flatter the emperor so shamelessly?

However, Deng Zhi said:
"Your Majesty, today's victory is due to the fact that the Wei invaders had few soldiers and weak generals, and their command was poor.

"But the unstoppable and unstoppable force that we, Your Majesty, recruited to bravely attack the night crossing was definitely not something that could be bought with money.

"The last time I saw such momentum was when Your Majesty feigned defeat and moved the dragon banner forward to support the retreat of the generals.

"If it happens again, it will be as late as the time of the late emperor.

"From this, it can be seen that Your Majesty is truly able to command the unwavering support of others. You truly have the spirit of our great-grandfather!"

Deng Zhi said it seriously.

Dozens of people around him nodded, and their gazes towards the Han emperor were extremely fiery.

"General Yangwu, Right General of the Central Army, have all the dead and wounded soldiers returned?" Liu Chan could only take the initiative to change the subject.

He knew his own worth very well. He had no style similar to that of the great ancestor Emperor Gaozu. It was just a deliberate and clumsy imitation.

Whether it was what he had just said to Dong Yun, or what he was asking now about whether the dead and wounded soldiers had returned, he could not say with a clear conscience that he was not doing it intentionally to win people's hearts.

However, no matter what Liu Chan thought, after he asked this question, Deng Zhi, Zong Yu and the soldiers around them were shocked again, and their eyes, which had never moved away from the emperor, became even more fiery.

(End of this chapter)