Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

In contrast to the infantry and cavalry duel outside Haizhou City, Shen Lang's forces were also locked in a standoff with those of Zhang Gui and Fu Lin'an in the direction of Jiankang.

Upon learning of the fall of Jiankang, Fulin'an was extremely anxious and urged his army to rush to Jiankang at all costs.

However, the veteran Zhang Gui remained unusually calm and advised Fu Lin'an not to act impulsively.

Although he knew almost nothing about the Chu army's tactics, the fact that they were able to occupy the entire Jiankang city in such a short time was enough to show that the Chu army's combat power was incomparable to any enemy they had ever seen before, and that they had to gather superior forces to achieve victory in one battle.

We should first investigate the strength and weaknesses of the Chu army.

If possible, it would be best to negotiate with the senior generals of the Chu army.

After all, in the past month or so, the Chu army had almost routed half of the coastal garrison of Wuzhao, yet they themselves did not even know their intentions, which was far too passive.

It must be said that Zhang Gui was one of the few clear-headed generals in Wu Zhao's army. If Wu Zhao's army had followed his instructions and negotiated with the Chu army in a calm and peaceful manner, things might have turned out differently.

Unfortunately, the commander-in-chief, Fu Lin'an, firmly opposed any negotiations with the Chu army generals.

In his mind, Wuzhao was the Celestial Empire, and all other outsiders were barbarians who came to covet the wealth of the Celestial Empire and should be dealt with severely.

As a military commander, I should drive all these barbarians back into the sea for the Emperor.

The two had a heated argument, and ultimately, since Zhang Gui was not the commander-in-chief, the army's deployment had to follow Fu Lin'an's arrangements.

Despite the fact that his army was exhausted from the long march, Fu Lin'an planned to take advantage of the army's high morale and recapture Jiankang in one fell swoop.

In fact, from a tactical perspective, Fu Lin'an's eagerness for quick success was also a helpless move.

With Jiankang occupied by foreign enemies, it means that nearly half of the tax revenue from the lower reaches of the river, which belonged to Wuzhao, is now in the hands of the Chu army. If the siege of Jiankang is not lifted as soon as possible, the empire will soon fall into turmoil.

However, Fu Lin'an made a fatal mistake: he always maintained a contemptuous attitude towards the Chu army, treating them as barbarians, both strategically and tactically.

Upon learning that Wu Zhao's main army was coming to attack Jiankang, Shen Lang seized the high ground outside the city long before the army arrived and personally directed two brigades of 7,000 soldiers to set up defensive fortifications.

When Fu Lin'an's army arrived, they found that they had lost their geographical advantage and had no choice but to set up camp on a plain ten miles away from the Chu army's defensive fortifications.

Almost every move of Wu Zhao's army was under the watchful eyes of the Chu army.

After a two-day stalemate, Fu Lin'an could no longer contain himself and personally led three thousand soldiers of the Wuying Camp to launch a probing attack on the Zijin Mountain fortifications occupied by the Chu army.

"Commander, the enemy has made a move."

Upon seeing the Wu Zhao army mobilize, Pei Ju immediately spoke excitedly to Shen Lang, who was setting up a simple sand table.

"The enemy has entered the artillery firing range. Now let the artillery battalion bombard them, and they will suffer heavy casualties."

Shen Lang shook his head: "Order the artillery battalion not to act rashly. Just have the machine gun companies cooperate with the infantry to fire at long range."

Pei Ju: "Commander, this tactic is too conservative, I..."

"Since when did you have the right to object to me?" Shen Lang interrupted Pei Ju expressionlessly. "Immediately relay my orders to the artillery battalion and machine gun company."

"Yes!"

Pei Ju responded and went to deliver the order.

Shen Lang tidied up the sand table and then compared the troop deployments of both sides.

Upon seeing this comparison, Shen Lang smiled.

"It seems that Wu Zhaojun's mobilization capacity is truly beyond words. He thinks he can force me to submit with just over ten thousand men?"

Wu Zhaojun's poor mobilization capabilities were once again laid bare to Shen Lang's eyes.

"After your cavalry and military units have finished fighting, who will you be able to rely on?"

The biggest cost of war is actually transportation costs, which puts a tremendous strain on infrastructure and transport efficiency.

Shen Lang was certain that the cost of supplies and equipment for Wu Zhao's more than 10,000 troops to travel from Shengjing to Jiankang was probably much higher than that of a long-range fleet transporting supplies from Chu to Wu Zhao.

Da da da--

Just then, the sound of light and heavy machine gun fire could be heard continuously from the hillside on the south flank of Zijin Mountain.

The battle has begun.

"kill!"

Standing at the foot of the mountain, Fu Chang'an ordered the officers and soldiers of the military camp to attack the firing positions set up on high ground.

Even though these soldiers were skilled in martial arts, they still fell off their horses one by one under the sweeping fire of four light and heavy machine guns.

One after another, the elite troops who had been trained for so long fell on the way to the charge.

Their sacrifice did not bring Wu Zhao's army even a sliver of hope of victory.

After a hail of bullets, men and horses cried out in anguish.

This probing attack instantly turned into a meat grinder for Wu Zhao's army.

Watching these elite soldiers, some ten or twenty years old, fall meaninglessly on the road to battle, Fu Chang'an's heart grew heavier.

He suddenly recalled the scene when he confronted the guards of the Chu envoy at the Mulan hunting grounds, and it was so similar.

This time, however, vibrant lives were instantly reduced to nutrients that nourished this land.

"Charge! Charge through! You are imperial warriors personally appointed by the Emperor. How can you be bullied like this by these foreign barbarians!"

“Crush them, trample their bodies, smash their heads, and cut off their hands and feet!”

"Warriors! Slay the barbarians! Slay them!"

The pungent smell of gunpowder and blood gradually eroded Fu Chang'an's rationality.

Now he had only one thought in his mind.

Slaughter these barbarians!

However, reality was so cruel; in just over ten minutes, thousands of elite soldiers fell on the hill.

These Wuzhao soldiers were undeniably brave and fierce, but their bravery paled in comparison to advanced tactics and techniques.

"Sir, please stop hitting him!"

At this moment, an adjutant tearfully asked Fu Chang'an for instructions.

"The enemy's firearms are too powerful. If we continue fighting, all our warriors will be wiped out!"

"My lord, we were just testing the waters. Now that we've found out, we should retreat immediately."

Upon hearing this, Fu Chang'an kicked his adjutant to the ground.

"Tong Yuanshu, have you forgotten your place? You are a fierce general of my military camp, and now you've been scared out of your wits by the enemy?"

"I order you, you will personally lead the next offensive, and you must take this high ground for me!"

"If we can't win, how can we face the Emperor?"

Tong Yuanshu quickly stood up and said, "My lord, even if we take this hill, how many more such defensive lines are there on Zijin Mountain? Even if we bleed to death, we still won't be able to wipe them all out!"

"you!"

Fu Chang'an wanted to say something, but he couldn't say anything.

Because he found that what Tong Yuanshu said seemed to be true.

This is just one hill; how many more such hills form defensive lines on Zijin Mountain?

"Withdraw troops!"

No matter how frustrated he felt, Fu Chang'an had no choice but to retreat.

Upon hearing that the troops were to withdraw, the remaining two thousand officers and soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and immediately turned back to the main camp.

"Stop shooting."

Upon seeing Wu Zhao's army retreat, the officers on the hill immediately ordered a halt to firing.

At the same time, the company commander wiped his sweat, thinking to himself that it was fortunate that this was on high ground. If it were on a plain, it would be difficult to stop the charge of several thousand cavalry with just this one company.