My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

Xiao Heng and Deng Jing discussed the matter until very late that night.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Lu Da quietly sailed away from Yuzhou Island, taking advantage of the morning mist.

The island's defenders faced a new challenge: the Qin fleet appeared in sight earlier than the day before.

However, today their attack direction has changed significantly. Only a few ships are left to monitor the western sandbar, while the main warships remain close to the port, and the remaining small boats are heading straight for the rocky shoal area to the north where they suffered a setback yesterday.

Clearly, Murong Yan judged that although this place was dangerous, the defending forces were weak and it was a potential passage to the interior of the island, so he decided to use it as a breakthrough point.

However, Xiao Heng informed Deng Jing of this change in advance after conducting a simulation. To convince him, he portrayed Jiang Qianzhi, whom he had previously sent into the enemy's territory, as an inside agent.

Deng Jing had no doubts and had made preparations in advance.

Leave only twenty men to defend the west bank sandbar. The outposts at the northern reef front should put up a brief resistance and then retreat to allow the enemy's vanguard to land. Chen's main force should retreat to the second reef line. Liu Dan, take your men and secretly move to the weathered sea cliff on the west side of the northern line, where you can overlook the entire landing beach.

After the morning mist dissipated, the Qin army's attack began. Several times more small boats and warships than the previous day, under the cover of a dense rain of arrows from Xianbei archers, led by Chigan Hun, stood at the bow of the ship, his face full of ferocity, vowing to avenge their previous humiliation.

At the forefront of the reef area, Chen Da's resistance this time was quite organized. He sent some worried new recruits to the front, without instructing them to run away as soon as they saw the enemy land. They kept abandoning some unimportant reef strongholds, and the Qin army made good progress. Soon, several hundred men successfully waded ashore and seized the first relatively open gravel beach. Subsequent ships swarmed in.

Upon seeing this, Chigan Hun felt greatly relieved and, in his ecstasy, personally led three hundred vanguards to charge towards Chen Da's hastily retreating second line of defense.

As instructed by Deng Jing, Chen Da had already formed a relatively tight gun and shield formation on a slightly wider beach behind the second reef line.

Although still rudimentary, it's a significant improvement over yesterday's situation where we were scattered among the rocks, passively taking hits.

"Hold your ground! Keep your gun level! Block with your shield!"

As Chen Da roared, he checked the formation. When the Qin army's vanguard charged in with a whoosh, the two sides clashed violently!

The clang of metal clashed, and roars and screams erupted instantly. Chen Da's new recruit line shook violently under the huge impact, and was almost breached in several places. But in the end, this mission was simple, and all they had to do was charge forward. This time, Chen Da took the lead in the charge, and his desperate appearance made the people behind him willing to follow him.

Just as the two sides were locked in combat, a command was given, and Liu Dan's archers, who had been lying in ambush on the east side for a long time, suddenly sprang into action!

They held an absolute advantage by being on high ground, only a few dozen paces away from the landing beach below and the flank of the Qin army that was fiercely attacking Chen Da!

"Release the arrows!"

As Liu Dan's icy voice fell, arrows rained down like locusts, whistling through the air, at an almost vertical angle, covering the heads of the Qin army crowded on the beach.

"There's an ambush!"

"..."

Screams rose and fell as the Qin army, charging forward with all their might, was caught off guard by a hail of arrows from the flanks and felled in droves. Those Qin soldiers who had just landed were thrown into chaos, and the ships that had not yet reached the shore also hurriedly stopped to fight back, but with little effect.

Almost simultaneously, the pressure on Chen Da's troops suddenly eased, and he seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. His instinct to charge into battle was ignited, and he personally led more than fifty men to break through the Qin army's formation.

This put Chigan Hun's troops in a desperate situation. Without reinforcements, and with their formation broken up by Chen Dachong, they were on the verge of being cut off from their retreat if they didn't leave soon.

"Retreat! Get back to the ship! Quickly!"

Chiganhun roared hoarsely, and under the desperate cover of his personal guards, he bypassed the range of arrows and retreated towards the sea. The Qin army was defeated like a landslide. Upon hearing the order, the Qin soldiers who had already landed desperately rushed to the shallow water area, even trampling each other in the struggle for position.

Liu Dan's arrows mercilessly reaped the lives of those who lagged behind...

It wasn't until Chen Da led his men to the shore that Chi Gan Hun managed to escape with a dozen or so men.

In this battle, it is estimated that more than 300 enemy soldiers were killed. More importantly, it dealt a heavy blow to the Qin army's idea of ​​breaking through from the northern front.

When the battle subsided, Chen Da stood on the beach littered with corpses and abandoned weapons, panting heavily. He looked at the Qin army ships that had retreated to the distant sea and dared not advance any further. A smile appeared on his face. He touched the bloody cut on his face from the enemy's blade and turned around.

Behind him, the new recruits who had followed him in the charge had finally tasted victory. Their faces were filled with a mixture of surprise and joy; some were even too injured to tend to their wounds...

Chi Gan, who had just retreated back to the fleet, was taken to the main cabin of Murong Yan's flagship before he could even catch his breath. The atmosphere inside was heavy, with generals such as Murong Lie standing on both sides, their expressions full of undisguised contempt and accusation.

"This humble general...is incompetent, suffering heavy losses. Please punish me, General!"

Chiganhun knelt down and kowtowed, his voice dry and trembling. He could almost foresee that the cold blade would slice across his neck in the next second.

Murong Yan sat upright in the main seat, his face showing no anger.

"Lost twice!"

He stopped halfway through his sentence, and as he awaited the end of his fate, he trembled and buried his head even deeper.

After a moment, Murong Yan continued, his tone very cold.

"According to military law, you deserve to die!"

Chigan Hun closed his eyes, feeling relieved upon hearing this. He didn't respond, but instead regretted that he might as well have been a salt farmer.

He thought of the grasslands, of his tribe, and of the people who depended on his bravery for survival...

"But I can give you another chance!"

Chiganhun suddenly looked up, a flicker of disbelief and a will to survive flashing in his eyes, but then he saw Murong Yan's almost indifferent gaze.

"The docks are a tough nut to crack!"

Murong Yan leaned forward slightly.

"I want you to lead a squad of assassins, in light boats and speedboats, loaded with flammable materials such as kerosene and saltpeter, and charge recklessly into the dock!"

The cabin was deathly silent.

Suicide squad, fire ship charge.

Upon hearing this, Chiganhun abandoned his desperate will to survive and trembled as he faced his impending fate.

Murong Yan looked at his face, which turned deathly pale in an instant, and spoke in a cold and ruthless tone, each word piercing the heart.

"The women, children, and elderly of your tribe are still waiting for your victory report. Killing General Deng is already a serious crime. If you disobey orders again! How do you think the Heavenly King will deal with a general who has suffered repeated defeats and may harbor disloyal thoughts, and his relatives?"

Harboring ulterior motives, such vicious words completely shattered any hope Chigan Hun had for Murong Yan.

He involuntarily looked at his hands; Deng Jing was a handle that Murong Yan held that could bring him to his doom.

Disobeying orders means certain death, and the tribe may also be implicated.

Obey the order, charge! It's a fight with a slim chance of survival, but at least your people are safe for now, and perhaps you yourself...

They could even fight to the death and have their families receive compensation.

He had no choice, never had.

The last trace of color drained from Chigan Hun's face, leaving only a resigned, deathly stillness.

He slammed his head heavily on the ground, the deck making a dull thud. When he looked up again, his eyes were devoid of emotion.

"This humble general... obeys!"

"We will burn down the enemy port to repay the general's... mercy in sparing our lives!"

Murong Yan nodded slightly.

"Get ready. Twenty light, swift boats are prepared. You can choose your soldiers. The attack will take place in half an hour!"

Chigan bowed numbly and left the cabin.

The sea breeze swept over him, and although it was already noon, it only made him feel a bone-chilling cold.

......