Chapter 91: Battle begins

After listening to the reward of the on-duty Imperial Guards, Ren Zhong stood there for a while before falling down and sighing: "Shi Wenqing ruined the country! Shi Wenqing ruined the country!"

"General, what should we do?" asked the two people behind Ren Zhong who were dressed in a state of dust.

Although Ren Zhong was a general, he could not directly enter the palace without the news of the Secretariat. He looked around and looked at their imperial guards with nervous expressions. Ren Zhong had no choice but to say to the two: "Go back and tell the governor Huang immediately, let him keep guarding Jingkou, and I will urge the court to send reinforcements as soon as possible."

"Yes." The two of them looked at the palace in grief and anger, turned over and rode away.

These two people came from Jingkou. Three days ago, the Sui general He Ruobi suddenly sent tens of thousands of troops from Guangling to cross the Yangtze River to siege Jingkou. Because the troops deployed along the river frequently changed defenses for half a year, and each time the defense was changed, the flags and camps were spread all over the mountains and fields. Every time the Chen army thought that the other party was going to attack in large numbers. After sending troops to prepare, the Sui army had dispersed, and the Chen army knew that the other party was changing defenses. After many times, the Chen army respite and became accustomed to the gathering of the Sui army, but he did not expect that the Sui army would attack seriously. When the Sui army crossed the Yangtze River, the Chen army did not care. After the Sui army got ashore, the Chen army finally understood that the other party was really going to attack. However, it had missed the opportunity to dispatch warships to intercept the warships. The Jingkou defenders had to defend the city and wait for reinforcements in the rear.

Niuzhu Mountain is surrounded by water on three sides, and the southwest foot of the river is penetrated into the river. It is located on a high point and overlooks Caishi Ferry. Therefore, Niuzhu Mountain is also known as Caishiji. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, after Sun Ce attacked Niuzhu Camp, there were the sixteenth and fourth counties in the east of Wu, which shows the importance of Niuzhu Mountain.

Since the separation of north and south, Caishiji has been stationed as a barrier to the southwest of Jiankang City. It has always been a heavy army. Opposite Caishiji, the Hengjiang Crossing in Suihe County is the Hengjiang Crossing in Suihe County. The water from Hengjiang Crossing to Caishiji River is gentle and it is still an important ferry between the north and south of the Yangtze River. At the beginning of this year, more than 100,000 military and civilians of the Liang Kingdom went downstream from the Yangtze River and went ashore to the Chen Kingdom at the Caishi ferry.

The sky was gloomy, and the sky had already started to darken since Shenshi. Now, just after Shenshi, the Yangtze River was already pitch black, with gusts of cold wind blowing through the river. The river water occasionally slapped the wooden stakes below the Hengjiang Ferry, making a clamoring sound of water.

A sound of stomping came, and then it was hidden in the sound of water and wind. As soon as this vague stepping sound arrived at the ferry, the sound suddenly amplified, just like the sound of countless people stepping on the wooden board. A faint torch lit up, and a shiny light was emitted by the completely dark ferry. You can immediately see the shadows of the ferry.

"Bang." With a loud noise, the entire ferry seemed to shake, and a huge black shadow leaned over, "Bang, pang, countless wooden boards stick out from the black shadow and lay on the ferry. The black shadow and the ferry immediately connected.

"Above." A firm order came from the darkness.

"Ha, haha, haha." Countless hard-soled cowhide shoes stepped onto the wooden boards and threw themselves into the huge black shadow. They counted roughly, and at least hundreds of people went up. Due to the darkness, people encountered wooden boards, wooden frames and the like from time to time, making a bang. When everyone disappeared at the ferry, the faint torch was then wiped out, and the wooden board connected to the ferry was evacuated again.

"Drive the boat!" With this low shout, the huge black shadow moved and slowly sailed towards the middle of the river. The ferry suddenly calmed down, as if nothing had happened here.

A faint light shone on Han Qinhu's face. As the light swayed, Han Qinhu's face seemed to become shady. Tonight, Han Qinhu personally led 800 naval troops across the river, with the purpose of taking down Niuzhu Mountain, which controls the quarry ferry.

Three days ago, He Ruobi took the lead in launching an attack on the Chen army in Guangling. Although it achieved good results, the Sui army transported tens of thousands of troops ashore without any resistance from the Chen State's naval army and surrounded Jingkou. If nothing unexpected happened, Jingkou would fall into the hands of the Sui army in a few days. However, He Ruobi's attack disrupted the advance arrangement of the Marshal's Office. The attack on the Chen State was originally scheduled tonight according to the arrangement of the Marshal's Office. At that time, the Sui army launched an attack on the Yangtze River defense line that had thousands of miles away, which caught Chen State off guard.

However, due to He Ruobi's attack three days in advance, the Sui army's plan was undoubtedly exposed in advance. If Chen army was not prepared, the plan tonight could be said to be almost certain. After all, although this section of the river is stable, the ship is still very dangerous in the dark. If the ship is not careful, the ship will collapse and die. Once a person falls into the water, he will have no way to save him.

However, this danger does not exist for the Sui army's Five-Tooth Ship. As long as the direction does not deviate too much, what kind of wind and waves can overturn the Five-Tooth Ship. Once the Five-Tooth Ship successfully boards the ferry, it is very likely to successfully capture Niuzhu Mountain with the strength of 800 elite navy troops. As long as you take Niuzhu Mountain, the army can continuously land through the ferry tomorrow dawn.

However, with He Ruobi's advance attack, many variables arose. Once the Chen army realized that Guangling's attack was just the beginning of the Sui army's large-scale attack, it would definitely strengthen defense in various places. If the Sui army was discovered by the Chen army when landing tonight, most of the 800 people would die.

"Bother He Fu, He Madman, if you cannot succeed tonight, it is all because of you. Even if I die, I will go to the King of Hell to sue you." Han Qinhu cursed fiercely in his heart.

Although it was dark, the Five-Tooth Ship was running very smoothly. If it weren't for the sound of water coming from below and the whistling wind outside the ship, it would make people think that it was at home. In order to prevent Chen Jun from discovering light, he could only ignite a small oil lamp inside the ship warehouse. Most of the soldiers in the warehouse were next to each other and did not speak, showing the extremely high quality of these navy troops.

"Bang!" A loud bang came, and the entire ship warehouse shaking. "Bang, bang, bang." The entire ship warehouse suddenly became chaotic. Some soldiers leaning against the ship warehouse were all tilted, and the weapons hanging on the wall also fell down. The ship speed seemed to gradually slow down and finally stopped completely.

Han Qinhu stood up in a panic and held Panbi. He didn't even stand firm just now, but it was obvious how big the hull was. He had just stood firm and shouted loudly: "What's wrong, what happened?"

"Sir, I'm afraid I've encountered a reef." A soldier said with a pale face. He had already sailed three-quarters of the way. If a large ship collided with a reef, it would be a dilemma.

"Impossible. Ships travel frequently here before, and I have never heard of any reefs." Li Jing added beside him.

After he and Han Shiyi returned from Chen State, they were scolded by Han Qinhu, and even Han Qinhu was jailed for a month. However, this punishment would be too cost-effective for the two of them. They intentionally or unintentionally concealed the experience of living in Chen State's Prince Consort's Mansion and meeting Princess Leyi, the youngest Princess Leyi, was just silently savoring it in their hearts.

Han Shiyi said bravely: "Father, I'll go downstairs and take a look."

"Hmph, it's not your turn here." Han Qinhu said angrily and winked at the two personal soldiers. The two personal soldiers hurriedly went to the ship warehouse down with the faint light "dong, dong, dong".

This assault on Chen State became very dangerous due to He Ruobi's early exposure. Han Qinhu had to refuse to let Li Jing and Han Shiqi join, but although the two agreed, they hid on the ship first. It was not until after the ship was opened that they came to see Han Qinhu. Han Qinhu had to accept the fact that they were on the ship.

The personal soldiers went down for a long time and had not yet come up. Seeing that the warship had not started for a long time, the soldiers on the ship began to stir up. If the warship sank, even if the water quality is good, they would drown in the river.

"Sir, Chen Jun broke into the wooden stake in the river, and our warship hit the wooden stake." After a long time, the personal soldiers finally returned to report.

Han Qinhu's face looked ugly. In order to confuse Nanchen, the Sui army had been bluffing, and the Five-Tooth Warship had never been dispatched, so naturally he could not find that Chen army had laid wooden stakes by the river.

"How is the damage to the warship?"

"Don't worry, our warship has a double bottom warehouse. Even if the wooden stakes break the outer layer of the warship, the warship will not sink. The ship's boss has sent people to go around the front on the Golden-winged battleship. It is estimated that in half an hour, the wooden stakes that stuck the warship will be removed and the warship will move again." The personal soldier replied.

"I know, I'm passing the order from this official, everyone should not move in the ship warehouse. Wait half an hour before driving the ship again." Han Qinhu felt relieved. It was winter now, and the night was long and the day was short. Although it had been two or three hours since dark, if you want to dawn, at least four hours, and there is still time now.

"Yes." After hearing that it was half an hour before the boat could be re-driving, everyone became quiet.

Half an hour later, the warship started on time, bypassing the wooden stakes in front and paddling downwards. "Bang." Another sound of the warship still touched the wooden stakes. However, due to the slowdown of the warship's speed, the damage of this collision was not large, and the warship could not be stuck. The warship continued to go down.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" After testing for several miles, there were wooden stakes in front of them blocking the road. The boss of the ship had to stop the warship and sent someone to ask Han Qinhu: "Sir, the Five-Tooth Warship is too big and cannot drive over, what should I do?"

"Stop the ship here and don't move, and the rest of the people will take the Golden-winged Battleship to the shore in sequence." Han Qinhu pondered for a moment and immediately issued an order.

Although 800 people were on the Five-Tooth Warship, Han Qinhu also considered that if he could not land directly from the ferry, the Five-Tooth Warship could not land, so he brought five small golden-winged warships that could only sit twenty people behind the Five-Tooth Warship. Chen Jun's underwater wooden stakes could only guard against medium or above warships, and could not guard against such small warships, otherwise they would have blocked themselves.

Now the most dangerous distance in the middle of the river has been crossed. Although there is still danger when transferring to a small boat, the danger has been greatly reduced. The first batch of 100 naval troops were immediately selected. These naval troops have lived on the water for at least four or five years, and they no longer need to be equipped with sailors and ship bosses. Five golden-winged battleships broke away from the big ship in the black and sailed far away.

After a long time, the fire on the shore flashed and showed a safety signal. It took more than two hours to get all the talents ashore. Except for the four people who were knocked into the water and could not be found because of the big waves, the other Sui army crossed the river safely. The Sui army was surprised that there was no Chen army guarding the ferry at such an important ferry, and there was only an empty military camp near the ferry.

This phenomenon was so strange that the Sui army didn't know whether to surprise themselves for safely going ashore or worry about falling into the trap set by Chen Jun. In the darkness, there seemed to be a monster with a huge mouth staring at them, wanting to swallow them in one bite.

"Sir, what should I do?"

Although even when standing close, they could only see a person's outline clearly, everyone tried to open their eyes and look in the direction of Han Qinhu, waiting for their coach to give the order.

Because there is too much time to cross the river, there is only one hour left after leaving Liang. If you don’t hurry up and climb Niuzhu Mountain and destroy the Chen army in the mountains, everything will be too late after dawn.

"Go up the mountain!" Han Qinhu gritted his teeth and ordered that no matter what dragon and tiger den was hidden in front of him, he had to break his head and penetrate it.

Hundreds of Sui soldiers lined up a long snake formation along the only mountain road and groped up the mountain, not daring to make a little louder sound. Otherwise, once the defenders were alarmed, they would throw some rolling wood and stones down the mountain, and the Sui army at the foot of the mountain would soon be seriously injured.

You could already vaguely see the torches lit on the mountain, and the Sui army in front was even more arrogant and dared not come out, so they bent down and crawled slowly.

Finally, the Sui army arrived outside the shadow of the fire. The Sui army at the forefront looked around in confusion. The gate of the Chen army camp was clearly visible. The torches around them made Bibai and Bibai sounds from time to time. However, no matter how they looked for them, they could not see the figures, and the camp was quiet.

This situation is even more strange than the ferry at the foot of the mountain. It is reasonable to say that no one is at the foot of the mountain. It is impossible that there is no one on the mountain. Everyone felt creepy when the torches were lit by who lit them.
Chapter completed!