My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 346 The war begins

On paper, Liu Feng's army was more than twice the size of Sun Ce's, but in terms of actual deployment, it was three times larger.

After all, Sun Ce had to deploy troops at four key locations: Chadu Village, Gaoqian Village, Yuji County, and Guling, with a minimum of one thousand men and a maximum of three thousand men at each location.

For example, at Chadu Village and Guling, 3,000 men were the minimum required for defense; otherwise, the entire defense line simply could not be sustained.

Therefore, Sun Ce's army could only mobilize a field force of no more than 20,000 men.

In comparison, Liu Fengjun only needed to deploy one or two thousand men in Yuhang, along with Xu Zhao from the local area, to make the city impregnable.

In addition, Wucheng and Youquan could spare tens of thousands of troops, but these troops were too weak in combat, and Liu Feng was worried that they would be a hindrance if they went to the front line.

After Liu Feng arrived in Qiantang, he first awarded medals for his meritorious service. There were more than 1,300 medals in total, including gold, silver, bronze and iron medals, with the number of gold and silver medals reaching double digits.

Later that night, pigs and sheep were slaughtered to reward the entire army.

At this point, Liu Feng's army's morale soared, and everyone was eager to fight, waiting for the day of the decisive battle.

The next day, Yu Fan and He Qi requested an audience together.

Upon seeing Liu Feng, the two immediately burst into tears, especially He Qi, who almost fainted.

The two men had already received news that Sun Ce had gone on a killing spree in Shanyin, almost wiping out the He Qi family and killing off the Yu family's collateral branches in Shanyin.

The two now hate Sun Ce and the entire Sun family to the core, wishing they could eat their flesh and sleep on their skin.

"General, we two are willing to be the vanguard in this battle, with no retreat and no chance of survival. If we utter even a single lie, may the heavens strike us down with lightning."

Yu Fan and He Qi became ruthless, even to the point of wanting to atone for their sins with their lives.

Liu Feng sighed, got up and personally helped Yu Fan and He Qi up, holding one in each hand, and comforted them, saying, "I know everything about what happened in Shanyin. The traitor Sun is cruel and tyrannical, slaughtering civilians without cause. He is insane and his actions are against Heaven, so he will surely be punished by Heaven."

Yu Fan and He Qi were moved to tears, their eyes bloodshot.

Even so, the two remained standing still, listening to Liu Feng continue, "The deceased are gone, and the living should carry on their will. How can we be discouraged?"

"The Yu and He families are both prominent clans in Kuaiji, aristocratic families. Although they have suffered calamity, Zhongxiang and Gongmiao are still alive. You two are both talented individuals. Judging from your appointments, you will surely be able to revive your families and carry on their legacy. Death is easy, but life is difficult."

Liu Feng looked around and said, “Zhongxiang and Gongmiao, I consider you two to be outstanding individuals. Now that the world is in chaos and the court is in disarray, how can you choose the easy path over the difficult one? It may be easy for you to die, but what about the continuation of your families?”

Yu Fan and He Qi were both straightforward and passionate people. Otherwise, Yu Fan wouldn't have been so sharp-tongued that even Sun Quan couldn't stand him, and He Qi wouldn't have turned against the local powerful families so easily.

Yu Fan and He Qi couldn't bear Liu Feng's words. They felt that Liu Feng had spoken to their hearts. Despite the huge difference in their social status, Yu Fan and He Qi couldn't help but regard Liu Feng as a confidant.

"Zheng Nan's profound and insightful remarks made us both feel ashamed and made us understand the responsibilities on our shoulders even more clearly."

Yu Fan and He Qi immediately knelt down and said in unison, "We have no way to repay the kindness of Zheng Nan, except to repay it with our lives. If Zheng Nan does not abandon us, we are willing to be his lackeys and serve him to the death!"

Liu Feng was overjoyed and quickly pulled the two men up to sit with them on the same bed.

Liu Feng immediately appointed Yu Fan as the Clerk of Rites and He Qi as the Supervisor of the General Staff, both as trusted officials.

Yu Fan and He Qi were moved to tears and sincerely pledged their allegiance to Liu Feng.

After winning over Yu Fan and He Qi, Liu Feng summoned his generals for a meeting.

Sun Jun is now on the opposite bank of the Qiantang River, and the two armies have been locked in a stalemate for more than ten days. Naturally, the topic of discussion is how to defeat the enemy.

Liu Feng's forces are now a gathering of heroes; it would be an understatement to say that they are filled with fierce generals.

Faced with the formidable natural barrier of the Qiantang River, even these historically renowned generals couldn't come up with a good solution for the time being.

Even Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, Zhou Yu, and others, who had been stationed north of the Qiantang River for more than half a month, were scratching their heads and had some complaints about Liu Feng.

Previously, when the south bank of the Qiantang River was completely undefended and Sun Quan's army was not stationed there, the army could have easily crossed the river, but Liu Feng ordered them not to cross.

Later, Sun Ce finally finished his reorganization and took over, and could take advantage of Sun Ce's unstable foothold to cross the river and fight.

But Liu Feng still disagreed.

Now, Sun Ce has not only occupied the Guling line, but has also rested on the front line for another ten days. His soldiers have also recovered to full strength. It will indeed be difficult for them to cross the river now.

Of course, it wasn't that the generals present thought they couldn't cross the river.

Although Wang Lang was able to hold off Sun Ce by relying on the Guling defense line, if it weren't for the leak of the Chadu Ancient Road, Sun Ce would have been helpless for more than half a year in the original timeline.

But the Southern Expeditionary Army was different, and the fierce generals within it were also different.

They had no doubt about crossing the river to defeat the enemy; their hesitation and indecision at this moment were simply because they could not come up with a brilliant plan.

In the eyes of Zhou Yu, Jia Kui and others, the Qiantang defense line was indeed a naturally advantageous location. Guling City was small but strong and located in a dangerous place. Even during the dry season, the Qiantang River still required boats to cross. If the soldiers had to swim across, there would be no point in fighting. Unless they all changed into dry clothes, they would freeze and lose their fighting ability in less than a quarter of an hour or two.

Therefore, even the most cunning generals, known for their strategic acumen, are currently unable to come up with any good solutions.

It seems that only a direct assault remains as an option.

Faced with the generals' slight discontent, Liu Feng smiled but remained silent.

After all, given his current prestige, even those as loyal as Zhao Yun, as noble as Taishi, as resourceful as Zhou Yu, and as strong as Jia Kui, would only dare to mutter a few words in their hearts, and would not even dare to protest to his face.

"Since none of the generals have a solution, let's try issuing a challenge first."

Liu Feng, however, was confident. It's no wonder he kept everyone in suspense. Sometimes, it's necessary to give these outstanding individuals a little shock, otherwise how can he solidify his position as the leader?
The generals naturally obeyed, but Zhou Yu, Jia Kui, and Yu Fan were all a little suspicious. Although they couldn't guess what Liu Feng was thinking, they could see that Liu Feng was confident and would naturally start to guess Liu Feng's plans and intentions.

Liu Feng's challenge quickly reached the other side of the Qiantang River.

Sun Ce heard the letter from the other side of the river while he was in his tent. He was both surprised and curious.

He invited the envoy into the main tent, took the silk scroll, and began to examine it.

Sun Ce had not expected that the words on the silk scroll would be so concise.

There are only two sentences in total.

The first question is, "Are you willing to surrender?"
The second sentence is: If they do not surrender, please retreat five miles and block the river for a final battle.

Sun Ce's eyes narrowed immediately, and he fell into deep thought.

Liu Feng asked his generals in the army how to defeat the enemy, which naturally put even more pressure on Sun Ce's side.

He was the weaker party, and also the defensive one, so he was inherently controlled by Liu Feng.

In short, Liu Feng holds both the strategic and tactical initiative, leaving him with no choice but to passively wait for Liu Feng to make the first move before deciding how to respond.

Therefore, Sun Ce was naturally at a loss. After discussing for many days, he could only choose to maintain the status quo and wait for a change in circumstances. But now, the silk scroll that Liu Feng sent to Sun Ce seemed to contain a glimmer of possibility.

Sun Ce's gaze fell on the five-mile retreat order, and he silently calculated in his mind.

Sun Ce could never have imagined that more than a hundred years later, a famous war would be fought with this letter as the battleground. At this moment, all he could think about was four words: "Attack while the enemy is crossing the river."

If what Liu Feng said is true, then my best chance of winning is to attack while the enemy is crossing the river.

There's no need to completely wipe them out; even annihilating just half of Liu Feng's army would greatly change the situation.

If Liu Feng really dared to give him such an opportunity, Sun Ce was absolutely confident he could teach him a painful lesson. However, he also suspected that Liu Feng might have some other scheme involved.

Sun Ce was quite familiar with Liu Feng, and had even suffered several losses at his hands.

Now that he has fallen into such a desperate situation, Sun Ce may not know that he has been manipulated by Liu Feng like a puppet, but he still understands to some extent what role Liu Feng has played in it.

Therefore, Sun Ce would never underestimate Liu Feng.

After much thought, he still couldn't figure out what kind of trap it might be.

Therefore, Sun Ce decided to convene a meeting of his generals to discuss matters.

Soon, all the generals in the main camp, including Sun Jing, Cheng Pu, Song Qian, and Chen Wu, arrived at the main tent.

Once everyone was present, Sun Ce didn't delay and immediately handed over Liu Feng's letter for everyone to read.

After reading the letter, Sun Ce's generals were also surprised and suspicious. They were all seasoned warriors who had fought on many battlefields, and their first reaction was exactly the same as Sun Ce's.

Isn't this exactly like divine assistance?
But then, just like Sun Ce, he began to doubt himself.

To date, Sun Ce's army has never won a single victory against the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Since Liu Feng crossed the river, Sun Ce's army has suffered repeated defeats and heavy losses, losing the entire Wu Commandery.

Unless Liu Feng is blinded by victory and completely disregards Sun Ce's army.

With so many capable ministers and generals in the Southern Expeditionary Army, would they really let Liu Feng run amok?

Is Liu Feng really so arrogant that he can't listen to any correct advice?
Would such a person really do something so foolish?

However, there is no other explanation for Liu Feng's unusual behavior.

Most importantly, all the high-ranking officials present at the meeting believed that attacking while the enemy was crossing the river would guarantee victory, or at worst, hold the line and there would be no risk of defeat.

They couldn't fathom what scheme Liu Feng might have hidden in the battle across the river, nor could they imagine what means he might use to break the deadlock.

Sun Ce listened to the discussions among his generals. Although they all felt that Liu Feng was getting carried away, none of them dared to make a decision.

In the end, Sun Ce made his decision: "If that's the case, then why should I fear Liu Feng's attempt to cross the river and fight? I'll set a date of three days. What do you all think?"

Upon hearing Sun Ce's decision, the generals of Sun Ce's army all secretly breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to agree.

Sun Ce then wrote back to Liu Feng, first refusing to surrender, pointing out that Liu Feng had held the emperor hostage, deceived the emperor and the people, and had launched an attack on Jiangdong without cause. He said that if Liu Feng withdrew his troops, he would let bygones be bygones.

If they refuse to withdraw their troops, then let's agree to a battle across the river in three days.

After receiving the reply, Liu Feng sneered repeatedly.

Sun Ce, a mere rebel, dared to insult the pillar of the state; he was truly extremely arrogant.

However, since he has agreed to a duel, he is now in my trap.

Liu Feng became smug, thinking, "My schemes are like those of gods and demons; how could a mere lion cub like Sun Bofu possibly know them?"

Regarding Liu Feng's decision, the generals of the Southern Expeditionary Army were initially worried that Sun Ce's army would attack while crossing the river, but after careful consideration, they realized that a direct assault was the only option.

In that case, whether Sun Ce's army keeps its promise is naturally no longer important.

If Sun Ce's army were truly so stubborn as to keep its promise, then it would actually be our side that would benefit.

Therefore, all the generals agreed to Liu Feng's decision, and the matter was settled in this way.

Immediately, Liu Feng replied and agreed, setting the decisive battle date for three days later. Sun Ce's army would retreat five li, and Liu Feng's army would cross the river for the battle.

Subsequently, Liu Feng announced the agreement to the entire army and rewarded them with wine and meat to boost morale.

At this point, a major battle was imminent.

Three days later, Liu Fengjun prepared food at dawn and set out with his troops at dawn. On the Qiantang River, the flags of Zhou, Chiang, Dong, and Gan were waving, and hundreds of warships and civilian boats of all sizes were lined up in a row on the north bank of the river.

Sun Ce's army also seemed to keep its word, having already retreated five li the day before, leaving enough space for Liu Feng's army to cross the river.

Seeing that Sun Ce's army seemed to have kept its promise, Liu Feng gave an order, and the army began to move. All the warships of the navy, carrying the soldiers of the Southern Expeditionary Army, began to cross the river.

The first group of pioneers to land consisted of four thousand men under Gao Shun.

After landing, Gao Shun's troops reorganized and began to advance, creating space for the following troops.

In the crossing of the river, the risks for the vanguard are far greater than in ordinary battles.

Because the Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world or martial arts community) naturally divides the attacking side's formation, the vanguard of the attacking side may find itself isolated due to lack of reinforcements.

Especially in this situation, the vanguard should not only not retreat, but should also take the initiative to move forward to buy space and time for the follow-up troops to deploy their forces.

Otherwise, if they all crowd onto the riverbank, they will not only be completely ineffective in combat, but they will also be turned into dumplings, and the defenders will drive them into the river, causing heavy casualties.

Therefore, the vanguard in the battle to cross the river was of paramount importance, which is why Liu Feng overruled objections and selected Gao Shun as the vanguard of the entire army.

This is not only because Gao Shun is good at training troops, and his soldiers are all disciplined and fearless, but also because they are as resilient as Gao Shun. Gao Shun himself has enough prestige and ability to control the army, making him the most suitable candidate at present.

As expected, after crossing the river, Gao Shun quickly reorganized his troops and divided them into four columns, maximizing the length of the front line, clearly to create space for the subsequent troops to deploy.

Subsequently, Gao Shun personally led the troops forward.

He wanted to push the front line as far as possible to cover the landing of subsequent troops, giving them enough space to reorganize and deploy their forces.

Just as Gao Shun had feared, Sun Ce's army began to move after he landed.

Sun Ce's seven hundred cavalrymen began to advance, clearly intending to harass and disrupt Gao Shun's army's advance rhythm. If they could also force Gao Shun's army to retreat, that would be even better.

At the same time, the infantry formation behind them also began to advance, almost coming head-on with Gao Shun.

(End of this chapter)