All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 355: Gan Xingba's Hundred Riders Raid the Camp

It is recorded in history books.

'The emperor ordered Jingzhou governor Biao to come to the court to serve as governor, but Biao refused to obey the order.'

'The Emperor ordered General Ran to send troops to suppress the rebellion.'

There is no doubt that Chen Ran’s next target was Liu Biao.

The army marched south, entered Nanyang, passed Wancheng, and headed straight for Xinye County.

When passing by Bowangpo, Chen Ran couldn't help laughing.

Cheng Yu, who was accompanying the army as an advisor to the military, asked in confusion, "Why is the lord laughing?"

"Just remembered some interesting things."

Cheng Yu was in a difficult position to ask what was so interesting, but Chen Ran took the initiative to raise his hand and pointed to the forests on both sides. "Do you think there are ambushes lying in wait around, ready to set fire?"

"My lord, you are joking."

Cheng Yu said with a smile, "The scouts have been sent out over a distance of thirty miles, and they have already searched everywhere thoroughly. No ambush can be hidden from their eyes and ears."

"That's right." Chen Ran nodded. "As long as you don't get carried away and rush in, you won't be burned to death."

Cheng Yu’s head was full of questions. Who was screaming because of the fire?
The army marched southwards, heading straight for Jingzhou.

What surprised Chen Ran a little was that Liu Biao's resistance was extremely resolute, and the local support for him in Jingzhou was also very strong.

Many powerful families even had to go bankrupt to support him.

"Liu Jingsheng's prestige in Jingzhou is so high?" Chen Ran expressed disbelief.

"It's not that his prestige is high." Cheng Yu explained, "It's that everyone in Jingzhou is afraid of the lord."

After he said that, Chen Ran understood.

After all, it was because of Chen Ran's determination to wipe out the local tyrants and aristocratic families that the people of Jingzhou had to fight to the death.

"If Chen Zihou comes, we will all die. Rather than let this happen, we should fight to the death!"

This is what the powerful families in Jingzhou are thinking.

"My lord." Cheng Yu hesitated and said again, "If my lord is willing to show mercy and accept their surrender, Jingzhou may be conquered by issuing an edict."

"I know."

Chen Ran simply shook his head and said, "If that's the case, in less than a hundred or eighty years, it will be the end of the dynasty, with hungry people everywhere shouting for the king, princes, generals and ministers!"

"They have seized too much of the means of production, too much of the land, and even gone so far as to enslave the people, making them slaves for generations."

"No one would endure this, uh~~~"

Chen Ran thought of India under the caste system. No one knew why the people there chose to endure it.

But here in Middle-earth, that is absolutely impossible.

"We must eliminate all the powerful families so that the people can live and work in peace."

Cheng Yu couldn't help but say, "My lord, not all powerful families are evil, there are also kind-hearted people~~~"

"I know, I know." Chen Ran nodded repeatedly, "But I can't tell who is a good person and who is a bad person, especially when all I see is evil, I have to cut them off."

"If there is a truly kind family, they will take the initiative to join us. Those who do not join us must be full of evil."

Cheng Yu thought about it and said nothing more.

The army marched south, successfully crossed the Han River, and set up camp outside the city of Xiangyang.

"My lord." Cheng Yu, the military advisor, came over and said worriedly, "It's so easy to cross the Han River. I'm afraid Liu Jingsheng is trying to cheat."

"I know." Chen Ran didn't care. "Isn't it just letting us cross the Han River first, and then using the navy to cut off the logistics? This is an open conspiracy."

Cheng Yu also knew it was an open plot, but the problem was, "My Lord, Xiangyang City is well defended, surrounded by Tanxi, Xiangshui and Hanshui, and it is difficult to capture it in a hurry. If the retreat is cut off for too long, I am afraid that the morale of the army will be unstable."

The army crossed the river, carrying a large amount of food and supplies, enough to sustain them for two or three months.

But if we fail to capture Xiangyang City, we may be in danger once our food and grass run out.

"It depends on Wenhe." Chen Ran said with a smile, "He will send troops from Jiangzhou in Sichuan and head down the river to Jiangling. As long as Jiangling is captured, it will be Jingzhou's turn to panic."

Cheng Yu's expression eased and he smiled, "Wenhe can definitely do it."

Chen Ran did not attack the city, but just set up camp outside Xiangyang.

People who don’t know might think that his troops are from Jingzhou.

Liu Biao and others, who had already made all the necessary preparations, stockpiled large amounts of supplies and food, and still had tens of thousands of defenders in the city, were puzzled by this.

"What do you mean? The navy has already cut off the Han River, but instead of rushing to attack the city, they prioritized leisure. What does this mean?"

"Are you waiting for the troops from Sichuan?"

"Impossible. Cai Mao has deployed a large army in Yiling and the defense is strong. The Shu troops will not be able to get through no matter what."

"Then what is he waiting for?"

The defenders didn't know what Chen Ran was waiting for, and they lost their patience first.

On the one hand, he kept sending messengers to deliver letters to the Sun family in Jiangnan, inviting the Sun family to help fight Chen Ran.

On the other hand, he arranged troops to take the initiative to attack Chen Ran's camp.

Sun Jian didn't die, but Yuan Shu got his lunch box early.

As a result, Sun Jian successfully returned to Changsha, and using it as a base, he quickly swept through the counties in southern Jing and confronted Liu Biao across the river.

At this time, the main force of the Sun family was busy attacking Jiangdong, and simply chose to ignore Liu Biao's request for help.

Sun Jian even said that it would be best to let the two families fight each other. Because Sun Jian was still alive, his eldest son Sun Ce and Sun Ce's good friend Zhou Yu, although they already had a say, could hardly influence Sun Jian's decision.

Unable to find reinforcements, Liu Biao and the Jingzhou army simply had to do it on their own.

The troops stationed in various places around Xiangyang took turns to attack Chen Ran's various military camps.

However, when it comes to field battles, the Jingzhou soldiers, who are mainly county soldiers, are far less combat-effective than Chen Ran's regular army.

After suffering several defeats in succession and losing thousands of troops, the fighting enthusiasm of the Jingzhou soldiers faded and they rarely came to harass again.

However, what was surprising was that the Huang Zu navy that blocked the Han River took advantage of the cover of night and the slackness of the defenders to land and break through one of Chen Ran's villages, killing and wounding hundreds of people before returning to the ship in style.

The next day, Chen Ran came to the camp to check and asked, "Only a hundred or so riders?"

"Yes, first hundreds of sailors attacked the stockade, then hundreds of assassins broke through the fence, and then more than a hundred cavalry rushed into the camp, harassing and killing people, and setting fire everywhere."

"It's dark, and the surrounding camps are unable to provide support."

"The soldiers in our camp were not vigilant enough and lost the initiative. We were unable to form a battle formation and suffered heavy losses."

"Before the enemy general hijacked the camp and fled, he spread the word, 'It's the Bajun Jinfan thieves~~~'."

"Jinfan Thief?" Chen Ran laughed immediately when he heard the name.

"Gan Xingba, you came with a hundred riders to rob a camp, but you actually robbed me."

"Interesting." Chen Ran stroked his chin and said with a smile, "Starting from tonight, all camps will have eternal lights. If the Jingzhou sailors come to rob the camp again, they will light the eternal lights to warn them."

Chen Ran brought 50,000 to 60,000 combat soldiers, and including auxiliary troops, there were nearly 100,000 people in total.

How could an army of this size be concentrated in one camp like in some novels? They are not the toy soldiers in Toy Story.

So many soldiers were organized into hundreds of camps of various sizes.

Moreover, the establishment of each camp is different and their functions are also different.

Some are for early warning, some are for garrisoning troops, some are for storing food, some are for communication, some are in the center as the central army, and so on.

Marching, fighting, and setting up camp are all sciences, and are by no means as simple as described in time-travel novels.

Only those who can make reasonable arrangements and deployments can be called a general.

It’s not that I don’t understand or can’t do it, it’s just that it’s difficult to write it down.

The village that was broken into by Gan Ning was an early warning village not far from the shore, about seven or eight miles away from Chen Ran's central army.

There are two similar villages nearby, both used to warn and guard against the Jingzhou navy on the Han River.

Chen Ran was certain that Gan Xingba would come again, and this time he planned to meet this hero in person.

As expected, more than ten days later, Gan Ning, unable to bear the loneliness, attacked again under the cover of night.

He thought that since he had arrived more than ten days later, people here must have relaxed.

However, they didn't know that Chen Ran directly punished the camp captain on that day. After receiving the warning, no camp dared to relax.

As soon as Gan Ning and his men appeared, the eternal lamp was immediately lit.

Chen Ran, who had been sleeping with his clothes on, immediately put on his armor and mounted his horse, and galloped towards him at full speed.

A few miles is no problem at all for the cavalry.

They had even run over the terrain many times during the day to familiarize themselves with it, so although it was dark, they were able to come quickly with torches in hand.

Gan Ning couldn't even break through the camp. Seeing the long line of reinforcements holding torches rushing towards him, he became extremely anxious.

Under normal circumstances, when a camp is attacked at night, other camps will not send troops to rescue.

Because it is difficult to travel at night, forcing troops to move out can easily lead to collapse, especially when many people suffer from night blindness.

Chen Ran had made careful preparations. Not only had he selected elite cavalrymen who did not have night blindness in advance, he had also traveled back and forth many times during the day to familiarize himself with the route, so that he dared to send out troops at night.

As for why Gan Ning's sailors did not have night blindness and could launch night attacks, it was because they ate fish almost every day.

Seeing the reinforcements getting closer, Gan Ning was unwilling to give up and could only ride away.

But at this time, Chen Ran, who was riding Red Hare, had already arrived outside the camp in advance.

He shouted loudly, "Where is Gan Xingba? The last time a hundred riders raided the camp, it was amazing. I regretted not being able to experience it in person. I came here today to experience it. Do you dare to fight?"

Gan Xingba brought hundreds or even thousands of people to attack at night. Chen Ran couldn't tell clearly which one was Gan Ning, so he had to use provocation to force him to fight.

As expected, the hot-tempered Gan Ning rode out immediately, rushing towards Chen Ran while shouting, "Gan Xingba is here~~~"

Chen Ran shook the spear in his hand and rode forward to fight.

In the novel, the kind of duels that lasted dozens of rounds did not exist for Chen Ran.

When he was riding, ahem, he always used bold and aggressive battlefield moves to achieve victory in the simplest way.

To put it simply, it is the impact brought by strength and speed!

Gan Ning barely blocked the first shot, but he and his horse retreated.

The second shot followed, and there was really nothing he could do but be knocked off his horse, dizzy and dazed.

Before he could get up, the cavalrymen who followed him had already pinned him down, tied him up, and dragged him away from the camp.

"Gan Xingba, the navy, I have one too."

At the same time, hundreds of miles away on the Yiling front, Jia Xu, who could hurt Tianhe but not Wenhe, looked at the densely packed Jingzhou army camp and chuckled and gave instructions.

"Ignite~~~"

(End of this chapter)