Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 504 No Escape

"Boom~~~"

The huge warship swayed its body and collided face to face with the enemy ship in front of it.

At this moment, the two huge ships groaned at the same time.

Debris flew everywhere, and the soldiers on the warship screamed and fell into the water.

Flames still burned from the spilled wood, and not even the river water could extinguish them.

The warships of the State of Chen were constantly fleeing, and the warships of the State of Han were constantly approaching from both sides, even at the cost of colliding with each other in order to stop the enemy.

General Chen Qian Miao kept giving orders at this moment.

"Run! Run!"

This is Jiakou.

Jiakou is located near Yuyao, on the east side of Yangzhou.

Wang Lin did not adopt the strategy of concentrating forces to attack Jiankang quickly, but instead used the strategy of advancing forward and backward.

First, Gao Yanzong and Han Qinhu attacked Caishi Ferry at night, opened a gap, and sent the soldiers into the enemy's belly.

At the same time, Wang Lin led a large army to attack South Xuzhou, and used it as a stronghold to capture the surrounding cities.

After the enemy learned of the situation, they quickly began to provide support.

The navy near East Yangzhou gathered to go to South Xuzhou for support and intercept the troops on both sides of the river. After the navy of East Yangzhou had just been transferred away, Chunyu Liang and Ouyang He, who had been deployed in advance on Zhoushan Island, led their navy to attack Jiakou, hoping to attack East Yangzhou and block the passage to the east.

The navy of East Yangzhou was well-known among the navies of all parts of the State of Chen, but too many of them were transferred to reinforce South Xuzhou. The remaining troops at the moment could not stop Chunyu Liang and Ouyang He at all, and even escape was impossible for them.

Chunyu Liang led his troops westward along the coastline, while Ouyang He cut off the eastern passage.

They both have their own missions and they both do a great job.

These young men from the State of Chen were no match for the two famous warriors. Ouyang He was better as his ability was average, but Chunyu Liang was a dimensionality reduction attack.

It is Chunyu Liang's troops who are now attacking the Chen navy.

Chunyu Liang was even unwilling to let these enemies escape. After the enemy was attacked, their general Qian Miao prepared to lead his troops to flee to the north, wanting to meet up with his own reinforcements.

Chunyu Liang deployed his warships, blocked the mouth of the bay, and fought a bloody battle with the enemy.

The crossbowmen on both sides continued to shoot, and the giant ships swung their spades and attacked the enemy.

Even those ordinary warships were using ramming logs to ram the enemy.

Chunyu Liang knew these young generals in the country too well. He knew that in this situation, General Chen would adopt a circular formation, with small boats outside and large ships inside, using the small boats to entangle the enemy's large ships, and then allowing his own main ships to pass through the battlefield.

So Chunyu Liang directly used a new tactic, with fire ships at the back and warships in the front. Once the battle started, he would burn himself first.

General Chen was stunned by this operation. He saw a large fire behind the Han army. It turned out that the wind was blowing eastward, otherwise his own ships would have been burned through.

His small boats entangled the enemy's large ship, and then the main ship encountered the burning fireship without any help from the small boats.
Chunyu Liang calmly cleaned up the enemy's small boats and turned around to deal with the enemy's large ships.

When warships began to approach from three sides, Qian Miao realized that the situation was hopeless and simply chose to surrender.

The warships were just anchored on the water. Chunyu Liang sent people to take over the warships, and then chose to dock at the ferry for rest.

After this navy was destroyed, there was no decent army left in the entire East Yangzhou direction.

The soldiers drove the surrendered Chen people off the warships one by one. They looked pale and looked around, hoping to survive.

Chunyu Liang also got off the warship at this moment.

He walked briskly and went to the prisoners as quickly as possible.

Chunyu Liang stretched out his hand, and the next moment, he grabbed a person from among the prisoners of war.

"Mr. Qian, why don't you greet an acquaintance when you see one?"

This person was Qian Miao, a general from the State of Chen.

Qian Miao was handsome and weak, not looking like a general at all. He looked at Chunyu Liang with fear and bowed to greet him.

"General Chunyu!"

Chunyu Liang had no friendship with Qian Miao, but he had some friendship with his father. His father was called Qian Daozhi, who was also one of the famous generals of the State of Chen. However, he died of illness a few years ago.

Chunyu Liang looked at him for a long time.

"Why are you stationed here?"

"I"

"never mind."

Chunyu Liang had no intention of reminiscing about the past. He pulled the man to a nearby place and said bluntly, "I have a past relationship with your grandfather, so I will not punish you."

"I will let you go, and you will stay at home and stay put until the world is unified, and then you can live a peaceful life."

Qian Miao was shocked. He knew that his father had a relationship with Chunyu Liang, but he never expected that Chunyu Liang would be willing to let him go.

It is said that the Han State did not kill prisoners and would release them, but that was at the end of the war. It never released prisoners during the fighting, unless it was intentional to undermine the morale of the enemy.

Qian Miao hurriedly bowed to Chunyu Liang and thanked him for his kindness.

Chunyu Liang looked around and helped him up. "I was ordered to attack the State of Chen this time. The only person I want to kill is Chen Xu. Chen Xu has lost all conscience and killed innocent people. He deserves his punishment!"

"But the rest of them were all my friends in the past, and I don't want to do anything to them."

"After you escape, you can tell these officials in East Yangzhou that it is me and Ouyang He who are here to attack them. We are both from the south and are old friends with the people here. Tell them to surrender to me as soon as possible. If they don't want to surrender, then run away and hide."

"I'll give them three days. My position is not high, so I can only delay for three days at most. After three days, I will have to send troops. By then, there will be many northern generals in the army. They will not show mercy, and I dare not show mercy in front of them."

"If we want to surrender, we should try to find southerners to surrender. This way, we will have merits and be promoted in the Han Kingdom, and we will be able to take care of the southerners in the future."

"Do you understand it?"

Qian Miao nodded frequently.

He was detained until the evening, and when it was getting dark, Chunyu Liang captured him and several of his trusted men, and then sent people to escort them out, giving them horses and food so that they could escape as quickly as possible.

Qian Miao kowtowed to Chunyu Liang again and again, tears in his eyes, and fled in a hurry.

After Qian Miao left, Chunyu Liang indeed stopped his advance. However, he secretly hid his troops in several surrounding areas and set up ambushes.

Chunyu Liang letting Qian Miao go was certainly not a matter of "Southerners don't fight southerners". The world was about to be unified, so how could we talk about regions?
This was to undermine the resistance of East Yangzhou and even the entire eastern coastal area.

The State of Chen had set up a long defense line in the coastal areas. Even though it did not have many troops, it would still take some effort to take it down by force. The best outcome would be to conquer it without a fight.

Chunyu Liang knew very well what kind of people these guys were. In the current Chen State, the old generals were dying out, and there were almost no famous generals who could be named. The pillars of the new generation had defected to the Han State, and the remaining bunch of rubbish would not have much idea of ​​resisting.

Moreover, Chen Xu's behavior in recent days is really not popular, and the strength of the two sides is so different.

The most important thing is that surrender is not a big deal in the south. Dynasties have changed frequently over the years and everyone has become accustomed to it.

As for hiding the troops, it was to prevent the enemy from pretending to agree to surrender and then sending troops to attack. Although this possibility was very low, Chunyu Liang would not be unprepared.

After Qian Miao escaped back, he immediately spread Chunyu Liang's words to his friends.

Then, these remarks began to spread everywhere.

In the first two days, no one took any action. On the third day, just as Chunyu Liang's army set out, several counties in East Yangzhou directly sent people to surrender.

Chunyu Liang was laughing from ear to ear, but he still discussed seriously with these people how to fight for the interests of the south in the future.

Chunyu Liang did not talk about the current war at all, but only talked about the interests of the south after unification.

As soon as Ouyang He started fighting, he learned that Chunyu Liang had surrendered along the way. After hearing those remarks, he hurriedly began to follow suit.

Compared to Chunyu Liang, who defected halfway, Ouyang He had many more friends in the State of Chen.

He was a legitimate second-generation leader in the State of Chen. There was no minister in the country or local officials that Ouyang He could not name.

Just when the two generals in the east were planning a psychological attack.

Yao Xiong successfully landed his army in Nanling County.

Yao Xiong's landing this time was the safest and easiest landing in the history of the Han army, because there were no troops in Beijiangzhou.

Wang Lin's strategy was extremely successful. After Cai Shi and Nan Xuzhou were successively breached, it immediately attracted a large number of troops to rescue.

These two places are too close to Jiankang and must be rescued. Especially in Nanxuzhou, the fire on the opposite side can be seen from Jiankang, which is really fatal. From Caishi, it can even directly cut off the retreat of Chen State and prevent everyone in Jiankang from escaping.

A punch hit the vital point, and Chen Ren tried his best to rescue him.

This resulted in the navy in other places being left empty, and the navy of Beijiangzhou went to the north and south respectively to resist Gao Yanzong and Gao Changgong.

Yao Xiong took advantage of the situation and landed in Beijiangzhou.

The local army had more than 4,000 people.

Yao Xiong led his strong men ashore and immediately began to prepare for the siege. Just as Yao Xiong was making siege equipment, the enemy rushed out and wanted to attack.

Yao Xiong was overjoyed and immediately led his elite cavalry to engage in battle. In just one round, he led his elite troops to kill the enemy's main general and personally killed 18 people. The Chen soldiers were in chaos and fled in all directions, and Nanling was broken.

After the war, Yao Xiong learned that the enemy's young and inexperienced people stationed here wanted to take advantage of Yao Xiong's unstable footing to launch a decapitation operation and kill him.

The idea is very good, but his understanding of himself and his troops is not enough.

But this is also a common problem among young men. They are quite extreme on the battlefield. They are either extremely scared and dare not attack at all, or they are extremely reckless and just go up and fight.

One general after another tore apart the direction of Chen's army.

After losing Jiangbei, the navy of Chen State was like a headless fly, being pulled back and forth on the long front line. It had to defend everywhere, but in the end, it could not defend anywhere.

Bazhou.

Gao Changgong stood at the bow, wearing a mask, holding up the weapon in his hand and roaring loudly.

The warship rushed towards the enemy at high speed.

Gao Changgong fought a great battle with Lu Xida and Xu Jingcheng near Dongting Lake.

The main warships of the Han Dynasty are all on Wang Lin's side. Gao Changgong does not have many warships. There are two giant ships and more than 300 medium and large warships of various types. Including other small boats, the navy has no more than 10,000 people.

In terms of naval strength, the State of Chen was much stronger.

In terms of experience and ability in water warfare, Gao Changgong was not outstanding, but he had the army to help him.
Its powerful army, led by He Ruobi and Shi Wansui, was invincible and unbeatable.

As for the navy, he borrowed Xiao Mohe and Ren Zhong, who were enough to deal with the enemy's navy.

A powerful army can forcibly capture the enemy's ferry, forcing the enemy to dock in the water fort for reorganization. However, the supplies of the water fort and warships are limited, and the land logistics are cut off, which is also a considerable blow to the navy.

In addition, various unfavorable news continued to arrive from the north, and morale became increasingly low.

Although Gao Changgong has not yet won on the water, that is almost inevitable.

The gates of Jiankang were wide open.

The fully armed elite troops protected the emperor and prepared to escape from Jiankang City.

There was chaos in the city. The army led the way and evacuated southward in a mighty force.

There was not only the emperor, but also many ministers in the city, their families, and so on.

Jiankang cannot be defended.

Jiankang couldn't even defend itself against Hou Jing, let alone against the powerful Han army.

Wang Lin captured Southern Xuzhou. The sound of the Han army’s war drums could be heard in the city. How could the people in Jiankang sit still?
Following the advice of his ministers, Chen Xu decided to leave Jiankang temporarily.

The ministers' idea was very simple. Chen State was vast and rich in resources. Although there were many northerners, they were not used to the climate of the south. As long as they could delay for a while, the disease would be rampant and they would definitely be defeated. Then they could counterattack.

Chen Xu and others did not dare to run to Southern Yuzhou because Gao Yanzong was there.

They can only run from Jinling.

That is, run along the east side.

After the emperor left, the city became even more chaotic. People fled crying. This prosperous capital city was like a purgatory on earth and suddenly lost its order.

In the direction of southern Xuzhou, the young and fierce general Zhou Luohou was fighting tenaciously with the enemy.

Government offices in the city.

Wang Lin sat in the upper seat with a smile on his face, looking at the generals standing on his left and right.

There was food placed in front of everyone, and Wang Lin slowly praised everyone for their contributions during the war.

Wang Lin was all smiles and really wasn't in a hurry at all.

After conquering South Xuzhou, Wang Lin sent men to capture nearby ferry crossings and cities, while waiting for the northern troops to arrive here in a steady stream.

As for himself, he just sat in the government office, occasionally went out to see the scenery of the past, and then expressed his feelings.

Cao Qing couldn't stand it anymore and said privately that Wang Lin looked like she came here to retire.

"Everyone!"

"Great news."

"After all your efforts, Chen Xu was finally frightened out of his wits. I just received news that Chen Xu abandoned Stone City and fled with the officials!"

Wang Lin said this with a smile and couldn't help clapping.

The generals looked at each other, and Cao Qing stood up hastily, "General! I am willing to be the vanguard!!"

"it is good!"

Wang Lin nodded, and then gave the order, "I will order you to lead the troops to capture Jiangyin!"

Cao Qing was stunned and said quickly: "General, shouldn't we go after Chen Xu?"

"Chen Xu abandoned the city and fled with so many officials. He certainly couldn't run too fast. At this time, if we chase him with elite cavalry, we will definitely be able to capture him alive!!"

The other generals also agreed.

Wang Lin shook his head. "When I first sent out the troops, I told you that you must not underestimate the enemy and must not rush ahead rashly."

"We have already opened a gap, and troops from the rear are still arriving. The situation is extremely favorable for us. Why should we be in a hurry?"

"Let's continue to expand our base. Chen Xu won't be able to escape."

"You will all have the opportunity to make a difference."

Wang Lin’s attitude was firm and everyone had no choice but to follow his orders.

Wang Lin continued to concentrate on fighting Zhou Luohou's army and expanding his territory, almost ignoring the escaped Chen Xu.

No one quite understood his idea.

Although Zhou Luohou was brave, he had no advantage in fighting the Han army on land. He was able to repel Wang Lin's attack at first, but as the number of Han troops increased and the cavalry began to roar past, Zhou Luohou's pressure increased dramatically.

He could only retreat to various dangerous checkpoints and try to stop the enemy.

When news of Chen Xu's retreat came, their morale was low.

There are many deserters and fugitives every day.

They persisted like this for more than ten days, and the enemy did not launch a general attack, but most of Zhou Luohou's men had fled.

Everyone in Jiankang fled all the way.

They were moving quite fast and soon passed Jinling and arrived at Yixing.

But as soon as we arrived here, a lot of bad news came.

First of all, Gao Yanzong next door has conquered several cities again, and they are not far from here. With the guidance of a local, they can cut off their route.

If that's all the news, then it's nothing. Just head east and escape from Wujun.

But there was another piece of bad news: Chunyu Liang had landed in East Yangzhou and launched a massive attack, capturing many cities.

Gao Yanzong was in the west and Chunyu Liang was in the east, and the two of them directly cut off the road!

Chen Xu’s current position is extremely awkward, with enemies on three sides and a river on one side!
When the scouts brought the news, the emperor and his ministers were speechless.

No way to go?!
These days, they have received shocking news one after another, and they have become somewhat accustomed to it.

Just at this time, a minister came up with another idea.

Do you want to surrender?

(End of this chapter)