My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 193: Kill Zhang Hu and Repel Su Fei
As the Han army's counterweight catapults began to output at full power, huge rocks after huge rocks hit the decks and sides of the tower ships, and Zhang Hu's army gradually fell into despair.

The unprecedented heavy firepower caused panic among these troops, whose morale was already low.

In particular, many military officers knew that Huang Zu had killed the court angel last year and had committed a serious crime. Sooner or later, he would be besieged and attacked by the princes, so they felt a little uneasy.

It was only because Huang Zu had been guarding Jiangxia for many years and had many confidants, and that he had provided sufficient food and wages in previous years and had complete military equipment and warships, that everyone felt that "if you eat Marshal Huang's food, you have to serve Marshal Huang."

If there is hope of winning, then we should hold on a little longer and be worthy of the benefits Huang Zu has given us over the years.

But once they fall into despair and find that it is almost impossible for them to win and that they have no advantage even in naval battles, such an army will disintegrate very quickly.

The two ships were far from being completely smashed, but they were beaten unilaterally, with their boards broken and their sides broken. The archers in the cabins were also killed and injured by boulders and flying wood chips, and their morale soon collapsed.

Each ship was originally equipped with at least 500 archers, including the second-line reserve. After only dozens of people were killed or injured, the remaining soldiers jumped into the water from the rear to escape, unwilling to hide on the tower ship any longer.

Gan Ning, who was far away, saw the right opportunity and ordered the catapult to fire a final round of stone bombs, and then let his own fleet rush forward to seize the pass.

Several warships had iron rams temporarily installed on their bows for boarding, and they accelerated their hulls to full speed and rammed hard into the sunken building ship. With a few dull sounds of breaking wood, the two sides collided fiercely, and then the warriors of the Jinfan Camp began to board the building ship to seize the wreckage of the building ship.

Although this ram is made of iron, it is a temporary addition after all, and is located above the waterline. It is impossible to smash the enemy ship directly, but it can still fix the position of each other and prevent it from loosening after penetrating into the enemy ship.

There were still dozens of soldiers on the enemy ship who were defending stubbornly, but they were hacked and stabbed to death by Gan Ning's troops who boarded the ship. Seeing the bad situation, the rest could not overcome the fear of death and knelt down in surrender.

The Han army took advantage of the high morale and attacked the hillsides on both sides, shouting: "Huang Zu is plotting a rebellion! His entire family must be exterminated! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

"All the soldiers of the Han Dynasty should abandon the dark and join the light as soon as possible! Do not associate with the rebels!"

The defenders on the mountain had not suffered much damage at first, but when they saw that the friendly forces on the tower ship had been defeated so badly, they were shaken and realized that it was meaningless to hold on. As the front had been breached, they abandoned their positions and fled.

There were also some who ran slowly and were caught up, and they had no will to fight at all and simply knelt down and surrendered.

Gan Ning's soldiers spent another half an hour to clear the channel again, and used several small boats to forcibly tow the wreckage of the tower ship away so that it would not block the middle of the river. Then they marched lightly and quickly, and reached the city of Zhu County that night.

However, it was already late and the catapults needed to be disassembled and transported to a new frontline position, so Gan Ning was not in a hurry to attack the city. He chose to set up camp hastily and build a water fort beside the river.

The next morning, Gan Ning's army's counterweight catapults had been pulled to the front line for reassembly.

A small city like Zhu County certainly could not withstand the fierce attack of the Han army. In addition, the defeat yesterday resulted in the loss of a lot of bows and crossbows and soldiers, and morale plummeted.

After being bombarded by catapults for several rounds, although the city wall could not be destroyed and the soldiers on the city wall were scattered, Gan Ning's army seized a gap and launched the first assault, and reached the top of the city wall in two waves.

When attacking the city, they still sent hundreds of scolding soldiers to shout at the foot of the city in advance, spreading the argument that "Huang Zu is a traitor and Jiangxia has been attacked by Cao and Liu", further undermining the will of the defenders.

Huang Zu's army fell into complete chaos. After Gan Ning's troops climbed up the wall, they no longer chose to engage in hand-to-hand combat on the city walls, but surrendered wherever they passed.

The morale of the second-line cannon fodder troops in Huang Zu's army who had originally surrendered from Yuan Shu was even lower. Some of them surrendered in an organized manner before they even came into direct combat with Gan Ning's troops.

It can be seen how unwise it was for Huang Zu to offend Zhuge Jin and become a criminal in the court for this little benefit last year.

Everything originates from greed.

After only half a day of fierce fighting, Zhang Hu was killed in the chaos, and the remaining remnants of Huang Zu's army all surrendered.

……

It took Gan Ning two days to break through the Ju River and capture the county town in the direction of Zhu County.

Although Su Fei on the south bank was cut off from all news, he still felt more and more uneasy.

It was too quiet. The north bank was sealed off so tightly that no sound could get through. I had no idea how the battle was going.

Zhang Hu's tactic of blocking the waterway should be able to delay Liu Bei's army for a few days, right? Maybe it can also wear down Liu Bei's army's spirit.

When their forces weaken and eventually become exhausted, he could send out the main force of the Jiangxia navy to support and attack Guan Yu from both sides, giving him a chance to turn the tables.

However, how long he should lie dormant before taking action and how long Zhang Hu can hold on are all unknowns.

On the evening of April 15, when Zhu County in Jiangbei had actually been breached, Su Fei was still holding his daily military meeting to discuss the timing of the battle with Zhang Shuo, Deng Long, Chen Jue and others.

"How about we gather the navy tomorrow and go out to the river to attack Guan Yu? Maybe Guan Yu's main force has been pinned down by Zhang Hu, and has been unable to break through for several days, and his morale is low. If it drags on, I'm afraid Zhang Hu can't hold on." Su Fei said after pondering.

However, this relatively "pessimistic" estimate was immediately opposed by Zhang Shuo, Deng Long and Chen Jiu, who all felt that the governor underestimated Zhang Hu:
"Zhang Hu has several ships and can defend in dangerous places. It should be no problem to hold off the enemy for three to five days, right? Why not let him wear down Guan Yu's spirit? If we attack now, I'm afraid we still won't be sure of victory."

Su Fei saw that his three generals all had an attitude of "hoping Zhang Hu could delay a little longer and exhaust the enemy first", so he had to endure it a little longer.

Of course he knew that these guys all hoped that their friendly forces could withstand more damage so that they could fight more easily later on. They just believed that “I would rather my friend die than let myself die.”

……

However, the next morning, Su Fei and others realized that they were totally wrong.

Because when it was just dawn, they suddenly saw hundreds of warships larger than battleships on the Yangtze River, covering the river and completely blocking the waterway outside Fankou Water Fort.

The sentinels of the Fankou Water Fort gave a timely warning, and Su Fei hurriedly pulled out several large ships, first crossing the Fankou channel, tied the cables and anchored the stones, and prepared to replicate Zhang Hu's defense strategy. The archers in the water fort also climbed up the wall to be on guard.

However, Guan Yu's next move quickly shattered Su Fei's fantasy of resistance.

From the attacking fleet, a warship with a white sail sailed out, carrying Guan Yu's envoy, and went directly to the Fankou Water Fort, demanding to convey Guan Yu's letter and negotiation requests.

"Commander-in-chief, should we shoot arrows to stop them?" Zhang Shuo, who was in charge of guarding the village wall, was a little undecided.

"When two armies are fighting, we should not kill the envoy. Let him come in and see what he has to say." Su Fei also knew the current situation of his lord Huang Zu, and knew that his side was completely wrong, so he did not dare to kill the envoy and could only let him in.

Zhang Shuo did not object and allowed the envoy's ship to sail into Fankou.

The envoy sent by Guan Yu was not an important person. He was just Meng Jian, who had joined forces with Pang Tong in Yuzhang, and was one of the so-called "Four Friends of Zhuge" in history.

Meng Jian had no talent, so he served in Yuzhang for two years without any promotion. Pang Tong had become a county magistrate, while Meng Jian was still a county magistrate. However, it was better to send a harmless person to such a wartime mission, as there was a risk of being caught or even killed by the enemy.

Firstly, since he has no ability, the other party has no need to kill him or threaten to detain him;
Secondly, if you can get things done, you can get some credit.

Meng Jian was a man of some courage. He spoke clearly and calmly even in the enemy camp. After being led to Su Fei, he asked someone to bring a box to Su Fei.

Su Fei already had a bad feeling in his heart, but he still opened it to confirm, and as a result, he saw Zhang Hu's head inside.

Meng Jian put extreme pressure on him, saying, "Zhang Hu was stubborn and has been executed. Zhu County has also been captured. Your army's defense line in the north of the Yangtze River has completely collapsed. As long as our army is willing, we can advance to Xiling at any time! Mei Qian, who Huang Zu painstakingly surrendered last year, has surrendered to our army again and has been relieved of his military power by General Annan (Guan Yu).

Our army has to attack with all its might now, because there are signs that Yuan Shu's defeated troops have also entered Jiangxia in small numbers, and Cao's army has also come after Yuan Shu. Whether it is the General of Chariots and Cavalry or Liu Jingzhou, they will stop Yuan and Cao from entering at all costs! Whoever delays our army from stopping Yuan and Cao from entering must die!
Commander Su, you are also a man who knows the current situation. The General of Chariots and Cavalry and Liu Jingzhou were originally at peace, and had no intention of invading the counties of Jingzhou. It was really following the emperor's clear order to kill the rebel Huang Zu. If Huang Zu is not dead, Jingzhou will never be at peace.

If you are loyal to Jingzhou, loyal to Liuzhou Mu, and sympathize with the soldiers and people of Jingzhou, you should abandon the traitor Huang Zu and shorten the suffering of the soldiers and people of Jiangxia! Moreover, your army's high hopes of "blocking the Jushui/Fankou waterway with tower ships" to stop our army's advance are useless! Zhang Hu has proved this with his head!

I won’t tell you how General Annan and Gan Zhonglang broke through the blockade of Jushui and captured Zhu County, but I can tell you that it took less than a day for each of them! Most of the time was wasted on the road!

If you really want to experience for yourself how our army broke through the tower ship defense line, it is not impossible, but General Fubo has said in advance that before breaking Xiakou City, anyone who sees our army's secret method of attacking the city will have only two choices: surrender or die. You will not be allowed to return alive to report to Huang Zu.

That’s all I have to say. I hope Governor Su will take care of himself! There are some things that you can’t leave alive the moment you see them. Zhang Hu’s head is irrefutable evidence!”

After Meng Jian finished speaking, he still looked calm and composed. None of the three generals beside Su Fei dared to rebuke him, let alone shout out the unwise words of killing the envoy to establish his authority.

Liu Bei’s army’s attitude of “doing what they say and fighting to the end” has been fully revealed and is very deterrent.

"Please allow me to think about it... Can you ask General Guan to suspend the attack?" Su Fei showed a painful look on his face, and after hesitating for a while, he only said this.

At this moment, Su Fei was actually feeling very regretful in his heart. He felt that he should not have met the envoy just now!
We shouldn’t give the other party the opportunity to hand over Zhang Hu’s head!
Now Zhang Hu's head has been seen by the three generals around him, several trusted high-ranking military officers, and dozens of attendants in the tent. It will be very difficult to seal it up, at least these people themselves are already scared.

After this morale-destroying news spread, even those who were still able to fight were now unable to do so.

Sun Tzu said: "So the morale of the three armies can be taken away, and the heart of the general can be taken away." That is why the morning spirit is sharp, the daytime spirit is lazy, and the evening spirit retreats.

Therefore, those who are good at using troops avoid their sharp edge and attack them when they are tired and retreating. This is how to control the momentum.

Today's Guan Yu and Zhuge Jin can both be called "people who control qi."

Su Fei has been severely punished.

After thinking it over, he could only think of the last one: he couldn't fight anymore, he should run away and buy time first.

Originally, in his conception, his response strategy was a three-part argument: first, let Zhang Hu block the mouth. If that didn't work, then fight a decisive battle on water. If that still didn't work, then escape.

Now it’s just that he failed so badly in the first step that he has no determination to carry out the second step, so he skips the second step and goes directly to the third step.

Run away!
As for how to escape, two alternative strategies flashed through Su Fei's mind.

If he was loyal to Huang Zu out of loyalty and loyalty, he should have fled to Xiakou or Shaxian and defended the city with Huang Zu.

But if this is not possible, or if one is doomed to die, there will be no honor after death, and one will be slandered as following a traitor...

There was one last option, which was to escape to Xiakou, cross the river and join Liu Biao, and from then on be directly under Liu Biao's command.

Huang Zu might have deserved death, but only Huang Zu was guilty, and at most his family members, such as his son Huang She. But the soldiers and civilians of Jingzhou and other generals were innocent.

As a member of the Jingzhou army, Su Fei felt that surrendering to Guan Yu was a bit unfair, but giving up the southern part of Jiangxia County and returning to Jiangbei and Hannan to follow Liu Biao was still in line with loyalty and could also save the lives of his brothers.

So he tried to delay time through Meng Jian.

Meng Jian did not suspect anything and agreed to give Su Fei time to discuss the terms of surrender. He then went back to report and persuade Guan Yu to delay the attack.

As soon as Meng Jian left, Su Fei immediately ordered: "All troops board the ships, load the baggage and fodder as much as possible, forget it if it's too late! Prepare to sink the tower ships blocking the waterway at Fankou to stop Guan Yu's pursuit. We will retreat to Xiakou via the waterway on the other side of Liangzi Lake. If the large ships can't pass, we can just abandon the ships and go ashore before reaching Shaxian, and then find another way!"

Zhang Shuo and the other two were slightly surprised: "Commander-in-chief! Are you really not going to fight Guan Yu anymore?"

Su Fei shook his head in despair: "He was able to break through the Jushui Pass in one day and conquer Zhu County in one day. Zhang Hu didn't even weaken Guan Yu. What can we use to fight? I still don't know how Zhang Hu died!

I have thought it through. At this point, our Lord... Huang Zu must die. If we are loyal to the Jingzhou Army, we will at most return to Liu Jingzhou's direct jurisdiction. This is the most we can do. It is impossible to protect a sinner who killed an angel of the court."

The three generals were silent, they also knew that what Su Fei said made sense.

The sudden destruction of Zhang Hu was such a huge shock. The key point was that the moves Zhang Hu used were all moves that they originally felt were very confident and that they also wanted to use.

Su Fei asked himself if he could come up with any new ideas.

Su Fei's navy quickly got into action, delaying time while preparing to escape.

……

On the other side, Meng Jian brought Su Fei's reply to Guan Yu and Zhuge Jin and told them all of Su Fei's requests.

Guan Yu was quite magnanimous. He was proud of his superiors but could not tolerate his inferiors. As long as the other party showed a humble attitude, he would not mind giving them some time.

Especially when Guan Yu put himself in the shoes of others, he felt that this kind of decision to "betray the master" must require more psychological preparation and construction, otherwise, if one makes a hasty decision to betray the master, wouldn't he be a despicable person?

However, Zhuge Jin, who was next to Guan Yu, was not so magnanimous. He was never afraid to assume the worst of people.

After listening to Meng Jian's retelling, he just sneered and said, "You can ask our army to suspend the attack, but then let Su Fei immediately untie the two ships tied to the Fankou channel and sail away. Otherwise, how can he show his sincerity and prove that this is not a delaying tactic!

Immediately shout again, demanding that the boat be moved away immediately, otherwise it will be regarded as a delaying tactic and attack directly! And let the scolding hand speak clearly and warn them not to play tricks!

I have thought of all the possible reactions that Su Fei might have after receiving the letter of persuasion to surrender, and I have also thought of the precautions! Don't hurt others and yourself!"

(End of this chapter)