Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 213 Yuan Shu, the Landlubber

The next morning, as dawn broke, the pale blue sky gleamed with a cold light, and frost clung to the withered grass, looking as if a layer of salt had been sprinkled on it. The wind, though not strong, was sharp and piercing, deliberately seeking out the seams of people's clothes.

Following military orders, Yan Yi's various units began to move frequently, and the camps were being repaired and reinforced in full swing. Scouts were stationed all around the camps to closely monitor the movements of Zhang Xun's troops.

The commotion caused by Zhang Xun was no less significant. Not only were 12,000 elite troops gathering at Zhang Xun's camp from both the north and south, but the garrisons of cities such as Qu'a and Wujin were also being moved towards Yongping.

Another day passed, and Zhang Xun's troops completed their assembly. The 18,000-strong army then spread out in formation and advanced towards Guangde Dazhai with great momentum, setting up camp three miles northeast of Guangde Dazhai.

Within a ten-mile radius of Guangde Great Camp, a tense and volatile situation immediately descended upon the area. Yan Yi and Sun Ce's combined forces, totaling 17,000 men, formed a pincer movement, defending the camp. Zhang Xun's forces, on the other hand, adopted an aggressive offensive posture, aiming to capture Guangde Great Camp.

The word "conquer" is perhaps inappropriate; in Zhang Xun's words, it should be "subduing the enemy without fighting."

After everything was ready, he left 8,000 troops to resist Yan Yi's forces, while he personally led 10,000 troops, menacingly approaching the Guangde East Village Pass.

At Zhang Xun's instruction, ten thousand soldiers shouted in unison outside the pass, their voices like thunder, shaking the surrounding fields.

"Sun Ce is a traitor who has gathered a crowd to rebel! Your Lordship has personally ordered General Fenwu to suppress this traitor!"

"Brothers in the village, think of your wives, children, and parents. Do not be deceived by this traitor Sun and aid and abet the evildoer!"

"Those who abandon darkness and embrace light will be pardoned and spared punishment; those who stubbornly resist will have their entire family, including three generations of their relatives, implicated!"

The deafening shouts reached the main camp, causing a commotion among the garrison.

Sun Ce had anticipated this, assigning the most determined soldiers to guard the passes. With the reassurance of officers at all levels, the riot was quickly quelled.

The chaotic situation that Zhang Xun had hoped for did not materialize. He frowned slightly and gave the order to attack the stronghold.

The attack on the stronghold was not very strong; it was merely a probe.

As before, after a brief period of panic, the defending troops gradually calmed down and began to rely on the terrain to defend themselves.

A quarter of an hour later, the attacking soldiers quickly retreated amidst the sound of drums signaling their withdrawal.

Zhang Xun stared at the two or three hundred corpses in front of the pass with a grim face, realizing that it would be difficult to win over the soldiers in the village by conventional means alone.

"Withdraw troops!"

A shadow fell over his heart, and he reluctantly issued the order to withdraw his troops.

The attacking soldiers lined up outside the pass and retreated in an orderly fashion towards their own camp.

But after walking about a mile, the east gate of Guangde Dazhai creaked open.

Sun Ce personally led 5,000 troops and cautiously pursued Zhang Xun's forces.

Undoubtedly, this was also a test, only the tester had changed.

Taking advantage of the slight lapse in formation caused by Zhang Xun's retreat, Sun Ce decisively issued the order to attack.

Urged on by the sound of war drums, the two thousand soldiers in the vanguard charged timidly toward the enemy. Before they even reached the enemy's lines, their formation began to crumble.

Seeing that things were not going well, Sun Ce immediately ordered the soldiers in the central army to use their bows and crossbows to hold back the enemy and cover the retreat of the two thousand soldiers in the front.

The 5,000 troops arrived quickly and left just as quickly, retreating back to the main camp before even engaging the enemy in direct combat.

Zhang Xun's soldiers were completely bewildered. What were they doing?

Sun Ce returned to the main camp with a somewhat solemn expression. He entrusted the task of comforting the soldiers to Cheng Pu and others, while he hurriedly went to the command tent to record the details of the battle. He added at the end, "The morale of the army is not stable, so we can defend but not attack," and ordered someone to report it to Yan Yi.

Yan Yizheng personally led a large army to attack Zhang Xun's camp in order to contain Zhang Xun's troops. After receiving the military report, he thought for a moment and then calmly ordered the troops to withdraw.

Over the next two days, Zhang Xun gradually intensified his attack on the stronghold. At the same time, he wrote to Yuan Shu, requesting that Yuan Shu arrest a group of rebels' family members and immediately escort them to Guangde.

Yan Yi also intensified his attacks on the enemy's camps in order to play the role of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao".

Meanwhile, Zhou Xin arrived at Guangde Village with hundreds of boxes of copper coins and a group of experienced military commanders. He began recording merits and distributing rewards and compensation according to regulations. Then, to the astonishment of Sun Ce and the others, he skillfully guided and 'brainwashed' the soldiers of each unit.

"Under the young lord's command, there are no starving corpses; we dare to laugh at the stench of wine and meat behind the rich man's gate! Today we shed blood to fertilize the scorched earth; next year, the rice fields will ripple across the land!"

"We vow to build warm nests for widows and widowers, dare to teach orphans and children to smile, and ensure that smoke rises from every chimney and everyone has clothes to keep warm!"

"If everyone in the world is well-fed and clothed, what fear is there of having my bones buried in the green hills? I will not retire until this wish is fulfilled, and even in death I will sing the song of righteousness!"

"To die peacefully in old age is not just empty talk; to be able to use one's strength in youth is today! Wherever the young lord's sword points, that is my homeland!!"

Slogans that stirred the blood began to resound throughout Dazhai.

Sun Ce's face turned green, and he then realized that the hearts and minds of the people he had painstakingly won over were visibly turning against Yan Yi.

In terms of spending money, he was no match for Yan Yi; in terms of winning people's hearts, he was no match for Yan Yi either. The only thing he had left was the prestige he had accumulated through his military achievements.

But it is foreseeable that once Yan Yi wins this great battle, the last bit of prestige he relied on will be replaced.

Amidst Sun Ce's anxieties and uncertainties, the morale of the soldiers in Guangde camp rose daily, and they began to be able to engage in some degree of open-field combat with Yuan's army.

Meanwhile, in Qiantang, more than 200 miles away, wartime has also begun, and all preparations for war have been quietly completed.

The Qiantang Navy mobilized almost its entire force, with five hundred warships sailing majestically towards the Yangtze River. The cost was that Qiantang Port was placed under blockade, and commercial activities came to a complete standstill.

Yan Yi was determined to cut off Yuan Shu's supply lines, even at the cost of temporarily abandoning Qiantang Bay.

A large amount of money and precious jewels were secretly sent to the Xu family mansion in Shanyin. The traitor Xu Jing will be responsible for keeping Wang Lang in check for the next period of time.

Despite the one-year ceasefire agreement between Yan Yi and Wang Lang, and despite Wang Lang's recent severe beating and lack of recovery, Yan Yi remained uneasy and was willing to pay a hefty price to eliminate the threat posed by the Kuaiji navy.

A day later, the Qiantang Navy sailed menacingly into the Yangtze River via the Yangzijiang estuary, causing panic among the counties and prefectures along the river.

People then realized that Yan Yi still had a navy capable of dominating the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The attention given to the Qiantang Navy instantly overshadowed the battle of Guangde.

This was the first time since Yuan Shu occupied Huainan that the Jiangdong army had entered Yuan Shu's territory.

It's always been Yuan Shu attacking others; now, is it the other way around?

Amidst the uproar, the Qiantang navy swiftly and unexpectedly attacked Ruxukou. Yuan Shu's navy, with Jiujiang Port as its core and Chaohu Lake and Ruxukou as its two wings, formed a defensive system along the Huai River and the Yangtze River.

If the Qiantang Navy wanted to control the waterways of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it needed to first defeat Yuan Shikai's navy. To defeat Yuan Shikai's navy, it needed to first break through Ruxukou, then advance eastward to Ruxushui, enter Chaohu Lake, defeat the Chaohu Navy, and finally reach Shaopi along Shishui, then enter the Huai River via Feishui, and defeat the Jiujiang Navy.

Only in this way can we completely control the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and cut off the grain supply route that Yuan's army was using to transport grain to Danyang.

The following afternoon at 1:00 PM, the Qiantang Navy arrived at the Ruxukou waters after a sixteen-hour voyage.

Ruxukou is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It is the only waterway connecting Chaohu Lake to the Yangtze River and a key hub for water transport in the Jianghuai region.

Here the river narrows abruptly, and the mountains on both sides become very narrow, forming a natural "water-based Hangu Pass". Its strategic value to the Yangtze River defense line is equivalent to the Allied forces' desperate defense of Gibraltar during World War II, or the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait in later generations.

During the Three Kingdoms period in history, four major battles broke out between Cao Wei and Eastern Wu at Ruxukou, lasting for forty years.

Despite repeated attacks by Cao Wei, they were unable to break through the defenses of Ruxu Fortress. Even on his deathbed, Cao Cao lamented, "Without Ruxu, we will ultimately be controlled by Jiangdong."

However, such an important water fortress was wasted in the hands of Yuan Shu, who was unable to swim.

Yuan Shu's emphasis on Ruxukou was clearly strategically short-sighted, which can be summed up in one sentence: "He used it temporarily but did not value it, and wanted to control it but had no power to do so."

The principle of "temporary use without heavy reliance" is reflected in Yuan Shu's military deployment that prioritized the Huai River over the Yangtze River. He concentrated his main naval force in the Huai River area to defend against Cao Cao and Lü Bu, but stationed only a small number of light ships at the crucial Ruxukou Pass.

Lü Meng once said, "If Shu had seized Ruxu earlier, like our lord (Sun Quan), how could Sun Lang (Sun Ce) have sailed straight in?"

The inability to control the navy was reflected in the many shortcomings of Yuan Shu's navy.

Yuan Shu regarded his navy as an 'auxiliary force' rather than an independent fighting force. Yuan's ships were mainly used for water transport and short-distance support, and did not have the strength for large-scale fleet battles. Their ship types were limited, mainly consisting of light inland river warships such as the Mengchong and Zouge, which were difficult to compete with warships, let alone tower ships.

Yuan Shu also lacked experienced naval commanders. Almost all of his generals were only good at land warfare command, and there were very few naval talents.

Even more frightening was that most of the soldiers in Yuan's navy were recruited from the Huaibei region. They were not skilled at handling boats and were prone to seasickness in the wind and waves of the Yangtze River. Their combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of the soldiers from Danyang and Wuyue, who had grown up on the water.

Yan Yi was intimately familiar with Yuan Shu's weaknesses, which was a key reason why he dared to send the Qiantang navy deep into Yuan Shu's territory.

When his military order reached Qiantang, Quan Rou almost fainted, thinking that Yan Yi was willing to sacrifice the Qiantang navy to cut off Yuan's army's supply lines.

It wasn't until the Qiantang Navy arrived at Ruxukou that Quan Rou had to admire Yan Yi's uncanny foresight.

He stared at the forty or fifty warships and more than a hundred small boats outside Ruxu Port, still unable to believe his eyes.

This paltry sum of money doesn't even deserve to be called a navy! It wouldn't even be enough to fill a tooth gap for your entire family!
"Issue the order: this battle will be handled by Gongfu."

Quan Rou looked uninterested, yawned lazily, and turned back to her cabin.

The flag bearer on the Bluebird responded with a "Yes, sir!" and then raised the white flag representing the west. He waved it three times, signifying that command was being given to Huang Gai, and then made a gesture of raising the flag, indicating that Huang Gai should get things done as soon as possible.

Huang Gai, standing on another warship, was equally uninterested, but as a deputy general, it was only right that he carry out the orders of his commander. Moreover, as a surrendered general, he was proud and eager to accumulate military merits in order to escape the predicament of being 'inferior'.

Even the thinnest mosquito leg is still a piece of meat. Quan Rou may not care, but he's not picky about food.

Huang Gai braced himself, his eyes fixed on the enemy ships in the distance, his bushy beard bristling in the river wind: "Beat the drums and give the order! Thirty fighting ships to launch a frontal assault, and one hundred warships to block the enemy ships' escape routes!"

dong dong dong.
The drum and flag commands were quickly relayed.

Thirty warships moved at the command, spreading out in a cone shape, like cats pouncing on mice, and sailed toward the narrow river channel of Ruxu Port.

The term "narrow" here is relative. Compared to the Yangtze River's wide expanses of water, which can be over a kilometer wide, the Ruxu Estuary, which is only a little over a hundred meters wide, can indeed be described as narrow.

"catapult!"

"Fire arrows!"

As new flag and drum commands were issued, massive stones and dense rockets rained down from the sky, covering the enemy ships inch by inch.

After three rounds of attacks, the enemy ships were in complete disarray. Some shattered on the river, some were set ablaze by rockets, and some were riddled with arrows, with screams of agony echoing throughout the area.

The thirty warships ignored the enemy ships' weak attacks and continued to rush forward at full speed with an overwhelming force.

The two ships were vastly different in size; the Mengchong was only about a quarter the size of the Doujian, and the Zouge was even smaller.

The enemy ships began to scatter and flee, like mice being chased by a cat.

Click
Hooks and grapples protruded from the gunboat's hull, firmly hooking onto fleeing enemy ships and eliminating them one by one.

Boom!

The hooks also included some battering poles with iron blocks at the ends. When the poles fell, they instantly smashed the enemy ships, sending wood chips flying everywhere. The ship's structure was severely damaged, rendering it unable to move and leaving it helpless to be slaughtered.

The enemy ships that managed to escape did not fare much better; they were quickly surrounded and slaughtered by the hundreds of warships surrounding them.

A quarter of an hour later, the one-sided naval battle came to an end. The entire "Ruxukou Naval Force" was wiped out, and the river was filled with floating corpses.

Huang Gai then issued a military order to burn down the docks.

Flames shot into the sky, and the raging fire gradually engulfed Ruxu Port.

Thousands of Yuan's infantrymen stood on the riverbank, which had not yet been affected by the flames, watching the enemy ships do as they pleased with their eyes wide open, but they were helpless.

Illuminated by the blazing firelight, the Qiantang Navy gracefully turned its ships around and sailed towards Chaohu Lake.

Chaohu Port was both a military port and a training base for Yuan Shu's navy, but it was of little use. Apart from giving the Qiantang navy more pleasure in humiliation, it was of no use at all.

Half a day later, Chaohu Port was also reduced to ashes in a blaze of fire.

The Qiantang navy arrived too quickly and suddenly, leaving Yuan Shu's scattered naval forces no time to regroup. Given that Yuan Shu's overall strength was already inferior to that of the Qiantang navy, and given the opportunity to defeat the enemy piecemeal, it can only be said that this calamity was destined to befall him.

In just two days, Yuan Shu's defense system in the Jianghuai region has been torn to shreds.

For Yuan Shu, this was an extremely heavy blow. A small leak can sink a great ship; Yuan Shu's loss was far more than just two ports. The pressure of his defeated navy would gradually mount on the Huaibei defense line, and what awaited Yuan Shu was an even more ferocious offensive from Cao Cao in the future.

Emboldened by their winning streak, the Qiantang Navy, like a thief addicted to raiding, grinned as it pounced on the main force of Yuan's navy, the assembly point of Jiujiang Port!

(End of this chapter)