I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 68 Crossing the River (Part 1)

Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Huang Gai, and Zhu Zhi led two thousand soldiers by boat to Liyang, where they joined Liu Miao's camp.

Liu Miao hosted a banquet in his honor, and Zhou Yu was introduced during the meal.

In fact, because Zhou Yu and Sun Ce were good friends, they had long heard of Zhou Yu's name.

But when they heard that Liu Miao had actually appointed Zhou Yu as a general and commander-in-chief, their expressions became quite interesting.

Fortunately, just as Zhou Yu had predicted, Cheng Pu and the others did not dare to question Liu Miao and Zhou Yu immediately. Therefore, no matter what they thought, they eventually accepted the matter and obeyed Zhou Yu's orders.

"set off!"

On the seventh day of the tenth month, which was the beginning of winter, Zhou Yu finally decided to cross the river!
Liu Miao then got out of bed, still half asleep, showing no signs of being a commander-in-chief.

Not only that…

I don't know about the prior arrangements for this battle.

I don't know the specific details of this battle.

We also don't know about the military troop movements involved in this battle!
Liu Miao simply put on his gold and silver scale armor, then covered it with a crimson cloak for warmth, and came to Zhou Yu, yawning: "Gongjin, when will we win this battle?"

Zhou Yu, clad in silver armor, looked dashing and heroic.

However, since it was the first time Zhou Yu had mobilized such a large army for combat, even he was somewhat nervous.

However, seeing Liu Miao so relaxed, as if he hadn't even woken up properly and wasn't worried about the outcome of the battle at all, the tension in my heart gradually subsided.

"It will probably take a few days."

"How many days? I thought the fight would start in the morning and be over by evening."

Liu Miao's words once again left Zhou Yu both amused and exasperated, but they also completely dispelled the last trace of pressure in Zhou Yu's heart.

"Then we'll have to trouble you to wait for us for a few more days, my lord!"

At Liyang Wharf, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Huang Gai, Zhu Zhi, and Jiang Qin, each leading their troops, were already waiting on the boat.

Although Lu Jun often dressed up as a general, everyone knew that this "connected" person was just a figurehead. Therefore, Zhou Yu did not let him lead troops, but instead let him stay and guard the camp.

Zhou Tai was already waiting on a warship to welcome Liu Miao aboard.

Liu Miao shook himself to shake off his drowsiness before looking at the Yangtze River in the distance.

The Yangtze River is wide, and here in Liyang, it is four or five miles away.

On ordinary days, even on a clear day, one cannot see the opposite bank when looking out; only the magnificent view of the water and sky merging into one is visible.

Not to mention today...

The river, which was clearly visible last night, is now suddenly shrouded in a misty white haze, like a white silk ribbon poured from the sky, enveloping the thousand-mile-long river in chaos.

Not to mention the opposite bank, even on our own side, if we were a little further away, we couldn't see any boats. Only the flames of a few torches flickered gently, creating a hazy, veiled effect. "Around the time of the Beginning of Winter, thick fog easily rises along the river!"

Zhou Yu did not look into the distance, but followed Liu Miao, looking at the map in his hand: "When the fog rolls in, visibility will be obstructed, and the garrison on the opposite bank will have difficulty noticing our large ships approaching. Even if they do get close, they can only defend themselves with bows and arrows."

"Many of the ships gifted by Governor Chen are warships covered with cowhide, which is difficult for arrows to penetrate. I also ordered the soldiers to cover the ships with a layer of straw, so that they will be absolutely safe and can reach Danglikou and Hengjiangdu directly!"

Liu Miao gave Zhou Yu a strange look: "Borrowing arrows with straw boats?"

Zhou Yu: "?"

Liu Miao then noticed some straw around the warships and asked, "What if the enemy attacks with fire arrows, or the fire ships collide?"

Zhou Yu smiled slightly, stretched out his palm, and felt the strong wind blowing on the shore.

"It's already winter, and the winds are blowing from the northwest. What garrison on the other side would use fire to attack? Wouldn't that be trapping themselves?"

"If they really use fire to attack, then I'll have to go and thank them in person!"

"..."

Liu Miao stopped talking, but repeatedly reached out to confirm that it was indeed a northwest wind blowing, and not some inexplicable southeast wind.

The first to set off were the naval forces under Jiang Qin's command.

Most of their men were equipped with small boats, six men per boat, with three soldiers rowing on both sides of the boat, making them extremely fast on the water! With the heavy fog today, they disappeared into the depths of the Yangtze River like ghosts, their whereabouts unknown.

Jiang Qin had a blue turban tied around his head, one foot on the bow of the boat, his eyes like arrows, staring at the dense area ahead. Only when a few scattered lights appeared did Jiang Qin clench his fist to silence the boats behind him.

We are now about 500 paces from Danglikou!

Normally, this distance would have been detected by the garrison at Dangli Pass long ago. However, due to the thick fog, Jiang Qin and his troops could see the firelight of the Dangli Pass camp, while the garrison at Dangli Pass could not see Jiang Qin, who had already approached.

After observing for a while and seeing that there was no movement from the opposite camp, Jiang Qin made another hand gesture.

These soldiers who came in small boats were all former river pirates. Although they were not as elite as the soldiers under Cheng Pu and his generals, nor as well-armored as the two thousand newly recruited soldiers of the Lu family, they were the best in the water!
One by one, the naval soldiers who had been rowing just moments before put their short knives and fish-killing knives in their mouths, leaned back, and dived into the water like fish, without making a ripple!
Each ship had only one soldier left to guard it, while the other hundreds silently entered the water and quietly crept into the Danglikou camp.

The garrison in the Likou camp was completely unaware of the danger, and even when a thick fog rose over the river, they remained unprepared.

If Huainan has enjoyed a long period of peace, then Jiangdong is a veritable paradise!
No matter how chaotic the world becomes, with the Yangtze River as a natural barrier, not a single soldier from the north can set foot in Jiangdong.

At most, it's just some refugees crossing over from the north; it's nothing serious!
Seeing the waves surging within a few dozen paces of the river, the garrison soldiers chuckled, "There might be a big fish in the river today!"

It wasn't until Jiang Qin took the lead and charged out like a tiger, stirring up waves, that the Danglikou camp began to boil like a pot of boiling water!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Alert!"

The sound of arrows pierced the sky, and the beacon tower high above Danglikou was instantly lit. In an instant, Hengjiangdu further south and Niuzhu to the east were also lit up, illuminating half of the Yangtze River!
Jiang Qin stepped forward and immediately threw the short knife in his hand, accurately hitting a soldier in the throat before wiping the water droplets from his face.

Looking up at the towering arrow tower in the camp, Jiang Qin waved his hand and said, "Destroy this tower and reward us with a hundred bolts of silk!"

"Oooo!!!"

The men, who were originally pirates, rushed forward with strange shouts upon hearing of the hefty reward!
Destroying the arrow tower and the high ground overlooking the shore at Dangli Pass was the first strategic objective Zhou Yu assigned to this unit!
(End of this chapter)