Tiger Owl

Chapter 121 The troops are approaching the city
Zhang Yi immediately dispatched two thousand spearmen on the left wing to confront the cavalry, while he led two thousand soldiers on the right wing and three thousand soldiers in the center to prepare to fight the enemy's main force.

Taishi Ci led 5,000 spearmen into the fray, and Zhang Yi led 5,000 spearmen to meet them in battle. The two sides engaged in a fierce battle in the open field.

The three thousand archer soldiers had long since discarded their bows and crossbows, drawing their swords to fight against the enemy's sword and shield soldiers. Despite suffering heavy casualties at the hands of the enemy's sword and shield soldiers, they fought to the death and refused to retreat.

Suddenly, burning oil bottles rained down from the sky, falling like raindrops into the densely packed enemy ranks.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!" A barrage of kerosene bottles fell into the crowd, shattering upon impact. Flames erupted, instantly engulfing the soldiers nearby, and screams of agony filled the air.

Zhang Yi's ten thousand soldiers were all veterans who had followed his father for many years. They were loyal and extremely capable in combat. Although they were attacked from both sides, they still fought to the death and refused to retreat.

However, the special forces soldiers of the Yuzhang Army broke the stalemate, throwing bottles of kerosene into the enemy ranks like raindrops. More and more soldiers were set ablaze, crying out and fleeing.

Humanity's innate fear of fire caused Zhang Yi's army to be crushed by countless Molotov cocktails falling from the sky. The archers were the first to collapse and flee, which triggered the collapse of the spearmen. They abandoned their armor and weapons, threw away their heavy spears, and fled for their lives.

But at this moment, the Yuzhang army cavalry cut off their retreat. With no way to retreat in front and pursuers behind, the six or seven thousand soldiers completely collapsed in the wilderness.

"Those who surrender will not be killed! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

The soldiers of the Yuzhang Army shouted as they pursued Zhang Yi's men, who saw a glimmer of hope and knelt down to surrender, raising their hands high.

However, Zhang Yi refused to surrender. He led several hundred soldiers in a breakout attempt from the southwest, but was besieged by Taishi Ci, who personally led a thousand cavalry. The defeated soldiers dwindled with each battle, until only Zhang Yi remained.

Taishi Ci shouted, "Zhang Yi, if you surrender, I will guarantee you the position of Prefect of Changsha."

Exhausted, Zhang Yi sighed, "Two tigers cannot share one mountain. I, Zhang Yi, would rather die than be subservient to anyone." He pulled out a dagger and plunged it into his own chest, dying instantly.

Taishi Ci admired Zhang Yi's integrity and ordered that Zhang Yi's body be transported to Nanxiang County for a proper burial.

Taishi Ci's army was the first to occupy Nanxiang County.

...........
Gan Ning's army stormed into Dongting Lake, and hundreds of warships headed straight for the water fortress of Baling Town. However, when the hundreds of warships were still twenty miles away from the naval camp, they were discovered by the enemy's patrol boats.

Several speedboats turned around and sped away, with one speedboat leading the way back to the water fortress.

Upon hearing that the main force of the Yuzhang Army's warships had arrived, naval captain Cai Zan jumped to his feet and shouted, "Sound the alarm! Order the entire army to board the ships!"

Soon, the bells of the main camp rang out, and the naval soldiers were thrown into chaos as they rushed toward the fleet.

At this moment, the vanguard fleet of thirty ships from the Yuzhang Army arrived. These were all warships equipped with paddle wheels and extremely fast. They blocked the gate of the water fortress and trapped more than three hundred warships of the Jingzhou Army inside the fortress.

Cai Zan was furious and shouted, "Move the Tumu warships to break through the enemy lines!"

A large, rammed warship burst forth from the water fortress, charging menacingly towards the Yuzhang army's warships blocking the gates. With a deafening crash, a warship was capsized by the rammed vessel. The rammed ship continued its charge, smashing through three or four enemy ships blocking the gates and clearing a waterway. A large number of Jingzhou army warships followed suit, and Xu Sheng's three hundred large warships arrived, each carrying two hundred soldiers, totaling six thousand men.

On the vast water, arrows rained down from both sides' warships, firecrackers flew, smoke and fire filled the air, and soldiers kept jumping onto the enemy's large ships to fight. The water was filled with shouts of battle.

After a fierce battle lasting for more than half an hour, with both sides having their share of victories and defeats, the Jingzhou army was unable to withstand the enemy's offensive and gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

At this moment, Gan Ning's main warships also arrived, with thousands of warships covering the sky.

A soldier hurriedly reported to Cai Zan, "Reporting to the captain, the main enemy force is attacking!"

Cai Zan was extremely anxious. He was already at a disadvantage in the fierce battle with the enemy's vanguard. With the arrival of the enemy's main force, how could he possibly be a match for them?

He shouted, "Hold up the double yellow flags and retreat!"

The flagship hoisted a double yellow flag, and all the warships had flag bearers who also hoisted double yellow flags to notify the entire army to break out and retreat.

One after another, large ships sailed away from the warships and broke through to the southwest. How could Xu Sheng let the enemy leave so easily? He led his large warships to intercept nearly two hundred ships.

Soon, Gan Ning's main warships arrived and surrounded the enemy warships that had not escaped. Seeing that there was no hope of breaking out, the Jingzhou army warships raised white flags and surrendered.

Both sides suffered victories and defeats in this battle. The Jingzhou army lost over a thousand men and captured more than two thousand, while the Yuzhang army also suffered several hundred casualties.

The prisoners of war were all kept under guard, and their terms were to be negotiated with the other side after the war ended.

The Yuzhang Army then occupied the Baqiu Town water fortress, and the mighty fleet continued south. Gan Ning had already received intelligence that 50,000 Jingzhou troops had been amassed in Jiangling, and they were bound to come to support Changsha County. He had to take Linxiang County before the enemy reinforcements arrived.

Of course, Linxiang County was not so easy to take. Its city walls were tall and sturdy, and the widest part of the moat was thirty zhang (approximately 130 meters). It was close to the Xiang River, and the moat and the Xiang River were integrated into one. The water gate was also a double iron gate. It was basically a larger version of Liling County.

More importantly, Vice General Huang Zhong was much more reliable than Yang Ling of Liling County. After Jingzhou discovered that Yuzhang County was preparing for war, it immediately notified Changsha County. Only Huang Zhong carried out the order without fail. He raised the city's defenses to a state of combat readiness, and every night three thousand soldiers were deployed to defend the city.

At the same time, Huang Zhong ordered a city-wide search, and all people who were not registered residents of Linxiang County were temporarily sent to Xiangnan County. This ensured that there were no enemy soldiers lying in ambush in the city, making it impossible for them to launch a coordinated attack from within and without.

Finally, Huang Zhong persuaded Liu Xin to transfer the 7,000 troops from Xiangnan County and Luo County back to Linxiang County, bringing the total number of troops in Linxiang County to 17,000.

As long as Linxiang County is not lost, it will not be of much significance for the Yuzhang Army to capture other counties, and they will not be able to occupy Changsha Commandery for long. Linxiang County is like a stabilizing force; as long as Linxiang County is not lost, Changsha Commandery will not be lost.

Huang Zhong stood atop the north city wall, silently watching the Yuzhang army set up camp several miles away. His weathered face was expressionless. Huang Zhong was tall and strong, with leopard eyes and a lion's nose. His head was very large, making him look like a lion.

Huang Zhong's gaze was dejected. Because he had firmly opposed promoting Cai Zan, he had offended Cai Mao and had been sidelined for ten years. From the age of forty to fifty, the most golden ten years of his life had slipped away like water.

Huang Zhong sighed deeply. He was already fifty-two years old this year. Did he still have any hope of making a name for himself in this life?
(End of this chapter)