Traveling back in time to Liu Feng, starting with rescuing soldier Guan Yu.

Chapter 113 First Battle

In the Wu army formation, Sun Quan withdrew his gaze, his expression slightly somber.

Five hundred elite vanguard soldiers were wiped out before they even saw the waters of the Laodao River. The defenses of the Laodao River were even stronger than Sun Quan had anticipated.

"Generals, the enemy is rampant! Who dares to take the other side for me?"

Sun Quan turned his head to the side, his green eyes sweeping across the faces of the generals beside him.

Among the generals of Eastern Wu.

Zhu Huan and Quan Cong stepped forward simultaneously, their armor plates clanging together with a crisp sound.

"My lord! This humble general is willing to go."

"This humble general is willing to go with General Zhu!"

Sun Quan clapped his hands and laughed, nodding and saying, "Good! Then let General Zhu be the vanguard and General Zihuang the rear vanguard, and wipe out Liu Feng's preparations on the north bank in one fell swoop!"

The two agreed in unison.

At that moment, Zhu Huan mustered his three thousand infantrymen, while Quan Cong personally led two thousand archers to reinforce the position.

This attack was far larger than the initial probing advance. The Jiangdong soldiers were well-prepared. Zhu Huan ordered his soldiers to form a tight square formation, with armored swordsmen and shieldmen carrying large shields leading the way in the front row. They advanced slowly and methodically, step by step.

About eighty paces behind the Eastern Wu army formation, Quan Cong directed his archers to fire arrows into the reeds, creating a dense volley of arrows that pierced the waist-high reeds. Several unfortunate barbarian soldiers were struck by the arrows and fell to the water's edge, letting out mournful screams.

Although the Eastern Wu army also lacked warhorses and had few cavalry, relying mainly on infantry archers for land battles, the Sun family, having ruled Jiangdong for three generations and accumulated wealth over decades, possessed well-equipped infantry with high armor coverage. Their bows and crossbows were also formidable.

The barbarian soldiers, who were lying in ambush in the reeds, were forced to retreat into the thickets under the well-organized offensive of the Eastern Wu, and their momentum was slightly hampered.

Seeing that the barbarian soldiers' defensive line was beginning to weaken, Zhu Huan made a decisive move, raising his shield and leading the charge into the pit area.

He was clad in heavy armor, yet he personally held a large shield at the forefront, kicking over two camouflaged pits in succession.

Seeing their commander so brave, the Wu soldiers were greatly encouraged. The three thousand infantrymen followed closely behind Zhu Huan. Although some fell into traps or died from poisoned crossbows, the Wu army's battle line advanced steadily like an iron wall.

Every three steps the front-line swordsmen and shieldmen took forward, they slammed their shields heavily on the ground. Immediately, the spearmen in the rear thrust their spears through the gaps in the shields, forcing the barbarian soldiers hiding in the bushes to retreat repeatedly.

Although the barbarian soldiers were brave and fierce, their advantage with short swords and poisoned crossbows was greatly diminished when faced with such a dense array of spears and shields.

On the high ground on the south bank, Kou Wei observed the battle situation on the opposite bank, his expression slightly changing. He turned to Liu Feng and said in a deep voice, "My lord, with the Eastern Wu advancing like this, I'm afraid our barbarian soldiers cannot withstand it. Should we send our men back to camp first?"

"Wait a little longer!"

Liu Feng kept his eyes fixed on the battle situation on the opposite bank, but resolutely rejected Kou Wei's suggestion.

Shamoke had personally arrived at the north bank of the Laodao River, leading his barbarian troops in a desperate resistance. The barbarian casualties began to rise steadily. Dozens of brave warriors, though pierced through the chest by Wu's spears and falling on the riverbank, still gripped their steel swords tightly until their deaths.

Shamoke wielded his long sword with the speed of the wind, but the blade was chipped in several places as it struck the shield and oars. He was also pierced by spears, leaving several gruesome bloody holes in his body.

Liu Feng looked up at the sky and saw that it was already bright. The morning spring sun shone on the Laodao River, and the reflected light shone on the faces of the Wu army's archers.

The time has come!

Liu Feng waved his hand decisively and said in a deep voice, "Order Sha Moke to retreat to the north bank to rest and regroup! Order the archers to prepare."

Kou Wei immediately accepted the order and rode away on horseback.

When Shamoke led the remnants of his barbarian troops across the river to retreat back to the south bank, almost everyone was wounded. Shamoke even had half a broken arrow shaft stuck in his shoulder, but he was completely unaware of it. He strode up to Liu Feng, a slight look of indignation on his face.

"Damn it! Wu Gou's fighting style is like that of an iron turtle; this battle is truly frustrating."

Liu Feng reached out and patted Sha Moke on the shoulder.

"Commander, you've worked hard. Let's have the physician treat your wounds first. The Eastern Wu's slow, methodical advance is indeed difficult to deal with."

Shamoke opened his mouth to say something, but Liu Feng pressed down on his shoulder, so he had to sit down and let the physician remove the arrow and bandage him.

Kou Wei has already set up a second line of defense at the ferry crossing on the north bank.

Such a shield-bearing advance also greatly depletes the stamina of the shield soldiers at the forefront. The continuous fighting and shield-bearing also makes the arms of these elite swordsmen and shield soldiers of Eastern Wu sore.

But seeing the barbarian soldiers retreat back to the south bank of the river, how could the Wu army not take advantage of the victory and pursue them, intending to remove all the Han army's strongholds on the north bank of the Laodao River in one fell swoop?

Zhu Huan almost instinctively continued his advance on foot. Quan Cong, who was providing cover and support from the rear, immediately understood the situation and urged the archers, who had already drawn their bows more than ten times, to move forward.

At that moment, the Han archers and crossbowmen who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the ferry, which were on higher ground, launched their attack simultaneously.

Hundreds of crossbows fired simultaneously, unleashing a rain of arrows. The swordsmen and shieldmen struggled to hold up their shields, only to discover that the arrows fired by the Han army's crossbows were incredibly powerful.

This group of archers was carefully selected by Kou Wei. This time, Liu Feng led his army to conquer the four counties including Wuling in the south, and all the powerful bows and crossbows he obtained were equipped in the army. In addition, the sword and shield soldiers had been holding large shields for a long time and were exhausted.

Beep beep!

The dull thud of crossbow bolts piercing shields echoed incessantly. Finally, some swordsmen and shieldmen could not withstand the force and tilted their shields to the side. Instantly, several crossbow bolts darted into the Wu army's shield formation like venomous snakes, shooting down the shield-bearing warriors.

Screams began to ring out continuously.

Swordsmen and shieldmen were shot down one after another in a chain reaction, while the spearmen in the back row, who were no longer protected by the swordsmen and shieldmen, were powerless against the crossbowmen!

Zhu Huan, who was at the forefront, was also shot through the shoulder guard by a crossbow bolt that seemed to come from nowhere. After a muffled groan, he was dragged back to the formation by his personal guards.

Upon seeing this, Quan Cong hurriedly ordered the archers to form a battle formation on the north bank beach, but this beach was clearly a battlefield carefully chosen by the Han army!

The terrain was low-lying and muddy, with very little room to maneuver. The Wu army's archers could not even stand still and could not form an effective firing formation.

In the chaos, hundreds of Wu soldiers were struck by crossbow bolts and fell one by one into the mud. The river water was stained light red with blood, and the floating corpses drifted downstream along the Laodao River.

Zhu Huan was rescued by his personal guards. After his wounds were roughly bandaged, he put on his armor again and personally led his troops to attack the Wancheng camp's position.

However, the defensive formation of Wancheng Camp was watertight. Kou Wei waved his spear at the front of the formation, directing the archers to fire arrows in turn. The shield wall in front was as solid as a rock.

Wu Jun's several charges were all driven back by gunfire.

Zhu Huan was hit by another arrow in his left arm, but he still did not retreat. Quan Cong shouted loudly from behind the formation to reorganize the formation.

Wu's soldiers barely managed to stand firm in the mud, only to be met with a second wave of arrows from Kou Weimo, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.

The attack continued until the afternoon before gradually subsiding.

Wu's army failed to break through the second line of defense commanded by Kou Wei, and suffered extremely heavy losses, losing no less than two thousand men in the pits and reed marshes alone.

In the Wu army camp, the sound of retreat finally rang out, and the exhausted Wu soldiers carried the wounded back to the camp.

Kou Wei strode out from behind the crossbow formation, his armor splattered with blood, but his expression remained calm and composed.

Seeing that Wu Jun had finally retreated, he did not lead his troops to pursue him. Instead, following the original plan, he abandoned the two high grounds on the south bank and led his troops back to the north bank of Laodao River.

On the north bank, Liu Feng was waiting on horseback.

Kou Wei walked up to Liu Feng, his expression calm and composed. He bowed to Liu Feng and reported the casualties.

Liu Feng dismounted, walked up to Kou Wei, and patted Kou Wei on the shoulder.

"Ziwu, you did a good job. The Wu army's vanguard suffered a setback this time, and their morale has been greatly affected. The battles to come will be easier."

The next morning, Sun Quan personally supervised the battle from the front lines. He changed into a golden armor and immediately mounted his horse under the central army banner, his blue eyes scanning the large "Han" banner fluttering across the Laodao River.

Yesterday's probing attack resulted in the loss of over two thousand men. Although it did not cripple him, it caused him great embarrassment.

An army of 80,000 was held up by a small river for an entire day; wouldn't people laugh if word got out?

"We must cross the river today."

Sun Quan's voice was not loud, but it made all the generals around him lower their heads.

"Zhu Huan and Quan Cong, you two continue to attack from the front. General Han, you can lead your troops upstream to scout and find a place to cross the river, then launch a flanking attack on the south bank."

Han Dang clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, and the white-haired old general rode away on his horse, his battle robe billowing like a flag in the morning breeze.

Just after Chen Shi (7-9 AM), Wu's army launched its second large-scale attack.

This time, there will be no more probing; instead, it will be a full-scale, all-out attack.

Zhu Huan and Quan Cong learned from yesterday's lesson and ordered their soldiers to throw a large amount of straw mats and planks into the shallows at the ferry crossing to create a simple passage and reduce the threat of pitfalls.

With shield bearers in front and archers behind, they advanced in layers, their formation even more solid than yesterday.

Quan Cong even transferred several thousand battering rams from the heavy infantry battalion. Although they were cumbersome, they could block crossbow bolts and provide cover for the infantry.

Liu Feng calmly directed the battle from the south bank, relying on the strategic advantage of the Laodao River to engage in a bloody battle with the Wu army!

While the main battle was raging, Han Dang had already led 5,000 men to a point about 20 miles upstream of the Laodao River.

Although the river is narrow here, both banks are muddy shoals, making it difficult for horses to travel.

Han Dang dismounted himself, stepped into the mud, brandished his sword, and shouted, "Follow me! Cross the river!"

Five thousand Wu soldiers waded through the river, the mud reaching their knees, making progress difficult, but they managed to bypass the main defensive line.

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