Chapter 777
Xu Da: Oh no, we've fallen into their trap!
The Battle of Hongdu was far more brutal than Zhu Wenzheng had imagined, and of course, it also exceeded Wang Baobao's expectations. Both of them were renowned generals, and their trained subordinates were all first-rate and fearless.
However, the current war is different from the historical Battle of Hongdu. The difference is that, unlike in history, Zhu Chongba's entire army did not need to go north to defend against the Yuan court, and at the same time, Zhang Shicheng was not watching from the east.
Zhu Chongba's main force has not yet moved. Fu Youde has 100,000 naval troops in Hukou, and Xu Da has 60,000 troops in Nankang.
Therefore, Zhu Wenzheng, who was defending Hongdu, did not need to fight desperately. He had a way out. If he continued to fight like this, it would only increase casualties. Even if he eventually defended Hongdu, he would be punished by Zhu Chongba. After all, there was no need to fight so fiercely. Why didn't you ask for help?
If you only want to achieve fame as a general, others will certainly not tolerate you. If someone only wants to show off their military talent and doesn't care about the big picture, then at best they will only be a general.
Zhu Wenzheng didn't aspire to be a general; his goal was to become a commander, at least as capable as Xu Da, or even more so.
Therefore, his best course of action at this point was to seek help.
Asking for help doesn't mean one is incapable; it's a way of prioritizing the overall situation. Moreover, Hong has already demonstrated his formidable fighting prowess in this battle. Although it doesn't fully showcase Zhu Wenzheng's abilities, it's sufficient.
While Zhu Wen was thinking, he wrote a letter to his uncle Zhu Chongba asking for help. The content was very simple.
[The enemy king, Bao Bao, has led an army of 50,000 to attack Hongdu. After two days and nights of fierce fighting, we fear that the traitor Chen will come to our aid. We request Your Majesty to immediately send troops to our rescue!]
The letter was sealed and first sent out of Hongdu by carrier pigeon, then through a military passage, and delivered to Nanjing overnight.
At this time in Jinling City, Zhu Chongba had already gone to bed with Ma Xiuying when suddenly they heard hurried footsteps outside. Zhu Chongba immediately got out of bed, and Ma Xiuying, still sleepy, asked, "What's wrong?"
"Urgent military situation!"
As Zhu Chongba was speaking, the sound of a gong rang out from outside.
Zhu Chongba immediately went to the bedside, put on his boots, and prepared to run out, but at this moment Ma Xiuying immediately called out, "Chongba."
Zhu Chongba turned around and saw Ma Xiuying get up, go to the shelf next to her, pick up a cloak and put it on Zhu Chongba: "Take it easy, don't catch a cold."
As Ma Xiuying spoke, Zhu Chongba nodded slightly and said, "Yes, you should go to sleep early. You've worked hard these past few days."
Ma Xiuying nodded, then watched Zhu Chongba walk out of the house.
Outside, someone was already waiting. Zhu Chongba asked, "What is it?"
The man said, "An urgent report from Hongdu: Wang Baobao led an army of 50,000 to besiege the pass and fought a fierce battle with General Wenzheng for two days. Countless people were killed or wounded. General Wenzheng has written a letter requesting reinforcements."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Chongba said, "Let's go and summon all the troops for a meeting!"
Soon, Zhu Chongba arrived at the council hall wearing a cloak. He then spoke, "Everyone knows about what happened in Hongdu, right? What are your thoughts?"
Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang said, "Let's proceed according to our plan. Let Fu Youde lead 100,000 troops from Hukou, and Xu Da lead 60,000 troops from Nankang. We'll attack from both sides and wipe out Wang Baobao's 60,000 troops."
Zhu Chongba nodded slightly upon hearing this and said, "Hmm, good. What do you all think?"
The others all chimed in, "That's how it should be."
Zhu Chongba said, "Alright, since that's the case, the whole army shall obey orders. Xu Da and Fu Youde shall lead the army to rescue Hongdu, and the rest of the troops shall assemble to prevent Chen Jiu Si from retaliating."
"promise!"
With the military order issued, everyone began to study the sand table, which was about to be another sleepless night.
Nothing happened that night. The next day, an urgent military report was delivered to Hukou and Nankang. Xu Da and Fu Youde both received the order and immediately ordered a large army to be mobilized to rescue Hongdu.
At this time, Nankang City.
Xu Da looked at the order in his hand and immediately ordered the entire army to raise their tents.
Soon all of Xu Da's generals gathered together, led by Xu Da's deputy general Chang Yuchun. Chang Yuchun was brave but not good at managing troops, so it was a good match to send him to be Xu Da's deputy.
Chang Yuchun entered the main tent and looked at Xu Da, asking, "What's wrong, Second Brother?"
Xu Da said, "Take a look. Hongdu is in trouble. We must rescue them immediately."
Upon hearing this, Chang Yuchun looked at the report on the table and said, "Hehe, I didn't expect that little brat Wenzheng to be so capable. I thought Wang Baobao would beat him so badly that he would wet himself, but I didn't expect him to beat him so well. Good, good."
After exchanging a few words, Chang Yuchun looked up at Xu Da and asked, "Second Brother, when shall we set off?"
Xu Da said, "Let's set off now, Yu Tonghai."
"Your subordinate is here!"
At this moment, a general stepped forward and answered the call. Yu Tonghai was originally a bandit from Chaohu Lake. Later, when Xu Da suppressed bandits, he stayed in the army to await further instructions.
"I order you to go immediately to prepare the army's supplies and ships, and set off in two hours to rescue Hongdu."
"promise!"
Yu Tonghai clasped his hands in a fist salute and left the military camp. The next moment, the entire Nankang Water Village was bustling with activity.
At the beginning of the Si hour, the army was fully assembled.
Xu Dali stood on the deck of the ship, watching the last batch of supplies being loaded onto the vessel.
Six hundred warships were moored at the entrance of the Gan River into Poyang Lake, their sails like a forest, full of fighting spirit. These sixty thousand men were all elite troops trained by Xu Da, and their combat strength was extraordinary.
"General, the supplies and ships are ready. I've come to report." Yu Tonghai reported in a low voice.
"Good, well done. I'll recommend you for credit after this is done."
"Thank you, Commander Xie."
Xu Da nodded and lowered his head to unfold the map.
The journey from Nankang to Hongdu by waterway is 320 li (approximately 115 kilometers). Traveling north along the Gan River, it takes two days if the wind is favorable. However, on the map, the Gan River splits into two at "Qiaoshe" (樵舍), with the main stream continuing north and the tributary "Fuhe" (抚河) turning northeast—that is the only way to Hongdu.
"How is the water level around the woodcutter's hut?"
"The river is no more than a hundred feet wide, with steep cliffs on both banks." Yu Tonghai pointed to a spot, "This place is called 'Ghost's Sorrow,' full of hidden reefs. Large ships can still navigate it during the flood season, but now in winter the water is shallow..."
"If Wang Baobao has laid an ambush, it must be here." Xu Da closed the map and looked towards the heavy twilight to the north:
"Order: The vanguard shall use warships to scout ahead, and the distance between the warships shall be increased to thirty zhang. If attacked, form a square formation, and prepare crossbows and cannons with fire arrows."
"This subordinate obeys the order."
At 2:45 AM, the fleet set sail.
The six hundred warships stretched for more than ten miles, end to end, and sailed like this for a day and a night. When night fell, the fleet continued to sail.
They sail at night without lighting any fires, relying solely on a single, dimly lit lantern atop the mast to guide the ships behind them.
Under the moonlight, the Gan River resembles a ribbon of black jade. As boats glide along it, the only sounds are the gentle lapping of oars and the gurgling of the river.
Xu Da did not sleep. He sat in the cabin, repeatedly studying the battlefield situation by the light of an oil lamp.
“Wenzheng…” He tapped the table lightly.
Zhu Wenzheng's ability to withstand Wang Baobao's onslaught is truly an underestimation of his nephew. If Wang Baobao can't take Hongdu, then...
Xu Da frowned, sensing that something was amiss, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Could Chen Jiu Si be up to something? Xu Da didn't sleep a wink all night.
As dawn approached, fog rose over the river, and a white mist spread from the mountains and forests on both banks, engulfing the river's center.
Visibility was less than thirty feet, and the sails of the ships ahead appeared and disappeared in the fog like ghosts.
"Slow down, send a signal with the horn," Xu Da ordered.
The mournful sound of bugles echoed across the river. This was the naval signal for nighttime communication: one long and two short, meaning "slow down and maintain formation."
But before the bugle call had even faded, a warning suddenly came from the front lines.
"There's a reef on the starboard side—no, it's a ship!"
Dozens of long, narrow speedboats darted out like ghosts through the fog.
The boats were painted a dark bluish-black, blending seamlessly with the river water, and could only be distinguished upon close inspection. Each boat carried twenty soldiers, sailed silently, and propelled itself solely by long oars.
"Enemy attack!" The lookout suddenly spotted the ships in front of him through the fog and cried out in alarm.
Almost simultaneously, the sound of machinery echoed from both sides of the cliffs.
hum-
Hundreds of crossbow bolts shot out from the fog, not at people, but at the sails.
The arrow dragged a bag of oil, which immediately ignited the sail.
The three vanguard warships bore the brunt of the attack, their sails and masts transforming into torches, illuminating the river surface in a fiery red. "Extinguish the fire! Form ranks!"
The well-trained navy quickly changed formation.
The warships drew close together, their gunwales touching, forming a floating fortress. Crossbowmen climbed the gunwales and fired blind shots into the fog.
However, the enemy ships were too small and too fast, weaving through the reefs like fish, and most of the arrows missed their mark.
Xu Da climbed up to the front building and squinted to observe.
This was not a formation intended to encircle and annihilate the enemy. Although there were many enemy ships, they only patrolled the perimeter and fired arrows, without launching a full-scale attack.
The fire attack was also restrained—only the sails were burned, not the ships, clearly indicating that they did not want to completely trap the fleet in the middle of the river.
“They’re stalling,” Yu Tonghai realized as well.
Just then, a clear whistle rang out from the fog.
Upon hearing the sound, the enemy ships dispersed to both banks like a school of fish returning to their nests.
A waterway opened up in the middle of the river. A small blue-and-white barge slowly emerged from the mist.
The boat was small, only about three zhang (approximately 13 meters) long, but its shape was unique: the bow was carved with a swallow's head, the stern was upturned like a swallow's tail, and the whole boat was painted in blue, which gleamed coldly in the morning light.
A person was standing at the bow of the boat.
She wore blue scale armor and a fox fur cloak, and held a silver spear in her hand. The tip of the spear gleamed coldly, twinkling like a star in the mist. Behind her, a large blue banner slowly rose, embroidered with golden swallows.
"It is Chen Jiu Si, the commander of the Azure Dragon Army, Jin Yan Zi."
Yu Tonghai immediately recognized the person's identity.
"Marshal Xu Da," the woman said, her voice carrying clearly across the thirty-zhang-wide river, as if right next to your ear: "This road is blocked, please turn back."
Xu Da did not answer, but raised his hand in a gesture.
On the side of the warship, twelve ballistae were simultaneously cocked, each arrow six feet long with a spearhead like a short spear, aimed at the Qingque barge.
Golden Swallow laughed.
The soft laughter, carried by the river breeze, carried a hint of desolation.
She lightly tapped the deck with her silver spear, and the Azure Sparrow suddenly swerved sideways—a very dangerous maneuver in the rapids, which could easily capsize the boat. She performed it with effortless ease, and the boat remained steadily in the middle of the river, seemingly poised to block six hundred warships with a single vessel.
"Yu Tonghai," Xu Da called softly.
"Your subordinate is here."
"Send two warships to attack from both sides and capture the enemy general alive."
"Order!"
“Hey, Second Brother, that Golden Swallow’s strength has already reached the Furnace Realm, while Tong Hai is only at the Dragon Realm. He can’t catch Golden Swallow. Let me do it.”
Chang Yuchun then got up, replaced Yu Tonghai, and led two warships to charge towards the enemy.
The two warships shot out like arrows released from a bow.
This type of ship is long and narrow, with high speed and battering rams on its sides that can smash small boats. Chang Yuchun stood on the warship and shouted, "Golden Swallow, do you recognize your grandfather Chang Yuchun!"
Jin Yanzi glanced at Chang Yuchun and said, "Hehe, your aunt doesn't recognize just any Tom, Dick, or Harry."
"What a sharp tongue you have! Let's see if you're still this quick-witted after I capture you."
He urged the boatmen to row faster, but just as the fighting ship approached the Azure Sparrow Boat by twenty feet, a sudden change occurred.
On the Qingque boat, Jin Yanzi glanced at Chang Yuchun, raised an eyebrow, and thrust her silver spear downwards.
Suddenly, hidden compartments opened on both sides of the ship, and more than ten black iron balls, each the size of a watermelon, rolled out. They did not sink after falling into the river and drifted with the current toward the warship.
"Oh no! Get out of the way!" The captain of the warship was terrified when he saw the thing and shouted immediately.
But it's too late.
The iron ball struck the ship's hull and exploded with a deafening roar!
It wasn't a loud bang, but a muffled crackling sound, accompanied by a large cloud of white mist. The mist had a pungent odor, and contact with the mouth and nose caused dizziness.
"Lime...it's quicklime!" a veteran exclaimed.
The two warships were thrown into chaos. Sailors were blinded by lime, coughing incessantly, and the ships spun in the middle of the river. Even more deadly was that the lime heated up when it came into contact with water, causing white bubbles to rise to the surface of the river and the temperature to soar, scalding countless people who fell into the water.
Chang Yuchun was furious when he saw this. He waved his hand, and a gust of wind from his palm sent the lime flying everywhere. However, the flying lime always managed to blind people, which made Chang Yuchun yell loudly in anger.
Seeing this, Jin Yanzi immediately turned the Qingque boat around and left without lingering.
"Release the arrows!" Yu Tonghai shouted angrily from the large ship.
Arrows rained down on the Blue Sparrow Boat.
But an iron net rose up behind her, and the arrows struck it, falling to the ground with a clang.
Four long oars extended from the stern, and with the combined efforts of eight oarsmen, the small boat skimmed the water like a swallow, moving upstream and disappearing into the fog in the blink of an eye.
Along with her, dozens of speedboats also disappeared.
The river suddenly became still.
Only three burning warships, two spinning fighting ships, and bags of lime floating on the river remained. The whole thing took less than a quarter of an hour.
At noon, the fog dissipated.
Xu Da stood on the deck covered in lime powder, his brow furrowed, while Chang Yuchun beside him cursed angrily.
Yu Tonghai tallied the losses: three warships were burned, two fighting ships were damaged, and more than 300 soldiers were killed or wounded—most of them were injured by lime, and fewer than 50 actually died in battle.
"General, should we pursue them or not?" Yu Tonghai asked for instructions. His face was covered in lime, and his eyes were red and swollen, but he didn't care.
Xu Da shook his head: "If she wants to leave, there are thousands of bends and branches along the Gan River, she can't catch up with her."
He squatted down, picked up a bit of undissolved lime powder, and rubbed it between his fingers. "Quicklime boils when it comes into contact with water. It can hurt people but not kill them. Moreover, when she saw us, she didn't fight us to the death, but harassed us. She's interfering with us."
"Is this interference meant to buy Wang Baobao time?"
Yu Tonghai asked.
Chang Yuchun said, "No matter what she is like, I will definitely avenge this. If I encounter this female thief again, I will definitely stab her a hundred times."
Xu Da said, "Something feels off to me. The map."
Xu Da raised his hand.
His personal guards spread out a map. He pointed north from the woodcutter's hut, along the Gan River all the way to Hongdu, then turned east and pointed to Poyang Lake.
"Wang Baobao has been attacking Hongdu for three days without success. Is he truly unable to take it, or is this a feint?" Xu Da's speech quickened. "If it's a feint, what are they trying to achieve, and what is their target?"
Yu Tonghai hesitated and asked, "General, do you mean... Hongdu is bait?"
“If she’s bait, Jin Yanzi shouldn’t have stopped me. She should have let me go to Hongdu quickly so that Wang Baobao could surround the enemy and ambush their reinforcements.” Xu Da pointed heavily at Poyang Lake. “Unless, Hongdu and Wang Baobao are both bait!”
The two looked at each other, both seeing a chill in each other's eyes.
"Order the entire army to advance at full speed," Xu Da said in a low voice. "But send fast ships back to Jinling to report to the superior."
"Hongdu might be a trap; be careful."
Yu Tonghai accepted the order and left.
Xu Da stood alone at the bow of the boat, watching the river flow eastward. The morning light pierced through the lingering mist, illuminating the limestone floating on the river surface, a vast expanse of white, like a blanket of snow covering the river.
The fleet set sail again, heading towards Hongdu. But the cloud of doubt in Xu Da's heart was thicker than the river fog.
He knew that Jin Yanzi's ambush was not really aimed at attacking him, but rather a harassment to give him the illusion that Zhu Wen of Hongdu City was the bait and that the target was not Hongdu City.
Where is the target? Me? No, Fu Youde?!
Xu Da thought of a possibility, was startled, and suddenly stood up.
"Their target isn't Fu Youde, is it? Using Hongdu as bait, they really want to take advantage of Fu Youde... This, this..."
Xu Da broke out in a cold sweat; this plan was too ruthless! (End of Chapter)