Conquering Myriad Worlds from the Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 973 Gan Ning's Ingenious Scheme

When Luoyang received the intelligence, Wei Yan was already besieging Jiangling.

"I was right about Sima Yi. Once the people are in his hands, they can immediately unleash their full destructive power!"

Mu Yi exclaimed in admiration, "With the fall of Xiangyang, the most prosperous places in Jingzhou are now only Jiangling and Jiangxia."

Sima Yi was still fighting a decisive battle in Xiangyang. Before the surrounding cities could receive intelligence, Wei Yan and Sima Yi had already led their large armies to the city.

Hou Tu's army paved the way and rushed forward, and the Jin army in Jingzhou had no power to fight back.

Pang Tong felt that Shu was an unlucky place, so he simply stayed in Xiangyang to hold the line and wait for the Jin army's counterattack according to Sima Yi's orders.

However, Pang Tong felt that the Jin army was unlikely to be able to launch a counterattack. In the Battle of Xiangyang, they lost more than 100,000 soldiers, all of whom were elite troops with dual talents. Even if the Jin army was a unified dynasty, it was still a devastating blow.

Moreover, Sima Yi is now advancing aggressively, and Jingzhou will soon fall entirely into his hands.

After a short rest, we will attack the lands of Ba and Shu.

Once Sima Yi connects the former territories of Wu and Shu, and the balance of power is established, it will be uncertain who will fight whom.

Gan Ning's Four Seas Fleet is already itching to move, planning to sail north along the coastline and cause destruction along the way.

After learning the news, Zhuge Liang calmly put it aside. To him, it was only natural for Sima Yi to go to such lengths, after all, he was once a rival who could compete with him.

Although the Jin army was powerful, it was no match for Sima Yi. This was not only because Sima Yi had a powerful empire behind him, but also because Sima Yi himself was an exceptional fighter.

Zhuge Liang quietly sent people to spread the word, recruiting a group of veterans from the common people and sending them to Sima Yi.

This group of people were not going to fight, but to serve as instructors and train new recruits.

Zhuge Liang will advance the salary, but the bill will ultimately be Sima Yi's.

This arrangement would not only provide for retired veterans and generate revenue, but also offer assistance to Sima Yi—a triple win. Naturally, Zhuge Liang was very willing to make such an arrangement.

Sima Yan, on the other side, looked at the intelligence report in his hand and his face darkened. Wasn't Xiangyang supposed to be impregnable?

What is the current situation? The entire Jingzhou is on the verge of collapse, or rather, it is about to fall.

He saw no hope of salvation.

"Immediately issue an order to Du Yu, commanding him to lead the Central Imperial Guards south to Xiangyang, and at the same time, order all cities in the Bashu region to enter a state of war readiness!" Sima Yan resolutely issued the order.

At this point, it was no longer the time for political struggles; Sima Yan directly deployed all his relatives and members of the imperial clan to the battlefield.

If you're going to fight, then go fight it out on the battlefield.

With a tangible external enemy in sight, Sima Yan instantly displayed his masterful imperial skills, harnessing all power and placing it in the right positions.

Let them each perform their duties and face Sima Yi's army in the best possible condition.

Sima Yan had completely abandoned Jingzhou.

Sima Yi, with his divine troops, broke away from Wei Yan at the Jiangxia naval station. Relying on Taishi Ci's understanding of naval warfare, he won three battles in a row, directly crushing his opponent in the Yangtze River.

Subsequently, the two armies trampled across the land and pressed towards Jiangling, demonstrating their intention to seize Jingzhou and Xiangyang.

In just ten days, the entire Jiangbei region was filled with voices of defection and submission.

Sima Yi's momentum was unstoppable. He advanced south and west, and within a few days, all the cities north of the Yangtze River, including Yiling and Tigui, fell to him.

After pacifying Jiangbei, they joined forces with Wei Yan, and a total of 50,000 troops pressed on Jiangling.

Jingzhou is almost entirely about to fall into Sima Yi's hands.

"Wen Chang, drink this cup! Today we will take Jiangling!" Sima Yi said to Wei Yan, raising his wine cup with high spirits.

Wei Yan was also impressed by Sima Yi's generosity.

Sima Yi, who was originally seen as somewhat gloomy, has shown a heroic spirit after winning battle after battle.

Wei Yan liked dealing with this kind of person, so he directly drank the wine in one gulp to give his guarantee.

Sima Yi nodded in satisfaction. With fewer than 50,000 men, he, as the commander of the large army, could only control the general direction. The specific battles would have to rely on fierce generals like Wei Yan to lead the charge.

In fact, it's not difficult at all.

Jiangling simply did not have an army as strong as Xiangyang.

In places where powerful clans hold sway, even a unified dynasty can become somewhat corrupt due to the deeply entrenched and complex political networks.

Compared to Xiangyang, which Du Yu built from scratch, this place was completely powerless to resist.

Houtu's army built an earthen ramp that reached all the way to the city wall.

"kill!"

Wei Yan's broadsword unleashed a terrifying flash of light.

The blade light started small, gradually grew larger, and eventually covered half of the city wall. Although it only killed a dozen people, its momentum was overwhelming, and the Jiangling guards on the city wall were all shocked and completely suppressed by Wei Yan's momentum.

"Kill with me!"

Wei Yan led his troops to charge wildly up the city wall. The new recruits, who had initially been vaguely afraid of war, were now riding high on their victories.

Seeing Wei Yan's ferocity, they roared and charged after him.

Jiangling fell in a single day, and large swathes of Jingnan began to surrender.

For them, it didn't matter who the master was; everyone depended on them to govern the area. So, seeing that the situation was hopeless, no one was willing to be loyal to the Jin Dynasty and surrendered completely.

Sima Yi naturally accepted them all; to him, their loyalty or disloyalty was completely irrelevant.

Anyway, Xinghan has enough reserve talents. If these people don't obey, they can be killed immediately. If they are killed, someone will naturally take their place.

As for the issue of future handover, that's a matter for the future. Sima Yi can build his own government team when the time comes.

Moreover, as long as Sima Yi had no intention of betraying Xinghan, these talents from Xinghan would actually be the most obedient ministers to him.

……

While Sima Yi's side was engaged in fierce fighting, Gan Ning's side was suffering from the old man's wrath.

The fleet's greatest advantage is its freedom of movement; the army cannot pursue it, while the fleet can harass it continuously.

But Gan Ning, tasked with defending the city, became a watchdog with its neck leashed.

After observing for three days, Yang Ku deployed a large number of ballistae, catapults and other similar weapons along the coast and bombarded Gan Ning's fleet.

If Gan Ning dares to withdraw, immediately send people to cross the river.

If Gan Ning doesn't leave, the Yangtze River is only so wide, and Yang Ku could launch a direct, overwhelming attack, making Gan Ning's fleet a sitting duck.

The terrible situation made Gan Ning extremely agitated; when had he ever suffered such humiliation while roaming the world?

However, the fleet was short-handed, and the number of troops stationed on the shore was also small. Gan Ning could only patiently lead the fleet on daily maneuvers to avoid attacks while protecting the riverbank.

"boom!"

A rock hit the water's surface, splashing water everywhere. Gan Ning's forehead veins bulged. To be honest, he really wanted to unleash his full firepower and blast all those bastards on the other side into dust.

But he couldn't. He knew very well that the other side was using laborers to wear down their firepower.

He could indeed send the enemy's weapon positions airborne in a single volley, but it would be pointless. The enemy would be able to regroup in less than half a day.

The other side is just using cannon fodder to annoy them.

Yang Ku saw through everything. He knew that Gan Ning was currently lacking logistics. Jiangdong had just been captured, and Gan Ning could not conscript too many laborers to do hard labor.

This cannot be motivated by offering welfare; the laborers will also feel fear, afraid that it is a trap.

Rule requires time and effort.

Although the welfare benefits of the Jin Dynasty were not as good as those of Sima Yi's regime, the peace and good governance they brought to the people over the years had earned their trust in their rule.

Sima Yi, on the other hand, has not yet accomplished this.

The reason is simple: no one knows whether Sima Yi's side will be facing execution.

Yang Ku arranged for a large number of laborers to provoke Gan Ning every day, restricting the fleet and forcing it to move back and forth constantly.

This is Yang Hu's strategy of exhausting the enemy. Gan Ning's crew is limited, and once they start moving, they will inevitably become fatigued.

In addition, with Yang Ku and his men constantly provoking and testing, Gan Ning's naval soldiers were indeed feeling exhausted.

Moreover, the ranged soldiers hidden among the laborers, possessing elite talent and operating ballistae and catapults, could hit the fleet.

Even if only one or two out of ten shots hit, there's still a chance the crew wearing the suit could intercept them halfway.

But it was effective nonetheless, like scraping away the damage from the fleet little by little.

"We can't go on like this!"

Gan Ning's anger was burning fiercely, and he had to desperately use his brain to come up with an effective solution.

"Boss, should we launch a counterattack?" one of Gan Ning's officers asked in a low voice.

"Call me Governor! Don't call me Boss! We are the Navy, not pirates!" Gan Ning turned his head and cursed with a displeased expression.

"Yes, boss!" the officer replied, standing up straight, then chuckled.

"We've returned to the Yangtze River, haven't we? The sight of this place evokes so many emotions!"

He was originally a river bandit brought to Qingzhou by Gan Ning on the Yangtze River. Over the years, he followed Gan Ning and rose to the rank of officer.

"..." Gan Ning glanced at the officers and finally gave up on further education. After so many years, he had actually gotten used to being called "boss".

"We are a regular army, not river bandits just because we've returned to the Yangtze River!"

As Gan Ning said this, he suddenly seemed to realize something: it's not that it's impossible.

No one says regular soldiers can't become river bandits!
"Hahaha, you're really smart, kid!" Gan Ning laughed and patted his subordinate's shoulder; he had come up with a plan.

Since the regular army is currently unable to spare any resources, it is time for my invincible Jinfan bandits to take action.

"Go, gather all the able-bodied men on the ship. The rest of you, continue with the plan!"

Gan Ning took out the bell that he always carried with him.

"In fact, the sound of those bells has once again resounded throughout the Yangtze River!"

Gan Ning's solution was simple: if you use laborers as cannon fodder to cause trouble, then I'll recruit a batch of cannon fodder too.

He can't forcibly conscript ordinary laborers, but nobody cares about the Yangtze River bandits. If he takes them down, the ordinary people might even be grateful.

Let's recruit a bunch of river bandits to be cannon fodder!
Gan Ning's goal was clear: these old buddies were very familiar with the Yangtze River.

Although they haven't returned for many years, they have been sailing on a much wider ocean, and the waves of the Yangtze River are nothing to them.

Gan Ning led the best men in the fleet, swallowing up the pirates along the way. Others might not know where these pirates liked to lurk, but these old hands certainly did.

When Sima Yi was dealing with Jiangdong, there were still many hidden dangers that had not been dealt with, including mountain bandits and river bandits.

Gan Ning swept through the land, eventually amassing a force of over two thousand men and hundreds of ships of various sizes.

"You like playing tricks on me? I'll show you what I'm capable of!"

Gan Ning gathered all the river bandits together, planning to pull off a big heist under the cover of night.

At midnight, Gan Ning led two thousand men and slowly approached the camp where Yang Ku and others had set up their camp.

This place serves as a transit point connecting Yangku to the city and the riverbank defense line, where various supplies are stockpiled for easy transport.

Gan Ning now intends to destroy this camp.

If this place were a military camp, Gan Ning might not have dared to do this, but this place not only had soldiers, but also forcibly conscripted laborers.

Sometimes, having a large number of people isn't necessarily a good thing.

Gan Ning made his way stealthily, with his soldiers carrying bundles of grass and firewood, gags in their mouths, and horses with muzzles, making their way to the vicinity of the camp in an extremely slow and covert manner.

This place was not a well-organized military camp to begin with; its defenses were practically nonexistent, with only a few small squads conducting routine patrols.

Gan Ning led his skilled men in, and the soldiers guarding the camp spotted the figures in the darkness.

They didn't react immediately, after all, with the riverbank defense line as the first line of defense, they should have been safe here.

"Who is coming!"

"We're on the same side! Just got back from the riverbank." Gan Ning replied nonchalantly, showing no pressure whatsoever about bragging.

As they were talking, Gan Ning took a dozen steps forward alone, and the other party was relieved to see that only Gan Ning was coming up alone.

Just as the other side relaxed, Gan Ning suddenly sprang into action, unleashing a torrent of internal energy attacks that cleaved the camp gate flying.

The loud roar instantly caused chaos in the camp.

"Enemy attack!" The bugle sounded instantly.

"Kill!" Gan Ning took the lead, and a clear, ethereal blade of light, like azure water, flashed past, instantly cutting down the bewildered gatekeeper behind the camp gate.

"Go, go, go!"

Gan Ning roared as he activated his legion talent, then charged into the camp and ordered his men to set fires everywhere.

"The enemy general is dead, why don't you surrender quickly!" Gan Ning shouted randomly, occasionally picking up a leather bag of tung oil from the horse beside him and setting it on fire, or simply splashing it everywhere!
The entire camp was in chaos, filled with shouts of battle and other sounds of confusion.

The laborers in the camp were instantly gripped by fear.

These untrained laborers ran around like headless flies, causing a commotion in the camp and leading to chaos throughout the entire camp.

"Kill, kill, kill!"

Gan Ning freely unleashed his inner energy. With the cloud of energy pressing down on him, he couldn't kill many people, but he could make a commotion.

"What happened!" Yang Ku asked his guard as soon as he got up in his pajamas.

"It seems someone has broken in! There's complete chaos outside! Master, let's run!" the guard urged hurriedly.

"Impossible, where did they get the troops?"

"How many people have come?" Yang Ku was completely skeptical. They had been monitoring the fleet's movements constantly, and Gan Ning simply couldn't spare a large force.

(End of this chapter)