Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 1184 Fire

On an autumn night in the eighth year of Jianwu, the wind carried a slight dampness, and the crescent moon in the sky was reflected on the water, with waves surging and shimmering.

A fast boat quickly approached from the waterway near the Bian River, and the people on board nimbly grabbed the ropes and boarded the large boat.

The figure on the boat, dressed in a water jacket, listened to his words, hummed in agreement, and put down his wine glass.

The scout who delivered the message retreated, and Li Jun looked at Zhang Heng, who suddenly stood up: "Pass down the order to prepare to attack Xuanze Gate and cut off the connection between the city and the outside world in one fell swoop."

"Here!"

The officers and soldiers on the ship responded in unison and turned to relay the order.

Zhang Heng raised his head, glanced at the sky, and then looked at the dark waterway: "The sky is dark tonight, even the heavens are on our side."

Li Jun nodded slightly, watching as many speedboats below were loaded with kerosene and alcohol, covered with flammable materials, and cloths were brought in to prevent them from being hit by enemy rockets. Seven or eight skilled swimmers, carrying flammable materials and short blades, crouched on the boats.

As the sky grew increasingly dark, Zhang Heng gave the order, and the fire ship slowly set off, heading towards the distant light source.

The river water was broken by the hull of the boat, splashing into fine white foam, which was then thrown behind the boat, leaving trails before merging back into the surrounding water.

Zhang Heng was standing in the cabin, contemplating the upcoming attack on the city, when suddenly someone ran up to him: "General, there are lights on the river ahead!"

"Huh?" Zhang Heng was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. Without even putting on his helmet, he rushed out of the cabin and leaned over the gunwale to look outside.

In the distance, several large lanterns were placed on wooden planks the size of lotus leaves. The dim light could not illuminate the entire river, but it could still make out the outlines of the boats that were moving along the river.

"Oops……"

Just as those two words were uttered, a faint metallic clanging sound came from ahead.

Dangdangdang——

……

Bianliang City was rather deserted today. Even so, there were still many sons of officials and wealthy merchants lingering in this city that never sleeps, especially at Fanlou, where many people lingered and were reluctant to leave. The dazzling lights illuminated the area as if it were daytime.

Snapped--

The window of the room in the city tower of Bianliang was slammed shut. Li Gang slammed his fist on the table in anger, his face showing dissatisfaction with what he had just seen.

However, he was helpless. It wasn't that he didn't want to use drastic measures to put these people in prison, but there were simply too many people involved. Some of these people were in charge of money, some were in charge of grain, and many of them were even family members of censors who reported on the matter based on rumors. If they were all imprisoned, he might not be able to defend the city anymore.

Therefore, we can only back down and let these young masters, high-ranking officials, and colleagues in the same court do as long as they don't cause any major trouble.

Li Gang, deciding to avoid seeing it altogether, turned around and continued studying the city defense map. The night was quiet, with only the sound of the night wind rustling the windowpanes and the occasional sound of patrolling soldiers moving about.

Just as Li Gang marked two red dots on the blueprint on the table, a metallic clang suddenly rang out. He was startled for a moment, then suddenly stood up, grabbed the longsword on the table, and ran outside.

bang——

The gate was open before he even arrived, and the guards looked a little nervous: "Lord Li, it's the direction of Xuanze Gate."

"Xuanze Gate... Let's go!"

Li Gang didn't stop running; he dashed past his personal guards like a whirlwind, and the guards quickly turned around and chased after him.

"Send orders to the garrison troops on each section of the city wall to be on high alert and not let the enemy sneak into the city."

……

"Rush over!"

Hearing the faint sound of metal ringing in his ears, and seeing the dim yellow light shining into Zhang Heng's pupils as if a ball of fire was burning: "The city is just ahead. Retreating now will only boost the enemy's morale and fighting spirit."

He stood up and shouted, "Pass the order: Speed ​​up the advance!"

Hearing his words from the side and behind, Li Jun frowned immediately. After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and whispered in his ear, "General, since we have already been exposed, it would be better to retreat. It would be worse to suffer losses."

Zhang Heng suddenly turned around and glared at him, then realized something and forcibly suppressed his anger: "I am the general in the army. How to attack Bianliang is up to me. Go and prepare. Don't be afraid of battle later."

Seeing that he had no choice, Li Jun had no choice but to accept the order and go down to his post.

Zhang Heng had his personal guards fetch his iron helmet, which he slammed onto his head. Looking up at the approaching Bianliang city, he murmured, "Great merit is before us; how can we not fight for it?"

The river water broke apart, and the boats sped up.

……

Torches crackled and popped as they burned atop the city wall, and countless figures rushed past shouting "Hurry up!" and "Don't dawdle!" momentarily deflecting the flames.

Soldiers carrying swords and spears stood behind the battlements, while men carrying bows stood tensely ten paces behind, monitoring the bowstrings in their hands.

Li Gang ran along the city wall and saw this scene. He first glanced at the river and saw small boats ahead and large boats behind. He frowned and asked, "Who is in charge here?"

"Yes, Your humble servant!"

Li Gang turned his head, and the firelight illuminated a fair face. A man with a gentle smile bowed respectfully to him: "This humble general, Chen Xizhen, the commander of the Japanese army, pays his respects to Minister Li."

"No need for formalities." Li Gang looked him up and down, instinctively feeling a little uncomfortable, but didn't think much of it. He simply said, "Quickly, have people prepare more grappling hooks and wooden shields. The small ships ahead are all fire ships. Don't let them get close to the water gate. Secure them all."

"Reassign other archers with superb arms to the front, and those who are strong and healthy to step forward."

"Yes."

Chen Xizhen dared not delay and quickly agreed. He then turned around and gave the order. Soon, the men carrying the divine crossbows stepped forward, and several hundred soldiers with grappling hooks were ready to go.

Chen Xizhen breathed a sigh of relief, took a small step back, and whispered to the thin guard beside him, "When the battle begins, don't let that Minister Li see your true face."

"Don't worry, Father." The figure said softly, the sweet voice was none other than Chen Liqing's: "Your daughter will certainly not make things difficult for you."

The father smiled.

……

call--

The cloth covering the boat was thrown onto the river, and the boat, now exposed, suddenly revealed what was inside. The water ghost, dressed in black water armor, took out a tinderbox, flicked it, blew on it, lit it with a tinderbox, threw it onto the boat, and then jumped off the boat.

puff-

Several splashes of water rose from the surface of the water. On the city walls and on the boats, countless eyes watched as flames rose from the ships, then burst into raging fire, turning the entire ship into a sea of ​​flames as it headed towards the water gate of Bianliang City.

On the city wall, the soldiers panicked for a moment because of the firelight. Li Gang took a breath and raised his voice: "Don't panic, it's just a fire ship attack, they won't be able to get up the city wall."

"Order the grapplers to hook the boat in place. Do not let the water gate catch fire, and do not let the boat drift away!"

"The archers on the city wall aim at the large ship opposite and fire according to their respective officers' orders. Whirlwind cannons, prepare."

"Those near the waterway below, throw stones downwards! Don't let the water ghosts cause trouble!"

"Bring forward the potent kerosene!"

The commands were issued, seemingly soothing people's hearts. The soldiers who had been praising the Japanese army fell silent instantly. Chen Xizhen was overjoyed and thought to himself that with such abilities, things would be much easier for him.

He immediately ordered his soldiers to get moving. One by one, the soldiers sprang into action, their eyes gleaming with determination as they raised their divine bows, a far cry from their usual lazy demeanor.

With the help of the water ghosts, the small boat sped forward and, under the watchful eyes of the people on the city wall, soon approached the water gate. Bang bang bang—

The sounds of impact were clearly audible in the night. The people pushing the boat in the water felt a jolt in their arms and immediately knew they were being obstructed. One by one, they drew the short blades tied to their waists and dived into the water, trying to cut the obstacle blocking the boat.

"Throw--"

A roar came from the top of the city wall, and the soldiers standing in front immediately bent down, picked up stones, and threw them down with all their might.

The stones plunged into the water, creating a series of bubbles in the murky river. Before the people lurking in the water even reached their destination, they sensed something amiss above them and quickly dodged. However, even though they dodged quickly, there were too many stones above them, and several people were still hit hard. Except for three unlucky ones who were hit squarely on the forehead and died instantly, the rest only suffered minor injuries.

"Damn..."

Zhang Heng glared, and with a clang, drew his sword from his waist and pointed forward: "Go forward and shoot those bastards on the city wall."

Then he turned to the messenger beside him and said, "Tell Li Jun to lead his men forward and find a way to scatter the people blocking the fire ships, and to break through the city gates!"

The horns signaling the attack sounded, and large ships sailed forward, while the whirlwind cannons and crossbows on the city walls roared downwards.

One after another, rolling stones whistled as they crashed into their targets in the river, while crossbow bolts ripped through the night sky, often striking those who were caught off guard and falling to the ground.

"General, the Song army is defending cautiously, and we are not at an advantage. It would be better to retreat and come back to settle scores when the main army is assembled later."

Li Jun received the order and ran over, once again urging Zhang Heng to retreat.

"No way!" Zhang Heng's eyes turned red, his face contorted with rage. "How can we retreat at the first contact? Do you think my soldiers are all cowards like the Song army?"

He pointed towards the water gate, his face shifting between light and shadow in the firelight: "Over there, go and rescue all the fire ships, and break through there as soon as possible."

Li Jun took a breath and had no choice but to nod in agreement. He then selected dozens of skilled men, along with Tong Wei and Tong Meng, and jumped down from both sides of the ship, swimming under the cover of night.

Footsteps approached from his side. Zhang Heng turned his head and saw a messenger under his command: "Reporting, General Zhang Shun has sent someone to inquire whether we should evacuate this area."

"No retreat, no retreat, no retreat!" Zhang Heng grew increasingly furious, waving his hand: "The battle situation is still uncertain, how can we retreat! Let him attack with our army!"

"Here!"

……

"Prime Minister Li, look over there! The Qi army is coming!"

"Order the archers to come forward and beat the drums to cheer them on!"

Li Gang gripped his sword hilt and issued the order, carefully examining the warships in the water, now illuminated in minute detail: "Send the fierce fire oil to the Whirlwind Cannons. Don't worry about anything else, just throw it at the biggest one over there. Tell the gunner that if he can't see the fire start soon, I'll hang him off the fire ship and roast him."

The soldier who delivered the order immediately ran out.

Amidst the hustle and bustle, Chen Liqing stood at the front with a powerful bow in her hand. She had always harbored resentment towards Hua Rong for shooting her father with an arrow years ago. So many years had passed, and she had never had the chance to take revenge. Now, she hated the entire Qi Kingdom.

Given the opportunity to kill the people of Qi with her own hands, why would she give it up?
The large ship below drew closer, and arrows began to rain down from below. Chen Liqing remained calm, watching the figures illuminated by the sea of ​​fire. Occasionally, she would draw her bow, and after a muffled "hum," a figure would fall on the deck.

As the losses gradually increased, Zhang Heng frowned slightly as he watched this scene. The reaction on the city wall was different from what he had seen in Hebei. He was used to being able to make the city wall surrender after firing a few arrows and cannon shots, and he was a little unable to accept that he had suddenly encountered a tough opponent.

"Where's Li Jun? Hurry up and break through the fire ships ahead." His voice rang out from the ship, somewhat regretting that he had prepared too many fire ships. At this moment, the sea of ​​fire was connected, making it impossible for their large ships to advance. They could only passively endure the fierce attacks from the city walls.

call--

"Catapult! Take cover!"

In the firelight, eight dark figures flew over. Soldiers on the ship saw this and quickly shouted warnings. The huge dark figures landed under their watchful eyes. Zhang Heng's lips twitched as he watched their trajectory.

This ship needs repairs again...

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he heard a loud "thud" as something hit the ship's deck behind him. Liquid then splashed onto him, and an indescribable smell filled his nostrils.

A series of splashing sounds filled my ears as several dark figures fell into the water.

Zhang Heng's expression changed slightly. He touched the liquid splashed on his body with a strange look, then brought it to his nose and sniffed it carefully—

"Oil for intense heat..."

The moment the self-talk left his mouth, eight more flaming stones flew out from the city wall above, tracing a high parabola before rapidly falling back down.

"Oil--"

"It's over..."

"Jump into the river!"

Countless screams rang out from the ship as the flaming rocks drew ever closer, brushing past the gunwale.

puff-

Chi-

As the waves surged, the other seven fireballs also fell one by one, the flaming spheres striking the deck squarely in Zhang Heng's despairing gaze, creating a huge hole.

boom--

The flames ignited the burning oil, and burning wood chips flew everywhere, hitting other oily surfaces.

tumultuous--

The blue flames spread out, engulfing everything on the ship in an instant.

"Ahhhh-"

The soldiers on the burning boat struggled and ran, some crashed into the railing and fell into the river, while others, unaware, fell into the huge hole.

Zhang Heng was also running, and he wasn't lucky either. A spark landed at his feet and burned up on him in no time.

The burning sensation grew stronger, and Zhang Heng's face showed pain. He felt like he was surrounded by flames, but he didn't see the horrified look in the eyes of the guards beside him.

With a sudden burst of footsteps, Zhang Heng saw the ship's side ahead, stood up, stepped onto the wooden railing, and jumped down.

puff-

"Big brother!"

Seeing the distant warships being hit, Zhang Shun immediately recognized it as Zhang Heng's flagship. He ran a few steps, grabbed the window frame of the magpie's chamber, and stared into the distance with his teeth bared. He then turned and was about to run out.

Many of his personal guards rushed forward to stop him, shouting, "General, you must not take the risk! That kind of fire is unusual; the Song army must have used something."

"General Zhang will be fine, General. Please give the order. There are still thousands of people here waiting for the next command."

Zhang Shun stopped abruptly, glared fiercely at the ball of fire for a moment, then stood up abruptly: "The Song army's defenses are tight, and there are many weapons on the city walls. Order a retreat."

"Simultaneously send a message to the water ghost to find the person who fell into the water, quick!"

The messenger bowed and accepted the order before leaving. Not long after, the sound of gongs rang out below Bianliang City, and warships began to retreat under the bombardment of whirlwind cannons.

Flames spread, and explosions erupted one after another on the water's surface, causing the sea of ​​fire to expand.

　I need to take a day off tomorrow for a business trip.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)