Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 203 Martyrdom and Death?

More than a hundred fire arrows hit the warship.

The triple-layered ship was instantly set ablaze.

Flames shot up several meters high, directly igniting the first deck of the triple-decker ship.

The intense heat and flames forced the Wu soldiers who were shooting arrows from the ship's side to retreat repeatedly.

Huang Bing, who had managed to escape back to the ship, was soaking wet and covered in oil, with his hair plastered to his forehead, looking utterly disheveled.

He held onto the gunwale and kept running, constantly looking down.

The ship was almost completely engulfed in flames, with fire burning on the water and the hull. The fire was particularly intense where the Han army had thrown black oil at it.

"—Knock knock knock!"

Just as the man was still in shock, nearly a hundred more fire arrows flew up from the river and landed on the deck.

"—Clang!"

The sound of a clay pot shattering came from behind.

A fire broke out instantly on the deck of the ship.

The Wu soldiers on the ship grew increasingly terrified. Some ran around frantically, while others tried to smother the fire with water and sand. The Wu soldiers were in a state of chaos and confusion.

Bu Zhi repeatedly shouted from the top floor of the ship, the "Sparrow Room," not to use water to put out the fire, but some Wu soldiers, unable to hear his command, still carried a large bucket of water and poured it on the ship.

"—Whoosh!" The flames, which were originally only waist-high, shot up to more than ten feet high after being doused with water, making a sizzling sound like oil popping.

The bucket of water failed to extinguish the oil fire; instead, it made the fire burn even more fiercely.

The Wu soldier carrying the bucket screamed in agony from the sudden heat. His entire body, from hair to clothes, was ablaze with oil. He ran a few steps on the boat, but could not bear the pain and collapsed onto the deck, rolling around in agony.

No one dared to approach.

No one dared to put out the fire.

The fire was fueled by the wind, and the wind fanned the flames.

The fire on the deck burned brighter and brighter.

This warship, capable of carrying over two thousand armored soldiers, was originally able to dominate the Han River with its superior height, but today it has failed to fulfill its intended purpose.

Aside from a few dozen men who were unfortunately wounded by arrows, the Han warships that approached the towering ship suffered almost no serious damage.

At this moment, the ever-increasing flames engulfing the lead ship of this multi-story building have already sealed its fate; there is no other way but to burn and sink.

Further downstream, Wu's warships, unable to reel in their anchors and thus trapped in the middle, were now crisscrossed and haphazardly packed together, with fire spreading rapidly among the ships.

Seeing that escape was impossible, the Wu soldiers on the ship abandoned their armor and jumped into the water to escape.

Only the ships at the very bottom and the twenty or thirty warships near the south bank, being far from the source of the fire, were able to cut their mooring lines and anchor.

Or perhaps they drifted downstream in terror and confusion, trying to escape this fiery region.

Or perhaps they saw the Buzhi Tower ship on fire and rowed desperately to its rescue.

The burning ship moved slowly.

Fu Qian left more than ten ships to monitor the tower ship, and then personally led more than twenty ships, including Mengchong, Doujian, Tumao, and Gechuan, to the south bank to prevent Wu's warships from rescuing the Wu army on the tower ship.

Before long, Wu soldiers began to jump into the water from the ship to escape.

The Han army had no intention of rescuing the Wu soldiers. Those who were far away were shot with bows and crossbows, while those who were close were captured and killed. However, there were too many Wu soldiers who jumped into the water, and too few Han soldiers responsible for monitoring them. Many Wu soldiers swam straight to the north bank after jumping into the water.

ashore.

Five or six thousand Wu infantrymen were already in a state of chaos and confusion due to the raging fire on the Han River, and now they had completely lost the arrow cover from the naval ships.

More than 10,000 Han infantrymen, with no more worries, charged toward the Wu army on the shore with unparalleled force.

The so-called "fight with your back to the river" and "survival through death" were complete fallacies at this moment. Wu's army did not gain courage from being trapped in a desperate situation; on the contrary, they became even more desperate.

Zhao Yun and Gao Xiang personally beat the war drums to boost morale.

Generals Cuan Xiong, Li Qiu, Yang Qun, and Yan Zhi donned heavy armor with basin-shaped collars and charged into the Wu army's battle formation, leading the charge.

The Wu army on the Han River wanted to escape ashore.

Wu Jun, who was on the banks of the Han River, was pushed into the water.

The top floor of the ship, known as the "Sponge Room".

Generals Bu Zhi, Huang Bing, and Sun Yin stared blankly at the raging fire on the warship that they could not extinguish. They then looked towards the shore and saw the Han people chasing and killing the Wu army like tigers among sheep, unstoppable.

All the generals were filled with despair.

ashore.

Veteran generals Zhao Yun and Gao Xiang stood side by side.

The ship in front of us has three decks, and each deck is surrounded by parapets more than three feet high to defend against arrow attacks.

The walls of each floor were also covered with leather.

The original intention was to strengthen defense while preventing fires.

However, this large ship encountered the fierce fire oil, which was appearing on the battlefield for the first time in history, and was unable to play any role.

"Unfortunately, the reserves of lacquer are limited, insufficient to deal with Wu's navy on the river." Gao Xiang sighed with a hint of regret.

The raw material for these fierce fire oils is called lacquer, which comes from Gaonu in Shangjun. It grows among sand and stones by the water and is mixed with local spring water.

Local powerful and wealthy families stored it in earthen urns or dug ponds.

It was used to boil salt, or as lamp oil, or its soot was sold to scholars as ink, or it was sold directly to doctors as a medicinal ingredient.

In early March, when Yang Tiaogang had just surrendered to the Han, his men brought more than a hundred jars of "stone lacquer" from Anding to help the Han implement their fire attack strategy.

The emperor attached great importance to this item.

However, after the ignition test, they felt that the flame of the lacquer was not strong enough, and said that the composition of the lacquer was too complex and the ignition point was too high.

Afterwards, he ordered craftsmen to build distillation equipment on Wuzhangyuan to refine it.

Even before Chang'an was secured, the emperor and prime minister had already established a strategy to seize the three eastern prefectures once Chang'an was recaptured.

To compensate for the weakness of Hanzhong's warships and its naval forces, the emperor directly ordered Yang Tiao to send people to Anding, Shangjun and other counties to purchase and collect stone lacquer, which yielded more than a thousand jars.

After the recapture of Chang'an, the emperor made an eastern tour to Fengyi and took a day to visit Gaonu in the north.

Afterwards, a thousand armored soldiers were directly transferred from Linjin to Gaonu County, where they seized several oil-producing points and set up "Fierce Fire Oil Workshops" to refine lacquer into fierce fire oil on the spot and then transport it to Chang'an.

The only downside, according to Zhao Yun, is that the production of stone lacquer is not fast, with an estimated yield of only two to three hundred cans per year.

The seven or eight hundred cans of flammable oil used today represent the accumulated wealth of powerful families in Anding and Shangjun over several years, and it is unlikely to be replenished in a short period of time.

If the river hadn't been so wide and the amount of fire oil so scarce, the Han Dynasty might not have used the fire oil on the Han River, but would have saved it to deal with Sun Quan's main naval force on the river.

However, there are advantages to revealing this secret weapon now.

Cao Wei is still powerful. Even if Han and Wu cannot form an alliance again, they should stop short of a major battle. The current national strength of the Han Dynasty can no longer support another large-scale war.

However... annexing the three eastern commanderies is possible, as long as some of the garrison troops in Hanzhong are transferred to the three eastern commanderies. In order to successfully seize the three eastern commanderies and make Sun Quan suffer a painful defeat, the fierce oil can no longer be hidden.

If Xicheng is won, and Cao Wei defeats Sun Quan in Xiangfan, then the Han Dynasty might be able to go downstream and try to advance the front line from Baidi City to Zigui, or even to Yiling.

Sun Quan knew of the existence of the "fierce fire oil," but he did not know how much of it the Han Dynasty possessed. This would inevitably make him wary, and he would never dare to easily engage the Han Dynasty in a naval battle again.

According to the emperor, as long as we refrain from using the fierce fire oil lightly in the future and prevent Wu from knowing the true strength of Han, we can achieve a strategic deterrent against the Wu bandits and buy precious time for the growth of the Han Dynasty.

At present, taking over the western city is inevitable.

As Gao Xiang envisioned a bright future for the Han Dynasty, he gazed at the Han River.

Firelight illuminated the sky, and the river flowed like blood.

The fire at Yiling seemed to reignite before my eyes.

This time, however, the fire destroyed the banners and ships of Eastern Wu.

By this time, the overall situation was settled. Both the battles on the river and the battles on land had entered the final stages and no longer required the command of a general.

Gao Xiang walked to Zhao Yun's side, and together they looked at the tall ship being devoured by flames, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"The General of Chariots and Cavalry, and the Infantryman, are the pillars of Wu."

“Sun Quan’s relative by marriage, holding the imperial insignia and supervising the army, has been stationed at Xiling for nearly ten years. His kindness and power are well-known in Jingzhou. Now he is trapped in a sea of ​​fire, with no way to fight and no way to escape. His only options are death or surrender.”

He paused, as if considering his options, and finally said: "However, I predict that if we do not persuade him, he will surely die for Wu."

“To die for one’s principles is righteous; how can we fulfill the righteousness of the Wu traitors?”
“In the past, Lü Meng crossed the river in plain clothes, and Jingzhou was seized by the Wu bandits.”

“The likes of Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, Pan Jun, and Hao Pu all flocked to the rebels and betrayed the Han dynasty to join Wu.”

Sun Quan accepted him and bestowed upon him a high position.

"The people of Jingzhou all looked on with dismay."

"As for Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, they cut off General Zhang Ying's head and sent it to Wu. Sun Quan also rewarded them with the title of Marquis and treated them very well."

"This grudge must be avenged!"

To be honest, Gao Xiang didn't want Bu Zhi to die.

After Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, Mi Fang, Fu Shiren, Pan Jun, Hao Pu, and even Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, who soon surrendered to Wu after beheading Zhang Fei, were all treated with great respect by Sun Quan.

When surrendered people are given important positions in foreign lands and their talents and virtues are displayed, it is to disgust the Han Dynasty and prove to the world that the Han Dynasty is without virtue.

The emperor and his ministers of the Han Dynasty all hated him with a vengeance.

At present, Bu Zhi can be captured in one fell swoop, and Gao Xiang also wants to let Sun Quan taste what it is like for a relative of the empress and a general to surrender to the enemy.

"Han Dang's son, Han Zong, surrendered to Wei with his entire clan. Sun Quan was furious and flew into a rage, often gritting his teeth all day long."

"If Bu Zhi, a powerful relative of the empress entrusted with important responsibilities, were to surrender to the Han, how would Sun Quan's wrath be appeased?"

Zhao Yun did not speak, but gestured for him to speak with his eyes.

Gao Xiang then continued:

"The Bu family is renowned throughout Jiangdong."

"Lady Bu was the most favored concubine in the imperial harem. She gave birth to two daughters, Sun Luban and Sun Luyu, who were married to Wu Zhongquan and Zhu respectively."

"If Bu Zhi surrenders to the Han, given Sun Quan's suspicion and distrust, how could the entire Bu clan not be affected?"
"If the Bu family is affected, what will happen to the Quan and Zhu families who married Quan's two daughters?"
"At that time, how could the people of Jiangdong remain unmoved?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun gave Gao Xiang a deep look before finally speaking:
“I already know what Boyi means.”

"As Boyi said, if Bu Zhi were to die in battle, the people of Wu would be awed by his spirit and mourn his loyalty, which would strengthen their resolve to resist the Han."

"If Bu Zhi were to surrender to the Han, the people of Wu would know that Wu's fortifications are not unshakeable, and Wu's loyalty and bravery are not inviolable."

"If this is the case, there will be no one in Wu who will not be in turmoil."

"Back then, when Guan Yu's elder brother flooded the seven armies of Wei, Yu Jin, the only one who was allowed to hold the imperial insignia and supervise the army, was even more famous than Zhang Liao, yet he surrendered to the Han, which shocked the Cao Wei court and the public."

“Bu Zhi’s prestige in Sun Wu was immense, no less than that of Yu Jin, the chief general of the pseudo-Wei state.”

Gao Xiang nodded and said frankly:

"In my humble opinion, we should allow them to surrender."

"He then told him that the reason why the Han Dynasty went to war with Sun Wu was only for the sake of the three eastern commanderies."

“Now Sun Quan and Cao Wei are locked in a standoff at Xiangfan. If the battle at Xiangfan goes badly, the Han Dynasty will surely sail down the Yangtze River.”

"At that time, not only will Xiangfan be lost, but even Jingzhou will not belong to Sun Quan."

"If Bu Zhi had surrendered to Han with his troops, there would still have been a possibility of re-establishing the alliance between Wu and Shu."

"If Bu Zhi is determined to die for Sun Quan, then the hatred between Han and Wu will only deepen. Since the alliance between Han and Wu cannot be established, the Han will surely exterminate all the Wu people here, eradicate them completely, and avenge them!"

Zhao Yun nodded upon hearing this: "I will do as Boyi says."

Zhao Yun, of course, understood Gao Xiang's intentions.

Bu Zhi's martyrdom only emboldened the people of Wu.

Bu Zhi's surrender to the Han Dynasty was what truly demoralized the Wu people.

Before long, Zhao Yun personally picked up the brush and affixed the seal.

A letter urging surrender was written on white silk and shot into the Wu army's warship.

"The campaign of the Han Dynasty at Xicheng was not for the purpose of attacking Wu."

"This is truly the heart and throat of Hanzhong, a vital strategic location. Xicheng sits at a crucial point in the eastern defenses of Hanzhong; it cannot be entrusted to others."

"General, you are a relative of the Marquis of Wu, a trusted and capable advisor. If you spare your life, the alliance between Wu and Shu can be renewed, and the lands south of the Yangtze River can be preserved."

"If the general insists on dying for his principles, then the enmity between Han and Wu will be irreconcilable, and a reconciliation will be impossible."

"If this is the case, then all the people of Wu here, regardless of age, will be slaughtered to appease the blood of the soldiers who died in Jingzhou and Yiling."

"A single decision by the general can decide the life or death of an entire army; I urge you to consider this carefully."

Once the silk scroll was presented, the Han navy shouted in unison:
"Whoever surrenders will avoid death!"

The roaring sound drowned out the explosions of flames.

On the ship.

Bu Zhi held the book on white silk, his hair and beard bristling, his eyes bulging with fury.

After hearing the Han army's promise that those who surrendered would be spared death, the last thousand or so Wu soldiers finally stopped their risky attempt to jump overboard and escape.

All eyes turned to Bu Zhi.

Bu Zhi slowly turned around and looked at the more than a thousand remaining soldiers behind him.

They were either wounded or their clothes were charred, their hair and beards curled up from the scorching fire, and their eyes were filled with fear and pleading.

Huang Bing, Sun Yin, and the other generals stood around, their faces ashen, speechless.

drop?
Disloyal to the Supreme Lord of Wu.

No reduction?

Their martyrdom and death may have ended everything, but if Wei and Shu join forces to attack Wu, can Wu still hold Jingzhou?
"Clang!" Bu Zhi walked to the side of the boat, suddenly drew his sword, held it across his neck, and intended to commit suicide by jumping into the river.

"General!" Huang Bing rushed forward, crying out to stop him.

"General?!" The entire army was shocked.

"General, you mustn't!"

"General, you are preserving your life for the greater good of His Majesty!"

Bu Zhi looked back with tearful eyes, only to see all the soldiers on the ship kneeling down, weeping and begging for their lives.

After a while, the person slowly began to speak.

"If we do not surrender, we will all die."

"If we surrender, I alone will be disgraced, but the alliance between Wu and Shu can be established, and the land of Jiangdong can be preserved."

According to the principles of the Spring and Autumn Annals, the ruler dies for the state, the high officials die for the people, and the scholars die for the state.

"Today's defeat is not about the death of a high-ranking official, but about the survival of the entire nation."

"If my betrayal can lead to the alliance between Wu and Shu against Cao Cao, thus protecting the land of Jiangnan for Your Majesty, then I will count... I will count..." Bu Zhi finally didn't know what to say.

Taishi Ci once said: "A true man should carry a seven-foot sword to ascend the steps of the emperor."

The seven-foot sword in his hand could neither ascend to the emperor's throne nor commit suicide for his country. He could only remove it from his neck and then cut off the banner on the mast that read "General Bu of Wu's Right".

The great banner slowly fell, like the setting sun sinking into the river.

In an instant, the burning ship erupted in a deafening wail, whether of sorrow or joy, it was hard to tell.

Huang Bing, Sun Yin, and the other generals looked ashen-faced.

Bu Zhi abandoned his sword and leaned against the gunwale, his eyes blazing and teeth chattering.

Not long after, Wu's army surrendered to Han.

Not long after, Bu Zhi, Huang Bing, Sun Yin and other generals were bound on the banks of the Han River.

The ship slowly sank into the Han River.

The Han soldiers roared to the heavens, as if they could see the fate of Wu sinking into the Han River.

The wind became fierce.

(End of this chapter)