Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 255 The Art of War: Thousands of chapters and countless sentences, all boil down to various ways of misleading people.
Wuxian County.

Jiangnan.

Iron Chain Pass.

The hundreds of Wu soldiers on duty had heavy eyelids, but dared not slacken their vigilance in the slightest, their eyes sweeping over the river and another iron chain pass on the north bank time and time again.

Since General Sun Shao of Zhenxi retreated from Yanyu Pass to Wuxian County yesterday, all the passes in Wuxian County have been placed under martial law, and all the troops have entered a state of war, creating a tense atmosphere as if a storm is brewing.

At the highest point of Tiesuo Pass stands a beacon tower.

Sun Shao stood on it, his eyes weary, looking around.

Yesterday, after the defeat reached Wuxian, he was exhausted, but he still did not sleep all night and personally supervised Fu Yi, Sun Jun and other leaders to strengthen the river defenses and set up more sentry posts.

Dozens of warships patrolled the river.

Before long, a Wu general ascended the beacon tower.

"Sun Zhenxi, the cone in the river is still there, and the iron chain is intact." Fu Yi, Fu Shiren's son, stepped forward to report, his voice and appearance equally weary.

Sun Shao nodded slightly.

He immediately looked away from the great river.

He turned his head and looked towards the Ten Thousand Mountains in the southwest.

The Shu army that was discovered some time ago is still there.

"Any reports from the scouts in the Nanshan direction?"

"No movement yet," Fu Yi replied.

After hesitating for a moment, his expression turned indignant again:

"This humble general believes that the Shu army there... is probably just using a feint to divert our Wu forces, and may not actually launch any surprise attack!"

After Sun Shao brought news of the defeat at Yanyu Pass back to Wu County, Fu Yi, Sun Jun, and other generals who were in charge of controlling the Iron Chain Pass were all shocked and furious.

Sun Shao remained silent, frowning as he met Fu Yi's gaze.

Fu Yi, looking indignant, finally spoke:
"General, if we were sent to guard the upstream pass instead of having a large force set up an ambush here, waiting for the Shu army to walk right into our trap!"
"How could the Great Wu have suffered defeats at Xilin, Shiya, and Yanyu Passes?!"

"How could the situation... possibly have deteriorated to this extent?!"

"Now that things have come to this, there's no need for further words. Continue to monitor the movements of the Shu barbarians in the mountains and report back regularly." Sun Shao's voice brooked no argument.

Fu Yi hesitated, but ultimately dared not say more.

After Fu Yi left to receive his orders, Sun Shao sat down by the beacon tower and closed his eyes to rest.

In his mind, the incomprehensible defeat at Yanyu Pass was still there, as were the images of the Shu army wielding strange long poles and riding mud horses.

He had seen those "mud horses" before.

Fishermen along the coast of Jiangdong often bring similar items to the mudflats when the tide is out, to catch small seafood such as crabs, clams, and razor clams.

This thing has different names in different places.

Some people call it a mud-board boat.

Some call it a mud-covered boat.

Some people call it slippery.

Some people also call it a seahorse.

The front end of the small wooden board is curled up.

A person can kneel on one knee in the stern, push off the mud with one foot, and hold the handles with both hands, and glide through the mud as if flying, moving forward and backward with ease.

but…

Even though he had seen and was familiar with this object, he never expected that one day the Shu bandits would catch him off guard with it!
Just as he was falling into a deep drowsiness and about to lose consciousness, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps startled him awake once again.

Open your eyelids.

A bodyguard staggered up to him.

"What's the matter?!" Sun Shao was somewhat annoyed.

The guard's face was deathly pale, and he was panting heavily.

"General! Something bad has happened!"

“Pan… Pan Taichang, he…”

Sun Shao's heart sank suddenly.

An ominous premonition immediately arose:

"Pan Jun? What happened to him?"

The guard swallowed hard again and spoke with difficulty:
"Pan Taichang...he has returned to Wuxian!"

"And...and he also brought quite a few defeated soldiers with him!"

"Pan Jun?!"

"Wu County?!"

"Defeated soldiers?!"

Sun Shao felt a surge of heat rush to his head, and then everything went black before his eyes.

He grabbed the guard's collar and almost lifted him up: "You saw clearly?! It really is Pan Jun?!"

"How could it be false?! Pan Taichang is at the official residence right now, and he... he even questioned you sternly, asking the general where you have been!"

Sun Shao's eyes were bloodshot, and he shoved his personal guard away violently.

"Bastard!"

"The Yanyu Pass has been lost?!"

"Pan Jun lost Yanyu Pass?!"

Yesterday, when the Tan Tu army was defeated, Pan Jun urgently ordered him to return to defend Wu County.

He had assumed that Pan Jun was staying behind to cover the rear, but in less than one night, Pan Jun...

"Is it possible?!"

Sun Shao's face suddenly showed surprise, anger, and suspicion.

A terrifying yet not absurd thought uncontrollably rushed into my mind.

"Could it be that that scoundrel is secretly colluding with the Shu bandits, staging this whole drama of losing the pass and territory, intending to hand over the gateway of our Great Wu to the traitors?!"

Upon realizing this, Sun Shao felt a chill run down his spine.

"Prepare the boats! Return to the city!" The man spat out the order through gritted teeth, his body trembling with rage.

...

Wuxian County.

A sense of utter defeat and bewilderment materialized.

The city gates were crowded with a large number of defeated and remnant soldiers.

Most of them had lost their armor, their clothes were disheveled, and they were covered in mud and bloodstains.

His face was etched with shock and the numbness typical of defeated soldiers.

Blocked in his path, Sun Shao pushed through the crowd with all his might.

The garrison in Wu County also tried to maintain order, shouting and shoving, but this not only failed to achieve its purpose, but also added to the chaos.

Enraged, Sun Shao simply stepped over the remaining and defeated soldiers on the ground and entered the city.

The scene in the city was equally horrifying.

Hundreds of remnants and defeated soldiers leaned against the wall, panting and looking around blankly.

Someone was bending down to tend to their wound.

The sounds of groans and cries of pain were incessant.

The road ahead remains blocked.

Sun Shao, his face ashen, whipped aside the fleeing soldiers blocking his path and charged straight at the official temple.

The same applies to the area in front of the official temple.

Even worse...

Some of the officers and generals that Sun Shao knew slumped on the stone steps, their eyes vacant.

Upon seeing Sun Shao approach, they could only barely move; the strength or courage to stand up and bow had completely vanished.

Step into the main hall of the official temple.

Sun Shao spotted Pan Jun at a glance.

This leader of the Jingzhou scholars, who was in charge of the army and was a high-ranking general trusted by the emperor, now had his turban askew, and a few strands of gray, wet hair stuck to his forehead and cheeks. Where was his usual dignified and solemn demeanor?
The two looked at each other.

The air inside the hall froze instantly.

All of Sun Shao's shock, anger, and doubt erupted at this moment:
"Pan Chengming?!"
What are you doing here?!

"Where is Shenjian Pass?!"

"Where is Yanyu Pass?!"

"Is this what you meant by 'holding up the rear'?!"

"Is this why you urgently ordered me to return to Wuxian to guard the border?!"

Sun Shao pointed at Pan Jun, his voice booming like thunder.

Even the hustle and bustle outside the official temple fell silent.

Pan Jun's personal guards, who were standing in the hall, instinctively gripped the hilts of their swords, their faces turning pale.

Pan Jun, with his sunken eyes and haggard, flustered appearance, was taken aback by the barrage of angry words, but quickly understood what Sun Shao meant:

What are you trying to say?!

"If it were you, Sun Gongli, could you have defended Yanyu Pass?!"

After saying this, he stepped forward, almost face to face with Sun Shao:

"Yesterday you led your troops away."

"The Shu army's offensive at Yanyu Pass has ceased, and there is no fighting at Yanyu Pass!"
"Yet in the northern mountains, the smoke of war never ceased, and beacon fires repeatedly sounded the alarm!"

At this very moment, Pan Jun angrily brandished his arms:
"Shenjian Pass and Yanyu Pass, one mountain and one river, the two passes are one, and they are interdependent!"

"If Beishan is lost, the flank and rear of Yanyu Pass will be wide open and it will fall in an instant. How can I sit idly by?! That's why I personally led two thousand of my troops to reinforce Beishan!"

He speaks very fast and is very emotional.

"And then what happened?!"
I have not arrived!

"Tiger Leap Gorge, Eagle Sorrow Gorge, and Deep Gorge Pass have all fallen!"
"The army's defeat is like a mountain collapsing!"

"When the soldiers lose their courage, the general loses his will to fight!"

"Even my own troops are wavering and in disarray!"
"Given the circumstances at that time, if I hadn't made a decisive move and led the army to withdraw!"

"Are we just going to stay at Yanyu Pass and wait to be trapped like turtles in a jar by the Shu army, resulting in the annihilation of our entire army?!"

Sun Shao listened to Pan Jun's explanation, and was especially shocked to learn that the fall of the passes in Beishan had been so swift.

However, suspicions about Poon Chun did not subside; on the contrary, they intensified, culminating in a cold laugh:
"Pan Chengming, stop trying to deny it!"
"No matter how eloquent you are, you cannot change the fact that you, as the military commander, abandoned the pass and fled! This is a cardinal sin in military strategy!"

Pan Jun, enraged, laughed and retorted sharply:
"His Majesty has entrusted me with the task of guarding Wu County and protecting the western gateway of the Great Wu!"
"Instead of stubbornly guarding a fortified pass that is doomed to fall, thus jeopardizing the nation's affairs!"

"You're ruining national affairs?!" Sun Shao was furious.

"If I, Pan Jun, were to die at Yanyu, what good would it do for the country?!"
"It's just that giving the Shu people an extra head will boost their military morale!"
"I don't care about reputation or face!"
"I only wish to preserve my life and serve the Great Wu, guarding the western border for Your Majesty, to repay Your Majesty's trust and entrustment!"

"Preserve your usefulness?"

"The debt of trust and responsibility?"

Sun Shao said sarcastically, "What a high-sounding reason!"

After being repeatedly contradicted by Sun Shao, and seeing the undisguised suspicion and sarcasm on Sun Shao's face, Pan Jun finally couldn't bear it any longer and suddenly pointed his finger at Sun Shao's broad nose:

Sun Shao!
"If it weren't for your incompetence in failing to defend the beachhead in front of the pass, allowing the Shu people to break through the defenses!"
"At this moment, I have already captured and killed Chen Dao, and it is even possible that I could capture Liu Shan, the ruler of Shu, alive!"
"The primary blame for this defeat lies with you, not me!"

"How dare you, you old scoundrel!" Sun Shao was furious, his right hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

The atmosphere inside the hall was extremely tense. The two supreme commanders of the Wu army glared at each other, like two ferocious beasts about to fight.

The two guards held their breath, watching intently.

However, Sun Shao ultimately failed to draw his sword.

The defeat at Yanyu Pass truly began with the loss of the mudflat positions.

Those seemingly ridiculous bamboo poles, those unexpected mud horses... he could not shirk the responsibility for losing ground.

The main hall of the official temple fell into a brief silence.

The heavy breathing of the two echoed in the hall.

Seeing that Sun Shao was speechless, Pan Jun knew that he was powerless to refute the responsibility for the loss of the mudflats, so he forcibly suppressed his surging anger and tried to steer the topic back to the most pressing military affairs.

"Sun Zhenxi!"

"Now is not the time to hold each other accountable!"

"Wuxian still exists, but it is in grave danger!"

"With the momentum of their great victory, the Shu people will surely be at the city gates within two weeks."

"Our troops suffered heavy losses and morale was low."

"The most urgent task is to immediately report the battle situation here, including the loss of the passes in the northern mountains, to His Majesty in detail and request reinforcements to be sent as soon as possible! Delay could lead to unforeseen circumstances!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Shao frowned sharply, his anger turning into resistance, and finally he resolutely refused:
"There's absolutely no need for that!"
"The battle reports that were supposed to be sent have already been sent out!"

"Your Majesty, upon receiving the report, will make your own judgment!"

"What's the use of urging me again and again?!"
"Deploying troops and procuring provisions, which of these does not require time?"
"Even if His Majesty's aid had wings, how quickly could it arrive?!"

He turned abruptly, pointed to the great river outside the city, and said in a resolute voice:
Wuxian County still exists!
"The Iron Chain Pass is still standing!"
"The cone in the river is still there!"
"Our army still has 15,000 soldiers remaining to defend the border!"
"The river defenses are secure, and the movements of the Shu bandits in the southern mountains are also under my surveillance!"
I refuse to believe it!

"Do the Shu barbarians possess extraordinary abilities to break through my Iron Chain River Pass in an instant?!"
"But Pan Chengming, didn't you already send a military report to His Majesty?"

"Did he say, 'Before the Shu army moves, I have already occupied the pass and guarded the strategic position, which can be held for half a month'?"

Why issue another report of defeat at this moment?
"In my opinion, this will only disturb His Majesty's mind and confuse the world!"

Pan Jun was speechless at Sun Shao's words.

He naturally remembered his somewhat optimistic battle report from before.

"The Shu army has not yet moved, but I have already occupied the pass and guarded the strategic points; we can hold out for half a month."

At that time, he truly believed that with the several passes in Wuxi, especially the Deep Ravine and Yanyu passes, holding out for a month and a half would be as easy as taking candy from a baby, even simpler than eating and drinking.

Who could have predicted that the battle situation would take such a dramatic turn?!

Bringing up this matter now is tantamount to slapping him in the face in public.

He frowned and snorted coldly:
"Times have changed!"
"Military situations change rapidly. How can we let an outdated military report jeopardize national affairs?! Immediately report the facts and request support!"

After asking, he suddenly became puzzled. He only wanted to send a military report to the emperor to ask for support, so why did Sun Shao object?

Do you really want to go against yourself?
Just as Pan Jun was filled with doubt, Sun Shao's tone softened slightly:
Why rush things?
"We are not in dire straits in Wuxian!"
"I have already deployed defenses in Jiangnan, with multiple layers of ambushes. As long as we lure the Shu army in Nanshan into our trap, we will surely annihilate them in one fell swoop!"
"At that time, we will take this small victory with us and send it to Wuchang along with the battle report. This will not only stabilize the morale of the troops, but also somewhat offset our previous mistakes."

"Isn't this better than just crying and begging for help now?"
"Sending an urgent report for help at this time will only cause His Majesty worry and invite criticism from the court officials!"

Pan Jun was taken aback.

I finally understand Sun Shao's calculations. He's betting everything on that isolated Shu army detachment that's ventured deep into enemy territory.

They wanted to take a gamble and use a possible victory to cover up their previous defeats.

Pan Jun took a deep breath, then shook his head:

"Sun Zhenxi, we have suffered heavy losses and have failed His Majesty's trust!"
"At this critical moment, instead of thinking about holding the line and waiting for reinforcements, they actually tried to conceal their defeat and attempted to take risks and hope for luck."

"If the plan for Jiangnan fails and Wuxian is lost, can you and I bear the enormous responsibility of jeopardizing military operations?!"
"As for redeeming our sins through meritorious service... as long as we can guard the western border of Great Wu, His Majesty will have the wisdom to judge whether it is meritorious or demeritful!"

"However, we must report this defeat immediately! We must not let our personal desires jeopardize the nation's grand plan!"

The hall fell silent once again.

Sun Shao's face turned ashen, and his fists clenched tightly.

He certainly knew that what Pan Jun said made sense.

Wuchang is more than a thousand miles from Wuxian, but military intelligence can be transmitted very quickly by going down the Yangtze River.

If they travel day and night, the military report will reach Wuchang in just three or four days.

However, an imperial edict from Wuchang traveled upstream along the Yangtze River, and its delivery was extremely slow, taking more than twenty days even if the journey continued day and night.

Nearly ten days have passed since Pan Jun sent the first military report to Wuchang. The Emperor of Wu must have received the report long ago, and the imperial edict must already be on its way.

If a report of the defeated army were sent at this time, how furious would the emperor be upon receiving it?
However, if a victory could be won before the imperial edict reaches Wu County, and the results of the victory or defeat could be reported, it would look much better...

However, the person in charge of supervising the army here was ultimately General Pan Jun, not the Great Wu General in charge of the west.

Finally, Sun Shao managed to squeeze out a single word, "Good," before turning and shouting sharply at the people outside the hall:
"Someone, bring me a pen, ink, and silk!"
"Please, Governor Pan, personally draft the battle report for His Majesty!"

He emphasized the words "personally wrote" very heavily, and after saying that, he didn't look at Pan Jun again, and strode out of the main hall of the official temple.

As Pan Jun watched Sun Shao's departing figure, a wave of exhaustion and dejection washed over him.

He and Sun Shao, one a leading figure among the gentry of Jingzhou and the other a valiant general from the Jiangdong royal family, already had a rift between them.

After this major defeat and conflict, the rift has deepened. Will they still be able to work together to fight against the powerful enemy in this besieged city of Wuxian?
He shook his head.

He walked slowly to the desk and sat down heavily.

The guards carefully presented the writing brush, ink, and silk.

Pan Jun picked up his pen, but his hand trembled slightly.

Ink droplets fell onto the clean white silk, spreading into a stain.

This stain, like the current situation in Wuxian County, is gloomy and ominous.

For a moment, he didn't know how to begin writing to report this humiliating defeat to His Majesty, who was far away in Wuchang.
The three cities of Wuxian, Zigui, and Yiling.

Wu County was the first city, controlled by Pan Jun.

Zigui was the second city, and Zhou Fang moved westward to garrison it.

The last city was the important town of Xiling, also known as Yiling in Shu.

Within the Great Wu, there was considerable controversy over whether Zhu Ran or he should be the one to guard Wu County.

But in the end, the emperor still placed him in Wuxian, a key border town.

Why?

Because Wuxian County held the most military power.

Because Wuxian County is the easiest place to make military achievements.

Because the emperor was intentionally suppressing the Zhu family.

Zhu Ran, Zhu Huan, and Zhu Ji—these men wielded too much military power.

The emperor intended to support the scholars of Jingzhou and to help them and the people of Jingzhou grow up to rival the Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang factions of Jiangdong.

That's why he was appointed by the emperor to oversee the army.

They led a force of over 30,000 men to garrison the border county of Wu.

However, all the checkpoints west of Wuxian have been lost in just a few days.

This speed is even faster than when Liu Bei marched into Yiling.

He commanded over 30,000 men, nearly one-fifth of the nation's military strength, and by this point had lost 13,000 to 14,000.

The momentum is overwhelming.

The momentum is overwhelming.

What does "unstoppable momentum" mean?

Once Wuxian falls, Zhou Fang of Zigui commands only a little over six thousand men. How could they possibly be a match for the Shu army? Once Zigui also falls, the Shu army will be at the gates of Xiling... The day we stand beneath the walls of Xiling will be the day of the decisive battle between Han and Wu.

Because... once Xiling is lost, the Great Wu will have no troops left to defend the western border, and will have to withdraw all available troops to Jiangling to defend it to the death.

As for the other counties and prefectures in Jingzhou, they had no time to attend to them, so the Shu people could send small groups of troops to plunder and wreak havoc throughout Jingzhou.

This is what it means to be unstoppable.

...

Before Yanyu Pass.

The morning mist had not completely dissipated.

In the Han army's naval camp, masts stood like a forest.

But most of the warships remained quietly anchored.

Since the two warships struck a cone and sank that day, Grand Admiral Chen Dao strictly ordered the navy not to act rashly, and the huge flagship "Yanwu" was also anchored in safe waters far away from the dangerous reefs in the middle of the river.

Guan Xing stood at the bow of the "Fubo" ship, his brows furrowed, gazing at the surging, turbulent river.

Several elite Tiger Warriors, who were excellent swimmers, had just surfaced, wiped the water off their faces, and shook their heads toward the ship.

"General, it still won't work! The bottom of that iron spike is embedded in a huge rock, it's so firmly packed that it can't be moved underwater by manpower alone!"

The tiger's open lips were slightly purple from the cold.

Guan Xing nodded silently and waved for them to board the boat to warm up.

In the past few days, he has sent no fewer than ten groups of people into the water to try to pry, smash, or even try to lasso the water with ropes and have several small boats work together to pull it, but all of these efforts have had little effect.

The currents beneath the river are swift and turbulent.

It is difficult for a person to gain leverage underwater.

These iron cones that the Wu people set up to sink into the river seem to be a real thorny problem.

He shifted his gaze to the riverbank.

But they saw that the prisoners of Wu's army were working hard.

A few observant people would occasionally glance into the river.

Guan Xing remained calm and continued to order his men to drown in the river.

Although the waterway is temporarily blocked.

The land advance did not stop.

After a brief rest, the Han infantry, guided by the surrendered Wu generals, steadily advanced eastward along the mountain path cleared by the Wu army.

This road, winding through the Daba Mountains, was originally painstakingly carved out by the Wu people to connect passes such as Yanyu and Shenjian, but now it has become a smooth road for the Han army to advance.

The several passes between Yanyu and Wuxian also became places where Han troops were stationed and transited.

When the former commander Fu Qian arrived at a pass, he would personally inspect it, then draw up a defense map and arrange his trusted subordinates to lead the troops to guard it.

Although the pass was empty, the grain and supplies left behind by the Wu army were quite considerable.

Piles of grain sacks, bundles of arrows, and even many intact armor and weapons were scattered haphazardly inside the camp.

The grain and fodder left behind by the Wu people alone would be enough to support Fu Qian's vanguard for a month.

This is also why Fu Qian's vanguard was able to abandon the naval supply route and take the lead in advancing into Wuxian.

The Han army acted swiftly.

The vanguard, numbering nearly ten thousand elite troops, quickly advanced to a mountain valley seven or eight miles west of Wu County.

This place is flat and open, offering a wide view.

You can see the outline of Wuxian city wall in the distance, and at night you can even see the lights burning at the Tiesuojiang Pass.

The soldiers immediately felled trees and gathered soil to build camps and trenches, while the laborers and auxiliary soldiers continuously transported the grain and supplies captured from the rear to the front lines, creating a bustling scene.

at the same time.

Downstream from Yanyu Pass, Guan Xing is still struggling with those iron spikes on the riverbed.

Guan Xing adopted the suggestions of several veteran shipwrights and transferred more than a dozen of the most sturdy warships.

Each group consists of four boats, with a huge winch and pulley installed in the middle.

The selected strongmen chanted slogans as they firmly tied one end of the coiled hemp rope to the winch.

At the other end, water ghosts, who were extremely good at swimming, dived to the bottom of the river and painstakingly tied themselves to the iron cone and the boulder at the bottom of the cone.

"Rise!" Guan Xing commanded.

The ship's crew worked together to push the winch.

The thick hemp rope tightened instantly.

Beneath the river, heavy boulders and iron spikes were pulled and swayed slightly by this force, causing the surrounding silt to surge up and making the river water turbid.

This is an extremely clumsy and labor-intensive method.

One of the ropes snapped suddenly due to the immense force, striking the deck with a loud crack that startled everyone.

On one occasion, a winch shattered due to excessive force, and the flying wood chips injured several laborers.

One warship even lost its balance and capsized, sinking into the river.

The removal of the cone is progressing slowly.

It often takes most of the day to barely manage to dig out one or two iron spikes.

This scene was naturally witnessed by the Wu army prisoners held outside Yanyu Pass, who were responsible for assisting in clearing the battlefield and transporting supplies.

A few observant people, whether carrying timber or moving earth and stones, couldn't help but glance at the slow and arduous scene of pulling the cone out of the river.

At first, they were astonished that the Han army would try to break through the river barrier using such primitive methods.

Then, some people's eyes began to flicker, and they secretly began to make their own calculations.

It's a time when the weather is warm one day and cold the next.

The mornings along the riverbank are always graced by thick fog.

Two days later, at dawn, the river fog was still thick.

A heavy white blanket enveloped the fields, making it difficult to discern human figures even a few steps away.

The Han army had been working tirelessly for days and was extremely exhausted.

Although the patrolling soldiers remained conscientious in their duties, it was inevitable that some oversights would occur in such dense fog.

A small group of about thirty Wu soldiers, prisoners of war, exchanged glances as they were being escorted to work by the river.

They were Pan Jun's personal guards, left behind by him inside Yanyu Pass. Their loyalty goes without saying, and their swimming skills were also excellent.

Taking advantage of the moment when the soldiers escorting the Han army were obscured by the thick fog and were complaining in hushed tones about the weather, the leader suddenly attacked and knocked down the Han soldiers next to him.

The rest of the people immediately scattered and rushed towards several small boats used for transporting miscellaneous goods not far from the dock.

"Oh no, the prisoners have escaped!" the Han soldiers suddenly exclaimed.

The scene suddenly became chaotic.

Several Wu prisoners pulled out sharp blades from who-knows-where, cut the mooring ropes, jumped onto the boat, and rowed desperately toward the center of the river.

Upon hearing the news, Han archers rushed to the scene and fired arrows at the faint silhouette of the ship in the mist.

Arrows whizzed past, disappearing into the thick fog and river, making it impossible to discern the outcome of the battle.

"Chase!" On the Fubo, Guan Xing received the news immediately and was furious. He personally led a fleet of red-horse boats into the fog to give chase.

A chase suddenly broke out on the river.

The red horse boat was swift and quickly caught up with the few small boats that were fleeing in panic.

Bows and crossbows were fired simultaneously, and swords and spears were raised in unison.

The fleeing Wu prisoners were shot or hacked to death and fell into the water one after another, their screams echoing across the river.

In the end, only the one or two small boats that initially launched the uprising managed to escape the Han army's pursuit and enter the Iron Chain Pass controlled by the Wu army, thanks to their familiarity with the water conditions and the cover of the thick fog.

Guan Xing pursued them to Jiangguan, only to find Wu's warships coming against the current. He could only angrily order his troops to fire a few arrows before returning in frustration.

Guansi Temple in Wuxian County.

Pan Jun, Sun Shao, Fu Yi, Liao Shi and other Wu generals gathered together, their faces somber.

After the fall of Yanyu Pass, the Shu infantry pressed forward step by step, and had already set up camps and fortresses several miles outside the city. Although the navy was blocked by the Jiangzhui (river cone) strategy, the people were still uneasy, wondering what kind of method the Shu army would adopt to break the Jiangzhui strategy.

Just then, Pan Jun's personal guards rushed in.

He was given news that was hard to believe.

"Send it immediately!" Pan Jun suddenly stood up.

Soon, several surviving Wu prisoners, soaking wet and in a sorry state, were brought in.

Upon entering, Pan Jun's personal guards knelt down, weeping and wailing, and recounted in detail how they had narrowly escaped from the Shu army and how the Shu army had killed dozens of them.

"My lord... my lord! The Shu army... the Shu army is pulling out awls on the river!" Pan Jun's personal guards finally remembered this at the very end.

"Pull out the awl?" Pan Jun asked suspiciously.

His personal guards hurriedly said:

Yes, pull out the awl!
"They used many large ships with winches!"

"Then tie the iron cone and the stone base with hemp rope."

"Dozens or even hundreds of people were chanting and pulling together! It was like...like pulling an old tree root out of a mud pit! It was incredibly slow! They broke many ropes and capsized several boats!"

"Really?" Sun Shao was somewhat taken aback.

Seeing this, another person quickly stepped forward to add:
"My lord, General...it's absolutely true!"
"They might work for most of the day and still not be able to dig up a single one!"

Sun Jun, Fu Yi, Liao Shi, and other Wu generals all showed joy on their faces.

"How utterly foolish!" Fu Yi slapped his thigh. "The Shu people actually used such a stupid method! In this way, wouldn't their main naval force be completely wasted at Yanyu Pass?"

Pan Jun, whose face had been tense the whole time, finally let out a long sigh of relief.

He sat back down behind his desk and looked at Sun Shao:

“Sun Zhenxi, Heaven has not forsaken us.”

"With a two- or three-day buffer period, Jiangguan in Wuxian County will be safe."

Although Sun Shao disliked Pan Jun, he still nodded:

"good.

"Immediately send another urgent report to His Majesty, along with our determination to defend Wuxian! His Majesty must know that the western front has not yet collapsed, and we can still fight!"

Pan Jun nodded and began to write.

Inside the official residence, the atmosphere suddenly became more cheerful.

(End of this chapter)