Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 267 Melting Locks and Sinking into the River, the Emperor Leads the Battle

The sun gradually sets in the west.

As Han army warships and large vessels surged down the Yangtze River, the battle between the Han and Wu naval forces began to show a one-sided trend, and the balance of the war tilted in favor of the Han.

if not?
No suspense.

The Han Dynasty is located upstream of the great river, which is the biggest buff in naval warfare. The strength of our side is increased by 30% to 40%, while the strength of the enemy is reduced by 30% to 40%.

With this advantage alone, the disparity between the navies of Han and Wu was enough to erase the gap between them.

Not to mention the mysterious and intangible things like morale and army spirit, which are also present on the Han side at this moment.

Furthermore, in this battle, all the warships that the Han Dynasty had gathered with the full strength of the nation were deployed.

Pan Jun's warships accounted for at most one-fifth of Sun Wu's fleet.

Whether it's going all out or making a desperate gamble, in terms of the number of warships, the Han Dynasty is stronger than Sun Wu, and in terms of the number of naval soldiers, the Han Dynasty still has more than the Wu army in front of them.

After all, Wu County was located in the far west of the Sun Wu Kingdom, on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It was not easy to transport grain upstream. It was already the limit to support 30,000 soldiers. It was impossible to support more soldiers.

The saying goes, "Everything can be used as a weapon." The iron cone that sank into the river and the iron chain that crossed the river were the weapons of Sun Quan and Pan Jun.

However, the cone that was supposed to sink into the river has now broken, and the iron chains that cross the river are being scorched by the large rafts with hot oil, making them extremely vulnerable.

Although the circuit had not yet been melted down, Pan Jun had already foreseen the outcome and directly wrote a letter to Sun Quan stating the completely predictable result.

On the great river, the battle was fierce.

Sun Jun commanded the warship "Hengjiang" to sail to the middle of the river. The ship's masts were raised high and then dropped down in unison, almost smashing an approaching Han army warship straight to the bottom of the river.

But this localized victory was merely the last gasp of the Wu people.

The Han army's large warships pressed down from upstream with an unstoppable momentum, like a landslide or a tsunami.

Sun Jun climbed onto the flying pavilion and looked around.

He still had two or three hundred warships under his command, and the defeat seemed inevitable, but no matter what, he was not yet defeated.

"still have a chance!"

"still have a chance!"

He wasn't sure if he was speaking to himself or encouraging the officers and soldiers around him.

Immediately afterwards, he summoned Zheng Zhou, the general of the Great Wu fleet, and urgently ordered:

"Zheng Zhou, you command the warship 'Chen Fu' and lead half of the warships to block the Shu warships upstream!"
"Flagship Hengjiang, raise all sails and charge with me straight down the river to the Shu warships that are surrounded by us!"
"I'm in the upper class. If I can break through their defenses, I'll still have a sliver of hope. Even if I die, I can take a few of them with me!"

Sun Jun, as the younger brother of Sun Huan, a famous general of Eastern Wu, inherited Sun Huan's general title, noble rank, and former troops.

It was this group of people who almost captured Zhaolie alive at Ma'anshan, allowing Zhaolie to escape with his life. Fu Tong, the rear guard commander, was killed by Sun Huan's former subordinates.

Therefore, compared to other Wu people, this group of Sun Huan's former subordinates still retained some spirit.

When Sun Jun personally beat the drum and the flagship of the warship sailed with full sails toward the Han army warships downstream, this group of Sun Huan's former subordinates also roared to the sky.

Whether it was fighting its way out or a desperate struggle on the verge of death, the people of Wu did indeed unleash extraordinary power at this moment.

The Wu navy finally began a rather tenacious resistance and counterattack, and the Han navy, which had been sailing smoothly all along, was plunged into a bloody battle for the first time.

Before the iron chains across the river.

As Sun Jun led his troops in a fierce attack and the Wu drums beat wildly, Chen Dao's son, General Chen Hu, boarded the Wanglu (a type of warship) of a medium-sized warship.

The warships that the Wu people sailed out of Wushan Port were much larger than the Han army's advance ships that he had brought. With hundreds or even thousands of flags and sails raised, he, who was downstream, could not see anything at all.

This is also a major reason why Sun Jun was certain that the Han army had truly fallen into the trap he had set.

The Han army's ships were small and had poor visibility. When they gained an advantage by going downstream and their morale soared, they were prone to getting carried away and eventually fell into the Wu army's trap.

Fortunately, Chen Hu understood that the outcome of this naval battle between Han and Wu did not lie with the first wave of the navy he commanded, but with the large warships hidden upstream, which were personally commanded by the emperor.

To make the act more realistic and lure the enemy out, he commanded his flagship to pursue them the deepest, directly to the iron chains across the river.

Only then did he command the large raft to set fire to the iron chains across the river.

As a result, his vision became even worse. If it weren't for the familiar sounds of drums and horns coming from upstream, he wouldn't even have known that the Han warships, commanded by the emperor, had arrived at the battlefield.

Looking around, Chen Hu finally gained a more detailed understanding of the current battle situation.

Although the Wu navy was being attacked from both sides by the Han, a Wu fleet at the uppermost part of the Yangtze River managed to hold off the Han army's offensive, buying space and time for the Wu fleet led by its flagship warship.

As a result, his navy remained surrounded by the Wu forces.

Upstream were the Wu navy, while downstream were small and medium-sized warships driven and chased by their own navy to the outer edge of the Hengjiang iron chain.

The fleet he commanded had lost all room to maneuver.

Although there is no danger of annihilation, there is no doubt that the most difficult bloody battle on the Yangtze River has arrived today. The Wu people are making a last-ditch effort and launching a desperate final attack.

"Hold on!"

"Hold on, everyone!"

"His Majesty is right behind us. In just one hour, the Wu people will surely be defeated!"

"General! Port side! Wu the dog is coming up!" A soldier, his face covered in blood, exclaimed, pointing to the port side of the ship.

Chen Hu looked in the direction of the sound and saw that several fierce soldiers of Wu had already cut down two burly Han sailors and were trying to widen the gap.

Their eyes were fierce, and their movements were cunning; they were clearly veterans of naval warfare, knowing exactly how to exert force and maintain balance on the swaying deck.

Chen Hu snorted coldly, swallowed a mouthful of Jiang Feng that smelled strongly of blood, and drew his sword from his waist with a clang.

This sword is not an ornament; its blade is long and narrow, with a flowing, cold light, and it is forged from tempered iron.

There were only a handful of these weapons in the entire Han Dynasty, bestowed by the emperor himself, and their sharpness was unparalleled.

"Hold the watchtower! Archers, suppress that warship!" Chen Hu ordered the military officer beside him, his voice loud but steady and calm.

After saying this, he drew his sword and charged toward the battle group on the port side.

Just as a Wu platoon leader parried a Han soldier's thrust with his ring-pommel sword and was about to follow up with a slash, he suddenly saw a flash before his eyes and a cold sword light was already at his throat like a venomous snake.

He didn't even see the person's movements clearly. He only felt a chill in his throat, and all his strength instantly vanished. He collapsed to the ground with two gasps, blood gushing out and staining the deck red.

Chen Hu succeeded with a single sword strike and did not linger.

With a flick of his wrist, the sword flashed in a strange arc, dodging the powerful slash of another Wu soldier and precisely piercing the gap in his armor under his armpit.

The Wu soldier screamed in agony as his weapon fell from his hand.

Chen Hu sidestepped the splattered blood, pivoted on his left foot, and kicked out with his right foot, striking the knee of the third Wu soldier who was trying to sneak up from the side.

There was a crisp sound of "click".

The Wu soldier's leg bone broke instantly, and he screamed as he rolled onto the deck.

Chen Dao was renowned for his swordsmanship in Runan, and Emperor Zhaolie favored him. Although Chen Hu, as his son, was not quite as skilled in swordsmanship, he was still far superior to ordinary soldiers.

It's not too fancy.

Every stab and every swipe was precisely aimed at the enemy's weakest point.

Whether it's the throat, the face, or the seams of armor.

It targets every vital point and is extremely efficient.

Naval warfare differs from land warfare; when boarding and engaging in close combat, it is difficult to establish a battle formation.

The importance of personal bravery, killing skills, and experience far outweighs that of foot combat, which provides a stage for generals like Chen Hu to demonstrate their personal bravery and skills.

His movements were swift, precise, and ruthless. Combined with his adaptation to the swaying of the ship, he could skillfully evade his opponent's attacks while delivering a fatal blow.

Where swords flash, Wu soldiers will surely shed blood.

In just a few dozen breaths, he single-handedly killed half of the dozen or so elite Wu soldiers who boarded the ship on the port side.

Seeing this, the morale of the surrounding Han soldiers soared, and with a roar, they pushed back the Wu soldiers who were trying to climb up.

"General, you are incredibly brave!" the guards exclaimed excitedly.

Chen Hu was panting slightly, and sweat beaded on his forehead. This short and intense battle had exhausted his mental and physical strength. He shook the blood and sweat off his sword and sharply scanned the surrounding battlefield.

"Don't engage in prolonged fighting! Use crossbows! Use batons! Push them away!"

Chen Hu shouted orders, directing his soldiers to use the ship's weapons to defend against the enemy.

He then quickly climbed the viewing platform and gazed into the distance.

The situation is indeed not optimistic.

The Wu general on the flagship clearly made the right choice.

Sun Jun's flagship, the massive "Hengjiang," cleaved through the river waves and surged downstream.

Above the flying pavilion.

Sun Jun, fully armed, personally beat the war drums.

The drumbeats were heavy and frantic, as if carrying a resolute will to die.

"Kill! Kill them all! Slaughter all the Shu traitors!" The man's eyes were bloodshot as he roared furiously, veins bulging on his forehead.

Now in dire straits, with their commander in such a state, the ferocity and ruthlessness of Sun Huan's former subordinates were also stirred up.

The Yokogawa collided with a small or medium-sized warship of the Han army that was trying to stop it.

With a crisp "bang".

The enormous impact caused the Han ship to tilt violently, its planks to crack, and river water to rush in, quickly creating whirlpools on the surface of the river.

Before the Han army could react, the Wu archers on the Hengjiang, positioned on higher ground, drew their bows and unleashed a torrential downpour of arrows, instantly killing most of the Han soldiers on the deck.

Immediately afterwards, several huge battering poles were pulled with all their might by strongmen, and the heavy boulders at their ends slammed into the deck and hull of the Han army's warship with a whooshing sound.

Sawdust was flying.

The screams stopped abruptly.

The Han warship disintegrated almost instantly, its hull breaking apart and rapidly listing and sinking.

The soldiers on board fell into the water one after another, and were immediately crushed by the Wu ships that surged up after them.

A Han Chinese warship attempted to exploit its agility and ramming advantage by flanking the "Yokogawa" from the side, aiming to strike its relatively weak midsection.

However, two escorting Wu warships quickly approached the "Hengjiang" and engaged it in a fierce battle with more skillful maneuvering techniques.

The Han army's junks lost their momentum and were immediately put on the defensive.

The dozen or so Han soldiers on board were quickly boarded by the Wu ships and found themselves in a bitter battle due to their numerical disadvantage.

Sun Jun's warships and large ships, relying on their absolute advantage in size and manpower, rampaged through Chen Hu's fleet.

They didn't engage with the medium-sized warships of the Han army much, but instead targeted small warships such as dinghongs, sampans, and lone small warships.

In a localized battle, Wu Jun actually managed to temporarily regain the initiative thanks to Sun Jun's desperate attack.

Seeing their commander's flagship so valiant, several defeated warships mustered their remaining strength and launched a desperate counterattack against the surrounding Han ships.

The battle in Jiangxin became increasingly chaotic and brutal.

Arrows flew crisscrossing through the air, and people were constantly being hit and falling into the water.

The initially one-sided offensive gradually returned to equilibrium, and Sun Jun's ship even gained a considerable advantage in the local battlefield.

Sun Jun took the lead, boarding and leaping onto the ships, just like Chen Hu of the Han Dynasty, relying on his personal bravery to wreak havoc on the Han army's ships.

The vanguard of the Han army, led by Chen Hu, was stunned by this sudden attack from the middle. Their formation began to fall apart, and the ships could not effectively coordinate with each other, resulting in a predicament where they fought independently.

Although the main fleet of the Great Han Dynasty upstream is constantly breaking through Zheng Zhou's blockade and getting closer step by step, it is clear that it will still take some time.

This period of time was enough for Sun Jun to cause even greater damage.

Chen Hu killed one man and climbed to the top of Wanglu.

He clearly saw through the Wu people's offensive.

"Hold your ground, tighten your defenses, and buy as much time as possible until His Majesty completely crushes the Wu people and completes the encirclement!"
"Order! All ships, converge! Form a circular defensive formation! The frigates will harass and maneuver, but must not engage the warships head-on!"

Chen Hu's orders were quickly relayed through his personal guards and by the use of flags, drums, and horns.

The upper reaches of the great river.

Zheng Chuo, a cousin of Zheng Pu, was the commander of the Eastern Palace Guard who once guarded the Eastern Palace with Chen Hu, and the captain of the naval fleet who quelled the rebellion of Huang Yuan, the governor of Han Jia, together with Chen Hu. He was in charge of commanding the Fubo ship.

At this moment, Governor Chen Dao is in Jiangnan directing the attack, while his flagship warship "Changjing" is being commanded by Yan Yu, the Prefect of Badong.

As for Yong'an, a crucial town in the rear, it was guarded by Zhang Fei's second son, Zhang Shao, who held the tiger tally, and Meng Guang, the Imperial Censor.

In this battle, the Han army mobilized its entire force, leaving virtually no way out.

The Fubo and Changjing, one in front and one behind, one on the left and one on the right, together with more than ten medium and large warships around them, completely protected the giant ship Yanwu where the emperor was located.

The Yanwu warship, atop the flying pavilion.

Liu Shan stood by the gunwale, surveying the battlefield on the river.

A group of court officials and attendants, led by Secretary Xi Zheng and Zhang Song's son Zhang Biao, stood around Liu Shan, looking out over the high ground with him.

At this moment, everyone heard the Wu drums beating wildly downstream, and they also saw that the Wu army, which was originally in a state of decline, had actually organized a decent resistance.

The hundreds of large warships and dinghys that sailed eastward with the tower ships "Yanwu", "Fubo", and "Changjing" were delayed by the Wu people on the Yangtze River.

It was obvious to everyone that it would be difficult to reach the downstream area and relieve Chen Hu's predicament in a short period of time.

And further downstream.

Wu Jun's larger flagship, a multi-spanning warship, had already crashed into Chen Hu's naval formation.

On the Yanwu Flying Pavilion, the originally lively atmosphere was now slightly dull. The emperor was silent, and everyone else was also silent.

Zhang Biao glanced at the emperor's expression, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke:

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry."

"This was nothing more than the last desperate struggle of the Wu people."

"Once Zheng Chuo and Yan Yu's warships reappear, the battle will be won, and there will be no more suspense."

Liu Shan nodded silently.

Even without Zhang Biao's explanation, it was clear that more than half of the Wu warships were out of order; this was indeed the Wu people's last gasp before their demise.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the defeat of Wu's naval forces is only a matter of time, and there is no suspense whatsoever.

"Beating the drums, we advance eastward," Liu Shan declared.

Zhang Biao's expression instantly brightened, and he immediately summoned Longxiang Sima Jishu, ordering him to convey the emperor's military order to Yan Yu and Zheng Chuo next door.

Soon, the largest war drum on the "Yanwu" began to beat. The most unique and inspiring drumbeats reverberated across the river and sky as Yan Yu and Zheng Chuo, along with more than ten large ships, weighed anchor and sailed away.

Liu Shan watched the large warships slowly accelerating downstream, and after a moment he suddenly asked, "Why hasn't 'Yanwu' moved?"

The court officials and secretaries, including Xi Zheng, were all unfazed by this; in fact, they all looked excited. Only Zhang Biao, who had never seen anything like it, was utterly astonished.
"Your Majesty...I'm afraid..."

Liu Shan waved his hand to signal him to be quiet:
"It's alright, raise the banner."

Zhang Biao paused for a moment, then suddenly realized.

Today can be considered 'calm and peaceful', with Han warships ahead and the dozens of large ships and warships around the emperor having been modified with watertight compartments, posing no risk of capsizing.

Everyone says that there is no greater merit than saving the emperor. What if His Majesty came to save you?

This emperor has done this kind of thing before, hasn't he?

Furthermore, all the warships had gone down, leaving only the emperor's flagship ship on the upper reaches of the river, making it even more conspicuous.

What if some Wu warships suddenly appear from some hidden corner?

It might cause unrest at that time.

Going downstream together, surrounded by the Han warships, would actually be safer.

In case of any unforeseen circumstances, the pier on the north shore has already been occupied by former Commander-in-Chief Fu Qian, allowing for a rapid approach and landing.

How could the emperor possibly forgo such an opportunity—an opportunity to boost the morale and win the hearts of the troops with minimal risk?

Besides, the soldiers at the front are fighting hard, and the thousand or so soldiers on the 'Yanwu' have bows and crossbows, so they can do something about it.

As for boarding action, given the current state of the battle, the likelihood of such a scenario occurring is virtually zero.

The reason it is "almost zero" is that the "almost" depends on whether the emperor will personally command his warships to engage the Wu people in battle.

Otherwise, if the emperor's flagship were to engage in a bloody battle with the Wu forces, even if the battle were a great victory, all the officers and soldiers responsible for protecting the "Yanwu" would be held accountable, with their merits and demerits offsetting each other.

Liu Shan had no idea what Zhang Biao was thinking at that moment. He simply stood up from his chair and spread his arms wide, saying, "Put on my armor."

Without saying a word, Long Xianglang began to retrieve the Emperor's Silver Armor from the cabin behind him and began to dress the Emperor in it piece by piece.

Not long after the Fubo and Changjing set sail, the flagship Yanwu also moved with the current.

The golden banners symbolizing the emperor's personal expedition rose above the "Yanwu".

In front.

On the ships "Fubo" and "Changjing", Generals Zheng Chuo and Yan Zhi were both shocked to see the emperor's flagship "Yanwu" moving down the river.

The soldiers on the two large warships and the surrounding ships quickly noticed the Emperor's dragon boat nearby, and their spirits were boosted by the drums and dragon banners.

Everyone knows and admires the Emperor's deeds of leading the army into battle in Chang'an and slaying the enemy with his bow. Now, why shouldn't he once again lead the army to fight the enemy?

"The Northern Expeditionary Army was able to protect His Majesty and kill the traitors, and so is our Eastern Expeditionary Army!"

"Your Majesty is victorious!"

"The great man is victorious!"

Amidst the roar of the mountains and the surging sea, three warships and dozens of large ships of the Han army advanced eastward together and quickly joined forces with the Han army ahead.

When the Han navy saw the large warships arrive and the emperor's dragon banner, their morale soared. Under the command of the flags and drums, they cleared a path and allowed the three warships to enter the naval formation.

On the Wu people's warship "Chenfu", Zheng Zhou was terrified upon seeing this.

On the Han side, with the addition of three colossal ships and the last few dozen large warships to the battle, and with the appearance of the Golden Guard banner and the Emperor's drum on the battlefield, the Han army's offensive became increasingly fierce. They quickly tore a gap in the defensive line composed of half of Zheng Zhou's warships and sank several large warships.

The Han dynasty warship "Fubo," escorted by several warships, boarded the Wu army's large ship and used its battering ram to smash three surrounding warships in succession.

The Wu people were thrown into chaos. On the "Fubo" warship, Han soldiers jumped onto the outer Wu warships one after another to engage in a bloody boarding battle.

For a time, the people of Wu were terrified and many jumped into the river to escape.

The Wu forces were quickly overwhelmed by the offensive, and the Han army swiftly captured several large ships on the outer perimeter.

Zheng Zhou's warship, the "Chen Fu," was directly exposed to the Han army.

Because the warships were too tall, it was difficult for the Han army's large ships to board them.

At this critical moment, Liu Shan seized the opportunity and directly ordered: "Order 'Fubo' and 'Changjing' to board the ship and seize the flag."

As the war drums sounded, Liu Shan sat securely beneath the dragon banner.

Looking at the emperor, who was as immovable as a mountain and as calm as still water, Zhang Biao felt a sense of peace for a moment, for some reason.

Zheng Zhou's warship was moving slowly and was soon surrounded by the Han army's large warships, becoming isolated from other Wu warships.

The Han navy quickly engaged the Wu navy in battle.

General Zheng Zhou, the commander of the warships, saw Emperor Liu Shan's dragon banner right before his eyes, within arm's reach, and watched the Han army's well-rested and vigorous troops wreaking havoc on his warships. He felt despair and no longer knew how to command them.

Wu Jun's warships were teetering on the brink of collapse.

The captain of the great Han warship roared:

"You have been defeated today. The Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty is right here. The Emperor is benevolent. If you surrender, you will be spared!"

Upon hearing the commotion, Wu's soldiers threw down their weapons and surrendered.

General Zheng Zhou, the commander of the warship fleet, was finally heartbroken.

When almost all the soldiers on the ship disarmed and surrendered, he overturned the general's banner and knelt down to kowtow as well.

At the Iron Chain Pass on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

Pan Jun saw the banner of a warship fall from afar, and his heart was filled with despair.

Beneath the pass, the Han army under Fu Qian's command continued their fierce attack without pause.

At that time, the Jiangnan Wharf also fell.

Wu general Fu Yi retreated back to the Iron Chain Pass in Jiangnan, his eyes red as he cried to Sun Shao, "General Zhenxi, we simply cannot hold this pass!"

Sun Shao's face turned ashen, and he cursed loudly:
"waste!"

"Organize manpower to guard the Iron Chain Pass!"

"No matter what... let's hold on first!"

Just then, Pei Xuan, the military advisor, suddenly noticed that the smaller "Chen Fu" warship on the river was about to capsize.

The red banners of the Han army took their place.

The man was terrified:
"General Zhenxi, Chenfu... Chenfu has been defeated!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Shao and Fu Yi were both taken aback, and then both looked towards the Yangtze River, followed by a sense of bewilderment.

The Han army's offensive was swift as lightning; the two docks fell in a single day, and they were about to reach this iron-chained river pass.

The purpose of Tiesuo Pass was to protect the Hengjiang Iron Chain.

Now that the Wu navy is about to be defeated, the Han army's large rafts are still melting down their iron chains.

So much time has passed that the iron chains are likely about to melt and break.

Just as Sun Shao's idea had just arisen.

"Snapped!"

A deafening roar!
A wall of water several meters high was splashed up on the great river!
The iron chain that spanned the river finally melted and broke!
Everyone witnessed this horrific scene.

A terrifying scene, as if a tsunami were approaching.

In an instant, the people of Wu were terrified.

In an instant, the Han army was filled with renewed vigor.

A large raft was struck by the iron chain across the river and plunged sideways into the water.

Fortunately, by the time the iron chains were severed, the Han army ships nearby had already moved as far away from this section of the river as possible.

However, quite a few warships were still affected by the aftershocks.

Several junks capsized, and the rafts were smashed into the water by the heavy iron chains, only to suddenly leap back onto the surface.

The sailor responsible for cutting the iron chains finally surfaced from the bottom of the water after a long time, panting heavily.

"The iron chain used by the Wu people to cross the river has been broken!"

"The big man will win!"

"The great man is victorious!"

On the Wu army's warship "Hengjiang".

Sun Jun, the general who had just recovered from his fury and confusion over the fallen banner of General Zheng Zhou, witnessed this horrifying scene like a tsunami, and was once again plunged into fear and bewilderment.

"Defeat is inevitable..."

"Defeat is inevitable..."

He suddenly turned and looked west, his eyes fixed on Liu Shan's imperial banner.

After a moment's hesitation, he summoned the guards.
"Raise your banner and open the 'Hengjiang' to the middle of the river! Liu Shan is right there; attract his dragon banner here!"

Wei Shuai was both a household slave and a loyal follower, and without asking any questions, he readily accepted the order.

Sun Jun then ordered his men to bring over the corpses of the Han soldiers, and dozens of Wu soldiers worked together to strip dozens of sets of Han-style armor from the dead Han soldiers.

Sun Jun picked up a helmet and addressed the dozens of his personal guards on the ship in a loud voice:

"I am General Jianwu!"
"He is also Jianwu's younger brother!"

"We must not disgrace General Jianwu!"
"Those who are willing to die with me, then don my armor!"

"Those who are unwilling, I, Sun Jun, will not force them! Everyone has their own destiny, and I hope you will all enjoy wealth and prosperity in the future!"

"General, what are you saying?!"

"Our lord has raised us for decades, just for this day. It is our great fortune to be able to die alongside you, General!"

"Good! This is how a man from Jiangdong should act!" Sun Jun covered his head with the Han army helmet in his hand.

Upon seeing this, his dozens of personal guards all donned Han army armor and helmets without hesitation.

Sun Jun nodded emphatically, took the Han army's general's flag from the guard, and then selected only a dozen or so men to jump onto a Han army dinghy, sneaking into the Han army's fleet from behind.

Not long after.

Sun Jun commanded his dinghy, which collided with Wu's warships downstream.

Not long after, more than half of the armored soldiers on the pontoon, clad in Han army armor and helmets, were killed or wounded. Sun Juncai finally led the pontoon back into the Han army's warship formation and slowly sailed upstream. In the end, like other defeated ships, it anchored in the middle of the river to rest.

Upstream.

Liu Shan looked at Wu's flagship warship and finally stood up from his seat: "Approach that warship and capture Sun Jun alive!"

The military order was quickly relayed, and the warships "Fubo" and "Changjing" slowly sailed downstream at the same time.

Liu Shan's flagship, the "Yanwu," did not remain anchored on the Yangtze River. Instead, it set sail downstream along with the two other warships.

Before long, the Han army's warships and large ships came alongside the Wu army's last warship.

The Han army boarded the ship and fought a bloody battle, and everyone's attention was focused on the Wu people's warship.

Just then, Sun Jun, who was already upstream, finally seized the opportunity and headed towards Liu Shan's flagship warship.

Many Han army warships, including the Mengchong, rushed downstream with him.

No one noticed that his mongoose was any different from the other Han warships.

The mongoose belonging to the Han Dynasty quickly rushed to within a hundred paces of Liu Shan's warship.

Regardless, even at this time, Liu Shan's "Yanwu" was still surrounded by more than a dozen warships for protection.

Finally, a few soldiers on guard duty noticed the dinghy.

However, they only noticed that he was acting strangely and could not accurately determine whether the mongoose was heading towards the emperor's flagship.

It wasn't until Sun Jun precisely maneuvered the junks, weaving through the Han army's warships and heading towards what seemed to be the emperor's flagship, that someone finally shouted, "Stop that junk!"

But a person's voice cannot be heard more than ten steps away on the great river.

No one could hear his voice.

"Bang!" A sound of a boat colliding came from behind Liu Shan.

Liu Shan's expression changed slightly, and he turned his gaze from Sun Jun's flagship to the great river behind him.

But then a large Han-made dinghy collided with a frigate.

Liu Shan paid no attention and turned his gaze back to Sun Jun's warship.

"Your Majesty... no, those on that boat are Wu people!" Zhang Biao, standing behind Liu Shan, was horrified.

"Wu people?" Liu Shan then looked at the boat again.

The Han soldiers on the escort ship had already jumped onto the dinghy and started fighting with the Wu soldiers on board.

Before long, a young man from Wu, who was not tall but quite strong and looked like a high-ranking officer, was captured and brought to Liu Shan's side.

"Sun Jun sent you?" Liu Shan asked slowly. "He does have some courage."

When the Wu man saw Liu Shan in his silver armor and helmet, he was first taken aback, then remained silent and struggled even more desperately.

Four dragon-riding men held him down tightly. Finally, exhausted, he spat out a curse, speaking in a thick Wu accent:

"You're Liu Shan?! Kill me!"

Before he could finish speaking, Zheng Zhou, the general of the naval fleet who had just surrendered, was brought over.

The man turned pale with fright upon seeing Sun Jun:
"General Jianwu?"

"Jianwu?" Liu Shan immediately frowned.

Jianwu was both the title of General Sun Huan and the title of General Sun Jun, the garrison commander on the Wu flagship. How could he not know this?

Liu Shan then stood up and looked at the warship that had been pierced by the Mengchong.

Because of the presence of watertight compartments, the warship did not sink into the river quickly.

The soldiers on the ship were running back and forth, presumably working urgently to repair the holes inside the cabins, which were out of their sight.

"Take him to the front of the Hengjiang Tower and try to persuade him to surrender." Liu Shan gave Sun Jun a deep look and issued the military order.

(End of this chapter)