Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 222 Crossing

In Yuhang, dusk was falling.

Dozens of wooden rafts lay across the river at the ferry crossing, linked together by iron chains, resembling a long snake.

Xiang Jing looked troubled. "Ji Nu, we have 1,300 armored soldiers. I'm afraid these few dozen rafts won't be enough."

Liu Yu laughed and said, "The rafts are only used to carry armor and weapons. Everyone else goes into the water to swim across the river. We people from Jingkou can ride horses and go into the water; we can do anything!"

Although the Northern Army were descendants of refugees from the north, they had lived on the banks of the Yangtze River for three generations and had been swimming in the river since childhood.

However, it is June now, and the Qiantang River has entered its high-water season. The current is very rapid, and the soldiers all look fearful.

Liu Yu didn't say much. He took off his armor and threw it on the raft. He was the first to jump into the water, with one hand on the raft. "Those who are not afraid of death, come with me."

"Hahaha, what kind of scenes haven't we seen, risking our lives?" Meng Longfu was the second to jump into the water.

"If we're talking about swimming skills, I'm second to none in the army!" Kuai En led his fifty-odd men into the water.

"Brothers!"

Liu Yu, as the commander-in-chief, was able to lead from the front without fear of death, so the others had nothing to say. They all jumped into the river, held onto the raft, and drifted towards the opposite bank under the cover of dusk.

As they floated to the middle of the river, they suddenly saw several fire ships drifting down from upstream. They were very conspicuous and were clearly warships, already mostly burned.

"Is this the warship of the demon bandits?" Meng Longfu was taken aback.

"Look at the other side!" the soldier exclaimed.

On the opposite bank, a dark mass of demons and bandits headed west, their torches forming a long dragon stretching for miles, numbering no less than twenty or thirty thousand men—a truly magnificent sight.

There was only shouting and neighing of people and horses, crying and cursing, and it was extremely chaotic.

"It must be Agui who defeated the enemy's navy! As expected of my brother Liu Jinu, the enemy has been utterly defeated without their navy, so they must be rushing upstream to provide support. Brothers, charge over there and relieve the pressure on Agui."

A look of worry appeared on Liu Yu's face.

The demon thieves marched over in a mighty force; even a rabble can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

The only way to support the upstream is to quickly break through Xingpu, so that the demon bandits cannot attend to both ends.

"Kill!" The group rowed vigorously toward the south bank. Those who were tired climbed onto the raft, rested for a moment, and then went back into the water to continue.

More than a thousand people were all in the water, making very little noise.

Originally, sentry boats were set up on the opposite bank, but due to the urgent situation upstream, everyone assumed that the main force of the Northern Army was upstream and did not realize the existence of Liu Yu's surprise force...

Upstream, Liangdu River was already ablaze with smoke and fire.

Almost all the fire rafts rushed towards the towering ship.

Large ships are difficult to turn around, and the narrow river channels make it inconvenient for multi-story ships to maneuver. They can only rush downstream, but fire rafts are far superior to multi-story ships in terms of speed, number, and flexibility.

However, the batons on the boat were extremely lethal; a single strike would send blood gushing out and severed limbs flying into the air.

Even so, the able-bodied men disregarded everything and charged at the warship, roaring repeatedly, "It's worth dying for!"

"die--"

Many people didn't even have time to dodge; they were either riddled with arrows or struck by the battering ram, leaving no trace of their bodies.

The sheer scale of the tragedy deeply shocked Liu Daogui.

The people of the Wu region, known for their soft Wu dialect, are mostly gentle in nature. However, six or seven hundred years ago, they cut their hair short, wore tattoos, and were known for their martial prowess. The Wu and Yue kingdoms once vied for supremacy in the Central Plains. During the Han Dynasty, the Wu and Chu soldiers were renowned for their elite and fierce fighting skills.

When the racket is slammed down, the winch needs to be pulled back to build up momentum before being released, which is a slow process.

At that moment, Tan Daoji seized the opportunity and shouted, "Charge!"

All the rafts crashed into it like madmen.

Flames soared into the sky, and the warship was engulfed in flames in the blink of an eye. The surrounding warships all wanted to come up to its rescue.

Tan Daoji directed the other fire rafts to meet them, burning as many as came.

The bandits on the ship screamed in agony as they abandoned ship and jumped into the water. The fire grew larger and larger, crackling and popping, and the flames in the middle of the river illuminated the darkness and the excited faces of the soldiers on the north bank.

Fire fuels their murderous instincts, leading to murder and arson.

Liu Daogui was equally excited. He picked up his long spear and jumped onto the bamboo raft, shouting, "Cross the river!"

"Kill!" The soldiers roared like wolves and tigers.

With the burning of the warships, the rebel forces were essentially wiped out, and the other warships and fighting vessels fled in disarray.

But the river was only so big, and there were fire rafts everywhere, so there was no way to escape. They were crowded together and collided with each other, slowly sinking.

"Agui, look—" Liu Zun pointed to the southeast, where a long fire dragon was rushing towards them from the south bank.

The entire south bank seemed to be ablaze, with flames and figures everywhere.

The demon bandits, whose morale had been somewhat low, suddenly cheered and shouted, "Reinforcements! Reinforcements have arrived!"

Gao Xun exclaimed in surprise, "How did the demon bandits' reinforcements arrive so quickly? With such a force, they must number no less than 20,000!" Liangdu is more than 20 li away from Xingpu, and with a rapid march, it only takes two hours.

"Since we've already defeated the enemy's navy, that's a great achievement. It's not too late to retreat now!" Gao Xun said, his face full of frustration.

It wasn't that he was cowardly, but rather that the opposing force was simply too overwhelming, probably numbering more than 20,000.

They outnumbered our side by almost ten times.

Meanwhile, the demon bandits and armored soldiers had already formed ranks on the south bank, with long spears erected in a jagged pattern, just waiting for the Northern Army to charge into them.

The firelight illuminated Liu Daogui's face red. It wasn't impossible to retreat now, but he felt something was missing. He hadn't been able to cross the river this time, and he probably wouldn't be able to next time.

The treacherous naval forces could launch a counterattack at any time.

Now that we have control of the river, if we give it up, those young men who bravely sacrificed their lives will have died in vain.

The one thing we must never betray in this world is people's hearts.

Looking at the long dragon in the southeast direction, Liu Daogui suddenly heard cries and curses.

The demon bandits couldn't possibly have 20,000 to 30,000 elite troops. These cries and shouts clearly came from the able-bodied men who had been driven here. An idea suddenly struck him, and he shouted, "All troops, listen to my command! Follow me and charge across the river to strike the demon bandits' reinforcements!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, but then their faces lit up with joy and ecstasy.

Back then, south of Dayeze, there were only two or three thousand men who fought against Murong Zhou's more than ten thousand Yan troops.

The soldiers had long been accustomed to Liu Daogui's style. The Northern Army had repeatedly defeated the many with the few, which fostered their absolute confidence.

Throughout the entire war, they had remained in the rear, conserving their strength, waiting for this very moment.

"kill!"

Two or three hundred bamboo rafts and wooden rafts drifted downstream, bypassing the array of demonic bandits and armored soldiers on the opposite bank.

The wind fanned the flames, and the fire fueled the people's power.

Hundreds of bamboo rafts burst forth from the flames in the middle of the river, like a long sword slashing at the vital spot of the reinforcements.

As soon as they disembarked, Gou Zhong and Meng Ganzhi raised the banner bearing the character "Liu" and shouted, "Military Advisor Liu has arrived! Elders of the Wu region, kill the traitor!"

"Kill the thief!"

The other soldiers joined in the shouting.

The young men still alive on the river roared in their soft, pure Wu dialect, "Kill the traitors!"

To this day, Liu Daogui's reputation has spread throughout the Wu region, making him stand out among all the Northern tribes that have engaged in burning, killing, and looting.

The shouts grew louder and louder. The demon bandit reinforcements were first stunned, then stared incredulously at the "Liu" character flag.

Suddenly, one of the bandits raised his arm and shouted, "Liu, the military advisor, is a hero of our time! Shen Tianzi of Wuxing is here! The bandits are doomed! Fellow villagers, follow me to kill the bandits!"

Many people followed the rebels and rose up in rebellion, hoping to live a peaceful life.

But unexpectedly, the methods of the demon bandits were even more brutal than those of the barbarians, causing countless families to be destroyed and people to die. Naturally, such an army had no cohesion.

Shen Tianzi was a powerful and influential man from Wuxing, and his call immediately drew a huge response.

Before Liu Daogui could even engage the rebel army, the rebels were thrown into chaos and began killing each other.

After killing the supervising officers around them, the vast majority of them disappeared into the night.

The long fire dragon was immediately extinguished by more than half.

The 20,000 to 30,000 reinforcements collapsed in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

This is what people want.

Wherever Liu Daogui went, the people there would drop their weapons and follow him shouting, "Kill the traitor!"

The initial force of over 1,500 who crossed the river quickly swelled to 5,000 or 6,000 men.

It was as if Liu Daogui's reinforcements had arrived, not the demon bandits' reinforcements.

The three or four thousand demon bandits and armored soldiers upstream became isolated and were gradually surrounded.

"Liu Daogui, you have ruined my plans time and time again!" one man shouted hysterically, filled with boundless anger and resentment.

"Sun Yizhi!" Liu Daogui sneered. "I've long admired your name. Today the battle is over. We have no enmity between us. If you surrender, I'll spare your life. How about that?"

This fellow is Sun En's cousin, and he's been stirring up trouble behind the scenes all along.

"Hmph, a bunch of rabble, do you really think you're a match for me? I've been studying military strategy since I was five, let's settle this today!"

Sun Yizhi's face was full of arrogance.

With three or four thousand armored soldiers at their disposal, they certainly have the strength to fight back.

Liu Daogui simply didn't want to increase casualties, but this man clearly didn't know what was good for him. "Then let's see who the rabble really is!"

(End of this chapter)