Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 231 Sea

On the sea east of Kuaiji, four or five hundred ships of various sizes were slowly sailing.

The largest ship on the first floor has a flag with the character "Sun" flying on it.

The deck was filled with archers and sailors.

After several back-and-forths, the fighting strength of the Celestial Masters Sect has been advancing by leaps and bounds, especially their navy, which has become increasingly powerful.

The only constraint on them was food supplies; it was impossible to feed hundreds of thousands of young men and women on Zhoushan Island through farming.

On the distant sea, more than a dozen ships slowly approached. Once they got close, they used ziplines to transfer bags of grain directly from the ships into the cargo ships belonging to the Celestial Masters sect.

"Three warships were exchanged for only 23,000 shi of grain..." Sun En's face was full of pain.

Building a single warship takes seven or eight years and consumes at least two or three hundred thousand strings of cash in manpower and resources. Now, he has exchanged more than 20,000 shi of grain for three of them...

Lu Xun sighed, "Nowadays, the world is either in chaos or suffering from famine. Grain is a scarce commodity. It is not easy to exchange for 20,000 shi of grain. With grain, we can advance straight in and launch a surprise attack on Jiankang."

The Three Wu and Eight Counties were no longer profitable, and with Liu Laozhi, a fierce tiger, guarding them, the Celestial Masters Sect had long wanted to bypass the Three Wu and go north to play a big game.

Sun En became excited. "Fine, if we can capture Jiankang, we can have as much money as we want. Let's find out who bought our ships. We must not let them fall into Liu Laozhi's hands. If the Northern Army has a navy, we will be doomed."

"It seems to be the Zhuge family of Langya Commandery..."

"Zhuge? Zhuge Kan?" Sun En's expression changed.

Zhuge Kan was also a veteran of the Northern Army and had a close relationship with Liu Laozhi.

"In my opinion, it should be an alias, most likely the one impersonated by Bilu Hun of Qingzhou." Lu Xun was slow-paced and spoke slowly as well.

The Celestial Masters sect has always kept its eyes on the three Wu regions and eight counties, and doesn't know much about the north.

I didn't know that Lanling has grown so much in recent years.

Piluhun was also a powerful figure. He once served as the Prefect of Qingzhou under the Di-Qin regime. After the Battle of Fei River, he surrendered to the Eastern Jin Dynasty along with Fu Lang, the Governor of Qingzhou. The Jin Dynasty then established Youzhou in Qingzhou and appointed Piluhun as the Governor of Youzhou and General Longxiang.

This man repelled the Yan army's attacks several times and was quite capable. Bilu Hun submitted to the Yan state. At this time, the Yan state was in the midst of internal strife. Wu Shen killed Ding Guo, the governor of Qinghe, Yan. Wang Zu, a man from Zhangwu, killed Bai Qin, the governor. Zhang Shen, a man from Bohai, rebelled and occupied Gaocheng.

Zhai Liao plundered Qinghe County, and Murong Chui had no choice but to adopt a policy of appeasement, and never bothered with Qingzhou.

Qingzhou's terrain is quite similar to Guanzhong. To the north, the Yellow River serves as a moat, while to the southwest, the Ji River and Mount Tai act as natural barriers. Biluhun is well-connected on both sides, and living a prosperous life behind closed doors is quite comfortable.

"So it was him." Sun En realized with a start.

"I believe that before sending troops, we should first head south to Juzhang!" Xu Daofu said, seeing that he was in a good mood.

Sun En frowned. "Why?"

Xu Daofu replied, "Liu Yu, the garrison commander of Gouzhang, is a rising star of the Northern Army and the source of its courage. He currently has less than a thousand soldiers. If our army surrounds him from all sides, captures and kills this traitor, and intimidates the Northern Army, then we can advance north and achieve twice the result with half the effort!"

Sun En feared Liu Laozhi, not Liu Yu.

Previously, Liu Yu had captured Xingpu, and Liu Daogui had killed Sun Yizhi, which had already made him resentful.

Juzhang is located near the sea, and the Celestial Masters can land there at any time. On the other hand, if Liu Laozhi in Shanyin City wanted to provide support, it would take at least five days to reach him.

Five days is enough time for the Celestial Masters sect to reduce Ju Zhang to ashes.

The Celestial Masters sect, with tens of thousands of troops and thousands of warships, could be brought down by a single spittle from a small juzhang.

“That’s right, Liu Yu is an arrogant scoundrel. We’re about to do something big, so why not use him as a sacrifice first!” Sun En made the worst decision of his life…

Sentences.

The situation in this city is even worse than Xu Daofu described.

The city walls were low and dilapidated. The bandits had twice raided the Wu region, landing mostly here. The city had long been abandoned, and Liu Yu had less than nine hundred men with him.

Two hundred of them were Shen Tianzi's followers. When they went south, they followed the refugees and their followers, and followed Liu Yu all the way from Xingpu to Juzhang. Some were wounded, some died, and some left. After the rebels retreated, the rest returned to their hometowns.

Even so, Liu Yu did not give up.

He patrolled the city's defenses daily, reassured the soldiers, and strengthened vigilance, gradually calming the people's hearts.

"The thief... the thief is here!" The sound of the clapper on the watchtower was like raindrops, and the scout shouted loudly.

In the early morning sea fog, the silhouettes of ships appeared and disappeared, like enormous creatures crawling out of the seabed.

The tall masts stood upright like long spears in the hands of soldiers, and the banners fluttered in the sea breeze like patches of dark clouds.

These dark clouds surged toward Juzhang City, and the sound of war drums rose in sync with the rhythm of the tide, captivating all who heard them.

A moment later, a colossal vessel burst through the sea fog, and the drums on board suddenly roared to life.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The demon thieves roared in unison.

Leaving aside how many troops the demon bandits have, there are nearly three hundred warships, including more than a dozen tower ships!

Shen Tianzi's expression changed, but when he looked back at the Northern Army soldiers around him, they were all calm and composed, as if they were nothing more than chickens and dogs.

Liu Yu sat imposingly atop the city wall, a glint of lightning flashing in his eyes. "No need to panic. The demonic bandits have crossed the sea. We have nowhere to retreat but to fight to the bitter end."

"Didn't you hear the order to join the army? If you want to live, then fight to the death!" Meng Longfu shouted to his soldiers.

The other generals, including Kuai En, Xiang Jing, and Ding Wu, all drew their swords.

"Kill!" The soldiers were filled with fighting spirit.

Although Gouzhang was small, it was still a city, well-stocked with food, supplies, and weapons. When Goujian built this city, it was originally intended for military use. It was backed by the Yao River, with a small hill to the south. The other two sides were silted-up fields, where one step would submerge the water up to one's calves.

The bandits had no siege equipment other than their ships.

In the blink of an eye, the demons and bandits on the sea ships rushed ashore and attacked Juzhang.

But the first hurdle they faced was the silted-up fields, where they waded through deep and shallow waters, making their progress slow.

Meng Longfu drew his bow to its fullest extent, "Go!"

An arrow shot out, turning into a bolt of lightning, and struck a demon bandit leader seventy paces away.

An ordinary bow and crossbow could only shoot thirty or forty paces at best, but Meng Longfu could shoot seventy paces with a single arrow, making him a true archer.

"Excellent archery skills!" Shen Tianzi exclaimed in surprise.

Although this force was small, it was full of formidable men. Liu Yu goes without saying, and even Xiang Jing, Kuai En, Sun Chu, and Ding Wu were all fierce and ruthless.

The soldiers were originally the elite of the Northern Army, having been tempered in one great battle after another under Liu Yu's command.

The crossbow in his hand was extremely accurate; each arrow seemed to have eyes, piercing into the enemy's body.

In the mud, swathes of bandit soldiers lay dead.

These casualties did not frighten them; instead, they shouted "We will become immortals after our deaths!" and continued to charge forward fearlessly.

"Change to long spears!" Liu Yu shouted, picked up his long spear, and fought alongside his soldiers on the city wall.

The low city walls also have their advantages; long spears can be used to directly pierce the enemy below the walls, giving them an unavoidable advantage and greatly increasing the efficiency of the attack.

Amidst screams, plumes of blood mist rose in the sea breeze, and the stench of blood permeated the air.

The small city of Juzhang is like a reef in a raging storm.

No matter how many demons and bandits there were, they could not shake it; the corpses piled up layer upon layer.

No matter how many people there are, it doesn't matter to them; the demon thieves never care about human lives.

With a drumbeat, the demon bandits retreated, and over a thousand armored soldiers charged forward, stepping over corpses as they stormed the city wall.

"They're here!" Liu Yu switched to a lance, and the hundred or so armored soldiers on either side also changed their weapons. The lance was shorter than a spear, but it was powerful and heavy, making it the most suitable weapon for breaking through armor.

With infantrymen in front and Meng Longfu leading over two hundred crossbowmen behind, their crossbow bolts could pierce the armor and wound the soldiers within twenty paces.

Throughout their journey, Meng Longfu and Liu Yu cooperated seamlessly, and after numerous battles, they could understand each other's intentions with just a glance.

The demon bandits and armored soldiers who rushed forward were either pierced by spears or riddled with arrows, falling to the ground one by one and rolling off the pile of corpses.

After losing over three hundred armored soldiers, the demon bandits could no longer hold out and retreated in panic.

Less than an hour later, the demon bandits attacked again.

But they were helpless against this small town. Even when they stormed the city walls, they were pushed back by the defenders due to the narrow terrain.

The battle raged from dawn till dusk, and the demon thieves' four attacks all failed, leaving behind a field of corpses.

The setting sun was like blood, and Liu Yu's whole body was blood red.

Shen Tianzi was confident in his strength, which made him invincible, but he dared not meet his eyes.

For four consecutive days, the rebels continued in the same manner, but their courage had waned, and they were no longer as fierce as they had been on the first day. When they reached the city walls and saw Liu Yu's banners, they scattered in all directions.

The demon bandits, numbering in the tens of thousands, suffered three to four thousand casualties and countless wounded, yet they were utterly helpless against this small town.

The Northern Army suffered fewer than two hundred casualties, and their morale grew stronger with each battle…

On the ship at sea, Sun En's face was extremely grim.

They intended to demoralize the Northern Army, but instead they kicked a hornet's nest, suffering heavy losses and demoralizing the entire army, leaving them with a psychological aversion to Liu Yu.

Meanwhile, Liu Laozhi's reinforcements had arrived in Yuyao, less than a hundred miles from Juzhang.

With his arrival, there's no chance of winning this battle.

“Now that Liu Laozhi has left, our army has no chance. We should quickly head north and attack Wu County. The strong force is the Liu family of Pengcheng, while the other troops are a rabble and not our territory,” Lu Xun advised.

With morale so low, a major victory is urgently needed.

Otherwise, this force would collapse on its own during the march to Jiankang.

"What do you think, Daofu?" Sun En was very dissatisfied with Xu Daofu.

If it weren't for his suggestion, we wouldn't have suffered such a huge loss.

Xu Daofu knew that Sun En had a bad temper, so he said cautiously, "I have not thought things through. Please forgive me, Master. Back in Wu County, Liu Yu chased and killed a thousand men by himself, and his name was known throughout the Wu region. This place is difficult to conquer. Attacking Wu County is the best strategy to keep the Northern Army busy."

To date, the Celestial Masters sect has only suffered losses against Liu Yu and Liu Daogui, while they have achieved great victories against Wang Ningzhi, Xie Yan, Gao Yazhi, Sun Wuzhong, and others.

So the current situation isn't too bad; they never intended to get entangled in Kuaiji County in the first place.

"As long as it's not Liu Laozhi and Liu Yu, who are the others? A true man can bend and stretch!"

Unbeknownst to Sun En, Liu Yu had become one of the people he feared.

The army retreated to the sea, turned north, and headed straight for Wu County.

Unexpectedly, Liu Yu led several hundred soldiers to follow them all the way, crossing the Qiantang River and entering Haiyan...

(End of this chapter)