Three Kingdoms: Jiangdong is no longer a rat

Chapter 142 Reinforcements Arrive

When the army was approaching Zheyang Ferry, they happened to see more than ten warships with sails hoisted, sailing from the direction of the ferry and heading east.

These warships will go to the burned area around Gulingdu and bring back the bodies of the fallen soldiers collected by Yan Yi's army for burial.

There are many ways of burial. Under normal circumstances, it is burial. In emergency, it is cremation. If conditions do not permit, the body can only be abandoned in the wilderness.

Abandoning corpses in the wilderness is not common because it can easily cause plague. Unless the warring parties have a deep hatred for each other, they will generally allow the other party to bring back the bodies of fallen soldiers.

As for how to deal with the bodies after they are collected, it depends on the attitude of each family towards providing relief. Some take it more seriously, while others just do it in a perfunctory manner.

Yan Yi attached great importance to this aspect and would allocate special funds for resettlement.

In the battle with Zhou Xin, his men suffered heavy casualties, including cavalry, totaling 1,200 casualties. The money collected alone was a considerable expense.

His finances are now quite tight. If he can conquer Qiantang, all problems will naturally be solved. If he fails, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Just as Yan Yi led his troops back to Qiantang via Zheyang Ferry, the confrontation between the two armies at Shuize Pavilion, 30 miles northwest of Qiantang, had reached the point where war could break out at any time.

The two sides in the confrontation were Han Youjun and the 300 Yan Yijun soldiers who were guarding the fort.

Due to the heavy losses in the battle to pursue Zhu Zhi, Han You only brought 3,500 troops on this trip, but for the defenders, this number was already extremely large, almost twelve times their number.

The soldiers stationed in the fort consisted of 150 surrendered soldiers from Rencheng and 150 reinforcements from Wucheng. The commander was a military officer under Yan Baihu named Hou Qi.

Hou Qi was extremely anxious at this moment. He had just led his troops to seize the fort when he was surrounded by Han You's troops. Standing on the fort wall and looking around, he saw densely packed "friendly" soldiers.

If Han You had not been concerned about the ceasefire agreement with Yan Yi and had not taken action yet, the fort would have changed hands in an instant.

Han You's central military tent was located on the bank of the Zeshui River, only a few hundred steps away from the fort. He had just received a reply from Wang Lang. The two sides agreed to immediately attack Yan Yi's army from the north and south, and Wang Lang promised to give him sufficient protection afterwards.

So Han You was determined to go to war with Yan Yi this time. He didn't get anything out of intercepting Zhu Zhi, but instead lost many soldiers and generals. Afterwards, he couldn't help but get more and more angry and regretted falling for Yan Yi's trick.

This time, he wanted to get a share of Qiantang and strike a blow against the Yan family, but he also wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge on Yan Yi and vent his anger.

However, Han You had more ulterior motives. He knew that his army was the weakest of the three factions. If he started fighting immediately, while it would put great pressure on Yan Yi, it would only become a stepping stone for Wang Lang, and would also inevitably suffer heavy casualties. The best time to enter the battle was when Wang Lang and Yan Yi were in the thick of the battle.

At that time, he could advance to Qiantang, or retreat to intercept Yan Yi's army's retreat and launch a fatal blow to the Yan family.

Therefore, after Han You led his troops to surround the fort, he did not immediately launch an attack. This way, he could give Wang Lang an explanation while also avoiding becoming the target of Yan Yi's army's attack.

He even thought of taking advantage of the situation to extract some benefits from Yan Yi first, and then turning against him and attacking him. The other party's expression would definitely be very interesting. However, although he surrounded him without attacking, he could not avoid venting his anger.

With Han You's tacit approval, his subordinates began to humiliate the defenders of the fort in various ways, such as collecting feces and throwing them at the fort wall, verbally abusing them continuously, and threatening them by forming a battle array.

Hou Qi felt extremely aggrieved and terrified, and was prepared to die in battle.

Surrender was impossible. His wife, children, and parents were still in Wucheng. If he died in battle, Yan Baihu would definitely treat his family well. If he surrendered, the continuation of the incense offerings would be a blessing for his ancestors.

Just when Hou Qi was in despair, dust suddenly flew up from the southeast direction of the fort, and banners fluttered. A group of Biao soldiers with flags bearing the word "Xu" formed a battle array a few hundred steps away and slowly advanced towards the fort.

Hou Qi couldn't help but want to curse. One wave of enemy troops had already made him prepare to write a suicide note, and he still felt it was not exciting enough, so he wanted another wave, right?
But he immediately realized that something was wrong. The southeast was full of their own strongholds, and the troops in front of him had no signs of combat. How did they easily cross their own defense line and arrive here?
Could it be reinforcements?
An idea suddenly struck Hou Qi's mind, and his heart began to beat violently. He shouted to the soldiers on his left and right, "Quick, light the beacon tower!"

At this time, lighting the beacon tower is not a warning, but to tell the other party that there are still people alive in the castle.

The beacon tower burned smoke during the day, which was called "sui", and lit fire at night, which was called "feng". Information was transmitted to the outside world through the number and different combinations of fireworks.

As bundles of dry and wet firewood were placed on three smaller brick platforms, three wisps of not very thick green smoke slowly rose above the fort and floated in the air.

Han You was immediately alarmed, walked out of the tent with a look of surprise on his face, and looked up into the sky.

How could Yan's reinforcements arrive so quickly? Where did Yan Yi get the extra troops to deploy?
Han You's heart was filled with surprise and doubt. Without thinking too much, he hurriedly mounted his horse and galloped towards the fort, while loudly ordering his generals to form a battle line.

When he arrived at the front of the battle, he saw the sudden appearance of the fierce army and the familiar short and strong figure. He was immediately furious and shouted with his whip, "Xu Zhao, what do you mean?"

Xu Zhao rode out, pulling the reins with his right hand so hard that his horse's front hooves rose high. He laughed heartily and said, "Lord Han, please do not be angry. I am not here to oppose you. I simply cannot bear the suffering of the people, so I have come to urge you to withdraw your troops."

Han You sneered. If this sentence was said by Wang Lang, he might believe it a little, but coming from the mouth of a private salt dealer and pirate leader, it was simply ridiculous.

He glanced at Xu Zhao's army and saw that they were very few. He suddenly felt braver and pointed his whip at Xu Zhao, saying threateningly, "I have asked you to pass through my territory several times, but you always refused. It's clear that you don't take me seriously. Now you lead your troops to attack me without any reason. This is intolerable! You must retreat immediately, or don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Han You's reference to borrowing the passage referred to an attempt to transport porcelain to Qiantang through Xu Zhao's territory. Xu Zhao had similarly approached Han You to purchase porcelain, but was rebuffed. A deep rift developed between the two men, which only eased when Sheng Xian arrived in Yuhang.

Xu Zhao was furious when he heard this: "I'm trying to persuade you with such kindness for Lord Sheng's sake. If you keep making such noise, I'll make you feel the effects of this iron halberd in my hand!"

The two men were at loggerheads, shouting and cursing in front of the battle formation, but it was all talk and no action, and neither of them was willing to take action.

Han You was still very useful to him, and he did not want to lose them easily, let alone create a powerful enemy at this critical moment. As for Xu Zhao, his goal was simply to intercept Han You's army and prevent them from harassing Yan Yi. There was no need to fight them to the death.

(End of this chapter)