Isolated town in northern border region

Unlike Zhou Xun's maneuvering in Yan and Shu, Xiao Lie had been staring at the flags on the opposite bank of the Tiger Roaring River for nine days straight.

On the opposite bank, the camps of the Chen Kingdom stretched endlessly, their banners fluttering in the breeze. Occasionally, small boats would glide across the river, and armored soldiers could be vaguely seen on board.

Scouts reported that at least 100,000 troops had been amassed on the other side, ready for battle.

Xiao Lie stood on the earthen slope on the bank, looking at the river that was about three hundred paces wide, and remained silent for a long time.

"I've fought a lifetime of wars, and I've never seen anything so humiliating."

Luo Daniu squatted on a nearby rock, resting his chin on his hand.

"Those cowards from Chen Guo are hiding on the other side of the river and won't come out, and we can't fly over there."

Xiao Xiong stood on the other side, looking at the camp on the opposite bank.

"My humble general's Azure Wolf is invincible on the grasslands, but this river... my horse can't swim across it."

Xiao Lie did not respond.

His hand rested on the hilt of his knife as he gazed at the river, its surface tinged with a dark red hue by the twilight, his mind racing as he considered how to cross it.

Swimming? That's suicide! None of the elite troops in the Northern Frontier can swim!

Building a ship? Too late!

Building a raft? Chen Jun had already set up sentry posts along the shore, and once they went into the water, they would be covered by a hail of arrows.

Detour? The south is all hills and swamps, making it impossible for a large army to pass.

After much thought, he realized there was only one solution left—building a bridge!

However, with a river spanning only 300 paces, building a bridge would take at least five or six days, and the 100,000 Chen troops on the opposite bank wouldn't just stand by and watch him build a bridge right in front of them.

He gripped the knife hilt, his knuckles turning slightly white.

On the tenth night, Xiao Lie sat at his desk staring blankly at the map. The paper on the desk was covered with plans to cross the river, which were crossed out one by one until only one plan remained—a suspension bridge.

He stared at the line for a long time without cutting it off, because he knew it was almost the only way, but how to build the bridge in front of Chen Jun... was indeed a difficult task.

Just then, the tent flap was lifted, and Luo Daniu rushed in excitedly, his voice as loud as a drumbeat.

"Your Highness! Chen Hu has arrived! He's here with the grain supplies and cannons!"

"We still have 60,000 men left in northern Xinjiang. When are we going to cross the river?"

Xiao Lie suddenly stood up, scattering the papers on the table all over the floor.

He didn't pick up the papers, but strode out of the tent, with Luo Daniu almost jogging behind him.

"I'll be happy if I tell you, but Xiao Xiong is still dragging his feet, humph!"

Xiao Lie had already walked far away, leaving him only with a figure striding forward.

At the camp gate, a continuous convoy of supply wagons was slowly entering the camp. The wagons stretched as far as the eye could see, piled high with grain sacks, fodder, arrows, and cannonball boxes.

On the last few dozen vehicles, the massive machines covered with coarse cloth were tightly secured with ropes, the edges of the cloth revealing the cold, hard outline of the cannon barrels.

Chen Hu was standing on a carriage directing his soldiers to unload goods when he saw Xiao Lie arrive. He jumped off the carriage and ran over.

"Your Highness! I'm too late!"

He patted the dust off his clothes.

"The northern frontier originally had 68 cannons, and the newly cast 17 cannons were brought along as well, bringing the total to 98 cannons when added to the previous 13."

"The cannonballs filled an entire convoy of wagons, enough to bombard every single city in the Chen Kingdom."

"The follow-up 60,000 infantrymen have also arrived, bringing the total strength to 80,000, including the vanguard."

After listening, Xiao Lie didn't waste any words and directly pulled him towards the camp.

"Come in! We're here for a meeting!"

Luo Daniu and Xiao Xiong followed them in. The four of them surrounded the map that was covered with crosses. Xiao Lie laid out a new sheet of paper on it, then picked up a pen and drew six lines across the river, from the north bank of the Huxiao River to the south bank.

"The entire army worked together to build six suspension bridges across the river."

"The bridge is 300 paces wide and is divided into three sections, which are then constructed separately."

"Each section is divided into 100 steps. After laying it down, we drive piles into the middle of the river for support before repairing the next section."

"It must be completed within five days!"

He looked at Chen Hu.

"All your artillery pieces are positioned on the north bank."

"If Chen Jun dares to show his face, bombard him!"

Chen Hu clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Understood, sir. I guarantee they'll never be able to hold their heads up again."

The next morning, shouts and the sound of hammers echoed from the north bank.

The soldiers were divided into six teams, each responsible for building one suspension bridge.

The suspension bridge, personally designed by Xiao Lie, is a three-section structure. The first section extends from the north bank, reaching one-third of the way across the river before being lowered. Boatmen use rafts to transport the wooden stakes to their designated positions, and then soldiers on the shore use ropes and winches to secure the stakes.

Chen Hu lined up ninety-eight cannons along the north bank, with the muzzles all pointing towards the opposite bank. The gunners squatted beside the cannons, holding the fuses in their hands, their eyes never leaving the river.

The Chen army on the opposite bank quickly noticed the commotion. When they saw the outline of the bridge being built on the north bank and the cannons lined up along the river, General Yan Que, who had been sitting comfortably in his tent, stood up.

Yan Que stood on the shore, gazing at the bustling northern bank opposite. He was in his fifties, with a dark complexion and a scar on his forehead, a remnant from his youth fighting in the northern border.

Yan Que was the Marquis of Wu'an of Chen. He had almost no defeats in his wars, but he was never known for his benevolence and righteousness. He was most famous for burying prisoners alive.

He had witnessed the power of Xiao Lie's cannons.

Yuanjia's 30,000-strong garrison was defeated in less than a night, with artillery being the biggest reason.

When he saw the dark cannons on the north bank pointing neatly at the river, he instinctively took a half step back.

"General, they want to build a bridge."

The deputy general pointed to the bridge extending into the distance.

"Should we send troops to harass them?"

Yan Que stared at the cannon muzzles in silence for a long time.

"Send a small group of men in small boats to approach and destroy the bridge piers."

The deputy general accepted the order and left. Soon, more than a dozen small boats rowed out from the south bank, carrying Chen soldiers. The oars made a soft rustling sound as they cut through the water.

Before they even reached the middle of the river, a deep rumble echoed from the north bank!

Sparks flew from the cannon muzzle, and the shells flew over the water and struck the area around the small boat with precision. The water was blasted into columns several meters high, and the small boat capsized in the shockwave. The soldiers on board fell into the water and thrashed about in terror as they tried to swim back.

Several ships managed to evade the shelling and continue forward, but a second wave of shelling followed immediately. This time, the shells hit the hulls directly, shattering the planks and scattering them. The wreckage and the figures of the soldiers disappeared into the churning river.

Yan Que stood on the south bank, looking at the river surface shattered by artillery fire. He clenched his fists and then relaxed them, finally uttering only one sentence.

"Come back."

Sending more people would be suicide!

For the next three days, the artillery fire on the north bank never stopped.

As soon as a small boat is launched from the south bank, artillery fire will immediately cover that area of ​​water.

Yan Que tried nighttime raids, divided his troops into multiple groups, and used the reeds upstream for cover, but he never managed to get close enough to achieve any effective attack.

The wall of water raised by the artillery fire on the river was like a fence made of iron and fire, keeping out everything that tried to cross it.

The suspension bridges were being built longer and longer. On the first day, the second bridge extended to one-third of the river surface. On the second day, the third bridge also extended to the same position. By evening on the third day, the first section of all six bridges had been joined together, and the second section was extending towards the south bank.

The river water was divided into thin streams by wooden stakes and ropes.

Meanwhile, Yan Que, standing in front of his camp on the south bank, watched the bridge slowly approaching and finally realized that he had encountered an opponent he could not defeat using conventional warfare experience.

His arrows couldn't reach the north bank, but his cannons could easily cover his position.

The outcome of this battle was predetermined from the very beginning!

He could only watch as Xiao Lie rode across the river, and Xiao Lie didn't even intend to give him much time.

As he turned and walked back to his tent, his steps were slower than when he came. As the tent flap fell behind him, he looked down at his hands, which were already soaked with sweat.

Meanwhile, news of Xiao Lie driving out the Chen army overnight and building a mound of Chen soldiers' heads to avenge the people of Jingzhou had spread throughout the Chu Kingdom.

In teahouses, restaurants, and on the ridges of fields, some people were reading battle reports, some were passing on messages, some said that the mound of Jingguan under the city of Jingzhou was as high as a small mountain, and some said that when the cannons went off, it sounded like the Thunder God beating drums in the sky.

Xiao Lie was hailed as a "god" by the people, who said that he came to earth to save all living beings and make everyone in the world live a good life.

Someone pointed in the direction of Huxiaojiang and said.

"When the prince raises his finger to the sky, several bolts of lightning will descend, blasting the Chen army into a hasty retreat!"

But not everyone is happy about this.

In an old house in Kyoto, Xiao Mu sat by the window, listening to the discussions coming from the street outside.

They said Xiao Lie was a reincarnation of a god, that he could summon wind and rain, and that as long as he was there, the Chu Kingdom would not perish.

As he heard those words, the teacup in his hand spun around and around between his fingers, and then he stood up.

After walking around, he sat back down at his desk, picked up his pen and wrote a letter, sealed it with wax, and called the old servant over.

"Send it to the State of Chen, to Lord Wu'an, Yan Que."

"Tell him that the location of Chu's smelting plants is in the letter."

The old servant took the letter, tucked it into his pocket, and left the room.

Xiao Mu sat there listening to the footsteps grow fainter and fainter, then looked out the window again.

"Hmph! So what if you've crossed the river?"

"Without cannonballs, I don't believe you can truly be invincible!"