Vol 2 Chapter 2909: The naval battle of the four countries in the East China Sea, reinforcements ar

Chapter 2909 The naval battle between the four countries in the East China Sea, reinforcements arrive at the naval battle (Part 2)

Chapter 2905: The naval battle between the four countries in the East China Sea, reinforcements arrive at the beginning of the naval battle (Part 2)

As soon as Zhu Di's "street fighting" order came out, all the generals, including Chang Yuchun and Chang Mao, were stunned. Although they knew that Zhu Di just wanted to use street fighting to delay time, they never expected that Zhu Di would do anything for this battle. To this point.

 Zhu Di was not afraid of taking risks, but the generals were not willing for Zhu Di to take such a big risk, so they expressed their opposition one after another. Chang Yuchun even knelt down and objected sternly:

"Absolutely not, lord, if we retreat into Ganyu City at this time, once Zhou Yu besieges the city, our army will have no way to retreat. Once our army suffers all casualties, lord, you will fall into Zhou Yu's hands. The Ming Dynasty is about to die."

"Yes, my lord, even if Zhou Yu cannot be severely injured, our army can still deal with the Qin army. But once my lord falls into the hands of Zhou Yu, our army will be defeated without defeat." Chang Mao also advised.

Although Zhu Di is not Zhu Yuanzhang's only son, to put it bluntly, once he dies or falls into the hands of the Qin army, under the current circumstances, there will be no one in the Ming Dynasty who can replace him and become the new king of the Ming Dynasty.

Looking at the generals who were opposing him, Zhu Di was not only not dissatisfied at all, but was actually moved in his heart, because they were all for his own good and loyal ministers.

Zhu Di naturally knew that if he died in battle or was captured alive, it would be equivalent to the fall of the Ming Dynasty to a certain extent, and no one in the Zhu family could replace him. However, facing an almost invincible opponent like Zhou Yu, it was impossible to win without taking risks. possible.

The Cao army on the western front has been suppressed by the Qin army in all directions, and the situation of the Ming army on the eastern front is not much better. Only by severely damaging Zhou Yu's navy can the situation be restored.

Now Zhu Di still has the right to choose whether to take risks. If he doesn't risk his life and fight for it, once the situation worsens again, he will no longer even have the right to take risks.

“Do you know why our army was unable to defeat the Qin army with the weak?”

As soon as this question came out, most of the generals present looked at a loss, but Zhu Di continued: "Although Zhou Yu's army is large in number, its combat power is much weaker than ours. This is because our army has a way to retreat and is lucky. Therefore, it is impossible to fight to the death.

Although the total number of Qin's naval forces was 150,000, nearly half of them were recruits who had been trained for less than two years and had no actual combat experience. The only ones who were really useful were the 80,000 naval forces who accompanied him into battle.

Hearing Zhou Yu's words, Jiao Mo went to the first one to stand up and said: "Grand Governor, although our army suffered heavy casualties, as long as we can capture Zhu Di alive or kill him, the sacrifice is worth it. Besides, there is no point in fighting." Immortal."

From the beginning of the Battle of Qingxu, Zhou Yu led his army across the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and won every battle. The total casualties were less than 3,000. However, he did not expect to go ashore and bump into Zhu Di. In just one battle, he suffered 11,000 casualties, and there were no The fight is not over even if you win.

Facing such three opponents, even someone as strong as Jiao Mochang would not be able to withstand them. One hundred and thirty rounds of fierce fighting with them would be the limit. If it were not for the timely support of Ao Shen and Wang Zhongshi, his injuries would definitely be further aggravated.

As soon as these words came out, all the generals present were startled at first, and then they all felt a sense of grief and anger that the king had humiliated his ministers to death. Since Zhu Di, as the king, was not afraid of death, what should they be afraid of as the ministers, so they all roared angrily. He said: "I am willing to die with my lord."

Seeing that the mood of the generals present was a little low, Zhou Yu knew that this was because many of the generals who died in the battle were close to them. In addition, the casualties were indeed very large, so it was inevitable that the morale would drop, so he offered words of comfort. He said: "The responsibility for this battle lies with me. It was the governor who overestimated the combat power of the navy after it came ashore, which resulted in such huge losses.

If it were the three ordinary gods of war, even if Jiao Moxiang couldn't win, he wouldn't be so embarrassed. But not only did his opponent have combo skills this time, Chang Mao was also a mid-level **** of war with 106 base martial arts, and Zhang Guiba was even more advanced with him. He had a vengeance for killing his younger brother and hated him deeply.

Wang Shizhong was a fierce general of the Later Liang Dynasty in the late Tang Dynasty. His bravery was unparalleled for a time, he was calm and generous, and he had the ability to change when things happened.

 But facing an opponent like Zhou Yu, how can we win if we can't even put him to death? "

At this time, Jiao Moxiang had already put on his third piece of armor. The one given to him by Zhou Yu, as he participated in the battle for the second time, he was besieged by the three generals Chang Yuchun, Chang Mao, and Zhang Guiba. He was shattered again in an accident, but the war was not over yet, and he was the ace of the Qin army, so he had no choice but to change his armor and fight again.

Zhu Di smiled happily when he saw this. He knew how dangerous his decision was, and there was no way he would let himself be captured alive by Zhou Yu, so if he didn't last until the end, he would definitely die in battle, but with such a group of loyal and loyal people, The courageous soldiers died together, and this ending was not bad for him.

“I am willing to die with my lord.” More than two thousand soldiers of the Ming Army also shouted together.

After finishing speaking, Zhu Di glanced at the generals, but no one bowed his head with a guilty conscience. This also made him understand that it was not that his soldiers were afraid of death, but because of his own existence, they were unable to do anything.

"Okay, withdraw into Ganyu and engage in street fighting." Zhu Di shouted and ordered.

On the other side, after hearing the casualty figures reported by his subordinates, Zhou Yu's face suddenly turned livid.

After this battle, the governor will personally plead guilty to His Majesty, but before that, you must continue to fight and capture Zhu Di alive to comfort the spirits of the fallen soldiers. "

The training period of the navy is much longer than that of the infantry, which also means that the investment cost is higher than that of the infantry. One sailor is equivalent to 1.5 infantry, which is second only to the cavalry among many arms.

After speaking, Zhu Di looked at the generals with bright eyes and asked: "Everyone, are you willing to die with me?"

 Such a huge casualty also put Zhou Yu into a situation where he was riding a tiger, but as long as he could capture Zhu Di, these sacrifices would be worth it.

"Therefore, there is no need to persuade me any more. I have made up my mind. I will never retreat in this battle. If I retreat, I will perish. If I don't retreat, there is still a glimmer of hope."

It was precisely because of this that Zhou Yu felt distressed and regretted using the navy as infantry, but it was obviously too late.

Wang Shizhong's basic military strength is 103, and his overall combat power is not weaker than Ao Shen. He is regarded as a hidden back-up of Zhou Yu, but even with him, the Qin army's general lineup is still not as good as the Ming army.

Zhou Yu's initiative to take responsibility and comfort restored the morale of the Qin army. All the soldiers raced against time to rest and restore their physical strength as much as possible. After all, fighting from day to night, not only the Ming army was tired, but the Qin army was also tired. Even the Qin army was more tired than before. The Ming army was even more tired.

This is also the main reason why Zhou Yu suspended the attack. After recovering, he attacked again to capture Zhu Di's exhausted troops.

Looking at the Ming army formation in the distance, Zhou Yu thought for a while and then ordered: "Transport the wounded soldiers back to the ship first and be vigilant to prevent Zhu Di from running away..."

Before he could finish his words, shouts of "I am willing to die with my lord" came from the Ming army.

Hearing this, both Zhou Yu and the generals present had complicated expressions on their faces, and then their expressions became extremely serious.

It is not difficult to judge from this tragic cry that Zhu Di chose to stay, at least he would not run away until the last soldier was killed. The Ming army, which had abandoned its retreat and turned into a mourning army, would undoubtedly be more difficult to deal with. If you want to annihilate them all, you will undoubtedly have to pay a higher price.

At this thought, all the generals of the Qin army, including Zhou Yu, fell silent. Obviously, the cost of this battle will be higher than everyone expected, but as long as Zhu Di can be captured, it will be worth it. “Grand Governor, look quickly, the Ming army is retreating towards Ganyu.”

Jiao Moxiang said with a surprised look on his face. After hearing his words, some of the generals present realized that they did not occupy Ganyu while it was an empty city.

There are two reasons why the Qin army did not occupy Ganyu:

 First, Zhou Yu’s only target is Zhu Di.

He knew that the naval force would be greatly reduced when it came ashore, but he still insisted on fighting this battle because his target was not the city from the beginning, but Zhu Di.

To Zhou Yu, the real value was never Ganyu City. Even if Donghai County was included, it was far inferior to Zhu Di, so it didn't matter whether he occupied Ganyu or not.

  As for the second point, it is naturally the fear of ambush.

After all, Zhu Di knew the danger, but still put himself in danger, leading Zhou Yu to lead his army to surround and kill him. This naturally made Zhou Yu worry that there was a trap in Ganyu City.

 Therefore, even though the Qin and Ming armies had been fighting for a day on the border of Ganyu and the Qin army clearly had excess troops, Zhou Yu did not send anyone to take over the empty city of Ganyu.

Zhou Yu guessed right. There were indeed traps in Ganyu City, but they were not burning the city. Not taking the opportunity to occupy Ganyu would become the decision he regretted most in this battle.

“If Zhu Di fled into Ganyu City, wouldn’t it mean that as long as Ganyu City was surrounded, Zhu Di would be unable to escape?”

Some of the generals who were belatedly realized what was happening and exclaimed in surprise after hearing this. Apparently, they did not expect that Zhu Di would run to Ganyu City.

The Qin army was not afraid of the Ming army retreating, because the Qin army still had two thousand cavalry, and no matter how fast the Ming army ran on two legs, it was obvious that it could not outrun the four-legged cavalry.

What the Qin army was really afraid of was Zhu Di running away alone. But if Zhu Di fled into Ganyu City, once the Qin army besieged the city, Zhu Di would not be able to escape even if he wanted to.

 Therefore, most Qin generals could not understand why Zhu Di would do such a self-defeating act.

Only Zhou Yu looked at the direction of Zhu Di's retreat with a complicated face. He knew that Zhu Di wanted to use street fighting to delay time, but he still couldn't help but admire Zhu Di's courage to risk everything and make a desperate move.

 After all, Zhu Di's identity is not only a general, but also a king. He alone is responsible for the safety of the entire Ming Dynasty.

"Zhu Di, since you are so determined and dare to risk your life, how can I, Zhou Yu, not accompany you?"

After saying this, Zhou Yu decisively gave the order: "Go down with the order and surround Ganyu City."

Following Zhou Yu's order, 29,000 Qin troops rose up and divided into four groups to completely surround Ganyu City.

 At this stage of the war, both Zhu Di and Zhou Yu had exhausted their cards, but they all chose to make a big gamble.

 Zhu Di was betting that 2,500 Ai troops could fight in the streets until the reinforcements arrived, while Zhou Yu was betting that he could capture or kill Zhu Di alive before the Ming reinforcements arrived. It all depended on who had the firmer will and stronger means.

After the Qin army surrounded Ganyu City, Zhou Yu did not order a general attack. Instead, he sent a small force into the city to test it to see if there were any traps in the city, and to guard against Zhu Di's fire attack.

Although the Ming Dynasty army is also in the city, if Zhu Di really uses fire to attack, he will burn himself first, but God knows if Zhu Di dug a tunnel in advance? So it’s better to be careful.

The Qin army is accustomed to using fire to attack the enemy, so it is also very experienced in preventing fire attacks. Soon after a small group of troops entered the city, it was discovered that there was no large-scale laying of flammable materials in the city, and the prerequisites for burning the city were not met.

After learning this, Zhou Yu felt relieved and immediately dispatched 17,000 troops to fight in the city, while the remaining 12,000 troops continued to besiege the city to prevent Zhu Di from breaking out.

What Zhou Yu didn't know was that it was precisely because of his caution that he wasted time and allowed Zhu Di to seize the opportunity.

 After Zhu Di entered Ganyu City, he first returned to the armory, transported and replenished ammunition, and then quickly deployed archers in key areas within the city to seize the commanding heights...

It was Zhu Di's series of deployments that enabled the Ming army to block the attack of 17,000 Qin troops in the subsequent street fighting, otherwise even the Ai army would still be wiped out.

After two and a half hours of fierce street fighting, the Ming army killed 800 people in direct combat, while the Qin army suffered 2,000 casualties, but still failed to completely annihilate the Ming army. In addition to Zhu Di seizing the opportunity, there was also street fighting in the dark. More difficult reasons.

As the sky grew brighter, the Qin army sent out to inspect the sentry posts found traces of the enemy navy.

In order to rescue Zhu Di as soon as possible, the naval forces of the Ming and Song Dynasties sailed at full speed and actually advanced their arrival time by two hours.

“Report...to the Grand Governor, a large number of enemy warships have been discovered in the south, and it will take no more than an hour to reach Ganyu City.”

Facing the sudden reinforcements from the Ming army, all the Qin generals present were shocked. After all, there were still 1,700 Ming troops, and it was obviously difficult to annihilate them all within an hour.

Unlike the generals who were shocked, Zhou Yu looked calm, as if he had expected this situation to happen.

Zhou Yu, who was standing on the city tower, looked in the direction of Zhu Di, the city lord's palace, with a sneer on his lips and said to himself: "Zhu Di, if you don't have any other cards, then today next year will be your death anniversary."

 (End of this chapter)