“Report! A large fleet is sighted at Huangzhou! They seem to be here to attack Lujiang!” A messenger reported to the young general, Lu Xun.
“A large fleet? Is Sun Ce so ambitious? Did he decided to attack Yangzhou after failing to attack Jiangxia?” One navy soldier asked angrily. There weren’t many officers that were patient. An occupation that requires you to kill isn’t for the even-tempered individuals.
“If they dare to come, we will show them our Yangzhou Navy’s might and send them sinking into the Yangtze River again!” Another commented indignantly.
“I understand. Leave.” Lu Xun waved at the messenger. Once the messenger had left, he said to the others. “These troops are not from Jiangdong but from Jiangxia. They are Jingzhou’s Navy.”
“What? Why is it Jingzhou? Didn’t we form an alliance?” One person asked.
“That’s right! I thought Jingzhou and Jiangdong are irreconcilable? How did Jingzhou cross over? Are Jiangdong’s men all trash?” Another person added.
“I do not know the actual reason but this is absolutely true as I have already received a warning from our neighbor, Jiangdong.” Lu Xun showed a letter. The information would not be wrong as Jiangdong would definitely not give them early warning if they were the ones attacking.
The officers all read the letter but they still did not know what to do. “General Lu. What should we do now?” They did not know how the Jingzhou Army avoided the Jiangdong Army nor did they know why the Jingzhou Army was coming.
Lu Xun thought for a while and said. “No matter what, they can’t have any good intentions. Tell the army to prepare for war!”
“General? Wouldn’t this be inappropriate?” One person hesitated. Jingzhou was their ally. The alliance was made under oath so they could not fight each other. “Shouldn’t we make things clear first?”
“There is nothing inappropriate about this.” Lu Xun replied and then asked coldly. “Are you all afraid?”
“Afraid? Who is afraid? When we followed General Gan Ning, there were only seven thousand of us. Even then, we were not afraid of the Jiangdong Army. Why would we be afraid of Jingzhou?”
“Then why are you hesitating? Prepare for war!” Lu Xun scolded. “Are you all going to hide like tortoises? We are the Yangzhou Army! Show your courage and follow me to battle! We will not attack unless they attack first!”
“Yes!” All the 1000-men commander replied and started making their preparations. Although Lu Xun was young, none of them dared to go against him. After that, Lu Xun ordered a messenger to deliver a letter to Chen Gong requesting for Chen Gong to formulate a plan.
Lu Xun wanted a fight as his troops were new. They have only been spending their time training against pirates. However, pirates weren’t exactly good for gaining experience for war. If Lu Xun had veteran troops, there was no need to send them out. However, these were mostly new recruits. If they were to hide around in their first battle, it would be very hard to lead them in the future.
And so, about twenty warships set out of Yangzhou. They only had about three hundred men per ship. This was the most Yangzhou could dispatch as they did not have much troops in the first place.
“Yangzhou has set out?” Sun Ce watched the Yangtze River from his own ship. It had a fast current that provides prosperity1. Sun Ce and the others were here to watch from the sidelines. That was why Sun Ce only had one ship and its speed was fast. He even had food and drinks prepared.
“Gongjin. What do you think?” Sun Ce asked as Zhou Yu was frowning. This was puzzling to Sun Ce as regardless of whether Yangzhou or Jingzhou won, it would be a good thing for JIangdong.
“Milord. Do you see that?” Zhou Yu pointed at the distance.
“See what?” Sun Ce asked. As it was misty at the river, his visibility was affected.
“That ship! Yangzhou’s warship!”
“What about it?” Sun Ce asked as he looked at the thin ship. It looked uglier than a tower ship. “What is there to see about it? There are only twenty ships. Also, look at those holes in the ship! Are they not afraid of leaks?” Sun Ce laughed. Previously, Jiang Qin had lost to Gan Ning because of the ballista. But now that Jiangdong also has the ballista, he no longer feared the Yangzhou Navy. Even if they had superior firepower, Sun Ce has a fleet two to three times larger which he can use to suppress Yangzhou.
“Really?” Zhou Yu shook his head. He had a bad feeling about this.
The Jingzhou Army continued forward unhindered. With the help of the sails, they quickly entered Yangzhou’s territory
“Report! There is a fleet approaching us!” A voice shouted from the observation tower of the tower ship, towards Zhuge Liang and Wen Pin.
“Did Sun Ce change his mind and refuse to let us past?” Wen Pin furrowed his brows.
“General. Do not get angry. It is probably not the Jiangdong’s Navy.” Zhuge Liang replied. If Jiangdong had intended to stop them, they would have done so earlier.
“It is not the Jiangdong Army?” Wen Pin asked. It was hard to see because of the mist but they quickly got close enough due to their speed.
“Report! Yangzhou’s fleet is spotted!”
“Yangzhou’s fleet is here already? They seem to have come prepared.” Although they had just entered Yangzhou’s territory, they were still far away from Yangzhou. Yet, the Yangzhou Navy have already left their camp. The plan to catch them unprepared have already failed.
“Of course, it is because someone informed them.” Zhuge Liang said softly, while referring to the Jiangdong Army.
“What an oddly shaped warship.” Wen Pin furrowed his brows when Yangzhou’s ship could finally be seen clearly. This is because normally the bow of warships were flat and looked more like a construct on water. However, the bows of these warships were sharp. They looked like large ‘mengchong’.
“Is Yangzhou coming over to fight us?” Wen Pin laughed and started counting the number of enemy ships.
“Haha! Heaven is on my side!” Wen Pin laughed. He was now happy that Jiangdong did not immediately send out troops to fight. Twenty ships was too small a number. If he could destroy these twenty ships now, Jiangdong would not have a chance to send troops. That way, Jingzhou would be able to keep Jiangxia. After all, Jiangdong did not send troops as promised.
Like Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang did not look down on Yangzhou’s fleet. He seemed to be thinking of something as he looked at the openings on the ship.
“Report. The Yangzhou Navy has asked us why we are here.”
“Tell them we are here to attack them!” Wen Pin replied to his subordinate but he was stopped by Zhuge Liang. “No need. Let just attack them right away.”
“Is it really the Jingzhou Army?” Lu Xun asked while using the telescope. With the telescope, he could clearly see Zhuge Liang and Wen Pin. His new recruits all took a deep breath as the enemy had five times more ships than them. They were terrified. On the other hand, some of the veterans in his army were still alright.
“The Heaven is on your side?” Lu Xun muttered as he read Wen Pin’s lips.
“General. Jingzhou has not given us a reply. Should we ask them one more time?”
“No need. Prepare for battle!”
“Huh?” The soldiers were shocked. Didn’t Lu Xun say that they would not attack first? They have not even confirmed if this was a misunderstanding.
“This is because they are here to attack us.” Lu Xun said indifferently. Just as soon as he said that, the horn sounding the start of the battle was heard.
“General. How did you know?” One person asked skeptically.
Lu Xun was able to find out because he could read the lips of Zhuge Liang and Wen Pin.
“Transmit my orders. Geese Formation! Lower the sails and prepare to fire!”
“Understood!”
“Attack alongside the flagship!” Lu Xun gave the order coldly. In battle, there was the powerful cavalry and the weak infantry. Although the Yangzhou Navy were small, they were still like an elite cavalry on the water. On the other hand, the Jingzhou Army were just infantries.
“They dared to attack?” Sun Ce was stunned. Twenty ships fought against a hundred ships. Even Sun Ce would not dare act this way despite his boldness. He would use his superior speed to create a distance and wait for the enemy’s formation to crumble before swallowing them whole. On the other hand, the Yangzhou Navy simply charged forward. Wasn’t this just courting death?
“How bold! Who was the enemy commander again? Lu Xun?” Wen Pin commented as he coldly looked at the approaching enemy. He then sneered. “I have to admire you. But naval battles does not rely on bravery! Let me teach you how naval battles are fought!” Wen Pin also felt indignant. The fact that Lu Xun charged forward also meant that he did not place Wen Pin in his eyes at all.
“Raise the sails! Charge!” Wen Pin was also fired up. Due to his position, raising the sails will increase their speed. At this moment, Zhuge Liang left Wen Pin’s flagship and returned to his own ship.
“Military Advisor.” Zhuge Liang was greeted by Huo Jun when he returned to his own ship. Li Yan was left behind at Jiangxia.
“Huo Jun. Who do you think will win in this battle?” Zhuge Liang asked.
“This battle?” Huo Jun thought to himself. The Yangtze River may be wide but it was not wide enough for a hundred ships to keep pace with each other. Because of this, the towered ships will slow down to allow the vanguards to advance first.
“According to reason, General Wen Pin has the upper hand. But…” Huo Jun said. Wen Pin had a hundred ships while Yangzhou only had twenty. This was a huge difference in strength. However, he still felt uncertain when he saw Yangzhou’s warships. After all, it was Yangzhou that created the ballista.
“Your observation is good.” Zhuge Liang laughed indifferently. Although he was younger than Huo Jun, he was a scholar. He did not want to command the navy but make large strategies. That was why he wanted to groom a proper commander for the navy. Huo Jun and Li Yan were being tested.
“Military Advisor. What do you think?” Huo Jun asked humbly.
“They will neither win nor lose.” Zhuge Liang replied.
“What do you mean?”
“You will understand once you see it!”
“General. We have reached firing range.” One of Yangzhou’s officers said. They were seven hundred paces away which was close enough to fire.
“Don’t attack yet.” Lu Xun replied. Although they can hit at this range, they were in the flagship. That is, the front of the Geese Formation.
“Six hundred paces.”
“Don’t attack yet.”
“Four hundred paces.” The officer reminded again but Lu Xun remained silent. The soldiers also did not dare to attack without orders.
“We will begin our attack at three hundred paces.” Lu Xun told his men.
“Three hundred paces?” One soldier questioned. At that range, the enemy would be able to attack them as well. That was the range of the ballista that Liu Mang had given Jingzhou and Jiangdong.
“Carry out the order!” Lu Xun said coldly.
“Yes!” The soldier could only do as he was told.
At three hundred paces, Wen Pin had also received notification from his men. “General. The enemy warship is within range!”
“Transmit my orders! Fire the ballista!” Unlike Lu Xun, Wen Pin ordered for the ballista to be used the moment he could. The ballista aimed at their opponents.
“Fire!” The order was given and the shots were fired. The power of the ballista remained unchanged. However, although damaged, the twenty Yangzhou warships were still doing relatively fine.
“What?” Wen Pin was shocked when he thought that he could cause the enemy to lose a few ships from that volley.
“Is the enemy’s first volley over? Now it’s my turn! Charge at full speed!”
“Yes!” At this moment, the Yangzhou Navy charged at full speed. If they were any slower, they would be shot at by the ballista.
“Hm?” Wen Pin had his men fire at the enemy and had caused damaged. However, the condition for that was to slow down their own speed. However, Yangzhou’s fleet did not slow down and was charging towards them.
“Prepare to ram them!” Lu Xun roared. The crew all held on to a fixture by their side. Liu Mang had originally used the pointed bow when designing the ship because it looked great. However, Lu Xun used it like a spear, thrusting into the enemy’s ship.
“Avoid it!” Wen Ping quickly ordered. The Yangzhou Army’s warship had already torn apart a warship by ramming into it.
Wen Pin saw an illusion. It was as though the battle was on land and his infantries were being ripped apart by an enemy cavalry.
Fortunately, Wen Pin’s orders came in time. Besides the vanguard, the other ships managed to avoid being rammed. The battlefield was now in a mess where everyone was sandwiched between each other.
“Use the ballista! Shoot them!” Wen Pin roared. At this distance, the battle heavily depended on who could shoot faster. However, the Yangzhou Army had not fired a single shot yet. That means they did not need to draw the bowstrings and would naturally be faster.
“Fire!” Lu Xun’s voice resounded and countless ballista immediately let loose their arrows.
At this moment, Wen Pin noticed a problem. The Yangzhou Army’s warships were shorter than their own towered ships. If they wanted to fire on their enemy, they would need to aim downwards or else they would miss the enemy and his their own allies.
After the volley, the damage was quickly a.s.sessed. Lu Xun’s fleet was damaged while Wen Pin only lost three ships from being rammed.
“How could this be?” Lu Xun was at a lost. All those shots fired had turned the enemy ships into porcupines. However, they were not able to sink a single ship.
“Haha!” Wen Pin laughed when he saw that his ships have not sunk. This was thanks to the watertight compartments that Zhuge Liang had suggested. The ship would not sink unless the damage was extremely heavy.
“Watertight compartments!” Lu Xun also noticed this as their own ship had this design. He never expected Jingzhou to have it.
“Surround them!” Wen Pin gave the order. Since Yangzhou could not sink them, he decided to use his superior numbers to surround and slowly deal with Yangzhou.
“You want to surround me?” Lu Xun sneered. There were were two reasons Lu Xun did not have his ballista fire at three hundred paces away. One is because he did not want to slow down. The other was because there were plenty of new recruits. His new recruits were the one using the ballista but even they wouldn’t miss at such close range. He did this partly because being clumsy would make him lose face but he never expected the enemy to have watertight compartments.
“Bring it on!” Lu Xun coldly looked at the approaching ships. “Open up the second, third and fourth gun ports!” With this order given, all the ballista hidden away showed themselves.
“This is…!” Huo Jun who was watching from afar was no longer calm. Fortunately, he was in the rear instead of the front. Each port had five ballista for a total of twenty per side. This meant a single ship had forty ballista. Huo Jun felt like he could barely breathe as he took this all in.
“Fire!” Lu Xun ordered. “Fire all the arrows on the ballista!” Each ballista had five arrows per clip so hundreds of arrows were fired. Even their watertight compartments would not be able to save a ship after taking so much damage.
Within a short moment, twenty of Wen Pin’s warships sunk to the bottom of the river. There were over six thousand troops on those ships and they all worked directly under Wen Pin. Wen Pin felt his heart ache from the loss.
“I will kill you!” Wen Pin roared angrily. His enemy have not yet suffered much damage but he had already lost six thousand men. He already had the determination to fight to the end to defeat his enemy but suddenly the gong sounding the retreat was heard.
“Who is it?” Wen Pin snarled angrily.
“It is me.” Zhuge Liang replied.
“Military Advisor? Why do you want to retreat? I want to destroy the Yangzhou Navy and kill that whelp Lu Xun!” Wen Pin’s eyes were red.
“And then what?” Zhuge Liang asked indifferently.
“And then what?” Wen Pin did not think of what comes after.
“Our army would be completely wiped out. Even if we return to Xiakou, we will no longer be able to defend Jiangxia. Sun Ce would be able to profit from our misfortune and take JIangxia before moving on to Jingzhou. General Wen Pin. At that time, will you fight to the death loyally or will you choose to surrender to Sun Ce?” Zhuge Liang’s question immediately made Wen Pin clear headed.
Wen Pin had to agree that Yangzhou was powerful. If he wanted to destroy Yangzhou’s fleet, he would have to sacrifice at least fifteen thousand of Liu Biao’s personal troops and also lose the ability to defend Jiangxia. At that time, Sun Ce can just take everything easily. In the first place, Liu Biao offered JIangxia away because he wanted Jiangdong to attack together with him.
“Then, what should I do now?” Wen Pin asked Zhuge Liang hoping for an answer.
Zhuge Liang looked at the retreating fleet and replied. “Compared to us, Jiangdong should be more anxious about Yangzhou’s fleet. General, do not forget. We have already paid for the destruction of Yangzhou’s fleet.”
“Are we really giving Jiangxia away to Jiangdong?” Wen Pin was still unwilling.
“Regardless of whether we will give away Jiangxia, we will need to defeat Yangzhou first.” Zhuge Liang replied calmly and looked at the lone ship at the distance. He then muttered to himself. “You have already seen enough of Jingzhou’s sincerity. Now, what will you do?”
“This ship…?” Sun Ce felt his head turn numb as he looked at Yangzhou’s ship. He no longer mocked them. So what if it was ugly? That one ship had forty ballista. That was as many ballista as eight of his towered ships. He had fought Jingzhou for so long and he also had never sunk twenty ships in a single battle. If he wanted to count the first three that got rammed, it would be twenty three ships.
Should he fight Yangzhou together with Jingzhou or take on Yangzhou alone? Sun Ce was terrified. He also understood that Gan Ning had left with five thousand men. Can Yangzhou even be stopped if Gan Ning were to return?
“Lu Xun Lu Boyan?” Zhou Yu muttered the name. In the past, he would treat this person with disdain but now he had to reevaluate Lu Xun. After all, this youngster was now Yangzhou’s naval commander.
“Milord. Yangzhou’s Navy cannot be allowed to exist.” Zhou Yu finally said to Sun Ce. He had a bad feeling when it came to Yangzhou’s warships and now he finally understood the reason.
“Yangzhou. King of Shu, Liu Mang. Just how many secrets do you have?” Zhou Yu constantly thought to himself.
Sun Ce looked at the waters and nodded. At the same time, he could not help but desire Yangzhou’s warships.
“General. Have we won?” One of Lu Xun’s new recruit asked when he saw the enemy retreat.
Lu Xun saw the enemy’s actions and smiled. “It can be considered a win.” He only breathed a sigh of relief after the Jingzhou Navy completely disappeared from his sight.
“We won! We won!” The new recruits cheered. This was their first actual battle. Their opponent was the experienced Jingzhou Navy and the enemy was several times their number. Yet, they were still able to win.
The other veterans were happy for the new recruits though they weren’t as excited as Gan Ning sunk the entire enemy fleet of thirty thousand. Although they were able to deal heavy damage to the enemy, the achievements here could hardly compare.
“We won! Milord, I have lived up to your expectations.” Lu Xun said and closed his eyes.
“General? What’s wrong?” One of the officer caught Lu Xun. If it was not because of this, Lu Xun would have collapsed onto the floor.
“Medic! Where are you?” One officer shouted loudly.
“Stop shouting. I’m right here.” A delicate voice replied.
“Sister Shang! Great Aunt Shang! Come quick! Our General is…!” One of the new recruit sounded like he was going to cry.
“Don’t make so much noise and let her through.” A 1000-men officer appeared and made the other give way to the medical officer.
The young lady named Shang was one of Liu Mang’s medics. When Liu Mang made a barracks for women, everyone questioned his decision. After all, women cannot fight. Even the violent ones could only move things at most. Liu Mang thought the same in that women cannot fight. Even if they could, could men still be called men if they needed women to protect them?
However, Liu Mang knew that women were more attentive. Not many soldiers actually die in battle. Most suffer injuries and only die because weren’t treated in time, or weren’t treated well enough.
This medic in particular was called Shang Yun. She had two companions Shang Wan and Shang Xiang. The three of them were known as the Three Sisters. As all three of them were beautiful, many soldiers wanted to marry them. However, the Three Sisters were very proud. Shang Yun said she won’t marry anyone that isn’t at least a General. Shang Wan said she won’t marry anyone that isn’t at least a Governor. The most beautiful amongst them, Shang Xiang, never said anything. However, Shang Wan and Shang Yun seemed to revolve around her so Shang Xiang’s standards must be higher.
Shang Yun stepped forward and blinked the moment she saw Lu Xun. People said that men love beautiful women. However, the women also loved attractive men!
Lu Xun inherited Lu Kan’s heroic looks and also the gentleness of someone from Jiangnan. As a result, Lu Xun looks very attractive. On top of that, Lu Xun was young and already a General. Shang Yun could not help but be attracted.
“Sigh. Medic Shang! Why did you turn red? How is our General?” A dense and uncouth man asked Shang Yun.
“It is not your concern!” Shang Yun finally reacted and started to check Lu Xun’s pulse. Shang Yun did her job properly. While checking Lu Xun’s pulse, she occasionally frowned and occasionally relaxed. The other soldiers wished they could replace the unconscious Lu Xun.
Finally, Shang Yun breathed out a sigh of relief.
“How is it? Can our General be saved?” Someone asked.
“Saved? Your General can live up to a hundred years!” Shang Yun said in a foul mood. “He is just too tired! I will prescribe some medicine to you. Go to a military doctor to get the medicine.”
Lu Xun was too nervous. Like the new recruits, this was also Lu Xun’s first battle. However, Lu Xun was the commanding officer. As his first battle, it was a battle he needed to win.
“Medic Shang. How do we make this medicine?” One person asked.
Shang Yun sighed to herself and realized that these uncouth men would not know how to make medicine. It is no wonder the King of Shu created this position. “Come. I will do it.” Shang Yun inadvertently recommended herself for the job even though such a person already existed. This is especially true since Lu Xun was still a General. Shang Yun was unqualified.
______
1. Totally unrelated bit of trivia placed at a weird place. Fast river current = prosperous locations.