Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 368 Call me General Zhengdong

Jiangdong's attack on the north of Jiangling City has the smell of not caring about life and death.

Zhou Qun’s evaluation of this is:

"This Lu Meng is crazy."

Although Zhou Qun didn't know the battle formation, he could still see that this chain of iron ropes and boats as a pontoon bridge was a desperate move.

It is almost impossible to dismantle the stern boats used as the base of the pontoon bridge and restore them to the shape of warships, and only the scorched oars that carry fuel and oil to rush to the city gate are left.

Under this situation, it would be easy to take Jiangling, but if it fails, it may be difficult for this army to even escape and retreat.

In the past, Jiangdong relied on these warships to roam the river, but now they destroyed them all just to get closer to Jiangling, which meant that they cut off their own retreat first.

Jiang Wan's attitude was very indifferent. Although he had worked hard these days, Jiang Wan did not look pessimistic. He even joked leisurely:

"During the Battle of Chibi, Lü Meng was just a fighting general, but now he is imitating the story of the overlord of Chu who broke the cauldron and sank the boat. There were rumors before that he was persuaded by Sun Hou to learn from it, and I believe it today."

"It's just a pity that the time for studying is too short after all. Although I want to do the old things of the overlord of Chu, my general will not be as fierce as the overlord, and his soldiers will not be as brave as the people of Chu."

"I still don't remember that the Overlord of Chu was finally defeated by the Han!"

Jiang Wan's voice was loud, and his last few words were also sonorous and powerful, so the soldiers around him took the lead in cheering.

Zhou Qun understood that Jiang Wan's words were partly for himself and partly to boost the morale of his subordinates.

After all, Jiangdong's attack was menacing, and a life-or-death attack had already begun in the north of the city. Such a crazy situation would inevitably make the soldiers murmur in their hearts.

But... Zhou Qun clearly remembered that the King of Chu broke the siege of Julu and defeated the Qin army.

However, he wisely did not speak, but quietly watched the atmosphere in Jiangling City gradually becoming solemn.

Zhuge Guoer asked his brother Zhuge Qiao to build a ladder and lean on the low wall, and then tried his best to stick his head out.

The bustling street scene of the past has disappeared. Now the streets are deserted. The only people coming and going are farmers pushing wooden oxen and soldiers with helmets and armor.

Zhuge Guo puffed up his cheeks. The prefect Jiang had strictly ordered not to go out on the streets during the war, which made her very depressed at home. She could only cling to the wall and look at the scenery to satisfy her cravings.

And my mother is not at home now. I heard that the enemy troops outside the city set fire to some of the crossbows at the north gate a few days ago. Moreover, Governor Jiang is still having people dismantle some of the giant crossbows at the west gate and install them at the north gate. This process is inevitable. There is damage.

There was a sudden shortage of craftsmen to repair giant crossbows, so his mother signed up as a craftsman, leaving him and his brother alone at home.

Zhuge Guo didn't like the solemn scenery in front of her, so she slid down the small ladder and said sadly:

"Brother, let's go see the glass greenhouse."

Zhuge Qiao smiled and nodded. After comforting his sister, his expression was inevitably a little sad.

Now his father is far away in Hanzhong, and his mother has also gone to help defend the city. As the son of the Zhuge family, he cannot go to the city to help defend the country, which is quite a pity.

But soon, Zhuge Guo, who hurried back to the house, left and came back again. He held a small notebook under his arm and ran straight to the greenhouse with a ruler, tape measure, charcoal pen and other tools in his arms.

Zhuge Qiao shook his head helplessly. This greenhouse was originally built by his mother to study the differences between herbs, but she was too busy, so her younger sister took over the recording work and enjoyed it endlessly.

Finally, looking at the north from a distance, Zhuge Qiao also cheered up. Since he is too old to be able to stabilize the world, he should take care of his family first, especially his little sister.

In addition to taking care of his little sister, Zhuge Qiao also climbed up the ladder from time to time to observe the situation on the street.

The first two days were good. The soldiers and civilians that Zhuge Qiao could see were all rushing towards the north gate. They showed no signs of laughter as they marched, and their expressions were solemn.

Three days later, Zhuge Qiao had already observed scattered wounded soldiers withdrawing from the north.

Fortunately, the faces of these wounded soldiers did not look desperate, which made Zhuge Qiao heave a sigh of relief.

After two more days, the number of wounded soldiers began to increase, which made Zhuge Qiao's heart suddenly rise: Is the battle at the North Gate going bad?

The climate in Jingzhou is already hot. Now that spring has begun, the weather is getting hotter day by day. Some wounded soldiers choose to walk under the walls, so some of the comments were heard by Zhuge Qiao.

"...Why does this Wu Gou have reinforcements?"

"Didn't the prefect say that if Jiangling is in danger, Jingnan will be safe? All the Wu dogs who originally attacked Jingnan have gathered here."

"So what if there are reinforcements? Aren't they still not coming in yet?"

"But Wu Gou is indeed not afraid of death. We haven't recaptured the city gate yet..."

After the wounded soldiers walked away, Zhuge Qiao couldn't help but feel depressed. After his mother returned that night, Zhuge Qiao simply asked him.

Huang Yueying sighed:

"The war situation in the north of the city is tense. Wu Dijian's soldiers die more than a thousand times every day, and the river is completely red."

Zhuge Qiao was speechless, unable to imagine what the situation was like outside just separated by a wall.

After a moment of silence, Huang Yueying rubbed the cup of hot water in her hand and said slowly:

"Wu Dijian'er fought tooth and nail to attack, and Governor Jiang fought tooth and nail to resist. The outcome of this battle may not take more than ten days."

"Ten days?" Zhuge Qiao was surprised. He had read a lot and knew how difficult it was to attack the city.

He had also been to the north of the city. Although the city gate was lost, Governor Jiang was no mediocre person and he must have built a defense line again.

Huang Yueying nodded. This was also the conclusion she came to after discussing with Jiang Wan.

According to Lu Meng's filling speed, Jiangdong will collapse in another half month at most.

Moreover, now that Sun, Cao, and Liu are gathered in the entire Jingzhou at the same time, the situation is extremely complicated. Neither Xuande nor Cao Cao want to see Jiangling's attack and defense turn into a protracted and fierce battle.

However, there is no need to explain these words to Zhuge Qiao in detail. Huang Yueying took a sip of hot tea and remembered that the safest person in attack and defense in the past few days should be the crossbowsmith.

For a moment, the mother's mentality took over, and she stared at Zhuge Qiao thoughtfully:

"How is Boson doing in arithmetic now?"

Zhuge Qiao suddenly felt the pressure.

The atmosphere in the Wu military camp outside the city was tense. Han Dang sat in his tent without lighting a lamp and sighed.

After leading the army to return for reinforcements, he was greeted by Lü Meng's cross-examination. More than 30,000 people attacked Hanshou but could not be defeated, and the main general died, so he could be declared defeated.

As a veteran, Han Dang was too lazy to defend himself. After all, Pan Zhang was promoted by Marquis Sun. He planned to face Marquis Chen Sun after returning to Jiangdong.

With the responsibility unavoidable, except for his troops, the rest of the soldiers he had previously led were again assigned to Lü Meng's command.

Then these athletes were thrown into the brutal Jiangling battlefield, and more than a hundred people died without a trace that day.

Lü Meng boasted to Han Dang that the front lines under Jiangling City were advancing steadily, but Han Dang could see clearly that these were built with human lives.

If you take one step forward, more than a hundred people will die; if you push one foot forward, more than a thousand people will be required to make steps.

But it is even more impossible to persuade Lu Meng to stop. After all, the battle has been fierce for several days. If we retreat at this time, wouldn't all the soldiers in the river die in vain?

With this mentality, Han Dang only felt at a loss.

How did Jiangdong become like this step by step?

So the next day, Han Dang numbly accompanied Lu Meng, watching him yelling and ordering his soldiers to advance, shouting and adding another group of troops to supervise the battle, and shouted "Those who don't advance will die."

At this time, someone reported that enemy troops appeared in the direction of Lexiang.

Lexiang is located due west of Jiangling, a county on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Han Dang stood up to fight without thinking.

Rather than ordering Jian'er to take care of his life under Jiangling City, he would rather fight with the enemy.

Lü Meng did everything he could, even holding Han Dang's hand cordially and entrusting him:

"Yi Gong will definitely not return without victory in this battle!"

The words were earnest, but Han Dang's heart was half cold.

The veteran took a serious look at Lu Meng, then flatly cupped his hands and said:

"I will definitely live up to the general's trust."

Han Dang walked very casually, and did not even go to Lu Meng to ask for a few soldiers. He just led his troops and headed west to look for traces of the enemy.

Lu Meng didn't take this to heart and only had Jiangling in his eyes.

The only thing that made Han Dang more comfortable was that he got a detailed map of the surrounding area. This was also one of the things Lu Meng and Chen Bing did after Jiangling, carefully mapping the surrounding geography.

The scouts moved forward, separated the front and rear troops, and finally, to Han Dang's surprise, he finally saw Shamoko's smiling face.

He did not expect that the troops of Tangliu's battalion could stop the Barbarian King from going north. His plan at that time was to delay the Barbarian King.

After all, Samoko is a local, so he should know how to take a detour, and it does not surprise him to appear here now.

There is no city wall in Lexiang. It is very close to Jiangling. If there is a war, just retreat to Jiangling. There is no need to build a city wall at all. There is no geographical advantage for Samoko to defend.

But Shamoko was still in a good mood. After putting on the rattan armor, Shamoko stood up and shouted:

"Old General, you were defeated in Hanshou before when you had more troops. Now your troops are not as strong as mine. Why don't you get out of the way to avoid fighting?"

Han Dang shook his head slightly, formed a formation with his soldiers and advanced slowly, and then said in a calm tone:

"Han Dang is here, you can't wait a step further!"

This attitude was already very clear. Samoko looked at Jiangling City clearly visible in the distance, then looked at the stubborn general in front of him, and couldn't help but feel irritated:

"Since you insist on seeking death, you can't blame me!"

Shamoko took the lead, while Zhang Ni and Ma Zhong silently covered Shamoko's flanks and charged together.

After the Han Dynasty, the forces of both sides were temporarily united. The Wuling Army eliminated the wounded soldiers and retained people to prevent another sneak attack from Jiangdong. The 5,000 Wuling Army and the reinforcements led by Zhang Yi were combined into one army, with a total of 8,000 people.

Han Dang was a veteran who had been fighting since the time of Sun Jian. He was favored and favored, and all of his four thousand soldiers were veterans.

The two sides were like two turbulent rivers that collided violently, causing waves hundreds of feet high.

The sudden outbreak of fighting at Lexiang was noticed by the Jiangling garrison, and they immediately reported it to Jiang Wan.

After guarding the city for several days, Jiang Wan no longer looked like a handsome young man. His lips were chapped and his clothes had many blood stains. However, his eyes were more energetic and had a sharp feeling.

After listening to the report of the messenger, Jiang Wan said calmly:

"If there are any results, let me know."

Being in the middle of the situation, Jiang Wan could see clearly that it was not clear whether the supporting army was Wu Lingman or not, but Jiangdong would definitely try his best to stop it. Therefore, as long as the supporting army was not defeated quickly, he could accept the result.

What I'm most afraid of now is...

"Prefect, there is smoke and dust in the direction of Huarong, it seems there are reinforcements!"

Jiang Wan's brows suddenly knitted into a tight knot, and his indifferent attitude disappeared. Jiang Wan quickly walked up to the east city gate, staring at the smoke and dust.

Zhou Qun was also with Jiang Wan at this time, looking intently at the direction of the smoke.

Soon, Zhou Qun sighed unconsciously, and there was also a low buzz on the city wall, because as this group of troops approached, everyone could clearly see the eye-catching word "Cao".

Zhou Qun glanced at Jiang Wan worriedly, and saw that the eunuch didn't say anything, but his brows were not raised, and his hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were a little white.

"Even with the help of Cao Jun, it should be okay..." Zhou Qun comforted:

"There is still half a year's supply of food in the city now, and there are more than 2,000 powerful crossbows and more than 500 giant crossbow machines. If we rely on them to hold on, they will not be able to defeat them."

These are also the results of many years of hard work in Gong'an County. The foundation of using water power to develop engineering is far from being as bad as Jiangdong thought.

Jiang Wan nodded and just stared there seriously without saying a word.

Lu Meng was laughing wildly outside the city, which was why he didn't care about Han Danghun. Duke Cao's reinforcements were already on the way!

And perhaps because of the amazing results of Liu Bei's vigorous engineering work in Jingzhou, Cao Gong also said in his previous letter that the reinforcements would bring the thunderbolt chariots that had made contributions in the Battle of Guandu to help Lu Meng defeat Jiangling.

In this way, Lu Meng felt that the city was already waving to him!

But after a while, Lu Meng's face turned a little pale, because all those who came were cavalry, and the leader had a face as beautiful as a crown jewel, but he did not lose his majesty.

Seeing Lu Meng, he did not dismount. He just sat on the horse and looked at him with interest. Lu Meng felt a pressure coming on him.

Taking the initiative to step forward despite the pressure, Lu Meng cupped his hands and said:

"General Wenyuan is coming from afar..."

Zhang Liao turned over and dismounted without being rude, he also cupped his hands and said:

"Just call me General Zhengdong."

Lu Meng's heart was suffocated. After contacting Cao Cao, he knew clearly that Zhang Liao was worshiped by Prime Minister Cao as General Zhengdong last year because of his merits.

Which credit? Naturally, Hefei wins.

Lu Meng originally wanted to forget this incident, but at this time Zhang Liao declined the intimate call, and could only nod his head and said:

"General Zhengdong is here, Jiangling will definitely have no worries."

Later, Lu Meng invited Zhang Liao to observe the battlefield, and the general who conquered the east commented that "Jiangdong is really a big deal."

It seemed to be a compliment, but Lu Meng couldn't see any appreciation in his eyes.

Then, without waiting for Lu Meng to invite him, Zhang Liao took the initiative and gave instructions:

"Build a thunder chariot to help Jiangdong, the partial general, defeat Jiangling."

Lu Meng's face was complicated, but he finally forced out a pleasant smile.

Seeing Zhang Liao turning around to leave, Lu Meng became a little anxious:

"The general has strong soldiers, if we can attack the city together..."

Zhang Liao didn't even look back: "How can my talented son waste his time here?"

When he came, Prime Minister Cao had already made it clear that if Jiangdong could conquer Jiangling alone, he would naturally let it go.

But now that there is room for intervention, who will ultimately own Jiangling needs to be pondered.

The so-called thunderbolt chariot was set up that day, but it could only throw small stone bombs, which disappointed Zhang Liao.

However, Lu Meng was very excited. Since this thing can throw stone bullets into the city, it would be a pity to only use it to throw stones.

Zhang Liao showed admiration for Lu Meng for the first time, because he watched Jiangdong's military craftsmen spend the whole morning making a basket of kerosene bombs.

The principle is not complicated. There is a crispy shell on the outside, stuffed with smoldering oil lines, and it will burn when thrown into the city and broken.

Nowadays, there is a lot of kerosene in Jiangdong, but the oil line is not easy to make. Less than half of a basket of kerosene bombs can burn after falling to the ground, but this also surprises Zhang Liao.

Before Lu Meng could make another request for coordinated attack on the city, a scout from Zhang Liao's army reported:

"There is a fine cavalry coming from the north, carrying the Zhao flag."

(End of this chapter)