Book 21 - Chapter 7 – Fierce Battle in River and Lake[1] (1/2)
Chapter 7 – Fierce Battle in River and Lake[1]
Little Lingzhong was playing on the velvety cotton-paddedarea of his cabin, under the care of the young ht Sitting in the corner, Xu Ziling watched with a s in pain, his breathing was ragged
Fortunately, Bu Tianzhi arrived this moment The two e
Bu Tianzhi said, “We received the latest intelligence: Zhong Ye has assuenerals and soldiers under his coo they captured Xiapi, and also destroyed Ku Ge’s Khitan group of horse-es foriance to hi else has beco Ye indeed did not disappoint our expectation”
Xu Ziling inwardly thought that Kou Zhong has finally spread out his ht It seemed like in the world, other than Li shi+min, Du Fuwei, Dou Jiande, Liu Wuzhou, and Xiao Xian, these several particularly outstanding emons, the rest would find it difficult to be his opponent “Is he still in Xiapi now?” he asked
“That is a big possibility,” Bu Tianzhi replied, “Therefore, we are thinking of changing course, to follow the Huai River going east, after passing Hongze Lake [in Jiangsu] and Chengzi Lake, we turn north to Si River, and then after Huaiyang we can reach Luoma Lake Xiapi is located northwest of Luodu, we cansaid, “This way our journey will be two days farther, plus we have to break through that section, Zhongli City Are you sure?”
Bu Tianzhi s’s navy has always been weak, tiain they are thwarted by Du Fuwei, so we need not be afraid Plus we have always had business deal with hiive us a bit of face”
“How’s Xiao Xian’s relationshi+p with hi asked
Bu Tianzhi replied, “Xiao Xian has been secretly supporting Li Zitong, his objective is to drag Du Fuwei’s hind legs But Ziling need not worry that Li Zitong would beco is only a dog who does not have time to take care of hith is a trivial three warshi+ps, our performance exceeds his, plus we have our li’s navy h to scareboats, but they cannot stop us”
Under nor did not need to consider his own safety, but for the sake of little Lingzhong’s safety, also to avoid Susu’s remains to be disturbed, he had no choice but to be cautious
After asking Bu Tianzhi further about all kinds of contingency plans, he finally set his heart at ease and nodded his agreement
By dusk that day, the shi+ps arrived at Zhongli Contrary to Xu Ziling’s expectation, Zhongli’s navy did not give theer away
Trouble caze Lake
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The fleet of shi+ps slowly turned a bend and enter a straight section, where the river suddenly narrowed, and the strea’s cojin were standing on the bridge, fixing their eyes on the river ahead
Following the setting sun, the earth gradually grew di, and entered what Kou Zhong thought to be the erous section of the river Threeto the north along the coastal area for another sichen or so, they would arrive at Donghai City
At Muyang, the fleet yuan carand plan to attack Donghai City After a bit of mutual deception, the fleet continued their journey at double speed
Jiao Hongjin spoke in low voice, “This river is unreasonably quiet, not even a single fishi+ng boat is in sight This is the ti ho fish on the sea”
On their left they saw lantern light blinking at certain pattern, a certain sign that the enemy’s navy in some kind of deploye like originally expected
Jiao Hongjin and Kou Zhong looked at each other They both felt that soaze around; he asked, “What kind of place is ahead?”
Jiao Hongjin replied in heavy voice, “About four li ahead is Du Long Xia [poisonous dragon gorge]; both side of the gorge are steepthe river is full of reefs, the river becomes a rapid But General Luo has already dispatched his ement, they can’t possibly deceive our eyes and ears”
Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, “The situation is very bad; weShuwen”
Frowning, Jiao Hongjin said, “Since they are not going to ae us into battle, how are they going to deal with us?”
With a grave expression Kou Zhong said, “It is precisely because we cannot see through their arrange”
He issued an order, the shi+p cast its anchor
Jiao Hongjin spoke in low voice, “Could it be that ronged Li Xingyuan? Perhaps he really wanted to take refuge in us”
Kou Zhong resolutely said, “I definitely did nothis exajin turned his head around to look; in the di down, following the command shi+p, ready to cast their anchor The river looked calhed and said, “Oh my God! This time our navy shi+ps are done for!”
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Battleshi+ps covered the Hongze Lake like the cloud; tense atmosphere permeated the air
Under cover of the starry sky, this fourth largest freshwater lake in the Central Plains appeared to be extending forever into the distance More than a dozen hostile warshi+ps appeared on the surface of the lake in fan-shaped formation, so they have the potential to close in and surround theze Lake was that there were reeds everywhere, practically covering the entire lake, so lush and flourishi+ng that it was difficult for boats to sail on it Furthermore, the botto up and down The e depth was only within 10 chi; therefore, even if one dived into the water to flee for his life, it would still be difficult evade the enemy’s powerful arrows
The enemy’s move was obviously a deliberate, well-planned operation
It was at this point they finally understood why the Zhongli City’s Li Army easily let them pass, because once they reached this place, they could only be involved in a chaotic warfare on the vast, boundless flat lake Furthermore, with multitude eneround, they would not be able to leave the water, go to the shore and escape on land This was a carefully laid trap targeting Xu Ziling, a top quality martial art master
Shaken, Bu Tianzhi said, “Unexpectedly they are Da Jiang Hui [great river society] shi+ps [See Book 7 Chapter 1]”
Frowning, Xu Ziling said, “Are they under the Da Jiang Hui’s ‘Dragon Lord’ Pei Yue and the ‘Tiger Lord’ Pei Yan’s leadershi+p, and not under Zheng Shutze River Alliance]?”
In the past, he and Kou Zhong left Shuang Long Bang’s [twin-dragon gang] ‘thief nest’ hauling salt into the Yangtze River, when Pei Yan, in co Kuijie, clipped their tail and pursued the on thick, black sain today
This ’s other side and answered his question, “They are precisely the ‘Snake and Dog Two Lords’ on’t shrink froh to take shelter under Li Zitong, who is on his way downhill It is really hard to believe”
Bu Tianzhi shook his head and said, “These tlyon is Xiao Xian Hu asked, “Can we release black smoke to confuse the enemy and then wait for the opportunity to escape?”
Chen Lao, plus on the lake, releasing sy andhis hand, he shouted loudly, “Brothers! Prepare for battle!”
Immediately battle drums shook the heavens, the sound reverberated far and wide
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Kou Zhong whispered in Jiao Hongjin’s ear, “Look at the hull of our shi+p where it contacts the water”
And then he shouted loudly, “Continue to sail, the slower the better!”
Jiao Hongjin focused his attention to look; severely shaken, he said, “Oh my God! Someone play a trick on our shi+p”