Between advancing and retreating, Sun Quan hesitated. In fact, he knew very well that he was now unable to make a comeback, and continuing to fight would only increase casualties.
But if he just retreated, he would be giving up tens of thousands of soldiers on the front line. Such a huge loss was unacceptable to Sun Quan.
Moreover, Sun Quan was only a nominal commander in the previous campaign against Li Shu in Lujiang. This was his first real battle with an army. If he returned with a huge defeat, it would have a huge blow to his prestige. Those
The Shanyue, heroes, and Yellow Turbans lurking in various parts of Jiangdong will definitely take the opportunity to start a rebellion.
By then, in order to quell rebellions in various places, he will inevitably rely more on his father, brother and old ministers. His plan to take power will be greatly delayed, and it is not impossible that he will even become a puppet.
Therefore, this battle must not be lost.
Of course, Sun Quan did not expect to win. As long as he could defeat Huang Zu's army and "retreat unscathed," he would be satisfied.
With the decision made in his heart, Sun Quan immediately ordered his clan brother, Wei Kou Zhonglang, Sun He, to lead his warships to the front line to support Xu Kun.
Sun He served the Sun family for three generations, serving as a pioneer and a trusted advisor. He was a general in the clan. After receiving Sun Quan's order, he organized warships as quickly as possible and rushed to the battlefield.
Sun He's actions were not unpleasant, but when he came to the front line, even though he was mentally prepared, he couldn't help being surprised. He saw Huang Zu's navy advancing with the current, sweeping through the front army with an unstoppable force, almost cutting through the middle road.
.The reason why our side has not completely collapsed is because the coach Xu Kun refuses to retreat.
Xu Kun was in a very bad situation at this time. His ship was surrounded by several battleships of Huang Zu's navy. For a time, dangers arose one after another and he was in danger.
Sun He and Xu Kun had followed Sun Jian since they were young. Not only were they similar in age, but they also had similar interests and a deep friendship. Regardless of whether they were public or private, he could not just sit back and watch their defeat, so he immediately rushed into the siege to rescue Xu Kun.
"Hahahaha..." Seeing the navy advancing all the way, with overwhelming momentum, and already in sight of victory, Huang Zu couldn't help stroking his beard and laughing.
Huang Zu was a tall man with a handsome appearance. He worked as a blacksmith in his early years and later worked in the military. Therefore, even though he was nearly sixty years old, his body was still very strong and not old.
Huang Zu smiled at the people on the deck and said: "I used to laugh at Cai Degui. He commanded a country's navy. Facing Liu Jing's children, he lost consecutive battles, and his reputation was ruined. Today, when I see him showing off his power, I know that Cai Degui can't be defeated.
injustice."
Huang She nodded and said: "The pole is indeed the most powerful weapon in water warfare. Our army has this weapon, and it is easy to defeat the Jiangdong army."
Huang She was the eldest son of Huang Zu, and he was worshiped as the prefect of Zhangling. You must know that Liu Biao was named Jingzhou Mu. In fact, he only controlled four or five counties. And the Huang family and his son were both prefects. Their power was unparalleled in the entire Jingzhou.
The one on the right.
"Our army will win, our army will win..." This time the speaker was not a human being, but a parrot with colorful feathers and a red beak, with impressive aura.
This parrot was presented to Huang She by a businessman a few years ago, and later Huang She presented it to his father. Mi Heng, a famous scholar from Qingzhou, once made it for him, and it is still widely circulated in the Chu region.
Now the parrot is still there, but Ni Heng is dead. He was a talented person, but it is a pity that he was so arrogant that he even ignored Cao Cao and Liu Biao. He was insulted and arrogant, and finally died at the hands of Huang Zu.
As soon as the parrot opened his mouth, everyone on the deck, from Huang Zu down, laughed.
At this time, a large number of Jiangdong warships were suddenly seen rushing out from Xiakou and joining the battlefield, trying to reverse the defeat. Huang Zu shook his head and sneered: "Sun Quan, my son, is unwilling to fail and is still struggling to his death."
The mere front army could not satisfy Huang Zu's appetite at all. If Sun Quan decisively withdrew his troops at this time, he would really have nothing to do with him. Fortunately, Sun Quan had no intention of retreating, which was exactly what he wanted.
Huang She also shook his head and said: "Doing something you know you can't do is a taboo in military use. Compared with his father and brother, Sun Quan is really a pig with a dog's ears."
Huang Zu was deeply convinced by his son's words, and immediately sent orders to the governors Su Fei and Chen Jiu, ordering them to defeat the current enemy as soon as possible, and then take advantage of the power of victory to counterattack Xiakou, hoping to conquer the entire Jiangdong army.
Su Fei, the commander-in-chief of Huang Zu's army, was on a huge ship with carved colorful paintings and a mountainous structure. There were six shooting poles at the bow, stern and both sides of the ship. This was not a decoration. Since the war started, four Jiangdong Army warships had been destroyed.
Su Fei was nearly young, with a rugged face, thick moustache, and a mighty appearance. When he was young, he was a ranger. When he saw the world was in chaos, he gathered thousands of guests and became the leader of the party. Later, he joined Huang Zu's command, and for more than ten years he was on horseback and on horseback.
He went through life and death, had outstanding military exploits, and was the second-ranking figure in Huang Zujun.
Su Fei stood with his sword in hand with a serious look on his face. Under his command, Xu Kun, the former commander of the Jiangdong Army, had become a turtle in the urn and was about to capture him. He didn't expect Sun He to suddenly kill him and almost rescued him by himself.
Xu Kun.
However, Su Fei was not discouraged by this. Although Xu Kun escaped, it was not enough to change the general trend of the battlefield. The balance of victory continued to tilt towards his side.
Soon, Huang Zu's order came. Su Fei personally cheered and cheered, and another commander-in-chief Chen Jiu also came to the front line. Encouraged by the two men, Huang Zu's soldiers all enthusiastically launched a final fierce attack on Jiangdong's army.
.
After Sun He rescued Xu Kun, the two tried their best to get rid of Huang Zujun's encirclement and interception. Unfortunately, Huang Zujun didn't give them any time to breathe. Facing the fierce attack of Huang Zujun, Jiangdong Army retreated steadily, and Jiangdong was everywhere on the river.
The wreckage of the army's boat and the corpses of the soldiers were found, and the scene was horrific.
The first to collapse were the former officers and soldiers of the Jiangdong Army. They first attacked Xiakou and then fought against Huang Zu's navy. After repeated battles, they were already exhausted.
What's even worse is that they have no hope of victory at all. Facing a losing battle, the former officers and soldiers of the Jiangdong Army finally couldn't hold on any longer and turned around and fled one after another.
The flight of the frontline soldiers quickly triggered a chain reaction. More and more Jiangdong warships began to turn around and flee. Xu Kun and Sun He tried their best to stop them. However, water was no better than on land, and it was basically impossible to effectively prevent the soldiers from fleeing.
When the boats brought by Sun He from behind also joined the fleeing team, Xu Kun and Sun He knew that the situation was over and there was no way to recover. They sighed secretly and allowed the soldiers to take advantage of them and flee.
However, it was not easy for Jiangdong Army to escape from the battlefield. The Xiakou channel was narrow. Jiangdong Army soldiers panicked and swarmed to Xiakou, which was immediately blocked.
At this time, the officers and soldiers of the Huang Zu Army on the cliffs on both sides of Xiakou took the opportunity to set fire. The Jiangdong Army boats were connected end to end and burned into a mass in an instant. As a result, Xiakou became even more difficult to pass.
Because Xu Kun and Sun He retreated late and fell behind, their way back was naturally blocked. The road ahead was blocked and the enemy arrived from behind. They had no choice but to abandon their ship, land on the south bank, and escape by land.
Under the desperate situation, the Jiangdong Army officers and soldiers each found their own way to make a living. Some followed Xu Kun and Sun He and landed ashore, and many surrendered to Huang Zu's army.
Under the crazy attack of Huang Zu's warships, only about 2,000 Jiangdong Army soldiers managed to escape to the south bank. However, before the Jiangdong Army officers and soldiers had time to rejoice that they had survived the disaster, thousands of enemy troops suddenly appeared in the mountains and forests of the southwest.
This ambush was the reinforcements sent by Liu Biao not long ago to support Huang Zu.
The officers and soldiers of the Jiangdong Army were so frightened that most of their long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows, spears and halberds were abandoned in order to facilitate their escape. Some even threw away their knives.
The incoming enemies were all heavy with crossbows and spears. Fighting with them would definitely lead to death or death. Jiangdong's soldiers did not wait for the enemy to approach, so they dispersed and fled in two directions: east and north.
"Kill..." Zhonglang General Wang Wei raised his sword and shouted, "The people from Jiangdong invaded the prefectures and counties without any reason, harmed the people, and committed numerous crimes. They are really like jackals. We must not let them go!"
"Kill... kill all the people in Jiangdong..." Thousands of soldiers shared the same hatred and rushed towards the fleeing Jiangdong army like a stormy wave.
Looking at the overwhelming enemy, Sun He smiled miserably and said to Xu Kun beside him: "Ziyu, I will stay here and you will return north as soon as possible."
When he abandoned the ship and landed ashore, he was shot in the right leg by a stray arrow from Huang Zu's army. The injury was quite serious, and there was basically no hope of escape. Instead of running away in a hurry and being overtaken and killed by the enemy, it was better to take the initiative to stay behind.
"Bo Hai..." Xu Kun couldn't bear to leave Sun He behind and escape alone. He had been trapped in a tight siege before, and his life was hanging by a thread. It was only because of Sun He's sacrifice that he could save his life. He was the one who had to save his life.
Sun He sighed: "Ziyu doesn't need to worry about it. I'm wounded in the leg and can't walk away anymore, but it's different for you. This time the expedition against Jiangxia is unfavorable, and there will be disaster in Jiangdong. You have to stay by the captive's side and help him tide over the difficulties."
After saying that, he shouted at Xu Kun: "Let's go!"
"Bo Hai..." Xu Kun took a deep look at Sun He, then turned and left.
Sun He's bodyguards and more than 300 people who volunteered to kill the latter formed a circular formation with swords in their hands, and stood in front of the Jingzhou army.
Although Sun He and others were determined to die and their combat power doubled, the number of Jingzhou troops was ten times theirs. Soon after, Sun He and others were completely overwhelmed by the Jingzhou army.