Eight miles north of Baogukou, small boats were nailed together and rafts were tied together.
There is no way, the current is too fast, so it has to be like this.
If the raft is not tied up and scattered by the rapids, how can a landing operation be organized even if it successfully docks downstream?
"Put on your armor, put on your armor, put on your armor quickly!"
Supervising the troops ran back and forth, forcing the soldiers to wear armor.
The soldiers of the Western Army were procrastinating, and those who knew how to swim were determined not to wear it. If the raft capsized, they could still swim ashore without armor, but if they wore armor, they would wait to feed the fish.
The original plan was to attack by boat in the morning, but it was delayed until noon.
If there are too many soldiers who are unwilling to wear armor, the supervising team will not dare to kill them all, otherwise they will cause a mutiny for you on the spot.
Zhong Shidao had no choice but to give the order: "Whether or not to wear armor depends on the soldiers' wishes."
Saying this is tantamount to giving up hope. Whether you win or lose depends entirely on God's will.
Historically, the Zhong division led troops to rescue Taiyuan, but they were forced to march in this way, without even bringing enough food and grass with the army. As a result, a large number of soldiers fled halfway through the journey, and Yang Zhi ran away at that time.
With tears in his eyes, Master Zhong watched his two sons board the ship.
Brothers Zhong Hao and Zhong Xi thought carefully and took off their armor, then they both turned to say goodbye to their father.
A farewell at this time may very well be an eternal farewell.
Zhe Yanzhi, Zhe Yanwen and other young members of the Zhe family also said goodbye to Zhe Keqiu and Zhe Kecun.
Zhe Keqiu looked back at the north, his eyes full of resentment. He hated both the eunuchs and the army, and he also hated the dog emperor in Tokyo.
Zhe Keqiu has made up his mind that no matter whether he wins or loses this battle, as long as the children of the Zhe family can survive, they will no longer listen to the orders of the Dog Emperor. When encountering a battle, he will run if he can, and if he can't run, he will surrender directly.
Let your nephews and nephews die today. The Zhe family has already been worthy of the Song Dynasty!
There are eight, ten, or fifteen small boats tied together, each of which can accommodate a hundred soldiers. Bamboo and wooden rafts are similar, and they are all basic combat units. Either the rafts capsize and they are all destroyed, or they land together to fight on the shore.
Before boarding the ship, the soldiers still complained.
After being forced to board the ship, everyone became quiet and marched toward death in silence.
Especially when the raft comes to the plank road area, it is impossible to escape even if you jump into the river, because there are cliffs on both sides.
Ju Ming used his telescope to see the spectacular scene. He was amazed and then ordered: "Fire one round each with artillery, flat artillery, and bows and arrows. The whole army shouted, 'Throw away your weapons to avoid death.' The officers and soldiers who threw away their weapons were allowed to
They come ashore. If the officers and soldiers still have weapons, beat them to death!"
More than a dozen messengers immediately ran to both sides of the Taiwan Strait to deliver the message.
Orihiko was squatting on the bow of the boat, holding a spear. His "general ship" consisted of ten small boats.
Although the water flow is turbulent, it still moves forward smoothly.
The eight-mile-long river flows down the river and quickly passes the Shimen.
Orihiko yelled: "Paddle to the left and dock..."
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The sound of shelling came one after another. Whether it was the giant iron cannon on the front dam or the squatting cannon on both sides of the river, they all used stone bullets to shoot towards the water.
There were also more than 200 flat artillery pieces, throwing stone projectiles onto the water.
In an instant, water splashed all over the Bao River, a few boats and rafts were smashed and capsized by the waves, and more boats and rafts were spun around in circles by the huge waves.
In this round of shooting alone, five to six hundred Western troops fell into the water.
Those in armor and those who couldn't swim drank the river water.
Those who were not wearing armor and could swim were swept further downstream by the rapids, their heads rising and falling on the water's surface.
Orihiko saw with his own eyes that the Tanakai River fell into the water, and the chain boat he was riding on was unable to control its direction and floated downstream.
"Throw away your weapons and avoid death!"
"Throw away your weapons and avoid death!"
Nearly 20,000 rebels were shouting on the river bank. Unfortunately, the shouts were not uniform and it was difficult to hear clearly in the chaos.
Zhu Ming issued the military order again: "The squad leader leads the whole team and shouts together."
Orihiko was drifting and spinning, and was swept more than forty meters by the rapids. Finally, the soldiers stabilized the boat, and then turned and rowed towards the shore.
Still more than ten meters away from the shore, more than a hundred soldiers on his boat finally heard what the pirates were shouting.
The shocked Western troops threw their weapons into the river one after another as if they had grasped straws to save their lives.
After Orihiko stabilized his body, he was about to shoot an arrow towards the shore. When he saw this, he immediately roared: "Don't throw away your weapon!"
"Lang Jun, it's important to stay alive!" the soldier beside him said with a cry.
Immediately, these pro-soldiers held Orihikozhi down, forcibly took away Orihikozhi's spear, and then pulled out the sword from his waist and threw it away.
Orihiko sat in the bow of the boat in despair, not even knowing how he got ashore.
When he came to his senses, countless Western troops had gathered on the shore, all of them empty-handed and without weapons.
Without any resistance from the chain boats (rafts), even if any officer wanted to fight, the soldiers would join forces and take away their weapons.
At this point in the war, the rebel navy has not yet been dispatched.
It seemed that Ju Ming and Zhong Shidao had made an agreement to send the soldiers of the Western Army to surrender.
The rebel navy finally moved, but it was not to fight, but to rescue the Western troops who fell into the water.
Zhongshi Dao's second son, Zhongxi, was not wearing armor. Under the impact of the rapids, he swam with all his strength to the downstream weir. When he was picked up by the rebels, he was so tired that he lost all strength and was filled with turbid river water.
Orihiko was taken away as a prisoner of war, and unexpectedly met Tanakai in the prisoner of war camp.
Zhong Xi managed to regain some strength and quickly asked, "Have you seen my brother?"
Zhe Yanzhi shook his head: "It was too chaotic and I didn't see it."
"I saw it," said a soldier next to him.
"Where?" Zhong Xi asked anxiously.
The soldier said: "A big stone flew over and landed on Zhongduzhi's boat. The tied boats were smashed apart by stones on the spot, and Zhongduzhi flew more than ten feet high and fell into the water."
Zhong Xi stood up blankly and looked into the turbid water.
The rebel naval forces were still busy. When they saw the Western soldiers struggling in the water, they immediately stretched out their long bamboo poles to rescue them.
Zhe Yanzhi was completely convinced and said with emotion: "Zhu... is really benevolent and righteous. If the thieves fell into the water, the officers and soldiers would just pick up the corpses and cut off the heads."
There was a lot of wood piled up in the prisoner-of-war camp, which was originally a place for storing supplies.
There are numbers on the front of each pile of wood, such as "A-4", "B-1", "D-10" and so on.
But I saw a few carpenters selecting them for a while, and then asked the peasants to carry away more than ten pieces.
These are all stack beams, and the numbers correspond to the stack holes.
Strictly number when disassembling, and restore according to the number when installing, otherwise the size of the stack holes will not match.
The last ten meters of the plank road that Master Zhong had dreamed of repairing were repaired by Ju Ming on his own initiative by sending carpenters.
In order to prevent the Western Army from causing trouble, the tiger crouching artillery and muskets were always on standby.
As evening approached, the prisoners were ordered to line up to receive their meals, and Orihiko and Tanekei also lined up honestly.
But I heard some rebels saying over there where the meal was being served: "Xianggong Zhu and Zhu Dalang rebelled because the emperor was cruel, traitors were in power, and corrupt officials preyed on the people. The emperor and corrupt officials did not let the people live a good life, so Xianggong Zhu and Zhu Dalang rebelled.
Let the people make the decision. Here in Sichuan, there are no excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and everyone can have enough food and clothing. Okay, just memorize them all, and you can eat after you have finished memorizing them. Once you have filled your stomach, you can go back."
The prisoners in the front recited it intermittently. It was not necessary for every word to be accurate, as long as they could repeat the general meaning.
If you really can't recite something, just stand nearby and listen to other prisoners of war recite it. When you memorize it well, you will receive food.
"My family has been loyal to the emperor and served the country for generations. How can I say such slanderous words about the emperor!" came a voice.
Zhong Xi was overjoyed when he heard that it was his brother Zhong Hao's voice.
The rebel who was serving the meal said angrily: "If you don't carry it, you won't be given the meal, and you'll have to stand while you go!"
There were more than 20 large pots with rice on them, and the words "slandering the king" were recited very quickly. In a blink of an eye, it was the turn of Zangxi and Zheyanzhi.
A good man doesn't want to suffer the immediate consequences, so both of them scolded the ignorant and corrupt officials, and they felt quite happy after scolding them.
Orihiko was sitting on the ground drinking porridge when he suddenly heard a noise behind him.
He turned around and saw several groups of rebel soldiers, guarding a thief general riding a tall horse, wearing golden armor and a red cloak.
The helmet and collar have been pulled down, so it's not clear what the thief looks like, but the flag in front of him has the word "zhu" written on it.
The rebels who were clearing the way sounded their gongs and shouted: "General Zhu is here!"
Only then did the prisoners of war realize that it was Little Zhu Thief who had arrived, and they instantly felt that this man was even more majestic.
There were even some soldiers of the Western Army who were rescued from the water by the rebels. They knelt down and kowtowed on the spot to thank General Zhu for his life.
Ju Ming rode up to the cauldron and suddenly said: "Cook some more broth and add enough salt."
After saying that, he rode the cornucopia and left from the other side of the prisoner of war camp.
The rebels quickly brought dozens of large pots and threw in the fat, bones, and internal organs to make soup. They also put in an extremely generous amount of salt.
All the prisoners of war, except for a few who did not want to curse the emperor, were given a bowl of hot bone soup.
Zhongxi even heard the praises of the soldiers, saying that Zhu Dalang was very benevolent and righteous, and there was no such good traitor in the world.
"It really can win people's hearts." Zhong Xi whispered.
Zhe Yanzhi said amusedly: "This is what soldiers do. Even I feel comfortable."
The prisoners of war were very obedient and did whatever the rebels asked them to do because they would be released soon.
Anyone who makes noise and makes trouble at this time will probably be beaten to death by the Western Army prisoners before the rebels suppress him.
"Everyone who has finished eating, come here and line up. I'll let you go home!" a rebel officer shouted.
Immediately, many prisoners of war ran over and were beaten with sticks by the rebels due to confusion during the queue.
When these prisoners of war were beaten, they bent over and smiled to compensate, without any resentment in their hearts.
Teams of five people were taken to Shimen in batches.
Zhongshidao had long received news that the rebels were building a plank road. He was still immersed in the pain of "losing his son" and was afraid that the rebels would take advantage of the victory to kill him, so he ordered the entire army to retreat and demolish the north end of the plank road.
It was already dark at this time, and one group after another of prisoners returned from the plank road in the dark, walking a full eight miles before arriving.
Then I found that I couldn't go back, as the plank road was demolished by a long section of the plank road.
"We are all from the Western Army and were released by the rebels!"
"I am Orishiro's soldier!"
"I am Zhong Erlang's soldier!"
"..."
The shouts kept coming and going, but Master Zhong didn't dare to let them come.
An outrageous scene occurred. Countless Western prisoners of war were released, but they were blocked by their own people on the eight-mile-long plank road.
He rested on the plank road all night like this. It was not until dawn the next day that Master Zhong came out in person and asked about the situation across the demolished plank road.
When these prisoners boarded the ship and set off, they all thought they were going to die.
Now they were well entertained by the rebels and came back with a full meal, and everyone was filled with the joy of escaping.
Their impression of Ju Ming was so good that they began to complain about Master Zhong.
It was the teacher's way of sending them to death and leaving them to dry on the plank road all night. The comparison between the two made General Zhu even more benevolent and righteous.
Zhong Shidao's mood at the moment was extremely complicated. He was naturally happy that the soldiers came back alive. After all, they were all soldiers from his hometown.
But all of them were empty-handed, and the few who were wearing armor and survived had their armor stripped off by the rebels.
There are so many soldiers without armor, which are useless in fighting. They have to consume his food and grass and will probably spread the name of Ju Ming's benevolence and righteousness.
