When Sun Quan's central army, which was across the river and north of the Han River, was disembarking and heading north, Niu Jin led his troops in Xiangyang City to launch a surprise attack, which made the entire battlefield "come alive".
The first to bear the brunt of the attack were the 10,000 infantrymen under the command of Zhuge Jin, the left general of the Wu State, east and south of Xiangyang City.
The surprise attack came unexpectedly, and the one-mile gap between the city wall and the Wu army camp did not play much of a role. Four small camps from north to south were attacked at the same time.
In such a critical situation, the ability of a general to make decisions on the battlefield was the most tested. Zhuge Jin's answer was to abandon almost all the camps in the south and southeast of the city, and the entire army would march towards the attacked area.
For the Wu army's infantry fighting system, which was backed by rivers, having their way to the dock cut off by the enemy was an extremely fatal damage, even more serious than losing the camp.
There was another extremely important reason that forced Zhuge Jin to make this decision, that was the Crown Prince Sun Deng himself and his eldest son Zhuge Ke, both of whom were in the military camp next to the pier.
Both publicly and privately, those are the places that Zhuge Jin must save.
Thanks to the experience of Niu Jin's last night attack and then retreat, Sun Deng's first reaction was not to retreat, but to lead his personal soldiers in the camp to wait in formation. He also personally commanded the 100 troops from behind to counterattack the Wei army that broke into the camp.
A total of 8,000 troops were divided into four parts by Niu Jin.
The troops that followed Niu Jin to attack the Wu army's wharf camp numbered 3,000. The remaining 5,000 troops, each with a scale of 1,000 men, attacked the other three camps, and another 2,000 infantrymen were separated from the assault force and supported on the southern side.
This supporting army happened to collide with the reinforcements from the south of the city led by Zhuge Jin. One side had been gathering strength in the city for a long time and was eager to make achievements when the battle came. The other side had to rescue and was extremely anxious and would not give in.
As soon as the two armies engaged, the battle became fierce. Spears collided and both sides suffered losses. The lines of the Wei and Wu armies also met. The crisp sounds of ring-handled swords colliding and chopping armor, accompanied by shouts and curses, were deafening.
Niu Jin sat on his horse, looking at the Wu army position with a cold gaze: "Send a message to Sima Tong, give him another stick of incense time, if he fails to break into the Wu army camp, he will have to quit his job as Sima and go to work as a clerk to repair the city wall."
"Yes, sir." The messenger, with a red flag on his back, ran quickly towards the direction of the attacking army in the military formation.
When the Sima named Tong heard the news from his commander, he became extremely anxious and led his trusted men to attack the interior. After repelling the defending soldiers, he led the way into the last wooden fence and chopped at the surrounding Wu army with his sword.
"Follow me and push forward." After seeing the Wu army within the camp wall disintegrating, Niu Jin gave orders to his personal guards beside him. A three-meter-high flag pointed diagonally to the east with the sound of a horn. The Wei soldiers who poured into the camp hit the Wu army camp like a tide and quickly poured in.
"Prince, hurry up! It will be too late if you don't leave!"
Seeing the Wei army pressing closer and closer, Zhuge Ke and Zhang Xiu grabbed Sun Deng's wrists on the left and right, and half-pushed and half-pushed Sun Deng towards the dock.
"Let go, both of you!" Sun Deng glared at the two men and struggled hard, but he only managed to break free of Zhang Xiu's wrist. His left hand was still held by Zhuge Ke, but his right hand had already drawn a knife from his waist:
"The enemy has entered the camp. This is Sun's army. How can I not fight to the death? How can I abandon the army and flee?"
Chen Biao, who was standing by in full armor, made a sword out of his right hand and gently chopped at Sun Deng's wrist, causing the ring-handled sword in Sun Deng's hand to fall to the ground.
Chen Biao said in a deep voice from behind: "The prince is worth a lot of money. Only if he survives can he reason with others. Don't hesitate, leave quickly!"
Sun Deng had no choice but to run towards the dock under the protection of several people.
They were not the only ones in the camp who were quick-witted. Seeing that the camp was in danger, those close to the south ran towards the camp in the south. Those close to the north also ran towards the dock at the same time.
As soon as Sun Deng and the other four got on board, the boat immediately left the dock and headed towards the center of the Han River waterway.
Seeing that the boats had left and the Wei army was pursuing behind, hundreds of people jumped into the Han River at the same time, took off their armor while floating on the water, and swam towards the other side.
Not everyone in the Wu army was good at swimming, but they could not pretend that the Wei army was fighting behind them. In comparison, the Han River, which was only one mile wide, seemed more gentle.
The ships patrolling the river also discovered the military situation in the east of Xiangyang City at the first opportunity. Two ships came to meet them at the first opportunity, but they did not dock. Instead, they shot arrows at the land on the south bank from a distance of dozens of steps. The soldiers on the ships also lowered rope ladders along the edge of the hull to lead the fleeing soldiers floating in the water.
The Wei and Wu armies had a total of more than 10,000 soldiers, making the battlefield outside Xiangyang seem particularly crowded. Half an hour later, Zhuge Jin saw that there was no hope of repelling the enemy, so he used the sound of drums and flags to lead his soldiers to retreat to the camp further south, relying on his heavy military strength and the camp walls for defense.
It's not that Zhuge Jin didn't want to rescue, but he really couldn't penetrate the flank of the Wei army, so he could only resort to this last resort.
As for Sun Deng and Zhuge Ke...
Zhuge Jin didn't understand Sun Deng, but he definitely understood his eldest son Zhuge Ke. The camp was right next to the dock, facing the Han River. In a critical situation, they should not fall into the enemy's army. Trying hard to rescue but not being able to rescue and deliberately not rescuing are two different concepts. On the ship, Sun Deng, who was already safe, silently looked towards the south bank, his eyes full of melancholy. Zhuge Ke, Zhang Xiu, Gu Tan, and Chen Biao stood behind Sun Deng, and it was not easy to say anything.
Although this was an emergency move after the camp was breached, he fled and there was no room for explanation. Moreover, of the 100 soldiers that Sun Quan sent to Sun Deng, only eight were left on the ship with him, and the whereabouts of the remaining 90 or so soldiers were still unknown.
Seeing a large number of Wei troops rushing to the dock, there were more than ten horsemen under the red and black flags, who seemed to be pointing something from a distance. Although Sun Deng could not see their faces clearly, he could sense some pride.
"Brother Yuanxun, please move the boat closer!" Sun Deng said in a low voice.
"Prince, I'm afraid there will be danger..." Zhuge Ke had just said this when Sun Deng beside him became furious:
"If the Wei army shoots arrows, won't you hold shields for me? You four are all nobles, but today you are more afraid of death than me, the prince?"
“Go quickly!!”
Zhuge Ke shook his head helplessly, and had to follow orders and shout hello to Du Bo who was commanding the tower ship.
As the tower ship approached and was within the range of the arrows, Sun Deng took out an arrow that was slightly different in shape from the ones used by the Wu army from the quiver hanging at his side. He then asked Gu Tan for his own bow, drew the bow and arrow, held his breath for a few moments, and the arrow drew a smooth arc in the air and pierced the Wei army's general's flag.
After all, he was the grandson of Sun Jian and Sun Wentai, the nephew of Sun Ce and Sun Bofu, and the eldest son of King of Wu Sun Quan. Although the bravery inherited in his blood could not help him hold the front line when the camp was broken, it still supported him at this moment to vent his anger towards the Wei army's flag.
After Sun Deng, dozens of soldiers on the ship closest to the dock, where he was, also began to shoot arrows towards the shore.
On the dock, a group of Wei army officers and soldiers raised their shields to block the arrows. A few unlucky guys were still hit by arrows, but overall they were safe.
"General, this..."
Before the tower ship fired its arrows, an arrow shot from the ship pierced the general's flag, making the officers beside Niu Jin pale. They looked at the Wu army tower ship, then turned to look at their own general, fearing that Niu Jin would be unhappy.
Niu Jin sneered, staring at the people on the highest part of the Wu army's ship, took out his black and purple bow from the side of the horse, took out an arrow from the quiver, drew the bow and shot without a pause.
After the arrows were shot, Niu Jin did not even look at them. He turned his horse and rode away, and ordered loudly: "Quickly burn the dock, tear down the fences, destroy the walls, and then abandon this place. The whole army will follow me south!"
"Yes, sir!" The Wei army officers beside him responded at the same time and went to carry out the military order.
At this moment, Sun Deng on the ship was looking at the arrow nailed on the shield in Chen Biao's hand, and he was stunned. If Chen Biao hadn't protected himself with the shield, the arrow would have hit him in the face.
This feather arrow was exactly the same as the one that had shot at his feet that night...
Sun Quan, who was on the north side of the Han River, hesitated for a moment when faced with the sudden news from the south bank of the Han River. He then ordered the soldiers who had already disembarked and assembled to get back on board and then cross the Han River to the south.
This is the fastest result.
After all, Sun Quan himself was in the army. He was the King of Wu, so he could naturally issue orders. If it were an ordinary general, even a close minister like Hu Zong himself, it would be difficult for him to make such a quick decision.
When the Wu troops on the north bank boarded the boats, Quan Cong also rode out from the battle array and came over. When he reached Sun Quan's side, he did not even have time to dismount. He pulled the reins and asked loudly:
"Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty. What should I and the Right General do today?"
"Zi Huang, you will take over the northern frontier!" Sun Quan shouted in a deep voice, "Today, you can stop the Wei army five miles north of the city. Don't let them get any closer!"
"As ordered!"
Quan Cong listened to Sun Quan's order without further ado, turned his horse and returned to his camp. He sent someone to inform Bu Zhi, and then formed a battle formation and marched north.
By the time Sun Quan led 10,000 troops to the south of the Han River, more than half an hour had passed. Niu Jin's soldiers had done their best to destroy the camp, but they were forced to engage in battle with the Wu army in the south, so they could not destroy the dock completely for a while, and the Wu soldiers on the river boats got off the boats and extinguished the flames.
Zhao Yan made his own arrangements on the top of the city wall. When he saw Sun Quan's army approaching, he used a military drum to inform Niu Jin of the news. The Wu army in the south was defending the camp and its strength was increasing. In addition, the results of today's battle were sufficient, so Niu Jin was able to retreat back to the city calmly.
Only Sun Quan and Zhuge Jin, who had hurried over, were left standing in silence for a while. (End of this chapter)
