Three Kingdoms Eschatology

Chapter 224 Shu River Sniper

The ships that appeared in the Shu River were from the Ganning Navy.When Rahal personally led the army to compete with the Liang army for Wuyang, the Gaoshun army in Langzhong also marched to Jiangzhou.

When Rahal withdrew from Wuyang to Nan'an, the Gaoshun Army, together with Jiangzhou's Dianqing Army, Mengda Army, and Ganning Navy, took the two Zhuluo armies near Jiangzhou with absolute superiority in combat power. Easily crushed.

Then they advanced both land and water, and also used the method of "breaking down the city wall" to quickly recover Jiangyang at the confluence of the Tuojiang River and the Shujiang River.

After recovering Jiangyang, according to Feng Yu's earlier plan, Gan Ning sent a fleet to patrol the waterways of the Shu River, waiting for an opportunity to attack and intercept Zhu Luo's army.Today, it just happened that Rahal's army crossed the Shu River south.

At this time, Rahal became nervous, and hurriedly ordered the Zhuluo soldiers who were still on the pontoon bridge to prepare for the battle.A large number of crossbowmen gathered on the floating bridge.

There were also many Zhuluo crossbowmen deployed along both sides of the Shu River, and began to shoot at the Liang Army warships on the river.Although the width of the Shu River cannot be compared with that of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, it is only a hundred or so wide.

But the effective range of Zhu Luo's arrows was only more than [-] battles, just enough to reach the side of the opponent's warship.When the arrow arrives, it is at the end of its strength, and it cannot even shoot into the wooden ship's side.

The Zhu Luo soldiers on the pontoon bridge were even more nervous, holding bows and nocking arrows, waiting for the opponent to approach before firing.The spearmen raised their spears and hung a forest of guns on the pontoon bridge to prevent the opponent's warships from jumping to fight after landing on the pontoon bridge.

Fortunately for Zhu Luojun, this section of the river runs from west to east, and Liang Guo's warships were neither smooth nor smooth.The boat travels against the current entirely by the power of several stern sculls, so the speed is extremely slow.The pontoon bridge cannot be destroyed only by the collision of warships.

Zhuyang's shipyard could have built a faster Mediterranean-style galley with a collision function.But that kind of warship with multiple galleys requires a lot of manpower as oarsmen.In this period, manpower is the most precious resource.

Naturally, Feng Yu would not use precious human resources as the human engine of the ship.Therefore, he still chose to improve the traditional ship type as the main battleship of the Inland River Navy.

In this kind of warship, the uppermost deck is used as a platform for gang jumping. Except for the mast and a semi-submerged main gun turret, almost all the auxiliary facilities of pavilions and pavilions have been wiped out.

The cabin is divided into two floors, and the second deck is the shooting platform for ballistas.There are four ordinary ballistas on both sides, and one tail gun at the stern.

At this time, the dozen or so battleships suddenly broke down and stopped on the surface of the river more than a hundred battles outside the pontoon bridge.On the shore, Rahal's expression changed from nervous to puzzled.

Suddenly, he found something protruding from the "canopy" at the bow of these warships, moving up and down, left and right.In fact, this "canopy" is the semi-submerged turret of the warship.Inside is a giant ballista.

Rahal's first thought was - that thing might be a trebuchet.Before he had time to think about it, more than a dozen fireballs were thrown towards the pontoon bridge, and the Zhuluo soldiers on the pontoon bridge dodged one after another.Several of the fireballs just landed on the bridge and exploded, sending light blue flames shooting into the sky.

Some Chula soldiers were stained by the splashing alcohol and caught fire.On the bridge, Zhu Luo's soldiers suddenly became a mess.

Rahal then shouted loudly: "Quickly pass down the order to scoop up water to wet the bridge deck. This kind of fire can be extinguished quickly with water, and it can't burn wet objects!" He knew the difference between alcohol fire and naphtha fire, One look at this light blue flame, you know it is alcohol fire.

The incendiary bombs with naphtha as the combustion agent have just been put into production not long ago, and the quantity is limited, so the entire Liang army has not been installed.The Ganning Navy Corps still used alcohol incendiary bombs.

Zhu Luobing hurriedly extinguished the fire on the bridge. Under the pouring of the river, the flames were quickly extinguished.But more than ten stone bombs appeared in the air.These stone bullets weighed several tens of catties, and struck with the force of a thunderbolt.

Most of them fell into the river water, causing near-high sprays.Two shots hit the pontoon directly.Just hearing a few loud bangs, two big holes appeared on the bridge.

"Hurry up, the soldiers should speed up and pass the pontoon bridge!" Rahal hurriedly ordered after understanding what the other party was going to do.Half a quarter of an hour later, another round of stone bombs struck.

This time, more stone bombs hit the pontoon bridge.The bridge deck is full of holes, and the entire pontoon bridge is about to fall apart.

Another Zhu Luo soldier happened to be hit by a stone bullet, and his shattered body fell into the river, leaving no bones left.The terrified Zhu Luobing yelled and rushed across the pontoon bridge, many people were squeezed into the Taotao River.

After the third round of stone bombs came, ten hits were made, and the entire pontoon bridge was instantly shattered. Broken bamboo and wood drifted downstream along the waterway of the Shu River, and dozens of Zhu Luo soldiers on the bridge also fell into the water.At this time, there were still more than 3000 Zhu Luo soldiers stranded on the north bank of the Shu River.

Lahal sighed, and had no choice but to order a general to find a way to meet the Zhu Luo soldiers who were facing him, and led the army to continue to retreat to Bodao.

After the three thousand Zhu Luo soldiers panicked for a while, they left the river bank temporarily under the leadership of their respective generals.Trying to escape the sight of Liang Guo's warships on the waterway.The latter did not stay here much, and returned downstream downstream.

After learning that the opponent's warship had left, these Zhu Luo soldiers sneaked to another river bank.Suddenly there was the sound of thousands of horses galloping in the distance, and it was Liang Jun's two thousand Qingqi flying feathers who came.

They were patrolling the Tuo River of the Minjiang River, and came here immediately after receiving the report from the scouts.After approaching, a dozen scouts were sent out to search, and after a while they found the exact location of the 3000 people, and rode their horses to kill them here.

The ministries of Lahal had heard about the strength of Liang Jun's iron cavalry.They were all shocked when they heard the chaotic sound of horseshoes.

Generals at all levels yelled, urging the soldiers to line up quickly.Before they had formed a basic formation to form a shield wall, Liang Jun Qingqi Feiyu's dense arrows rushed towards him.After six or seven hundred Zhuluo soldiers were hit by arrows, they fell to the ground staggeringly.

With such a large casualty ratio, the morale of Zhu Luo's army collapsed in an instant, and how could they maintain their formation.They ran wildly to avoid.The whole scene was in chaos.At the same time, Liang Jun's Qingqi had already arrived like a tide, and the arrows in his hands were still shooting continuously.

When they were thirty battles away from the chaotic Zhu Luo soldiers, they began to turn around and circle around the crowd.Arrows were projected into the circle like locusts.In the case of a large number of long-range killings by the enemy, Zhu Luo's army was completely defeated, and both generals and soldiers fled outward in a swarm.

Liang Jun Qingqi took out his saber and began to chase the defeated soldiers.The sabers fluttered in their hands, and every time they passed a Zhu Luofan soldier, they could cut off a head.More than [-] people were almost wiped out, and only more than [-] people escaped.

Chapter 225 Zhu Luo's Great Defeat

In the autumn of the fifth year of Jian'an, in the southern part of the Central Shu Plain, large groups of Zhuluo troops marching southward could be seen from time to time.

They were all Fan soldiers stationed in Nan'an, north of Jiangyang, and various city strongholds along the Minjiang Tuojiang River, including the Zhu Luo army who besieged Chengdu.Now they received a military order from Rahal to retreat southward from various city strongholds.

The generals of Zhu Luo's army didn't know that it was even more difficult to return to Bodao safely than ascending to heaven.Because the two cities of Nan'an and Jiangyang captured by Liang Jun have gathered nearly [-] warriors.Even if Zhu Luojun could break through the interception of these Liang army cavalry, they would still be intercepted by the Ganning navy when they reached the edge of the Shu River.

……

Two hundred miles southeast of Nan'an and 150 miles northwest of Jiangyang, in the wilderness, a Zhu Luo army of about 7000 men was marching southward. All of them were listless, and even the war elephants looked listless.

Their generals kept cheering them up, saying that they would be able to return to Bodao City after a few tens of miles of crossing the river.These generals didn't know that three hours ago, their whereabouts were discovered by Liang Guo's scouts patrolling in the field.At this time, a large group of Liang Guo cavalry was approaching them.

A legionary general who was riding on the back of an elephant, with his head down and drowsy, suddenly noticed a black shadow flashing past on the back of the elephant.He raised his head in shock, and saw three golden eagles circling in the air.He recognized at a glance that these golden eagles were definitely not wild falcons, and there was no such golden eagles in Bashu area.

He immediately yelled loudly: "Attention, there are enemy scouts nearby!" As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the scream of an arrow piercing through the air.Then one after another, the arrows sounded from near to far.

The muscles on General Zhu Luo's face twitched, and he knew that it was the scouts of the other side who were sending signals to the main force nearby. "Go find them and kill them!" He roared angrily.More than a dozen Zhu Luo warriors rushed towards the distant woods.

That grove was the place where the arrows first sounded.Just as they were about to rush into the woods, they only heard a whistle, and the three big eagles that were circling in the air rushed down.

Their sharp claws grabbed the three of Zhu Luo's riders who were chasing, followed by several screams.Three of the Zhu Luo cavalry had their faces covered with blood, and they fell off their horses covering their faces.

Immediately afterwards, three fierce dogs sprang out from the forest and rushed towards the remaining Zhuluo cavalry.With the sound of the dogs whimpering, one mountain bulldog was thrown away by the opponent's spear, but the other two bulldogs flew on the horse's back, one biting the opponent's throat and the other biting the opponent's right hand.

The man whose throat was bitten fell off the horse on the spot, and the weapon that was bitten in his right hand was released immediately. He shook his arm desperately, but he couldn't shake off the bulldog, screaming again and again.

At the same time, three sharp arrows flew out from the forest, hitting the vital points of the three Zhuluo cavalrymen and shooting them off their horses.In the blink of an eye, eight Zhu Luo war cavalry were injured or injured, losing their ability to fight.

The remaining four riders bravely broke into the sparse woods, and then there were several screams, but there was no more movement in the woods.Zhu Luojun's random arrows immediately shot densely into the forest, but there was still no sound.However, the sound of thousands of horses galloping like thunder in summer came from a distance.

General Zhu Luo's expression changed, and he thought to himself: "Then he shouted: "! Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he asked his mahout to drive the elephant to the south.Thousands of Zhu Luo soldiers also rushed to the south without forming a formation.

But they didn't go long before they were bitten by Liang Jun's two thousand light-feathered flying cavalry. In a panic, they were about to form an army formation when Liang Jun's two thousand armored heavy cavalry rushed in from the side.

Zhu Luojun's elephant cavalry tried to launch a counterattack, and Liang Guo's heavy cavalry took advantage of their speed and agility to easily avoid the impact of the elephant cavalry.Not to mention those light-feathered flying knights.

But like the crossbowmen on the cavalry, they pose a lot of threats to these war cavalry.These crossbowmen are covered by saddles made of bamboo and rattan, and it is difficult for Qingqi Feiyu's arrows to hurt them.But they can shoot cold arrows at Liang Jun's war cavalry from time to time,

Although Liang Jun's heavy cavalry is protected by iron armor, the light cavalry is relatively less well protected.From time to time, Qingqi was injured by their back arrows and fell off the horse, and Qingqi was forced to distance himself from the war elephant.

However, this situation was gradually reversed as the heavy cavalry approached the war elephants to charge at close range.Those huge elephant cavalry had no advantage at all against the opponent's heavy cavalry in the chasing and hedge melee.

With a three-foot-long lance, the heavy cavalry could easily penetrate the bamboo armor of the elephants with the help of the momentum of the horses, stabbing the huge elephants to the ground.

A heavy cavalry with a gun charged forward, and a war elephant charged towards him.When the two sides were close to the distance of two battles, the heavy cavalry suddenly turned the horse's head and rushed towards the gap on the right side of the war elephant.

In the blink of an eye, he had arrived at the elephant. The Zhu Luo soldiers on the elephant pierced the elephant with a long spear, but the lance of the heavy cavalry pierced into the elephant's body in a blink of an eye.

The elephant screamed and fell to the ground.The heavy cavalry knight let go of the spear, took off the mace, and continued to gallop forward.Unexpectedly, a big pillar in the air swept over him and instantly knocked him off the horse.It was a war elephant on his left that shot him down with its trunk.

In the end, most of the war elephants were wiped out on the spot, and a small number fled away.However, Liang Jun's heavy cavalry had only eight cavalry casualties in the melee at this moment, of which six cavalry heavy cavalry were shot down by the elephant's trunk, and only two cavalry were accidentally knocked down by the opponent's war elephant.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the infantry of Zhu Luo's army formed several anti-cavalry phalanxes, and dropped dense spears to the surroundings.Like a hedgehog lying on the ground.

Liang Jun's Qingqi Feiyu surrounded him again, shooting rapidly in circles.The crossbowmen in Zhu Luojun's long spear array also fired back, but it did not produce much effect when facing the distant and high-speed moving target.

Under the rapid fire of Liang Jun Qingqi, these phalanxes finally began to flee due to continuous casualties.The heavy cavalry took the opportunity to enter the formation, and at this time the whole battle turned into a massacre...

This battle was just one of many battles in which Liang Jun's iron cavalry intercepted Zhu Luobing's retreating south.The vast majority of Zhu Luo troops who retreated south failed to escape this disaster.

There was a Zhu Luo army whose generals were very cunning.He led his troops across Tuoshui, trying to make a big circle on the east bank of Tuoshui and return to Bodao.However, Liang Jun in Jiangzhou set up an ambush in the hilly area to intercept him, and finally failed to escape the end of destruction.

Together with the Kalabola people and Zhu Luominfu, the Liang army wiped out nearly [-] Zhu Luo troops in this series of battles.After this battle, Lahal's army was severely injured, and could only hide in the narrow plain between the south bank of the Shu River and the Nanzhong Mountains.

Feng Yu continued to dispatch troops and generals, preparing for the final decisive battle in the Shuzhong Basin, driving Zhu Luofan's army out of Bashu, and recovering Bodao...

Chapter 226

In late autumn, at the head of Bodao City, Rahal, surrounded by a group of people, patrolled the defense of Bodao City.At this time, Bodao City has been built as impregnable as gold under the rush of tens of thousands of Zhuluo people.Except for the defense of the city wall itself.There is also a barrier line of defense outside the city.

In addition, a tunnel was specially dug to connect the two camps outside the city, one east and one west.Even on both sides of the road leading to the southern mountainous area, fortifications and fences were built to turn the road into a corridor.There are military brigades patrolling along this corridor throughout the day to prevent small groups of Liang Jun from infiltrating and harassing.

"What's going on with Liang Jun recently?" Rahal asked Dikal.After the battle in Central Shu, Rahal learned how powerful Liang Jun was, and summed up three lessons.The first point is that the gap between intelligence capabilities and the other party is too great, so he appointed his own brother Dikal to take full charge of intelligence work.

"Liang Jun's recent transfers have not been as frequent as before. It seems that all the ministries are in place."

"What about their strength?"

"According to the information reported by the scouts recently, the Liang armies from all walks of life near Bodao have a total of more than 3000 troops. This is not counting their navy. And these [-] are all soldiers, excluding civilian husbands and vassals. The army is inside."

When Rahal heard this, his face became more serious.Mouth repeatedly:

"Navy...Navy. The reason for our defeat in Bashu before is the lack of elite cavalry and sailors. We can use the seasons to evade the cavalry, but we have to be patient and spend time building the navy. But I I have made a request to the king, and soon a large number of shipbuilders and craftsmen will be transferred from the country."

"My brother is very right. But the construction of the Neihe Navy is not something that will happen in a short time. Our top priority is to resist the general attack that the Liang army is about to launch. Before that, the strength of our army was lost by more than half, and it will not be able to replenish it in a short time. Bo On the front line, our army only has [-] regular soldiers and [-] Kalabola conscripts. In terms of numbers, it is comparable to the Liang army, but in terms of combat power, it is far behind..."

Rahal interrupted Dikal indifferently: "Don't worry about this, as long as we stick to the fortified city. Feng Yu can't do anything to us. They can't surround us, let alone attack. I can't wait for him to attack Bodao by force. Maybe we can turn the situation around.”

Dikar said solemnly: "Brother, I have one thing to remind you. Feng Yu may not be able to surround us with more than 2 troops, nor can he attack this impenetrable Bodao City. But he may cut off our food supply." Dao. Don’t forget that he defeated our tens of thousands of troops in Shuzhong before.”

Rahal laughed and said: "We also made defensive preparations on the road leading to Nanzhong. This road is equivalent to a camp and has heavy troops. It is impossible for them to break through. But when they arrived at Nanzhong Mountain, they had no supplies. base. Their cavalry also..."

Speaking of this, Rahal suddenly stopped talking, put away his smile, and said to Dikal seriously: "Thank you, Dikal. You reminded me of a very important thing."

……

In a mountain range in South Central, eight people walked leisurely on a mountain road that was almost invisible due to the cover of weeds.Seven of them were Liang Jun mountain scouts dressed in plain clothes, and the Confucian-like man surrounded by them was Fazheng.

"Mr. Fa, we will be able to contact the Nanman later." The leader of the scout team said to Fazheng.

"How do you know that you have been in touch with these Nanman?" Fazheng asked with some doubts.

The leader of the team smiled and said, "Why did we have contact with them in advance? The reason I said this is because the spies from the Nanman were secretly observing us just now. I believe that there will be a large number of Nanman soldiers in a short while." Come round us up."

Fazheng still asked worriedly, "How can you be sure that they rounded us up instead of killing us?"

The team leader laughed again and said: "If it is a sniper kill, the five people they ambushed in the treetops and grass just now can kill us all with poisoned arrows, and we don't have to wait until now."

Fazheng said with admiration: "The king really has a way of leading troops. Elite soldiers like you are the best proof. Under such conditions, you can still detect the opponent's ambush and determine how many people there are. Such an elite scout , I am afraid that there is no other in the world."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless arrows whizzed towards him from the forest around him.However, these arrows did not hit them, but shot on the mud in front of them.Obviously, the other party didn't mean to shoot them, but to warn them.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of Nanman armed with knives and guns poured out from all sides of the forest, and surrounded the eight people tightly.Many of them pointed their bows and arrows at them.Fazheng knew some Wuman language, he said loudly: "Don't do anything, we are here to visit your leader Meng Huo."

"Who are you?" The barbarian in charge asked in blunt Chinese.

Fazheng cleared his throat, and replied: "A man named Liang Guobie is in charge of Fazheng. On the order of my great king Feng Yu, he came to pay a visit to Meng Huo, the handsome man. We have important matters to discuss!"

Several people headed by the other party looked at each other, and one of them shouted, "Put down your weapons first!"

Fazheng winked at the seven scouts around him, they clattered and dropped their weapons on the ground.The barbarians rushed forward and tied up several people in an instant, and the Liang Guo scouts did not resist at all.Then, the barbarians put blindfolds on them.Pushing them to stumble forward.

After walking for about half an hour, Fazheng felt himself being pushed onto an elephant again.After another two hours, he was taken off the blindfold by the other party.Fazheng found himself in a valley, and there was a large barbarian village in the valley.

The barbarians escorted the other seven scouts to a hut.However, Fazheng was taken alone to a larger stilted bamboo room and locked up.

For several days in a row, Nanman did nothing other than bring food and water to Fa Zhengding.On the fourth day, when it rained heavily, Fazheng was taken out of the house by several barbarians and taken to the largest bamboo building on stilts in the village.

There is a copper pot hanging above the firepit in the house, and a big man sits cross-legged behind it.He didn't lift his head when he heard Fazheng coming in, and cut his nails with a dagger.

Fazheng straightened his clothes and said to the man, "Your Excellency must be Meng Huo, the Lord of Wuman!"

The man raised his eyelids, pointed his dagger at Fazheng and said, "That's right, our family is Meng Huo. Feng Yu wants you to bring something to our family. After speaking, our family can send you on your way. On to Huangquan Road!" "

He thought that Fazheng would panic and kneel down to beg for mercy.But Fazheng continued without panic, "I was ordered by my king to show you the way..."

Chapter 227 Convincing Meng Huo

Meng Huo laughed out loud after hearing Fazheng's words.He said to Fazheng, "I've lived a good life here in Nanzhong, what way do you want me to show you? You're about to die, so if you have any last words, tell them quickly."

Fazheng said calmly and without anger: "My lord knows that since the Zhu Luofan soldiers invaded Nanzhong, they have killed a lot of you barbarians. They will regularly search mountains and burn villages and plunder and kill people. My lord intends to join forces with the general. Drive them out, drive them out of Nanzhong!"

Meng Huo said disapprovingly: "So what, they can occasionally attack a few villages in a year and a half, but they can't go deep into the hinterland of Nanzhong Mountain, but we can't. And..."

When Meng Huo said this, he suddenly stopped, as if he had some doubts.After thinking for a while, he continued: "Forget it, anyway, you are going to die soon, so it's okay to tell you. The commander of Zhu Luofan's army has also sent someone to find me in the past few days. He is willing to turn war with us barbarians into jade brocade. Then jointly general You Han people drive out of Bashu. At that time, Zhuluo's King Fan will recognize my position as the master of Nanzhong, and cut Nanzhong to let someone become his own country."

When Fazheng heard this, he was startled: "Unexpectedly, the Lord Zhu Luo has come to win over the Nanmans. If they succeed, not only will the king's plan not come true, but it may even put Bashu in danger again."

But he didn't show any emotional fluctuations on his face, and continued to say calmly: "Then do you think that the Fan army can occupy the land of Bashu? Do you know that my Liang army has defeated the Fan army in the land of Bashu just over a month ago?" In the middle of Shu, [-] people were beheaded. Now the remnants of the Fan army are compressed in the south of the Shu River, and it will be a matter of time before they are finally defeated."

Meng Huo laughed loudly again: "How can you not know about the battle you fought at the bottom of the mountain before. It is true that King Liang won the victory. But don't forget, what you defeated was only a large army of the Zhu Luo Kingdom, and There is no complete annihilation. And Zhuluo has a population of tens of millions. There are probably tens of such a large army. Others will only be able to invade Bashu again after they are replenished with soldiers. At that time, let alone Bashu, it will be Jingzhou , the Central Plains may be difficult for you Han people to keep!"

Fazheng snorted coldly, and said disdainfully: "How can the outcome of this battle be predicted by the number of troops? I think back then, when Er Yuan usurped and rebelled, the total strength was 30 to [-], and it didn't happen in an instant. .Not to mention the Zhu Luojun who came all the way from afar. Besides..."

When he said this, he glanced at Meng Huo meaningfully, and continued, "Take a step back, even if Zhu Luo's army can occupy Bashu. Do you really believe that they allow you to be the king of Nanzhong and cut off Nanzhong to stand on your own? Someone knows, Narahal is only the chief general of Zhuluo, how much weight can his words have. I think the commander should know it well."

When Meng Huo heard this, panic flashed across his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.He waved his sleeves and said: "Lahar has sent an envoy to tell me that this matter has been approved by the king of Chola, Karikala. He said ten thousand steps back, if he does not keep his promise, he can still guard the various mountains in Nanzhong. stronghold."

Fazheng said coldly: "There is a difference in words. You also know that there are tens of millions of people in Zhuluo, and you could not be wiped out before. One is because my Liang army is holding them back in Bashu, and the other is that they have not yet had time to massacre them in the future. Move in population.