mesbooks Chapter 406 Lü Dai is successfully surrounded
Chapter 406 Lü Dai is successfully surrounded
Zhuge Ke was captivated by the beautiful scene described by Zhou Xun. He instantly lost interest in the giant ship Yuan Xun was flying high, but he was reluctant to give it up. He couldn't help but frown and fall into a dilemma.
His lips twitched a few times, but before he could make a decision, he suddenly realized something and hurriedly asked, "Wait a minute, this is the mouth of Kuaiji Bay. Why aren't you staying in Kuaiji Bay? Are you training or going on a mission?"
Zhou Xun did not hide anything and truthfully told him that he was ordered to attack Lü Dai.
Zhuge Ke immediately perked up and said excitedly, "I can give you the ship, but you have to take me with you on this expedition. I want to see the true strength of the treasure ship and know if my newly built warship can easily ram and destroy Lü Dai's fleet."
Zhou Xun asked in surprise, "It's possible, but what will happen to the shipyard if you leave? Aren't you still building new treasure ships?"
Zhuge Ke replied, "I don't understand shipbuilding technology. Staying in the shipyard would just be an eyesore. Leaving for a while won't have any impact. Besides, I'm not going ashore. I'll come back after defeating Lü Dai's fleet."
Seeing this, Zhou Xun did not ask any further questions and readily agreed. He immediately handed over the treasure ship to Zhuge Ke, giving the giant ship under his feet to Zhuge Ke as a temporary flagship, while he himself took the treasure ship and turned it into a new flagship.
Upon returning to the treasure ship, Zhuge Ke personally lowered the Yuanxun flag, carefully folded it, and placed it in a box. This was his symbol of identity, and he would need to use it in the future, so he had to keep it safe.
Watching Zhuge Ke lower the flag, Ji Jie couldn't help but give Zhou Xun a thumbs up. Commander Zhou is really something. He tricked Zhuge Ke into handing over the treasure ship that he regarded as a precious gem with just a few words. I admire him.
After the handover was completed, Zhou Xun boarded a treasure ship and led the fleet towards Yongning.
Kuaiji Bay is not far from Yongning, and with favorable winds, it only takes three days to reach the shore. When Zhou Xun, Zhuge Ke, and Ji Jie arrived at the Yongning coast, they were dumbfounded. The sea was completely bare, with not a single fleet or even a canoe.
Didn't they say Lü Dai came by sea? Where is the fleet?
Surely Lü Dai didn't swim here, did he?
Or is it that Lü Dai was delayed on the way and hasn't arrived yet?
The three looked at each other for a moment, and Ji Jie spoke first, tentatively asking, "Should I go ashore and check the situation?"
Zhou Xun and Zhuge Ke nodded simultaneously and said, "Okay."
Ji Jie jumped off the treasure ship and led his men ashore in a small boat, heading straight for Yongning. When they arrived at Yongning County, they were dumbfounded to find that not only were there large banners with the character "Lü" flying over the city walls, but there were also garrison troops.
Yongning is a small coastal town surrounded by mountains. Normally, there are only yamen runners and no troops stationed there. The sudden appearance of such a garrison can only mean that Lü Dai has arrived.
Ji Jie did not attack but quietly retreated to another place to find the people in the mountains to inquire about the situation. Then he went back to report to Zhou Xun. When he returned to the treasure ship and met Zhou Xun, he said: "Governor, this is what happened... According to the local people, a fleet of ships with the character 'Lü' on their flag did come to the coast a few days ago. After landing, they passed through Yandang Mountain and headed straight for Lishui. After the fleet dropped off the soldiers, they did not stay but returned the way they came."
"They've returned the way they came?" Zhou Xun was stunned for a moment before saying, "It seems that Lü Dai didn't intend to retreat by sea, but rather to join forces with Lu Xun and continue the attack. In that case, there's nothing more to say. Immediately land and attack Yongning, then pursue Lü Dai along his route and cut off his retreat first."
Zhuge Ke asked anxiously, "Then what should I do?"
Zhou Xun spread his hands and said, "There's no way we can catch up to Jiaozhou. You either come with us to deal with Lü Dai, or you go back the way you came. The choice is yours."
Zhuge Ke sighed helplessly, "I'd better go back. There's a new ship that's about to be launched, and I need to go back and keep an eye on it."
After saying this, he boarded a small boat, moved to Zhou Xun's former flagship ship, waved goodbye, and returned by the same route.
Ji Jie watched Zhuge Ke's departing figure and sighed, "Poor Zhuge Ke, he made a wasted trip and not only did he not get anything, but he also lost a treasure ship. It seems that the old saying that wealth should not be flaunted is true. If it is flaunted, it will attract the attention of thieves."
Zhou Xun, the thief, beamed with delight upon hearing this and said, "Keep a low profile, prepare to attack."
The army then landed and easily captured Yongning City. However, Zhou Xun did not continue to advance. Instead, he ordered Ji Jie to lead troops into the mountains to intercept Lü Dai, while he himself stayed in the county town to guard the warships.
He and Lü Dai had been colleagues, and he didn't really want to see Lü Dai on the battlefield.
Ji Jie had no such concerns. He led his 5,000-strong army with plenty of provisions and found local people to act as guides, quickly following Lü Dai's route.
……
The Zhejiang-Jiangxi Corridor.
The battle to annihilate Lu Xun had just ended when Wang Tao received a new order to rush along the Wuyi Mountains to Fujian to intercept Lü Dai. This time, the target was Hanxing County, which is the later Pucheng.
Fujian has been the territory of the Yue people since ancient times. The imperial court's influence in Fujian is extremely limited. Currently, the vast Fujian region has only four or five counties, three of which were established in the first year of Jian'an. The counties are only about twenty years old at most.
In the first year of Jian'an, Sun Ce sent He Qi, then the magistrate of Yongning County, to Min to attack Wang Lang. He Qi defeated Wang Lang and the mountain tribe leaders who were subordinate to Wang Lang. He Qi established three counties in Min: Hanxing (Pucheng), Jian'an (Jian'ou), and Nanping. This was the first time that the Han Dynasty had established counties in Min, more than 400 years after Qin Shi Huang pacified the Baiyue in the south.
Guan Xing's influence has not yet extended to Fujian, so the three counties of Hanxing, Jian'an, and Nanping are still in the hands of the Wu army. Before Lü Dai set out from the sea, he sent people to take over the three counties and set up strongholds, preparing to withdraw from the three counties to Jiaozhou if the war went badly.
If Wang Tao wanted to block Lü Dai's retreat to the south, he first had to capture Hanxing City, which was closest to Lishui. The road from the Wuyi Mountains to Hanxing City was very complicated, and since Wang Tao had never been there before, it was not easy to travel and he could easily get lost.
Fortunately, Wang Tao's troops were all from the Yue people in the mountains, and there were plenty of locals familiar with the roads. Therefore, Wang Tao did not make any mistakes and arrived in Hanxing smoothly in just five days, easily capturing the county town which was only guarded by four or five hundred people.
Then they seized the grain and fodder left by Lü Dai in the city, turned east, and headed straight for Lishui.
He did not intend to attack Lü Dai directly, but instead planned to build defensive fortifications in the Longquanxi area to block Lü Dai's retreat. The rest would be handled by Shen Yi.
Now, Lu Dai's sea retreat route is blocked by Zhou Xun and Ji Jie, and his land retreat route is blocked by Wang Tao. Like Lu Xun, he can't retreat even if he wants to.
Unaware that he had become a sitting duck, Lü Dai was currently gloating over breaking through Cheng Li's defenses.
After two days of fierce attacks, Lü Dai finally broke through Cheng Li's defenses and led his troops out of the mountain pass towards Wushang.
Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly. Although Cheng Li was defeated, he did not give up the fight. Instead, he relied on the advantageous terrain to block Lü Dai's advance step by step, forcing Lü Dai to take a whole day to reach Dongyang River.
After crossing the Dongyang River, one arrives at Wushang City. However, upon reaching the Dongyang River, Lü Dai is dismayed to discover that the Han army has a second line of defense, which is numerous and heavily fortified. This is because Shen Yi's second wave of reinforcements has arrived, and together with Hao Yu's troops, the Han army at the Dongyang River numbers as many as 10,000, even more than Lü Dai's forces.
Only then did Lü Dai realize that he had been tricked by Cheng Li. He dared not attack again and immediately ordered a retreat. However, before they could return to Yongkang, they encountered the remnants of the army that had come from Hanxing City. From the remnants, they learned the terrible news that Hanxing City had fallen and their retreat route had been cut off.
Upon receiving the news, Lü Dai felt dizzy and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "It's over."
It's truly over. Fujian's retreat route has been cut off, and the naval fleet has been sent back. Now, even if he retreats to Yongning, he can only look at the ocean and sigh helplessly.
It was even more impractical to retreat to Jiaozhou via other mountain routes, because their food supplies were running low, and the little they had left wouldn't be enough to sustain Jiaozhou. What could they do?
How to do?