Chapter 70: The Great Wu Kingdom
Creek mouth.
Wu general Meng Ben had gathered a group of soldiers and was standing on the shore waiting. Suddenly, a soldier came quickly to report.
"General, the Chu army's fleet has been lured here!"
"I see."
Meng Ben nodded slightly.
At this moment, his mood was the same as that of the Wu army soldiers nearby, quite heavy!
There were twenty small boats moored by the river, loaded with flammable hay, dead wood, and grease. The boats were full, and there was a burning torch on the bow.
Forty Wu soldiers, two in each small boat, were responsible for steering the burning boats towards the warships of the Chu army!
Their task was undoubtedly extremely difficult and risky.
These forty soldiers were carefully selected by Meng Ben. They are skilled in water and agile.
Although it was a suicidal charge, there was no fear on any of their faces.
"Bring the wine!"
"Fill it up!"
Meng Ben waved his hand, and immediately a team of soldiers came forward with wine jars and filled the pottery bowls in the hands of Meng Ben and the warriors of the death squad with wine.
Looking at the slightly turbid wine in the bowl and then looking at the brave Wu soldiers opposite who were ready to die, Meng Ben's face became very solemn.
He immediately raised the wine bowl in his hand and said loudly: "My lords, the warriors of the Great Wu are so great!"
"This battle is a battle for the fate of our Great Wu nation. It is of vital importance. We must win and must not lose!"
"Go ahead, my friends! Your parents, wives, children, and neighbors will be proud of what you did today!"
"The king decrees that all of you warriors, regardless of life or death, will receive ten acres of good farmland, twenty pieces of cloth, and a working ox after the battle. I hope you will not hesitate and fight bravely!"
Upon hearing this, all the Wu army warriors raised their bowls and shouted, "Long live the king! Long live the Wu!"
"Er Sanzi, please give me a full bowl of drink! Cheers!"
"Dry!"
Meng Ben and the forty elite warriors immediately gulped down the bowl of wine.
"Snapped!"
Then they all threw the clay bowls to the ground at the same time.
"Set off!"
Meng Ben took one last look at these warriors, looked at their determined faces, then waved his hand and gave the order to set off.
At the same time, Qingji had attracted the Chu army's warships to the river mouth, but his own situation was very dangerous!
"kill!"
More and more Chu army warships approached the tower ship where Qingji was. Countless small wing, middle wing and bridge ships set up long ladders, and as if they were conducting a siege, the Chu soldiers, armed with sharp weapons, rushed onto the tower ship fearlessly.
The Wu army soldiers on the tower ship could only fire a volley of arrows to kill these enemies who were as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood!
“Puff!”
"ah!"
Many Chu soldiers were hit by several arrows before they even boarded the ship, and then fell headfirst into the river like a kite with a broken string.
Qingji should be thankful that the conditions for naval warfare in this era were limited. Not to mention artillery, even heavy offensive weapons such as catapults were not available.
The only long-range offensive weapon a warship can use is arrows!
“Swish!”
Qingji once again swung the Longyuan Sword in his hand, striking the Chu soldier in the throat with one strike.
The dripping blood dyed his resolute face red!
More Chu soldiers roared, waved their weapons, and rushed towards Qingji with red eyes.
In their eyes, Qingji has become a hot commodity, and everyone wants to rush up and take a bite!
However, with Qingji's extraordinary fighting power, no one could hurt him at all.
"My lord! The Xikou waterway is behind us! Let's quickly switch to the bridge boat and retreat!"
A general beside him suddenly spoke loudly.
"withdraw!"
Qingji did not hesitate. He immediately got off the tower ship surrounded by a group of guards and boarded a bridge boat to prepare for evacuation.
But how could Shen Yinshu allow the duck in his mouth to fly away ?
"Charge! Shoot!"
"Kill Qingji!"
Shen Yinshu immediately issued an order to the nearby Chu army warships to move closer to the bridge ship where Qingji was, and fired round after round of arrows.
"Protect the King!"
"Quick! Shield!"
The guards were startled and quickly grabbed a huge shield from the side to block Qingji.
“Seize, seize, seize!”
“Puff!”
In a hurry, the tortoise-shell-like shield formation was shot with arrows, like a hedgehog. Several unlucky guards were caught off guard and were hit by the powerful arrows shot by the Chu army, and blood foam flew everywhere.
The soldiers on the bridge boat rowed their oars hurriedly, trying to escape from the waters as quickly as possible.
The Wu army warships nearby also formed a line of defense to protect Qingji as he left.
Not far away is a long and narrow waterway that large warships cannot pass through. Only small warships such as the middle wing, small wing, and bridge ships can pass through unimpeded.
The bridge boat that Qingji was on quickly passed through this waterway.
When Shen Yinshu saw this waterway, he felt something was wrong!
Could it be that the Wu army set an ambush here?
Shen Yinshu hesitated and wanted to order a retreat, but it was too late!
Suddenly, twenty small boats filled with flammable materials came rushing over from the opposite side!
"Stop the pursuit!"
Shen Yinshu gave the order immediately.
At this time, many Chu army warships had already entered the waterway following the bridge boat where Qingji was, but suddenly a large mass of heads appeared on both sides of the waterway, all wearing crimson uniforms and flags!
It was the Wu army that had been lying in ambush for a long time!
"Shoot!"
Following Meng Ben's order, round after round of rockets from the Wu army's phalanx suddenly shot up into the sky, and then fell densely onto the warships of the Chu army!
Shen Yinshu asked himself, he had been marching and fighting for so many years, but he had never seen such a bold move!
“Puff, fuss!”
"Uhhhhhhhhh!"
The rockets fell like a swarm of locusts, instantly killing many Chu soldiers who were caught off guard, and even causing flames on the warships that were about to spread.
The Wu army's warships, which were originally fleeing, immediately turned around and formed a line of defense, blocking the direction of the waterway and preventing the Chu army's warships from further pursuing them.
What surprised Shen Yinshu and other Chu army generals even more was that the twenty small boats loaded with flammable materials actually rammed directly into their own warships!
"Release! Release quickly!"
Realizing that something was wrong, the Chu army immediately drew their bows and arrows, trying to kill the enemies and prevent the small boats from approaching.
"ignition!"
The Wu soldiers on the boat immediately threw torches onto the boat full of flammable materials such as hay, dead wood, and grease, then raised their shields, protected the rowers, and rushed towards the enemy warships.
“Seize, seize, seize!”
The arrows shot by the Chu army covered half of the dome, from top to bottom, filling up one small boat after another, and also killed several Wu soldiers.
However, every time a Wu soldier fell, another Wu soldier would take over the oar and continue rowing forward!
"Great Wu Kingdom, ten thousand years!"
"My king, long live!"
The Wu soldier who was shouting "Long Live the King" was hit by several arrows, but his eyes were still red as he paddled hard and crashed into the warship of the Chu army!
