Chapter 228 Zhou Yu Defeated (5)
Translated by [email protected]
The ballistae is now completely useless! Zhou Yu’s flagship and Kuai Liang’s warships were already engaged in tangled warfare. As the distance was too near, using the ballistae may be able to harm Zhou Yu’s flagship but it would also harm themselves. It would tear apart both Zhou Yu’s flagship and their own warships.
Kuai Liang could also no longer manage it as he was targeted. Deng Long was already dead in the river and the next person was Kuai Liang!
Kuai Liang felt bitter. He wanted to reenact the scenario of defeating the 30,000 Jiangdong Army like the Lu Bu’s Army. He would send Zhou Yu into the river and the achievement would make the Jingzhou Navy’s fame rise. He did not expect the location of the battle and his unfamiliarity of the ballistae ended up giving this result. Luckily, Kuai Liang has already sent a ballista to Jingzhou separately. Otherwise, Jingzhou’s future would really be destroyed by his hands.
“Master Zi Rou, there is no longer a need to struggle!” Zhou Yu also saw Huang Gai’s arrow killing Deng Long. He also knew that Kuai Liang would not be able to survive. If they had met in times of peace, they would have been friends! He initially invited Kuai Liang to Jiangdong as a guest but now he has to see a talented man fall!
Huang Gai draw his longbow. He was old and his eyes was no longer as good but he was still confident in his skills. He was about to shoot when there were large shouts coming from behind the flagship. He saw that it was a large naval force that had a green banner.
Huang Gai frowned. These naval army was the 70,000 Jingzhou Army with over 200 warships that were stationed at the other side of the river. Huang Gai himself has engaged in combat with them for more than 10 times.
“It’s them!” Kuai Liang also heard the shouting and saw them. The green flag, their dialect. Without a doubt, it was the Jingzhou Navy. Kuai Liang has never been so excited! He took advantage of the time that Huang Gai was distracted by the shout to quickly escape from his line of sight.
When Huang Gai tried to find Kuai Liang later, Kuai Liang already hid himself in the towered ship. Huang Gai put down his bow and picked up a sword. He prepared himself to engage the enemy.
“N?” Zhou Yu swung his sword. The Jingzhou Army has bought a lot of time. After seeing Han Dang’s fleet destroyed and Kuai Liang that almost lose his life, the Jingzhou Army finally appeared. Zhou Yu’s flagship was currently facing downstream while it’s back is the Jingzhou Army. At this rate, their back would be stabbed for explosive chrysanthemum.
Zhou Yu only needed one incense stick of time!
With that amount of time, he could have destroyed Kuai Liang!
Zhou Yu wanted to fight this army instead of dealing with Kuai Liang but he also could not do that. This is because they have already lost 1 among the 3 main armies of Jiangdong. If he loses this as well, they would not be able to attack others. The green banners are getting closer from behind and the character written showed that this was Wen Pin’s warship. Although he was merely a deputy general, he was stronger than Huang Zu. Wen Pin’s timely arrival really saved them from losing Jiangxia. Although Wen Ping was just a deputy general, he commanded 50,000 soldiers while Huang Zu could only command 20,000 soldiers, which included Deng Long and his 7,000 soldiers. Zhou Yu no longer has the time to finish off Kuai Liang as Wen Ping should not be underestimated. He cannot leave his back exposed to such danger.
“Sound the retreat!” Zhou Yu shouted as he jumped onto his flagship.
“Yes!” The messenger also saw the incoming warships. Usually, they would rush to meet their foes and defeat them despite having small numbers. However, Han Dang’s warships were already sacrificed and even Han Dang’s survival is unknown. A lot of the Jiangdong Navy was also destroyed because of the ballistae. Now, their backs are also exposed. If they were to fight, they would only lose.
Zhou Yu’s Navy showed its prowess as a trump card again as they reorganize their formation and retreated despite the earlier long chase. They can no longer bother with Kuai Liang and his navy.
“Sanjiangkou!” Zhou Yu finally understood what Kuai Liang wanted. This Kuai Liang had a good strategy of deliberately charging in front with the ballista. All the arrows were used up to lure Zhou Yu into pursuing them and bring out their troops disregarding danger. If Kuai Liang was not on this ship, Zhou Yu would not chase them and continue hiding in Sanjiangkou as the ballista could not be used for siege despite its piercing power. Now, their way back to Sanjiangkou and it was impossible to defend the place. In just one day, Zhou Yu has lost Sanjiangkou!
“Master Zi Rou! You truly have great ability! Unfortunately, it was not for my brother to use! That old man Liu Biao really has good fortune!” Zhou Yu could not help but sigh. Liu Biao was already old and does not have fighting spirit. One way of saying it is that he was a person who is just waiting to die and rewards or punish people by favoritism. To have the Kuai brothers in service to him really made people envious!
“Have they arrived!?” If Kuai Liang knew about Zhou Yu’s thoughts, he would really be extremely grateful for the respect. This is because in actual fact, it was his selfishness that he wants to rely on Deng Long and the 7,000 soldiers to send Zhou Yu and the 30,000 Jiangdong Army into the river. This will make Jingzhou and the Kuai family famous. However, he did not expect the Jingzhou Army to save him.
The dispatch of the JIngzhou Navy was Kuai Liang’s good fortune! When they noticed the battle, the Jingzhou Navy did not move in suspicion that it was a ploy to attack the Jingzhou main army directly. That is why Huang Zu resolutely decided not to move the army. He stayed in camp and watch the excitement. When Kuai Liang destroyed Han Dang’s fleet, Huang Zu still decided not to move out. He firmly believed it was a trap and even ridiculed Zhou Yu as an idiot in military affairs for sacrificing a fleet just to lure them out.
Luckily, Wen Pin did not think the same. How could Zhou Yu be an idiot in military affairs? Zhou Yu was a genius that excelled in military and civil affairs. It was because of him that they had lost half of Jiangxia. How could this person not know military matters? Even if this was a performance, Zhou Yu would not sacrifice an entire ship and thousands of lives. Wen Ping prepared the troops and was already starting to go against Huang Zu’s military orders. At that time, Zhou Yu’s warship was already surrounded. Suddenly, a military order came from Xiangyang. It was a command to support Kuai Liang to fight Zhou Yu against Sanjiangkou. In the military orders, it was also stated that Kuai Liang managed to obtain the secret weapon. This has confirmed his suspicions that it was Kuai Liang’s fleet fighting against Zhou Yu right now.
Fortunately, Wen Ping has prepared the army in advance so they would be able to catch up. Otherwise, they would only end up supporting Kuai Liang’s corpse.
Huang Zu originally did not want to go because he said it was Zhou Yu’s strategy. Now he was being laughed at as the people fighting was Kuai Liang and also the men under his leadership like Deng Long. Wen Pin had to calm Huang Zu down by saying that it was alright to be overcautious as Zhou Yu was a crafty person. Huang Zu finally decided to move out after that.
Now even if you kill Huang Zu, he does not want to go back. This is because Zhou Yu has all left Sanjiangkou and the place was undefended. Just like that, he reobtained Sanjiangkou.
“Kill!” The Jingzhou Army’s morale was rising and Zhou Yu, not wanting to confront them, could only get the naval fleet to retreat.
Zhou Yu’s flagship passed by Kuai Liang’s warship. Zhou Yu looked at the warship and shouted. “Splendid, Master Zi Rou. Zhou Yu thanks you for the instruction. Some other day, Zhou Yu must reciprocate.”
When the army of 70,000 attacked Sanjiangkou on their own, Zhou Yu managed to repel them. Even after the troops of the morale dropped when they heard about Sun Ce’s defeat, Zhou Yu did not fail. However, just because of his greed, he chased Kuai Liang and as a result, he has to abandon the city. Even Han Dang’s life or death is unknown and his entire fleet was lost. How could Zhou Yu stay calm? On the other hand, only Deng Long and a few ships were lost on Kuai Liang’s side. This battle was Zhou Yu’s defeat.
As Zhou Yu was looking at Kuai Liang’s warship, Kuai Liang looked back. “Handsome Zhou, have a safe trip!” Kuai Liang did not expect his good luck. Just as he was about to be completely routed, Zhou Yu had to abandon Sanjiangkou. This was a pleasant surprise. However, Kuai Liang was not happy because he was defeated. He was also defeated in terms of intellect as he only relied on the power of the ballistae and did not take into account of the timing and location.
“Before leaving, allow me to send you a parting gift!” Kuai Liang raised his hands. “Let the majority of the Zhou’s Army pass. After that, shoot their tail!” Although he only had 11 ships left, that still totals up to 55 ballistae. Kuai Liang was afraid of shooting Zhou Yu’s flagship in fear of them turning around to chase him in desperation. At that time, he really would not be able to escape. As Kuai Liang was not a military commander, he would not make such a move. He would prefer obtaining the low reward compared to high risks. Kuai Liang decided to shoot the rear of the retreating warships to make them unhappy.
Zhou Yu’s Navy had 30,000 soldiers. With the lost of Han Dang’s fleet, Zhou Yu has lost over 10,000 soldiers. Kuai Liang has lost Deng Long and 3,000 soldiers but they managed to obtain Sanjiangkou. With only 20,000 of their remaining army retreating, it can only be said that the expedition to raid Jiangxia has ended in failure.