Feng Jiye's troops used sand boats loaded with artillery and a large amount of baggage and marched very slowly. After three days of chasing, they caught nothing but burned, killed and looted along the way.
Three days later, Feng Jiye felt as if he had walked into an uninhabited wilderness. The people along the river had already fled upon hearing the news.
He stood on the deck, with vegetation all around him. The green fields and lush woods contrasted with the pale reeds on the river shallows. If he just stood on the boat and admired the scenery, it would be a different kind of scene.
The tinkling sound of the oars stirring in the water seemed a little lonely, and the startled cries of birds made the sky seem even more empty. The more than 2,000 soldiers of Xu's army on the shore gathered together, but it didn't seem like there were many people.
At this time, apart from the densely populated cities and markets, the population in the countryside seemed sparse.
But Feng Jiye had no intention of enjoying the scenery. Instead, such a dull march made him feel anxious.
He stood there bored for a long time, when a small boat came towards him. A warrior climbed onto the deck of the flagship, saluted with his fists, straightened up and pointed to the northwest, "General Feng, please look, the section of the river ahead is unusual."
Feng Jiye looked out for a while and said, "That white thing is the reed water area."
Wufu said: "That's right. There are three tributaries in the three-mile-long river ahead, and the waterways are complicated. There are also large areas of reeds on the river. The forests on both sides are deep and dense. This terrain is very easy to hide land and sea troops, so we must be on guard."
Feng Jiye looked serious and pondered: "There are too many trees and reeds, and the scouts cannot search for a while. Without hundreds of people spending several days and nights, nothing can be found."
Wufudao: General Feng is wise
The fleet and soldiers continued to advance slowly, and the endless reeds and forests appeared more and more clearly in sight. Another general approached the flagship in a small boat and asked Feng Jiye whether to stop the march.
Feng Jiye thought for a moment and said: Let's continue.
The general said.
Feng Jiye said irritably: What are the troops doing here
The general hurriedly advised: Beware of ambushes
Feng Jiye waved his hand and ordered the whole army to be on alert: "When water comes, we will block it with earth; when soldiers come, we will stop them."
Get the order
The sound of bells, drums and shouts on the river surface was lively for a while, then gradually became quieter. The oars on the large and small boats continued to stir the river water at a moderate speed, and the boats floating on the cool green water continued to go upstream.
Feng Jiye could no longer bear the hot weather, so he took out his helmet and put it on, and put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. He looked around very slowly.
Everyone around seemed to hold their breath, waiting to pass through the unclear waters. A guard on the deck freed one hand and silently wiped the sweat from under the brim of his helmet. Time was passing very slowly.
After a long time, suddenly there was a sound of many people shouting from a boat ahead.
Feng Jiye immediately turned around and asked loudly: What happened
Someone answered: General, the ship seems to have hit something. We can only wait for the people ahead to report.
Feng Jiye made a prompt decision: Ring the bell and order all ships to stop moving forward.
The river became noisy again.
After a while, two bamboo rafts emerged from the reeds and water grass, and then more plank boats and bamboo rafts appeared on the river. They first headed straight for a damaged ship whose mast was crooked, and loud shouts were heard all around.
Feng Jiye shouted: Prepare for battle
He looked up and saw that the triangular flags on the flagship had just been replaced with black flags, indicating that they had stopped advancing, and the continuous beating of the bronze bells had not stopped. At this time, the drummers in the cabin beat the war drums again.
There were shouts and cries of killing on the surface of the river, and the noise was endless. After a while, there was the sound of cannons. The small cannons and muskets on the sand boats all fired, and the smoke quickly spread on the water like white fog.
Feng Jiye heard the sound of volleys of firearms in the woods on the shore. The Xu army's infantry fired volleys of muskets, so the explosions in the woods were one after another, one wave after another.
Feng Jiye stood on the deck with his sword in hand, observing the scene in front of him with a cold eye. He thought that the wide water surface would make it easier for Xu Jun's firearms to display their firepower, so the situation should be slightly better; what he should be most worried about was the soldiers and horses in the woods on the shore. The dense vegetation and too many obstacles made it impossible to avoid close combat. Obviously, more people would be of great help.
At this time, someone rowed over and shouted: "General Feng, there is a sharp wooden stake in the river. Two boats have hit it and are leaking water."
Feng Jiye responded with a wave of his hand.
There was a deafening explosion on the flagship deck, making his ears buzz. After the cannon was fired, other loaded sub-cannon mounts were pushed onto the side of the ship. Soldiers shouted as they pulled out the shiny copper sub-cannons from the cast iron cannon bodies and replaced them with new ones. Feng Jiye had learned about these imperial army weapons after he led the troops. The power and range of sub-cannons were far inferior to those of cast copper cannons, but they were lighter and could be placed on small boats, and were enough to deal with the sampans of the Jiaozhou navy.
The smoke from the artillery fire dissipated a little, and Feng Jiye vaguely saw the enemy soldiers struggling and shouting on the water while holding wood. The river was littered with wooden boards and bamboo poles, and it was a mess.
A large fire had started in the reeds not far away, but there was no wind in the air, so the fire could not spread. The surroundings were in complete chaos.
A general pointed his sword at a boat in the distance. A dozen sharpshooters pulled their bowstrings, their heads held high and their chests puffed out in almost the same position. Feng Jiye could tell that the imperial guards were well-trained, and the sound of the bowstrings was like the vibration of a harp.
The screams of those hit by arrows in the distance were soon drowned out by the bang bang bang sounds of light artillery explosions emitting flames.
In less than an hour, the sampans and bamboo rafts on the river disappeared, and the enemy's ambush and siege were ineffective. There were artillery fire and bows and arrows in the distance, and muskets nearby, and shields could not withstand it.
The surrounding warships shouted to repel the enemy.
Feng Jiye asked: How are the troops on the shore
When the smoke cleared, a small boat came by. The people on the boat had no time to get on the flagship, so they clasped their fists and shouted: The enemy soldiers failed to break our heavy infantry formation and fled.
Feng Jiye heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. He looked back at the imperial guards on his left and right and said happily: The men and horses of the Huben Army are truly amazing. I still underestimated you.
When the generals heard this exaggeration, they shouted: "We, the infantry, are lined up to resist the elite heavy cavalry of the Liao Kingdom. We can beat the barbarians to a pulp without using firearms."
Hahaha
The sound of cannons and gunfire gradually died down, leaving only sporadic gunfire. Xu's army cleaned up the battlefield, rescued the wounded and drowned, killed the enemy soldiers who had not escaped, and stayed on the river surface where hidden stakes were set for half a day before passing through this dangerous place. At that time, the sun had already set behind the treetops in the west.
Feng Jiye sent his generals to set up camp in a place with a wide view.
That night, all the generals gathered in the central military tent and discussed the matter. Three or four days after leaving Taiping Village, everyone became gradually confused.
One of the generals grumbled: "We can't catch up with anything in this situation. We can only wait for the enemy to attack us before we can fight. We are getting farther and farther away from the camp and deeper into the enemy's territory. It's better to return after winning a few battles."
Feng Jiye clapped his hands and said loudly: The chaotic troops along the way are all rats. Leading elite troops to work hard for such a small military achievement is undoubtedly like driving a tiger to kill a chicken.
Everyone asked: What do you think, General Feng
Feng Jiye opened a crudely drawn picture and tapped it three times.
Wow, the tent immediately became boiling with excitement, and everyone's expressions became exaggerated; some were shocked, some looked confused, and some just shook their heads.
The military official immediately objected: "No, we are the vanguard army, with very few soldiers and horses, thousands of miles away from the country, with high mountains and vast seas, and we have not decided in advance to fight a decisive battle with the Jiaozhou army, let alone attack the enemy's capital as soon as we arrive."
Feng Jiye raised his hand and threw the iron pot to the ground, and the thing immediately flattened. He was furious and said: I am the commander-in-chief, and the chief officer Zheng Xianchun and the deputy commander Zhang Jiankui are here, so who can have the final say
The tent fell silent immediately, and the civil official also kept silent. Naturally, none of the other military officers spoke up in such a rage.
Unexpectedly, Feng Jiye was a moody person. He was furious just now, but in a blink of an eye, he said seriously: The enemy soldiers are vulnerable, but we are unfamiliar with the place, we can't find them, and we can't catch up. However, people say that the monk can run away but the temple cannot. There is a place where we can make achievements, Luocheng
Three thousand elite soldiers are enough to destroy their country. Feng Jiye's eyes were red, and he was so excited that he couldn't suppress his emotions. I looked carefully more than once. With a magnificent formation, the enemy's soldiers are outnumbered and no matter how small, they are no match. We can easily defeat the enemy soldiers. Now there are some heavy artillery in the cabin, why can't we attack the city
A middle-aged general tried to persuade them: "General Feng is brave and resourceful, and quite courageous. But to attack a city, we must first besiege it. We have less than 3,000 men, how can we besiege it? We are surrounded by enemies on all sides, with no food or retreat routes, and our scouts cannot move an inch. Even if we are a strong army, how can we fight under the high walls?"
Feng Jiye said: Luocheng's fortifications are far inferior to those of the cities in the Central Plains, so don't worry. As for the surrounding strongholds and fortresses, aren't they the people we have collected from the land where we have collected food? We can drive them up to dig the ground and attack the city.
Without waiting for his general to speak, he immediately asked: "You have already established the country of Dai Co Viet after destroying Jiaozhou, and you are not moved at all. If the news of the destruction of a country by three thousand elite soldiers spread all over the world, wouldn't the millions of people in the world be happy to talk about it and bring honor to our ancestors? You have accomplished your success today."
Obviously, Feng Jiye's previous words had little effect, but the last sentence really touched the generals present.
Only the civilian official accompanying the army said: The military power is in the hands of General Feng. If General Feng insists on going his own way, I will have to send a fast horse to respond immediately and inform Zheng Changshi.
Feng Jiye said angrily: Damn it, do whatever you want