Why are there warships on the Hongnong River?

"Liu Wei's troops were all recruited and trained in the northern frontier. They all get seasick when traveling by boat. How can they fight on water?"

"Hangu Pass is seventy or eighty li away from the Yellow River. How did you manage to travel upstream on the Hongnong River?"

"......"

Immediately, the council hall erupted in discussion.

Dong Zhuo was even more astonished. His army had crossed the Yellow River from Bingzhou to the capital using pontoon bridges built from fishing boats or large transport ships.

However, the soldiers from Bingzhou, even with the slightest turbulence, would stagger and lose their balance after crossing the river, and some would even vomit on the spot.

However, Liu Wei's troops not only crossed the Yellow River by boat, but also traveled upstream along the Hongnong River for seventy or eighty li.

And according to the scouts, there were four or five hundred ships.

If each ship carries ten people, that's five thousand people!

The appearance of 5,000 men behind Hangu Pass was bound to make Dong Zhuo nervous.

They could even skip attacking Hangu Pass, land directly on the Hongnong River, and take Gucheng to the east, leaving Luoyang without any depth of defense.

Similarly, they could also cut off Hangu Pass's supply lines at any time, leaving Hangu Pass isolated and helpless.

"They can appear after Hangu Pass, or they can land anywhere on the south bank of the Yellow River!"

Li Ru frowned. "Then they can transport five thousand troops at a time and fight on water. Our defenses are practically non-existent!"

“Then we will withdraw all our troops back to Luoyang and station them in two locations, Beiman Mountain and Luoyang City, to support each other,” Niu Fu suggested.

"More than 200,000 troops are all crammed into Luoyang, and food supplies are a major problem!" Dong Zhuo shook his head.

"Your Excellency Governor, I believe we should seek to engage Liu Wei's main force in order to gain the upper hand on the battlefield!"

Li Jue said, "According to reports from our scouts, there are 100,000 people west of Hangu Pass and 50,000 people north of the Yellow River!"

"Although Liu Wei's warships have appeared behind Hangu Pass, it is impossible for Hangu Pass to be captured in a short time. For now, we should send reinforcements to deal with this force that has appeared behind Hangu Pass and ensure that General Hu Zhen's supply lines remain open."

"As long as we can stop this army of 100,000 from crossing Hangu Pass, with our more than 100,000 troops around Luoyang, why should we worry about Liu Wei's 50,000 troops on the north bank of the Yellow River?"

After hearing this, Dong Zhuo nodded: "That makes sense. Hua Xiong, you take five thousand soldiers, equipped with strong bows and crossbows, and shoot them from the shore to prevent the soldiers on the ships from going ashore!"

"I refuse to believe that they are more agile in the water than we are on land!"

"Here you go!"

Hua Xiong stepped forward and loudly accepted the order.

On the road from Linfen to Wenxi in Hedong, he was ambushed by Yue Fei and attacked by both land and water. Only a thousand soldiers were left to flee to Taiyuan in panic.

It can be said that he is currently the only general in Dong Zhuo's group with experience in fighting against naval forces.

Dong Zhuo did not hesitate to send him to support Hu Zhen, partly for this reason, and partly to give Hua Xiong a chance to redeem himself.

After all, Hua Xiong was a fierce general favored by Dong Zhuo, with outstanding martial prowess.

If Hua Xiong doesn't seize this opportunity, Dong Zhuo will probably start paying attention to other people, such as Lü Bu, whom he has just recruited.

For Hua Xiong, this was also his last chance to prove his strength.

After receiving the order, he left in a hurry without looking back.

Having temporarily dealt with the crisis of a sudden naval attack behind Hangu Pass, Dong Zhuo gave a few instructions to everyone and then urged Niu Fu to quickly find the King of Chenliu.

Niu Fu hurriedly left and returned to his camp to discuss the matter with his trusted confidants, preparing to send people to handle it.

"General Niu, you mustn't!"

Unexpectedly, one of the people shook his head and sighed.

"Commander Jia, why is it absolutely impossible?"

Niu Fu immediately stood up and walked over, asking anxiously.

This Commandant Jia was the one who offered the counter-espionage plan earlier.

Three letters caused Yuan Shao, Ding Yuan, and Lü Bu to become suspicious of each other, and the Empress Dowager also got involved, ultimately allowing Dong Zhuo to achieve his goal of seizing control of the court.

Now that he's saying it's impossible, how can Niu Fu not be suspicious?

"King Yunzhong is openly proposing to enthrone King Chenliu, how could he not strike first?"

“General Niu, it’s too late for you to go find the Prince of Chenliu now. I estimate that when he raised his army in the Hetao region, he had already sent people to infiltrate Luoyang and hide the Prince of Chenliu.”

"I am not in a hurry," said Commandant Jia.

"So, does that mean we don't need to look for anyone?"

"Wenhe, how should I report this to my father-in-law?" Niu Fu asked, frowning. "Does this mean we shouldn't bother looking anymore, that the person has already disappeared?"

Commandant Jia waved his hand: "We still have to find the person, and we have to make a big fuss about it, so that everyone knows, and it would be best if all the ministers in the court knew!"

"Why...why is this?"

"General, by making a big show of your search for the Prince of Chenliu, you will let everyone know that the Prince of Chenliu is missing!"

Commander Jia smiled slightly, "In this way, these ministers will guess that the King of Chenliu has been captured by the King of Yunzhong and intends to establish a separate court."

"This...this is a bit confusing!" Niu Fu's mind couldn't process it for a moment!

"The young emperor is still alive, but the King of Yunzhong has established a separate court. The current officials will have lost all their former status. They will support the Grand Tutor in winning this battle like never before!"

"This is going against the people and losing their support."

"When the time comes, the Grand Tutor will lead a righteous army to punish the enemy, which will be perfectly justified," Captain Jia said calmly. "The Yuan, Wang, Yang and other families will surely contribute money and provisions to support the Grand Tutor's war effort."

"Wouldn't that solve the problem of food supplies at the same time?"

“Alright, I’ll listen to Wenhe! We’ll send troops to find the King of Chenliu right now,” Niu Fu said hurriedly.

"No, go find the Grand Tutor and repeat what I just said to him! As for finding someone, just send your men!"

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