Chapter 515 Stalemate
On the city wall of Mengjin, the emperor, along with two dukes and Commander Wu, stood quietly, gazing at the Chu army across the rolling river below.
The King of Chu was sitting on his horse, looking up at the bright yellow light above him.
The King of Chu silently lowered his head. The news coming from the city was indeed true; the young emperor had indeed personally led the expedition.
However, in his opinion, this move was somewhat inappropriate. The emperor was not good at military affairs and his martial arts were average. He also did not have any powerful generals by his side. War is not child's play. If something went wrong and the emperor died, what good would it do if reinforcements from all over the country arrived?
It was still too late to turn the tide.
The King of Chu waved his hand, then turned to look at Qin and Qian: "Cross the river and attack the city!"
Old Qin and Old Qian nodded, then turned to give instructions to the people beside them. Behind them, the great banner of the King of Chu fluttered fiercely in the wind.
As soon as the military flag fluttered, the soldiers sprang into action.
At the South Ferry, Lin Changning led his iron cavalry, which was treading on the waves. The square formation of thousands of armored soldiers was like a dark cloud pressing down on the city. The water droplets splashed by their iron hooves gleamed coldly in the twilight. They quickly crossed the shallows and rushed towards the other side of the river.
The emperor on the city wall turned to look at Commander Wu. Although he was not knowledgeable in military affairs, he knew that it was time to take some countermeasures.
Commander Wu, seeing the emperor's gaze directed at him, gently shook his head: "Your Majesty, there's no rush. Wait until the emperor is closer before firing the arrows."
Commander Wu coughed lightly. The other side was crossing the river from the shallows and was still far from the city wall, so it was not the best time to fire arrows.
The emperor nodded slightly: "Hmm."
The Duke of Qi looked down at the King of Chu's army, a vast, dark mass on the opposite bank of the Yellow River. He squinted and looked around, but he couldn't see his eldest son.
The Duke of Jin chuckled softly, "Looking for your heir?"
The Duke of Qi felt a sudden alarm bell ring in his heart. Seeing that the emperor was also looking over at him as the Duke of Jin, he hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Duke of Jin, please don't talk nonsense. I don't have such a traitorous son."
After saying this, the Duke of Qi bowed and looked at the emperor: "Once the war is over, I urge Your Majesty to abolish the position of this rebellious heir!"
The emperor glanced at the Duke of Qi with a nonchalant air. He knew about the Qi family's affairs and naturally had no objection to the Duke of Qi; he simply found it amusing.
The Duke of Qi thought that he had not expressed his loyalty clearly enough, so he cupped his hands and continued: "Even if this rebellious son is beheaded, I will have no objection."
The emperor glanced at the Duke of Qi but didn't speak. He silently turned his head away and said, "Keep watching."
After saying that, he ignored the Duke of Qi. A hint of sarcasm flashed in the eyes of the Duke of Jin. As the saying goes, even a tiger doesn't eat its own cubs. Before the emperor could say anything, the Duke of Qi had already taken action against his own son.
It seems that the rumors circulating in the capital are true; no wonder Qi Rong has been unwilling to return to the Duke's mansion for so many years.
The Duke of Jin gave a mocking smile: "It has to be our Duke of Qi, who is still thinking about how to put righteousness before family at a time like this."
After speaking, the Duke of Jin suddenly sighed, "Alas, I am not as good as you."
The Duke of Jin actually looked down on the Duke of Qi from the bottom of his heart, and he couldn't understand why, when he clearly had an outstanding eldest son, he insisted on making his second son the heir apparent, thus harming his own excellent eldest son.
If he had a son like Qi Rong, he would have worshipped him and burned incense for him. Why would he act like the Duke of Qi, constantly causing trouble for others?
Although he looked down on the Duke of Qi, he sighed softly when he thought of his good-for-nothing sons. Even if all his rascals were tied together, they wouldn't be as good as the Qi Rong brats.
The Duke of Qi was quite lucky. If the emperor won, he would suffer no loss. If the emperor lost and the King of Chu ascended the throne, his eldest son would be raised by the King of Chu, so out of respect for the emperor, the king would spare his life.
The Duke of Qi was not a very good person, but he was lucky.
"Release the arrows!" With Commander Wu's roar, arrows rained down from the city walls.
The Duke of Jin suddenly came to his senses and followed behind the emperor, looking down.
Then, another row of soldiers from the Chu army quickly emerged. The shield-bearers formed an impenetrable wall of shields. Arrows struck the shields with a dense, muffled thud before falling to the ground.
Lin Changning charged to the front, wielding his twin swords with impenetrable skill, deflecting the incoming arrows and landing them on the ground.
Wei Shao followed Lin Changning, and together with the other guards, they surrounded Lin Changning, protecting him and quickly taking their positions behind the shield bearers.
One volley of arrows followed another, and Lin Changning grew increasingly anxious, frowning as he tried to get his men to advance slowly.
Just as both sides were getting tense, a "splash" suddenly came from the Yellow River. Three warships covered with black cloth were sailing downstream. Dozens of iron-backed crossbow bolts were fired simultaneously from the crossbow holes on both sides of the ships, sweeping towards the city walls like a rainstorm.
It was with sailor Li Mingxiu that they sailed the multi-story ship down from upstream.
Commander Wu remained calm, but the emperor's palms were sweating, and he couldn't help but look at Commander Wu again.
Commander Wu coughed lightly and waved his hand. The twelve catapults at the corner of the city were started at the same time. The burning tarpaulins wrapped the stones and drew orange-red arcs in the air, smashing the mast of the foremost warship.
Flames erupted instantly, and the soldiers on the ship screamed as they jumped into the Yellow River, only to be swept away by the swift current and crashed into hidden reefs, leaving a dense layer of blood bubbles on the surface.
Fortunately, the ship Li Mingxiu was on was unharmed. Lin Changning also realized how difficult this man was to deal with. Whether it was his grasp of the opportunity on the battlefield or the quality of his soldiers, he far surpassed the opponents he had encountered before.
Li Mingde and Commander Qin attempted to break in from the side, but were stopped halfway by the surging river.
The river to the side is not as deep as the shallows, making it a relatively natural pass. Please order the use of ferries to connect the sections so that people and horses can pass through.
However, the ferry boats were burned off by imperial soldiers who rushed over from the other side of the river as soon as they were connected.
Commander Qin had already guessed this, so he wasn't surprised. Their crossing of the river and subsequent assault was merely bait. The real main force was led by Lin Changning and the King of Chu.
When more troops arrive, we can take the opportunity to breach the shallows and advance towards the city walls.
If we can cross the river and capture the city, Luoyang will be within our grasp.
"Archers, prepare!"
Commander Wu's roar was broken by the wind, and the three hundred archers behind the battlements immediately nocked their arrows and drew their bows, the horn bows curving into full moons, the arrowheads gleaming brightly in the sunlight.
A barrage of arrows rained down on Lao Qin and Li Mingde.
After firing three rounds, Lao Qin ordered Li Mingde to lead his men to retreat quickly.
The emperor saw that the Chu army on the opposite bank of the river had retreated slightly, and he felt a surge of excitement. He said to Commander Wu, "Shouldn't we pursue them while we're ahead? My dear minister, I see that they've all retreated."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
