Hedaizhou, Ziye City.
The mighty river flows endlessly eastward, dividing the earth into two. Ziye City is located on the south bank of the river.
After the Northern Palace Army repelled the troops of King Huainan, its journey and progress were stuck at the edge of the river. Although some dragon riders could easily cross the river for reconnaissance, hundreds of thousands of troops had no wings and still found it difficult to cross this natural barrier.
When the number of people increases, many tactics become difficult to use. Facing this river that is several kilometers wide, it becomes extremely difficult for the large force of the Northern Palace Army to cross it quietly. Sending only a few thousand elite troops to the south bank, with the huge disparity in numbers, it is also difficult to shake the city where the legion is stationed.
So the two sides came to a stalemate here, but this was ultimately more advantageous to King Huainan, because he had the support of the aristocratic families in the rear, and had an almost endless supply of troops and supplies that could be transported from the Yellow Sea. On the other hand, the survival of the Beifu Army entered a countdown after it was transferred from the Beifu Mountain City.
In early August, due to a long stalemate, just when the soldiers under King Huainan thought that the Northern Army was trapped and about to collapse, the attack finally began.
One after another, makeshift boats sailed south from upstream, and under the pull of the current, they formed a rough diagonal line and rushed towards the southern river bank.
Faced with these low and rough small boats, King Huainan's fleet stationed at the river port of Ziye City immediately took action.
These fleet ships, which originally cruised the Yellow Sea, were loaded with the dynasty's most advanced firearms. After opening the side hatches, one black cannon after another roared, and the fiery red shells shot out, landing on these low wooden boats heading south, creating high splashes on the water.
Flames spread, wooden planks flew everywhere, and some Northern Army soldiers on the boats were blown directly into the river and sank in the turbulent current. The battlefield was almost a one-sided tragic scene.
But this was also helpless. The Northern Army lacked ships and warships for naval battles and could only pave the way forward with human lives.
While a large number of wooden boats sank into the water, a small number of them broke through the blockade and approached the southern river bank, where they faced the soldiers of King Huainan who were ready for battle.
Gray-feathered arrows were shot from longbows, covering the sky and the earth like rain. The few Northern Army soldiers who landed had to hold up their silver and iron shields and move forward with difficulty. From time to time, some of them were shot and fell down along the way.
Just as this small number of soldiers were about to fall in the rain of arrows, the supporting sound of a dragon's roar finally came from the sky.
Flames gushed down, sweeping across the rain of arrows, burning and blowing away most of them, making them sparse. The flaming arrows fell from the sky in scattered pieces, and stuck obliquely in the soft soil on the river bank.
Then another team of dragon riders from the Northern Palace Army grabbed thick iron chains and took off from the north bank and flew towards the south bank.
"Oh no, they are planning to put up iron chains across the river!" The defenders on Ziye City immediately understood what the Northern Army was thinking and immediately ordered all their air forces to take off.
The air cavalry riding the giant dragons and black eagles flew up immediately, and they faced the crazy attack of the dragon cavalry of the Northern Palace Army.
The dragon riders who were guarding the iron chain crossing the river were all fearless and brave. Such a fierce attack caught the air riders under King Huainan off guard. The two sides exchanged casualties at an extremely fast speed. After their teammates were pierced and torn apart by the cold iron dragon spears of the Northern Palace Army's dragon riders, the remaining air riders also felt a chill in their hearts and became timid. They just avoided fighting and did not dare to move too deep forward.
To them, this was merely an ordinary mission, not one to risk one's life. But for the northern dragon riders, it wasn't. As the defenders suspected, their chances were numbered, and tens of thousands of their comrades had already died on the river for this southward crossing. Failure would render these sacrifices meaningless, and the Northern Army would be doomed. Therefore, before launching, the general issued a death order to the dragon riders: success was imperative, with no room for retreat.
With the support of Fenghuo Dayi and General Zhuo Muye's personal prestige, the Northern Army burst out with the strongest fighting spirit and placed all their hopes on this river crossing.
In the sky, the iron chain grasped by the giant dragon was lowered, and then thick steel cones were inserted into the river and the two banks, and connected to the iron chain. The channel connecting the two banks slowly took shape.
Seeing that the Northern Army's ships were moving quickly along the iron chains and were constantly tied together to form a floating bridge on the river, the defenders on the south bank also ordered artillery bombardment, constantly blowing up the wooden boats on the iron chains. The battle to cross the river was far from over.
After several rounds of shooting, although a large number of wooden boats on the river were destroyed, the Northern Army's artillery was ready and began to counterattack the artillery positions on the south bank. Many artillery pieces that were not moved in time were blown to pieces in the flames, and the previous fierce shooting was greatly reduced. So the Northern Army continued to send wooden boats to build a pontoon bridge along the iron chains.
On the other side, the fleet that had previously fought against a large number of small river-crossing boats had also eliminated most of its opponents. Now it finally had time to attack the iron chains and wooden boats on the river. They kept moving and dispersing. Even if the Northern Army's artillery wanted to deal with them, it had little effect. They could only watch the iron chains and wooden boats for crossing the river being blown away again and again, and countless soldiers struggling to sink into the water.
The situation on the battlefield changed rapidly. When the air cavalry of the defenders in the sky were repelled by the dragon cavalry of the Northern Palace Army, several families supporting King Huainan also sent their disciples to support them, and the giant dragon placing the iron chain also became precarious.
In the military camp, Zhuo Muye stood on a high wooden platform and looked at the battlefield on the river with a frown. Although he was a famous general, he could not cook without rice. It was a fact that the Northern Army was short of strength.
The strategy of dividing the troops cannot be said to be bad. It prevented the new king from getting a chance to catch his breath before he was destroyed, but it also led to insufficient troops on this side and they were trapped on the north bank for a long time.
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