Chapter 797 Melee!
Yuwen Yuan immediately stood up and looked into the distance. He saw several large ships suddenly appear on the opposite bank upstream and sailing towards them. On the other side of the rolling yellow waves, countless soldiers appeared, holding swords high and shouting as they rushed towards the riverbank like thirsty steeds running towards a spring.
This is--
"Your Majesty, please be careful!"
Although the boats had not yet reached the shore, and the people had rushed out from the opposite bank, with the wide Yellow River separating them, the emperor's safety was of utmost importance. Upon seeing this situation, Eunuch Yu and the others immediately rushed forward to block the emperor's path and hurriedly advised him to leave the uncertain ferry crossing and return to the camp for safety.
But at this moment, Yuwen Yuan calmed down.
Compared to everyone else here, he had experienced the most battles and the most crises. So the sudden change did not frighten him. Instead, it aroused his instinct as a military general to remain calm in the face of chaos.
He waved his hand dismissively: "Get out of the way!"
Seeing this, no one dared to say anything more and could only carefully step back a little, but Eunuch Yu still stood firmly by his side, not daring to be negligent for even a moment.
Yuwen Yuan stepped forward and looked up at the opposite bank. Although he couldn't see the faces of those people clearly, their dark blue military uniforms immediately caught his eye. Yuwen Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of danger in his gaze.
Those were military uniforms from the old system of the Daye Dynasty.
Whether it was Liang Shide who occupied Luoyang and took control of all the troops, and later reformed and inherited everything in the Eastern Capital, or Fan Chengen who defended Song and Xu prefectures, the troops he led were all former subordinates of the Daye Dynasty, and the military uniforms they wore were all like this.
At that moment, these people charged forward wielding swords and knives. Although he couldn't hear what they were shouting, Yuwen Yuan immediately sensed their murderous aura.
Something was definitely wrong!
The instant this thought crossed his mind, the people on the large ship that had already sailed away from the ferry dock let out a deafening roar—
"Protect the Emperor, capture the traitors!"
It was Yu Dingxing!
He had originally been determined to capture Jiang Chongen and gain the greatest credit for capturing the thief today. Now, this group of people on the other side had suddenly attacked. Regardless of what had happened on the other side—whether Jiang Chongen had discovered that Yuwen Yuan had discovered his conspiracy and was therefore making a desperate gamble to take action against Yuwen Yuan here—this was just as well. He could use this battle to establish his prestige and make Yuwen Yuan favor him even more.
So at this moment, he didn't bother to distinguish anything, he just stood at the bow of the boat and roared at the large ships sailing upstream and the soldiers on the riverbank: "Kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the soldiers on the ferry were already lined up on the deck. Most of them were archers. They were now in neat formation, all of them had drawn their arrows from their quivers and nocked their bows. At Yu Dingxing's command, they immediately unleashed the first volley of arrows at the large ship sailing in front of them.
Suddenly, a whooshing sound reverberated through the sky.
A dense rain of arrows flew towards the large ships sailing ahead. On flat ground, the soldiers might have scattered and dodged, but these ships were just simple ferries with no cabins for cover. Drifting downstream, they were met head-on by this rain of arrows that gleamed with a cold light. A series of shrill screams rang out, and countless soldiers fell to the ground instantly. Many even tumbled over the gunwale and fell into the bubbling yellow water!
The people on the ships behind were terrified when they saw what had happened to the soldiers on the first ship. They shouted, "Quick, retreat!"
"We are not—"
"stop!"
But by then, it was too late.
The shouts of battle echoed through the mountainside, instantly drowning out the terrified cries of the men. The rolling yellow waves continued to push their boats toward Yu Dingxing. Under the intimidating force of the first volley of arrows, the men were already terrified. Yu Dingxing, however, was bloodthirsty. He immediately raised his hand and shouted again, "Loose the arrows!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another volley of arrows flew towards the ship traveling upstream like meteors!
In an instant, screams erupted.
Just as the stench of blood and earth rising from the river grew stronger, the other warships had already swiftly crossed the wide river and reached the bank, where they clashed directly with the people rushing out from the opposite bank.
Although the number of soldiers from the Great Sheng Dynasty was small and they had landed hastily, the people on the other side seemed to be even more terrified and vulnerable than they were. They didn't even form any battle formations, and with just one charge, they completely scattered the enemy. Seeing that the river was already a scene of carnage, the soldiers of the Great Sheng Dynasty were naturally unwilling to fall behind. They swung their swords and blades fiercely at the enemy, and instantly, the riverbank was filled with flashing swords and shadows, and a cloud of blood mist instantly blinded everyone.
This was originally an overwhelming victory!
But as Yuwen Yuan watched, he increasingly felt that something was wrong.
Regardless of the ships sailing from upstream, because they were too far away and the waves were surging, he couldn't hear what those people were shouting at all, except for distant roars and screams. He could only see bursts of arrows flying through the air, which finally provoked the enemy to fight back when they were forced into a desperate situation. The panicked soldiers immediately took out their bows and arrows, drew their bows and nocked them, and returned fire at Yu Dingxing's ships. Some arrows even flew towards the shore, but fortunately they were too far away, and the arrows fell down one by one. They only frightened Yu Gonggong and the others, but did not intimidate Yuwen Yuan himself at all.
However, the people on the other side of the river seemed a bit off.
When those people rushed out, Yuwen Yuan sensed that their discipline was very lax. Whether it was the people Jiang Chongen brought from Luoyang or the surrendered troops Fan Chengen brought from Songzhou, as long as they were surrendered generals, they had to restrain their subordinates and not allow them to do anything out of line, so as not to cause panic and killing.
It wouldn't be right to say that they were deliberately waiting on the other side to assassinate me—I haven't even boarded a boat to cross the river yet. If they jumped out at this time, wouldn't they be committing suicide?
Moreover, if they truly intended to assassinate me, they should have formed a military formation. But seeing them running around in such a disorganized manner, it didn't seem like soldiers about to charge; rather, it seemed like—
They looked completely routed!
Collapse?!
Thinking of this, Yuwen Yuan suddenly realized something. He opened his eyes wide and shouted, "Stop!"
However, even though his voice was deep and resonant, capable of intimidating countless people in the court, it couldn't stir up a ripple at all when faced with the gleaming arrows raining down on the river ahead and the earth-shattering battle cries from the riverbank.
Fortunately, everyone around heard it, and Yuwen Qian immediately turned around: "Father?"
Yuwen Yuan's expression changed, and he shouted, "Tell Yu Dingxing to stop!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Mingyue, who was standing to the side, frowned. She subconsciously wanted to say something, but she immediately stopped herself the moment she opened her mouth. After all, this was a battle. Even though she was able to accompany the emperor here as the daughter of the Duke of Wushan, she would have no room to speak once the fighting started. If she said anything wrong, Yuwen Yuan would only hate her more!
But what exactly happened?
At this moment, the two sides were locked in fierce combat. Even if the outcome was not yet fully determined, Yuwen Yuan, as a veteran who had once dominated the battlefield, should have understood that calling a retreat at this time would not help the war in the slightest and might even provoke a counterattack from the enemy.
This doesn't seem like something Yuwen Yuan would do.
But everything that happened today was strange. The people she had arranged died on this riverbank. Yu Dingxing was crossing the river by boat when he encountered people suddenly rushing out from the other side before he even reached the shore. In the chaos, Yu Mingyue couldn't even tell whether they were Fan Chengen's or Jiang Chongen's men. Now, Yuwen Yuan was going to back down halfway.
Thinking of this, she bit her lower lip and glanced at Yuwen Qian beside her.
Sure enough, at this moment, Yuwen Qian's face also showed a surprised expression, as if he had noticed something amiss in the battle ahead. Upon hearing Yuwen Yuan's words, he immediately said, "Father?"
Yuwen Yuan shouted sternly, "Sound the retreat! Withdraw the troops!"
No sooner had he uttered that shout than an even more shrill scream came from the river ahead. But the scream did not come from the boats coming from the opposite bank. Instead, it came from the boat led by Yu Dingxing. Yu Dingxing, who was standing at the bow directing the battle, suddenly froze. Then, his tall body took several steps back, swaying precariously as if he was about to fall backward!
The people around turned around and were stunned. They immediately rushed forward to protect him!
But it was too late.
Yu Dingxing's tall body fell heavily like a jade mountain collapsing. People around him hurriedly helped him up, but in the air, a gush of blood could be seen gushing out like a spring!
He was hit by an arrow!
"Withdraw immediately!"
Just as Yuwen Yuan shouted again, the people below finally reacted and hurriedly sounded the retreat. The sharp sound immediately pierced through the biting wind and surging waves, reaching the ears of those in front. After Yu Dingxing was hit by the arrow, the people around him were in chaos and stopped attacking the ships in front. At this moment, they immediately turned their ships around and moved towards the shore.
On those boats, the people were already dead, scattered everywhere, leaving only boatloads of blood and corpses, drifting helplessly downstream.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
Yu Gonggong and the others wanted to remind him, but Yuwen Yuan no longer listened to what they were saying. He stared intently at the boats on the river and then looked towards the opposite bank. At this moment, the soldiers who heard the gong could only fight and retreat, but behind them was the Yellow River, and there was no room for retreat.
Normally, if this were the case, they would only face certain death.
But now, upon hearing the signal to retreat, their opponents also stopped fighting!
Even though they were the ones sounding the retreat, the other side seemed to have even less will to fight. As soon as they stopped, these people immediately retreated, leaving a large blank space on the already small riverbank.
Of course, it's not completely blank.
The riverbank was now littered with corpses, a veritable mountain of blood. Blood flowed continuously along the rocks beneath their feet, eventually merging into the murky yellow river water, adding a pungent, bloody stench to the already heavy earthy smell.
These people gripped their swords tightly, their faces covered in blood, their eyes bloodshot, panting heavily, yet they were at a loss.
They didn't even know why this battle had started!
Seeing that things were getting increasingly wrong, Yuwen Qian's brows furrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "Father, what exactly is going on—"
Yuwen Yuan didn't speak, but his expression grew increasingly grim. He immediately stepped down the riverbank, terrifying those around him. They tried to dissuade him, but seeing the emperor's expression, they all fell silent, only able to surround him closely to ensure he didn't easily fall into any danger. Fortunately, by this time, most of the people on the boats were already dead, and the soldiers on the opposite bank stood still, showing no intention of charging any further.
Soon, the large ship sailed back to the ferry dock.
As soon as they docked, the people on the ship panicked and shouted as they helped Yu Dingxing off the ship. He stumbled and was supported by those around him, but most of his body was stained with blood. When he walked up to Yuwen Yuan and suddenly knelt down, everyone gasped in shock at his appearance.
There was an arrow stuck in his left eye socket!
He was shot in one eye!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty—"
He wanted to say something more, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the muscles in his face moved, causing the arrow in his eye socket to move and agitate his wound. He immediately let out another shrill scream of pain. Yuwen Yuan immediately said, "Quickly, get the imperial physician to come and treat him!"
"Your Majesty, your humble servant—"
He was about to say something when Yuwen Yuan interrupted him with a loud shout!
At this moment, everyone seemed to vaguely sense that his roar was not only out of heartache and anger over the losses of his subordinates, but also contained some other emotions. Yu Dingxing himself seemed to feel a little guilty, and could only cover his eyes with one hand, blood still flowing down between his fingers. He was immediately helped downstairs, and the accompanying imperial physician Lin Shi'an rushed up and led him aside for treatment.
Yuwen Yuan was still standing at the ferry, looking at the riverbank in front of him.
Yuwen Qian frowned: "Father, what exactly is going on?"
"..."
Yuwen Yuan did not answer him immediately. His tiger-like eyes were fixed on the green forest behind the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the opposite bank, as if he was waiting for something.
Finally, a heavy sound gradually rose from the dense thicket of trees, which resembled a mountain wall. Then, countless figures moved about, and Yuwen Qian and the others tensed up again. Just as they subconsciously gripped their swords and prepared to be on guard, a tall figure suddenly emerged from the woods!
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