novelAbuy Chapter 105 Thunderbolt Car
Chapter 105 Thunderbolt Car
Sun Ce shook his head and remained silent.
He knew, of course, that in the current situation, the only way to allow the main force to escape was to send someone to cover their retreat, then rush to Ruxukou and escape by boat.
But those who stayed behind to cover the retreat were almost certainly doomed.
Seeing that Sun Ce remained silent, Jiang Qin also spoke anxiously:
"My lord! You have treated me very well, and I will repay you with all my heart. My lord need not worry, I will also take this opportunity to meet this man and avenge the shame of Jiangdong."
Sun Ce glanced at Jiang Qin, and finally patted him on the shoulder, saying:
"Good brother! I'm entrusting everything to you! I'll be waiting for you to come back in Ruxukou."
Jiang Qin nodded heavily and said:
"My lord, rest assured! I, Jiang Qin, have seen all kinds of storms in my life. I'll see what right Yuan Tan has to look down on me. Even if I die in battle today, my lord, you must be careful of Yuan Tan. In the next life, I wish to be your subject again."
With that, he roared and led his troops to charge at Yuan Tan without hesitation.
Sun Ce stared blankly at Jiang Qin's departing figure, wondering if he should never have coveted Huainan in the first place, now finding himself in a lose-lose situation.
If only Gongjin were here, he would never have let me fall into such a sorry state.
Seeing that Sun Ce was still in a daze, Huang Gai hurriedly said:
"My lord, leave quickly! General Jiang is loyal and righteous, willing to die for his country! If you do not leave, won't General Jiang and all these heroic souls in the valley have sacrificed themselves in vain? How can our Jiangdong foundation and the people of the six counties be destroyed because of one person's anger? My lord! You must consider the greater good!"
Sun Ce came to his senses:
"Yuan Tan has gone too far! The entire army must advance at full speed, break through the port of Ruxu overnight, and then intercept our supplies on the spot!"
Hmph! You, Yuan Tan, have been playing tricks on me like this, so don't be impolite. I will definitely turn your territory upside down!
Hundreds of soldiers from Jiangdong formed a defensive line of flesh and blood, relying on the remains of their comrades and the protruding rocks in the canyon.
Everyone was wounded, yet everyone carried a shield.
The arrows were stuck to the shield, but they could not penetrate it.
Yuan Tan reined in his horse and stood in a safe spot outside the valley entrance, squinting at the fiercely resisting defensive line, and said to Zhao Yun beside him:
"Zilong, Jiang Qin is willing to sacrifice himself to save Sun Ce's life. Even if we manage to break through these suicide soldiers by force, my men will suffer heavy losses."
Damn it! My pension is very expensive, and I don't want to finish this war only to have the budget deficit again.
Zhao Yun looked up at the almost vertical cliffs on both sides:
"My lord, arrows cannot penetrate its shield, but the might of heaven is unstoppable. The weathered and loose rocks on both sides of this ravine can be used to roll logs and boulders."
A glint of light flashed in Yuan Tan's eyes, and he clapped his hands and laughed:
"Good! Order the soldiers lying in ambush on the cliff to stop shooting arrows and instead take all the loose rocks and broken logs and smash them! I want to turn this Eagle's Sorrow Gorge into Eagle Burial Gorge!"
The order was quickly relayed.
After a moment of deathly silence...
"Boom—!"
As if the mountain god was enraged, countless stones of different sizes began to roll down from the cliffs on both sides, which were hundreds of feet high!
At first, it was just a few scattered pieces, but it quickly turned into a sky-covering rain of gravel!
Smashing rocks is indeed more effective.
If only I had a catapult, I could throw stones anytime, anywhere.
Thinking of this, Yuan Tan suddenly had a glint in his eyes, glanced at Liu Ye beside him, and said:
"Ziyang, do you know what a trebuchet is?"
Liu Ye was also completely baffled. The battle was going so well, and you're asking me about the trebuchets?
How am I supposed to know what a Thunderbolt is?
"My lord, I truly do not know."
I'm speechless! You don't even know about the thing you invented?
Yuan Tan cursed inwardly, but kept a straight face.
Yes, the time isn't right yet. Liu Ye hasn't been forced into that situation yet, and hasn't started thinking about how to more efficiently smash the enemy's city walls and military formations.
"If I don't know, then so be it." Yuan Tan said calmly, "But it suddenly occurred to me that if there were a device that could help me throw these stones on the cliff farther and more accurately, without relying on this kind of terrain, and could be used anytime and anywhere... that would be wonderful."
He paused, then continued:
"For example, imagine using a giant log as an arm, with ropes twisting to create tension, and a basket filled with stones. Loosen the ropes to trigger the mechanism, and the giant stone flies through the air, falling hundreds of paces, crashing down on cities and ramparts with a thunderous roar… Ziyang, do you think this method is feasible?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Ye's pupils also contracted.
He had enjoyed tinkering with gadgets since he was a child, and when he heard about the method his lord mentioned, he immediately thought it was feasible.
If such a machine could truly be created... we would no longer need to rely on the lives of those who swarmed the enemy with ladders to conquer cities and fortresses; in open field battles, we could also strike first and disrupt the enemy's formation!
But how did you find out, my lord?
Could he truly be a prodigy who comprehended the profound truths of the universe amidst the chaos of battle?
"My lord..." Liu Ye's voice was a little dry, "This method... is exquisite! If the key points are reinforced with fine iron, the force is increased with ox tendons and a winch, and the accuracy is set with a ruler... perhaps it can be made real! Ye, I am willing to devote myself to studying this method!"
Yuan Tan then turned his head, nodded slightly, and spoke in a calm tone:
"This matter is not urgent. For now, let's settle the war here. As for this thing... I'll call it the 'Thunderbolt Cart.' Ziyang, think about it when you have some free time. It might come in handy in the future."
On the other side, Jiang Qin was also terrified when he saw the giant rock flying from the sky.
"Raise your shields! Hold the line!"
He roared.
But it was clearly too late.
Although the accuracy of a boulder is far less than that of an arrow, it still hits a massive area.
What need is there for accuracy?
The soldiers from Jiangdong strained to tilt their large shields upwards in an attempt to defend themselves.
Smaller stones struck the shield with a dull, terrifying thud; the shield-wielding soldier's hand was split open, his arm was broken, and he fell to the ground screaming in agony.
Larger stones completely ignored the shields, smashing people and shields alike into a bloody pulp!
A massive, broken log, requiring several people to encircle it, rolled down the road, crushing everything in its path. The sound of bones snapping and tendons breaking was enough to make your teeth ache, instantly carving a bloody alley through the defensive line!
The timid soldiers had already lost control of their bladders and were vomiting uncontrollably, while the bolder ones were still in shock.
But even a moment's distraction on the battlefield can immediately summon death.
Soon another wave of boulders came crashing down, and countless soldiers were felled to the ground like grass being cut down.
In a short period of time, hundreds of people have already been lost.
"ah--!"
"My legs!"
"save……"
Screams of agony rose and fell in an instant.
The once-solid shield array was instantly smashed to pieces, with severed limbs scattered everywhere.
Jiang Qin's eyes were bloodshot!
He witnessed a young soldier who had just used his shield to deflect several flying stones for him when, in the next second, he was completely engulfed by a boulder the size of a millstone, along with his shield, leaving only a pool of blood seeping from beneath the rock.
He saw his comrades, with whom he had spent every day, being crushed like ants before the giant rock.
Despair and anger nearly consumed him.
He looked in the direction where Sun Ce had disappeared into the valley, then turned back to look at the shadowy Yuan Tan army outside the valley.
He knew he was in big trouble this time.
But let's do our best, as long as we can delay the main force for long enough to get it further away.
As long as our lord can successfully return to Jiangdong.
Then it would be worth it to lose my life here.
"General! Let's retreat! We can't hold out any longer!"
The captain beside him was covered in blood and was crying out.
"We can't retreat!"
Jiang Qin roared,
"Every moment we hold them off here gives our lord a better chance of survival! Even if it's a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, I, Jiang Qin, will not retreat a single step!"
He brandished his sword and roared at the terrified soldiers:
"Young men of Jiangdong, are you afraid of death?!"
Fortunately, Sun Ce usually treated his soldiers very well, so even in this life-or-death situation, these soldiers still showed great courage when Jiang Qin raised his arms and shouted.
"Fearless!"
"Fight for our lord!"
"kill--!"
The remaining soldiers no longer tried to form a shield formation, but instead gathered in small groups, relying on the blind spots of the rocks, and desperately used their weapons to block the falling rocks, trying to buy some space for their comrades.
They knew it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, yet not one of them retreated.
Jiang Qin took the lead, wielding his waist knife with lightning speed, and shattered several stones that flew towards him. His tiger's mouth was already cracked from the impact, and blood flowed down the hilt of the knife, but he still stood firm.
I'm going to stick with you no matter what. Don't you, Yuan Tan, think I'm a river pirate?
Today I'll show you the courage of a river pirate!
If you want to catch up with your lord, you'll have to step over my dead body.
Outside the valley, Yuan Tan watched this extremely tragic scene with a blank expression.
A hint of respect flashed in Zhao Yun's eyes.
"Chiang Kung-yi... was a real man."
Yuan Tan commented casually.
"Unfortunately, they followed the wrong person and chose the wrong path. Issue the order to intensify the crackdown and clean up the mess as soon as possible. Sun Ce... won't get far."
……
The vast Yangtze River, its waters shrouded in mist.
More than ten merchant ships with deep drafts, hoisting ordinary hemp sails, mingled with the cargo ships traveling to and from the Wu and Hui regions, and sailed slowly and steadily towards Moling along the river.
The ship was piled high with sacks, and the sailors and crew were all dressed like merchants in short clothes.
On the largest ship at the head of the group, Yan Liang wore a brown silk shirt with a windproof cloak over it, and his hat brim was pulled low, covering half of his rugged face.
He placed his hand on his waist, where a short blade was concealed.
Beside him were several bodyguards, also in disguise, and Li Cheng, Xu Gong's trusted retainer.
"General Yan, Moling is just ahead."
Li Cheng pointed to the faint outline of the city walls appearing on the riverbank and whispered.
"As agreed, my lord has secretly taken control of two water gates and bribed the soldiers at three beacon towers. As soon as the fleet docks and signals are given, someone will come to meet them."
Yan Liang nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the rammed earth beacon towers on several high grounds along the riverbank.
The beacon towers were quiet at the moment, with only a few soldiers moving about, paying little attention to their fleet.
The transmission of signal fires is crucial for early warning along the river; if bribed, it can indeed greatly increase the success rate of a surprise attack.
"Prefect Xu is indeed thoughtful."
Yan Liang's voice was deep.
"However, I've heard that Sun Ce is quite popular in Jiangdong. Prefect Xu, are you sure no one in the city will report this to Sun Ce?"