Chapter 153: Our Commander is a deity descended to earth

Stones fell, smashing against the blast shields with a roar.

The soldiers holding the shields fell to the ground, but quickly stood up again.

The mountain terrain was indeed steep, but the troops attacking the mountain were all mountain folk.

Back home, there were plenty of mountains even steeper than this.

Rows of soldiers raised their shields and advanced, enduring stones and crossbow bolts, charging up to close quarters.

"Kill!"

The Left Army soldiers thrust their spears forward, the long spears striking the blast shields but sliding off with a hiss.

The rebel soldiers looked through the observation windows of their riot shields, advanced to deflect the long spears, swung their ram's horn hammers, and smashed them into the Left Army soldiers' shoulders.

The leather armor worn by the Left Army soldiers could not withstand such heavy blows at all.

The crisp sound of shattering bones erupted along with screams.

Following up with another hammer blow, the Left Army soldier fell completely silent.

The rebel officers and soldiers raised their shields and charged hard, relying on sturdy armor and shields, climbing step by step, constantly slaying and driving back the Left Army troops.

On the riverside of Ma Dang Shan were near-vertical cliffs.

Clusters of Left Army soldiers were occasionally squeezed off the cliff, carrying shrill howls as they fell into the surging river waters.

"Surrender~ surrender~~"

With no way out and truly unable to fight, the remaining Left Army soldiers threw down their weapons one after another and knelt to surrender.

They were bound and brought down the mountain.

Afterwards there would be interrogation and screening.

Those with crimes would be sentenced to years of hard labor or beheading according to the severity of their crimes.

Those who had committed no crimes would be judged by individual ability.

The capable would be incorporated into the Auxiliary Soldier Camp.

The incapable would be sent by lot to various prefectures and counties to be settled as commoners.

Lin Dao walked up the mountain, raising a telescope to observe the fleet on the river.

Ships flying the Zuo Liangyu Flag almost covered the entire river surface.

At strategic points along both banks of the river, large numbers of troops were stationed, with connected camps stretching in patches.

Regardless of public opinion, Zuo Liangyu, after many years of military life, still had ability.

"From a high position looking down, they are all targets."

Putting down the telescope, Lin Dao instructed everyone to retreat.

His figure flashed and disappeared.

When he reappeared, he brought a pile of artillery with him.

Zuo Liangyu thought the mountain was too steep for heavy iron cannons to be hauled up.

That was indeed true, but he did not know Lin Dao had the means to transport materials through space and time.

Not to mention Ma Dang Shan, even cliffs as steep as those of Zhangjiajie.

As long as Lin Dao could get up there, any kind of supplies could be delivered.

"Set up the gun batteries!"

Lin Dao instructed, "Calculate the firing angles, prepare the ammunition."

"After dark, coordinate with the fire ships and blast them to pieces!"

In Peng Ze County, dense hoofbeats roared like thunder.

Lin Dao personally led the team, leading several hundred mounted infantry on a detour of over a hundred miles, changing horses but not people along the way, finally reaching the riverbank before dark.

Dismounting at the riverbank, Lin Dao's figure instantly disappeared.

When he reappeared, over a hundred small boats were already lined up before him.

Fire oil, dry grass, sulfur, orange-red life jackets, and other items were piled up like mountains.

The soldiers who witnessed this scene all had fervent gazes and heavy breathing.

The look in their eyes toward Lin Dao was as if they were seeing a deity manifesting his power.

The Commander is the true Chosen One of Heaven!

"You are all true warriors."

Lin Dao's gaze swept over the several hundred officers and soldiers who had volunteered: "You have come to save the oppressed people of Hu Guang, to let them live good days."

"Your brave deeds will surely be recorded in history books."

"I will tell the people of Hu Guang that you once fought valiantly for them!"

"I believe the people of Hu Guang will erect monuments and build shrines for the warriors who died on the battlefield."

"Your achievements will be remembered in their hearts for generations!"

The officers and soldiers listened with hot-blooded fervor.

Each one was emotionally moved, wishing they could rush into the Da Jiang right now.

Lin Dao looked up at the sky and waved his hand.

"Depart!"

The officers and soldiers, according to their respective groups, ran toward the fire ships.

They piled dry grass, fire oil, and other items onto the ships, and checked the fire-starting items each carried.

After saluting Lin Dao, they pushed one boat after another into the Da Jiang.

Watching the fleet drift downstream and gradually fade away, Lin Dao calmed his breath.

"The more I give rousing speeches, the better my eloquence becomes."

He mounted his horse, and the bodyguards led the many horses, returning by the original route at a gallop.

As the sky grew late, Zuo Liangyu on the big ship felt a persistent unease in his heart and mind.

This feeling had appeared before when he faced the Jiannu Army, and when he faced Li Chuang at Zhuxian Town.

"What is going on?"

Unable to sit or lie still, Zuo Liangyu simply got up and paced back and forth inside the ship's cabin.

"The fleet is positioned upstream, iron chains block the river, several hundred warships seal off the river surface."

"The strategic points on both banks are all heavily guarded."

"What exactly am I panicking about?"

No matter how Zuo Liangyu thought about it, he did not feel he would lose, yet his heart was simply uneasy.

"Enough."

Years of caution made him decide to go ashore first.

Having feet on solid ground would ultimately put one's heart more at ease.

Arriving at the camp on the riverbank, the pent-up frustration in Zuo Liangyu's heart had not dissipated much.

He called over the army physician for a diagnosis; the physician expressed it was merely seasickness.

After taking some calming medicinal soup, Zuo Liangyu gradually fell into a drowsy sleep.

In his sleep, he dreamed the Great Ming had perished.

He himself held heavy troops, becoming an object of recruitment by all sides.

He was enfeoffed all the way, even reaching the rank of Prince.

In the end he slept on brushwood and tasted gall, ten years gathering and ten years teaching, sweeping across the realm and unifying all under heaven.

When the time came to ascend the throne and sacrifice to heaven, cheers shook like thunder, ten thousand cannons sounded in unison.

The old brothers who had followed him on campaigns all along revealed smiles before him.

Feeling dizzy, Zuo Liangyu finally opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the face of his old brother Ma Shi Xiu right before him.

He subconsciously blurted out, "I confer upon you—"

"General Zuo!!"

Ma Shi Xiu, with an anxious expression, vigorously shook Zuo Liangyu: "Enemy troops are killing their way over!"

"Wh-what?"

The calming medicine's effect was very good; Zuo Liangyu was still somewhat groggy at this moment.

'Boom—rumble~~~'

The thunderous roar transmitted from outside the tent finally made him wake up a bit.

"Thunder? Is it raining?"

"It's not thunder or rain!" Ma Shi Xiu exerted himself to prop him up. "It's the bandit troops on Ma Dang Shan firing cannons!"

He shook his head; Zuo Liangyu, wearing a silk sleeping robe, stumbled out of the main tent.

On the distant Ma Dang Shan, large clusters of fire light burst forth from time to time.

The booming cannonade sounded like startling thunder.

The dense fleet on the river surface became fixed, living targets.

One scorching cannonball after another flew over, smashing so that wood chips splashed and hulls were damaged.

"How can this be?!"

Rubbing his eyes, Zuo Liangyu's vision was filled with disbelief.

"Heavy cannons that can shoot this far—how did they transport them up there?"

"They only captured Ma Dang Shan at noon, and they can fire cannons already?!"

Zuo Liangyu clutched his head: "I was wrong, Ma Dang Shan is the array eye!"

"I should have defended Ma Dang Shan to the death; it is my fault!"

"General Zuo!" Ma Shi Xiu stomped his feet in anxiety. "Don't think about these things now, hurry and order the fleet to retreat."

"Good, good." Zuo Liangyu nodded repeatedly.

Just as he was about to give the order for the fleet to hurriedly weigh anchor and flee, at least hiding outside the cannon range.

He was stunned to see, on the distant river surface, dots of fire light rising.

"That is."

"They are fire attack ships!!"

Over a hundred fire attack ships drifted downstream; their hulls burning with raging flames, they crashed straight into Zuo Liangyu's fleet.

Here at Ma Dang Xia, the channel is narrow.

Previously, Zuo Liangyu's fleet was almost all gathered together, one ship pressed against another.

The fire attack ships drifting from behind collided and ignited the ships; aided by the wind the fire gradually spread, igniting one ship after another.

Some ships that had weighed anchor, in the panic attempted to drift downstream.

But the iron chains they had previously set up to block the river instead intercepted these ships.

Ahead, cannon fire from a commanding height; behind, a great fire burning, cutting off the retreat.

Zuo Liangyu's proud massive navy had become turtles in a jar at this moment.

"How could they come from upstream?"

The bewildered Zuo Liangyu dared not believe his own eyes.

Upstream is all his own territory; how could so many fire attack ships appear!

No one could answer his doubt.

Zuo Liangyu fell into anger, he loudly scolded and ordered "Go to the riverbank! Capture those bandit troops and bring them over, I want to interrogate how they came from upstream!"

The courageous warriors who ignited the fire attack ships, wearing life jackets, jumped into the water one after another, swimming toward both banks.

Both sides were Zuo Liangyu's camps, many people were captured and killed.

A soldier was captured before Zuo Liangyu.

Facing the questioning, the soldier only said "Our Great Commander is a heavenly god descended to earth!"

The furious Zuo Liangyu, seizing a knife, was about to kill.

But earth-shaking shouts of killing rang out from outside the camp perimeter.

The offensive on land also unfolded accordingly.

The Righteous Army's offensive was extremely fierce.

Especially Lin Dao who rushed back on a fast horse, without any rest, directly drove a shovel loader into battle.

The shovel loader pushed earth to fill the moat, crashed through the antler obstacles, pushed down the fences, and opened a breach.

Large batches of armored soldiers surged in, setting fires and killing everywhere.

The ambushed Zuo Army, morale collapsed, quickly fell into chaos and rout.

"Commander Zuo." Ma Shi Xiu dragged Zuo Liangyu toward the horseback "Leave quickly!"

"My son Meng Geng is still on the ship!" Zuo Liangyu's heart ached to the extreme, gazing at the fleet burning ever more fiercely on the Da Jiang, tears fell down.

"Commander Zuo!"

Ma Shi Xiu angrily shouted "What time do you think it is, save yourself first!"

He loudly instructed Zuo Liangyu's household servants "Escort the Great Commander back to Jiujiang Prefecture, I will hold the rear!"

The river surface and both banks grew increasingly turbulent.

Zuo Liangyu, who originally thought he held every advantage, lost all his stakes in one night.

Defeated on both water and land.

Several hundred ships, almost none escaped, including his son Zuo Meng Geng, many people's whereabouts are unknown.

Perhaps after some days, the fishermen downstream can fish some up.

The numerous connected camps on both banks, under the impact of Lin Dao's troops, were successively breached like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.

The Zuo Jun Bing Ma with collapsed morale, in the dark night, collided about like headless flies.

Either killed or captured.

Confidant Generals like Ma Shi Xiu, either died in battle or were captured.

The army boasting two hundred thousand, nearly annihilated in a single battle.

Only an extremely small number of people escaped with their lives.

Zuo Liangyu, pursued for one night, had only a few household servants left by his side.

Defeated so miserably, it was an unprecedented event.

When he fled to Xiao Gu Shan, he could not help but burst into loud weeping.

The crying had not ceased, yet he saw large batches of bandits surrounding from all directions.

End of Chapter