Chapter 408: Beginning the River Crossing

As they continued to push forward, a wide Dahe blocked their path. It was impossible for them to swim across, nor could they just hold onto a piece of wood to cross the river; this was completely unachievable. Moreover, it was already quite late, so they abandoned the plan to attack the city today, deciding instead to set up camp first and then think of a way to cross the river.

From here, they could already see the people on the city walls. Baoxi took one look, and the walls were lined with fully armed Soldiers. This meant they had clearly received news and were able to prepare so thoroughly; otherwise, no tribe would place a group of able-bodied laborers on the city walls to monitor the surroundings.

Baoxi walked to the bank of the Dahe without any hesitation. Looking at the rolling, rushing water and the strange buildings and rotating objects on the bank, he felt very unfamiliar.

By this time, Baifeng had long since moved their Large Ships to a Matou upstream. Otherwise, if Baoxi had seen them, he would have been incredibly shocked. He only knew that the Huaxia ships grew larger year by year, but he did not know how many ships Huaxia possessed.

These hidden ships were also a major sharp weapon for Huaxia to launch a surprise attack on the Suiren Clan. No matter what methods the Suiren Clan used, they had to cross the river. Once they entered the water, it became the absolute domain of the Huaxia Navy. They were confident that no troop could defeat Huaxia on the water.

The people of the Zisheng Tribe had been waiting upstream for many days. Their communication with the city relied entirely on carrier pigeons. After their carrier pigeons were trained, they could travel back and forth between the two locations over short distances upon hearing the sound of a pigeon whistle, so their exchange was not one-way.

Baoxi's eyes were bright. He had already seen Baifeng, who was also on the city wall, so he shouted confidently: "Baifeng, today my Suiren Clan has brought thirty thousand Soldiers to attack your Huaxia, intending to occupy your entire Huaxia territory. Are you afraid?"

Baifeng heard the faint voice coming from Baoxi, but the content was clear. He took an iron megaphone, held it to his mouth, and shouted: "Baoxi, I don't know who gave you the guts to attack me. Don't ask me if I'm afraid; you should first be able to cross this river before you talk!"

Baoxi felt his voice was too small and lacked momentum, but he did not have the object that could amplify sound like the one in Baifeng's hand. So, he waved his hand to summon a few Soldiers, letting them shout together to relay his voice.

Baifeng saw Baoxi say a few words to those Soldiers, and then those men shouted in unison: "Baifeng, we of the Suiren Clan have never been defeated. We can be considered friends, so how about this: you send over your Huaxia food and Weapons, and I won't attack you. How about that!"

Their voices were loud but not synchronized, and because the speech was too long, it was intermittent in the middle, but it expressed Baoxi's meaning very clearly.

Baifeng was not polite either: "Baoxi, if you want food, come and grab it yourself. Let's see if you take away our Huaxia food and territory, or if you leave your Suiren Clan Soldiers on our land to feed the wild beasts!"

Baoxi did not speak again. He made a throat-slitting gesture at Baifeng and then turned to leave. Only then did Baifeng realize that this gesture seemed to be one he had used on Baoxi before. He didn't expect this Baoxi to be so vengeful; after so long, he still hadn't forgotten to return it.

Baoxi left. He returned to the camp and gathered the remaining Leaders to discuss tactics. The first priority was to find a way to cross the river. Baifeng also descended from the city wall; he also had to hold a meeting to once again emphasize discipline and tactics to all the officers.

At the meeting, they emphasized again, clarified their respective duties, and reviewed their plans. Afterward, those on duty stood guard, and those off duty rested. This night was destined to be a sleepless one. The Soldiers on the city walls were even more vigilant, not daring to relax in the slightest. If they felt a bit drowsy or sleepy, they would chew Tea Leaves raw to refresh themselves.

After judging the width and depth of the river, Baoxi and his men concluded that they could only cross by making rafts; there was no other way. So, they worked through the night, finding bamboo to start building Bamboo Rafts, determined to be able to start crossing the river early the next morning.

Wide Bamboo Rafts were tied together one by one and then dragged to the riverbank, waiting to be used in the morning, and they never stopped the progress of production.

Baoxi slept a wonderful sleep in his Tent. He believed he had to maintain absolute mental clarity to command the upcoming war.

As for the Soldiers, they each had their own thoughts. Some, upon seeing the wide river surface and the tall city walls, felt that they had little hope of conquering Huaxia. Even if they did conquer it, they would suffer huge losses, and they might be one of those losses.

Others were more optimistic, their minds filled with what the Tribal Chief had said: as long as they conquered Huaxia, they would never have to worry about having nothing to eat again, and they would never have to go hungry again.

Before the sky was completely bright, Baifeng could no longer sleep, so he simply got up and prepared to go to the city wall to take a look. Sui also didn't have much sleepiness, but she was afraid of disturbing Baifeng, so she didn't make any noise.

Upon hearing the rustling sound of Baifeng getting up, she also got up, lit the Oil Lamp, and personally dressed Baifeng in his armor. She didn't say a word the entire time. When he opened the door to leave, Chinv was already waiting at the door. She also didn't say a word, just watching Baifeng leave along with Sui.

Baifeng braved the autumn wind and climbed the city wall. By the time he got up there, he found that most of the officers had already arrived, except for those who were off-duty and preparing to rotate in after dawn.

The office in the distance was also lit; it seemed he was not the only one who couldn't sleep.

Baifeng led those officers to inspect the front city wall to boost the morale of the Soldiers.

Just as the sky was brightening, Baifeng saw the Suiren Clan begin to move. Their men lowered the huge Bamboo Rafts into the water one by one and then began to board the rafts one by one. It seemed there were even people specifically assigned to pole the rafts. They pushed together with bamboo poles and then slowly left the bank.

More than a dozen such Bamboo Rafts came over at once, each carrying dozens of people. Baifeng felt these people were truly brave, and as soon as those dozen or so rafts left the bank, a similar number of rafts followed into the water.

Lu asked Baifeng from the side whether they should send word to the Navy now to have them set out immediately.

Baifeng looked at the rafts already in the middle of the river. After thinking for a moment, he said: "Don't be in a hurry. Let some people come over first. It looks like the Suiren Clan is still testing things out. When enough of them enter the river at once, then we will let the Navy set out. Let these people who come over first serve as practice for the Soldiers, so that if we can't stop them, we won't be nervous due to lack of experience when too many people come over at once."