People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 507: Depressed
However, just at dawn, Liu Bei and Sun Quan, escorted by a group of civil and military officials, climbed up to the viewing platform on the shore. At a glance, the river had returned to calm, and the fierce fire of last night had disappeared as the river flowed eastward.

Only the wreckage of the ships and the bodies of the soldiers that washed ashore were silently telling of the cruelty and terror of last night.

In front of them were the Yellow Turban shells that the soldiers had collected, including chain shells that were very effective in destroying ship hulls, as well as single iron sphere solid shells.

Everyone just gathered around and studied it for a while, and then fell silent.

The shells were very heavy, but could be fired two miles away. It was hard to imagine what kind of divine power could achieve this. Moreover, the bombardment could maintain a fairly dense frequency to achieve a barrage coverage. Otherwise, it would not have caused such terrible casualties and damage as last night.

Of course, what is scary is not just the firing ability of this round bullet, but the round bullet itself is also unusual.

There is nothing mysterious about ordinary round bullets. The key is that the shapes and sizes of the round bullets placed on the ground are completely consistent. Liu Bei and Sun Quan summoned craftsmen to measure them, and the error was only a tiny bit. It is hard to imagine how such solid bullets were mass-produced with such precision. Such manufacturing capabilities are hard to imagine.

Moreover, iron itself is a precious resource. This side cannot even afford to make armor, but the other side can squander such iron bullets unscrupulously, which really makes the people of Wu and Shu feel uncomfortable.

Even though he knew it was not a good time to boost the morale of his men, Sun Quan could not help but sigh: "Could it be that Xu Chen is really a demon? If he does not have some supernatural powers, how could he do such a thing? The enemy has such a powerful weapon, how can we deal with it?"

Liu Bei's face was not looking good either. He could only find reasons to save face for his side: "Nothing is unpredictable. Xu Chen used to rely on explosives to do whatever he wanted, but now it is not so useful. Today's round bomb attack is terrible, but we may not be able to find a way to restrain it in the future."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone agreed, but they still felt heavy in their hearts.

Everyone understood that these were just Liu Bei's words of consolation. If they couldn't overcome this difficulty, there would be no future. Even if there was any way to restrain themselves, it would be just wishful thinking.

Liu Bei sighed, waved his hand and ordered his men to remove all the solid bullets. Talking about the issue of the new weapons further would only make their confidence drop further.

He looked into the distance. Although the river was very calm at this time, it did not make him feel at ease. "Last night, there was a discussion in my camp. Everyone thought that the Yellow Turbans would definitely take advantage of the victory to break through the upper reaches. I am afraid that we will face their attack soon."

Sun Quan nodded and said, "I had a conversation with Gongjin last night and I thought the same thing. Now I have dispatched the navy from the rear to go downstream. Even if it is difficult to stop the Yellow Turban navy, at least we can't let them have too much comfort!"

Liu Bei heard this and looked around Sun Quan. Sure enough, Zhou Yu was not there, only Lu Su was following him. He then asked, "I heard that your commander-in-chief was injured in a collision last night. Is he okay?"

Although Sun Quan was in a low mood, he managed a smile and responded: "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Gongjin's injury is not serious. I think he will be fine after a few days of rest."

After saying that, he also looked around Liu Bei, and saw Guan Yu with his left arm bare and a cloth bag wrapped around it, and he also responded with concern: "General Guan Yu, what's this?"

Liu Bei glanced at Guan Yu and said, "Yun Chang was accidentally shot by an arrow during the fierce battle last night. He has been treated now and seems to be fine."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two emperors looked at each other and sighed. The civil and military officials around them were also mostly demoralized, and the atmosphere was extremely gloomy and depressed.

It was a great defeat, especially in a naval battle where they had a huge advantage. This was an unparalleled blow to them.

What is more crucial is that many people have a deeper psychological shadow of the Yellow Turbans, to the point that they fall into self-doubt and wonder whether they can really challenge the Yellow Turbans.

If you can't even beat them like this, then what's the point of playing?
In their eyes, Huang Jin and Xu Chen could no longer be judged by common sense. Even in a situation where they were sure to win, Huang Jin could still pull out something unimaginable like a cannon to reverse the situation. No one would be able to get angry about this.

It was Xu Shu who stepped forward and broke the silence first: "Since it is difficult to stop the Yellow Turban Navy, our coalition should make follow-up plans. The most important thing next is to predict the main attack direction of the Yellow Turbans. Only in this way can our coalition deploy heavy troops for defense."

Hearing this, Sun Quan could not help but nod his head. It seemed that Shu Han was not short of talents, and his judgment of the situation was exactly the same as Zhou Yu's.

Thinking of what Zhou Yu had said last night, that the most important thing for the two countries of Wu and Shu now was to put aside their selfishness and cooperate sincerely, Sun Quan would not hide anything at this time, so he revealed Zhou Yu's judgment.

After hearing Zhou Yu's prediction of the three southern expedition routes last night and his prediction that the Yellow Turbans would mainly attack Jingzhou, everyone seemed to agree with him.

Both Wu and Shu have elite talents, and the results of their judgment based on the situation are similar. What Zhou Yu can think of, people like Lu Su and Xu Shu can also think of. It is not surprising that their ideas are consistent now.

"Zhou Gongjin's words can be trusted. The main attack of the Yellow Turbans this time should be in Jingzhou!" Liu Bei pondered for a while, looked at Sun Quan, and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Although Jingzhou is the territory of my Han country, it is related to the situation in the world. To defend against the enemy this time, I am afraid I need the help of Wu!"

Sun Quan did not hesitate at all, he just nodded and smiled: "Wu and Han are now of the same blood, how can we not help each other? If there was no help from the Shu navy in yesterday's naval battle, I'm afraid it would be ten times more miserable. When it's time for Wu to contribute, we will definitely not back down!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei relaxed a little. Without this promise, if he only relied on Shu Kingdom itself, he really had no confidence in stopping the attack of the Yellow Turbans.

This also gave him some hope. There seemed to be an unbreakable alliance between Wu and Han. Although this was a compromise and helplessness forced by the powerful Xuan Xia, the fact that both sides could cooperate sincerely could still give Liu Bei some confidence.

Afterwards, ministers from both countries also discussed future strategies here.

Lu Su stepped forward and said, "The Yellow Turbans' main attack route is just a guess. Our army must still be fully prepared. Even if we cannot fully confirm it now, we only need to keep a close eye on their naval movements to ensure that it is correct. After all, if they want to cross the river to fight, they will have to borrow warships and use intelligence gathering to assist."

As he was speaking, Lu Su suddenly paused because of the movement on the river in the distance, which interrupted his words.

The waters of the Yangtze River, which had once calmed down, were now turbulent again, and the huge Xuanxia navy was slowly moving upstream.

(End of this chapter)