Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 276 270. Decisive Battle
The Wu army was completely routed by the Han army's tentative attack. The veterans might not have been defeated so thoroughly, but the new recruits had forgotten their training and military discipline when they fled, and finally took those soldiers who still had some rationality with them.

"General Bu, there are only about 25,000 remaining soldiers..."

Lu Dai lowered his head and reported to Bu Zhi, whose face was equally gloomy as if water seemed to drip out of it.

Bu Zhi knew clearly that only two or three thousand men were killed or wounded by the Han army, and the remaining ten thousand or so were probably all deserters, hiding in some corner, waiting for the war to end.

However, there is also good news. Most of those who escaped were new recruits, and more than half of the remaining 25,000 people were veterans, so their combat effectiveness is still guaranteed.

"Set up camp inland to resist the Han army's infantry."

Bu Zhi thought about it and finally decided to stay away from the river. The performance of the Han navy in this battle was really amazing. The firepower of more than a dozen Han warships and some small boats actually suppressed a camp directly.

Bu Zhi was not a fool. He knew that since the Wu army had no navy and all its ships were damaged, it would be better to have a decisive battle with the Han army on land.

Why not defend the city to the death? Because Bu Zhi knew that defending the city was meaningless. The Han army could easily break through the city with "magic magic", and when the time came, he would have nowhere to run and would be strangled by the Han army.

"Yes."

Lü Dai received the order and prepared to lead his soldiers to a nearby hill with a slight slope to defend it. Bu Zhi asked himself that in such a terrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack, it would be difficult for the Han army to defeat him in a field battle.

"Reporting to the Grand Commander, our army has won a great victory in the attack. The Wu army hastily retreated thirty miles and has now camped on a hill outside Shicheng. It seems that they are determined to defend this hill to the death."

The Han army scouts quickly reported the news from the front line to Feng Xi in the rear.

"We were defeated 60 miles after just one probing attack? Tell us the details of this battle."

Feng Xi was also shocked by the weak fighting power of the Wu army, and hurriedly asked the scout for details. The scout told him the story of how the Wu army was suppressed by the navy and then collapsed at the first blow.

Feng Xi finally understood, sent away the scouts, and began to think about the next battle. Now it seems that Bu Zhi has learned a lesson, knowing that the Han navy is sharp, he simply retreated to the inland area, making it impossible for the navy to reach, and he could only use the infantry to attack.

However, it was difficult for him to ignore Bu Zhi's troops. If he ignored Bu Zhi and attacked Jianye directly, Bu Zhi, who was also a veteran on the battlefield, would definitely seize the opportunity to cut off his food supply or attack him from both sides. It was better to be safe than sorry. The plan to destroy Wu had to succeed immediately, and Feng Xi did not want to take risks at this time and add to the trouble.

"Very good. If you want to have a face-to-face battle... I should also let you know that my Han army is not limited to those crooked little tricks."

Feng Xi understood Bu Zhi's idea clearly. Bu Zhi obviously thought that the Han army could only advance here by relying on the advantages of gunpowder weapons and navy. However, he had long overlooked the fact that the combat effectiveness of the Wu army was originally low, and he did not know how the combat effectiveness of the Han army was now.

Feng Xi didn't mind teaching Bu Zhi a lesson and letting him remember the consequences of this misjudgment. Of course, the price was to completely destroy the last ray of hope for the Great Wu.

The remaining Han army quickly took action, setting out from Chungu County in a mighty force to join the vanguard. As the navy was no longer effective, Feng Xi ordered Zhang Nan and Zhao Lei to block the Yangtze River, in order to cut off the food supply route to Jiangdong and prevent Sun Quan from going north to join Cao Wei.

Although Sun Quan had already proclaimed himself emperor and was at war with the other two families, nothing was absolute. If Sun Quan really became cowardly and fled north, and Cao Pi really took him in, there would still be many troubles.

People live just for the sake of dreams. By that time, those people in Dongwu who are loyal to Sun Quan will do whatever troubles they want. The effect will definitely be worse than letting Sun Quan die.

The Han army came to this hill in a mighty force, and set up camp ten miles away from the Wu army. The two sides observed each other for a day, trying to see the strength of each other's camp. Bu Zhi climbed up and looked down, and saw that the Han army camp was in good order. Although the soldiers inside were still talking and laughing, their postures and steps were still alert. Bu Zhi had no doubt that they would be talking and laughing in the previous second and enter the battle state in the next second.

Seeing this situation and thinking of the rumors about Feng Xi he had heard before, Bu Zhi immediately gave up the idea of ​​launching a night attack to give Feng Xi a warning.

Originally, Bu Zhi thought that Feng Xi had not yet established a firm foothold and his soldiers were tired, so he would attack Feng Xi tonight. He did not seek to kill too many people, but only to suppress the morale of the Han army and give his own soldiers some confidence.

But thinking of the Battle of Yiling, Zhou Tai once said that the Han army was well-organized at night, as if they were not afraid of night attacks at all. Bu Zhi immediately gave up this dangerous idea.

If his night attack failed and Feng Xixian was chasing him, he would have no choice but to retreat to Danyang County. Once he entered the siege, he would no longer have any advantage and could only wait for the Han army to use magic to break through the city gates, and then everyone would be killed together.

"Alas... But defeating the Han army in a field battle is easier said than done..."

Although the city defense war was impossible, wasn't there no way to fight a field war? The Wu army was not familiar with the Han army, but knew nothing about it. The Wu army's intelligence was still at the stage of the Battle of Yiling, and they knew nothing about the subsequent wars.

Now facing the Han army, Bu Zhi had no idea what to do and could only wait and see.

"Crash..."

Early the next morning, the sound of water was heard, which stunned Feng Xi and Bu Zhi.

"Plum Rain"

The two of them thought of these two words in unison. It was the beginning of June, and the Yangtze River area was in the plum rain season.

"This is the moment to defeat Shu!"

Before Feng Xi could think much about it, Bu Zhi suddenly had an idea in his mind.

If it rains today, the fire and thunder spells of the Han army will hardly work. So even if we abolish the Han army's huge advantage, there is still a chance that we can defeat the Han army.

"General Lu, speed is of the essence in war. Set up your battle array immediately and challenge the Han army to a decisive battle."

Bu Zhi figured out all the key points and immediately made a decision, which made Lü Dai beside him unable to keep up with Bu Zhi's thinking. Bu Zhi quickly told Lü Dai his thoughts in two sentences, and Lü Dai finally understood and immediately ordered his troops to prepare for a decisive battle with the Han army.

"Huh? Bu Zhi has sent us a challenge, asking us to fight him tomorrow. How are we going to fight him?"

Feng Xi picked up the letter of challenge, somewhat incredulous. Was Bu Zhi completely crazy? Instead of defending the camp, he actually wanted to fight him?

Feng Xi waved the letter of challenge in his hand and asked the generals for their opinions.

(End of this chapter)