Chapter 9: The Battle of Kuaiji, Sun Quan Suffers a Defeat!

  After a journey of half a month, Man Chong and Lü Rui finally arrived in Guangling. Chen Deng led the civil and military officials of Guangling to welcome them outside the city gate.

  "Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling, paid his respects to Lord Man and Little Master!"

  Yuan Long was courteous, Yuan Long came out to welcome him, and let Man Chong be favored as if he were surprised!

  "Mr. Bao Ning was polite and invited them in!" Then Chen Deng took Man Chong and Lü Rui into the governor's mansion, and later brought the two to have a meal outside the mansion.

  "Why did Yuan Long take us two out of the house for dinner? Is it that Yuan Long's house lacks a good chef?" Man Chong asked Chen Deng with a smile.

  Chen Deng nodded his hands on the carriage and said, "Ben Ning was right, the head chef in my mansion is indeed not as skilled as the head chef of Wangyue Tower. This tower is the first tower in Guangling, the dishes are delicious, and Young Master and Ben Ning will definitely like it!"

  "Then I must thank Brother Yu Long!"

  "It's still Yuan Long who understands this Marquis, delicious food, this Marquis won't let go!" Lü Rui licked his lips, there's more good food!

  Before long, the three of them arrived at Wangyuelou. The young boy saw Chen Deng and hurriedly came forward to greet him, saying: "Has Mr. Chen arrived? Our humble shop has already prepared a superior private room for you, please!" The three followed the young boy to the private room on the top floor and sat down.

  Chen Deng pointed east and said: "Bo Ning, Hou Ye, from here you can see my Guangling City, and a bit further is Maling. What do you two think?"

  Man Chong and Lü Rui followed Chen Deng's finger to look over, and at a glance, both of them were shocked. Is this Guangling City? Although the area is not as large as Xiapi City, it is even more prosperous. The houses below are all clear and bright red-tiled houses! This is really frightening, such houses can only be afforded by the rich, and the prosperity of Guangling may be comparable to Luoyang before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Chen Yuanlong is not simple!

  "Yu Long brother is indeed a talent in governance, the prosperity of Guangling is rarely seen in the great Han, I admire and respect him!"

  "Bo Ning was just being polite, Yuan Long was simply doing his duty!"

  "Yuan Long is a great talent, if the Jiangdong bandits attack Guangling, they will be asking for death!" Lv Rui also flattered Chen Deng with one sentence.

  "Thank you, young master. My father is at the Xudu Governor's mansion and I would like to ask you to take care of him more. At the same time, if Governor Cai needs anything, Guangling will also fully assist Governor Cai!"

  "Yuan Long, you can rest assured that Old Chen is doing well at the Si Kong Mansion. As for Master Si Kong, he also trusts Yuan Long very much and has entrusted him with Guangling, hoping that Yuan Long will not disappoint Master Si Kong's intentions!" Alright, little Deng Deng, I know you're a talented person, and in front of Cao Zhi's wife, I'll put in a good word for you too. As long as it's beneficial to the Cao Wei, even if you don't say anything, I'll do it!

  "Thank you, young master!"

  "Mr. Chen, your dishes are ready!" The boss himself brought up the dishes.

  "Come, Lord Bao and Master Hou, let's have dinner together. I'll introduce you to the local dishes. This dish is called Guangling fish, it's said...". The three of them had a pleasant dinner at Wangyue Tower and then returned to their residence to rest. Today was definitely for reminiscing about old times, tomorrow they would start discussing official business!

  The next day, under Chen Deng's leadership, Man Chong and Lü Rui began to inspect the city defense of Guangling. The city defense of Guangling was very strict under Chen Deng's arrangement. There were beacon towers, arrow towers, and basic defenses were all in place. After inspecting Guangling, Chen Deng took the two to a small castle by the river.

  The small city is over twenty miles away from Guangling, just a short distance from the riverbank. The city walls are high and the moat is deep, making its defenses even stronger than those of Guangling. Man Chong looked around and asked: "Yuan Long, what city is this?"

  "This city is called Kuaiji, it's less than thirty miles away from Guangling, and it's a crucial place for our army to defend against Eastern Wu!"

  "Oh? Please instruct me, Yuan Long!" Man Chong asked with a bow.

  "Bo Ning, Lord Hou, look at this city, which can see the distant view of Jiangdong and other places in the east. The two rivers to the east and west are urgent, only this place is relatively calm. I have observed that within a year, only for a short half month, the river water here is turbulent, and the rest of the days are relatively calm. If the army of Jiangdong sends troops to land, this place with a radius of twenty miles is the best!"

  "Yuan Long is indeed meticulous in his observation, this place is the best location for the Jiangdong army to land, from here we can understand the details of the enemy's landing and wait for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack. Yuan Long is really great!"

  "Bo Ning smiled and said, 'In the future, I will move all the nearby villages to the north of Guangling. If the Jiangdong army wants to stand firm, they must first take this small city. This city has been built up by me over many years, with a garrison stationed here, and can withstand one hundred enemies with just one soldier!'"

  "How wonderful! How wonderful! Yuan Long, with this satellite city guarding Guangling, Guangling can be safe and worry-free!" Lü Rui heard Chen Deng's introduction and couldn't help but praise him. The Satellite City, Chen Yuandragon had actually set up a small city here, with strong walls and open fields all around. Ancient landing battles were different from modern ones, due to the limitations of transportation and military rations, the landing troops had to seize a place to hold out and wait for the follow-up troops. Chen Deng's design was a trap that the Jiangdong army knew they would fall into!

  "What is Weixing City?" The two looked at Lü Rui in surprise. "Master Hou, what is Weixing City?"

  Oh no! I accidentally blurted out this phrase. Lü Rui looked around and pointed at Guangling, saying: "Please look, Guangling is located in the center of the Yangtze River, this city and the surrounding beacon towers, arrow towers are guarding Guangling City. Is it like the starry night sky with many stars guarding the moon? Guangling City is the moon, and Kuang Qi is the guarding star!"

  The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing: "I didn't expect the young master to have such an explanation. It seems that following Lord Siku for a long time has influenced his poetry, and this small city has become stars in the sky in the young master's words. How wonderful! How wonderful!"

  "This...? Benning, Yuan Long has been awarded!" Zhong Fu, having no other choice, uses you as a human shield.

  "A report for Your Excellency, your luggage has been brought!" a soldier saluted and reported to Chen Deng.

  "Is Yuan Long going to live in this city?" Man Chong asked in surprise.

  "That's right, Benning. According to the scouts' report, the Jiangdong army has been moving abnormally recently and may take action soon. It's better for you to stay here, in case the Jiangdong bandits come to launch a surprise attack, you can command from here!"

  "Then Man Chong will also stay here and assist Yuan Long in defending Kuang Qi!"

  "Could Yuan Long have had some doubts about Man Chong? Man Chong was also a military leader, did Yuan Long know about the situation in Yuzhou?"

  "Haha, Benning broke into the Yuan family in the south, and Deng had heard about it early on. Since Benning is willing to stay, Deng can't ask for more! What about you, Master Hou?"

  "Yuan Long, I was ordered by the Marquis to support Guangling. If Guangling falls, what face will I have left to return to Xudu and see Grand Councilor? Isn't Guangling just like Kuaiji?"

  "Good! I admire your courage, Lord Hou. Since that's the case, I'll order someone to prepare rooms for you and Bo Ning. From today on, the three of us will live in Kuang Qi!"

  "Alright! I'll follow Yuan Long's arrangement!"

  The next day, Man Chong and Lü Rui both lived in Kuang Qi. Every day, they would discuss the way of governing the country with Chen Deng. It was quite leisurely. However, this good life didn't last long. On the sixth night, near dawn, scouts brought news that a large fleet was approaching Kuang Qi! The Jiangdong army has arrived!

  Chen Deng and the other two climbed up to the city wall, where they saw a vast expanse of white on the river's surface, but couldn't see any sign of enemy troops. Lü Rui asked in puzzlement: "Yu Long, is there really a large army coming to launch a surprise attack? I don't see anything."

  "Your Lordship, today the fog is thick and you may not be able to see clearly. However, according to the report from the beacon tower, the large army of Jiangdong has already begun to march towards this place. If Yuan Long's estimation is correct, within an hour, the Jiangdong army will arrive, and by then the fog will have dispersed as well, and Your Lordship will naturally be able to see clearly."

  "Hmm!"

  As expected, in less than an hour, the fog slowly dispersed, and Lü Rui saw that not far away, many buildings and ships were approaching Kuāng Jī. On the leading ship, a large character "Sun" was printed!

  "Who is leading the army in Jiangdong?" Chen Deng asked the scout.

  "Reporting back to Your Excellency, the leader of the Jiangdong army is Sun Ce's second brother, Sun Quan, the second son of the former Marquis of Wu. It is said that he has considerable strategic talent!"

  "Hmph, quite clever? I think it's nothing but that!"

  "Oh? Please enlighten me, Yuan Long?" Lü Rui cupped his hands and asked Chen Deng, but the Emperor of Eastern Wu was actually being looked down upon by Chen Deng like this?

  "Your Excellency, judging from Sun Quan's military leadership, this man is not well-versed in the art of war. In warfare, one must consider the harmony of heaven, earth, and human factors. A commander on the battlefield needs to observe the surrounding environment to deploy troops. Sun Quan did not choose a distant landing point, but instead marched directly towards our city of Kuaiji. Our city is high and its moat deep, yet Sun Quan insists on launching a fierce attack - isn't this a path to self-destruction?"

  Lv Rui nodded and said: "Yuan Long's words are very good, it seems that our army has won a great victory in this battle!" Sun Quan is indeed not good at leading troops to fight wars, otherwise Sun Ce would not have said before his death that you are not as good as me in fighting wars, but I am not as good as you in governing the country! What kind of general is this? It's just a fool!

  "Yuán Lóng, Bó Níng has a plan to send to Yuán Lóng, don't know Yuán Lóng?"

  "Oh? What clever plan does Bening have? Hurry up and come quickly, Yuanlong is eagerly awaiting it!"

  "Yuan Long, since our army can resist on land, we can also make a move in the water!"

  "This... Bohan, although I am familiar with the waterways of Guangling, but there is no regular navy, the Jiangdong army is the regular navy of the great Han, if we fight on the river, I fear that our military strength will not be enough!"

  Yuan Long sneered, "Using one's weakness to attack the enemy's strength, is this what Man Chong would do? But Yuan Long said that the water surface here is calm, and it is a terrain of a pot mouth. Kuang Qi is at the tail, and the Jiangdong army is at the mouth. Our army only needs to send dead soldiers to burn the pot mouth with fire oil, and the Jiangdong army will find it difficult to come in or go out!"

  "Bo Ning's plan is excellent, if so, the Jiangdong army will find it easy to come in but difficult to get out!" Lü Rui nodded in approval. Man Chong had indeed observed carefully. From a later perspective, Kuaiji was like a harbor, with the bottom of a gourd, and for the Jiangdong army to attack Kuaiji, they would have to enter from where the Yangtze River borders the waters of Kuaiji, which is called the "Hukou". After entering, burning down Hukou, Sun Quan will be like a turtle in a jar!

  "Excellent, excellent! It's indeed an excellent plan. I've been here for a long time, but I haven't discovered that such a plan can be made, just because of the terrain, we built the city here. Today, thanks to Lord Ning's words, I have gained a lot, let's follow Lord Ning's plan!"

  Chen Deng recruited more than a dozen brave warriors, gave them instructions, and the warriors took oil and boarded a small boat, slowly entering the reeds in the water. Chen Deng and three others were on the city tower, observing the movements of the Jiangdong army!

  The Jiangdong army landed in front of Kuaiji City, less than two miles away from Kuaiji City. The actions of the Jiangdong army were clearly visible to Chen Deng and his men on the city wall!

  Judging from the number of ships and the number of people who landed, Sun Quan had around 10,000 to 20,000 men. Chen Deng's garrison at Kuaiji had only about 3,000 soldiers. However, when Lü Yi saw the appearance of Sun Quan's army, he laughed and said: "Is this an army? Are they just scattered troops from the Jiangdong aristocratic families? Sun Bofu borrowed 3,000 men from Yuan Shu and pacified Jiangdong; it turns out that they were only dealing with pig heads?"

  Chen Deng and Man Chong looked at Sun Quan's army, and couldn't help but shake their heads. Is this what the landing force looks like? The soldiers in front were actually helping the soldiers behind, pulling them off the boat! Isn't this just a bandit gang coming to rob us? This is the Jiangdong army? It's nothing but a bunch of local ruffians!

  "Brother Bó Níng, what do you think of this army?" Chen Deng sneered and glanced at Mǎn Chǒu.

  "Brother Yuan Long, this army is not in good shape. In my opinion, it's even inferior to the Yellow Turban Army. What's there to be afraid of?"

  "Alright, since it's come to this, our army will take action!"

  "Come forth! Summon the brave warriors of Danyang to come forward!"

  "Alright!" Soon, a special squad arrived at the school field under the city gate tower. Chen Deng and his two companions stood on top of the city gate tower.

  "Old Dragon Brother, what army is this?"

  "Can Bao Ning know Tao Gongzu's Dan Yang death warrior?"

  "Oh? Is this the Danyang martyr that Tao Gongzu is so proud of?"

  "Lord Hou, these men are quite robust!" Tian Wei said in a low voice beside him.

  Lü Rui nodded, these men were indeed very sturdy, with a very cool name in modern times, muscle man, **upper body, holding a big knife, with a strong murderous aura, they looked like seasoned veterans!

  "Brother Yuan Long, with this sharp strategy, we will surely defeat the Jiangdong army!" Man Chong exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands.

  "Hmm, please follow me, Lord Bening and Master Hou, let's continue observing the Jiangdong army!"

  Sun Quan's army finally completed the landing and advanced towards Kuaiji City. Soon, the army arrived at the foot of Kuaiji City. The soldiers were arrayed in a lax manner, with poor morale.

  "General, it seems that Cao's army is making no move?" Sun Quan's deputy general looked at the city wall and saw that the flags were lowered and the drums had stopped beating. It seemed as if there was nobody defending?

  Sun Quan looked at the city tower and also felt puzzled, and the army did not advance.

  "Yuan Long, it seems Sun Quan really can't fight a battle, he doesn't even call out his troops?"

  "Hmph, in that case, our army will charge out and attack!" Chen Deng said, waving his hand, and the messenger soldier transmitted the order.

  "With a loud crash!" Countless arrows flew down from the city tower, the gates of Kuang Qi City were wide open, and the Dan Yang warriors rushed out.

  "Ah?" Sun Quan had not yet reacted when he was shot by an arrow, grazing his ankle, and almost fell off his horse.

  "General?"

  "Block them! Block them!" Sun Quan shouted loudly, and the Jiangdong army charged towards the Dan Yang dead soldiers.

  At the first contact, it was a tragedy! The brave warriors of Danyang held their large knives and fought valiantly, each taking on ten men, cutting down the Jiangdong army like chopping vegetables. The Jiangdong army had no power to resist at all. As soon as the vanguard was cut down, the rear army showed signs of retreating, chaos, what a mess!

  "General, it's not good! The rear army has caught fire, the river surface is surrounded by huge flames, our army's retreat route is cut off!" a soldier hastily reported.

  "What?" Sun Quan was shocked, hastily reined in his horse and retreated. "Withdraw the troops, withdraw all troops!" Upon hearing Sun Quan's order, the Jiangdong army became even more chaotic, trampling each other as they rushed towards the ships by the river.

  "Order the whole army to launch a surprise attack and behead the Jiangdong bandits!" Chen Deng drew out his long sword, ordered the whole army to launch a surprise attack, and all the soldiers in Kuaiji City rushed out.

  Lü Rui and Mǎn Chǒng exchanged a glance, both smiling. The Jiangdong army? It was too easy to win! (Thank you for the support and suggestions from all readers, Tuzi will listen to everyone's suggestions and write better novels, recently busy with work, only one update per day, please bear with me!)