The Demon Lords-Chapter 639 - 113 Surges of Emotion: Washed Away (Part 3)_3

Eight hundred years ago, they were the masters of the entire Chu State, divided into several major tribes. Later, the Duke of Chu, upon the orders of the Xia emperor, entered Chu. Over several centuries, much like the Jin people who drove out the wild people, the Chu people successfully reduced the major tribes originally within Chu's borders to what could be described with a single term: "small clans."

However, they now dwell among the mountains and rivers, so confronting them and conducting the final extermination inevitably required the navy's capabilities. At the same time, Chu State also possessed access to the sea and thus needed to contend with threats from that direction.

Because of this need, the navy came into existence.

In fact, the Qian State also had a navy; in terms of scale, it was larger, not smaller, than Chu State's. However, much to the frustration of the Qian people, the entire northern part of Qian State consisted of plains, lacking major rivers. If they wanted their navy to play a role, it could—but only when the Yan people fought their way to Qian State's Jiangnan region would the navy become useful. But unless the Qian people had lost their minds, they would never intentionally allow such a scenario.

The swordsmith flicked his long hair, picked up the teacup, coughed lightly a couple of times, and said, "No matter how clever the calculations, in the end, everything still comes down to the slaughter on the battlefield. If you can't kill your enemies when it matters most, all your plans are for naught."

The young man chuckled and responded, "Even if we lose, it's no real loss for us. Besides, I still feel we're certain to win this battle."

"You might win this battle, but not the overall war," the swordsmith countered.

"If we don't win the battles of the moment, how can we win the overall war?"

The young man poured more tea and continued, "Once this battle concludes, it should be time for Fourth Brother to draw in his net back in the capital."

The swordsmith shook his head and said, "I still feel it's too hasty. The net cast by the Fourth Prince could have caught even more fish. Later, when he ascends the throne, state affairs will run much more smoothly."

The young man, however, disagreed, saying, "Unless one learns from that Yan Emperor and directly tramples the great clans under cavalry hooves, or unless there's another Tian Wujing who dares to turn the knife on himself, drawing this net, no matter when, will always seem somewhat hasty."

"The Eighth Prince speaks wisely." The swordsmith turned, pointed to the river beneath the vessel, and said, "Your Highness, why don't you guess when this river beneath our feet will run red with blood?"

The young man pointed at the teapot, then at himself, and said, "It should be about time after I relieve myself three more times."

「...…」

The troops under Li Fusheng's command were preparing to cross the river when the sudden appearance of the Chu State navy's large warships threw all their plans into disarray. If General Zheng were here now, he would probably think these so-called warships were nothing special. But to the Yan people at this moment, the Chu State warships already seemed like aquatic behemoths.

The warship hulls struck down directly; the small boats the Yan Army was using to cross the river were instantly smashed apart, while others were simply overturned. Simultaneously, soldiers aboard the Chu warships rained down arrows and used long poles to strike at the surrounding ferry boats. Across the surface of the Wang River, one Yan boat after another was broken apart or overturned. Then, the Chu warships smashed directly through the pontoon bridge the Yan people had constructed.

In an instant, with the arrival of this naval force, the east and west banks of the Wang River were completely severed from each other. Many Yan armored soldiers and warhorses drowned in the water, picked off by archers from the warships.

"Quick, send word to the Eldest Prince!" After Li Fusheng issued this command to the orderly beside him, his gaze passed through the gaps between the warships ahead, fixing on the opposite bank of the river.

As a general seasoned in battles against barbarians in the wasteland, Li Fusheng knew that whether one used warships or other methods, the ultimate aim of warfare always boiled down to a fundamental set of operations: divide and annihilate. He also understood clearly that this sudden turn of events in the war had already slipped from his grasp.

「...…」

"Report!!!!!!!! Enemy cavalry spotted fifteen miles to the northeast!"

"Report!!!!!!!! Enemy cavalry spotted fifteen miles to the southeast!"

"Report!!!!!!!! Enemy cavalry spotted due east!"

The Chu warships had just severed passage across the river when, hard on their heels, scout after scout galloped in with urgent reports. Deng Jiuru took a deep breath and resettled himself in his seat.

When they first began crossing the river, there were indeed no signs of hidden enemy troops. That was because the enemy had no intention of hiding. They hadn't planned to strike them mid-crossing; they weren't aiming to gain some small advantage. Their appetite was far greater; what they wanted was to devour a big fish.

Just as with the appearance of the Chu State navy, the enemy had likely also calculated their timing precisely. Only after receiving a coordinated signal did they begin to exert pressure on this position. Deng Jiuru knew that he, along with the tens of thousands of troops of the Left Army under his command, was this "big fish" in the enemy's eyes.

In the distance, the dust clouds churned up by the galloping enemy cavalry were already faintly visible.

Deng Jiuru wasted no time and immediately commanded,

"Zhang Deyuan, I order your division to advance rapidly to the northeast and engage the enemy!"

"Li Deyong, I order your division to advance rapidly due east and engage the enemy!"

"Huang Shanming, I order your division to advance rapidly to the southeast and engage the enemy!"

After issuing these three commands in rapid succession, Deng Jiuru roared, "Stop worrying about the losses to your own forces! After the battle, I, this old man, will replenish your numbers from my own private troops! If we cannot keep the enemy beyond our camp perimeter, then we'll all be driven into the river to feed the bastards!" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

These three generals commanded the three strongest contingents in the Left Army. Deng Jiuru forcefully ordered them to lead their main forces out of the camp to meet the enemy, his aim being to expand the battlefield.