Chapter 161

Sesung’s eloquence had a magnetic charm that drew people in. Although the higher-ups didn’t respond properly, there were more than a few soldiers nodding their heads.

However, Bozul thought rationally, not swayed by emotions.

“Land route? What land route!”

They didn’t even have warhorses. What cavalry would a naval force have? The military camp kept a dozen or so horses for sending messengers, but when boarding ships, only people went aboard.

Even if they were called a naval force, once they landed on land, they were just infantry.

“Land route? What are you talking about? Are you saying we should go through Yunmeng Marsh?”

Yunmeng Marsh was a vast wetland spread across this region. It was so large it could be called Yunmeng Great Marsh, and being half water and half land, it severely restricted cavalry movement.

In fact, Chang-ran had also tried her best to avoid Yunmeng Marsh when setting the marching route. If it were Yunmeng Marsh, even infantry could stand a chance against cavalry.

But Sesung spoke as if that was nonsense.

“General Woo, what are you talking about? What’s the point of crossing wetlands in an urgent situation? And if we go through Yunmeng Marsh, we’d still have to cross the river to reach Hagu. That would be another problem.”

He was right, absolutely right.

‘And the person who can think of that is suggesting we go by land?’

If we go by land to provide support and encounter the enemy, how are we supposed to break through? It would be a miracle just to maintain a standoff.

Bozul felt so frustrated he wanted to pound his chest.

“Then let’s take the water route even if it means losing some ships! We can just push through the iron chains! The Yangtze River is hundreds of zhang wide—how strong can those chains be? Even if a few ships are damaged, we can just transfer the soldiers to other ships!”

Yes. This was right. Bozul praised himself for cleverly analyzing the enemy’s weak points.

How long is the Yangtze River? Could they really make chains long enough to block it all? The fog must have made the scouts misjudge—it’s probably just ropes, not chains.

“I agree with General Woo’s thoughts. But they wouldn’t have sent a suicide squad just for a bluff. The problem isn’t the chains—it’s the iron rods.”

Sonso, who had been listening to Sesung and Bozul’s debate, spoke up.

“You said we could just push through with the ships, right?”

“It’s possible, but there’s a problem.”

“A problem?”

“If the ships run aground, that’s one thing. As General Woo said, we can just rescue the survivors and move on. What I’m worried about is the ships getting stuck on the iron rods and becoming immobile. One ship blocks another, and the blocked ships block the ones behind them—it would be chaos.”

“What? Is it even possible for that many ships to get stuck?”

“When they drive the iron rods into the riverbed, they attach heavy stones to them. If the stones are heavy and the rods are firmly planted, no matter how much the ships push, they won’t budge easily. Unless the ships line up perfectly and row together, but even General Woo knows that’s nonsense.”

Sonso added that it wasn’t just iron rods—even large logs could be used, and if the enemy had prepared thoroughly, avoiding them would be difficult.

Moreover, if they connected the iron rods or logs with chains, the situation would worsen. The obstacle would become a line instead of a point.

“If the enemy general had any sense, he would’ve prioritized that. Seeing the ropes on the river, it’s clear there are chains or thick ropes connecting the pillars underwater.”

“To pull off such a large-scale operation in such a short time!”

Bozul let out a disbelieving laugh.

“They must have mobilized the civilians. To finish this work in a few days with just soldiers, they’d need tens of thousands. It’s certain that those familiar with the local geography cooperated.”

As Sonso said, the civilians had helped the Lanling Army block the Yangtze River’s water route.

The compensation was one thing, but the goodwill planted in the people during Pang Tong’s efforts to win over Xiang Province’s民心 during the Yiyang standoff between Sun Quan and Liu Bei had also played a role.

Would they force their way through the Yangtze, which would be described as a minefield in the future, or take the gamble and choose the land route?

As Bozul hesitated at the crossroads, Sesung’s shout came flying at him again.

“What is there to think about, General Woo!”

Unlike the others, who were stunned by the blockade, Sesung spoke of the intent behind it.

“What do you think the enemy’s suicide squad is trying to do by hindering us? They’re struggling to capture Hagu Fortress, aren’t they!”

Sesung’s argument, which began with discussing the enemy’s intent, was based on logical reasoning rather than the usual bravado of a fierce general.

“The enemy is in a hurry! Don’t you see? Their forces are said to be only 20,000. To do something like this, even if they mobilized civilians, they would’ve needed thousands of soldiers. Why would they divert their forces here instead of focusing on attacking Hagu Fortress? They’re trying to drain Hagu’s strength and delay our arrival to capture it!”

When strength and morale are high, avoiding battle is common military strategy. Chang-ran used that time not to waste it but to block reinforcements that might come later.

Even though abandoning Hagu was an option, they consumed supplies and troops to block the Yangtze, showing their determination to capture Hagu.

“Capture the king, capture the crown prince! While we’ve been coming here, they’ve been fighting to capture the impregnable Hagu Fortress and are surely exhausted. Meanwhile, our troops are fresh from traveling by ship. Even if the cavalry is fearsome, what use is it if the soldiers are exhausted? If we charge forward and strike the tired enemy from behind, we’ll definitely win!”

As Sesung went on at length, even Bozul and Sonso began to waver.

Is it true? Did they do all this to buy time to attack Hagu Fortress with their suicide squad?

Then, as Sesung said, shouldn’t we hurry by land and strike the exhausted enemy from behind, coordinating with Hagu to defeat them?

With Sesung’s strangely persuasive reasoning and his previous displays of remarkable intuition, even Bozul, who had been the most strongly opposed, began to feel convinced.

Sesung’s instinctive military tactics were already well-known. In the past, with less than 200 troops, he had defeated Huang Yi, who had brought thousands of soldiers. And he didn’t just defend the city—he opened the gates and charged out.

Not only that. During the conflict with Cao Cao at Yushu, his ship ran aground in a storm, yet he alone led his troops in a charge and broke through the enemy lines.

He was truly someone who instinctively knew when to attack and when to retreat.

Thinking this far, Bozul began to rationalize Sesung’s argument himself.

‘Yes. General Sesung is right. 20,000 troops… If 10,000 are besieging Hagu, then even if they divert troops here, it’s still 10,000. 10,000 vs. 10,000. Even if they have cavalry, they must be exhausted from the prolonged siege.’

Moreover, the terrain here isn’t ideal for cavalry.

The Eastern Wu army had long been aware of their cavalry disadvantage and had been researching and training countermeasures.

Recently, they had even developed their own anti-cavalry tactics by incorporating the Yuhua Formation, created by none other than the current enemy general, Chang-ran.

The more Bozul thought about it, the more he was swayed by Sesung’s words.

Bozul was undoubtedly a man of exceptional talent who had honed his abilities through hard work. But to put it kindly, he had the charm of an extraordinary person; to put it bluntly, he had a bit of a fool in him.

In the original history, there was a man named Wang Zan who defected from Wei to Wu. He told Bozul that Wei was planning to fill the Yangtze with sandbags to attack, and Bozul genuinely believed this absurd claim and rushed to Sun Quan, insisting they prepare countermeasures.

Bozul had fallen for the ridiculous idea of filling the Yangtze with sandbags. How much more would he be swayed by someone with far more persuasive arguments and actual experience?

‘I was too overwhelmed by Chang-ran’s name to make a proper judgment!’

With Sesung advocating and Bozul agreeing, the disembarkation was carried out immediately.

They even jeered at the Shu-Han suicide squad on Hanzhong Island, who were foolishly watching their disembarkation.

Did they think we, the Eastern Wu army, would fall for their tricks?

Even from a distance where they could barely see, the Eastern Wu soldiers smugly laughed, releasing the hostility and stress they had built up.

Breaking free from the enemy’s trap, the Eastern Wu army marched forward with unwavering dignity!

As for Chang-ran, her fear was only felt during the previous Xiang Province campaign. Even then, the perception was that they had been outsmarted by Pang Tong and Ban Jun’s strategies rather than Chang-ran herself. To the Eastern Wu soldiers, Chang-ran was just an unusual female general active in the Central Plains.

Even the generals recognized her strength rationally, but now that was gone.

Dreaming of rescuing Hagu Fortress and serving the crown prince, they were met with the harsh reality.

What awaited them ahead was neither the exhausted Lanling Army they had hoped to strike from behind nor the 10,000-strong detachment rushing to stop them.

What they saw was the Lanling Army, divided into six groups, waiting for them.

It was the Yuhua Formation of despair.