Chapter 859 Slaying the Dragon
"Northern Expedition to the Central Plains?"
When this news spread throughout the army, everyone was confused from top to bottom. Didn't the president still know about the drill in winter?
It's okay for brothers to put on a show together, but how can they really fight?
But this is why Wu Jing’s thinking is different from the thinking of the following people.
Wu Jing is not stupid. He was fooled before, but will he be fooled again now?
The reason why he insisted on continuing the Northern Expedition as planned this spring was because of his own considerations.
In Wu Jing's view, it is normal for brothers to be greedy for land. What is abnormal is that Shouchun is obviously on the front line. Don't these people know that they can only survive if their soldiers and horses are strong? Are you demanding food rations for the soldiers?
Wu Jing didn't understand it at first. It wasn't until he paid attention to the status of the Huainan generals that he finally understood.
Maybe in their opinion, how long has it been since Shouchun heard the sound of the golden drum? Whether the war will happen is certain, but when it will happen, it’s hard to say.
These tribesmen under Wu Jing were all wandering knights between Wu and Yue. They could fight bravely and fiercely, but they rarely had far-sighted strategies.
So carpe diem is the background of this group of people.
After thinking about this, Wu Jing decided to send troops to the Northern Expedition this spring.
The logic is very straightforward. Since you can't feel the danger of war now, Wu Jing will take you to the battlefield and come back from there. I don't think Wu Jing needs to remind you. These people themselves know the importance of training. .
Then do you think Wu Jing won’t overturn his car if he does this?
In his opinion, it won't happen, because no matter how powerful the Taishan army is, he does not have a fleet. Even if he is frustrated on land, he can still be invincible as long as he returns to the fleet.
Moreover, Wu Jing's selection of this spring was also based on the general environment.
The sentinels who penetrated deep into the Central Plains and the remaining wealthy families on both ends of the snake and rat sides have sent the latest military reports. The Taishan Army, which has been nesting in Kaifeng all winter, has finally begun to move out, and the direction is indeed towards Pengcheng.
In this way, even if Wu Jing leads the Huainan troops northward, he probably won't encounter any main enemy forces.
In fact, if Wu Jing's thoughts and ideas could be communicated with his staff Hu Zong, maybe Hu Zong would frown and admonish Wu Jing:
"Master Fu, what you said is all based on your thinking that maybe, it should be. But if something unexpected happens, what should Shouchun do?"
It's a pity that Wu Jing had a grudge against Hu Zong at this time because of the incident of trapping the tooth soldiers, and felt that his image was damaged, so he decided on this matter without discussing it with Hu Zong.
In this way, the iron of Kyushu cannot make such a big mistake.
……
In the fourth year of Taiwu, on the eighth day of the second month of spring, the Feishui River on the west side of Shouchun flooded.
Wu Jing led 300 Huainan boats and tens of thousands of officers and men, and sailed up the Feishui River.
At this time, Wu Jing was sitting on the tower boat, looking at the sail of the boat connecting to the sky, blocking the skylight. He suddenly felt heroic in his heart. He turned around and sighed to several staff on the tower boat:
"It is the time for heroes to use force to conquer the Central Plains and restore the mountains and rivers. Now we are hitting the water in the middle of the river, the waves are stopping the flying boats, and we are marching into the Central Plains. It is the time for us to leave our names in history!"
"Hahahaha!"
Everyone present welcomed and congratulated him.
Wu Jing walked to the edge of the building and watched the fleet enter the Huai River one by one. The scene in front of him suddenly opened up. The sky was filled with Yingying water, and on the left and right was the Jiangdong Invincible Fleet, with high sails hanging in a line.
Suddenly, Wu Jing saw a huge stone on the bank of Huaishui River, which seemed to have cliff carvings. He asked around:
"Which of you knows what is written on the boulder on the south bank?"
All the staff looked at you and shook their heads in confusion.
A few people who were thoughtful recognized that it had just emerged from the water, but they didn't know what words were written on it.
At this time, Hu Zong in the crowd stepped forward and said to Wu Jing:
"Master Fu, this is a water level stone left over from the pre-Qin Dynasty. Whenever the water level drops significantly, this stone carving will be exposed. In fact, there was a severe drought last year and many places in the Huaihe River dried up. This stone carving was exposed at that time. Later, it was The official was curious and came to see the stone carving and saw this sentence written on it. "
Glancing at Wu Jing, Hu Zong whispered:
"Seeing this stone, all the people cry."
Wu Jing was stunned for a moment, and he couldn't help but shrink back while leaning on the railing. He glanced back at the stone and forced a smile:
"It seems that the drought last year was really serious. It's a pity that the sky also hates the Taishan army. Otherwise, if these people could go south when they defeated Yuan Shao, they would have drank from the Huaihe River. At that time, the water level of the Huaihe River was shallow and would have blocked the road. Don’t live with the Taishan Army.”
Wu Jing changed the topic, and the staff upstairs also began to follow along. Hu Zong was the only one who remained silent.
But even so, the atmosphere on the ship was still ruined by Hu Zong. Just when a few smart people present were looking for some fun to lighten the atmosphere, General Lou, who was in charge of the ship, came over.
He reported to Wu Jing above:
"Master Fu, we encountered a dragon on the right side of the ship, which is blocking our ship's channel. Do we want to expel it?"
Wu Jing originally wanted to reprimand the captain, because a dragon was blocking the waterway, so he should be driven away. Why did he come to report it? He was not responsible at all.
But suddenly, Wu Jing thought this was an opportunity. He turned around and said to his staff:
"I am based in Shouchun, and I have long heard that there are dragons on the Huaihe River that often appear and kill people. I have also sent people out to chase them several times, but with no results. Now that my fleet has gathered, this beast But he came over. If this is the case, then kill this beast and eliminate the trouble for the people."
After saying that, Wu Jing stood up and walked to the deck, followed by all the staff on the ship.
But when Wu Jing stood on the side of the ship and looked down, he saw a huge dragon. The entire body was almost one-third as long as the ship, like a dragon in the water.
Seeing this giant beast, Wu Jing was also a little stunned, and finally understood why Lou Chuan was bothering him with this trivial matter.
It's better if you don't mess with such a giant beast. Once it is messed with, it will go crazy and destroy the entire building.
But the atmosphere has reached this point, Wu Jing cannot retreat, and if this is done well, it can also greatly boost the morale of the army.
Thinking about this, Wu Jing walked to a crossbow on the string and asked the boatmen to start loading the string.
War is the best stage to promote technology. After the Taishan Army developed the crossbow, Yuan Shao in the Central Plains also began to imitate it, and even killed many Taishan Army in the Battle of Heluo.
And how come there are crossbows here in Jiangdong? In fact, I got it from the Yuan family.
If Yuan Shang, who only had a few cities at this time, wanted to defend Xuanhu, he would definitely need support from outside allies.
For Yuan Shang, the most suitable ally is Sun Jian.
Not only because Sun Jian can fight against the Taishan Army, but more importantly, Sun Jian occupies the Huaixi Waterway and can use the Ru River to continuously supply support materials to Xuanhu City.
Of course, Sun Jian and the Yuan family are not without enmity. When Sun Jian was jointly sold by the Henan aristocratic families, wasn't it Yuan Shao who was the one who planned it?
Now, although we need to unite for the sake of the overall situation, the price we have to pay is indispensable.
No matter how they catch up, the gap between Jiangdong and Central Plains is all-round, especially in military technology.
The only thing that Koto is commendable for is its sword-making technology, but compared with such important military weapons as ballistae, it is nothing. Therefore, the first technology Sun Jian and Yuan Shang asked for after forming an alliance was the crossbow technology.
Moreover, Jiangdong's craftsmen also used their talents to combine the two with Jiangdong's excellent shipbuilding technology.
In this way, there is the crossbow in Wu Jing's hand at this time.
Holding the trigger in his hand, Wu Jing stared at the water.
I saw two faint water ripples on the silver-banded water surface, and the dark scales were exposed on the water surface, seeming to absorb all the light.
Knowing that the dragon was hiding under the water, Wu Jing signaled that the building boat next to him would start.
I saw that the building boat was about to pour out a bucket of sewage from the bucket, which was all leftover from the slaughter of the sheep today.
As the sesame water rolled into the water, the calm water suddenly boiled, and the dragon began to bite the pieces of meat and sesame water crazily. The blood spurted out and opened its mouth wide. It was like half a pig in one mouthful. .
At this time, Wu Jing still remained calm, holding his hand on the ballista, motionless.
Suddenly, when the dragon's mouth opened again, ready to eat the remaining pieces of meat, Wu Jing pressed the trigger, and the crossbow arrow as thick as a spear shot out in an instant.
The crossbow arrow shot from the mouth of the dragon, directly piercing its brain. Then the dragon opened its mouth and seemed to roar, but strangely, no one present heard the sound.
But although there was no sound, everyone could feel their hearts beating.
With this sound, the life of the dragon came to an end, and it finally sank into the water. Not long after, the body of the dragon surfaced.
The people on the boat were quiet at first, and then they all shouted:
"The Lord's power, his power!"
Sure enough, no man will refuse to hunt, it is engraved in his genes. At this moment, seeing their Fu Lord showing off his might and killing such a large dragon, everyone was full of admiration for Wu Jing.
You know, a dragon is still a dragon no matter what, and a person of this size has long been revered as a water god by the people along the Huai River. Maybe this Huai River Shuibo is this dragon.
But what now?
They actually saw Fujun using the ballista on the ship to kill the dragon in one fell swoop, completing the feat of killing the god.
This is a legend comparable to ancient heroes!
So, how could everyone on the boat not cheer and get excited?
Wu Jing, on the other hand, wiped the sweat from his hands and said rather proudly to the ship general next to him:
"You find a few people to pull this dragon to the boat, and then help me dismember it. You keep the skin for me, and you share the remaining meat with other ships in the fleet, so that they can also taste it. The taste of dragon meat ”
The captain of the building boat respectfully received the order, and then took a few people who were good at water to pull the dragon.
Wu Jing, on the other hand, proudly led his staff back upstairs.
At this time, Wu Jing looked at the two sides of the Huai River again, and his mood was completely different from before. He proudly asked Hu Zong in the crowd:
"Jun Hu, if you look at the stone carvings today, are there any words left?"
At this time, Hu Zong bowed deeply to Wu Jing, and then said respectfully:
"The Lord is so powerful. There are no words in those stone carvings. They are all caused by me, a mediocre person. Today, with the sacrifice of a dragon, our army will surely win."
After Hu Zong finished speaking, Wu Jing laughed and felt that the heroes of ancient times were nothing more than this.
And deep in his heart, an inexplicable ambition quietly grew with this feat of slaying the dragon.
Don't be in a hurry, everything will come in time.
……
When other ships in the fleet began to receive the dragon meat from the flagship one after another, especially when they saw the huge dragon head, everyone was full of awe of their master.
The people of this world already practice ghosts and witchcraft, let alone the remote Jiangdong.
It can be said that in the eyes of these people, this dragon is the true god in the Huai River, and now Fu Jun can actually kill such a being. What kind of power is that?
In the eyes of the generals on each ship, the killing of the dragon not only brought prestige to the prince, but also had a sacred meaning.
Because Emperor Gaozu, who established the world of the Han Dynasty four hundred years ago, only killed a white snake and gained great fortune, but now his own ruler is killing the dragon in the Huai River! Wouldn't that mean he was even more lucky than Emperor Gaozu?
This kind of thought was running wildly in the minds of these generals. Originally, they had no expectations for this Northern Expedition, and they could only deal with Fu Jun.
But now, this heroic act happened as soon as the fleet entered the Huaihe River. Isn't this a revelation from God to them?
In this way, the military generals who were far away in vain began to take it seriously. Maybe this time the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains could really accomplish something big.
As a result, the officers and sailors of these ships suddenly discovered that the generals who had been careless and indifferent to them suddenly became excited, playing drums and singing from time to time, or suddenly dancing in front of everyone.
Everyone was baffled, but seeing their superiors so happy, they were also full of confidence in this Northern Expedition.
In this way, the morale of the entire fleet was high. They rocked the oars day and night and headed towards the opposite side of the Huai River!
……
After Wu Jing killed the dragon, a light rain fell over the Huai River.
Although the rain was not heavy, it added a bit of mystery to the dragon.
Moreover, perhaps because of killing the dragon, the journey of Wu Jing and his fleet could almost be described as smooth sailing.
After arriving at the mouth of the vortex, the fleet began to change direction and began to slowly sail into the vortex in a long snake.
At this point, Wu Jing and the others finally entered the territory of Pei State.
At this time, the country of Pei was in chaos. Because the Taishan Army's troops had not yet penetrated deeply into this area, many wealthy families still gathered in clans and built docks to protect themselves.
When they saw the endless fleet of ships coming from the south on the swirling water, they thought that the Han army in the south had finally returned to the Central Plains, and almost cried with joy.
But it was not the king's division who greeted them. After entering the vortex, the Huainan soldiers began to go ashore in small boats, and then plundered the countryside.
Of course, the Huainan soldiers also had strategies. For the local powerful families, these people politely invited them to return to Huainan with the ship, but for the others, they could only be robbed and turned into slaves.
What these Huainan generals' Shaopizhuang fields lacked were experienced farmers from the Central Plains, so as soon as they landed, these people rushed to their families.
Just like that, in the countryside, fires burst into flames one after another in the countryside, and the blood and tears of the people of Pei State only began now.