Chapter 220 Don’t Lose Your Spirit
The outcome of the naval battle on the river has been decided.

On Jiangxin Island, the Yan army and the Wei army were fighting fiercely. General Han Ling personally led the troops to attack the Yan army camp.

The commander of the Yan army, Zhou Ao, ordered his soldiers to form a tight battle formation. He first blocked the camp gate with a door knife cart, and the soldiers at the back set up their spears and large shields, ready to fight.

The Wei army used heavily armored warriors holding axes to break the gate, but dozens of elite heavily armored warriors were soon lost and killed by the Yan army's spears.

Afterwards, the two sides engaged in a fierce fighting in the narrow area at the camp gate. The Wei army suffered heavy casualties every time it advanced.

Seeing the fierce battle, Han Ling took off his armor, held a long sword in hand, and rushed to the front line. He swung the sword, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and anyone who stood in his way was torn to pieces.

The commander's bravery suddenly boosted the fighting spirit of his soldiers, and they all charged forward bravely.

Under this circumstance, the Yan army at the camp gate could not hold on at all and had to retreat while fighting.

However, when the Wei army rushed into the camp, hundreds of crossbowmen who had been ordered by Zhou Ao to ambush behind the walls on both sides of the camp gate gave an order and directly shot the dozens of Wei soldiers who first rushed into the Yan army camp into hedgehogs.

The commander Han Ling was also hit by an arrow in the arm and leg, and fell to the ground unable to stand. The soldiers behind him hurriedly dragged Han Ling out and used shields to cover him.

Although Han Ling was dragged to the back, he still shouted: "Front troops, keep charging, the Yan army has been defeated, charge in and seize the camp!"

The Wei army launched an attack and put up large shields to protect the two wings to prevent being hit by arrows from both sides.

However, in the short time just now, the Yan army completed the reorganization. The commander Zhou Ao held a shield in one hand and a long-handled iron bone sword in the other, and shouted loudly, "Brothers, follow me and kill!"

He then took the lead and launched a counterattack against the Wei army.

With the help of his shield, Zhou Ao rushed into the Wei army's formation through the gaps in the enemy's spears and knocked down two Wei soldiers.

Then he used the iron bone sword in his hand to smash the skulls of two Wei soldiers in succession, making a breakthrough.

The soldiers of the Yan army followed closely behind him. They were all members of the Zhou family and their followers. After Zhou Ao took the lead and rushed into the enemy camp, they also burst out with extraordinary bravery and beat the Wei army back again and again.

They had just broken into the Yan army camp, but in the blink of an eye, they were driven out by the Yan army.

Han Ling behind him was furious at the moment, but the two arrows in his leg and arm made it impossible for him to fight in the battle again. He could only shout loudly from behind and watch his own team being pushed out little by little.

The bravery of Yan army commander Zhou Ao and the morale he inspired made Han Ling feel that things might not be good.

At this time, the personal soldier beside him said: "General Han, the Yan army reinforcements are here."

Han Ling looked to the north and saw soldiers of the Yan army crossing the river in large and small boats.

Looking ahead, the soldiers were still fighting hard with the Yan army.

For a moment, Han Ling was in a dilemma.

If he abandoned his troops now, he would definitely be able to escape. But the 3,000 troops he led to attack the Yan army camp were all old subordinates who had followed him for a long time. If he gave up, these troops would definitely be wiped out by the Yan army.

It was impossible to retreat with these troops at the moment. The two sides were fighting fiercely and it was hard to tell who would win. Although the Wei army was at a disadvantage, they could still fight and retreat. But if they ordered a retreat, they would be defeated.

However, when Han Ling hesitated, his personal soldiers made the decision for him. They carried Han Ling and left.

His personal guard captain, who was also his cousin Han Chui, immediately said, "The Yan army is strong, take the general away."

Yu Zhongheng and Wang Shiyan each led a thousand infantrymen to land on Jiangxin Island first, and then immediately organized their troops and launched an attack on the Wei army from the flank.

It was only then that the Wei army realized that their main general had retreated and they were also caught in a pincer attack.

Morale suddenly plummeted, and the originally formed army formation began to become shaky under the two-line attack of the Yan army, and finally collapsed completely.

The Wei army fled to the boat dock south of Jiangxinzhou.

Three Yan armies followed and chased after the Wei army.

A large number of Wei soldiers panicked and were driven by the Yan army to the river to jump into the water to escape, while some of them knelt down and surrendered.

The sky gradually darkened, and the setting sun covered the entire river surface with a layer of red clouds, giving a sense of déjà vu of the poem where half of the river is rustling and the other half is red.

Cao Yuanjing looked at the island in the middle of the river and sighed deeply, feeling extremely lonely.

In today's land and sea battle, the Yan army won a great victory.

As for the navy, the Wei army lost more than 6,000 naval forces and more than 200 warships. Of Han Ling's 3,000 troops, less than 400 returned to the south bank.

The Yan army captured more than 3,800 naval soldiers and more than 100 warships. In the land battle, they beheaded more than 800 people and captured more than 1,300 enemies.

Li Yuanhui of the Jiangbei camp was overjoyed and immediately said that Zhou Ao and Lu Qin had fought hard to repel the enemy. Lu Qin rewarded them with some money and appointed their two sons as colonels.

Zhou Ao was extremely brave and fought against the powerful enemy, so he was rewarded with a horse and promoted to Sima of the Separate Department. Yu Zhongheng, Wang Shiyan, and other meritorious soldiers were also rewarded.

At the celebration banquet in the evening, Li Yuanhui raised his wine bowl high, "Today, it is all thanks to the Jianghuai soldiers who fought bravely to win this great victory! Today, this first bowl of wine, I toast to all the soldiers in the army. Brothers, come, drink this cup with me, Li Silang! Cheers!"

“Do it, do it, do it”

The soldiers shouted loudly and were very excited. After all, it was of great significance. Because this was a toast from the commander!

Li Yuanhui usually doesn't do things like sharing weal and woe or eating and drinking together.

Nor will they charge into battle and be the bravest among all the troops.

Having led the army for so long, he has a pretty good idea of ​​these things. A commander does not necessarily have to charge into battle, lead the army, or be the last man standing in order to win the hearts of the troops.

Generally speaking, this is the job of the assault team leader. There are not many commanders like Overlord and General Tiance who always lead the battle.

Most of the time, the requirements for the head coach are actually higher.

You have to let the soldiers know that there is a future for them if they follow you.

They also need to feel awe, so it is not appropriate to often mingle with the soldiers; you should retain some mystery and majesty.

Distinguish rewards and punishments clearly, comfort the soldiers, and enforce strict military discipline.

Select and appoint capable talents, and let them know that I, as the boss, understand their value.

If you make meritorious contributions, you will be rewarded. If you die in battle, your family will receive a pension. Your children will be raised and your wife will be happy.
You need to know how to deploy troops, set up camp, and march and retreat.
The key is to be able to win.

Only when you win can more people benefit. Only then will they be willing to fight for you and risk their lives.

She loses every battle, but she keeps fighting and winning people's hearts. She is full of charisma, even a succubus.

But such people are extremely rare after all, even in the entire history.

Most people like to follow the strong.

In the past, Cao Yuanjing, the Emperor of Wei, thought he was strong enough. In a few years, he had seized four counties and dominated Jiangdong. If he could succeed in the Northern Expedition and revive Wei in the future, then Cao Yuanjing would at least be Emperor Guangwu, right?

But in the recent battles with Jianghuai, all of them resulted in heavy casualties.

It even caused a great deal of war-weariness in the army.

Many Wei army soldiers, especially those who were lucky enough to escape, would have a question: If we can’t win the fight once, can we stop fighting?

But no one dared to talk about this issue. After all, shaking the morale of the army would cost one's head.

A group of generals sat around the campfire in a very silent atmosphere.

Cao Yuanjing suddenly stood up, looked at everyone and said, "Does anyone remember the time when we were chased by the Danyang governor and had to take refuge in the mountains?"

Former General Li Xiong said, "How could I have forgotten this? There were dozens of us waiting for us, and we were nearly surrounded and killed by the county soldiers. Fortunately, His Majesty was alert and led us to evade the pursuit of the county soldiers, so we escaped. In the mountains, we even encountered a wild boar that jumped into a pit and had a big meal with it. Hahahaha, it's a pity that there was no wine that day."

General Liu Changyan said, "That was the tenth year of Tiansheng, right? It's only been a few years. I remember that day I ate a whole pig's hind leg, which was roasted half-cooked. Hahaha."

Li Xiong said sarcastically: "How dare you bring that up? You had several bowel movements in the second half of the night. I was stifled."

The atmosphere suddenly relaxed as several people talked about the past.

"Back then, we were at our wit's end, but we were able to escape. We started the rebellion, and it has only been a few years since then! Now we have only lost a few battles. We are all brothers here, can we still lose the courage we had back then?"

Cao Yuanjing looked at everyone, and everyone was looking at him.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha"

"Ha ha ha ha"

Everyone burst into laughter.

In their laughter, we can see the courage they had when they faced tyranny and rose up to resist the Yan regime.

He was lucky enough to be chased and killed repeatedly by the soldiers of Danyang County but never died.

In addition, the Jiangdong young men are talented and have the heroic spirit to make a comeback.

(End of this chapter)