Within one day, Gan Ning launched seven attacks one after another, although he was never able to really break through Zhou Xin's resistance because of insufficient troops, but each time he went deeper and deeper, and once he almost attacked Zhou Xin's own formation. Gan Ning showed his might, killed nearly 100 people successively, more than 300 Danyang soldiers were killed before and after, countless people were injured, and the Danyang soldiers, known as the elite, were killed and lost their souls and embarrassed. If it weren't for the absolute superiority in troops, Zhou Xin sent his guards to suppress it strongly, maybe he would have been succeeded by Gan Ning.

Because of proper preparation, with Xie Kuan and others for long-range suppression, heavy armor and iron defense, Gan Ning's losses were much smaller than expected, 17 of the 100 warriors were killed, 31 were seriously injured, and the rest were lightly injured. Yang Hong's troops were killed 57 and more than 300 wounded. Gan Ning himself was the most injured, with more than 10 large and small wounds, mainly arrow wounds. There is gold silk brocade armor to protect the body, and the arrows cannot go deep, and they are all flesh wounds. The golden silk brocade armor was also destroyed, not only stained with blood, but also completely completely destroyed, which was difficult to repair.

The sun was setting in the west, the two sides were singing gold and withdrawing troops, Sun Ce and others slowly retreated, Zhou Xin was relieved, and sat on the platform with his ass, and he didn't relax for a long time. Although the losses are not particularly large, the difference in momentum between the two sides is too great. Having occupied a geographical advantage and having a tenfold advantage in troops, it was completely beyond Zhou Xin's expectations that it would be so difficult to fight.

The father and son of the Sun family are good at fighting, and they really live up to their reputation.

Back in the camp, Zhou Xin called his subordinates to discuss with Mi, Fan Gai and others. Crossbowmen have suffered heavy losses and must be replenished, otherwise it will be even more difficult to fight tomorrow. There are still 300 crossbowmen on Niuzhuji, but they can't move, to prevent Sun Ce from turning to attack Niuzhuji, the only way to prevent Sun Ce from turning to attack Niuzhuji is to transfer people from Shicheng, and then send people to contact Zhang Ying, Fan Neng and others in Jiangbei to see if they can withdraw to Jiangnan and cooperate in defense. If Chen Wen and Chen Deng can also be withdrawn, it would be even better.

Zhou Xin did not dare to slack off, and sent people to send orders to all departments overnight, and re-strengthened the riverside position, built more camp fences, and prepared a big shield at the same time. The gap between the level of the crossbowmen on both sides is relatively large, although there are many people on their side, their range and accuracy are not enough, and they are completely suppressed by the opponent, and they cannot give full play to the role of strong crossbows to break armor. At the same time, the spearmen are added. The opponent is protected by heavy armor, and the knife used by the Danyang soldiers is not lethal, and the spear has a stronger ability to pierce armor.

While Zhou Xin was racking his brains to find a way, Sun Ce was also reviewing with the generals to analyze the gains and losses of both sides.

Gan Ning, Yang Hong, and some commanders and captains who participated in the war attended the meeting together, recalling the battle situation at that time as much as possible and summing up lessons and lessons. After careful discussion, they came to a conclusion: if they attacked, there would definitely be a chance of victory, but the casualties would be relatively large. Because of the terrain limitations, only forty or fifty people can be arranged to attack at a time, and in the case of not being able to quickly break through the opponent's defense and expand to depth, they are suppressed on the shore, and if there is no heavy armor shield protection, they are the live target of the opponent's bow and crossbow. The main reason for Yang Hong's casualties was arrows, they had no heavy armor, no iron poles, only large shields for foot soldiers, and it was not very convenient to carry, which seriously affected the movement.

Not everyone has the strength and martial arts of Gan Ning, and he can still wield a heavy iron pole to fight while wearing heavy armor.

Sun Ce decided to take Shicheng first according to the original plan and attack from behind Zhou Xin to minimize unnecessary casualties as much as possible.

While they were discussing, Sun Ce received a message from Cheng Pu. His attack on Hengjiang was frustrated, and he had withdrawn from the battlefield and was preparing to cross the river. However, it will be late, and it will not be possible to cross the river today, and it will not be until tomorrow. Based on the number of troops and ships, it may take a day to cross.

Sun Ce had a headache. If you can't launch an attack on Shicheng tomorrow, you will inevitably continue to attack Zhou Xin's position, and you will have to add a lot of casualties. But crossing the river at night is really dangerous, and if the boat accidentally capsizes, it is also nearly a hundred people.

Yang Xiu sneered: "What's so difficult about this, there are not enough warships, and merchant ships are here to make up." There is a war here, do you know how many merchant ships are impassable? They all anchored in the area of Tianmen Mountain, waiting for the war to end. According to what we saw in the past few days, at least three or four hundred ships were stranded in the past two days, all of which were requisitioned and dispatched, and together with the existing warships, they could send Captain Cheng's headquarters to Jiangnan in half a day. ”

Sun Ce thought it was a solution, but he didn't believe that there would be so many ships. The Yangtze River is an important waterway, and there are many people who come and go to do business, but it is still an exaggeration to strand three or four hundred ships in two days.

Chen Duan supported Yang Xiu's view. He is a native of Guangling, an important city in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the location of the Zhongdu River that communicates with the Jianghuai River. Because merchant ships are usually inland river ships, their ability to resist wind and waves is limited, and they are not suitable for entering the sea, so most of them will choose to enter the water in Guangling, turn to Huaiyin, and then trace the Huaishui River upstream, and reach the Pengcheng area through Surabaya. He was very clear about how many boats were coming and going in this waterway, and now that the New Year was approaching, the number was more than double that of usual, and the number of boats outside Guangling City was often overcrowded, and it was entirely possible to strand three or four hundred ships in two days. Merchant ships have to do business in a hurry, and if they can end the war early, they will definitely be willing to help.

Sun Ce was overjoyed and immediately sent Cai Mao and Xiang Lang to contact.

The meeting came to an end, and Sun Ce arranged for everyone to have a working meal. The meal was very simple, slightly better than that of ordinary soldiers, with two more meat dishes and a dime of wine. It's not abundant, it's only full. Gan Ning and the others were still unsatisfied, finished eating in three or two bites, and then discussed military affairs, and the voice was not small, similar to a quarrel. Yang Xiu lowered his head to eat, and after a while, he really couldn't stand the noise of Gan Ning and the others, so he got up and walked out.

Sun Ce saw it in his eyes, got up and left the big tent, and saw Yang Xiu standing more than ten steps away. He walked over.

"Didn't you eat enough, did you? Go, go to your tent, and reopen your seat. ”

Yang Xiu looked at Sun Ce, and his face softened a little. "The generals don't have to be like this, I don't mean to despise them, it's just not in line with my habits."

"I know, I don't say anything." Sun Ce expressed his understanding, took Yang Xiu's arm, and walked towards Yang Xiu's tent. Yang Xiu and Yuan Yao lived in a tent, an ordinary marching tent, except for two beds, they could only put a small bamboo bookshelf with some stationery and books. Although cramped, it is neat and looks comfortable.

Sun Ce asked Liu Bin to take Yang Xiu's food table, but Yang Xiu did not refuse, and sat down to eat. Sun Ce sat on the side, and looked through a book that Yuan Yao put in the wooden pillow, with a few ancient characters written on it, he looked at it, like the word "On Heng", and opened it to see, but inside it was Lishu, which was Yang Xiu's handwriting. Yang Xiu's calligraphy is very good, the words are strict, graceful and generous, and there is a strong bookish atmosphere, which is a little more beautiful than the common Han Li.

Yang Xiu finished eating, put down the dishes and chopsticks, wiped his mouth and hands, and was meticulous.

"The work of Wang Zhongren, the auditor, was obtained from Cai Bojiao. hated Lao Cai Zizhen and refused to pass it on. This time I went to Huiji, I wanted to find the whole book and see it all. I didn't expect Huiji to have such a talent, but it was a big surprise to me. ”

Sun Ce smiled and put down the book. "Even Chu Di is not in the eyes of your Central Plains people, let alone Wu Yue. Dezu, thank you for reminding me today, otherwise I would have delayed the time, and I don't know how many people would die. ”

Yang Xiu's eyes flashed, and he was silent for a long time. "General, I'm not helping you, I'm helping the imperial court."