Anqing Prefecture, Yingjiang Pier.
A vast fleet of small boats gathered on the river, led by several river-sea vessels forming the core of the formation.
The fleet's composition was complicated.
There were Gao Family Village's river-sea vessels. There were reformed river bandits from Huangmei who were undergoing labor reform. There were official river patrol ships under the Anlu Governor. There was the Anlu militia personally organized by Shi Kefa. There were even ordinary fishermen and merchant ships who had voluntarily joined after being moved by his governance and public call to action.
Together, they formed a powerful blockade across the Yangtze.
Shi Kefa stood before the fleet, pride evident in his eyes.
"Gentlemen!" he called out. "Your task is to blockade the Yangtze River and prevent any rebel force from crossing to ravage the southern bank."
"Our northern, western, and eastern land armies will converge in the Central Plains to annihilate the rebels. The only direction without a land army is the south."
He raised his voice.
"Because to the south lies the Yangtze! I have pledged to Dao Xuan Tianzun that we will defend this river to the death. Not a single plank of a rebel boat will cross it. I hope you will make this pledge to me as well."
From countless boats came a thunderous response.
"Rest assured, Master Shi!"
"We will guard the Yangtze!"
"Not a single rebel boat will cross!"
"They will never touch the southern bank!"
"Excellent!" Shi Kefa declared. "Fleet, depart!"
The river-sea vessels took the lead, steaming upstream toward Wuchang. Behind them, countless small boats followed, rowing against the current.
Some ships headed toward Wuchang. Others toward Ezhou. Some toward Huangshi. Others would remain stationed at Jiujiang, Pengze, and Wangjiang.
They would spread across the Yangtze, sealing every possible crossing point.
If rebels attempted to cross, the small boats would signal one another and intercept them mid-river.
On land, they might not match the rebels.
But on water, the situation was different.
The rebels would suffer the same fate as the Qing soldiers who attacked Pi Island.
After watching the fleet depart, Shi Kefa inhaled deeply and turned toward the land forces behind him.
Now came the real challenge.
Bai Yuan's northern army numbered thirty-five thousand. It was the strongest.
Cheng Xu's western army included five thousand main Gao Family Village troops, plus several thousand Sichuan recruits. The First Battalion alone was terrifying. At this time, no army in the world could match it head-on.
But Shi Kefa's eastern army was much weaker.
Although he had governed Anlu for two years, it was far from Gao Family Village. Only a thousand village militia were under his command.
The rest were Jiangnan garrison troops and newly recruited local militias.
Whether regular soldiers or militia, Jiangnan troops simply lacked the fighting spirit of the northwestern forces.
Jiangnan was prosperous.
Prosperity nurtured culture, but often weakened martial strength.
Shi Kefa felt immense pressure.
If his eastern army faltered, the rebels might break through.
He raised his voice again.
"Gentlemen, we are the weakest of the three land armies. I do not demand that you slay countless enemies. I ask only one thing. Hold the eastern front. Do not allow this to become the rebels' breakthrough point."
A junior officer stepped forward and saluted.
"Master Shi," he asked, "as we sweep westward, the first force we will encounter is not the rebels, but Zuo Liangyu, who has marched south from Lu'an and Shucheng. How shall we deal with him?"
Shi Kefa clenched his fist.
"Crush him," he said without hesitation. "He is no different from the rebels. In fact, he is worse."
"As you command!" the soldiers answered in unison.
---
Meanwhile.
Yingshan County.
Among the rebels, Chuang Tatian was advancing eastward.
Not long ago, he had quarreled with Eight Great Kings over Chuang Wang.
Chuang Tatian was from northern Shaanxi, a native of Yan'an. He had risen around the same time as Chuang Wang and Eight Great Kings. He had sworn brotherhood with both at different times.
Recently, he learned that Chuang Wang, defeated in Sichuan, had sought refuge with Eight Great Kings. But Eight Great Kings' subordinates had attempted to kill Chuang Wang, forcing him to flee. His whereabouts were now unknown.
Chuang Tatian could not accept this.
Even in the jianghu, there were rules.
How could you think of killing a sworn brother when he was down?
So he confronted Eight Great Kings.
Eight Great Kings did not bother to argue.
He simply grabbed his blade and tried to kill Chuang Tatian as well.
Wronged and furious, Chuang Tatian had no choice but to split off with his own troops and head east.
He had just reached Yingshan County when battle cries erupted from the forest.
Zuo Liangyu burst out with his army.
Chuang Tatian was instantly forced into a defensive position and completely overwhelmed.
He fled in chaos with his most loyal thousand or so men.
Zuo Liangyu absorbed the rest of Chuang Tatian's scattered troops, swelling his own army by five thousand. He was extremely pleased.
Chuang Tatian fled for a long time.
Eventually, he reached the banks of the Yangtze.
Only then did he realize he had fled south.
Chuang Wang was missing. Eight Great Kings had turned against him. His main forces had been absorbed by Zuo Liangyu.
He felt completely cornered.
Perhaps crossing the Yangtze was his only path forward.
He ordered his remaining men to cut trees and build rafts.
Soon, a large number of crude rafts were tied together. Using broken planks as paddles, they began crossing toward the southern bank.
"Brother Chuang Tatian," a subordinate reported, "there are small boats watching us over there."
Chuang Tatian snorted.
"Drive them away."
The rebels roared toward the distant boats.
"What are you staring at?!"
They assumed fishermen would scatter at such a threat.
Instead, the small boats shouted back.
"So what if we are?!"
Chuang Tatian frowned.
"Since when did fishermen grow such courage?"
Voices rang out from the boats.
"You rebels dare attempt to cross the river? In a moment, you will learn that the Yangtze is not a river just anyone can cross!"