My Father in Law is Lu Bu

Chapter 746

Mo Ran Mo Zihui stood in his camp at Liaodong’s port. Next to the port was the Zhangyi County. Though it was just a county, it was far more prosperous compared to one. Mo Ran looked at the ships at the ocean. As Mo Ran had initially been assigned to a nearer area, he arrived earlier than Zhou Hai.

“Looks like An Yixuan’s defeat was well deserved.” Mo Ran shook his head. He did not know what kind of attitude he should have for An Yixuan. Because of An Yixuan, Mo Ran had to give up his position as the naval commander. His fifteen thousand elites were good and may have had a more important position in Gongsun Du’s heart. But like Gan Ning and the others, Mo Ran preferred the ocean. It is where he could truly feel alive.

Mo Ran originally felt a sense of pride after hearing about An Yixuan’s defeat. After all, An Yixuan replaced him so how could he have led the Liaodong Navy to its doom? Dongfang Ming may be responsible but it still could not cover up the fact that An Yixun was defeated. But the moment Mo Ran saw Yangzhou’s warship, he shook his head. He had never seen such a warship in his life. An Yixuan’s defeat was to be expected.

After that, Mo Ran thought how nice it would be to be in command of such a warship. But this was just a passing thought. He shook his head and quickly gave his commands to sink the merchant ships to block the way.

There weren’t enough ships to block the entire port but Mo Ran did not mind. If he blocked the entire port, he could stop the enemy from landing completely. But this meant staying on the defensive and was cowardly. It was not his way.

“Yue Peng. Ready a small boat to deliver a message to the Yangzhou Navy.” Mo Ran ordered his deputy general as he began to write the message down. The deputy general could not help but read the message and ask. “General. Are you planning to provoke the enemy?”

“Yes.” Mo Ran nodded. He wanted to block the huge warships with the merchant ships. According to the escaped troops, the huge warships had thunder like weapons that has a range of two hundred meters. Without those, Yangzhou only have foot soldiers which were not a big deal.

“General. What if the Yangzhou Navy does not fall for the provocation?” Yue Peng asked.

“It would not matter.” Mo Ran smiled. If the enemy comes, he could defeat them. He brought fifteen thousand men while the enemy only have a few thousand. Not only that, the landing troops would have to waste energy walking through the water and be vulnerable to attacks.

If the enemy does not fall for the provocation, it would still be Mo Ran’s victory as Yangzhou’s morale would fall while the Liaodong soldier would gain morale. After watching the Liaodong Navy get wiped out, their morale had suffered a heavy blow. The people from Zhangyi County have also already begun to flee. If Mo Ran had been a little late, the defenders would have surrendered. In other words, Mo Ran desperately needed to boost morale.

“The General is wise!”

“Go.” Mo Ran ordered. Soon, the small boat with a white flag headed towards Yangzhou’s ships.

“Report! The Yangzhou Navy! They are being too much!” The soldier dispatched by Mo Ran soon returned. But the messenger did not return completely intact. His hands and tongue had been chopped off.

Mo Ran was not angry. He waved his hand and rewarded the messenger with a hundred gold and had the messenger sent back home. The messenger was still wailing but this time he wailed happilly. With this money, his family would have enough to eat and drink for the rest of their lives.

“Yangzhou. I will be waiting!” Mo Ran stood up and looked at the ocean. He deployed his fifteen thousand men at the harbour without hiding his intentions.

“Are they planning to attack us while we are halfway across?” Gan Ning looked at Mo Ran’s formation from atop his warship while noting that Mo Ran was clearly looking down on them.

“Then I will grant him his wish!” Gan Ning shouted and then gave the order for Ling Cao to land and attack as an opportunity for Ling Cao to redeem himself. If Ling Cao fails again, he did not need to bother coming back.

Gan Ning had initially wanted to execute Ling Cao for disobeying orders but in the end, he gave up this idea since he did not want to provoke conflict with the other Jiangdong generals.

When Ling Cao saw the signal, he felt grateful. He had been feeling guilty due to his mistakes but he never expected Gan Ning to give him the chance to redeem himself. “Tell General Gan Ning that if we cannot capture Zhangyi County, I, Ling Cao, will return as a head! Pass down my orders! We march towards Liaodong!”

“Understood!” The warships all began to head towards the port.

“General. Isn’t Gan Ning being too impulsive?” Yue Peng asked. This was the result of the provocation but couldn’t the Yangzhou Navy see how landing would be disadvantageous? Or was Yangzhou too confident in themselves?

“Overthinking can cause failure. Pride comes before a fall. An Yixuan gave them this opportunity and now they will be the one giving us this opportunity!” Mo Ran replied. It was not that he wasn’t thinking comprehensively. He simply could not imagine losing in this situation.

Mo Ran looked at the approaching enemy and raised his hand. “It is time! Form a battle line!” Fifteen thousand men then lined up at the port waiting for the arrival of the Liaodong Navy.

“General. This battle is going to be tought. Could it be that General Gan…?” Ling Cao’s deputy general was implying that Gan Ning wanted to send them to their deaths. After all, the enemy have fifteen thousand men while they only have a few thousand. On top of that, they would have to tire themselves trekking through water.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Ling Cao scolded angrily. Although Ling Cao was not intelligent, he also knew that Gan Ning did not have to go through so much trouble if he wanted Ling Cao dead. He simply didn’t have to send Liang Chen to save them. Gan Ning was not so despicable.

“General. I am not talking nonsense. There is a saying that goes you should not have the intention to harm others but you shouldn’t have the intention of letting them…” Before he could finish speaking, Gan Ning’s ship raised a signal ordering Ling Cao to advance slowly while the three Monarch-class warships send gifts.

“Hm?” Ling Cao looked behind him and saw the gun ports of all three Monarch-class warships open, exposing their cannons. The cannons were clearly aimed at the Liaodong Army.

“Are those the thundering weapons?” Mo Ran also saw Yangzhou’s actions from the harbor. When he saw the iron lumps, he could not help but feel a sense of danger. But then he quickly regained his composure. Those weapons only have a range of two hundred meters.

“General. Are the Yangzhou Navy trying to scare us? Are they telling us to go back and collect our clothes?” Yue Peng laughed. All it would do is make thundering sounds especially if the attack cannot reach them. Clearly it is just for provocation.

Mo Ran also laughed. “Stop talking nonsense and get the troops ready! We will be facing a tough battle!” Mo Ran would not underestimate the enemy. His men all wore Yangzhou’s new equipment. These equipment were all made in Yangzhou. If Yangzhou dared to sell it then they would obviously be equipped with it as well. These thousands of men cannot be underestimated.

“Understood!”

“Boom!” The first cannon shot was fired by Huaxia. It landed in the ocean right in front of the port. This caused the Liaodong Army to burst out laughing.

“Not good!” While the others were laughing, Mo Ran was horrified. “Quick! Give the order! Disperse! Disperse!”

Unfortunately, Mo Ran was too late. The three Monarch-class warship have begun unleashing their wrath.