There are more than five miles from the port to Dashi City. Gongsun Du deployed three lines of defense. The first line of defense was close to the harbor, with 10,000 invaders and 2,000 knights, and arranged an array along the mountain coast. When Shen You tried to attack for the first time, he was blocked before this line of defense and could not move forward.

Sun Ce is not unfamiliar with the terrain here. He has detailed maps prepared in advance, and can also see the terrain with his own eyes. He knows what arrangements Gongsun Du can make. He does not have to worry about accidents due to unfamiliar terrain. It is most suitable for frontal combat.

There is no doubt that the terrain is beneficial to Gongsun Du. To the south of the position is a continuous mountain ridge, and to the north of the position is a highland formed by several earth slopes in the bay, with only a flat ground less than 300 steps wide in the middle. From the position east, the flat ground gradually shrinks, and the narrowest point is only a hundred steps. Gongsun Du sets up cavalry positions on the high ground on both sides. Once needed, these cavalry can rush down from the high ground and accelerate with the help of the slope to attack infantry with discontinuous formations. Even if the cavalry does not charge, it is like raising a sword on the head on the head, which may fall at any time, which is enough to prevent the opponent from taking it lightly and being vigilant at all times. The deterrent power is extraordinary and no one can ignore it.

Ten thousand invaders were arranged on a position of 300 steps wide, and the formation was so thick that people had no chance to take any tricks and could only fight hard. Without the advantage of military strength and even insufficient cavalry, Shen You was as smart as Shen You had no choice but to sigh at the city and give up the strong attack with tactfulness to avoid humiliation from himself.

The north of the position is the bay. Originally, the tower ship could pass, but Gongsun Du stopped more than a dozen ships at the entrance. As long as the tower ship showed signs of attack, he would sink the ship to the port, which was enough to make the tower ship stranded. Sun Ce naturally did not want such a thing to happen. If the ship sinks the ship, he would have to make trouble for salvage in the future. Gongsun Du set up a position on the high slopes on both sides of the straits and prepared a large amount of fire-induced objects. If the tower ship forced it, it could be shot with a crossbow and burned the warship. The tower ship was huge, but it was also the easiest target to attack. No one could be spared from the dense array of arrows.

Since Gongsun Du is going to force a head-on battle, then satisfy his wish. Without speculation or taking advantage of tricks, he will defeat Gongsun Du's position head-on with a dignified formation, so that he can see what strength is.

Before getting off the boat, Sun Ce called Gan Ning over. "Xingba, you log in later, I will follow you to escort the formation for you. I believe you remember the combat steps. Don't be anxious. Take it step by step, and there is only one requirement: don't be impatient and don't retreat easily."

Gan Ning laughed loudly. "Lord, I'm brave enough to change it."

"oh?"

"Don't move forward, don't retreat." Gan Ning stretched out his hand and pointed to the Liaodong Army position in the distance. "I will never follow until I fight with the thief."

Sun Ce looked at Gan Ning and nodded with satisfaction. Gan Ning was very warlike, so he didn't need to say more.

"Go."

Gan Ning bowed again, turned around and put on his helmet, and got off the boat with great courage. His subordinates had already abandoned the boat under the leadership of Sima Yang Hong, and successively set up a formation. Gongsun Du heard that Sun Ce had gone to fight in person, preparing to see Sun Ce's true skills, and did not set up a formation on the shore to block the attack, leaving enough space for tens of thousands of people to set up a formation, which was quite a bit like an ancient war.

Gan Ning abandoned the ship and set up a hundred steps off the shore. He was not in a hurry to move forward, but instead held the position first, holding a sword and shield hand in front of him, and the spearman followed closely, erecting the spear between the big shields to prevent the opponent's knights from raiding. The two-story tower ships ventured to dock and moor, and thousands of crossbowmen stood on the side of the side, waiting for the front. Once the opponent's knight launched a charge, the strong bow and hard crossbow could provide necessary cover.

After Ganning established the formation, the crossbowmen abandoned their boats and landed on the shore one after another, and set up the formation behind Ganning.

A group of soldiers landed on the shore, and a warship unloaded the soldiers and sailed away in turn, allowing the other warships to dock. Dozens of ships and thousands of people came and went, but no one was making noise. Only the calm sound of war drums followed by a series of orders, mixed with orders, in an orderly manner.

After half an hour, Gan Ning's position moved forward three hundred steps, and Sun Ce's personal guard camp began to land. The four thousand personal guard camps spread on both wings of Gan Ning to protect Gan Ning's flanks, and then squeezed forward together to make room for Sun Ce's central army to set up a formation.

At this time, the Ganning army, standing in the forefront, was less than a hundred steps away from the Liaodong Army. The Liaodong Army began to shoot, and waves of arrows poured down to Ganning's position. However, Ganning did not order a counterattack, but just raised a shield and let the Liaodong Army's arrows shoot the shield thud, but no one made a sound, just waiting for the order quietly.

Behind them, Xu Qian and Dian Wei landed on the shore, set up a position, and pushed down a platform about three feet high from the boat. The upper part of the platform was two feet square and the lower part was three feet square, and there were three pairs of huge wooden wheels of the same height as a human being. They could be pushed and moved by Yi Zongqian, and there were rotating escalators around them. Everything was ready. Sun Ce climbed up the steps and sat on the platform. Sun Yi and Zhu Ran occupied two corners in front, holding triangular flags and acting as commanders. Zhuge Liang and Lu Yi sat on both sides, prepared pens, ink and paper, and prepared to record every order issued by Sun Ce and the battle progress. Guo Jia sat on the right, shaking the feather fan, Sun Shangxiang and Xu Jie sat on the left, observing and studying. On the sea behind him, Sun Ce's ship was docked, Zhang Cheng and the military strategists on duty were on standby on the Feilu.

Although arrows were flying not far away, the sound of breaking the wind was harsh, and even a flowing arrow shot to the front of the platform, the platform was quiet and silent, without a single sound, only the untiring war drums were heard one after another, low and majestic, and with the slight northwest wind, it blew towards Gongsun Du's position.

Gongsun Du stood on the slope with his hands behind his back, squinted his eyes, and looked at Sun Ce's position in the distance, motionless.

Since Ganning started landing, he has been observing, watching nearly 10,000 soldiers under Sun Ce’s subordinates landing one after another, forming a formation without missing a trace of details. Sun Ce’s deployment is not surprising, infringers set up formations, crossbowmen cover, step by step, and step by step are routines that ordinary people know.

But it was these well-known routines that made Gongsun Du feel a lot of pressure. Nearly 10,000 people set up a formation, but not dozens or hundreds of people. The tribes were able to understand so tacitly that there was no chaos at all. The soldiers who kept landing were like drops of water melting into the river, quietly pouring in, but the positions were growing. Even the dense attacks of the Liaodong Army could not break this calmness, which made people feel chill. In contrast, the armor on their bodies was not so conspicuous.

If it weren't for well-trained, it would never be so calm. It is not uncommon to have hundreds or even thousands of well-trained elite soldiers, but it is a bit uneasy that tens of thousands of soldiers are so powerful. In contrast, the Liaodong Army is simply a group of mobs.

Xu You said that Sun Ce was good at training troops and kept going all year round, and what he said was true.

Gongsun Du turned his head and looked at Xu You. Xu You were also looking at it, but his expression was calm and he didn't look surprised.

"Ziyuan, during the Battle of Guandu, was Sun Ce's subordinates so concise?"

Xu You was silent for a moment. "I had never fought against Sun Ce during the Battle of Guandu."

Gongsun Du raised his eyebrows slightly, remembering that Xu You failed to build a dam, and was driven back to Jizhou by Yuan Shao in the middle of the journey. He couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Before the war, these unlucky things should not be said.

"These are Sun Ce's personal guard camps. They are originally the strongest soldiers under Sun Ce's command, and not everyone can do this." Xu You took a step forward, stood side by side with Gongsun Du, and raised his chin. "The position directly in front is his naval commander Gan Ning. What do you think of his position?"

Gongsun Du had noticed it a long time ago. Gan Ning was the first to set up ashore. At that time, he felt that Gan Ning's subordinates were very strict and should not be easily shaken. Later, Sun Ce's subordinates set up a formation, which was more conscientious than Gan Ning's subordinates, which made Gan Ning's position seem a little loose. It's not that the formation is not complete enough, but it's just a little inferior in momentum. Thinking of Shen You's previous battle formation, Gongsun Du nodded and accepted Xu You's explanation.

"Your position must not be able to stop Sun Ce, but it can consume part of his morale. As the saying goes, one move will decline again and then be exhausted. No matter how refined Sun Ce's subordinates are, they will be flesh and blood. Holding on to his first attack, letting him see your determination, and he will not be so proud. If you have twice his troops, are you afraid that you can't fight him?"

Gongsun Du nodded. He was ready for a bloody battle, and the rewards and punishments had been passed to the throne. I believe that his subordinates would fight to the end. Even if half of these 10,000 people were lost, they would have to block Sun Ce's attack and prevent him from easily succeeding. He was the defender and could rely on the waves, fight and retreat, and resist step by step. If the energy consumption made Sun Ce's mind restless and revealed flaws, it would be great. The cavalry arranged on the mountains on both sides would directly attack the central army, so that Sun Ce could see the combat power of the Liaodong cavalry.

"Sun Ce is going to attack." Xu You raised his chin again and signaled Gongsun Du to look ahead. Gongsun Du looked at Sun Ce's central army, and saw the commander standing in a corner raised the flag in his hand and waved it hard. The big star embroidered with the phoenix ashes from the fire also fell forward and swayed at a specific rhythm.

This is a sign of the attack. When the battle was about to begin, Gongsun Du couldn't help but hold his breath, and even his fist was held behind him, he couldn't help but clench his nails into his palms, causing a stinging pain. Gongsun Du was unaware of it, concentrating and holding his breath, unwilling to miss any details.

Xu You saw it clearly and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth. He knew that the loss of Hu Yuezhan's defeat had a great blow to Gongsun Du. If he could not defeat Sun Ce as soon as possible, he would face the danger of food being cut off. In this battle, all the elite troops in Liaodong were released, and even if he wanted to retreat, he could not retreat. If he could not defeat Sun Ce this time, it means that he would not be able to defeat Sun Ce in the future.

When two tigers fight, one will be injured. No matter who falls, it will be beneficial to Yuan Tan. Of course, if both sides suffer losses, it will be even better. This is exactly the purpose of his proposal for Gongsun Du, and he believes that this should be the most likely result.

The rhythm of the war drums on the opposite side changed, and they beat them hard several times. Then, Gan Ning's position also reacted. The battle flag shaking, the drums sounded like thunder, and a rain of arrows jumped out of the formation, intersecting with the Liaodong Army's arrow formation, and instantly separated and flew into the Liaodong Army's formation a hundred steps away.
Chapter completed!