Chapter 342: Fire on Wenshui
As the warships sailed down the river, Han Dang looked proudly at the navy led by Chunyu Qiong, like a lion patrolling his territory.
Although the towering warship blocked Han Dang's view, Chunyu Qiong, who was in the back, still vaguely guessed Han Dang's thoughts. His eyes were full of resentment, and the veins in his right hand holding the long sword were bulging.
"Beat the drums! March!"
Chunyu Qiong's navy rushed towards the fleet of Han Dang's army like a dense swarm of ants as he gave orders word by word.
In the previous battle, Chunyu Qiong used his practiced fleet formation to confront Han Dang head-on and was defeated miserably.
From then on, he understood that when fighting a naval battle with Han Dang, he should not engage in a head-on battle. Otherwise, the absolute gap in the warships would make him a target for Han Dang.
Only by getting close and engaging in a chaotic and mixed fight will there be a possibility of a battle.
Leading elite troops to ambush in the rear, Chunyu Qiong stared at the tower ship at the rear of Han Dang's military fleet.
He knew that he could not defeat Han Dang, nor did he think that Sun Ce could do anything under the circumstances, but he believed in his lord.
Looking at Chunyu Qiong's army that had actually taken the initiative to charge forward, Han Dang nodded slightly, with a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes: "Your courage is commendable."
Then the command flags were waved, and crossbows were fired from countless warships.
As long as the ship is strong and tall enough, and the crossbow arrows are far enough and numerous enough, you can do whatever you want.
Han Dang directly adopted a fire coverage strategy, seeking only to kill the enemy to the greatest extent possible, and did not pay any attention to Chunyu Qiong's army rushing up.
Because in his eyes, this battle was bound to be won, so there was no need to care about Chunyu Qiong's army's counterattack, which was almost like tickling.
Waves of arrows rained down, and large groups of Zou Ke were shot into hedgehogs.
When Chunyu Qiong saw this scene, his eyes were filled with anger and powerlessness.
He knew that his attack posed no threat to Han Dang's army. It would be good enough if he could kill a few hundred soldiers and capture some ships.
If this continues, the soldiers will simply die.
The naval officers and soldiers rushed to the warships under the attack of numerous crossbow arrows, but they found it difficult to climb aboard. Moreover, the warships were filled with fully armed enemy troops ready to fight back.
They wanted to break through the warship, but found that the bottom of the warship was not only reinforced, but also had many sealed cabins, so those little tricks were useless.
These naval officers and soldiers were carefully selected and trained by Chunyu Qiong, but he could only watch them go up and die one by one.
It was a one-sided massacre that lasted for more than half an hour.
Chunyu Qiong's army achieved very few results, while Han Dang's army, which was almost unscathed, was still firing crossbow arrows indiscriminately.
But without Han Dang realizing it, the formation of his fleet had slowly changed.
A relatively intensive offensive state was formed.
After all, with this kind of one-sided crushing, even if Han Dang's soldiers have good military discipline, they will inevitably feel a little lax over time. In order to better shoot the enemy and cover their comrades, they will unconsciously adjust their position.
Chunyu Qiong was keenly aware of this victory achieved at the cost of the lives of his soldiers, and looked anxiously at the rear of Han Dang's army and in the upstream direction.
Sun Bofu! Where on earth have you been? Why don't you show up?
Suddenly, a hint of red appeared in Chunyu Qiong's eyes.
Chunyu Qiong opened his eyes wide, staring at the red dot that was getting bigger and bigger, his face full of excitement.
coming!
"Blow the horn! Reinforcements are coming! All troops, attack and kill!"
Chunyu Qiong stood up without hesitation and roared like a madman.
He has waited for this moment for too long. It's time to let these damn enemies taste the consequences of their arrogance!
Han Dang noticed the abnormality behind him a few minutes faster than Chunyu Qiong, but looking at the fire that had turned into a straight line, Han Dang knew that he was in trouble.
At the same time, the horn of Chunyu Qiong's army sounded. "All troops, move closer to the north bank, abandon your ships and go ashore!"
Han Dang gave the order without hesitation.
No matter how sophisticated the warships in the fleet he led were, they were just wooden ships after all.
The Wenshui River is not wide, and now his fleet has been piled up together.
The group of fireships released by Sun Ce were numerous and extremely fast. Chunyu Qiong's army pounced on them again, intending to die together with them.
Yuan Shao's army on the south bank had already approached, and many crossbows and catapults were pushed forward and aimed at their warships.
In this situation, he could only choose to evacuate and minimize the losses of the navy.
In the upper reaches of the Wen River, Sun Ce nodded slightly as he looked at the fireboats that were floating down the river in a line, and Han Dang's army being towed by Chunyu Qiong's army not far away.
The gap between the warships of the two sides was too great, and even if he led his troops in a surprise attack, it would be difficult to achieve much effect.
Using fire attack is undoubtedly the best option.
Before heading north, Zhou Yu had already practiced this tactic countless times, and he and his soldiers were very familiar with it.
After long-term practice, not only did the fire ships burn extremely vigorously, but they were also connected to each other in an almost straight line, without any breakage or entanglement.
There were two rows of fire ships in front and back, and the speed of the fire was calculated, which was enough to burn all the enemy warships to ashes.
Giving a thumbs up to his masterpiece, Sun Ce led his fleet without stopping to follow the fire ships, ready to deal a fatal blow to Han Dang's army.
"Crazy! A bunch of crazy!"
Looking at Yuan Shao's army rushing forward despite the heavy fire, Han Dang's eyes were filled with solemnity.
These naval forces were carefully trained by Chunyu Qiong, and because of their small number, they were treated quite well. At this moment, Chunyu Qiong, the commander, personally launched the charge, and they naturally risked their lives to follow.
Under the influence of Chunyu Qiong's second talent, all the navy abandoned their few defenses and launched a fierce attack.
Behind him was a fire that was spreading continuously, and around him were enemies that were like a swarm of ants.
Han Dangjun was already in a desperate situation at this time.
Looking at Sun Ce's army that was faintly visible behind the fire, Han Dang's face was full of despair.
Although he was extremely conflicted, Han Dang still gritted his teeth and roared, "Order the front and rear armies to hold back the enemy, and the central army to evacuate to the north bank!"
In this situation, it is impossible to evacuate everyone, and the only option is to take drastic measures.
Chunyu Qiong stared at the location of Han Dang's warship and personally commanded a group of knights to rush up.
At this moment, his heart was completely filled with anger. The humiliation and pressure that Han Dang had brought to him during this period were all released at this moment. He had only one thought in his mind, which was to kill Han Dang.
As the warship approached the shore, Chunyu Qiong also rushed ashore with his personal guards.
At this time, the Wenshui River had completely engulfed in a sea of fire. Countless warships collided and squeezed together, unable to move at all, and were swallowed by the raging flames.
Dark shadows could be vaguely seen dancing in the flames.
Han Dang also had his eyes bloodshot when he saw this scene.
The warships were destroyed, so were they. Tian Ze had many shipyards and craftsmen under his command, and they could be replenished quickly.
But those well-trained naval soldiers are treasures!
A rough estimate is that at least five to six thousand soldiers were killed in this battle. What a huge loss!
(End of this chapter)
