Liujiangkou.
This is where many rivers and rivers in Lingzhou converge, and beside it is a large lake named Hongtao, with a circumference of hundreds of miles and an unknown depth.
At this time, in Hongtao Lake, two naval forces approached slowly.
One of these two naval divisions is under the banner of King Ding. There are many ships, and the canvas is like clouds, covering the sky and the sun, but it looks a little scattered, as if it has not been established for a long time.
There is also a smaller group, only ten thousand, but with high morale, under the banner of Ma Meng.
On the flagship in the center, Wu Zhi was also looking at the opposite fleet.
"I heard that Mameng's navy is elite, and watching his orders, even on the water, they are ordered and prohibited. They are uniform and uniform, and they are indeed a strong army!"
After a long time, she sighed leisurely: "I heard that most of these sailors were water bandits in their predecessors, and there are so many talents in the world!"
"Kings!"
The generals below, especially the generals of the navy, immediately lost their face when they heard this, and stepped forward to kneel down: "The last general should die before he loses. Today, please give the king another chance to make meritorious deeds!"
"Um!"
Wu Zhi nodded slightly, and pointed out one person: "Chen Xun! Today I ordered you to be the vanguard, and lead five iron-clad ships and fifteen turtle-shell ships to meet the enemy!"
"Obey!"
Chen Xun is a local gentry in Lingzhou. He got the order and immediately disembarked the flagship. Not long after, a small fleet was separated from the huge navy and headed towards the opposite side.
"This is the iron-clad ship that the king ordered the Ministry of Industry to rush out?"
On the flagship, Wu Tiehu, Chen Shuncheng and other generals of the army watched the five iron-clad ships slowly sailing out, all of them couldn't take their eyes off it.
The hull is huge, above the water, it looks like a giant steel beast.
"That's right, this is the blueprint drawn by the young master himself, and then the craftsman of the Ministry of Industry will lead a hundred workers to supervise the construction day and night!"
Zeng Yu said from the side: "Not only is the exterior covered with iron sheets, the defense power is greatly increased, and the deck is no different from land. You can put bed crossbows, ballistas, and even trebuchets!"
…
"Good ship! Really good ship!"
Although it was not the first time for Chen Xun to step on an iron-clad boat, he still couldn't help admiring it.
"Giant ships with heavy crossbows are the trend of future water warfare..."
As a talent who has won Wu Ming's favor and passed the test of Wu Zhi, Chen Xun has a sharp eye and knows his own advantages at a glance.
"The enemy's sailors are mostly water bandits. Those generations are good at sailing boats. The Yangtze River is like walking on flat ground, and they are also good at fighting in water. They are like wolves in the water... My sailors are new trainees, so I shouldn't fight hard."
"But guarding this ship is like a fortress on the sea. Even if the enemy is a pack of wolves, it is still a scattered soldier. How can it be broken? Then hit it with crossbow arrows and catapults, and you will be invincible!"
After hearing this, the subordinate captains all praised: "Good advice, General!"
"Attack!"
The flagship was in charge of the conquest of ships on the water. At this time, the iron-clad ship Chen Xun was on was the flagship. As soon as the order was given, the fleet immediately rushed towards the enemy.
"Woo..."
The horn sounded on the opposite side, and there was also a fleet of ships to meet them.
Ma Meng's sailors mostly used small boats, and the water was like the wind, which was very convenient. At this time, several large boats came out to meet them, followed by dozens of small boats, surrounded by roaring like a pack of wolves.
As they got closer, the sailors in short coats and bare arms holding crossbows and daggers were clearly visible.
"Bed crossbow, fire!"
Chen Xun's expression remained unchanged, and the bed crossbows in the fleet roared as soon as he gave an order.
Whoosh!
The crossbow arrows used on the water have been remodeled, almost as thick as a baby's arm, and the bowstring trembled, launching like cannonballs, stabbing people, breaking ships when encountering ships, and there were screams from the small boat opposite.
"kill!"
After several waves of mutual shooting and chaos, the enemy's small boat finally got close to the outermost turtle ship, but when the enemy sailors bit their sharp knives and wanted to jump onto the edge of the boat and start a battle, they were shocked to find that the front There is still a layer of tortoise shell on the top of the ship, and from the gaps on the four sides, there are spears sticking out, like a hedgehog, it is difficult to bite.
As for the iron-clad ship, it is like a huge city, unattainable, and the chassis is extremely strong. Even if there are water ghosts who want to sneak into the bottom of the ship and smash it, it is wishful thinking.
"Bump me over!"
Chen Xun looked at the small boats with a grin on his face.
Hoo hoo!
Around the ironclad ship, two rows of oars stretched out, paddling the lake water, causing the five beasts to rush forward at an astonishing speed.
"ah!"
The sailors on the small boat screamed again and again, the ship was shattered, and had to dive to survive. Except for a few with excellent water skills, the rest were shot and killed by the archers one after another, stained with blood.
"Set fire to the boat!"
Seeing how easily these skilled sailors were defeated, the vanguard on the opposite side finally showed off their trick.
Dozens of small boats in the rear were piled up with firewood and lamp oil. At this moment, when they were ignited, they immediately ignited and turned into torches on the water. They were manipulated by dead soldiers and rushed towards them.
"Crossbow arrows, trebuchets, shoot me!"
Chen Xun's face remained unchanged, and he responded calmly, while the ballista and small catapults on the ship roared again and again.
bang bang!
A small boat was hit by a stone and disintegrated halfway. The dead soldiers on it broke their bones and fell into the small lake.
There were also several small boats that got close to each other. They were fired by bows and crossbows, and none of the dead soldiers on them survived.
In the end, only a few fire boats approached, but they were dragged away by the tortoise boat in front with a long hook without any haste, without any influence at all.
The naval forward on the opposite side lingered for a long time, but finally had no choice but to retreat.
Cheers came from Chen Xun's fleet.
'Hoo...'
Unexpectedly, Chen Xun breathed a sigh of relief at this time: "These recruits, after a big victory, have finally raised their spirits. Even if they encounter the enemy in the future, they will dare to fight and be able to fight, and they will not suddenly collapse..."
…
The three armies here cheered, but in the naval camp, Ma Meng's face was very ugly.
"Originally, the Dingzhou Navy has suffered several setbacks. I didn't expect to recover so quickly and come back so quickly!"
Marmon sighed.
The current him also knows the difference between him and Da Wuzhi.
The opponent doesn't care about a small defeat at all. Even if the Dingzhou navy loses more than half, as long as the foundation is still there, there are still countless resources that can be mobilized under one order, and the Lingzhou family volunteers to donate people and things, and the recovery ability is strong.
But on my own side, there are only two counties in the district. The navy's people die one by one, and the ship loses one by one. Five! And the sailors are always full!
With such a disparity, how can we use manpower to bring it back to heaven
"Master! Overjoyed!"
At this time, the former Counselor Sun was overjoyed, and quickly reported: "We have heard that the general is asking for help, and we attach great importance to it. We have already sent several uncles with strong magic power. , help the commander-in-chief!"
"oh?"
After hearing this, Ma Meng's originally wavering mind became wavering again.
…
On Hongtao Lake.
After several days of probing and exhausting, Ma Meng finally couldn't bear it anymore, and set up his navy to prepare for a decisive battle.
Of course Wu Zhi would not show weakness, and directly used Chen Xun, Gan Meng and other good sailors as captains to start a fight in Hongtao Lake.
At this time, hundreds or thousands of ships were fighting together, and the scene was very different.
"Catapult, oil bomb ready, throw!"
Chen Xun stared at the opposite ship, with a flash of light in his eyes, waited for a moment, and suddenly shouted.
"hair!"
The trebuchet had already been prepared, but this time it was not a stone bomb, but a terracotta pot, which was full of black kerosene.
This oil is far lighter than stones, and the trebuchet can be thrown a very long distance easily. When it hits an enemy ship, the fire spreads immediately, and even floats in water.
"Very good! Continue!"
Seeing that the plan worked, Chen Xun's eyes flashed with excitement.
This oil bomb is also the winner of King Ding's preparations this time. It has been hidden and kept secret, so that it can exert its maximum effect and attack the enemy now.
"The poison of using soldiers is nothing more than water and fire, but at this time, it is both!"
Many oil bombs fell into the enemy ships, and a sea of flames burned immediately, and figures covered in flames could be seen jumping into the lake from time to time.
It's a pity that even though they are familiar with water, they are like duckweed in the center of the battlefield, either shot to death by the arrows, or drowned alive after being exhausted.
"Husband war, courage!"
Compassion does not command soldiers, and Chen Xun has no mercy at this time: "After this round of fire attack, we must take advantage of the victory to pursue and destroy the enemy fleet in one fell swoop, and it is best to take down the navy's stronghold!"
"Captain, it's not good, the wind has turned!"
At this moment, a school lieutenant exclaimed in surprise when he saw the change of the flag.
"wind direction?"
Chen Xun was surprised.
The reason why he chose fire attack today is because the west wind is blowing, which is beneficial to his navy. No matter how the fire spreads, it can only rage among the enemy troops, but now... Looking at the flag that is gradually roaring rapidly, Chen Xun His complexion suddenly changed.
"It's turned to the east wind..."
He looked at the opposite side, and the big ships that were burned by the fire had gradually separated from the Marmon navy, showing signs of drifting towards this side, and his face could not help but turn a little white: "Self-defeating? Impossible, before going to battle today, I tasted the water myself Xiangtu, I invited a Taoist priest to watch the sky, and there is definitely only the west wind, how did this evil wind come from?"
He looked at the opposite fleet, his eyes suddenly moved: "Could it be that Ma Meng has invited a celestial master who can interfere with celestial phenomena?"
Strategists are all superior, and anyone who stands in the way of the army is a monster!
"Haha... Pass the order down, attack!"
On the opposite side, Ma Meng also boarded the flagship. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but said to Counselor Sun next to him: "Uncle Ling, you really have powerful mana, and you can borrow the east wind to help me win a big victory. When this battle is over, I will surely I will reward you heavily!"
"Thank you, handsome!"
Counselor Sun thanked him, and he was still in doubt: "There are also experts in the enemy army, and they can still cast spells at this time, so it must be the Patriarch!"