When Cao Cao and his companions came out of the cabin, they saw a group of small boats breaking through the waves and rushing towards them, as fast as a school of fish.
The first man stood on the bow with a sword in his hand. He was wearing a brocade robe, a gold silk ribbon around his waist, and a pheasant feather on his silver helmet. His red cloak and the feathers fluttered in the wind, looking heroic and elegant.
The boat was up and down, but the man seemed to have taken root. He could only hear the sound of the bronze bell, but he didn't move at all, as if he was walking on the waves.
"Humph, this pirate is showing off again!" Xiahou Dun's one eye was filled with anger as he thought of the humiliation of being captured.
"What a great Jin Gan Ning!" Cao Cao's eyes lit up when he saw him, and he said with emotion: "If I can use this man, I will definitely appoint him as the commander of the navy."
When Cao Xiu saw that there were only a few hundred people and a dozen small boats coming, he became bolder. As the commander of the navy, if he couldn't deal with the Eastern Wu navy, how could he deal with a few pirates
Just when he wanted to avenge his previous humiliation, he heard Cao Cao's words and hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "Prime Minister, rest assured. I am willing to capture this man."
Seeing Gan Ning's unyielding spirit, Cao Cao hesitated and said, "This man is brave and good at fighting, but I'm afraid we can't defeat him in a naval battle."
Xiahou Dun crossed his arms and said, "If we were on land, how could we allow hundreds of them to be so arrogant? I will definitely capture them."
"I am willing to go with you!" Xiahou En also asked.
"Be careful, both of you!" Cao Cao shouted, ordering the two men to split up the fleet to meet the enemy, surround and capture them.
During this southern expedition, he finally realized the gap between the naval forces of both sides. If he wanted to pacify Jiangdong in the future, he would need to train a strong navy. A general like Gan Ning was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.
Just now, Liu Pan's ambush on the shore failed, and Huang Zhong failed to kill Cao Cao with one arrow. Gan Ning hurriedly led 800 soldiers to pursue the enemy.
Last time on land, Cao Cao escaped by relying on his fast horse. But this time in the water, even if he is a dragon, he has no chance of escaping.
Seeing that Cao's army had divided its troops to cover the rear, Gan Ning signaled to Su Fei who was advancing side by side, and the two of them also split into two groups and headed straight for Cao's navy.
Cao Xiu came to the bow with his gun in hand, pointed at Gan Ning and shouted, "Jinfan thief, the Prime Minister has treated you well and I am willing to make you a naval commander. Why don't you give up the dark and join the light?"
"Damn it!" Gan Ning swung his sword fiercely, looked up to the sky and laughed wildly, "Everyone in the world knows that Cao Cao is a traitor who usurped the throne. How could I throw such a pearl into the dark?"
Cao Xiu was furious and ordered his soldiers to row hard. They were rowing linked boats, which, although a little slow, were heavy and tall enough to smash the boats on the opposite side.
The two fleets were approaching each other rapidly, but Gan Ning was not afraid. He stood at the bow with his body slightly bent, like a cheetah ready to attack.
Cao's army shot arrows on the boat, Gan Ning brandished his sword to deflect the arrows, and the Jinfan soldiers behind him, all wearing leather armor and holding shields, blocked the arrows.
When the two ships were about to collide, while the small boat was rocking in the water and the bow just lifted up, Gan Ning shouted, jumped off the boat, and jumped directly onto the bow of Cao's ship.
As a brilliant cold light flashed, the first few archers were chopped down and fell into the water screaming. The Jinfan Army behind them were also agile and boarded the ship one after another, either by jumping directly or using grappling hooks.
Although some soldiers on the ship did not have time to board the ship, they were very skillful in boating. When the large ship approached, they suddenly turned the bow and passed by like nimble fish.
The Cao army's large ships were connected together, and after a rampage, they were lying across the middle of the river. The Jinfan soldiers abandoned their small boats, boarded the linked boats, and fought with swords.
Xiahou En, who was leading the troops on the left, became furious when he saw Gan Ning killing several people in a row, and drew his Qinggang sword to stop him.
A Jinfan soldier raised his knife and chopped at him. Xiahou En swung his sword forward, and with a light click, the knife was cut off. The Jinfan soldier was stunned, and Xiahou En had already stabbed him with his sword.
"Sixth Brother, be careful!" Gan Ning shouted, walked over quickly, raised his knife and tried to block the sword.
There was another light sound, and the tip of Gan Ning's knife was also cut off, but the power in his hand was so great that the Qinggang sword bounced up.
Although he failed to stab the man, the tip of the sword had reached his chest and just cut his chin. He fell on his back, holding his head and rolling over, howling in pain.
"You bastard, go to hell!" Gan Ning raised his thick eyebrows, roared, swung his broken knife, and launched a fierce attack on Xiahou En.
Xiahou En raised his sword to parry and retreated repeatedly. When he was about to reach the side of the boat, he was panicking, but then he saw that Gan Ning only had half a foot long dagger in his hand. He smiled triumphantly, roared and counterattacked.
"Damn it!" Gan Ning cursed softly and threw the broken knife away with a shake of his hand.
Xiahou En dodged and stabbed with his sword. Although he could not be a cavalry general like his cousin Xiahou Dun, he could protect Cao Cao. He had extraordinary swordsmanship and was quite confident.
Gan Ning took two steps back, took out two short spears from his back, and struck out simultaneously with one high and one low, spinning and making a humming sound.
The iron halberd on his back is different from Taishi Ci's. The hand-guard halberd on Taishi Ci's back can be used as a weapon, but Gan Ning's small halberd has an arc-shaped blade and can only be used as a hidden weapon at critical moments.
Xiahou En knew that Cao Cao was watching the battle from behind, so now was the time for him to show his skills. He shouted loudly, and like a dragonfly skimming the water, he stepped on the ground with one foot and raised his sword to knock away a short spear.
Immediately, he did a somersault, leaped into the air, turned his body over, and another short spear flew under him. His movement was extremely agile and graceful.
"What a great move!" Cao Cao slapped the side of the boat, and was amazed. Before he finished speaking, he exclaimed, "Be careful..."
It turned out that Xiahou En was still spinning in the air, but Gan Ning reached his hand to his waist and pulled hard. There was a rattling sound, and an iron chain came out like a python, twisting and rolling towards Xiahou En.
Bang-
There was a dull thud, mixed with a shrill scream, and Xiahou En was hit on the chest by the chain and flew out, hitting the cabin hard, and the sword also slipped out of his hand.
Xiahou En fell on the deck, bounced a few times like a dead fish, and struggled to get up, but his internal organs were shattered. He vomited a mouthful of black blood mixed with pieces of meat and died on the spot.
"You dare to steal my limelight, huh?"
Gan Ning curled his lips in disdain, pointed at the river surface and ordered: "Go and fish out the Qinggang Sword."
A lackey ran over, tore off half a piece of clothing, dipped it in Xiahou En's blood, drew an X on the side of the boat, and said with a smile: "Boss, it's important to kill the enemy first and make merit, and then we can fish it out later."
Gan Ning cursed: "Asshole, can you find the location later?"
"Isn't it right here?" The man pointed at the bloody mark and thought he was smart: "I marked it."
"Idiot!" Gan Ning was furious. He kicked the man off the bow and shouted, "Find him out for me now."
Seeing that Gan Ning was angry, several Jinfan soldiers did not dare to delay and jumped into the river to look for the Qinggang Sword.
At this time, Su Fei was fighting with Cao Xiu on another boat. Su Fei held a round shield in one hand and a knife in the other, but he could not withstand the fierce power of Cao Xiu's spear and kept retreating.
On other large ships, the Jinfan Army was fighting with Cao's Army. They did not engage in a head-on battle with the enemy troops in formation. Instead, they relied on their agility to move around, and even deliberately shook the boats vigorously, waiting for an opportunity to attack.
If they saw that the situation was not good, they would turn over and jump into the river, then climb onto the bow from the other side and attack from behind, making Cao's army terrified and miserable.
Gan Ning strode towards where Cao Xiu was, running between large and small ships, killing the soldiers on board. The red figure burned like a blazing flame, injuring everyone wherever he went.