Black smoke filled the air above the river, and the wind was noisy. In the dim snow, swords and weapons shone in the firelight, and various crossbows and bows and arrows flew with crackling sounds.
The large warship that Old Man Li was on was slowly turning around, but it was already at its fastest speed, but the people on it probably felt that this short time was very long. The shaking hull and the panicked people on it made it look uneasy.
The fireboats attached to the Zhou army's ships were relatively small, but they were blazing and billowing with smoke. The flames rushed towards the warships in the wind. The sides of the ship were all blackened, and some wood was on fire. Fortunately, the kerosene only burned on the fireboats and could not be poured onto the warships. Not far away, a small boat of the Southern Tang army was rowing eastward desperately. After they drove the fireboat over, they fled on the boat.
The soldiers on the deck were pouring water from the water tank with wooden buckets, but the water could not put out the flaming oil. The fireboat burned more and more fiercely, and the situation was very critical. The people on the Zhou army's small boat not far away approached with long poles and tried to lift the fireboat out, but the fireboat had many iron nails and did not move in the wind.
Fortunately, the warship finally managed to turn around, and the commanders on board responded quickly and issued wise orders in time. When the fireship reached the leeward side, the flames blew westward, and the danger to the warship was greatly reduced. People continued to carry buckets of water to put out the fire.
At this moment, another small sailboat from the Southern Tang Kingdom rushed over here, looking like the burning fireship just now. The soldiers on the deck watched the light boat coming with the wind and shouted.
At that time, the catapults on the warships hurled many fireballs, and rockets flew into the air. Suddenly, the small sailboat roared with smoke and burst into flames. There were only a few people on it, and they jumped into the cold river with fire on their backs. The sails also caught fire, and then rushed towards the warships at the same speed.
The large ship dodged to the left and finally avoided the fireboat. It seemed as if a ball of fire was floating on the river out of nowhere.
At this time, the main battleships of the Southern Tang Army approached one after another, and many ships from both sides started boarding battles. The fog on the river was dispelled, the flames were reflected on the water, and the sound of killing was deafening on the river.
Under the deck of a large ship, Old Man Li was still lying on the handrail of the waterwheel. He stopped pedaling the waterwheel and tilted his head to look up. Almost everyone was like him, staying where they were and listening to the noise above. No one on the deck had paid attention to the people below for a while. There were chaotic footsteps and endless shouts and screams above. A fight had already begun.
At this moment, there was a sudden light above my head. The wooden board at the foot of the stairs was lifted up, and a warrior lowered his head and shouted: "Those with weapons, come up, there is no need to row the boat!"
Old man Li glanced at the spear beside him and did not move. Unexpectedly, the warrior came down, waved the sword in his hand, picked up some people at random, ordered them to pick up the weapons in the cabin, and shouted: I am a general, you recognize me. There are not enough people in front, the people here follow me to kill
Old man Li still didn't move, but unexpectedly, the ten generals were sharp-eyed and just glanced at Old Man Li and said: You are not a civilian, you are a soldier in the army. Pick up your weapons and follow me.
He had no choice but to pick up his spear and climb up the stairs with a group of people. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the two large ships were already together, with several iron chain wooden bridges on the side of the ship. The sails on the opposite ship were huge, and on the deck, swords were waving and bows and arrows were shooting.
A general on the side of the ship was shouting: Go over and kill the enemy soldiers and seize their ship!
Old man Li followed the crowd, hunched over, and walked across the wooden bridge. He carefully dodged arrows and walked towards where there were many people. At his age, he just wanted to get some military pay and food, not to get merit and promotion. The key point was that he was not wearing armor, and he would be killed by an arrow. He finally found a wooden shield on the ground, picked it up quickly, held the shield in his left hand and the spear in his right hand, and stood behind his people to cheer.
The Zhou army was attacking, and the situation looked relatively good. The situation of the ship on the left wing was a bit miserable, as it was entangled by two main battleships of the Southern Tang army and was being attacked together.
The battle intensified. Several main ships on the river were on fire, and debris and corpses appeared and disappeared in the river, making the scene a mess. More ships were fighting on the boarding board, and the shouting on the river was deafening and chaotic. The Zhou army's navy did not gain any advantage at all. First, because they were in the downwind, they were not as maneuverable as the Southern Tang army. The current in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River was relatively slow, and the advantage of following the wind was greater than that of following the current; second, Gao Yanchou's subordinates under Li Chuyun were not as elite as the imperial army, and the Southern Tang army's navy was their more powerful force, so the Zhou army had no advantage in fighting openly.
The two armies continued to fight, with only the front contact area being the focus of the fighting. No one had much advantage, and it was difficult to tell the winner for a while.
Guo Shao's flagship had not yet been affected by the war, but he had already smelled the fireworks in the wind and saw the battle ahead. The battle continued until the afternoon, with no progress. Guo Shao was not very happy, but he did not point fingers at Li Chuyun. On the battlefield, it is not good to be impatient when things are not going well. Guo Shao had also encountered a situation where the vanguard collapsed in the Battle of Gaoping. He was still very calm now.
Liu Cheng, who was deployed in the east of the Southern Tang army, was restless. He was still in Jingkou. Boats kept returning to the dock on the river to report the battle situation ahead.
Liu Cheng arrived at the dock in armor, intending to board the ship to supervise the battle at the front. His subordinates hastily dissuaded him, saying: The weather is bad, the river is cold, and the river is dangerous. The lord must not take the risk.
Liu Cheng said: Your Majesty has entrusted me with an important task, how dare I cherish my life and go to the front to supervise the battle, I dare not slack off.
The general advised: "The enemy warships at Guazhou on the other side have repeatedly tried to break through. I'm afraid they have discussed with the Zhou army in the west and want to attack us from both sides. The lord should stay in the central army and take charge of the overall situation."
Liu Cheng thought that the exit of the canal was narrow and he could not maneuver, and now it was blocked by his large number of warships, so it was not a big deal. So he ignored the order and rushed to the front line.
Before he came, he had only heard from reports that the battle was fierce, but no one said that they would lose; once he arrived on the battlefield, he was immediately stunned by the scene before his eyes. At first glance, it seemed that half of his own ships were either burning or filled with enemy soldiers fighting. There were also generals who escaped from the front and claimed that the Zhou army was fierce and they could not resist and lost their warships.
Liu Cheng's heart skipped a beat. Most of the navy's troops were here. How would he report to the court if he was defeated
He immediately wanted to send someone back to mobilize the elite warships reserved in Jingkou for support. A general who followed him advised: "My lord, please take a closer look. Although the situation ahead is dangerous, the Zhou people have not gained any advantage. Otherwise, we have been fighting from morning to afternoon. How can we hold on? We should not rush to send troops for reinforcement. Let's wait until the evening and discuss it after both sides withdraw their troops."
But when the navy officers on the western warship heard that reinforcements were coming, they all encouraged Liu Cheng. Because they thought that since there were reinforcements in the rear, the chances of victory would be greater with the reinforcements coming. Some even said that Liu Cheng was a benefactor who saved their lives in time.
The generals had different opinions. Seeing that the water battle was getting tense, Liu Cheng finally decided to send reinforcements. He had some ideas in mind. He did not move the warships blocking the canal at Guazhou, but only mobilized the warships on standby at Jingkou Water Fort.
After Liu Cheng issued the military order, he was still thinking: If we can't hold out here, the timely arrival of reinforcements can save the situation; even if there is no danger, the increased manpower and strength will enable us to defeat the Zhou army's navy in the west. Then we can go upstream with the wind and burn the Caishi Floating Bridge, cutting off the Zhou army's retreat. How should the court reward our people for such a great achievement and what position should we place ourselves in
Thinking of this, Liu Cheng's face flushed and he impatiently urged the messenger to set off.