"Raise the sails!" Zhou Yu waved the feather fan in his hand. The general had doubts in his heart, but he still carried out the order. Zhou Yu was already angry with Zhou Yu's order. Now, if anyone dared to question him in front of him, they would only bring death to him! All the warships began to raise their sails. The navy's warships were not only rowed by manpower, but also by the speed of the sails. However, sometimes there was no wind in the Yangtze River, which caused the sails to be useless. They could only use the oars to row.
"Raise the sails? Hehe, you want to surrender? " The sails were basically made of linen or coarse cloth that had not been dyed. Therefore, the sails were basically white. They looked like white chess pieces that had surrendered. Raising the sails would also increase the size of the sails, which would increase the surface area of the sails to be damaged!
Kuai Liang sneered. Zhou Yu was panicking! It was no wonder that anyone who encountered such an unprecedented weapon would be shocked.
"However, although I understand, I still ask you, Zhou Yu, to sink to the bottom of the river! Only the dead beauty of Jiangdong or the good Gong Jin! " Kuai Liang raised his hand again. As long as the last salvo could directly send Zhou Yu's flagship and Zhou Yu to the bottom of the river, then the Jingzhou Army would win. After that, this water area, no, it should be said that the entire Yangtze River basin would be the world of the Jingzhou Army! The Lvbu's Army no longer had a navy. Even if they did, they would be in the Yellow River, Huai River, or Ying River. Liu Mang selling the warships was a message to the Jingzhou Army to the Jiangdong Army. The Lvbu's Army was not interested in the Yangtze River. They also did not want to cross the Yangtze River to attack Jiangdong and Jingzhou. They wanted the Huai River basin to settle the score with Lao Cao. They wanted revenge and to march into the Central Plains! Therefore, they could fight on the Yangtze River! It did not matter if they fought to the death! If there were three navies, they would cooperate to keep each other in check. However, if there were two people, it was different. As long as they killed each other, then the victor would be the overlord of the Yangtze River basin!
Of course, Kuai Liang did not consider that this was a pretense by the Lvbu's Army to attract the Jingzhou Navy and Jiangdong Navy to fight to the death. However, this pretense was too tempting and the cake was too big. The Lvbu's Army sold Kuai Liang 23 warships equipped with ballistae, allowing the Jingzhou Navy to increase their fighting power. This way, they could first destroy Zhou Yu's fleet and wait for the Jingzhou Navy to refit the remaining warships before fighting the Jiangdong Navy. At that time, the Jiangdong Navy would not be a match for the Jingzhou Navy. As long as the Jiangdong Sun Ce was destroyed, even if the price was high, as long as there were ballistae and docks, the Jingzhou Navy would be able to pull out another fleet. Kuai Liang did not believe that the Lvbu's Army's navy could catch up to the Jingzhou Navy.
"Go to hell!" A glint flashed in Kuai Liang's eyes. In his mind, he had already imagined Zhou Yu's flagship being smashed to pieces. The shattered deck and the hole in it would allow the cold rain to pour in. Zhou Yu would struggle in the water, and it would be best if he died under the ballista's huge arrow!
However, Kuai Liang was destined to be disappointed. Nothing happened in front of him. The scene of a giant arrow piercing through Zhou Yu's flagship did not appear. Instead, warships with raised sails were rapidly sailing towards him!
"What's going on?" Kuai Liang was infuriated. It had not been easy for him to brew up these emotions. Originally, after he had killed Zhou Yu, he had been able to feel something and write a beautiful poem on the Yangtze River outside Sanjiangkou. But now? It was as if he had eaten a fly. It was extremely uncomfortable. The feeling of comfort was suppressed in his heart. One could imagine how deep the discomfort was.
"Mister Zi Rou, there are no more arrows!" Deng Long was a little embarrassed. Like Kuai Liang, he wanted to see the scene of wood splinters flying everywhere. However, he could not see it because there were no more arrows on the ballistae.
"Why are there no more arrows? Aren't we supposed to shoot continuously? " Kuai Liang also looked over and saw that the ballistae were empty. Not a single arrow was left. All of them had been shot!
"We can only shoot five arrows in a row!" Deng Long said to Kuai Liang. In fact, Kuai Liang also knew that they could only shoot five arrows in a row. However, he was too excited because he was so close to destroying Jiangdong's navy. Deng Long was also the same.
"Quickly reload!" Kuai Liang knew that Lü Bu's navy must have taught Deng Long's navy how to reload. Kuai Liang's face was sullen. He was very unhappy. They were so close! But because of this, they failed on the verge of success. If it weren't for the four ships in front of them, it would have been Zhou Yu's flagship that sank. And they would have become the heroes of Jingzhou, the saviors of Jingzhou!
"What's wrong? Doesn't Mister Zi Rou know that he can only shoot five arrows in a row?" Zhou Yu could not hear what Kuai Liang was saying. However, they could see Kuai Liang's gloomy face. The Kuai Liang and Kuai Zirou who were full of vigor and vigor had disappeared. Instead, they had become the Kuai Liang with a gloomy face and a vicious gaze! After Gan Ning's navy destroyed Jiang Qin's 30,000 navy, Zhou Yu had been studying the Lvbu's Army's weapons. No matter what, the Jiangdong Army would encounter such weapons. At first, Zhou Yu did not expect that they would be able to obtain the ballistae from Lü Bu. Therefore, Zhou Yu was thinking about how to use the current fleet to win this battle. Originally, it was just a thought. Especially when Sun Ce sent a letter saying that they had obtained the ballistae, Zhou Yu gave up on that idea. However, he did not expect that he would be able to test it out.
The ballistae was a weapon that could pierce through a ship from 300 steps away. It could even send the ship to the bottom of the river. The enemy would not even be able to touch it. The most important thing was that it could shoot five arrows in a row. If a single volley could take out half of a fleet, five volleys would be enough to wipe out an entire fleet! Sure enough, Han Dang used his fleet to test Zhou Yu's theory. If Gan Ning was here, he would definitely laugh at the Jingzhou Navy. They did not know how to use the ballistae at all. The ballistae should be fired separately. Two ships would aim at one enemy ship. It would guarantee that the enemy would be sent to the bottom of the river. That way, five volleys would be able to eliminate three times the number of enemies. Based on the 23 ships, there would be 60 ships. Based on the 300 to 400 people on each ship, there would be a total of 20 thousand people. This would be able to wipe out more than half of Zhou Yu's navy.
However, Deng Long and Kuai Yue made the same mistake. They believed that only when the arrows were concentrated would they have the greatest power. Only then would they be able to scare the enemy. This was not wrong. Making the enemy scared was a psychological attack. However, don't forget that! Psychological attacks could only be used against ordinary soldiers or elites. For Zhou Yu's trump card army, it was completely ineffective. Many of the arrows landed on the ships that were about to sink. That was why the five volleys only managed to wipe out one of Han Dang's fleets.
The ballistae could shoot five volleys in a row but it could only shoot five volleys in a row. This was his strength. He could shoot five volleys in a row. However, it was also his fatal weakness. After five volleys, he would have to reload the bowstring. This was the time to counterattack. That was why Zhou Yu had been counting how many volleys Kuai Liang had shot. After five volleys, Zhou Yu would naturally counterattack.
"Hurry up and reload!" Kuai Liang's face was gloomy. Gan Ning's navy had taught Deng Long's soldiers how to reload the ballistae. However, reloading required time. It was difficult to reload the ballistae one by one. This amount of time was not considered much during normal times. However, on the battlefield, it was critical. Zhou Yu's navy was slowly closing in.
"Mister Zi Rou, let's raise the sails too!" Deng Long suggested. When Gan Ning's navy taught them how to reload the ballistae, they had said that reloading the ballistae would take a long time. They needed to distance themselves from the enemy. Otherwise, it would become a boarding battle.
"That's the only way! Let's raise the sails too! Retreat at full speed! " Kuai Liang was in a dilemma. Originally, the battle was decided. Who knew that this would happen? Wasn't this just a prank? Fortunately, Kuai Liang had a strong heart. If he had encountered someone with a weak heart, he would have been sent to heaven.
"Do you want to distance yourselves?" Zhou Yu could see that the Jingzhou Navy was working hard to load the ballistae and reload the ballistae. Kuai Liang was only stalling for time. However, Zhou Yu would not give him the opportunity to do so. Zhou Yu's navy was not without Jiang Qin's soldiers. From them, Zhou Yu knew that Gan Ning's tactic was to slowly retreat and maintain a certain distance from the Jiangdong Navy. Then, he would wait for the ballistae to fire again and fight to the death with the enemy.
This kind of strategy is very strange. It's like flying a kite. You can't catch up to me. If you don't chase, I will chase you instead. My attack range is longer than yours. I can hit you while you can't touch me at all. This kind of feeling can make people crazy. In the end, Jiang Qin's entire army will be wiped out.
But now, it was different. Although Gan Ning's navy did not change and they were still using Jiang Xia's soldiers, they were even more elite than Gan Ning's soldiers. But so what? Their opponent now was Zhou Yu. He was the brain of the Jiangdong Group and the second in command.
"A different body of water, a different wind direction! Different water flow! Master Zi Rou, you did not die in vain! " Zhou Yu muttered to himself. Sure enough, Kuai Liang noticed that something was wrong. Their speed was not a match for the Jiangdong Navy. They were being overtaken step by step. The ballistae were still not fully loaded. Every time they were loaded, it would take twenty men to load the ballistae.
The most important thing was that they were now retreating to the river basin. From here, they could follow the Yangtze River and reach Jiangdong. Kuai Liang's fleet was originally targeting Zhou Yu, so their bow was pointed at Zhou Yu. Now that they were retreating, they naturally had to change direction. However, changing direction was not something that could be done in a short period of time. Some of the warships did not even turn around and escaped. This resistance was much greater than Zhou Yu's Navy, so they were quickly caught up. Once caught up, Zhou Yu's navy, which had only lost one fleet, would quickly tear them to pieces. Kuai Liang did not believe that the Jiangxia navy, which had less than seven thousand people, could engage in close combat with the Jiangdong navy, which had more than twenty thousand people. If that was the case, then Kuai Liang would definitely die in battle at Sanjiangkou.
Kuai Liang gritted his teeth. Kuai Liang had made an absolute decision. They must not be caught. If they wanted to pull away and have enough time to change the ship's bow, they would need someone to cover them. This way, they would be able to buy enough time for the other warships to catch up.
"Have No.1, No.4, and No.6 turn around and charge towards Zhou Yu's Navy!" Kuai Liang had no choice but to use this method. There were a total of 23 warships, and each one was priceless. Kuai Liang would feel heartache if he lost any of them, especially the ballistae. They were truly priceless treasures. Four thousand shipbuilders and nearly twenty thousand gold coins were used to exchange for it! Therefore, Kuai Liang was very reluctant.
However, even if he was reluctant, he had to abandon them. Otherwise, he would lose the entire fleet. A warrior would cut off his wrists to protect himself.
"Yes!" Deng Long nodded. He also knew that this type of counterattack would only lead to death. There was no other choice. However, Deng Long was helpless. Although he was the general of the navy, he had to listen to Kuai Liang. Kuai Liang's words were military orders.
Deng Long signaled for No.1, No.4, and No.6 warships to turn around and charge at Zhou Yu's navy. The moment this order was given, the soldiers on those warships were in an uproar. Who would be willing to throw their lives away? There were more than 20,000 enemies on the other side. Moreover, they had just killed their comrades. The Jiangdong Army was now a group of provoked tigers. They would only be torn apart if they went forward.
However, Deng Long once again sent out a flag signal. It meant that for the sake of Jiangxia, for the sake of your family and relatives, charge! This sentence caused the three warships to become silent. They chose to turn around and charge towards Zhou Yu's Navy.
Deng Long's words have two meanings. First, they are all from Jiangxia. Only by defeating Zhou Yu and driving him out of Jiangxia can they live a good life with their relatives and family. The second meaning is that if they don't charge, then they have to be careful of the safety of their relatives and family members. The two meanings were one of threat and the other was lyrical. The soldiers of Jiang Xia could only choose to die.
Sure enough, Kuai Liang's strategy worked. The three warships rushed into the Jiangdong Army's formation. This time, there were no ballistae, only close combat. "Boom!" The ships collided with each other. One by one, the Jiangdong Army swarmed into the three ships. The ships had less than a thousand people. How could they be a match for so many people? They were drowned in the sea of people. At the last moment of the three warships, their captains ignited their ships and signaled, "We hope that the general will treat our families well."
"Brave and decisive? Good technique, good technique! " Zhou Yu really admired Kuai Liang. Even Zhou Yu was reluctant to abandon the ballistae, the warships, and the thousand soldiers. This was one-seventh of the Jiangdong Army's strength. They were thrown away like this. The distance between them was once again pulled apart.
Mister Zi Rou, if this was a normal situation, then perhaps you would have won. But unfortunately, even the heavens are not helping you. Zhou Yu stretched out his hand and raised it vertically. A cool breeze from the river brushed past his palm.
"The wind is blowing!" Zhou Yu's face revealed a smile. He had been waiting for this moment. Zhou Yu had been on the Yangtze River for many years, so he knew the weather like the back of his hand. Although he could not change it, he knew when the wind was blowing and when there was no wind. Now was the time when the wind was blowing. The wind was blowing along with the Yangtze River. This wind was definitely good news for ships going downstream, but it was a nightmare for ships going against the current!
"The wind is blowing!" Kuai Liang's face was a bit gloomy because he did not know when the wind started blowing. Although the wind was blowing in the direction of the current, it was very strong for the Jiangdong Navy. This was because Zhou Yu had a flagship that was twice as big as an ordinary ship.
Not only was the flagship big, but it was also equipped with sails that were several times bigger than an ordinary ship. The wind was so strong that it was like a fish in water. It directly overtook the surrounding ships and rushed towards Kuai Liang's fleet.
"Damn it!" Kuai Liang's heart was broken. Even the heavens were not helping him. Even the heavens did not want Zhou Yu's head. The huge ship rushed across the river and quickly caught up with Kuai Liang's ship. However, Zhou Yu didn't seem to have any intention of finding trouble with this ship. Instead, he went straight for the center of the fleet. This was the same as Kuai Liang. He wanted to rush into the Central Army and decide the outcome of the battle.
"The ballistae are not ready yet!" Kuai Liang was really angry. They were the hunters and the Jiangdong Army were the prey. They wanted to use the ballistae to send them to the bottom of the river. Now, the roles were reversed. Kuai Liang was the prey. Now, they were being chased by Zhou Yu.
"Not yet!" Deng Long wiped the sweat off his forehead. He was together with Kuai Liang. Zhou Yu's flagship was attacking Deng Long. Deng Long was also panicking. After all, he had been fighting with Jiangdong for so many years. Deng Long had a sense of fear towards Zhou Yu. After all, Zhou Yu's Jiangdong Army was always able to defeat the Jingzhou Navy.
"Not yet!" Kuai Liang was angry. "Let No.5 and No.7 turn around and charge." He wanted to sacrifice two more ships to protect Kuai Liang's flagship.
"Yes!" Deng Long could only helplessly accept the order. These were his soldiers. If they were killed, there would be one less soldier. In the end, Deng Long would be the one to lose. He hoped that this time, he would be rewarded by the Lord so that he could recruit more soldiers and increase his strength.
No. 5 and No. 7 began to move. They wanted to attack Zhou Yu's ship from a pincer. But before they could even touch Zhou Yu's ship, they were already left behind by the big guy. Although he was big, his flexibility wasn't small at all. He directly passed through the gap between two ships!
"No.9, counter-charge!" Deng Long roared at the No.9 warship. He wanted the warship to help the flagship escape.
However, Kuai Yue smiled bitterly and shook his head. "It's too late!" It was indeed too late. Zhou Yu's flagship collided with Kuai Yue's flagship. These warships originally belonged to Lü Bu's Navy. On the other hand, Lü Bu's Navy was obtained from Jiang Xia. It was just that they were equipped with ballistae. Therefore, they were still considered to be Jiang Xia's warships. Although Jingzhou's shipbuilding industry was developed, it was only good for merchant ships. Turreted ships were just common goods. They only wanted to live off their old capital and never thought of researching and developing them. The Lord was an old and dying man. If he did not have the heart to improve, then there was no need to mention his subordinates.
It was already good enough that they could maintain these warships. However, Zhou Yu's flagship was built with many things. It had the ram of a Bi 'an, the sails of a ship, and the flat ground of a turreted ship. It was also twice the size of an ordinary ship. Therefore, when it collided with Kuai Liang's flagship, Kuai Liang felt the earth tremble. His warship could not collide with Zhou Yu's flagship. The ram of Zhou Yu's flagship tore apart the superstructure of Kuai Liang's warship. Due to the speed of the warship, the search warship pressed forward and crushed half of Kuai Liang's ship. The thick wooden planks immediately cracked. If it wasn't made of wood, it would have sunk to the bottom of the river.
"Mister Zi Rou, leave quickly!" Deng Long unsheathed his saber and protected Kuai Yue. Deng Long could lose and even leave the entire fleet here, but he couldn't let Kuai Liang die. If Kuai Liang died or was captured, then Deng Long would be finished. Not to mention whether his lord, Huang Zu, would forgive him, the Kuai Family of Jing Province would kill him!
Kuai Liang did not argue. He knew that this was not the time to be sentimental. He nodded and ran to the other side under Deng Long's protection. He was a scholar. Although he knew a little martial arts, it was not for battle. It was for personal defense. It could only be considered as a one-on-one battle. In a battle, swords and sabers were invisible. Therefore, Kuai Liang chose to leave and not increase the burden on the soldiers.
The Jiangxia Navy's soldiers began to go crazy. They knew Kuai Liang's identity. Kuai Liang was the head of the Kuai Family, one of the four major families in Jingzhou. If Kuai Liang died here, then the Kuai Family would not let the soldiers go. Even Deng Long would not be able to escape death, not to mention the ordinary soldiers.
Therefore, saving Kuai Liang was the most important thing. All the warships that could have escaped turned around and rushed towards Zhou Yu's flagship. Zhou Yu's warship was surrounded by dozens of warships. However, Zhou Yu did not panic at all. He knew that he was about to win.
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