"Hmph!" Yuan Shao narrowed his eyes. Ballista! He hadn't expected that Cao Aman would actually be able to use this thing in a decisive battle. In an instant, it had sunk three of his ships. But even so, what could he do? He could only shoot it once. After that, he would be useless.
"Ballista!" Ju Shou started to think. He suddenly remembered a report from Jiangdong. It said that the Lu Bu's Army used a ballista to send 30,000 Jiangdong's navy into the river without suffering any damage. Other than those who suffered minor injuries, the rest did not suffer any casualties. It could be said that it was a great victory for the Lu Bu's Army.
When this report was sent to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao did not even bother to look at it. It was a joke. The Lü Bu's Navy defeated the Jiangdong Navy? Does Lü Bu have a navy? Yuan Shao was not unfamiliar with Lü Bu. He was a wolf that could not be tamed. His cavalry was top-notch, but his navy was nothing. Also, 7,000 against 30,000? Are you kidding me? Annihilating the enemy without any casualties? This is the descent of a god! Even if the enemy was defeated, there would still be casualties if I pursued them. This is because some people will risk their lives when they have no chance of survival. If you don't let them live, they won't let you have an easy time.
As for the ballista! Yuan Shao had seen it before. It was just an antique. If Yuan Shao did not need money to dismantle those antiques, he would have dismantled them long ago. When Ju Shou read the report, he laughed in disdain. He thought that the report was an exaggeration for his own merits. But now, he thought about it again.
That report might be true and not an exaggeration. Ju Shou recalled again. It said that the ballista could fire continuously! It could destroy the hold of a ship.
"Continuous fire!" Ju Shou suddenly gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to remind Yuan Shao, the ten warships on the opposite side had already shot out huge arrows once again.
"Boom boom boom!" This time, Yuan Shao's warship stopped in front of them because a friendly warship had sunk. But even if they were careful, it was useless! Even the thick planks of the warship couldn't stop it, so there was no point in being careful.
This time, the ten warships had a higher hit rate and five warships were sent into the Yellow River. There were only eight warships here, and nearly three thousand people had disappeared from Yuan Shao's navy.
"Charge! Charge!" Yuan Shao's face darkened. He hadn't even met Cao Cao yet, and he had already suffered such a loss. How could Yuan Shao be willing to accept this?
"My lord, be careful! The ballista on the other side might be able to shoot continuously! "Ju Shou finally spoke out his thoughts.
"Hmph!" Yuan Shao snorted coldly. He was dissatisfied with Ju Shou. Since you knew, why didn't you say so earlier? But now is not the time to scold Ju Shou. "Even if we can fire continuously, we still have to rush over! What's the point of being able to fire consecutively? "
Yuan Shao's huge fleet once again rushed forward. Naval warfare was the same as land warfare. Only by rushing over and drowning them could one achieve true victory.
"Ben Chu!" Cao Cao miscalculated a little. He thought that most people would be more cautious after being shot by the ballista. He didn't expect Yuan Shao to rush over without any hesitation. That's right! Yuan Shao had a huge business and wasn't afraid of losses. It was just seven or eight warships! Yuan Shao's navy had more than three hundred warships.
"First row, back off. Second row, forward!" Cao Cao once again issued a military order. Immediately, the warships that had finished firing the ballista began to turn around. They passed through the loose formation of the fleet behind them. The second row of ten warships replaced the previous ten warships and stood in front.
"Fire!" Cao Cao's order was passed down again. This time, the enemy was even closer to Cao Jun. They were only about two hundred steps away. Another two volleys of arrows were fired. This time, Yuan Shao was even more unlucky. He lost twelve warships.
"Third row! Forward! " Cao Cao calmly commanded. He was the heart of the entire army and the commander of the fleet. Originally, he should have given the command to the navy, but this time, it was too important. Cao Cao could only do it himself.
Cao Jun was using this kind of mobile warfare. He wanted to fully utilize the ballista's ability to penetrate warships. The first wave of damage was the highest. Cao Cao had 30,000 navy and more than 100 warships. He wanted to make full use of them. If he only used the ballista to fight against Yuan Shao's Army, then Cao Cao would definitely be defeated. The reason why Cao Cao was able to stand at the top of the world was because he had a great learning advantage. If the enemy was stronger than him, then there was no problem. If he was defeated by the enemy, then there was no problem. As long as he had time, he would definitely learn from the enemy and understand the enemy's tactics. However, this was the first time that the ballista was used in naval warfare. Cao Cao was not able to obtain the ballista from the Lvbu's Army. The ballista's range and penetrating power were not as good as the Lvbu's Army's. However, this did not prevent Cao Cao from learning from the Lü Bu's Navy. When Gan Ning won the battle of Jiangdong, Cao Cao was also studying it. Gan Ning's strategy was to fight downwind while withdrawing.
Cao Cao could also use this method, but he could not copy it. After all, the ballista was not the same as the ballista. Moreover, Gan Ning only had 7,000 warships and 20 warships, while Cao Cao had 100 warships. If he were to copy it, then the entire army would be wiped out. This was because the width of Guandu was not as wide as Gan Ning's Yangtze River. Secondly, Gan Ning only had 20 warships and he could spread them out to fight. On the other hand, Cao Cao had more than 100 warships. If he were to spread them out, then the entire Yellow River would be blocked by the warships. When that happens, Cao Cao would definitely lose. Moreover, the power of the ballista could not be maximized!
Now, Cao Cao was maximizing the power of the ballista. A row of 10 warships completely expanded the range of the ballista. The rest of the warships were scattered in the Yellow River. The first row immediately retreated after firing, followed by the second row, followed by the third and fourth row. Once all the ballista were fired, it would be time for the decisive battle with Yuan Shao. Otherwise, if they stayed there, they would only be crushed to death by Yuan Shao's army.
"Cao Aman!" Yuan Shao was also burning with anger, but he slowly calmed down. He was Yuan Shao, the Yuan Shao of Yuan Benchu's third generation. Yuan Shao was able to conquer the four continents not only because of his identity as the third generation's third generation, but also because Yuan Shao himself was not someone to be underestimated.
This was already Cao Cao's third wave of warships. Two arrows. Yuan Shao slowly grasped the pattern of the ballista on the opposing warships. They could only fire two arrows. Although the damage was great, they had to retreat after firing two arrows.
"Charge! The first person to charge in front of Cao Jun will be rewarded with 100 gold!" Although there were more than a dozen warships in front of Yuan Shao's navy that were warning them that it might be hell in front of them, for the sake of the reward and Yuan Shao's military order, they all charged forward without any regard for their lives.
"Fire!" The fourth row had less than 200 steps left. 10 warships were sent to the bottom of the Yellow River.
"Fire!" The fifth row had 150 steps left. The fastest warship of Yuan Shao's navy was almost 100 steps away. Nine Yuan Shao's warships sank.
"Fire again!" The sixth row had really closed in on Cao Jun this time. At this distance, they could use bows and arrows. Yuan Shao's navy warships drew their bows and shot at Cao Jun. Because of the arrows, Cao Jun only managed to sink five warships.
The seventh row's damage was even lower. Because of the arrows, the ballista couldn't aim properly. Only three warships were hit.
"Boom! Boom! "The eighth row couldn't advance any further. Dozens of warships in the seventh row had been rammed by Yuan Shao's navy warships. Two warships were broken in half. Cao Jun's soldiers rolled on the ground. The other warships weren't any better. Although they weren't knocked over, they were stuck and couldn't move.
"Hmph! We finally caught up! " Yuan Shao sneered. They finally caught up. As long as they caught up with Cao Cao's navy fleet, the rest would be easy. Yuan Shao was furious. How many warships had Yuan Shao lost in this short period of time? More than 40 warships! That's almost fifteen thousand people! How could Yuan Shao not be angry after being sent into the Yellow River?
"Kill them all! Don't leave a single one alive! Reward every Cao Jun! Double the reward! " Yuan Shao once again issued a reward.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" The ten warships that were stopped were directly attacked by Yuan Shao's warships. Ladders, iron claws, and warships jumped down from the warships. The cruel boarding battle was about to begin.
"Milord, the seventh row!" The commander on the side asked. Since the seventh row couldn't be retreated, the eighth row didn't need to shoot anymore. If they were to shoot, the ten warships in front wouldn't be able to escape. The ballista didn't have a high angle. The ten warships in front would be the first to be hit.
"Let's see how you can shoot now!" Yuan Shao was also very knowledgeable about military affairs. Generally, when there were a lot of arrows in a place, there were only two ways. The first was to retreat or defend on the spot. The second was to entangle with the enemy. With allies around, the enemy wouldn't dare to shoot because that would also hurt their own people. On the battlefield, attacking allies would shake the morale of the troops. This was because no one knew if they would be the ones being shot. Therefore, the main general could only give up on the advantage of the bow and arrow and switch to close combat. Yuan Shao had this idea and it seemed to be working well.
"Kill!" More and more Yuan Shao's warships rushed to the ten warships. The ten warships only had less than 3,000 Cao Jun soldiers. However, they were facing enemies several times more than them. The Cao Jun soldiers on the warships were dying. If the ballista bolts were to be shot now, these Cao Jun soldiers would have no way to survive.
"Milord, shoot! Shoot!" On one of the warships that was stopped, a Cao Jun general killed a Yuan Shao soldier who rushed in front of him. Before he could wipe his face, several Yuan Shao soldiers rushed in. If this continued, there was no way to survive. Since he was going to die, he might as well die quickly! He shouted at the remaining Cao Cao warships behind him.
"Milord!" The commander on the side looked at Cao Cao and waited for Cao Cao's reply.
"Brothers, charge with me! For Milord, for Xu Du, for our families!" The commander of Cao Jun exploded. He led the Cao Jun soldiers to charge out a bloody path. However, there were too many enemies. They killed wave after wave. It was impossible to kill all of them.
"Pu pu!" The commander of Cao Jun's broadsword had just cut a Yuan Shao soldier. Before he could pull it out, he spat out a mouthful of blood. This was because three swords had pierced through his leather armor and pierced his body from his back. It looked like he was about to die, but he still endured the pain and turned around to face the Cao army behind him. He opened his mouth as if he was saying something. "Fire, fire!" If you get close, you'll hear it. “
His corpse fell into the Yellow River and into his mother's arms.
"Shoot! Shoot the arrows, shoot the arrows!" Cao Cao's hands were sweating. Those were his soldiers. He didn't have the heart to shoot at them. However, for the sake of the overall situation, for the survival of others, and for the sake of your families in Xu Du, I'm sorry. Cao Cao clenched his teeth and yelled out in a hoarse voice.
"Shoot!" The eighth row, under the command of their respective captains, directly shot two waves of arrows. They didn't even need to aim because they were facing Cao Jun's warships. They were relatively close to each other so they didn't need to aim.
"What! Cao Cao is shooting at his own army! Those are his soldiers! " Yuan Shao didn't expect Cao Cao to be so ruthless. He gave up three thousand soldiers and ten warships. Sixty giant arrows directly penetrated the bodies of the remaining eight warships in the seventh row. "Kaka!" The wooden hulls of the ships could not withstand the piercing of the giant arrows. One by one, the warships sank into the Yellow River.
"Chase! Chase! Chase!" Yuan Shao was furious. Although Cao Cao buried his ten warships, the one who lost the most was Yuan Shao. This was because many of Yuan Shao's soldiers boarded the ten warships. There were nearly ten thousand of them. Now, they were all sent to the bottom of the river.
The ninth row, the tenth row, Cao Cao finally finished shooting all the ballistae.
"You've finished shooting your arrows! Let's see what you have to fight me now! " Yuan Shao's face was full of malevolence. He no longer cared about Cao Cao's life and death. He wanted to send Cao Cao's entire fleet to the bottom of the Yellow River.
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