The clear Han River surged into the murky Yangtze like a ferocious tiger. The water in the river was clear and turbid. The clear and turbid water flowed in the same river but did not mix with each other, forming a very clear boundary.
The victorious fleet sailed down the river and into the vast Yangtze.
The torrential waters flowed endlessly.
Ouyang Shuo stood at the bow and gazed at the vast Yangtze, recalling the ancient poem that had been sung for a thousand years.
… …
The Yangtze surges east, washing away heroes.
Success or failure, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
The green mountains still stand, the setting sun glows several times.
The white-haired fisherman and woodcutter are used to watching the autumn moon and the spring breeze.
A jug of muddy wine is a joyous reunion.
Many things from ancient to modern times have become jokes.
… …
He was filled with emotion.
Ouyang Shuo's state of mind was like the Yangtze before him, sometimes surging with passion, sometimes calm. The vast Yangtze had nurtured countless Chinese civilizations and tolerated all things.
Only in this way could it last forever.
Jia Xu stood behind Ouyang Shuo, his expression unreadable, his eyes reflecting his contemplation.
The shock that the fleet had given Jia Xu had slowly subsided with the passage of time. What Jia Xu couldn't understand was Ouyang Shuo's actions in the past few days.
After capturing Lu Su, Lu Meng, Gan Ning, and Zhou Tai, Jia Xu found it strange that Ouyang Shuo hadn't even seen them. He'd only ordered the soldiers to take good care of them.
Such behavior was too strange.
Jia Xu had long since noticed that Ouyang Shuo was thirsty for talent. He clearly valued these generals. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ordered that no one be spared when he'd cleaned up the battlefield.
If that was the case, why didn't he persuade them to surrender?
Jia Xu didn't understand.
Ouyang Shuo sensed Jia Xu's confusion, but he wasn't going to explain. It was easy to capture generals on the battlefield, but difficult to subdue them. The hard part was gaining their loyalty.
The curtains had just been drawn on the battle map. How could Ouyang Shuo expect Lu Su and the others to surrender obediently? If that was the case, he wouldn't dare accept it. There had to be a trap.
It was better to wait for the right time than to waste his breath.
Ouyang Shuo's focus was on how to take the Red Cliff.
After defeating Lu Su's army, they didn't really kill all of them. They also took more than 2,000 captives. Intelligence officers had obtained some information from interrogating the captives.
One of them was "Lu Su has received an urgent order to return to the Red Cliff immediately."
Ouyang Shuo was unable to guess if Huang Gai and Liu Bei had received the same urgent order. But what was certain was that the Red Cliff was not peaceful at the moment. They must have made preparations.
Especially after the annihilation of Lu Su's army, the enemy would definitely be alerted.
As such, Ouyang Shuo had to be even more cautious.
When he'd just entered the Yangtze River, Ouyang Shuo was still thinking whether he should first go upstream and annihilate Huang Gai's army along the way, so as to avoid any future troubles before dealing with the Red Cliff garrison.
Jia Xu did not approve of this.
"It's highly likely that Huang Gai's army has joined up with Liu Bei's army. If we attack rashly, I'm afraid that our enemy will fail and we'll be stuck in a quagmire. We won't be able to extricate ourselves and this will affect our plan to capture the Red Cliffs. On the contrary, as long as they could capture the Red Cliff and cut off their communication with Chai Sang, Huang Gai's army would come uninvited. When that time comes, we only need to wait at the Scarlet Cliff. Why would we need to go on an expedition? "Jia Xu analyzed this way.
When Ouyang Shuo heard this, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
…
On the seventh day of the battle, aboard Dragon Head.
They were only two days away from the Red Cliff. Ouyang Shuo ordered the fleet to slow down. At the same time, hundreds of Scarlet Horse Boats separated from the fleet and brought hundreds of frogmen to the Red Cliff to investigate the enemy's situation.
The fleet advanced slowly while waiting for information from the front.
On the evening of the eighth day, the first batch of frogmen brought the latest information.
According to the frogmen, the enemy had built a large water stronghold at the Red Cliff and the Wulin Forest. There were no less than a hundred warships in the water stronghold, and the security was tight. Outside the water stronghold, it was deliberately disguised.
Especially the water stronghold on the Wulin Forest. The water walls surrounding it were made of burnt wood. From outside the water stronghold, it was impossible to see the situation inside the water stronghold. Naturally, it was impossible to discover the ill-intentioned warships.
Some of the taller warships were even deliberately disguised.
If the army passed through the river between the water strongholds without any precautions, it would be hard to imagine that there would be a large number of naval troops lying in ambush on both sides. If they were even slightly careless, they could fall into an ambush.
The enemy's objective was self-evident.
In addition, the frogmen brought another important piece of information.
According to the special frogmen who sneaked into the water stronghold and boarded the warships under the cover of night, the enemy's warships were mainly fortress ships and warships. What was more frightening was that the fortress ships and warships were all equipped with cannons.
Preliminary estimates suggested that there were no less than three hundred cannons.
Ouyang Shuo's eyes flashed when he heard this. Without a doubt, Xiong Ba and the others must have mastered the technology to manufacture cannons. Otherwise, it would be impossible to equip such a large number of cannons.
"Their secrecy is really well done!" Ouyang Shuo sighed.
…
In the war room.
"Wen He, do you have a good plan?" Ouyang Shuo asked Jia Xu.
Even Zheng He turned his head and looked at Jia Xu with anticipation in his eyes. After a few days of getting along, Zheng He admired Jia Xu's intelligence very much.
Jia Xu did not decline modestly. Wasn't this the duty of a strategist? He pondered for a while and asked, "Commander in Chief, if we attack by force, no matter what kind of ambush the enemy has, what are the chances of winning if we directly attack the enemy on both sides of the river?"
Hearing this, Zheng He's expression turned solemn. He got up and walked to the sand table in the center of the war room.
On the sand table that was five meters long and three meters wide, according to the information obtained by the frogmen, the enemy's deployment during the Battle of Red Cliffs had been perfectly reconstructed on the sand table through countless warship models.
Zheng He placed the warship models that represented the ocean-going fleet on the river between the two water fortresses. As he placed them, he pondered. The warship models were placed very slowly.
Obviously, Zheng He was simulating the battle scene in his mind to formulate the fleet's formation and firepower deployment.
After a full half an hour, the models of the ocean-going fleet were finally placed. Hundreds of warships were placed on the narrow river, filling up the space.
Even Ouyang Shuo could not see through the mystery of this formation.
After the placement, Zheng He did not stop. Instead, he began to adjust the warships in the water fortresses on both sides. One by one, Zheng He moved the warships out of the simulated water fortresses and began to attack the ocean-going fleet from both sides.
Looking at Zheng He's stern expression, Ouyang Shuo felt that the sand table was currently filled with the flames of war. The cannons were roaring in unison, and a tragic battle was unfolding.
Ouyang Shuo and Jia Xu both held their breaths, not daring to disturb Zheng He at this moment.
Following the simulation, one warship after another was sprinkled with Fierce Kerosene by Zheng He and ignited with candles, signifying the fall of the warships. The small flames contained an indescribable killing intent.
The further they went, the more warships were on fire.
At the same time, Zheng He was constantly adjusting the formation of both sides.
Simulating both sides' battle tactics in one go was a huge test of his brain power and strategic command.
Ouyang Shuo could clearly see that Zheng He's forehead was already dripping with sweat.
Zheng He himself did not seem to notice and was still simulating the battlefield. The further they went, the more warships were "on fire." Even the ocean-going fleet was not spared. Warships after warships were set on fire.
After a full hour and a half, the simulation of the entire battle was finally completed.
The huge sand table suddenly became empty. The warship models that had been set on fire had long been burned to ashes. Only a few warships floated alone on the "river", some of them were still emitting black smoke.
Ouyang Shuo and Jia Xu looked at each other with solemn expressions.
The situation could not be more obvious. If they attacked, even if the ocean-going fleet could win, it would be a pyrrhic victory.
Ouyang Shuo could not bear such an outcome.
The ocean-going fleet's goal was not only to defeat the Red Cliff garrison but also to firmly occupy the strategic location of the Red Cliff. If it was a pyrrhic victory, how could a crippled ocean-going fleet withstand the attack of Huang Gai and Liu Bei's allied forces? In that case, it would undoubtedly be a failure.
Therefore, the ocean-going fleet had to cleanly and beautifully eliminate the Red Cliff garrison.
At this moment, Zheng He had already come to his senses. He bowed to Ouyang Shuo and said, "My Lord, Mister, as you can see, after the simulation, our army only has a sixty percent chance of winning. Even so, we have not taken into account the situation where Huang Gai's and Liu Bei's armies arrive in time to reinforce the battlefield. "
"In the midst of a fierce battle, the consequences would be unthinkable if an army were to arrive as reinforcements." Zheng He's expression was solemn.
Ouyang Shuo was speechless for a long time.
The Red Cliff was originally a strategic location, but now it was in the enemy's hands.
In a situation where the difference in military strength and equipment was not big and they did not have the geographical advantage, it would be extremely difficult to cleanly and cleanly eliminate the enemy.
Right now, they could only come up with a strange plan.
Ouyang Shuo raised his head and looked at Jia Xu, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Jia Xu stared at the sand table, his brows tightly knitted. Clearly, he had not thought of a plan to defeat the enemy.
"My Lord, can we use the frogmen tactic we used before?" Zheng He interrupted.
"You mean, arrange for the frogmen to sink the ships?"
"That's right." Zheng He nodded. "Quietly sink their warships. Let's see how they can still show off."
The frogmen tactic's first application had destroyed the Spanish Invincible Fleet and brought Ouyang Shuo a huge amount of wealth. The shocking scene at that time had a huge impact on Zheng He. It was still fresh in his memory.
Ouyang Shuo thought for a moment, then shook his head and refused. "No, we are on the river, not in the sea. The river is narrow, so our fleet cannot reach the Red Cliff and wait for an opportunity to move. Moreover, their warships are currently docked in the water stronghold. Once the enemy's warships are penetrated, they can abandon their ships and directly go ashore. "
"In this way, only their warships will be destroyed, but the enemy's army will remain unharmed. That way, even if we occupy the Red Cliff, we will still have to face the constant harassment of the enemy's army. "Ouyang Shuo's analysis was very accurate.
There was one more point that Ouyang Shuo did not mention.
If he did not completely eliminate the Red Cliff garrison, it would be disadvantageous to his next plan.
"Therefore, this can only be used as a last resort. There is no other choice." Ouyang Shuo made the final decision. "If possible, we still have to think of a more effective plan."
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