The enemy ship is approaching and is about to enter firing range.
With the arrow on the string, Lin Renzhao didn't allow him to think too much and directly ordered: "Trebuchets and crossbowmen are in position!"
"Seagull, prepare for the assault!"
To deal with the bulky battleships on the opposite side, the fast and maneuverable seagull ship is the best choice.
They can easily penetrate close to the fighting ship and use their strong bow to make a big hole in the fighting ship's hull.
After a few more blows, no matter how strong the battleship is, it will not be able to withstand it, and the ship will be destroyed and everyone will be killed.
Is Luo Youdu really so careless?
Even if he wasn't good at water fighting, he wouldn't be so reckless.
Lin Renzhao couldn't understand it.
But at this moment, Lin Renzhao was stunned.
More than fifty earthen jars, large and small, flew over the group of battleships on the opposite side, and the lids of the jars still had sparks on them.
The earthen jar flew extremely high and far, carrying strong wind and smashing into our own ship.
Lin Renzhao could hardly believe his eyes. How could it be so far away?
Not only did the earthen jar fly far, it was also extremely accurate.
Of the more than fifty earthen jars, more than thirty actually hit our own ships.
Then flames burst into the sky, and a pungent smell accompanied by thick black smoke filled the battlefield in an instant.
Lin Renzhao's face was full of horror, this was Shiqi!
It's not that Lin Renzhao doesn't know Shiqi, on the contrary, he is extremely familiar with Shiqi.
In the fifth year of Zhenming reign of Later Liang Dynasty, during the battle between Later Liang and Later Tang Dynasty, flamethrowers using iron cylinders to emit fire oil appeared to burn down enemy ships.
When Lin Renzhao studied water warfare, he learned about the details. The opponent used stone paint.
It looks powerful, but it's of no great use.
The distance of the spray is too close, which can not only hurt others, but also hurt yourself. It is okay to scare people, but the effect on the battlefield is not as good as expected.
If Li Yu in later generations knew that Lin Renzhao had this idea, he would regret it and cry loudly.
In addition to this, there is also the fact that stone paint is too rare and not very durable...
But?
Why are there so many of these things?
Flames soared into the sky.
The flames, fueled by oil, broke out so quickly that half of the sky was already burning in the blink of an eye.
Especially those pots that didn't hit.
Luo Youdu used thick paper to seal the mouth of the earthen jar. When the earthen jar sank to the bottom, the thick paper got soaked and cracked, and then the oil overflowed to the surface.
Then the soldier who was on fire jumped into the water.
The fire spread like a galloping horse, and the entire body of water in front was engulfed in flames.
Zhou Jun Navy.
Luo Youdu looked at the dark area opposite, with a little shock in his eyes.
Luo Youdu spent a period of time thinking carefully about the use of oil.
There are many artifacts derived from petroleum in history, the most famous of which is the Greek fire and the fierce fire oil tank.
But obviously, Luo Youdu can't do any of this.
If the Byzantines were not bragging about Greek fire, then it must be powered by steam. Otherwise, how could it spray fifty meters?
As for the fierce fire oil tank, the spray distance is five to six meters.
Too close and too dangerous.
He remembered the historical water war when the Song Dynasty destroyed the Tang Dynasty.
The Tang Army had already gained an advantage, and then used the fierce fire oil tank. As a result, a strong wind blew, and the fire set by the Tang Army, who was supposed to win, was completely burned.
The elite navy of the Southern Tang Dynasty, which was famous all over the world, turned victory into defeat in such a dramatic way, and the entire army was wiped out.
Absolutely amazing!
Luo Youdu was not willing to take this risk...
As for other strange things, Luo Youdu either doesn't know how to do them, or they are unreliable, or they are complicated to operate and make.
After thinking about it again and again, Luo Youdu simply decided to be extravagant.
It’s too late!
There is no need for any twists and turns, just put the oil into the earthen jar, seal it, and wrap it with oilcloth, and it will be a big killer.
Luo Youdu knew that no matter how hard he practiced, he would not be able to make the naval force in his hand better than the Southern Tang Navy in a short period of time.
Then practice with a hammer.
Luo Youdu canceled all unnecessary training, improved the trebuchet on the fighting ship, and made it throw farther. He found a bamboo basket about the same size as a clay pot, stuffed with sundries, and weighed as much as a clay pot filled with oil.
The tank is generally heavy, so I practice the accuracy of the trebuchet all day long.
After more than two months, more than 30 trebuchets were broken.
Practice makes perfect. Cans of oil are like cannonballs, and they actually hit nearly 60% of the targets.
Although this has something to do with the fact that the Southern Tang Navy was too dense, it is already quite good to have such accuracy at a distance of more than 150 steps.
Especially now the east wind is still blowing.
Luo Youdu chose to take the Hao River and make a circle to appear in the lower reaches of the Huai River. He did not simply want to intercept the Southern Tang Navy, but took a fancy to the characteristics of the east wind blowing more frequently in the Huai River Basin this season.
Although Luo Youdu is not as magical as Zhuge Liang in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he can ask and inquire.
What he asked was not an old scholar who was good at astronomical phenomena, but an old fisherman who relied on the Huai River for his livelihood.
They may not be literate or have little culture.
But you ask him when the wind will blow on the Huai River, when it will rain, and when it is not suitable to sail.
Maybe it's not 100% accurate, but it's still 70% certain.
Of course, it doesn't matter if the old fisherman makes a mistake.
If the west wind really blows, Luo Youdu will naturally not appear in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River. He will appear at the entrance of the Dongfei River on time.
The reason why he appeared downstream of the Huai River was not because he was slow, but because of the east wind.
The biggest characteristic of unrefined petroleum is its heavy smoke.
There are too many impurities in raw oil, and once it is burned, it will produce exponential amounts of black smoke.
When the east wind blew, the black smoke containing slightly poisonous gas was like a chemical weapon, covering the entire Southern Tang Army.
The fragile human eyes cannot withstand the stimulation of black smoke, which makes people unable to open their eyes.
The ships lost control and bumped together with the current.
The black smoke was mixed with fire.
The fire takes advantage of the wind and burns more and more fiercely.
The Tang army, which was lucky enough to be on the edge and not affected, was so frightened that they did not dare to fight again.
Either abandon the ship and dive into the water, or turn the ship's bow, or charge directly towards Luo Youdu's army.
The soldiers who wisely chose to surrender their weapons could not escape the Zhou soldiers' shooting.
The entire Southern Tang Navy fell into panic.
Even Luo Youdu had not expected such an effect.
Listening to the bursts of miserable screams, Luo Youdu felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. He took a deep breath and thought to himself: If possible, this method should be used against the Khitans.
As if feeling Luo Youdu's mood, Zhang Qiong said from the side: "Brother, casualties on this battlefield are inevitable."
Luo Youdu calmed down instantly and said: "I know that if we don't eliminate them today, they will appear in front of us in the future, and the casualties may be even greater. It is not our choice in this world."
"Give the order and move back a mile to avoid being affected. In addition, send a yacht to salvage the corpses and rescue the soldiers who survived. The corpses will be buried on the shore and a tombstone will be erected."
Perhaps casualties are inevitable, but Luo Youdu always retains a sense of awe and respect for life deep in his heart.