Chapter 743: The snake wants to swallow the elephant, Master Wei is coming
The person left behind by Lu Xun to guard Zhouling was Pan Zhang, a veteran of Soochow.
As September entered September, the weather in Jiangnan inevitably became colder.
In particular, Zhouling is located on the riverside.
The constant flow of water vapor from the river deepened the coldness.
Pan Zhang, who had a scar on his face, was patrolling Jiang Fang with his cronies.
Because the water level of the Yangtze River has become shallower and shallower recently, some of the iron cables that were originally hidden in the river are exposed above the river surface.
Looking at the dense iron ropes in the distance, Pan Zhang didn't have much worry in his heart.
When he comes to inspect, it's just for show.
After a brief inspection of Jiangfang, Pan Zhang rubbed his dry hands and returned to Zhouling City.
As soon as he sat down, Pan Zhang said with regret in his words:
"On this expedition, I only regret that I could not see the fireworks of the Mid-Autumn Festival."
The Mid-Autumn Festival originated in the pre-Qin Dynasty. After four hundred years of development in the Han Dynasty, it has gradually become an important part of the traditional festivals of the Han nation.
This is particularly evident in the southern region.
For people in the south, the Mid-Autumn Festival has a beautiful meaning of family reunion.
On the surface, Pan Zhang was saying that he missed the fireworks of the Mid-Autumn Festival, but in fact, he was expressing his longing for his family to his close relatives.
It can be said that everyone has the feeling of missing family members.
After hearing Pan Zhang's words, all the confidants showed regret on their faces.
But soon, the regret on their faces disappeared.
"If everything goes well, the general may be able to conquer the police before the year.
At that time, we are willing to accompany the general in Gong'an City to watch the fireworks in Jingzhou!"
The speaker is from Yangzhou.
As a native of Yangzhou, he said that he wanted to watch the Jingzhou fireworks. At first it sounded like he was trying to occupy a magpie's nest, but after thinking about it more carefully, this sentence also revealed the current Wu General's ambition, or arrogance.
Sooner or later, Jingzhou will become one of their great Wu territories!
Pan Zhang heard his subordinates' ambition and arrogance, but he did not blame his subordinates for it.
Because similar thoughts were stronger in Pan Zhang's mind.
Not long ago, Pan Zhang just received the latest military report from Lu Xun.
Although something unexpected happened to Xu Sheng, Xu Sheng managed to contain Chen Dao's reinforcements near Sheshan Mountain.
Except for Xu Sheng's side, all the major land routes from Jiangling to Gong'an were garrisoned by elite soldiers and generals of the Wu army.
As for the waterway, Pan Zhang didn't worry about it at all when he thought of the many iron cables he had just seen.
And when both the waterway and the land route are firmly controlled by our own side, what can Mi Yang do even if he returns from Wancheng in time?
To be honest, Pan Zhang still had some hope that Mi Yang could return to Jiangling City in person.
So when Mi Yang saw the scene of the iron rope crossing the river, his face would definitely be ugly!
When he thought of this, Pan Zhang suddenly burst into laughter in front of his subordinates.
The subordinates didn't know why Pan Zhang laughed suddenly, but thinking about the advantage they had at the moment, they also burst into laughter due to Pan Zhang's laughter.
What a joyful scene.
But what Pan Zhang didn't know was that, just as he wished, Mi Yang, who returned to Jiangling, was indeed observing the many iron cables on the Yangtze River.
But Mi Yang's face was not ugly at all.
Looking at the slightly undulating iron cable driven by the river water, Mi Yang said to Wei Yan beside him:
"The craftsmen of Wu State are cutting corners!"
After hearing Mi Yang's words, Wei Yan almost laughed.
According to the common sense of the world, if an object is made of enough iron, it should be sunk directly into the river.
Even if the water level of the Yangtze River drops, how can some parts of it be exposed on the river?
This is enough to prove that the iron ropes Wu Jun has built in recent years are by no means made of fine iron both inside and outside.
However, this is normal.
Although the iron smelting industry in Wuyue area has been developing well since the Spring and Autumn Period, no matter how it develops, it will be limited by the times.
Parts of the Yangtze River basin cover a large area.
To build an iron cable that completely blocks that part of the watershed is a huge project.
Soochow is not the Soviet Union. It cannot complete such a huge project with the highest quality in a short period of time.
The Wu craftsmen's discovery of "cutting corners" will virtually make the Han army's next actions smoother.
Mi Yang looked at Wei Yan aside again and said:
"Tonight, don't let me down!"
Mi Yang's words contained a strong sense of entrustment.
Wei Yan, who knew what was going on, quickly bowed to Mi Yang and said:
"General, please rest assured. I am also from Jingzhou and have good water skills.
There will definitely be no mistakes in what happens tonight!”
After hearing Wei Yan's assurance and looking at the lingering mist on the Yangtze River, Mi Yang nodded.
...
Time passed quickly, as if in the blink of an eye, the night enveloped the entire sky.
And when the moonlight in the sky was shining towards the outside of Jiangling City, the owl that came out to hunt in the sky seemed to have discovered something that frightened it, and fled from the airspace with a few flutters.
So what does the owl see?
At this moment, the harbor outside Jiangling City was brightly lit.
A large number of Han troops, like ghosts in the dark night, are standing in the port, exuding murderous intent.
Wei Yan, who was standing in the firelight, was sweating profusely and was personally directing his soldiers to lower some giant objects into the river one after another.
It can make Wei Yan sweat on his head on a cold night, but his mission tonight is definitely extraordinary.
With the help of the surrounding firelight, you can vaguely see the things that were put into the Yangtze River, which seemed to be in the shape of boats.
But compared to ordinary warships, those things seemed extraordinarily huge.
If someone holds a torch and goes to those things and looks carefully, he will find that those things are actually rafts!
Those rafts each have a circumference of more than a hundred steps.
When all these huge rafts were put into the Yangtze River, they temporarily blocked the Yangtze River.
Seeing that all the giant rafts had entered the water, Wei Yan jumped directly onto the leading raft from the shore, and then issued the order for the entire army to attack.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In water battles, mist is an excellent weapon.
Because fog often affects the enemy's line of sight.
In order to deal with the Wu army, Mi Yang prepared dozens of large rafts.
On those big rafts, there were not only soldiers from Jingzhou who were good at water, but also many straw men.
Mi Yang dressed those straw men in the military uniforms of the Wu army, and the flags of the Wu army were also planted on the raft.
Before arriving at the area where Tiesuo crossed the river, the Wu army had some scouts stationed on the river.
But due to the fog, the scouts initially thought that what appeared on the river was their comrades' warships.
The reason why Wu Jun's scouts had this illusion, apart from the influence of fog and straw men, was also because the concept of the broken navy of Jingzhou Navy had already penetrated into the hearts of every Wu Jun.
In the eyes of every Wu soldier, how could the large "warship" shrouded in fog be owned by Jingzhou.
Wrong judgment made Wu Jun's scouts not only not afraid of the arrival of those "warships", but some even took the initiative to greet them.
However, no matter how big the illusion is, it will be instantly exposed when it comes to you.
But after reaching this point, what's the use of Wu Jun's scouts reacting?
When the last Wu Jun scout who came to inquire was shot by an arrow and fell into the water, relying on the memory in his mind, Wei Yan knew that the biggest test was coming.
If Wei Yan remembered correctly, there were many iron awls laid by the Wu army in the water ahead to pierce the bottom of the ship.
As the rafts traveled rapidly down the river, dozens of rafts soon entered an area full of iron cones.
While Wei Yan was worried, Wei Yan, who was on the raft, felt that the raft under his feet seemed to have hit some hard object in the water and paused, but soon the feeling of pause disappeared.
Dozens of large rafts continued to move smoothly towards Zhouling City.
Seeing that the large raft under their feet had not been pierced by the iron cone in the water, not only Wei Yan, but also every Han soldier on the raft had a look of surprise on their face.
Suddenly bursts of cheers erupted on dozens of rafts.
How did Da Sima come up with this idea? It actually works!
The cheers of the Han soldiers on the raft were not only to celebrate the success of Mi Yang's strategy, but also to celebrate that they did not have to risk their lives in the water.
They all knew that they were the vanguard sent by Mi Yang.
And why does the Pioneer Army require every soldier to be good at water?
This was Mi Yang's insurance for today's matter.
Many roads that were originally unreachable can be filled with human lives...
Every Han soldier on the raft knew what his other mission was. They didn't mind dying for Mi Yang, but if they didn't have to die, who would be unhappy?
Warm cheers gradually drifted to Mi Yang's ears behind, following the hazy mist.
Wei Yan was not the only one who went on an expedition last night.
After hearing the cheers in his ears, Mi Yang felt that there was no need to wait for Wei Yan's report.
A smile appeared on Mi Yang's lips, and he nodded towards Ding Feng beside him.
Ding Feng, who got Mi Yang, quickly waved the command flag in his hand.
When Ding Feng waved the command flag in his hand, people on thousands of small boats behind him soon raised colorful command flags in response.
Yes, thousands of boats!
It is true that the Battle of Chibi almost brought the Jingzhou Navy to its knees.
It is true that the years of war in Jingzhou have also prevented the Han Dynasty from building many large warships.
However, there are many small boats in Jingzhou, especially after Mi Yang ordered to collect the boats of Jingzhou fishermen.
If there was a head-on confrontation with Wu's navy, no matter how many small warships there were, they would not be able to defeat Wu's tall ships.
But under Mi Yang's painstaking planning, the Wu army was now focused on public security, so how could they find the energy to send out ships to stop the Han army?
Without worrying about being blocked by the Wu army's warships, small warships have a considerable advantage - extremely fast speed!
When the Han troops on thousands of small boats received orders from Mi Yang, almost immediately, thousands of small boats on the river raised their sails.
Thousands of sails made a hunting sound in the cold wind.
As a loud sound like a hymn broke through the air, thousands of Han warships flew quickly towards the direction of Zhouling like arrows leaving their strings.
Why do thousands of couples fight against each other and travel on the waves?
This is it!
When dozens of rafts continued to flow down the river and gradually came to the water covered with iron cables, Wei Yan looked at the torch placed on the raft.
The torch on the raft is more than ten feet long and dozens of meters wide. It is like a needle that fixes the sea, lying quietly on the raft waiting for the call.
Because of the success before, Wei Yan didn't hesitate at all this time.
Wei Yan ordered people to pour sesame oil on the torch on the raft and then push it to the front of the raft.
After all this was completed, the raft arrived at the water covered with iron cables.
Unsurprisingly, the raft, which was still moving forward in advance, was blocked by the iron rope in the water and could no longer move forward.
But this scene did not worry Wei Yan.
Dozens of rafts crossing the Yangtze River are connected together by iron cables, just like a piece of land in the water.
This allowed Wei Yan to smoothly retreat all the way to the raft in the middle.
Standing on the raft in the middle, Wei Yan observed the distance between the raft in front and himself.
After estimating the distance, Wei Yan took a strong bow and a flaming arrow from the guard beside him.
Wei Yan quickly put the burning arrow on the bowstring, and then Wei Yan bent down and raised the arrow in his hand high. Soon, the flaming arrow shot towards the front with a sound of breaking through the air.
The raft flew away.
Many people may not know that Wei Yan has always been a marksman in the Han army.
The accuracy of the arrows shot by the marksman is naturally guaranteed.
The flaming arrow landed accurately on the raft at the front.
The raft was inherently flammable, not to mention the fact that there was a large torch sprinkled with sesame oil.
When the flames from the arrows fell onto the raft, there might not have been any change at first.
But soon after, the raft gradually burst into flames.
Especially those large torches, which Mi Yang had high hopes for, did not disappoint Mi Yang.
Fierce flames covered the whole body of the torches almost instantly, and those torches were all connected to the iron cables in the river.
So the next moment, the raging flames spread towards the iron ropes almost without any surprise.
At this time, Wei Yan had retreated all the way to the raft at the rear.
But even from such a long distance, Wei Yan could still clearly hear the crackling sound of the flames burning in front of him.
Under the gaze of many Han troops, the front was already a sea of fire.
Soon after, the small boat coming to meet Wei Yan and other Han troops arrived.
But Wei Yan did not retreat to the warship behind him in time like others.
Wei Yan's eyes were fixed on the iron rope ahead.
Under the burning of the flames, the surrounding fog dissipated at an extremely fast speed, which allowed Wei Yan to see the situation ahead more and more clearly.
Wei Yan was so focused that he didn't know how much time had passed.
Just when Wei Yan's patience was about to be worn out bit by bit, under Wei Yan's gaze, an iron rope finally couldn't withstand the scorching fire and broke directly.
Wei Yan could not hear the sound of the iron rope breaking, but at this moment, there was a voice in Wei Yan's heart that kept shouting.
"Broken!
It’s finally broken!”
The next moment, Wei Yan's hearty laughter floated over the mighty Yangtze River.