The drum beat three times, the red flag opened, and two dragons jumped out of the water.
Thousands of swords fly across the waves, and thousands of thunders break through the waves with the sound of drums.
The sound of drums became more and more urgent as the target approached, and the two dragons looked at the target as if in an instant.
People on the slope shouted thunderbolts, and the poles were decorated with rainbow lights.
The boat in front grabbed the water and won the bid, but the boat behind lost ground and waved in vain.
The sore eyebrows are full of blood, and the hearts of the people on the other side are burning.
——Excerpt from "Song of the Race" by Zhang Jianfeng (Tang Dynasty)
…
In the early morning of this morning, the horns of the rebel water camp whistled, and the battle began again. This time Liu Zhan personally set up the formation and directed the attack.
The rebel naval warships arrived in Guazhou in a mighty manner.
The fireboat is filled with flammable materials, such as grass and reeds, which are all completely dry, sprinkled with sulfur, smoke and igniting materials, and filled with fish oil. It is also covered with a green curtain, which is also dipped in fish oil. . As long as the sparks splash upward, it will quickly catch fire.
All is ready except for the opportunity.
…
Not only that, with a stable hull and a wide deck, it is easier to attack by trebuchets. The rebel craftsmen installed huge trebuchets on the deck, and the weight and distance of throwing huge rocks were far superior to those of the Tang Navy. Stone bullets thrown by thunder falcons and earthen jars filled with kerosene.
If you want to attack with fire, you must first have a fire ship.
Sheng Hailiu sighed and said: "In a water battle, the only way to break the formation of giant ships is to attack with fire. But as General Tang said, there is no southeast wind. Once a fire attack is launched, if you are not careful, the fire ship will go smoothly." If you go down the river, you will burn your warship. Alas..."
Occasionally, more than a dozen Tang army warships broke through the arrows and artillery rain and approached the giant ship. The rebel soldiers on the giant ship used long hooks to hook the Tang army's warships, and hundreds of rebel soldiers jumped off the giant ship. , relying on the superiority of numbers to kill the Tang army navy soldiers on the spot.
Because the rebels' giant ships were connected by iron cables, they were not afraid of wind and waves and were extremely stable, just like a tall city moving slowly on the river.
The navy of the Tang Army called Jin Jin to withdraw its troops, and under the cover of Ding Jiuqu's fleet, it slowly withdrew into the water stronghold.
On May 5th, the sky was clear and bright, and poplar flowers circled the river and the cries of dawn orioles were heard.
The drum beat three times, the red flag opened, and two dragons jumped out of the water.
The right wing of the Tang Army's navy suffered heavy losses as soon as they exchanged fire, and had to retreat hastily. Bai Fu ordered to kill more than ten of the captains, which stopped the decline of the rebel army and prevented the warships from panicking and colliding with each other when they fled. .
The sore eyebrows are full of blood, and the hearts of the people on the other side are burning.
Even with this design, the pawns on the fire ship were often shot by crossbows when approaching the enemy ship, or because the current was too fast and the wind was too strong, the boatmen were swept into the sea of fire before they could escape... Therefore, it can be used as a fire ship. Soldiers who serve as soldiers must not only be proficient in the nature of water, but also have the heart to sacrifice themselves and forget about death.
Before the envoy left the county residence, he heard the sound of harmony on the river.
The river surface in the Guazhou area is more than ten miles wide.
A few hours later, with the efforts of the craftsmen, the fire ship was quickly ready.
At this time, the navy of the Tang Army also sounded its trumpets, and the deep sound of the trumpets echoed on the river. One warship after another rode the wind and waves and headed towards the river.
Liu Zhan unsheathed his long sword, pointed forward diagonally, and shouted loudly: "This is the sword that An Lushan's generals presented to me when they surrendered.
Tens of thousands of soldiers had high morale, raised their arms and shouted: "Fight bloody to the end and never retreat!",
The shouts resounded through the sky, and Liu Zhan shouted, "Liu Yin obeys the order!"
Today, I, Liu Zhan, swear with this sword that I will fight side by side with you all, fight to the bitter end, and never retreat!"
Each ship is equipped with dozens of oarsmen (rowers), and densely packed with straw men standing next to the curtain in the center of the ship. The straw men are all wearing armor and holding swords and guns. These straw men are tied up to confuse the enemy. Because they are full of It is impossible for a soldier's warship to be used as a fireship. Once the opponent mistakenly thinks that these straw men are soldiers, they will neglect to take precautions against the fireship.
Recalling Bai Fu's mysterious smile, it was very meaningful. Ding Jiuqu guessed: "General Bai comes from Qingcheng, and he may also know the magic of making wind and rain, and sowing beans into soldiers."
Bai Fu smiled mysteriously and said, "I have my own arrangements."
Under the leadership of Liu Yin, one warship after another slowly sailed towards the center of the river.
The dozen warships at the forefront of the Tang army were sunk by stone cannons one after another, and the terrified soldiers jumped into the river to survive.
Fireships are all shuttle-shaped clippers. There is a big iron nail in front of the bow of each ship, and there is a hook in front of the iron nail. With the force of the wind, it hits the other side's ship. The hook is hooked and I want to pull it out. But it can't be pulled out. Why is there a strong southeast wind? Going upstream cannot be achieved by human strength alone.
Ding Jiuqu and Sheng Hailiu had many loyal and brave men chasing the wind and waves, and they quickly selected "those who dared to die".
People on the slope shouted thunderbolts, and the poles were decorated with rainbow lights.
Sheng Hailiu shouted loudly: "Beat the drums and form an array!"
The sound of drums became more and more urgent as the target approached, and the two dragons looked at the target as if in an instant.
The envoys are all right when they go out, and the red flag has been drawn in front of the horse.
The robes on both sides of the bank are torn and fragrant, and the silver hairpins shine like frost blades in the sun.
Liu Zhan shouted loudly to the soldiers: "If you kill one enemy, you will be rewarded with ten taels of gold and ten acres of fertile land. If you kill the enemy's general, you will be rewarded with one thousand taels of gold!"
Returning to the big tent, Sheng Hailiu apologized to Bai Fu and said: "If you don't kill a person, you won't be able to defeat a boat regardless of its size. In the end, the general will think that fire is the only way to attack."
Sheng Hailiu, the forward of the Tang Army's navy, stood on Qianshi's main ship, staring sharply at the river. He knew very well that as long as they could defeat Liu Zhanjun in this battle, they would be the masters of the Jianghuai River from now on.
Liu Zhan handed the golden arrow to Liu Yin and said: "You have full command of the navy!"
The rebel soldiers stood beside the side of the giant ship, looking down from a high position, firing arrows, and the firepower became more intense.
Sheng Hailiu said: "Old Ding, Zhuge Liang borrowed the east wind in November. At this time, there are often three days of Indian summer in the Red Cliff area, and the southeast wind blows on the river. Zhuge Liang is proficient in astronomy and geography, so he can do this.
Thousands of swords are flying in the waves, and thousands of thunders are heard in the waves with the sound of drums.
The navy of the Tang army was still frightened and hesitated to advance. Even the main ships of Ding Jiuqu and Sheng Hailiu did not dare to approach.
The boat in front grabbed the water and won the bid, but the boat behind lost ground and waved in vain.
A fierce water battle broke out on the river, with hundreds of warships fighting in a melee. Arrows on the river were like locusts, and stone cannons were like rain.
With these sharp weapons, the rebel navy's firepower was significantly enhanced, and it suppressed the most offensive warships in the Tang Navy's warships, the Crossbow Sea Loach and the Thunderbolt Sea Falcon, making it difficult to get close to the giant ships.
"Rumble", the sound of drums resounded through the sky.
There is a gondola tied to the back of each fireboat. When the fireboat is about to hit the enemy's gang, the hay on the fireboat is lit. The boatman untied the stern cable, jumped onto the gondola, and paddled back with all his strength. , you can leave the fire ship.
Liu Zhan was wearing a golden helmet and gold armor, holding a sword in his hand, and stared at the soldiers with sharp eyes. Behind him, Liu Yin was wearing a bronze helmet and iron armor, holding a long sword in his hand, his face expressionless and silent.
Liu Yin put his right fist against his chest and shouted: "The final general will never let the general down!"
"Rumble, rumble, rumble", the war drums were beating, the morale of the Tang navy was high, and they were looking forward to a decisive battle with Liu Zhanjun to compete for water supremacy.
Liu Zhan gathered his huge warships and formed an array. More than a thousand warships formed a huge phalanx on the river in Guazhou, more than ten miles long. They were so powerful and spectacular that they looked like mountains.
After the meeting, Ding Jiuqu and Sheng Hailiu left the tent and discussed as they walked.
Ding Jiuqu was also puzzled.
Liu Yin strode forward, knelt down on one knee and said, "The general is here!"
The morale of the three armies was suddenly high and murderous intent was high.
The fierce battle on the river had only lasted for nearly an hour. The Tang navy suffered heavy losses. The initial formation was completely disorganized. More than fifty warships were burned and sunk. The entire river was in a mess, with broken ship planks and broken ships floating everywhere.
mast.
Tang Kui asked anxiously: "General, where does the wind come from?"
Tang Kui retorted: "We are in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. If we want to attack with fire, we must have a southeast wind. But nowadays, during the solar terms, the northwest wind blows every day. Is it possible that you can borrow the east wind like Zhuge Liang?"
Bai Fu pondered for a moment and made a decisive decision: "Act according to the plan and prepare for a fire attack."
Liu Zhan pointed his long sword at the Tang navy and shouted: "Beat the drums, let's go to battle!"
But at this time of year, the northwest wind is blowing day and night on the rivers in the Baisha and Guazhou areas, how can we borrow the wind?"
Only the winners and losers will be divided into penalties and rewards, and ten boats and five boats will travel between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
After a while, I stopped playing with everything and took off my tattoos and wrote the invitation.
When I take a closer look at the competition, I see that there is a stalemate for the right of way.
If you don't think about getting to the shore and everyone goes away, it will be a time when the car will be broken and the car will be broken.