It was past noon, and the sky above Xiakou City was covered with clouds.
Yan Liang stood at the top of the city, overlooking the scenery outside the city.
In the Han River water camp on the west bank and the Yangtze River water camp on the south bank, hundreds of warships are hidden in the strongholds. Four thousand naval soldiers have been arranged in an orderly manner in the two strongholds, and the strong bows and hard crossbows have been cocked.
In the dry camp on the shore, more than 10,000 infantry soldiers, led by Wen Chou, were also prepared.
The 3,000 naval troops led by Gan Ning had already gone up the river. All Yan Liang could do at this moment was to hold on to Xiakou City and wait for news of the water battle upstream.
If the Gan-Ning Water Battle failed, Yan Liang would have to fight an unequal offensive and defensive battle with Huang Zu without losing the right to control the water.
The victorious Huang Zu navy could enter the Han River and harass the rear as much as they wanted. Soldiers and horses could even land ashore at any time to cut off the food route from Xinye to Xiakou.
The fierce battle at that time will definitely be a painful persistence.
Of course Yan Liang did not want to see that scene, and he was also convinced that his general Gan Ning would never allow that to happen.
The wind picked up and the city became colder. The soldiers who were accustomed to the weather in Jingbei couldn't help but start a cold war.
Yan Liang also subconsciously tightened his armor and looked from near to far, extending to the endless rolling Yangtze River upstream.
The sound of footsteps sounded, and Xu You reached the top of the city.
"Huang Zu is no better than Cai Mao. He can't even do anything to the Sun family in Jiangdong. Does my lord really intend to let Gan Ning take the initiative to fight against him?"
Xu You was so cold that his teeth were knotted, and there was a bit of worry in his words.
Yan Liang only said lightly: "The best defense is offense. Since Xingba has this confidence, how can I not let him go?"
Xu You frowned, the worry on his face only getting worse.
After a pause, he continued: "Xingba's water battle is indeed impressive, but since we are going to fight Huang Zu head-on this time, we should use all the navy troops, but why did Xingba only bring three thousand soldiers?
Moreover, the warships we are traveling on are all small-scale warships. There is not even a fighting ship, which is too much."
The corner of Yan Liang's mouth moved slightly. Xu You's concerns had never occurred to Yan Liang.
In the previous water battles in Xiangyang, although Gan Ning also defeated the large number with less, he still used all his navy assets and fought to the death with Cai Mao at the risk of his life.\\yd \\
But this time, facing the more powerful opponent Huang Zu, Gan Ning instead used fewer troops than before.
Such an action is really against the law of war.
Although Yan Liangliang had doubts, he believed in the concept of employing people without questioning them and believed that what Gan Ning did was justified.
Therefore, when Gan Ning made such a request when he sent troops earlier, Yan Liang agreed to it on the spot without blinking an eye.
Now that Xu You mentioned this matter, how could he not touch Yan Liang's thoughts?
He only paused for a moment, but a heroic smile appeared on Yan Liang's face.
"Xingba has long used his military exploits to prove the strength of his navy. Today, even if he has to single-handedly challenge Huang Zu's tens of thousands of troops, I absolutely believe that he is sure of victory. Mr. Ziyuan no longer needs to worry, just go with it.
I will enjoy the scenery here and wait for the good news about Xingba."
This word is full of confidence, as if everything is under control.
Xu You couldn't help but feel shocked, and was deeply affected by Yan Liang's confidence in his own judgment.
"I have followed my lord so far. He has always used people to their advantage. He has never made a miscalculation. How could he be wrong this time? That's all. Why should I worry about myself again?"
Thinking of this, Xu You put down the worries in his heart, just cheered up and waited for the outcome of the war.
Yan Liang, who was looking to the west, thought to himself: "Xingba, Xingba, you have never let me down before. I believe you will not do it this time either."
…
The river wind swept over the shore, and the dense reeds made a rustling sound, which was soon submerged in the sound of the waves.
Gan Ning lay down on the bow deck of the ship, pushing aside the reeds, his eyes condensed into a single line, and he scanned the west.
On the vast river surface, except for one or two fishing boats that occasionally passed by, there was no trace of any ship.
From early morning to late afternoon, for half a day, there was still no sign of Huang Zujun.
Gan Ning could feel that a certain anxiety had begun to spread among the soldiers behind him.
As time passed by, the anxious mood became more and more intense.
Only Gan Ning remained as calm as a stone, and there was no sign of any worry on his part.
The commander's calmness calmed down the mood of the soldiers a little.
I don't know how much time passed, but as the sun was setting in the west, Gan Ning, who had been as calm as water, suddenly moved his eyes, as if he had noticed something strange.
The knife-edge gaze looked far into the distance, vaguely seeming to see the vast dark clouds approaching slowly against the Yangtze River.
The dark cloud moved very fast and was one mile away in just a moment.
Gan Ning's eyes suddenly flashed with excitement, and he gritted his teeth and cursed: "Damn it, Huang Zu, you old bastard, you kept me waiting for a long time."
The dark clouds were nothing but the shadow of a sail covering the sky and the sun.
Looking to the west, I saw hundreds of large and small warships on the wide river, moving down the river in a mighty manner. There were so many warships that it was impossible to see the end at a glance.
On the huge fighting ship in the center, the "yellow" flag is flying high.
This fleet is the strongest Jiangxia Navy in Jingzhou.
On the bow of the ship, Huang Zu was wearing armor and holding his sword, gazing proudly and coldly ahead, his eyes flashing with anger and urgency.
After learning the news of the fall of Xiakou and seeing the letter of surrender from his son Huang She, the angry Huang Zu led 25,000 elite Jiangxia naval forces and more than a thousand warships, working day and night.
He went eastward with the current, heading towards his lair.
The Jiangxia soldiers were equally angry and anxious as their commander. Having lost their wives and children to the enemy, they wished they could fly back to Xiakou and take back their hometown.
This mighty fleet, almost at full speed with sails and oars, coupled with the force of the current, flew towards Xiakou.
Although the oncoming force is fierce, it is a bit too urgent.
What Gan Ning wanted was Huang Zu's urgency. This was also the purpose of Yan Liang forcing Huang She to write the surrender letter, in order to anger Huang Zu.
Not long after, the mighty Jiangxia naval forces passed by one after another. These Jiangxia troops, who were eager to return eastward, were completely unaware that among the reeds on both sides of the bank, an enemy force was quietly hiding among them.
under his nose.
Huang Zu, who was eager to recapture Xiakou, only focused on speeding down the river. He had no time to send out sentry boats to conduct reconnaissance first.
In Huang Zu's view, Yan Liang's sneak attack on Xiakou was just a lucky trick. At this moment, Yan Liang should be gathering his poor navy, standing with his back to the city, waiting for his powerful navy to attack.
Huang Zu never expected that Yan Liang would go against common sense and send a navy of 3,000 men to fight him.
Moreover, at this moment, he was passing by this navy army without even realizing it.
Gan Ning silently watched the enemy ships passing by one after another. Finally, he reached the giant ship.
Where the handsome flag is, it must be Huang Zu's flagship.
The time is right now.
"Send the signal quickly and attack with the whole army!"
Gan Ning keenly seized the moment and jumped up from the ground.
When the order was passed, the soldiers waiting on the shore quickly lit the three beacon smokes that had been prepared.
Thick black smoke rising into the sky was a signal for war.
On both sides of the Yangtze River, three thousand soldiers lurking in the reeds saw the signal rising into the sky at the same time. The anxiety in their hearts was replaced by boiling blood in an instant.
Accompanied by the "swish" sounds one after another, the sailors of the Yan Jiajun quickly lifted off the reeds covering the hull.
Immediately afterwards, bursts of yells rose up like angry waves, and dinghy ships sprang out from the reeds one after another, tearing off their camouflage and revealing their ferocious fangs, like ferocious sharks, heading towards the unaware people.
The enemy fleet suddenly pounced.
More than two hundred ships rushed out from both sides of the bank and crashed into the waist of the entire Jiangxia navy.
The stern ship where Gan Ning was on took the lead and headed straight for Huang Zu's flagship.
Huang Zu, who was focused entirely on the front of the fleet, and most of the Jiangxia soldiers, had no idea that there would be an ambush hidden in the reeds.
Even when thick black smoke rose from the shore, they only thought it was local farmers burning orange stalks. It was not until the enemy ships approached more than 200 paces that anyone noticed the sudden rise.
mutation.
"No, the enemy ship is coming from the flank!"
"There is an enemy ambush hidden in the reeds, and we are ambushed!"
…
The soldiers soon screamed in alarm, and Huang Zu, who was alarmed, turned to look at both sides of the bank.
When Huang Zu saw the rapidly approaching enemy ship clearly, he was stunned and stunned, as if he had seen the most incredible thing in the world.
"That fellow Yan Liang actually hid an ambush in the reeds. What's worse, I was so anxious that I neglected my reconnaissance."
Shocked, Huang Zu tried his best to calm down and yelled: "There are few soldiers, so don't panic. The ships immediately adjusted their directions and fired hard at me with strong bows and crossbows. Don't let the enemy crash into the formation."
middle."
The flag on the flagship waved rapidly, and the warships moving at full speed had to change their direction with difficulty, trying to turn their bows to meet the sudden ambush.
Although there was a slight commotion among the fighting ships, they did not lose their position. When they turned to change their formations, arrows were directed toward the incoming enemy like raindrops.
Huang Zu was indeed experienced in battles. He could see at a glance the weakness of Yan Liangjun's lack of ambush troops. He believed that as long as the formation was not chaotic, the enemy would be difficult to defeat.
"Hmph, Yan Liang, do you think you can defeat my huge navy with such a small trick? It's really ridiculous."
Huang Zu quickly regained his confidence and secretly laughed in his heart.
But his confidence only lasted for a moment, and his old eyes were filled with shock in an instant.
The sudden ambush of Yan's army did not try to cut off his navy in order to disrupt his formation, as he thought.
The enemy troops rushed one after another, but they were facing the rain of arrows like locusts, rushing towards the same target.
The flagship is his flagship.
The enemy wants to capture the thief first and capture the king first!
The fastest ship rushed forward, cut through the waves, and bravely faced the rain of arrows.
Gan Ning, who stood proudly on the bow of the ship, easily deflected the rain of arrows with his two halberds, a ferocious sneer on his face.