My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 447 Jiang Qin, Vanguard
"The Iron Chains Across the River?"

Cai Mao was somewhat surprised. It wasn't that he was unaware of this tactic, but such tactics were generally used in relatively narrow areas. The Yangtze River was vast, so it wasn't that it couldn't be used at all, but the demand for boats and iron chains would be quite staggering.

First, the chains may need to be thousands, or even two or three thousand meters long.

Of course, these chains were not required to be complete; instead, they were divided into sections of about 100 meters in length and then tied to the boats.

In order to support the heavy iron chains, the required ships had to be large vessels, at least the small warships that could carry fifty to a hundred people, and the best choice would naturally be multi-story ships that could carry hundreds of people.

Assuming the iron chains are 2,000 meters wide, then 40 to 80 chains, each 100 meters long, would be needed, along with 80 to 160 giant ships.

"it is good!"

Cai Mao gritted his teeth and agreed to Huang Zu's request: "I will provide you with ten warships and fifty warships for the gentry."

"not enough."

Huang Zu flatly refused, saying, "At least twenty tower ships and one hundred and twenty warships."

"Where would we need so many?"

Cai Mao was anxious. He only had twenty warships in total, and after the division of his forces, he only had one hundred and eighty warships left. Moreover, the warships that Huang Zu demanded were bound to be large ones. How could Cai Mao bear to part with them?

Huang Zu, however, argued confidently: "In this battle, my Jiangxia navy will undoubtedly be the vanguard. How could I not have large warships and giant ships? In addition, De Gui, you also need to select two thousand elite soldiers in small boats for me."

Cai Mao was displeased and very unhappy with Huang Zu's insatiable greed: "Why do you need a small boat?"

Huang Zu glared at Cai Mao with annoyance: "If the enemy uses small boats as a vanguard to board the ship's masts, how can we defend without enough manpower? Furthermore, the enemy has many large ships and warships. After much thought, I believe that only a fire attack can be effective. But how can we carry out this strategy without enough fire ships?"

"If you are unwilling, I do not need you to allocate ships to me; I only need to entrust the task of guarding the ship's masts to you."

Huang Zu's words cornered Cai Mao, who was speechless for a moment. After a long while, he finally nodded in agreement.

After all, defending a ship's pier is much more difficult than defending a city, and naval warfare is inherently inconvenient. In particular, Cai Mao was not a particularly skilled warrior, and hand-to-hand combat was not his forte.

After much deliberation, Cai Mao decided to follow Huang Zu's arrangements, as long as he wasn't sent to the front lines.

Thus, the two reached an agreement: Cai Mao would dispatch the ships as Huang Zu requested, while the latter would urgently arrange for ships to block the river.

Fortunately, the Jiangxia and Xiangyang naval forces were well-trained and frequently practiced such tactics. Although the operation was temporary, the deployment was very orderly.

As dawn broke, a wall of ships, more than two thousand meters long and made up of large vessels, appeared on the Yangtze River outside Zhouling City.

These ships were linked by iron chains, with three or four chains at different heights connecting each ship, and the chains were attached to the ships at either end. Any ship attempting to pass between them would be stopped by the chains, and might even break apart.

Meanwhile, in front of the shipyard, eight hundred elite ships, mounted on red horses and fast boats, were arrayed in formation. Two hundred ships were on each flank, while four hundred were positioned in the center.

At 1:45 AM, the Yangzhou navy appeared downstream.

The vast and imposing fleet, numbering nearly two thousand ships, almost filled the entire river surface within sight.

In comparison, the Jingzhou navy, composed of the Jiangxia and Xiangyang naval forces, possessed nearly six thousand ships of various sizes, three times the number of the Yangzhou navy.

The main force of the Yangzhou navy stopped within a ten-mile distance, while only Jiang Qin's troops, as the vanguard, took the lead and advanced two miles.

"General, the fire ships are ready."

The deputy general under Jiang Qin walked to his side and reported in a low voice, afraid of disturbing his thoughts.

Jiang Qin was very strict in disciplining his troops, and his prestige within the army was profound. Even his deputy generals respected him greatly.

Jiang Qin withdrew his gaze and ordered, "Then let's begin."

"Here!"

With the deputy general receiving the order, the flags on the vanguard flagship fluttered, and the troops at the forefront quickly received their commands.

The leading warships parted to the sides, revealing dozens of small boats inside, laden with straw. Each boat had only one or two soldiers left to steer it.

With their small sails hoisted and the wind force maximized under the helmsman's control, the ships began to accelerate rapidly, soon shooting towards the Jingzhou naval formation like arrows released from a bow.

In the ranks of the Jingzhou navy, a tall and thin man stood proudly; he was none other than Chen Jiu, the vanguard commander of the Jingzhou navy.

Huang Zu entrusted him with the command of all 800 red-horse ships, light boats, and a small number of warships in the vanguard, and gave him full authority over the vanguard's battles.

Chen Jiu was positioned on a warship, and he stood atop the high mast, gazing at the movements opposite.

When he saw dozens of small boats rushing out and heading rapidly toward his side, he realized that the enemy was going to launch a fire attack.

"As the art of war says, an arrogant army is bound to be defeated, and the Yangzhou navy can be described as such."

Chen grinned and immediately ordered, "Send word to the fire prevention battalion to prepare. Once the enemy ship is on fire, deal with it immediately."

"Here!"

Vice Admiral Chen quickly responded and then used the flags to order the fleet to prepare accordingly.

When the distance between the two sides was reduced to three to five miles, the helmsmen on the boats lit fires, igniting the straw and coal carried in the hold, and then jumped into the river from the stern of the boats, heading towards the small boats following behind.

Because these ignition sources were all highly flammable, the fire on the ship quickly grew to an uncontrollable level.

The fire ships, like balls of fire, surged across the river towards the Jingzhou army.

But at that moment, dozens of red-horse ships suddenly rushed out from the Jingzhou navy.

Each of these small boats carried ten people, two of whom were carrying iron forks seven or eight meters long. They approached the fire ship directly.

After approaching the fire ships, these Jingzhou Red Horsemen spread out with exquisite boat handling skills, cutting into the fire ship formation from the inside. Each group of one or two ships was responsible for one fire ship, using iron forks to hit the fire ships, and then exerting force to change their original course and push them to the sides of the river.

"General, we fear that the fire attack will be countered by the enemy."

The deputy general watched from afar as the Jingzhou Red Cavalry dismantled the fire ships one by one, from the outside in. What was originally a massive array of dozens of fire ships was sliced ​​apart piece by piece, like a butcher carving up an ox, until they vanished completely. All the fire ships were speared with iron forks by the Jingzhou navy and dragged to the riverbank to be burned to ashes. Seeing this, Chen showed satisfaction, while Jiang Qin's side remained calm, showing no anger or anxiety.

"really……"

Jiang Qin's lips curled into a mocking smile: "The Jiangxia navy is a seasoned veteran. It seems that trying to defeat the enemy with fire is still too simplistic."

The deputy general was somewhat disappointed. After hearing Jiang Qin's words, he couldn't help but ask, "General, what should we do next?"

"I had previously discussed with Governor Zhou and the four generals Dong, Gan, Zhu, and Huang that the fire attack was just a trial run. If it succeeded, that would be great, but even if it failed, it would be insignificant. It seems that the Jingzhou navy is indeed worthy of being the best in the world. This little trick is no match for them."

At this point, Jiang Qin revealed an excited expression and chuckled, "Since that's the case, let's personally test their mettle and let the world know that it's time for the title of the number one navy to change hands."

The deputy general, along with the surrounding officers, soldiers, and guards, were all inspired by Jiang Qin's words and, like wolves and tigers, volunteered to go into battle.

Jiang Qin took in everyone's reactions and then shouted with satisfaction, "Sound the bugle, raise the flag, and move out!"

Jiang Qin's forces originally had more than 400 warships, of which the tower ships and large warships were transferred away by Zhou Tai, leaving 400 red horses and small boats.

The fire ships that charged earlier were not warships, but rather reserve transport ships.

Therefore, at this time, Jiang Qin's forces still had more than 400 ships, but most of them were small ships, with only 12 main warships.

At Jiang Qin's command, the vanguard of more than 400 warships began to hoist their sails, and the soldiers began to don their armor.

However, unlike infantrymen, naval soldiers often wore only half-body leather armor for agility, using a small, single-handed round shield to increase their protection.

In the original history, the small round shield with one hand did not appear until the Southern Song Dynasty.

However, in this timeline, Liu Feng had already invented it and equipped the navy with it in large quantities. As for the army, apart from a small number of sword and shield soldiers who could be equipped with it, most soldiers and the environment preferred large tower shields and square shields.

Upon seeing Jiang Qin preparing to charge, Chen immediately ordered his ships to use flags to warn the rear, and then directed them to advance and meet the enemy.

Jiang Qin and Chen Jiu's two forces drove towards each other, coming from opposite directions.

Most of the warships on both sides were small boats and light barges, with a few large warships forming the core of the fleet.

The two fleets were getting closer and closer, and when they were only two arrows' length apart, they began to fire their arrows almost simultaneously.

The Yangzhou army had small, single-handed round shields, while the Jingzhou army had no shields, only a single plank erected at the bow of their ships. After just three volleys of arrows, the Jingzhou army suffered heavy casualties, while the Yangzhou army sustained only minor damage.

"Get closer! Get closer!"

Seeing that they were at a complete disadvantage in the long-range engagement, the officers at the front shouted and ordered the ships to charge, hoping to turn the tide by boarding the ships.

After the Yangzhou army unleashed their final volley of arrows, the archers retreated, while the armored soldiers lined up on the ships, awaiting the next attack.

As soon as the two ships made contact, the more skilled ones avoided a head-on collision, their ships passing by on the side, while the less skilled ones collided head-on, instantly destroying their ships and capsizing their crews.

Quite coincidentally, after the two ships approached each other, they simultaneously began to slow down, and the boarding battle broke out instantly, reaching a fever pitch from the very beginning.

Unlike land battles, boarding battles, especially those fought on small boats like the Zouge and Chima, while involving coordination, place greater emphasis on individual bravery.

In a boarding battle, personal skills, experience, and combat prowess are undoubtedly the most important abilities.

In this respect, the Yangzhou navy had the upper hand again. They were no less experienced than the Jingzhou navy, but they were superior in martial prowess. In particular, the small round shields equipped by the Yangzhou navy once again shone brightly in boarding battles, resulting in a significant reduction in casualties for the Yangzhou army.

Even so, the ferocity of the boarding battles far exceeded that of other battles.

In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, more than two hundred soldiers from both sides fell. The casualty ratio was quite disparate, with the Yangzhou army accounting for only 25% of the total casualties, while the Jingzhou army suffered almost three times the casualties of the Yangzhou army.

Considering the disparity in troop strength between the two sides, the casualty ratio achieved by the Yangzhou army was exceptionally high.

With such a huge advantage in the exchange ratio, the morale of Jiang Qin's troops was soaring, and Jiang Qin, the brigade commander, took the lead and launched a surprise attack on the ship where Chen Jiu was located.

Jiang Qin, wielding two swords and with a small round shield strapped to his left arm, was the first to jump off the ship.

The boat that Jiang Qin jumped from was a red horse with twelve people on board.

Four of the men at the bow of the boat were terrified when they saw Jiang Qin board. They immediately raised their weapons and rushed at him. But Jiang Qin simply raised his left hand and knocked one of the men's weapons away. Then, with a flick of his longsword, he slit the throat of another man.

Blood gushed out, momentarily obscuring the view of the two people behind him, while Jiang Qin's long knife in his left hand had already pierced the waist of the man on his left.

After drawing his knife, Jiang Qin suddenly turned his body to the side and kicked the other person who had just rushed up into the water with a powerful push of his right foot.

In just over ten breaths, Jiang Qin had already killed two people and kicked one person to the ground.

Jiang Qin was as brave as a tiger, and almost no one could stop him.

With the help of his personal guards, Jiang Qin killed everyone on the ship in just over a minute. He then boarded another Jingzhou warship and continued his carnage.

The short time it takes to drink a cup of tea has quickly passed, and Jiang Qin has already boarded seven warships in succession, getting closer and closer to Chen Jiu's flagship.

Jiang Qin's bravery deeply inspired his soldiers, and for a time, the central formation of the Jingzhou navy was forced to break down. If this continued, the central formation of the Jingzhou navy would surely collapse completely under the pressure from the Yangzhou army.

Fortunately, the Jingzhou navy had a huge advantage in troop strength, and the friendly forces on both flanks quickly came to reinforce them after seeing that the central route was in trouble.

With both flanks engaged in battle, Jiang Qin's forces were immediately surrounded on three sides by the Jingzhou army, and the casualties of the Yangzhou army began to increase significantly, with the battle entering a fierce state.

Zhou Tai stood on the lookout tower atop the flagship's mast, carefully observing the battle in the distance.

As he watched as the enemy surrounded Jiang Qin from three sides, he turned to look at the flag on the mast.

The flag was fluttering in the wind, and it was clear that the southeast wind was strong.

Just then, two small boats pulled up alongside Zhou Tai's large ship.

A few breaths later, Dong Xi and Gan Ning climbed onto the bow of the boat and asked where Zhou Tai was.

(End of this chapter)