Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

What can withstand a large army is always another large army, not trenches, walls, and the like.

Thanks to their ample troop strength and thorough preparation, Dian Man's forces gradually advanced from a distance of about two hundred paces to the first line of defenses. Cao Zhao followed closely behind, organizing archers to form ranks at key positions and launch attacks back towards the Shu army camp.

The fierce battle raged from Chenshi (7-9 AM) to Sishi (9-11 AM), and the first camp was finally breached by the Wei army's repeated attacks. Cao Zhao and Dian Man's troops also suffered more than a thousand casualties.

However, in Lu Xun's eyes, the struggle for land camps was a minor matter.

For a strategically important transportation route like Xiling, which connects waterways and mountains, defense requires both land and water defenses. If the land fortress is breached, the river defenses cannot survive alone. If the river defenses are lost, the land fortress cannot hold out for long, and losing the flank necessitates a proactive retreat.

Water and land are two sides of the same coin.

Man Chong, stationed in Xiling City, constantly gazed towards the mouth of the Xiling Gorge, his face etched with worry. He not only watched the gorge entrance but also frequently looked towards the river.

The ships were transporting supplies and preparing to advance, with small boats constantly passing each other in a hurried manner.

Man Chong did not intend to urge Lu Xun, and waited until another quarter of an hour had passed, half an hour later than the agreed time, before the fleet on the river finally set off upstream.

This is the fleet of ships under the command of General Yue Lin.

Le Lin's fleet consisted mainly of warships, with more than forty ships of various sizes, including multi-span ships, warships, and fighting vessels, which sailed upstream in formation.

A siege doesn't require destroying all the city walls; simply creating a breach in one wall will negate the defender's advantage. The same applies to river defenses. A river that's over two hundred paces wide doesn't need to be attacked entirely; just breaching one section is sufficient.

At the mouth of Xiling Gorge, the river is about two hundred paces wide.

The Shu army expended considerable manpower to pile countless stones in the middle of the river, dividing it in two. Several arrow towers were erected on both banks, and arrow towers and archers were also stationed on the eight large ships in the river, making the defense extremely tight.

But in Lu Xun's view, there are many ways to break through this defensive line.

Despite being the commander of the warship fleet, Yue Lin's personal ship was a large multi-story vessel, located in the very center of the fleet.

Guchengzhou is only a dozen or so miles from the mouth of the gorge by water, which is almost a short distance for a fleet with the wind at its back. Just now, when the fleet was loading supplies, Lu Xun also came to his ship to give him instructions.

They've been my superiors and subordinates for years; they already know all the necessary tactics. Emphasizing a few points is just a precaution before the battle.

Only a casual remark from Lu Xun stirred Le Lin's heart, and even after a long time, it still seemed to echo in his ears.

Lu Xun said that after the campaign against Shu, he would never again command troops. Among the naval generals, Xiahou Wei and Cao Biao were mediocre, and Gong Zun lacked experience; only Yue Lin was the best candidate to command the navy for the court in the future. If this battle was fought well, Lu Xun would definitely speak highly of him when reporting the victory.

Lu Xun also said that he was currently the Marquis of Dunqiu County, with a fief of 5,900 households, the largest of all the marquises in the Great Wei. If he were to achieve further merits, his accomplishments would not necessarily be limited to this.

Frankly speaking, out of public interest, Lu Xun did indeed believe that Yue Lin was a good candidate to command the navy in the future.

Whether or not he could take on this responsibility depended on His Majesty's will; his recommendation would be of little use. Before Cao Biao, the Prince of Baima, succeeded Cao Zhi as General of the Warships, he knew nothing of naval warfare. This is a prime example.
As for implying that Yue Lin might be promoted to a higher rank, that was purely Lu Xun's empty promise, which is also an essential skill for a commander.

As the fleet drew ever closer to the strait entrance, Yue Lin solemnly ordered, "Order all ships to advance as before! Sound the horns!"

Upon hearing the horn, the ships began to change formation and maneuver.

Most of the fighting ships and all three tower ships in Le Lin's fleet were equipped with catapults, which could throw objects weighing twenty catties about one hundred and fifty paces away.

This was the latest achievement of Lu Xun's reforms over the years, and it was all completed in the twelfth year of Taihe. Its power was sufficient to guarantee its effectiveness. The catapult was already a mature technology for the Great Wei, and all Lu Xun had to do was to miniaturize it and move it to ships, which was not too difficult.

This distance is already beyond the effective killing range of ordinary crossbows.

At Yue Lin's command, clumps of sticky hemp fibers soaked in kerosene arced across the river and were hurled towards the Shu army's ships and arrow towers on the right bank. As expected, not a single shot hit its mark.

Le Lin saw the attack's effects clearly through his binoculars, but said nothing and continued to wait silently for the next round of volleys.

The second round of launching still resulted in a complete miss.

Sure enough, during the third volley, two projectiles hit the Shu army's ships, achieving a 10% hit rate.

On the river, the boats are not in a fixed position, but move constantly due to the current and the wind. After several rounds of launching, the hit rate finally stabilized between 30% and 40%.

This is already a number under ideal conditions.

For a country, these oil supplies are not a significant expense. Every day the war is delayed, the cost of 200,000 troops and hundreds of thousands of laborers far exceeds the value of these oil supplies and catapults.

On the river, General Zhou Shi, a subordinate general of the Shu army, could no longer sit still in the arrow tower.

He happened to be on this half of the river on the right bank, and he saw the projectiles hurled by the Wei army; they were flammable. These projectiles, composed of oil, hemp fibers, and an unknown viscous substance, struck the hulls and outer walls of the arrow towers, often proving difficult to remove. Moreover, the oil would flow down the outer walls for a distance, making them virtually impossible to clean.

Zhou Shi hurriedly sent a scout to inform Wei Yan of the urgency of the situation, asking Wei Yan to find a way to send reinforcements.

However, Wei Yan told Zhou Shi about the Wei army's offensive that he had encountered, advising Zhou Shi to defend with all his might and to pray for good fortune. He simply couldn't spare the strength to help Zhou Shi.

At 9:00 AM, 3:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 1:00 PM, 3:00 PM... the Wei army ships continued to throw flammable materials without stopping for nearly four hours.

On the other side of the shore, both the Wei and Shu armies displayed extremely high fighting spirit. Even though the Wei army had a continuous stream of troops, after more than half a day, they had only managed to capture three of the Shu army's camps.

Cao Zhao's army had already been rotated out by noon, and replaced by Zhang Hu's main force of 10,000 troops. Man Chong also had 60,000 to 70,000 such infantrymen under his command. This powerful and continuous offensive rotation could last for three days.

The battle was raging, but the situation was clearly not optimistic for Wei Yan's Shu army.

Wei Yan's main force numbered 20,000, of which more than 4,000 were used in the arrow towers on the river and along both banks. The remaining 15,000 troops were mostly exhausted by the afternoon.

Man Chong was a famous general, but his "famous general" qualities differed from Zhang He's cleverness, Zhang Liao's bravery, Xiahou Yuan's swiftness, and Xu Huang's sharpness. It was more about his composure at the command level.

In short, don't expect Man Chong to come up with any ingenious strategies or fight any miraculous battles. When two armies of tens of thousands of men are facing each other, Man Chong rarely makes a mistake.

This already meets the standards of a highly qualified commander.

Man Chong had been stationed in Jingnan for many years, and his kindness and authority extended throughout the army. Not to mention that the troops he was using today were his own, from generals and captains to sergeants and soldiers, all of whom were loyal to him.

The imperial court has been raising troops for a thousand days, and the military pay and rewards issued over the years cannot be faked!

The distance between Xiling City and Xiakou is only a dozen miles, and the scouts at the front send out a battle report every fifteen minutes.

"It's almost noon, and the river hasn't been breached yet?" Man Chong asked with a worried expression.

"Reporting to Lord Man, the battle has not yet been won; General Yue's troops are still firing projectiles," Sima, who came to deliver the message, replied with a bow.

Man Chong waved his hand, signaling the Sima to leave, and then looked towards the river.

A quarter of an hour later, Sima returned, his face beaming with excitement, and bowed, saying, "Lord Man, General Yue has begun the fire attack!" (End of Chapter)