My Sims of the Eastern Jin Dynasty

A few days later, at the entrance to the Niuer Island Strait, south of Langya Port.

Dozens of speedboats were hidden tightly in the shadow of the reef, waiting for the tide to rise. Lu Da, with his bare arms, was bending over to inspect the kerosene barrels on the bow of the boat.

"Keep a close eye on them, everyone. Make sure the fuse is dry. Check the Clippers' cables three times, don't let them break down at the crucial moment!"

The crew members echoed in unison. Most of these men were trained by Lu Da, and they might not return from this battle.

However, having made a living at sea year-round, their familiarity with tides and reefs far surpassed that of the Xianbei people who came from the inland.

The small, agile speedboats they were on had a very shallow draft, making them perfectly suited for the unique terrain of the Niuerdao Strait.

Every reef and shoal in the strait, when the tide rises, the seawater overflows the shoals, making it seem open, but in reality, it hides deadly dangers.

Once the tide recedes, large areas of sand are exposed, and deep-draft ships will get stuck and unable to move.

A makeshift lookout post was temporarily erected on a small hillside on the west side of the strait.

Xu Xianzhi, wearing a coarse cloth jacket, stared intently at the distant sea through the gaps in his oil-paper umbrella.

Zhou Laosi stood beside him, toying with a smooth-polished seashell in his hand, his expression calm.

He was originally from a collateral branch of the Cui family, but now he was somewhat familiar with his own name.

Looking at the young man in front of him, he felt a little jealous.

"Have the Cui family's people arrived yet?"

Xu Xianzhi suddenly spoke.

Zhou Laosi nodded.

"Don't worry, the supply ships belong to the Cui family's fleet, and there are also quite a few people planted on the troop transport ships!"

Xu Xianzhi nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the nautical chart. He was still somewhat worried, as the tide was expected to recede around 1-3 PM.

If they missed the Xianbei, they might have gone straight to Qu County. Xu Xianzhi had done his homework a few days ago. Lu Da's fleet would first plunder many passing ships outside Langya Port and deliberately leave many clues. The sea route to the south was also provided by the Cui family, and this place was also a necessary stop.

He looked up at the sky and knew that it was almost time. Sure enough, not long after, the lookout sent a report.

"Report! A convoy has set sail from the direction of Langya Port! Judging by its size, there are at least five large ships and dozens of smaller ones!"

Xu Xianzhi perked up and strode to the lookout point.

A row of black dots appeared on the distant horizon, rapidly approaching the Niuerdao Strait.

The leading ships were enormous; they were their multi-storied warships.

"They seem quite impatient."

Zhou Laosi sneered.

"With the loss of supplies, their southward advance will have to be postponed."

Xu Xianzhi's eyes were deep and serious; he had only ever sensed this kind of confidence from Xiao Heng.

"Send the order to Lu Da: proceed according to plan, pay attention to controlling the pace, and make sure all the warships are brought into the strait."

The lookout received the order and turned to pass the message down using a flag.

Upon seeing the flag at the entrance to the strait, Lu Da immediately gave the order.

"Brothers, time to get to work! Push the fire ships out and put on a good show for the Xianbei dogs!"

Ten fireboats, laden with hay and oil, were slowly pushed out of the shadows of the reefs and waited in the strait.

Soon, the Xianbei fleet approached the Niuer Island Strait. Several fast ships went ahead to scout ahead, but were forced back by Lu Da, who was lying in ambush on the island, with arrows.

Seeing that the Xianbei people were reluctant to approach, Xu Xianzhi and Zhou Laosi on the watchtower became somewhat anxious.

Neither of them spoke, but they observed silently, because Lu Da was in full command of the battle.

Just then, the crew lit the fuse, and three streaks of fire instantly ignited on the sea.

Lu Da personally led five fast ships, following behind the fire ships, and pretended to charge towards the Xianbei fleet. He also deliberately shouted battle cries from the ships, making a great show of force.

On the lead ship, Murong Lie was standing at the bow. Upon seeing the flames and shouts of battle ahead, he was instantly enraged.

This time, I was ordered to lead the navy south to wipe out the pirates. I never expected that my first battle would be against such a foolish pirate who dared to charge.

He drew his scimitar from his waist and roared as he pointed at Lu Da's fleet.

"Don't let a single one escape! A bunch of rabble dares to set up an ambush? Pass down the order: all ships, full speed ahead!"

Lu Da was secretly delighted. He glanced up and estimated that there was still half an hour before the tide receded.

Instead of retreating, he waved his flag, and the five fast ships continued to advance provocatively until the creaking of the crossbows on the Xianbei warships could be clearly heard. Only then did he give an order, calmly turning his fleet around and slowly leading the massive warships toward the entrance to the Strait of Death.

This extremely provocative act infuriated Murong Lie on the ship.

However, their ships were enormous and extremely intimidating when sailing on the sea, but they simply couldn't go fast.

However, several small boats rushed up and successfully entered the strait, and these small boats were all the work of the Cui family.

At this moment, the lieutenant ran over and clasped his hands in greeting.

"General, something's wrong! The water's too shallow here; it's difficult for the warships to navigate!"

But Murong Lie didn't care about any of that at the moment; he could barely see Lu Da's fleet anymore.

"I said full speed, understand?"

He was about to raise his sword to strike when he said that, and the lieutenant was so frightened that he could only go and relay the order.

Until all the large ships entered the strait, they could see that the small boats in the distance had caught up with Lu Da's fleet.

Just as Murong Lie was about to give the order, he suddenly heard a loud crash. The ship shook violently and tilted slightly. The Xianbei soldiers on the deck lost their footing and fell to the ground.

"What's going on?!"

Murong Lie steadied himself and questioned him angrily.

"General, the ship has struck a reef! It's taking on water!" The lieutenant who had just run back reported, his voice trembling with tears.

Before Murong Lie could react, the second ship behind him crashed into him because it was too close.

The two ships began to rock even more violently, and Murong Lie fell onto the deck.

Xu Xianzhi, who was on the watchtower, was incredulous at what he saw. How exactly were the Qin army's naval commanders selected?

He turned to look at Zhou Laosi, whose face was expressionless.

"The Cui family has such talent; I'm truly impressed!"

Zhou Laosi quickly responded politely.

"The patriarch was once the Prefect of Qingzhou; these are just some petty tricks!"

Xu Xianzhi secretly admired him after hearing this, but fortunately, this person was no match for him.

A moment later, the tide began to recede, and the previously submerged shallows were gradually exposed. Although the remaining two ships did not hit the reef, they were stuck in the sand and could not move.

Meanwhile, Lu Da had already left the area, and the pursuing fleet followed and quickly disappeared.

Murong Lie, his face ashen, stood on the tilted bow of the ship, looking at the surrounding reefs and the gradually exposed sand, and finally realized that he had been ambushed.

Just as he was about to order the troop transport ships and supply ships to retreat, he heard a horn sound coming from behind the reefs on both sides of the strait.

As the bugle sounded, Lu Da's main force, which had been hiding on the island, finally appeared.

Lu Da stood on the foremost speedboat and gave the order in a loud voice.

"Brothers, move! Fire ships lead the way, surround their troop transports, and don't let them reach the shore!"

The fire ships, which had been prepared beforehand, were relit and drifted toward the Xianbei troop transport ships.

The fireboats were not fast, but the fire was fierce, forming a wall of fire on the sea.

The Xianbei soldiers were unfamiliar with naval warfare. When they saw the flames shooting into the sky, they were terrified and screamed as they retreated to the stern of the ship. Some even jumped into the sea, but most of them could not swim. Once they fell into the water, they began to struggle and soon became still.

The Shandong University Clippers split into two groups. One group attacked the stranded ship to prevent those who jumped off the ship and wanted to go ashore from having a chance to organize a counterattack. The other group went straight for the supply ship, which was their core objective.

Upon seeing the fast ship approaching, Cui Hu, aboard the supply ship, immediately surrendered as agreed.

Lu Da immediately led the speedboats close to the supply ship and ordered a retreat.

Murong Lie stood on the tilting warship, watching the supply ship being taken into custody, his eyes bloodshot with rage, yet utterly helpless.

"Useless! All of you are useless!"

Murong Lie stomped his feet in anger and brandished his scimitar, slashing at the side of the ship beside him.

"Charge out there and reclaim the supplies!"

The ship was stuck in the sand and no matter how hard the sailors tried, it wouldn't budge.

From the lookout post on the hillside, Xu Xianzhi watched the battle situation in the strait and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Zhou Laosi stood beside him, a smile playing on his lips.

"The Xianbei people were indeed no match for them. Without their cavalry advantage, they were lambs to the slaughter at sea."

Xu Xianzhi turned to look at Zhou Laosi.

"Let's each take what we need, see you in five days!"

Zhou Laosi smiled.

"Although the Cui clan is greedy, they also know how to assess the situation. Their clan has too deep roots in Qingzhou and they don't want to be completely controlled by the Xianbei!"

Xu Xianzhi nodded, his gaze sweeping across the strait.

"Regarding the details of this battle, along with the Cui family's astute assessment of the situation, I am certain that I will report back to the Lord without missing a single word."

Zhou Laosi smiled and said nothing more.