Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

The river wind howled fiercely, its force like a flood!

Guo Yi, clad in full armor and even having replaced his helmet with a thicker one, stood on the shore, watching the soldiers surge into the ferries like torrents of water at his command.

Although the ferries built by the artisans of Kuaiji County were essentially small, flat-bottomed boats akin to fishing vessels due to a lack of advanced technology, Guo Yi couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement as he gazed at the dense mass of boats under the gradually darkening sky.

"This time, let's see how you can stop this Lord's army!"

A grin stretched across Guo Yi's face, his heart filled with heroic ambition, feeling as though he could cross the Qiantang River in an instant.

Even if Li Ji were not in Qiantang County, and even if he were still there, how could he possibly stop the tide of hundreds of small boats crossing the Qiantang River?

"Lord Governor, everything is ready!"

Guo Cai, Guo Yi's deputy and confidant, reported with a tone that barely concealed his excitement.

"Good!"

Guo Yi responded, then with a wave of his hand, he unfurled the conspicuous crimson cloak on his back, and with the other hand resting on the sword at his waist, he strode towards the flagship.

Of course, when they called it a flagship, it was only in comparison to the ordinary small ferries.

In reality, it was a pleasure boat that Guo Yi had forcibly requisitioned from a wealthy family in Kuaiji County, capable of accommodating a maximum of about a hundred people.

However, Guo Yi was fond of the boat's luxurious appearance, and naturally selected it as his flagship.

Now, as night deepened, making it difficult to see flag signals, Guo Yi ordered that specific information be conveyed by waving torches to direct all the boats towards the opposite shore.

Watching from the shore as the numerous ferries densely covered the river surface and slowly moved towards the opposite bank, Xu You felt an inexplicable premonition that something was not quite right.

However, after frowning and pondering for a long time, Xu You still couldn't find any flaws in their plan.

Having learned from their previous experience, Guo Yi and Xu You had naturally absorbed the corresponding lessons. They had almost completely confirmed the troop deployment in Qiantang County and were very certain that Liu Bei had not sent more troops to reinforce Qiantang County.

After using the mountain bandits to launch a strong attack on Fuchun Mountain to draw away four thousand soldiers, the troops stationed in Qiantang County now could not possibly withstand the assault of Guo Yi's twenty thousand-strong army.

As for water attacks, fire attacks, and the like, Xu You had also considered them.

Guo Yi was leading a fleet of small boats, so even if there was a fire attack, it would only ignite a small portion of the boats at most, and it would be impossible to produce a significant effect.

A water attack was even more impossible!

This was the Qiantang River; even if the water flow was not comparable to the Yellow River or the Yangtze River, it was still a torrential force, making it impossible to build a dam to block the water flow and then use a water attack to flood the downstream area.

Immediately, Xu You felt that he seemed to be a little too afraid of Li Ji, like he was a tiger.

'Under circumstances where water and fire are ineffective, Wu County cannot possibly turn the tables in this situation unless divine soldiers descend...'

'It seems that Li Zikun has truly become a nightmare in my heart! Li Zikun is a man, and I am also a man, so why should I fear him? I only need to win this battle to prove that my talent is no less than Li Zikun's.'

Thinking of this, Xu You felt much more confident. He then ordered his attendants to keep a close watch on the river surface from the shore, while he himself returned to his tent to await good news.

Today, the Qiantang River seemed to be deliberately helping Guo Yi. The river surface was calm and without waves. Even though the river wind was quite strong, those boats that were originally only suitable for fishermen to fish were quite stable as they crossed the river surface.

This made Guo Yi feel greatly relieved, as he feared that the heavens would not cooperate. If a tidal bore occurred on the Qiantang River, then it would be impossible for these small boats to cross the river.

This made Guo Yi's heart fill with excitement, and he stared intently at the opposite shore, already beginning to expect to see the beacon towers on the opposite shore light up one after another, and then witness the despair of those facing the overwhelming number of boats.

(PS: The river surface of the entire Qiantang River naturally varies in width in different sections. The section near the estuary can even reach tens to hundreds of kilometers wide, and according to historical records, the ancient Qiantang River was much wider than the current one.)

How could one resist thousands of boats and ten thousand oars?

"Order all the soldiers not to spare their strength, paddle with all their might, and speed forward."

Guo Yi ordered Guo Cai, his adjutant.

"Yes."

Guo Cai immediately directed the soldiers responsible for relaying orders to wave the torches, transmitting the order.

Although Guo Yi and Guo Cai could be considered completely ignorant of formal naval warfare, it was basic common sense to formulate some methods of transmitting information in advance.

As the torches waved with specific meanings, the large number of boats also began to accelerate, and the strong young men responsible for rowing the oars continuously accelerated their strokes.

However, before the speed of the ferries could fully pick up, Guo Yi suddenly noticed that some kind of behemoth seemed to be emerging from the darkness ahead.

This caused Guo Yi to subconsciously rub his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things.

This was the central section of the Qiantang River, so where would something be lying across the river surface?

However, as the boats continued to close the distance, the behemoth hidden in the night became increasingly clear.

"That... what is that?"

Guo Yi pointed blankly ahead and asked Guo Cai beside him.

Upon hearing this, Guo Cai squinted his eyes and looked over, equally puzzled by the huge silhouette that seemed to be lying on the river surface in the distant darkness.

"Could it be some kind of big fish?"

Guo Cai thought for a moment, then turned to Guo Yi and said.

"Legend has it that 'in the Northern Darkness, there is a fish named Kun. The Kun is so large that no one knows how many thousands of miles it spans.' Could it be that Lord Governor has encountered such an auspicious omen?"

Being reminded by Guo Cai in this way, Guo Yi inexplicably felt that there might be such a possibility. He immediately ordered Guo Cai to fetch a bow and arrow, then wrapped the arrowhead with cloth and soaked it in oil.

Immediately, the burly Guo Yi drew his bow to its fullest extent, aiming at the increasingly urgent huge black shadow ahead.

"Swish!"

In the next moment, the flaming arrow left the string and headed towards the huge black shadow.

Although Guo Yi's arrow could not be considered accurate at all under the rapid river wind, the huge black shadow lying in front of him almost occupied half of Guo Yi's field of vision, so any deviation was irrelevant.

Including Guo Yi, the soldiers on the many boats that were now quite close to the huge black shadow hidden in the night also moved their gazes with the arrow, wanting to see clearly what the black shadow was along the area illuminated by the arrow.

However, just as the arrow was still in mid-air and had not yet truly approached the huge black shadow.

"Got it!"

A loud shout came from above the black shadow, and the arrow seemed to be hit by something in mid-air, then fell straight towards the river surface.

(End of chapter)