Three Kingdoms

A row of ships, large and small, moved slowly in the Han River. The flags standing on the bows of the ships and the big Chinese character Cai were trembling in the wind.

Cai Mao was sitting in the royal room, casting his dark eyes through the porthole to the north. Cai Mao planned to take Cai's soldiers, bypass Xiangyang, and ambush in the Bishui area, waiting for the opportunity to come.

In Cai Mao's plan, Jiangling was a huge colosseum, specially used for Cao Cao and Sun Quan to fight.

For Sun Quan, Jiangling has naturally been wanted for many years. Similarly, for Cao Cao, Jiangling will not be allowed to fall into Sun Quan's hands so easily.

Therefore, under this premise, Cai Mao's plan can be regarded as a model.

According to Cai Mao's knowledge, Lei Bo defected to Cao Cao and gathered knights and thieves in Yunmengze. Therefore, when Lei Bo attacked Jiangling, Cai Mao used internal forces to cooperate and caused Jiangling to fall.

Once Jiangling falls, Xiangyang will be shaken. Even if Liu Biao refuses to send troops to rescue Jiangling, there will be no good results. This will inevitably cause the Jiangling faction headed by Kuai to be extremely dissatisfied. When the time comes, Cai Mao joins Cao's army and approaches the gates of Xiangyang City, instigating Xiangyang City. After rebelling, the old thief Liu Biao was alienated from both inside and outside. Even though he had great power, he could not hold on for a few days!

If that's all, Cai Mao cannot guarantee that he can still secure most of the interests in Xiangyang, north of Jing, under Cao Cao's rule. Quite simply, if Xiangyang and Jiangling are both controlled by Cao Cao, it means that Cai's use will be of little use. …

On the other hand, Cai Mao also seduced Sun Quan to march into Jiangling. Of course, using seduction may be inappropriate. Cai Mao just "happened" to let Sun Quan know that Jiangling was about to undergo major changes at the right time. Faced with the temptation of Jiangling, Sun Quan is also very likely to be willing to send troops to test it. Then, under the siege of Jiangling City first by Zhou Yu and then by Lei Bo, Zhang Yunzhi expected that it would be difficult to defend, and there was an 80-90% chance that Jiangling City would be defeated. This will lead to Jiangling eventually falling into the hands of Sun Quan!

Cao Jun would definitely not watch Jiangling being occupied by Sun Quan, so it would be natural to continue to send troops to attack Jiangling in order to expel Sun Quan's forces from the Jingzhou area.

In this way, Cai Mao not only dealt with Liu Biao and his son, but also led Cao Cao and Sun Quan to fight in the Jiangling area, showing his importance, and had more time to integrate the Xiangyang area in northern Jingbei, and also dealt a blow The Kuai family, which has always been at odds with him, has accomplished multiple things with one stone.

It's a pity that the Cavalry General seems unwilling to move, otherwise, there will be follow-up calculations...

Cai Mao took a deep breath. The cool breeze on the water was somewhat pleasant.

The technology of building ships in the Han Dynasty was already very mature. There were multi-layered superstructures on the decks and cabins under the decks for rowing boats. The soldiers on the deck of the ship held swords and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. There is a half-height parapet on the side of the ship to protect it from enemy arrows.

Within the parapet on the deck, there is a second-story building called a hut. There are also parapets around the hut. The soldiers on the hut hold spears to assist the soldiers on the first floor in engaging in battles.

There is a third-story building above the hut, called the flying hut. Generally, most of them use crossbowmen to provide long-distance firepower.

The highest level is the royal cabin, which is equivalent to the driving room and command room of a modern ship.

People always like to go to higher places, so the highest noble room naturally belongs to Cai Mao's space.

If you want to reap the benefits, there are naturally risks...

The building boat that Cai Mao was riding and some surrounding ships were secretly built by Cai in Caizhou, and they were also important tools used to transfer Cai's personnel.

Caizhou has water on three sides and land on one side, so once the land is blocked, it will be difficult to escape, so it is better to take the waterway. Of course, Jingzhou also has naval forces, but Jingzhou's naval forces are used to defend Jiangdong. If Liu Biao dares to really use his navy, haha, whether he can catch up is another matter. Just because these Jingzhou naval forces have left the water village, Then Jiangdong's navy will definitely take advantage of the situation and attack on land and water. Let's see how Liu Biao defends!

If Liu Biao just used some fast ships to catch up, with the combat power of Cai's building ships, he would not be afraid at all. He would not even need to fight continuously. He could just crush them and crush those ships to pieces. What's more, Liu Biao definitely didn't feel confident sending Gan Ning out. After all, if Gan Ning stayed away from Xiangyang and Wenpin made some moves, Liu Biao, Liu Cong, and the young boy alone would definitely not be able to control him!

Gan Ning could only stay in Xiangyang and check and balance with Wenpin, so that Liu Biao would feel at ease. Therefore, Cai Mao, who was in the building and ship, felt that he should be quite safe and there would be no pursuers coming to kill him.

However, it is also possible that northern Jingzhou will also be infected with the flames of war and Xiangyang will be destroyed...

Cai Mao does not deny this.

But for Cai Mao, Jingzhou was originally the foundation of the Cai family, and Liu Biao was just an outsider. Even Cai Mao married his girl to Liu Biao and supported Liu Biao all the way to a high position. But now Liu Biao dislikes the Cai family and comes to suppress him, even Still thinking about uprooting the Cai family, how can Cai Mao swallow this breath?

No matter how much help he had provided to Liu Biao before, Cai Mao hated him now. When the Liu family and Cai family cooperated before, Cai Hao rarely calculated what the Cai family provided, but now when the Liu and Cai families began to break up, looking at the lists drawn out one after another, Cai Hao's heart burned with anger, and it was difficult to find it. inhibition.

Liu Biao, Liu Jingsheng, damn old man!

It was difficult for Cai Mao to tell whether his anger towards Liu Biao was really because he was not getting the rewards he deserved for his efforts, or whether it was because he had been deprived of his power...

There are some things that you don’t care about when you have them, but when you lose them, you will be filled with hatred, regret, and unreasonable anger, and then you will eventually find an excuse for yourself to express your anger.

It's all because of Liu Biao!

all of them……

"Report!" Found someone on the mountain bank! ! ” Cai’s soldiers who were on the lookout on the mast shouted loudly.

After hearing this, Cai Mao turned out of the palace and asked, "Where are you?" 』

Cai Hao looked in the direction pointed by the soldiers on the mast, and indeed saw some flags and figures on the cliffs on the shore in the distance, and his heart jumped.

There should be no soldiers from Liu Biao garrisoning this place. Why did so many people suddenly come out?

As we got closer, the general's flag on the cliff gradually became identifiable. White background with red border and black characters, Liu.

"Mr. Liu?" Who could it be? ” Cai Mao thought in his mind that it was obviously impossible to be Liu Biao and Liu Cong, and then a name popped up, “Liu Pan? 』

"Master, what should I do?" Do you want to stop the boat? ” asked Cai Mao’s men.

Cai Hao looked at the cliff in the distance, and then snorted, "Send the order!" The boat goes first and checks to see if there are any iron chains blocking the river underwater! Turn the ship! slow down! Stay away from the cliff side! "If Gan Ning really comes after him, Cai Mao will still be a little scared and worried. Just Liu Pan, hum...

Following Cai Mao's order, the Cai family boat following the building accelerated forward, got ahead, and then extended a long hook underwater from the side of the ship. If there is an iron chain sinking in the water, it will be pulled up by the hook rod. At the same time, there is also a giant ax on the stern, specially used to deal with such iron chains blocking the river.

Iron chains are generally made of cast iron, and the quality is naturally not as good as steel. Of course, in the Han Dynasty, no one was willing to use steel to make iron chains, including the guy who spent money...

Therefore, such a river-blocking iron chain, let alone a giant axe, might break if it blocks more ships and the effort is too heavy. Therefore, most of the time, the river-blocking iron chains are placed in three or four intervals. Completely blocked, but used to delay and destroy the opponent's ship formation.

Sure enough, Cai's cockroach hooked up an iron chain, then immediately stopped at the edge of the iron chain and began to destroy it.

Liu's soldiers on the cliff began to shoot with crossbows. Although they also shot down some Cai's soldiers on the scorpion, the wind on the water made the arrows float easily, and a shield was erected on the other stern, covering it. Most of the vital points were blocked, so although some Cai soldiers were shot and fell into the river, there was no way to completely prevent them from destroying the iron chain blocking the river.

"Haha..." Cai Hao looked at it and sneered, "Sure enough, this is the trick..."

Because the iron chain blocking the river in front had not yet been completely removed, Cai Mao's building boat also began to slow down. The oar was extended from the cabin, fighting against the current, and stopped outside the boundary of the cliff.

Obviously, once all the iron chains blocking the river are destroyed, you can naturally go down the river. So what if Liu Pan on the cliff has a good location? Although Cai Hao could not defeat Liu Pan, Liu Pan could not defeat Cai Hao either.

The two sides seemed to be at a stalemate.

On a slope on the shore, dozens of Liu's soldiers were busy, and beside these soldiers were three ballistas that had been set up. This kind of ballistae, which was originally used for defense at the head of Xiangyang City, was disassembled and transported here at some point. Not far behind the ballistae, more than a dozen jars and jars can be seen.

In the crossbow cart, a huge spear-like crossbow has been placed in the arrow trough. At the tail of the huge spear crossbow, there is also a long hemp rope, which is stacked on top of the crossbow like a coiled snake. Beside the car.

On the cliff, it is naturally far away from Cai Maolou's boat, but here, it is much closer.

Crossbows are not a rare thing. The main reason is that they are expensive. The other reason is that the spare parts are easy to break and often require maintenance. The slow rate of fire is also a problem, so generally crossbows are used to defend the city. Even if you want to To hit the target, it also requires that the target be relatively large and not fast, and now, Cai Hao's building ship just meets this requirement.

The rumble of war drums sounded over the cliff. Cai Hao was startled at first. He looked up subconsciously, but saw only some red flags waving, and there were no other changes. When he was doubting, he suddenly heard the startled screams of his men. Scream: "No!" Ballista! It's a ballista! 』

The branches and other things that originally covered the firing range of the ballistae had been moved away amidst the sound of drums, exposing the sharp and barbed spear crossbow arrows. Immediately following the orders, the three ballistae vehicles were launched one after another. Launched!

The spear and the hemp rope were long across the water!

Under such circumstances, the accuracy cannot be guaranteed to be precise, but the cross-sectional area of ​​Cai Mao's ship is too large, so all three crossbow arrows pierced the hull of the ship, one was lower and two were higher. Some.

The huge crossbow bolt pierced the hull of the ship, and sawdust flew across the ship, making a heart-wrenching sound. Cai Jun's soldiers on the ship felt as if their bones were rubbing against each other, and they couldn't help but feel their hearts beating for a while. Fortunately, the shot was on the hull of the ship. Otherwise, with just the wooden shield in his hand, in front of such a huge crossbow arrow, wouldn't it be just like paper?

"quick! Cut the rope! ” Cai Mao shouted loudly.

Whether you want to drag the building ship over, or pull the building ship to tilt and capsize, you must pass these ropes, so Cai Mao, who has sufficient experience in water warfare, immediately issued the order.

There were ropes attached to the back of those spear-like crossbow bolts. After they were shot into the building, they were quickly stretched straight. Then, black shadows quickly slid down the ropes from the high slope on the other side. , then getting faster and faster, and then with a "pop" sound, it hit the side plate of the building ship and was smashed to pieces!

"Cut the rope!" That's kerosene! ” Cai Mao’s voice became shrill and shrill, “Bring the sand! Get the sand and put out the oil fire quickly! 』

Because the earthen jars that hit along the rope contained kerosene that was often seen in city defenses! As the earthen jar burst, the kerosene splashed everywhere. Most of it was stained on the boat, and a small part fell into the river, creating a different color!

Crossbow bolts were projected one after another, and then ropes were connected one after another. The crackling sound of earthen jars breaking was like the grin of death. With the subsequent rockets projected, some kerosene was ignited, and then quickly began to spread.

Thick smoke is billowing, and the flames are blazing!

In the inland river, the building boat is like an overlord-level existence. Ordinary small boats and sterns cannot compete with the building boat. However, no matter how powerful the building boat is, it is made of wood. As the kerosene becomes more and more contaminated, In the end, even the surface of the water began to burn. Although the ropes on the crossbow arrows were also burned, the entire ship had turned into a huge torch, and then the oarsmen in the cabin also fled one after another, without their oars. The building boat held by his hands went down the river and collided with Cai's stern in front of the building boat, which was then crushed and cracked.

When Cai's soldiers were panicking, although Cai Mao's order was correct, it had little effect. One was that the Cai's soldiers on the building ship had not entered combat status at all, and the other was that although there was sand and soil on the ship, it was not available everywhere. Yes, the fire was so fast that it was too late...

The sails on the building ship were quickly ignited by sparks and flames, and then burned over a larger area. The raging fire swallowed up half of the building ship. Under the billowing black smoke, Cai Mao was choked and coughed repeatedly, unable to speak. It's not easy to ask for help, let alone give orders.

Some of Cai's soldiers were so uncomfortable from the smoke that they were knocked off the ship, but they were transferred into the sea of ​​​​fire and had to go underwater. However, the armor on their bodies dragged the soldiers' movements. Some escaped from the flames, but There are also many that have sunk into the water forever.

For Cai Hao, if it were a head-on confrontation, Liu Pan was not a threat at all. Even if it was a non-water battle and he went ashore to fight in formation, Cai Hao would have a certain advantage. However, now, he is at a disadvantage and even in danger. Instead, he became Cai Mao.

Although the flames were raging, it was not possible to burn the building and ship to ashes in an instant. Under such circumstances, some of Cai's soldiers were stunned and panicked, while other Cai's soldiers who reacted faster launched their weapons. In order to save themselves, without waiting for Cai Mao to give any specific orders, he immediately rowed the warship and quickly approached Cai Mao's tower ship. More than a dozen warships surrounded it, some used wet mud to attack the kerosene flames on the tower ship, and some used wet mud to attack the fire oil flames on the tower ship. Then he rushed to the other side and pulled his fallen companions onto his boat.

For a moment, there was great chaos on the water surface, and then they formed a pile, and they got stuck on the iron rope below the cliff. They collided with each other, and even the boat was knocked over directly. Cai on the boat was like dumplings thrown randomly into the pot, splashing water, floating and rolling in the fire and water.

Liu Pan on the cliff gave a loud order, and all the crossbowmen stood on the edge of the cliff, shooting downwards desperately. Waves of arrows and crossbow bolts flew out, trying to shoot at the huddled Cai fleet. .

Cai's soldiers were busy rescuing the people on the boat. Although warships rushed up to protect them, they were still caught off guard by the arrows. Some people were continuously shot and fell into the water, causing blood-red splashes. Cai's soldiers were trying to save people and put out the fire at the same time. They had no way of guarding against the attacks from the cliff. They were in a state of utter disarray with support from left and right.

Originally, in water battles, the strongest attack power was the building ship. Not only because the building ship was large in size, it could directly collide and crush the opponent, but also because there were more warriors on the building ship, which could organize an effective attack. Ordinary warships, such as stern ships, are flexible and have soldiers, but at least half of these soldiers are responsible for rowing. In fact, less than half, maybe even only one-third, of the soldiers can actually take up weapons to attack at any time. . But now, Cai's biggest advantage has become a weakness. He has a huge body, but he can't attack and can only be beaten passively.

Cai Mao was rescued on another boat. Looking at the building that he had spent so much effort, time and money to build, it became a huge torch, and his heart bleeds.

However, after all, Cai Mao had been immersed in the army for many years, so he immediately ordered some warships to dock, go to suppress the opponent's ballista position and attack the cliff. At the same time, he ordered the ship to be abandoned, and sent people to disconnect the last two iron chains and rebuild them. Open waterways.

The two sides fought together on the river bank.

The destructive power of the ballista is undoubtedly huge. These crossbow arrows, with their roar, often make a hole in the ship when they hit it, and a big hole in the human body when they hit it. If they happen to hit the bottom of the ship, they will even cause river water to pour into the cabin. This is undoubtedly a huge disaster for a small ship without a watertight compartment, and may even cause the entire ship to lose its combat capability.

The crossbowmen on the cliff also brought huge trouble to Cai's soldiers. Almost every rain of arrows would lead to a decrease in Cai's soldiers. Each of these Cai's soldiers died and one less one was lost. In the short term, they would not be able to gain anything. In addition, it also means that it is even more difficult for Cai Mao to control the northern part of Jingzhou and retake Xiangyang.

After landing on the shore, Cai's soldiers also showed their original strength and charged into the ballista position. Although the ballistae had powerful attack power, its rate of fire was slow. Once Cai's soldiers got close to it, it could not exert any power. In a blink of an eye, Cai's soldiers killed Liu's soldiers and then smashed the ballistae. He set fire to it and burned it down. Upon seeing this, Liu Pan, who was on the cliff, was not willing to fight. Taking advantage of the fact that Cai's soldiers would be unable to climb up for a while, he led his men to withdraw...