My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 257: Sun Ce Fights Taishi Ci

To be honest, Huang Gai's ability to command naval battles was definitely among the best in the Jiangdong army.

Especially in this era, the Jiangdong Army lacked Gan Ning and Taishi Ci, two powerful generals, compared with the same period in history. Among the remaining people, only Sun Ce and Zhou Yu could be better than Huang Gai in commanding naval battles. The rest, such as Lu Meng, were still too young and had not grown up.

The reason why Xu Kun became the commander of the vanguard fleet in this battle was simply because he was more noble and more trusted by Sun Ce.

After Xu Kun was seriously injured and fell into a coma, Huang Gai took over the command of the vanguard fleet very responsibly and did his best to reorganize the formation.

As the fighting dragged on, the fleets that Xu Kun had sent to the north and south wings had almost retreated and maneuvered to their positions, and began to launch a three-sided siege on Taishi Ci's dozen warships. The situation in which the Jiangdong Army was crushed by local forces was finally reversed.

Relying on the obvious advantage of the fleet's size, Huang Gai gradually stopped Taishi Ci's reckless charging and killing.

It was a pity that all this came too late. The command center had been severely damaged and the central army suffered heavy losses. Huang Gai could only barely fight a draw with Taishi Ci, and the two sides fell into a bloody war of attrition.

The warships of the Jiangdong Army were low in profile and their rowing portholes could not block arrows, so rowers often suffered heavy losses in the exchange of fire.

Moreover, the tonnage of the ships differed by several times. Once Taishi Ci started to charge recklessly, the warships of the Jiangdong Army would be hit. Even if they did not capsize directly, at least the hull planks would be broken and seriously damaged.

Although two or three of Taishi Ci's warships were severely damaged after repeated fierce collisions and boarding, and two of them sank, Huang Gai's warships had sunk as many as a dozen.

Huang Gai knew that he could no longer fight at a distance, as that would only make him lose more, so he ordered all the troops to rush over to the side and attack, and to try to get a few small boats to surround Taishi Ci's large ship and attack it. As long as the warships were close to the side of the fighting ship, the fighting ship would no longer be able to hit the warships.

Huang Gai no longer cared about the disadvantages of using low warships to board taller warships and the upward attack they would have to endure. This was already a strategy of choosing the lesser of two evils. He would have suffered greater losses from the other two tactics.

As the boarding planks rammed into the hull one by one, groups of Jiangdong navy soldiers, armed with swords and shields, swiftly and bravely rushed over the planks and attacked the fighting ship from above.

From the portholes of the fighting ship, archers fired crossbows left and right at the narrow planks. Many Jiangdong soldiers were shot down into the river before they could cross the short distance of one or two feet, and their cries for help were heard everywhere.

Fortunately, most of the Jiangdong soldiers were holding shields, so they could barely hold out for a while, but when they jumped onto the deck of the fighting ship, they were immediately stabbed by the spearmen under Taishi Ci.

The Jiangdong soldiers were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of the length of their weapons, and had to rely on a shield to make ends meet. The first soldiers who climbed the ladder were all pierced like hedgehogs, and only after paying a large number of lives could they barely gain a foothold and engage in close combat.

But charging without a shield and using a two-handed spear was not an option, because one would most likely be shot by a crossbow while rushing over the boarding planks. In short, it was a dilemma.

……

Huang Gai struggled to hold on with several times the casualties. In just half an hour of bloody fighting, the casualties of the Jiangdong soldiers were estimated to have reached 2,000. The casualties of Taishi Ci's troops on the opposite side were less than 700 or 800.

As for warships, only two warships of Taishi Ci's army sank and two were seriously damaged, but Huang Gai's side sank a total of thirteen warships, and the other minor damages could not be counted.

However, this continuous bloody fighting also delayed the battle long enough for the main force of Sun Ce's army, which was riding on slow and majestic tower ships and fighting warships in the rear, to arrive at the battlefield.

On the other side of the battlefield, downstream, nearly 10,000 sailors of Guan Yu's army, boarded more than a hundred large and small warships, approached the battlefield.

Guan Yu's troops were originally farther away from the main battlefield than Sun Ce's, and should have arrived later. However, when Taishi Ci turned around to attack, he took advantage of the rising tide. Therefore, Guan Yu, who was further downstream, also took advantage of the tide to attack, and was sailing downstream, so his sailing speed suddenly increased.

Sun Ce, who was upstream, was sailing against the current during high tide, which greatly reduced his speed. As a result, Sun Ce and Guan Yu arrived almost at the same time.

Sun Ce did not know that his cousin Xu Kun had been seriously injured and unconscious. When he saw Huang Gai leading the vanguard fleet in a bloody battle, he thought it was Xu Kun who was leading the team.

Seeing that the fleet was being suppressed and held back by Taishi Ci, Sun Ce was of course full of energy and rushed at full speed to rescue his vanguard.

"Taishi Ci is so arrogant. He is just showing off his might with just a dozen warships. When my ships arrive, I will kill him without leaving a single piece of armor!"

Sun Ce angrily slapped the hardwood battlements on top of the cabin a few times, and shouted loudly to command all the heavy ships of the army. There were a total of nine ships, carrying nearly ten thousand soldiers, and they rushed straight towards Taishi Ci.

The tower ship has one more layer of superstructure than the fighting ship, and its height advantage is very obvious, it is like a city on the water.

Fighting warships can bully large battleships from their superior position, and tower ships can naturally also bully fighting warships from their superior position. It is just like the game of chess, where there is retribution for eating and being eaten.

It's a pity that because Taishi Ci and Huang Gai were already fighting to a standstill, most of them were entangled with each other, fighting in hand-to-hand combat.

When Sun Ce's army approached, they soon found that they could not directly ram the ships, because if they did, they would probably sink the warships of Huang Gai's army. Sun Ce's ships could only suppress Taishi Ci's warships with bows and crossbows from a distance of dozens or even hundreds of steps.

The size and tonnage of the tower ships and fighting ships are very large, and they are particularly difficult to control at high tide, so it is impossible to get any closer.

Fifty steps is a distance where a large ship could collide with a wave.

Taishi Ci's side had been shooting at others from a high position, but now they were suddenly shot at from a high position by the enemy and immediately felt suppressed.

After the initial casualties among archers and rowers, Taishi Ci decisively ordered: "Close all the portholes for rowers! Stop rowing and defend where you are! All rowers should change their weapons and defend all hatches!"

The generals and officers under Taishi Ci were quite surprised when they received this order through flag signals, but they still carried it out. The lower portholes of more than a dozen remaining battleships were closed one after another, leaving only the firing holes on the top.

Doing so is of course very dangerous, because it means giving up most of the ship's power, and it can only go with the flow, take hits and fight back on the spot, without being able to actively maneuver, pursue or move.

Taishi Ci dared to stand still like this, betting that he had seen Guan Yu's main force approaching, and Sun Ce's display of power would not last long. In this case, he would be like Xuanwu, immovable as a mountain, holding on to the spot and waiting for help, strengthening his defense to the maximum!
By the time Sun Ce noticed this change, several cups of tea had already passed. He suddenly discovered that his ship's bows and crossbows could not hurt Taishi Ci at all, as the enemy had retreated into the cabin and behind the bunkers, and all the portholes that could be closed were closed.

He wanted to ram the enemy ship and engage in boarding combat, but was blocked by Huang Gai's warships.

Sun Ce had no choice but to have his men shout in unison and frantically signal with flags. However, the command information that the flags could convey was very limited and crude. It took half an incense stick of time before Huang Gai's troops knew what to do.

"General Huang, our lord has ordered all our ships to move out of the way so as not to hinder your ship from rushing up and colliding with Taishi Ci." On another ship next to Huang Gai, Ling Cao was the first to see the content of Sun Ce's flag signal, and he quickly shouted to notify Huang Gai.

Huang Gai finally came to his senses and ordered the warships that were already engaged in boarding combat to cut through the planking with huge axes, and then use poles to create distance between them to make way for Sun Ce's tower ships to attack and avoid a collision.

Anyway, Taishi Ci had already stopped rowing, and only the sails were still providing power. The speed had been greatly reduced, so he definitely couldn't escape.

After a whole stick of trouble, the strategic maneuver was finally completed. Sun Ce was finally able to rush forward and confront Taishi Ci head-on.

Five or six ships drove straight in and collided with Taishi Ci's warships. They threw out hooks and ropes. Dozens of hemp ropes as thick as bowls with cast iron hooks pulled the two ships tightly together.

Because of their large tonnage, tower ships and fighting ships could no longer be fixed on the opposite ship by a plank like warships. The relative angle would be very oblique, making it difficult for soldiers to rush past the opposite ship.

Only by using dozens of soft ropes to pull, can the two ships be ensured to be parallel to each other, and then jump directly over to the ship's side.

The Jiangdong soldiers under Sun Ce were all veterans of naval warfare and were very skilled in this tactic. Seeing that Taishi Ci's ship was tied up tightly with dozens of hooks, Sun Ce felt that he was safe.

Moreover, during the charge and battle just now, Sun Ce's fleet also sank three of Taishi Ci's warships, although two of them had been hit multiple times and seriously damaged in the bloody battle with the fleet at the beginning.

But no matter what, Huang Gai paid such a huge price, sinking more than a dozen of his own ships before sinking two of Taishi Ci's ships. When Sun Ce arrived, he directly sank three ships in the process of hedging, causing at least 500 to 600 sailors of Liu Bei's army to fall into the water. The contrast was too obvious.

In a battle on the river, a big ship can do whatever it wants! A 600-ton ship can hit a 200-ton ship easily!

Sun Ce and Taishi Ci had fought for two years before, from one year before Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to one year after Cao Cao welcomed the emperor. At that time, Taishi Ci was a subordinate of Liu Yao. Sun Ce naturally had a deep understanding of Taishi Ci's tactics and strength.

After Liu Yao's death, Taishi Ci joined Liu Bei, and the two sides had not fought again for three years. Today, they were in close combat again, and naturally they were extremely jealous.

Sun Ce also put in his best efforts to achieve his goal in one fell swoop and completely eradicate Taishi Ci, the remnant of Liu Yao's faction.

"Swordsmen, shieldmen and spearmen, prepare to board! First occupy the cabin roof of Taishi Ci's battleship, then kill the enemies layer by layer! Prepare fish paste jars and torches, and throw the flaming fish paste jars into the cabin if you encounter anyone who dares to block the cabin door!"

Following Sun Ce's order, the Jiangdong soldiers on the tower ships looked down from their high position and jumped onto Taishi Ci's fighting ship. The tower ships were only a little over ten feet higher than the fighting ship, so they didn't have to worry about breaking their legs when jumping over with such a small height difference.

Moreover, the boarding plank was omitted and soldiers could jump down from anywhere. If the archers on the fighting ship wanted to shoot upwards to block the enemy, they would not know where to shoot because soldiers could jump down from anywhere on the entire 24-foot-long boarding line.

The two sides could only counter each other's moves and engaged in a chaotic and bloody fight.

However, just as Sun Ce was attracted by Taishi Ci, this tough guy who was as "immovable as a mountain", Guan Yu's main fleet had already maneuvered to the north of Sun Ce's troops and swarmed over to kill them.

On the water surface of the river bay on the southwest side, Zhang Duo and Lu Yi's 4,000 men also boarded more than 20 large ships and rushed within the combat distance.

(End of this chapter)