Taiheiki

Chapter 243 On the Water
"Forget it!" Zhou Yi waved his hand. "I don't have the time for that right now. By the way, you haven't answered the question I asked you earlier!"

"Seventh Brother, you're so boring!" Zhou Jin shook his head helplessly. He took off the money pouch from his waist and threw it into the woman's hand, saying, "Go to Cai's Meat Shop at the end of the street and see if there's any dog ​​meat left. Buy a piece, rub it with minced garlic, salt, and soy sauce, and stew it over a low flame for us brothers to have with our drinks!"

"Yes, sir!" the woman replied, taking the money pouch and leaving. Zhou Jin took a sip of wine: "Are you asking why the young general is unwilling to take this acting prefect position? Actually, it's quite simple. After all, he's only the Marquis of Wei's adopted son, not his biological son!"

"Just because of that?" Zhou Yi was taken aback.

"Isn't that enough?" Zhou Jin smiled, his eyes narrowed. "Aren't there countless cases of brothers turning against each other in wealthy families over the inheritance? Not to mention he's just an adopted son. Remember, let's not bring this up again, understand?"

"Alright!" Zhou Yi shook his head: "If what you say is true, then this young general is truly a pity!"

"What's a pity? What's there to regret? Do we have the right to feel sorry for him?" Zhou Jin asked in rapid succession, "Seventh Brother! Instead of wasting your energy, why don't you think more about us brothers?"

"The two of us brothers?" Zhou Yi asked, puzzled.

"Yes!" Zhou Jin asked, "How many men do you have under your command now?"

"Three or four hundred? What does it matter?"

“Of course we’re related!” Zhou Jin laughed. “Don’t forget, the young general was able to conquer Lujiang County by using the name of the ‘Lujiang Zhou Clan.’ We brothers share the surname Zhou!”

Zhou Yi laughed: "The Zhou family is a very prominent family in Lujiang County. There are so many people with the surname Zhou!"

"That was in the past, not so much now. Think about it, we now have people and reputation, so aren't those unclaimed fields ours to take? After the moth bandits are pacified, you and I will both be meritorious officials, with troops and relatives. Who would dare to compete with us for land?"

Zhou Yi's eyes narrowed into slits. Zhou Jin's words, though crude, were the absolute truth. War is a disaster, but it is also an opportunity. No one knows how many people have died in this war, but the dead cannot take the land to the underworld; it will become bait for the victors to strengthen themselves.

"What are your plans?" Zhou Yi asked.

"It's very simple! The most important thing is to get your hands on the register and land deeds! Right now, you can easily get them with just a little money, just like that woman did. And once the war is over, these will become endless wealth. Missing this opportunity is a different story!"

Just then, the sound of the door opening came from outside. Zhou Yi saw the woman return with dog meat. She quickly smiled at Zhou Jin and said, "My lord, please wait a moment. The dog meat is very fatty today. I'll go and stew it right away. I'm sure it will suit your taste!"

"This meat is indeed very fatty!" Zhou Yi said with a double meaning, "It would be such a pity to miss it!"

"Great, great!" Zhou Jin laughed. "So we must eat our fill tonight, or there won't be any left next time!"

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Xiakou, the camp of the moth thieves.

Standing by the brazier, Liu Kun warmed his soft hands as he read the scout's report.

"It's unbelievable that Shucheng was captured in such a short time!" He shook his head. "I remember that the city walls of Shucheng were four zhang high, and the city gates had watchtowers and ramparts. It was captured in less than an hour!"

"Who did it?" Qi Tie asked.

"It's still not certain!" Liu Kun sighed. "There are too many rumors. Some say it was the Zhou family of Lujiang, others say it was Lu Zhi's surprise attack, and still others say it was a surprise attack launched by the government troops stationed in Shouchun. Of course, the most outlandish theory is that it was Wei Cong's army. He went down the river, first captured Juchao City, and then advanced northeast, winning every battle along the way, and then captured Shucheng!"

Qi Tie was very unhappy. He glared fiercely at his strategist and intelligence chief: "Do you really have to waste my time with these idle rumors that you don't even know where you found?"

"General, I've spent quite a bit of money on all this idle gossip you've been spouting!" Liu Kun said with a laugh.

"I'm giving you money to get real intelligence!" Qi Tie drew his sword and brandished it threateningly in front of Liu Kun, "not to let you waste it like this! Hurry up and get something useful, or you'll regret it!"

“Alright!” Liu Kun spread his hands: “I also got some of Wei Cong’s fleet in Sangluozhou!”

"Oh?" Qi Tie was clearly intrigued, and he sheathed his sword. "Tell me, just how much strength does he have?"

"His fleet consisted of about three hundred ships, with large ships of over two hundred shi (a unit of dry measure) making up about a third of it. In addition, he had a camp on the north bank of the Yangtze River, which was probably used to garrison his army. Judging from the size of the camp, it should have been around ten thousand men!"

"Only this much?" Qi Tie was both surprised and delighted, and it was no wonder he was so happy. Although the peasant army's land forces had suffered considerable losses after nearly half a year of fierce fighting, their naval strength had not decreased but rather increased due to the absorption of a large number of civilian and government ships. Qi Tie's fleet alone was more than three times the number of Wei army ships. As for the more than 10,000 men on the shore under Wei Cong's command, Qi Tie didn't care at all. In his view, as long as he could defeat Wei Cong's navy, those 10,000 men would collapse without a fight due to the loss of supplies and mobility.

“Yes!” Liu Kun added, “According to my scouts, after Wei Cong’s fleet arrived at Sangluo Island, it split up to raid and plunder in all directions. However, these forces returned to Sangluo Island a few days ago. Obviously, he did this to concentrate his forces to deal with you!”

"It doesn't matter! It's only a third of my fleet!" "I don't think Wei Cong is so easy to deal with! According to my scouts, Wei Cong's ships seem a bit different! Why not wait until the other half of the fleet arrives before dealing with him together?"

"In my opinion, this is my chance!" Qi Tie leaned forward. "As long as we defeat Wei Cong's fleet, his infantry on the shore will have no choice but to surrender. I've heard that his army is very well-trained. With these 10,000 men, I can overwhelm that fool Zhang Song!"

"That's something to consider after you win!" Liu Kun said. "Right now, you should be thinking about how to win. In my opinion, Wei Cong isn't so easy to deal with, otherwise he would have died long ago. Why not send a small fleet to probe him? See if there's anything special about his ships. That way, if you win, it will boost morale, and if you lose, you'll have something to be prepared for!"

Qi Tie didn't nod immediately. He thought for a moment, and finally nodded reluctantly: "Alright, we'll do it your way. But I think I can win even without all this trouble!"

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"Damn it! There are too many enemies!" Liu Sheng looked at the northwest sky, where thick smoke billowed and hundreds of plumes of smoke rose, black fingers obscuring the sky—the Moth Thieves were cooking their breakfast. On the opposite bank of the river, masts of ships were densely packed together. He tried to count the number of enemy ships, but gave up after counting to fifty.

"Lord Wei has a way to deal with these guys, trust me!" Liu Qu had a lot of confidence in Wei Cong. He looked enviously at the captain directing the sailors to adjust the angle of the mainmast sail with rigging so that the ship could catch the wind: "Look at these guys, the Moth Pirates don't have ships this good!"

“Yes, but even the best warrior can't fight against so many!” Liu Sheng muttered. To be honest, he regretted coming here with Wei Cong. In his opinion, with such a disparity in numbers, accepting the challenge was unwise. The wisest course of action would be to choose a night, board a boat, and sail upstream to escape back to Jiangling. As for the ten thousand men on the shore, they could only pray for their own fate. Ultimately, this was war; everyone had to take care of themselves first before worrying about others!

"The ship, the Moth Thieves' ship, is coming after us!"

Liu Sheng and his nephew were immediately drawn to the shouts. They saw that more than a dozen long-oared fast boats on the river were divided into two groups and were flanking them. It was clear that the general of the Moth Bandits had discovered their single-masted sailing ship, which was on the mission of scouting and tracing the White River, and reacted immediately.

"Captain, turn around and retreat!" Liu Sheng hurriedly shouted to the captain by the bow mast, "There are too many thieves!"

"No rush!" The one commanding the boat was a local from Panyu, wearing only a single shirt with a blue dragon tattooed on his bare chest. He laughed loudly, "Let's teach these thieves a lesson first, let them know how powerful our Jiaozhou navy is! Beat the drums, turn the rudder, and circle around to their side!"

With the rapid beat of the drums, the Jiaozhou captain issued orders to his sailors in his scathing local dialect. The single-masted schooner, like a waterbird spreading its wings, glided across the water against the wind, darting diagonally past two oarsmen that were flanking from the left. This completely unexpected maneuver threw the besiegers into disarray. The commander of the bandits shouted orders for his own oarsmen to turn and catch up with the fast ship. This only created greater chaos; the oarsmen were bewildered by the abrupt and contradictory commands, causing the ship to spin in circles.

Liu Sheng, of course, wouldn't let such a good target slip by. He shouted loudly, drew his bow to its full extent, and aimed at the enemy ship not far away. The bowstring cut through the air with a slight sound, and an oarsman was shot through the back, screaming as he fell into the water. This was not the only casualty that day. The sailing ships sped past the column, and the archers on board, positioned high above, plunged one after another into the water from the oarsmen's cabins on both sides. Blood stained the river red and drifted downstream.

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"This Wei Cong is indeed quite capable!"

Qi Tie, who was watching the battle from the shore, smiled broadly, as if the ship on the river was not the one that was losing the battle.

"Did you see that?" Liu Kun said, "Wei Cong's ship can sail against the wind. The scout wasn't lying!"

"That's nothing special. Stiff sails made of bamboo and reed mats can also sail against the wind, just not as fast!" Qi Tie smiled. "Besides, this one isn't difficult to deal with. As long as we have enough ships and a thick formation, we can overwhelm it. No matter how fast it is, it won't matter!"

"Have you made up your mind?" Liu Kun asked.

"Of course, we just have to wait for the right wind!" Qi Tie stretched out his right hand, spreading his five fingers as if preparing to grab something: "Once the southeast wind arrives, we'll wipe out Wei Cong's entire force!"

The weather didn't keep Qi Tie waiting long; on the third day of the initial engagement, a southerly wind began to blow. Qi Tie immediately ordered all ships to weigh anchor and set sail. He directly organized the fleet into two wings, each wing consisting of ten rows. The first two rows were responsible for clearing out the enemy's small boats. The ships following behind first transported large numbers of infantrymen to Sangluo Island, and then joined the naval battle on the river. Generally speaking, small boats were in front, large ships behind, advancing in layers, crushing Wei Cong's navy on the river.

To be fair, Qi Tie's formation wasn't particularly problematic; most naval commanders at the time would have arranged it similarly. In fact, most commanders at the time treated naval warfare as a continuation of land warfare. They deployed their fleets much like infantry squares, forming dense formations. As they approached each other, they would shoot arrows and throw stones. When the distance was close enough for boarding action, they would first move closer together, with soldiers gathering on the decks, lowering gangplanks, and hacking and stabbing at each other, attempting to board the opposing ships and seize them.

The outcome of the battle depended on who could break through the enemy's formation first and besiege the flagship. Once one side's flagship was surrounded and its commander's flag fell, the remaining ships would turn and flee. The victorious side would either pursue or be content with the captured ships and their cargo. Under these tactical conditions, it was not surprising that the side with a numerical advantage would reinforce its formation and attempt to win through a charge tactic.

"This tactic is really straightforward!" Wei Cong stood on the bow of his flagship, looking at the dense array of ships ahead, and couldn't help but laugh.

"If he hadn't met you, he would have had a very good chance of winning!" Wen Sheng said with a smile.

Wei Cong glanced at the slow movement of the enemy ships. Clearly, the enemy was preparing for a fierce boarding action, so most of the ships had a considerable number of infantrymen on their decks, resulting in deep drafts.

"What a pity!" Wei Cong shook his head: "Sound the drum and proceed according to the original plan!"

"Here!"

As the drums sounded, the Wei fleet began to emerge from behind Sangluo Island. They formed two columns, and after rounding the eastern side of Sangluo Island, they began to sail northwest in a spindle shape. This strange formation puzzled Qi Tie greatly. Wasn't the enemy afraid of being surrounded by me from both flanks, then squeezed into the center and annihilated? He wondered to himself.

"Pass down the order! The first and second rows of ships must increase their speed and keep the enemy pinned down!" Qi Tie shouted sternly. His thinking was simple: he would rather sacrifice the small boats in the first two rows than let Wei Cong's ships escape. He already considered victory a certainty.

(End of this chapter)