Jinting Han people

As the second wave of warships charged into the tower ships, it immediately caused even greater chaos among the Jin army.

This was inevitable. Although the Han army's ships were small, they were maneuverable enough to move freely among the Jin army's ships, like slippery eels. Yet, the Jin army dared not underestimate them. Firstly, the Jin army was unprepared and worried that the Han soldiers might take the opportunity to board and seize the ships. Secondly, they worried that the Han ships might be carrying firewood, and if they were set on fire by the wind, the one-for-one loss would be unacceptable to the Jin army.

Therefore, the Jin soldiers on the warships quickly prepared their crossbows, ready to fire at the small Han boats moving back and forth among the fleet. It should be noted that the crossbows used by the Jin army were all made of bronze and iron, with crossbow arms nearly nine feet long. Several men were needed to draw the bow and pull the string. The arrows used by these crossbows were specially made large arrows, with shafts and arrowheads that were frighteningly large. They were more like javelins than arrows, with arrowheads as heavy as bricks and polished to an extremely sharp point, their edges still gleaming coldly even in the sunless weather.

It is said that the cost of such crossbow bolts is close to that of a long spear, and once fired, they are very difficult to retrieve. Each warship can only carry a few dozen of them, truly making the crossbow bolts worth their weight in gold.

However, such a high cost naturally brought enormous destructive power. A Jin army officer aimed a ballista at a Han warship, gave an order, and pulled the trigger. A crossbow bolt shot out, making a loud whooshing sound as it cut through the air, causing people to instinctively follow it with their eyes. Then they could clearly see the crossbow bolt pierce through the deck of the warship as easily as through a thin sheet of paper, easily creating a large hole in the bottom of the hull. River water immediately gurgled out of the hole. The Han soldiers on board could not repair it and could only either abandon ship and swim or quickly row to a shore to escape.

Generally speaking, not many of the warships reacted first and fired their crossbows; only a few of the smaller Han ships were hit. The slow speed of the ballistae meant that most of the Han ships remained unharmed. These Han soldiers did not retaliate, but instead wandered aimlessly like headless flies, sometimes approaching the warships, sometimes retreating to the middle of the river, attempting to disrupt and manipulate the Jin army's formation as much as possible.

Once the Jin army discovered this, they fired their crossbows even more recklessly. After all, it was rare to encounter a situation where enemy ships could be destroyed without even fighting. More and more warships gathered together, surrounding and intercepting the smaller boats like fishing in a shallow pond, unleashing crossbow bolts. At this moment, it was as if a rain of stones was falling on the lake, with the constant splashing and clanging of breaking water, and of course, the clanging and banging of ships breaking apart.

Within half an hour, more than half of the Han army's hundreds of small boats were destroyed. Most of the sailors were forced to abandon ship and flee, while a few were hit by crossbow bolts on the spot, their blood and flesh flying everywhere, turning the surrounding river water red. Corpses and broken planks rose and fell in the waves, and no one cared about showing them any pity.

But by this time, the Jin army commander also realized something was wrong. Although the soldiers were excited about bullying the defenseless small boats, Wang Xun noticed that the enemy's boats were not fully loaded at all; it was all a ruse to draw arrows! He really didn't want to fire his crossbows to drive away these fly-like boats anymore, but what he couldn't shake was the fear of the enemy's fire attack.

If these small boats were meant to lull him into a false sense of security, what if some of them were fire ships laden with firewood? While a major rout might not be imminent, the impact on morale would be immeasurable. Therefore, even though he clearly sensed something was wrong, he couldn't stop his soldiers from firing their crossbows to destroy the ships.

Just as they were dealing with these small boats, an even bigger commotion broke out to the west. The clamor was like a stone thrown into a pot of boiling oil, causing it to boil everywhere. A soldier pointed into the distance and shouted, "General, look! It's the enemy's warships!"

Wang Xun hurriedly grabbed the railing and looked into the distance. Sure enough, at the westernmost point of Shenzizhou, a massive fleet could be seen gradually emerging from the shadows of the dense forest. The oars on both sides of the Han army's warships were raised high and quickly plunged into the river, their movements swift and orderly. Judging from this uniform action, the Han army must have put in a great deal of effort in training their formations.

These massive Han army warships rocked slowly, as if just waking from a dream, but in reality, this was just an illusion; the ships' speed remained unchanged. They swiftly crushed the floating debris along the riverbank, and the ships of all sizes around them surged forward like a tidal wave, charging straight towards the Jin army's navy.

Seeing this, Wang Xun immediately reviewed his own navy's formation, which was truly appalling. Ideally, the warships should have been lined up in a row to exchange fire with the enemy, but now, let alone exchanging fire, the warships were like several tangled snakes, some facing north, some facing west, a complete mess. It would take at least half an hour to reorganize them into a proper formation.

In this situation, even Wang Xun, known for his decisiveness, was somewhat bewildered. He leaned against the railing, clutching his head, muttering incoherently. It took him a while to recover. He then ordered his flag bearers to issue commands, arranging all the warships in a north-south formation, gathering as many warships as possible, no matter what. He then used flag signals to call for reinforcements from the rear and front, harassing the Han navy as much as possible to buy time for his own warships to regroup. As for the outcome, Wang Xun had no idea and could only leave it to fate.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, someone shouted Wang Xun's name and hurriedly climbed onto his lookout tower. Wang Xun looked closely and saw that it was Zhu Si.

Zhu Si, fully armored, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Wang Xun, then said, "Supervisor, we have misjudged the military situation. It's too late to requisition ships for battle!"

Wang Xun was well aware of what Zhu Si was saying. He smiled bitterly and said, "I know that too, but the enemy army is already close at hand. Are we supposed to do nothing? At this distance, the warships are too slow to turn, and the enemy army will definitely catch up with us. We won't be able to retreat at all! We have no choice but to fight them head-on!"

But Zhu Si immediately said, "Supervisor, I think the enemy is coming for the warships. In that case, why not use the warships as bait? We can gather our small boats and reorganize our forces downstream. The warships can hold them off for a while, even if they break down. We can use their defeat to lure them downstream. Then I can lead the small boats to surround them upstream and engage them in close combat. Many of the enemy soldiers are northerners and not good swimmers. I don't believe we can't turn defeat into victory!"

It must be said that Zhu Si's words did indeed make sense. He had a flash of inspiration and reversed He Pan's plan. Wasn't the Han army's idea to first exhaust the Jin army's crossbow bolts with small boats, and then destroy the Jin army's warships in battle? He was prepared to turn the tables. Even if the Han army gathered all their crossbow bolts and destroyed the Jin army's warships, so what? In the end, they would also run out of bolts. At that time, the Han army's movements would be slow, and the Jin army's small boats would be more numerous and agile. If they caught up with the Han army's navy and engaged in boarding combat, it would be a battle of naval prowess. In Zhu Si's mind, the Jin army, mainly composed of people from Jiangnan, would undoubtedly have a higher chance of winning. Wang Xun was also a smart man. After hearing Zhu Si's words, he immediately stood up and laughed loudly, "Good! Good! Good idea! Let's do it this way! Lord Zhu, you should quickly inform Zheng Pan, Su Wen, and Ma Jun to hurry up and do it! I'll stay here and buy you enough time!"

Zhu responded and immediately turned and hurriedly left. The time he spent discussing things on the ship was only about a quarter of an hour. Meanwhile, the Han army's warships were sailing smoothly with the wind and were only a mile or two away from Wang Xun's main warship headquarters.

The Han army had been planning this offensive for a long time, so when they attacked, they did so without any hesitation. Once they were within range, the ballistae on the bow of the ships opened fire. Led by a single bolt, hundreds of ballistae fired simultaneously, sending giant arrows flying into the air. The arrows slowly traced an arc before smoothly and rapidly crashing down towards the Jin army fleet.

Facing the crossbow bolts fired by the Han army, the Jin sailors showed no fear. They maneuvered their ballistae to meet the attack head-on. The bolts from both sides clashed back and forth in the air, even colliding mid-air with deafening booms. The bolts plunging into the Yangtze River created continuous, towering waves, like a rain of pebbles. The bolts that struck the ships pierced deep into their hulls, and those that hit the men caused a bloodbath. Several finless porpoises, unaware of the danger, were even struck and floated to the surface, their blood staining the river a pale red.

Since the advent of warships, various classic battles have been fought, but never before has a battle unfolded like this, with two fleets, each capable of destroying city walls, engaging in such a fierce and relentless exchange of fire on the wide Yangtze River, completely disregarding their own losses! The phrases "mountains crumble, rivers change color" are not exaggerations, but a stark and realistic depiction. Both sides will unleash all their arrows until they are exhausted.

Just as the Han army had planned, the Jin army's warships had wasted too many crossbow bolts on the smaller ships, making them the first to cease fire. But the Han army showed no mercy, letting them go. The crossbow bolts continued to rain down, destroying and shattering the large, defenseless vessels bit by bit until they collapsed, disintegrated, and slowly sank on the river.

The Jin soldiers on the warships had no other choice. In this situation, the only thing they could do was to jump overboard and escape before the ships completely capsized. However, jumping overboard did not guarantee survival. In addition to the warships, the Han navy had other ships escorting them. When they saw ships sinking, they would send speedboats to pounce on them at top speed. Those soldiers who begged for mercy and tried to escape would be pulled aboard as prisoners, while those who tried to struggle and curse would have their throats cut on the spot.

However, regardless of whether the Han army captured or killed them, they could only handle a small number of people. After all, it was winter on the Yangtze River, and even though many Jin soldiers were good swimmers, the icy water caused their legs to cramp immediately, making it difficult for them to swim far. Some drowned. Others who managed to swim ashore were shivering from the cold and were unable to fight for a while.

Wang Xun had long been prepared to abandon ship. After running out of crossbow bolts, he disembarked from the flagship under the protection of his men and transferred to a small boat to return to shore. Even though he had discussed the plan with Zhu Si, Wang Xun was still deeply distressed to see hundreds of river fortresses being destroyed little by little before his eyes, along with countless soldiers who lost their lives or were captured.

However, he maintained his composure and said to Li Yun and the others, "I have done my best to buy time. Whether we succeed or fail now depends on what Zhu Gong and the others do."

At this moment, it was noon, and the sky was still overcast. Within three hours, the Han army had completely executed its pre-battle plan, destroying the core force of the Jin army's navy, hundreds of warships! In contrast, the Han army lost only a dozen or so warships, and there was still a chance to repair them.

Seeing this scene, He Pan, aboard the Fanyu, stroked his beard with satisfaction and said to the Prince of Han, "Your Highness, look, the enemy's warships have now been completely destroyed by us. Without the warships, there are no ballistae. Even if the enemy wants to attack the dike in the future, they will have no way to do so."

Having witnessed this thrilling battle on the river, Liu Xian gained much insight. He was very satisfied with the outcome and complimented with a smile, "Old ginger is indeed spicier! In the art of naval warfare, you, Master He, have reached the pinnacle!"

The warships were the core of the navy's strength. With the warships destroyed, the surrounding Jin army was thrown into chaos, lacking order. Both men believed the battle was won. However, at that moment, the Chamberlain Fan Ben noticed something amiss. Pointing to the eastern waters, he said to Liu Xian, "Your Highness, the enemy doesn't seem to have retreated!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian immediately looked in the direction the man was pointing and saw a group of warships speeding past the reeds on the north bank like a school of fish. Their objective was very clear: to seize the upstream area before the Han army turned back to Yi'an, intercept the Han navy, and then decide the outcome through boarding action.

On the lead warship, Zhu Si was giving the Jin army a final pep talk before battle. He encouraged them, saying, "Northerners have always boasted that they are tigers, but once they're on board, they're not even as good as dogs. We, on the other hand, have been playing in the water since childhood. How can they fight us? We southerners are the real beasts of the river! Gentlemen, if we capture the traitor Liu, it will be a great achievement! Even the title of Duke of the Founding Dynasty is something we can attain. Do you dare to take such a reward?"

Having said that, he himself was also filled with excitement. After laughing three times, he pointed his sword at the flank of the Han army warship, and facing the cold wind like a blade, the ship rammed into it without missing a beat. (End of this chapter)