Song Xiu

Chapter 127 Bloody Battle of Dongting Lake Meets a Brilliant Plan

Seeing that Huyan Zan was fearless, Zhao Dexiu couldn't help but praise him:
"it is good!"

After praising it, Zhao Dexiu pointed his sword at the distant Wuping warship formation and said:
"The enemy's massive warships stand in rows, which are intimidating, but they are not good for advancing or retreating, and lack flexibility."

Our army mainly consists of fighting ships. You can lead three thousand Jingnan troops to flexibly maneuver and disrupt the enemy's naval formation!

After explaining the tactics, Zhao Dexiu continued:

"Today's first battle is crucial to morale. Brave warriors charge into battle, and I will beat the drums to encourage them!"

Upon hearing Zhao Dexiu's words, Huyan Zan's expression of willingness to die for his cause deepened.

After taking the command flag from Zhao Dexiu, Huyan Zan walked off the ship without looking back.

Zhao Dexiu kept his word. After Huyan Zan left, he turned around and went to the drum platform at the top.

The ship Zhao Dexiu was on was the flagship of the entire army.

The advance or retreat of the army is determined by the flagship.

After receiving the drumsticks from the drummer, Zhao Dexiu looked at the wide lake.

Beneath his feet was the trembling deck, and before his eyes stood the imposing Wuping Fleet.

Before long, Huyan Zan, holding the command flag in his hand, led thirty warships to form a battle formation in front.

One warship carries one hundred soldiers from Jingnan; thirty warships would bring a total of three thousand men.

Seeing that the Song army had a vanguard, Zhou Xingfeng, who was also high on the flagship, waved his command flag, and soon a vanguard force also appeared in front of the dark Wuping fleet.

The forwards clash, initially as a probing move.

Compared to the Song army, the vanguard of the Wuping army had several more large ships.

With the aid of a giant warship, Zhou Xingfeng was full of confidence about the upcoming head-on clash.

After both sides had finished lining up, Zhao Dexiu raised his drumstick and swung it sharply.

"Boom-"

The first drumbeat was loud and sudden, like a giant rock crashing into the lake.

In the vanguard fleet of the Song army, Huyan Zan was standing at the bow of the main ship. Upon hearing the drumbeat, he raised his broadsword and then swung it fiercely at the enemy formation several miles away.

In an instant, thirty Song warships unfolded like sharp blades, their battle flags fluttering in the north wind.

The next moment, a loud shout burst from his throat: "All troops, charge!"

At Huyan Zan's command, the sailors on the thirty Song warships quickly rowed and rushed toward the Wuping army, which was several miles away.

As soon as the Song army's vanguard fleet moved, the enemy fleet also rushed forward.

The vanguard fleets of the two armies shot towards each other like two arrows released from a bow.

As the vanguard fleets of the two armies drew ever closer, several giant ships in the Wuping vanguard fleet fired the first volley of arrows.

Taking advantage of their superior position, a large number of arrows pierced the sky and rained down on the decks of the Song warships.

With a series of "plop" sounds, many Song soldiers were hit by arrows and fell into the water, and screams echoed across the lake.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Dexiu increased the speed of his drumming.

The drumbeats became increasingly dense, gradually changing from slow and gentle to rapid and intense.

In harmony with the rhythm of the drums on the flagship, the drumming throughout the entire Song warship formation changed, with the loud drumbeats becoming faster and faster, like the swift hooves of horses treading on people's hearts.

The entire army knew that it was the Prince of Taiyuan who was personally beating the drums to send them off!

Encouraged by the drumbeats, the screams on the Song warships ceased, replaced by Huyan Zan's loud roars.

"Fire arrows!"

The enemy fleet has entered firing range.

Alongside the roar, there were also flag signals from the junior officers around Huyan Zan.

Upon receiving the order, the Song archers in the thirty warships rose in unison, and a moment later, a barrage of arrows, accompanied by whistling sounds, rained down on the Wuping army fleet.

A large number of arrows pierced the sails, and the sails of the Wuping fleet were instantly riddled with holes, resembling tattered fishing nets.

However, the enemy's giant ships were so sturdy that the arrow rain could only injure some of the soldiers on the deck, and could not stop the Wuping fleet from advancing.

As the towering enemy warships drew ever closer, the battle cries of the Wuping soldiers aboard could be heard clearly, and a subtle commotion arose within the advancing Song fleet.

Zhao Dexiu noticed the commotion in the Song army's vanguard fleet.

Zhao Dexiu also saw that Huyan Zan's flagship was being pressed by the enemy's giant ship, and the Wuping soldiers on the giant ship had extended their hook-and-sickle spears to hook onto the Song army's ship's side.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

At this moment, the drums in the Song army's formation became violent.

When the king personally beats the drum, brave warriors are ready to risk their lives; this has always been the case since ancient times.

Amidst the increasingly violent drumbeats, Huyan Zan on the main ship suddenly ripped off the straps of his breastplate, and his iron armor clattered into the water.

Huyan Zan turned around, facing the surging soldiers behind him, and suddenly tore open his clothes.

When the scarred chest was exposed, the Song soldiers saw the dark tattoos covering it:

The words "With a loyal heart, I will kill the traitors" are written on his chest!
Spreading out to the sides are the phrases "Serve the Lord" and "Loyalty to the Country".

Even on his bare arms, Huyan Zan embroidered bloodthirsty beast heads.

"Today's battle is fought with the spirit of dying for survival!"

Huyan Zan's voice was like a booming bell, causing the surrounding soldiers to turn red in the face and their blood to gush out.

As Huyan Zan rallied his soldiers, the warships of the Wuping Army had already rushed close.

The time for close combat is now.

After saying this, Huyan Zan raised his broadsword, stepped on the swaying deck, and leaped forward, landing directly on the enemy's deck.

In the past, Wang Yanzhang charged into battle naked, seeking death to inspire his soldiers. How can Huyan Zan not do the same today?
Huyan Zan's fearless and valiant actions greatly boosted the morale of the Song army.

Without the slightest hesitation, many Song soldiers followed Huyan Zan and jumped onto the enemy ship.

After boarding the enemy ship, Huyan Zan charged forward to the rhythm of the drums.

As soon as Huyan Zan stepped onto the enemy ship's deck, several Wuping soldiers swung their swords at him. He neither dodged nor evaded, but instead swung his broadsword fiercely, first cutting down two of the foremost Wuping soldiers, who then fell into the lake.
While the other Wuping soldiers were still in shock, they were chopped down by Song soldiers who jumped up after them.

The bravery of the captain's comrades turned the entire Song army's vanguard fleet into a pack of hungry wolves.

The Song soldiers on the warships gradually turned the tide of the battle, and took the initiative to raise their hook-and-sickle spears and hook them at the enemy warships.

After hooking onto the enemy warship, thousands of Song soldiers surged toward the enemy ship like a tidal wave.

At this point in the battle, the Song army had transformed all the frustration they had felt from being suppressed by the arrows rained down by the giant ships into fierce determination.

After boarding the enemy ship, some Song soldiers slashed at the enemy with their swords, while others, wounded, clung to enemy soldiers and jumped into the lake.
The vanguard fleet of the Wuping army thought it could intimidate the Song army with its superior ships, but to its surprise, the Song army fought fiercely and swiftly as if they had gone mad.

In particular, the Song general, who was shirtless and had tattoos on his chest, charged left and right through the crowd, wielding his long sword like a white light, and in the blink of an eye, he cut down several more soldiers.

The Wuping army's numerous warships were immediately thrown into disarray.

Several giant ships stationed on the battlefield wanted to help, but due to their large size, they lacked flexibility.

The soldiers on the giant ship could only watch helplessly as Song warships darted beneath them, relentlessly slaughtering their comrades.

They were frequently attacked by arrows, but were of little use.

The vanguards of the two armies clashed, and the Song army gradually gained the upper hand.

Before the battle, Zhao Dexiu, based on Liang Yansi's suggestion, divided the 40,000-strong Song army fleet into twelve squads.

The twelve Song army units, except for the central army personally led by Zhao Dexiu which had a slightly larger number of soldiers, each had 3000 soldiers.

Each of the eleven Song army units was commanded by a Song general.

This arrangement facilitates flexible command during wartime. Now, looking at the fierce battle raging not far away, and seeing Huyan Zan's courageous actions, the commander of the eleventh Song army squad was filled with patriotic fervor.

At this moment, even when facing hundreds of giant ships, every Song soldier felt no more apprehensive!
Generals Wang Quanbin, Li Hanqiong, Cui Han, Yang Xin, and others, aboard the main ship, kept their eyes fixed on the flagship.

They hoped to see the flagship issue a signal for a full-scale attack.

And this hope came true in the next moment.

Due to the vanguard's poor performance, Zhou Xingfeng could no longer contain himself and took the lead in issuing the order for a full-scale attack.

Upon realizing that the Wuping army had begun to press forward with all its might, Zhao Dexiu ordered Liang Yansi to wave flags as a signal.

As soon as the flag signal for a full-scale attack appeared on the flagship, Li Hanqiong shouted excitedly:
"The king's personal guards are fighting to the death, how can we be afraid to live?"

After uttering this remark, Li Hanqiong led his fleet of Song warships forward.

The other Song fleets were only a fraction of a second slower than his.

Since most of the Song army's fleet consisted of fighting warships, which were more maneuverable than those of the Wuping army, hundreds of Song warships joined the battle first.

The vanguard of the Wuping Army had already suffered repeated defeats under Huyan Zan's fierce attack, let alone the enemy that suddenly increased tenfold.
The vanguard fleet of the Wuping army was already showing signs of collapse.

The number of Wuping soldiers drowning or dying in battle on dozens of warships is surging.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, generals such as Huyan Zan and Li Hanqiong planned to capture those giant ships.

If you don’t have it, then steal it!

"rush!"

At the command of many Song generals, many Song soldiers threw ropes toward the giant ship, preparing to climb onto it.

But before this vision could be realized, the main force of Wuping Army arrived at the scene.

The first to arrive, besides a large number of fighting ships, were more than twenty giant ships.

The Song army is currently at its peak, with each soldier capable of taking on ten men.

The Wuping army was large in number and most of its soldiers were skilled in naval warfare.

After the two armies clashed, the battle raged fiercely.

The drums on the flagship never stopped beating, and while beating the drums, Zhao Dexiu also continuously directed the others with command flags through Liang Yansi's hand.

Knowing that the Wuping army's greatest weapon lay in its giant warships, under Zhao Dexiu's command, the Song army's warships circled the giant ships like a school of agile fish.

Several teams of oarsmen on Song army warships did their best to move their warships closer to the hull of the giant ship.

Upon approaching, the Song soldiers on the warship seized the opportunity and forcefully swung out their grappling hooks, which immediately snapped into the hull of the giant ship.

As long as the Song army can board the giant ships, they can maximize the advantages of the Song army in infantry combat.

Zhou Xingfeng realized the Song army's intentions. He ordered his men to fire arrows to kill the soldiers who were trying to board the ships, and at the same time ordered the surrounding giant ships to close in as soon as possible to reduce the Song army's space to maneuver.

Originally, the Song army had the upper hand on the battlefield thanks to its high morale.

But as more and more of Wuping's giant ships arrived at the battlefield, the situation of the war began to change.

Some of the giant ships chose to ram the Song army's warships with their hulls.

Under the violent impact, many Song soldiers lost their footing and fell into the water, and some warships developed cracks in their hulls, causing lake water to continuously pour into them.

With its superior size and sturdiness, the Wuping army's giant ships, like "water tanks," were gradually balancing the situation.

The fierce fighting continued.

Blood stained the lake red, and floating corpses and broken oars covered the surface.

The Song army's battle cries remained loud. They had broken through the Wuping army's battleship formation, but stopped before the core defensive line composed of giant ships.

The two ships were locked in a fierce melee, and neither could advance any further.

The overall situation of the battle is stalemate.

As the sun gradually set in the west, it dyed the lake surface into an eerie golden-red hue.

Before they knew it, the two armies had been fighting fiercely for several hours.

As darkness fell, both Zhao Dexiu and Zhou Xingfeng considered retreating.

Almost simultaneously, as Zhao Dexiu wearily put down his drumsticks, the sound of retreat rang out from the flagships of both armies.

Led by the sound of retreat, both armies are gradually withdrawing from the battlefield.

Night gradually fell on Dongting Lake.

After retreating back to the water fortress, most of the Song generals wore smiles on their faces.

After witnessing the imposing fleet of the Wuping Army for the first time today, the Song generals were filled with trepidation – how could they possibly fight them?
Fortunately, Zhao Dexiu's skillful command and the soldiers' valiant efforts prevented the Song army from falling behind.

Compared to the joy of the Song generals, Zhao Dexiu was not so relaxed.

If this were a land battle, the Wuping army would have been defeated in today's battle.

The advantage of the Wuping army's giant warships is too great; we must find a way to counter them!
Zhao Dexiu ordered someone to summon Liang Yansi. When Liang Yansi arrived, Zhao Dexiu asked:

"Can warships be attacked with fire?"

Because he was not very familiar with the materials used in multi-story ships, Zhao Dexiu asked this question.

Upon hearing Zhao Dexiu's question, Liang Yansi answered affirmatively:

"Of course you can."

After saying this, Liang Yansi continued:

"Although the warships are flammable, the fire usually cannot spread and is unlikely to turn the tide of the battle."

Liang Yansi's reminder did not change Zhao Dexiu's mind.

With the war at a stalemate, every possible method should be tried.

"Go and prepare several dozen small boats, and fill them with plenty of oil and firewood."

Even if the fire is difficult to spread, we can still burn as many ships as possible.

After receiving Zhao Dexiu's order, Liang Yansi turned and left.

Zhou Xingfeng, who had led his troops back to the water fortress, irritably threw his helmet onto his seat.

Although the Song army did not gain much advantage in today's battle overall, Zhou Xingfeng was not satisfied.

In the original plan, our side had a larger number of people, was skilled in naval warfare, and had the help of giant ships. We should have a decisive advantage in today's battle, if not a complete rout.

However, the Song army's tenacious fighting spirit greatly exceeded Zhou Xingfeng's expectations.

Despite these three major disadvantages, the Song army was still able to maintain a stalemate with its own forces, which made Zhou Xingfeng feel a sense of crisis.

Zhou Xingfeng always remembered that there was still a "stupid wolf" in Hengzhou.

Although the troops were divided with Yang Shifan, Zhou Xingfeng did not need to worry about Hengzhou in the short term.

But there's no worry in the short term, what about the long term?
If the Song army cannot be defeated as soon as possible, not only will the Southern Han army be tempted to make a move, but the Southern Tang army may also have malicious intentions.

The worries in his heart made Zhou Xingfeng constantly review the day's battle.

Today, the Song army fought bravely and tore apart our own warship fleet formation several times. The biggest reason why our side was still able to fight the Song army incessantly was because of his giant ships.

Even with the advantage of numerous giant ships, they were still unable to defeat the Song army because once a large number of giant ships started moving, their formation would become scattered.

The Song army used the maneuverability of their warships to maneuver among the giant ships, preventing the giant ships from fully utilizing their advantages.

What methods can be used to prevent the formation of the giant ships from becoming scattered?

As Zhou Xingfeng pondered, a brilliant plan suddenly came to mind:
"Iron chains linked together!"

(End of this chapter)