I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 197

Sun Ce, traveling by boat, was the first to be hit.

Although the ship beneath them was rocking, it continued to move forward steadily and soon approached Huang Zu's fleet anchored on the south bank.

"They've stopped on the south bank? Did they realize our boat is drafting too deep?"

Sharp-bottomed boats are indeed more stable than flat-bottomed boats in wind and waves, but they also need to have a sufficient draft; otherwise, they would not choose to launch an attack when the Yangtze River is swollen during rain.

Seeing that Huang Zu had moored his boat on the shallower south bank, Sun Ce immediately guessed his intention.

"Let's take advantage of their unstable footing and launch an attack!"

Sun Ce turned around and waved the flag to Cheng Pu and the others.

The group immediately understood and began to line up the ships in a row.

All of these ships sailed close to the north bank.

The current was faster on the north bank, making it more difficult for the Jiangdong army to advance upstream.

Even though the ships of the Jiangdong army were extremely slow, the Jingzhou navy did not dare to relax in the slightest.

Normally, they might have laughed and joked at the clumsy Jiangdong army... but now, they were completely overwhelmed with their own problems!
The Yangtze River, unlike its usual graceful appearance, revealed its ferocious fangs, turning into white waves that lunged at the Pingding ships in Jingzhou.

The boat is too small; even a small wave can capsize it.

Huang Zu then sent out large ships with deep drafts, such as warships and tower ships, to form battle formations.

When Huang Zu saw Sun Ce desperately advancing towards him from the north bank, he immediately shouted, "Don't you want to die?"

as predicted!

Just as Sun Ce's scouts were five hundred paces away from Huang Zu's fleet on the south bank, the Jiangdong navy's ships changed!
"Turn left! Cut into the current on the south bank!!!"

The water flow is rapid on the north bank and slow on the south bank.

Once the Jiangdong warships cut across from the south bank, their speed suddenly increased dramatically, and the already short distance between the two sides vanished in an instant!
Huang Zu aboard the warship of Jingzhou.

Sun Ce on the Jiangdong warship.

Both sides can now clearly see each other's faces.

"Crash into it!"

"Charge them! Let this snot-nosed brat know what advantageous terrain and naval warfare are!"

A bright white bolt of lightning flashed from the dark clouds overhead, illuminating everyone's faces and turning them deathly pale.

Naval warfare.

Especially in naval battles on the Yangtze River, the advantage of the upstream over the downstream is almost limitless!

With the help of the river and the sea, even the smallest boat can surge out from upstream with the momentum of the cavalry on the shore!
on the contrary.

Downstream boats have to expend most of their energy just to resist the force of the river.

This addition and subtraction have always determined the outcome of the battles between upstream and downstream waterways.

Lu Su, Lu Yi, and Lü Meng stood on a boat, under the great banner of the Han Dynasty, looking ahead together.

Unfortunately, the sky was dark and the waves were towering, giving them no chance to spy.

To attack those above is to defy the will of Heaven!

"This time, God isn't on our side."

Lu Su could only pray that the pointed-bottom warships would be of use.

Otherwise, today's battle could very well have resulted in the complete annihilation of the Jiangdong army!

Liu Miao was also standing at the bow of the ship. After hearing Lu Su's words, he immediately turned around and looked at him.

"Zijing said that Heaven is not on our side?"

"What did you say, my lord?"

The wind and waves were too strong, and Lu Su could not hear clearly.

"Zijing! Heaven never sides with anyone!"

Liu Miao pressed down the straw brim of his straw hat: "If I really have to say whose side I'm on, it's probably the side that understands it better!"

"Does my lord think he understands Heaven better than anyone else?"

"If it's just this battle... yes!"

Downstream areas never enjoy the same unique advantages as upstream areas.

However, nothing in this world is ever a straight line!
Besides up and down, there's also left and right!
If we can't win the battle between the upper and lower ranks today, then let's see who can remain as stable as Mount Tai in the battle between the left and right!
The Jingzhou navy and the Jiangdong navy clashed ahead.

Although Sun Ce's seemingly clever sudden shift from the north bank to the south bank increased his speed, the experienced sailors on board immediately made a judgment—

We're faster!

The ships of the Jingzhou navy are faster!
In naval warfare, speed is almost everything!
The Jiangdong navy on the opposite side also noticed this scene.

But by this point, everyone was completely focused.

They had already handed everything over to Liu Miao when they boarded the ship!

Now, just keep your head down and charge towards the direction you've already chosen!

"boom!!!!"

A deafening explosion!
The two sides' ships collided in a dense mass!
At the very moment of impact, Sun Ce, Cheng Pu, and the others clearly felt the ship beneath them suddenly sway to the side.

The swing was so violent that it made the generals on the Jiangdong side realize—

They lost this encounter...

"wrong!"

The Jiangdong soldiers on the ship clearly felt the terrifying impact, the force more powerful than any storm, but—

"The ship hasn't capsized! The ship hasn't capsized! Take the helm! Take the helm!"

"The boat hasn't capsized! What are you doing?!"

The Jiangdong ships were struck heavily, almost capsizing! But the ship didn't capsize! "Ooh ho ho ho ho!!!"

Some soldiers shouted after surviving the ordeal!
That hard ram!

That violent impact!

That immense power!

They didn't even capsize the small ship beneath them!
This is a miracle!!!
The generals from Jingzhou who witnessed this scene were all horrified: "How is this possible?"

Huang Zu's eyes widened, and he pushed aside the soldiers in front of him, leaning over the bow of the ship: "How is this possible?"

With that speed and that force! All the ships of Jiangdong should have been sunk by the ramming horn of the Jingzhou warship! But why… why…

"General! The ships from Jiangdong are not right!"

Su Fei then noticed something amiss.

"The ships from Jiangdong all have pointed prows! And they're covered in sheet metal!"

"With such a collision, the ram of the warship will naturally not hit the ships from Jiangdong!"

A pointed-bottom boat not only has a pointed bottom, but also a pointed bow to reduce drag, thus creating an angle.

Furthermore, the iron sheath can minimize the damage from a frontal impact!
If a flat-bottomed warship were to be struck by this attack, its bow would surely be smashed to pieces before it was swallowed up by the mighty Yangtze River.

But now, the Jiangdong warships have only suffered minor damage!

On the contrary, the warships of Jingzhou encountered a big problem at this time!
The sudden and violent impact finally broke the ship's resilience against the wind and waves.

As another wave crashed in, these warships were overturned and thrown into the water, breaking in two!

In a head-on collision, the Jingzhou navy might have barely gained the upper hand over the Jiangdong navy! However, the ever-rolling waves erased the Jingzhou navy's only slight advantage and dealt them a crushing blow!
Seeing their Jingzhou warships being overturned by the huge waves, the morale of the Jiangdong navy soared!
"rush!!!"

The soldiers, who were already somewhat exhausted, began to row again, and the ships once again rode the wind and waves, continuing to go upstream!

Sun Ce, standing at the bow of the ship, didn't even try to avoid it: "Don't worry about what's behind you, just crash into them all!!"

The soldiers rowed desperately, but the ship's speed only decreased.

"what happened?"

"General! There's too much sand on the south bank! It's probably already aground!"

This is why Huang Zu deliberately moored the boat on the south bank.

Although the ships of Jiangdong were not afraid of wind and waves, they had the problem of deep draft.

Even though the river is high today, these ships are no longer allowed to get too close to the shore.

However, Sun Ce didn't care at all: "Even if we run aground, we'll crash into it!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers on both sides no longer hesitated and used their last bit of strength to push the ship to the shore!

The Jiangxia soldiers on the riverbank were caught off guard and panicked when they realized that Sun Ce had actually brought such a massive vehicle right in front of them.

"What's the panic! If we can't win the naval battle, we must fight to the death on land!"

Huang Zu finally stopped thinking about anything else.

"The rain has subsided! If we drive them away, they will never have another chance like this!"

Once the Yangtze River returns to calm, and returns to the Yangtze that loves its upper reaches and Jingzhou even more, Huang Zu is confident that he can make up for all the losses of this battle!
The Jiangdong generals on the other side were obviously aware of this as well.

just now!

This rain!
This naval battle!

This is Jiangdong's only chance to completely annihilate the Jingzhou navy!

If they miss this opportunity again, Liu Miao will not be able to set his sights on Jingzhou for some time!
"Fuck your mother!"

Taishi Ci and Huang Zhong, each wielding a sword and shield and carrying a precious bow, leaped directly onto the warship of Jingzhou like a roc spreading its wings.

"For the sake of our lord's great cause, victory in this battle is assured!"

Sun Ce, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Zhu Zhi, and others had a clear objective from the very beginning—

"That pot-bellied old man is Huang Zu! Today is the day to avenge Marquis Wucheng!"

Behind them, Zhou Yu led the follow-up army to the same spot.

Seeing that Sun Ce and his men had abandoned their ships and were engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the warships and towers of Jingzhou, Zhou Yu did not hesitate immediately: "Xiu Mu! Please go forward and seize that tower ship!"

"Here!"

Zhu Huan immediately led his troops away.

Although Zhu Huan often said that he "was unwilling to be inferior to others," he would have no objection if the person was Zhou Yu instead of that reckless Sun Ce.

"To associate with Zhou Gongjin is like drinking fine wine; one becomes intoxicated without even realizing it!"

Zhu Huan also joined the battle on Zhou Yu's orders, further expanding Jiangdong's current advantage and subtly suppressing the Jingzhou soldiers.

At this time, Zhou Yu only had Xu Huang by his side.

Although Xu Huang had not received any orders, he was not anxious.

Because he knew that since Zhou Yu had left him behind at the end, it must be because he had something important to entrust to him!
"Gongming!"

Zhou Yu pointed to some captured Jingzhou warships around him.

"Huang Zu is fighting here, so he will have no time to deal with Xiakou!"

"Take advantage of the chaos in Xiakou now, and use the pretext that 'Huang Zu is dead' to trick the camp gates open, thus completely cutting off Huang Zu's escape route!"

"Here!"

Xu Huang showed no disrespect to Zhou Yu, who was younger than him, and immediately and dutifully mobilized his troops, navigating the ships towards Xiakou.

Zhou Yu stood on the boat, looked back, and saw the crimson banner right behind him, waving in that direction as well.

"This battle is entirely in our hands, my lord's and my own!"

"From this day forward, Jingzhou will completely change hands and become the cornerstone of your struggle for supremacy!"

(End of this chapter)