Tiger Owl

Chapter 123 Secret Weapon
Liu Biao paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, looking anxious and uneasy. He had just received news that Cai Zan's navy, which was guarding Dongting Lake, had been defeated and that Liling County had been captured by the Yuzhang army. He had suffered two defeats in two battles. He had underestimated Gan Ning, and it was possible that Changsha County would really be taken away by Gan Ning.

Liu Biao was not only worried about Changsha Commandery, but about the four southern commanderies of Jingzhou. Changsha Commandery was just the beginning, and Gan Ning would inevitably annex the entire southern part of Jingzhou next.

At this time, his advisor Kuai Yue suggested, "Gan Ning has only been rising to power for less than two years. His foundation is not solid and his prestige is not yet established. His hasty westward expedition is actually a major taboo in military strategy. Governor, you should send someone to contact Jiangdong, Sun Ben and others. Together with Huang Zu, the four of them can attack Yuzhang County. Gan Ning will be worried about losing his base and will surely return to save Yuzhang. The crisis in Changsha will then be resolved."

Liu Xian, who was standing nearby, quickly said, "Huang Zu and Jiang Dong are sworn enemies; it's impossible for the two families to form an alliance."

Kuai Yue waved his hand, "This is easy to solve. Huang Zu doesn't need to show his face. He can just send troops under our banner."

Liu Biao hesitated and said, "But I've heard that Gan Ning and Jiangdong have formed an alliance, and Jiangdong probably won't agree to it."

“We can give it a try. We only need the money and grain of Yuzhang County, and give the population and land to Jiangdong. Jiangdong will probably find it hard to refuse this temptation.”

Liu Biao nodded, agreeing that it was indeed worth a try.

Liu Biao wrote three letters that day to Jiangdong, Sun Ben, and Huang Zu respectively, suggesting that the group unite to destroy Gan Ning of Yuzhang Commandery.

Of course, in his letter to Sun Quan, he did not mention Huang Zu, but only said that the three families were united.

…………

A massive fleet appeared north of Dongting Lake; this was reinforcements from Jiangling, commanded by Liu Cong himself, with Cai Yan as his deputy.

In order to make Liu Cong the heir apparent, Cai Mao was eager to fill Liu Cong's weaknesses, namely military support and prestige.

Liu Cong was the second son, and legally he was naturally suppressed by the eldest son, Liu Qi. There was only one way to make Liu Cong suppress Liu Qi: to make Liu Cong gain great prestige. There are many ways to gain prestige, such as academic excellence, becoming a universally recognized literary master.

Or, like the ancestors of the Huang family, being listed among the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars would also bring them widespread fame.

However, neither of these two options was realistic for Liu Cong. The only feasible option was military merit, which was the quickest way to gain prestige.

Therefore, when Cai Mao learned that Gan Ning might seize Changsha Commandery, he immediately realized that Liu Cong's opportunity had arrived. He suggested that Liu Cong lead his army to defeat Gan Ning, who was invading Changsha Commandery. This would not only give Liu Cong military support but also great prestige, allowing him to be successfully established as the heir apparent.

In order to seize this opportunity, Cai Mao persuaded Liu Biao to let Liu Cong be stationed in Nan Commandery.

Liu Cong's personal command of troops to rescue Linxiang County was the most crucial part of Cai Mao's entire plan.

Liu Cong stood on the largest warship, wearing armor and holding a sword. He was twenty years old and this was the first time he had ever worn armor.

Standing beside him was General Cai Yan, who had vowed to take revenge on Gan Ning, but he never expected to meet Gan Ning again in this way.

His feelings were also very complicated; he had no confidence at all that he could defeat Gan Ning.

But on the surface, he still had to comfort Liu Cong.

“I have 30,000 troops and over a thousand warships. My soldiers are well-trained and work in perfect harmony. Although Gan Ning’s troops and ships are similar to ours, his army is a makeshift one. Most of his warships are captured ships, and his soldiers are mostly surrendered soldiers, not local soldiers from Yuzhang County. Our army, on the other hand, is mostly composed of Jingzhou troops, and our morale is high. So we will definitely win this battle. Second Young Master, you don’t need to worry at all.”

Liu Cong pondered for a moment and said, "I've heard their fire attacks are formidable!"

Cai Yan chuckled, "We also have fire attacks, which are in no way inferior to theirs."

Just then, a soldier on the mast shouted, "Enemy fleet spotted ahead!"

Liu Cong and Cai Yan quickly looked south, and after a moment, countless small black dots appeared on the water in the distance.

Cai Yan hurriedly shouted, "Raise the battle flag and sound the alarm!"

Two red lights rose on the flagship, followed by the sounding of alarm bells.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!" The soldiers who were resting in the cabin rushed out.

Liu Cong was really nervous, gripping his sword tightly until his fingers turned white.

Cai Yan noticed Liu Cong's nervousness and quickly ordered, "Quickly take the Second Young Master to the cabin to rest!"

Several soldiers escorted Liu Cong down to rest.

War drums thundered on the water, both sides beating their drums to boost the morale of their troops.

Excluding the logistical warships, the Yuzhang Army had 750 warships of various sizes and 25,000 troops. The Jingzhou Army had a similar number of warships and more than 27,000 soldiers.

It can be said that the two armies are evenly matched, and the final outcome will depend on their performance in battle.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The drumbeats on the water grew more and more intense, and the shouts of battle were deafening. The two massive naval forces drew closer and closer, finally interlocking and clashing in a fierce battle.

Arrows rained down on the water. As soon as the two ships approached, they threw oil bottles at each other, thick smoke filled the water, and flames could be seen everywhere.

Gan Ning stood on a large warship, observing the fierce battle between the two sides. The two sides were evenly matched, but the Yuzhang Army was more efficient in extinguishing fires and had a slight advantage in the overall battle.

Using oil to attack enemy warships has replaced bows and arrows and hand-to-hand combat, becoming the main method of naval warfare. This is also because ships are made of wood and are inherently not fireproof.

Both sides were throwing oil bottles at each other while trying to put out the fire. When the firefighting speed could not keep up with the burning speed, the fire on the ship would get completely out of control, and the ship would be doomed. The soldiers would have no choice but to surrender or escape by sea.

Gan Ning turned around and ordered, "Bring out fifty warships!"

"Woo——"

As the bugle sounded, fifty hidden warships emerged from not far behind. This was the Yuzhang Army's trump card; each warship was equipped with a new secret weapon, the powerful naval weapon that later became popular in the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties: the rapier.

As the name suggests, it is a very long pole that can be used to strike enemy ships. This pole looks like a thick bamboo pole, but in fact, the manufacturing process is very complicated. Like the making of a spear pole, it is repeatedly soaked in oil and dried to make it a highly resilient and powerful naval weapon.

There are two types of batons. One type is a baton that can be used to strike directly. With one strike, its immense power can split a warship in two.

There is also a slightly shorter one, with an iron ball weighing several hundred kilograms attached to the top of the wooden pole by an iron chain. When the ball is thrown down, a large hole is smashed into the enemy's ship.

When the Sui Dynasty fought against the Southern Chen Dynasty, the Sui army, which had a weaker navy, used these two types of batons to defeat the powerful Southern Chen navy.

This was a secret weapon that the Yuzhang Army had been preparing for more than half a year, and today was the first time it was used in actual combat.

A warship sailed out and came head-on to a large warship. On board stood several Jingzhou soldiers holding bottles of kerosene. The warship was rapidly approaching the warship. As the two ships passed each other, more than a dozen bottles of kerosene were thrown at the warship. But before they could leave, a large wooden whip suddenly fell from the sky. The soldiers on the bow were so frightened that they fled in panic, but the ship could not escape.

With a muffled "crack!", an incredibly powerful force slammed into the warship. Unable to withstand the blow, the ship broke in two, and the soldiers fell into the water.

The morale of the fighting ship's soldiers soared, and they accelerated towards another enemy warship.

Another warship rushed in front of the enemy's tower ship. The Jingzhou soldiers on the tower ship fired arrows like rain, while the soldiers on the warship used shields to defend themselves. As the two warships passed each other, the two battering poles on the warship were activated at the same time, and huge logs, each two zhang long, fell heavily and smashed into the enemy ship, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

But the most devastating blow came from the chain hammers on the wooden pillars. "Boom! Boom!" Two loud crashes echoed as two hammers weighing hundreds of pounds slammed into the other side of the ship's hull, smashing two large holes in it. Lake water rushed in, the ship began to tilt, and the soldiers on the ship were thrown into chaos, jumping into the water to escape. The surface of the water was filled with soldiers calling for help.

The capture ships of the Yuzhang Army arrived, rescued the soldiers who had fallen into the water, and temporarily imprisoned them in the hold.

(End of this chapter)