The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 64 The Yuan River has its fragrant herbs, and the Li River has its orchids.

Mi Wei rushed downstream, where the Jiangdong navy was storming the beach.

It was truly breathtaking.

It must be said that Jiangdong truly possessed the most advanced inland river fleet of that era.

In terms of warship design alone, there are four types that can be seen with the naked eye.

Small boats such as galleys and open-oared boats need not be mentioned.

The "fighting ships" with parapets on the Yuan and Li rivers are also familiar sights.

Surprisingly, near the mouth of the Erhe River where it flows into the lake, there is still a type of boat called "mengchong" with a double-decker cabin.

The boat was covered with cowhide and had oar openings and crossbow windows on both sides.

Soldiers receive comprehensive protection whether they are rowing or shooting.

Although it is not as imposing as the legendary five-story ship.

However, it can also be considered a water fortress on the Dongting Lake.

Furthermore, considering that at this time, the Han Empire had no powerful adversaries around it.

It might even be called the number one navy in East Asia.

If that's the case, then Guan Ping's ability to hold on until now means he can also be considered a top-tier coastal defense expert in East Asia.
Of course.

Regardless of how Mi Wei internally displayed the charm of journalism.

None of this can change the fact that war has its objective and cold side.

Having more people means you can bully fewer people.

Having a boat is more convenient than not having one.

The warhorse just wouldn't charge; it simply wouldn't.

When the commanders of both sides refuse to divide their forces and instead concentrate their troops on the battlefields they each recognize.

Everything before our eyes was already destined.

Guan Ping's defeat was only a matter of time.

The only hope is how to get the enemy ashore amidst the chaos.

We'll take whatever we can get.

But to be honest, it's just as difficult.

Because there were only twenty or thirty riders in total.

They were all barbarian cavalrymen who were not good at frontal assaults.

There wasn't even a boat.

In a daze, he saw the scene of his first time trying to cross the river but having no boat.

The difference is that back then he only sought to save himself, but today he wants to save others.

Oh, heavens, how can things be constant? (When will life return to normal?)
"My lord, look! There's a boat over there!"

Zhan Sifu suddenly pointed in the direction of the Lishui River and shouted.

Miwei responded and looked in that direction.

There were indeed twenty or thirty small boats tangled in the weeds on the shore!
Judging from the shape of the ship, it seems to be one of their own warships that they abandoned on this bank after crossing the river in the rain that day.

But the problem is.

Six or seven days have passed.

That day, the main channel of the Li River was still flowing rapidly due to the gushing water from various outlets.
Why haven't these boats been washed into Dongting Lake yet?
Miwei quickly spurred his horse forward to take a look.

Arriving at the bank of the Lishui River, I gazed at it for a moment.

He suddenly realized.

The problem still stemmed from the incident of "water gushing from various outlets" that day.

Furthermore, this section of the lower reaches of the Li River, even without counting the neighboring Yuan River, has as many as five water outlets.

These water inlets have different flow rates and angles.

When water flows into or out of the main channel of the Lishui River at the same time, it will inevitably create a large number of eddies on the river surface.

Thus, an unexpected yet logically sound result emerged:

The abandoned warships initially sailed downstream for a while with the rapids.

Then, it is estimated that a considerable portion of them were carried back to the shore by the eddy.

Some of these areas are entangled by the wild grasses along the banks of the Li River, which have withered in winter but remain lush.

These are the twenty or thirty small boats right in front of us.

What a beautiful line, "The Yuan River has angelica, and the Li River has orchids!"
what is this?
Besides being a great romantic poet, Qu Yuan also possessed a touch of realism.
Is the "Chu Ci" actually a masterpiece of documentary literature?
Overjoyed, Miwei couldn't help but let his mind wander.

But as a military commander who is no longer a novice.

He quickly began to think about how to make use of these ships.

It is not advisable to directly confront the enemy's large ships such as warships and large battleships.

Even considering only small warships, the enemy has more and stronger ships.

A direct confrontation won't save Guan Ping.

His gaze involuntarily turned back to the downstream battlefield.

At this time, as more and more enemy troops set up positions on the island, Guan Ping's forces were gradually compressed to one side of the sandbar.

But it happens to be the westernmost side closest to Miwei.

This is no coincidence.

Because west of the sandbar lies the Yuan and Li rivers.

Zhidu, as the name suggests, is a branching stream.

Its flow rate, depth, and width are all inferior to those of the main river.

Not to mention Dongting Lake to the east.

This also means.

It's inconvenient for enemy large warships to enter from this direction. With only small boats, the efficiency of transporting soldiers would inevitably be low.

Then.

In a close-quarters, encircling infantry battle.

As the time goes.

Guan Ping's men were thus forced, somewhat voluntarily and somewhat passively, into the direction of least "force".

but.

Even on this small waterway.

The people and ships of Miwei still found it difficult to achieve anything.

Unless he can quickly build a pontoon bridge that leads directly to the island.

That might allow them to coordinate with Guan Ping's remaining troops.

But the enemy isn't blind.

How could I just stand by and watch him build a bridge?
As he pondered, Mi Wei's gaze returned to his feet.

Looking at those small boats tangled in hay.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Then it suddenly turned back to the downstream direction.

Specifically, it's still that branch of the Yuan and Li rivers.

The canal is not wide; at its widest point, it is estimated to be only about twenty zhang (approximately 33 meters).

By this time, the boats had been occupied by enemy small boats, which were densely packed together.

At first glance, they look like a group of fish frolicking on the waterway.

We should catch them all in one fell swoop!
Once the thought arose in Mi Wei's mind, he immediately gave orders to his men and women:
"Quickly connect these boats together with ropes!"

"Remember to wrap it several times and make sure it's tight!"

"If we don't have enough rope, we'll cut some dry grass to make up the difference!"

The riders immediately obeyed and stepped forward.

Before long, a "boat chain" resembling a pearl necklace, pulled by the combined efforts of horses and adjusted frequently by manpower, meandered downstream towards Likou.

Due to a combination of factors such as terrain, location, season, and water level.

The water of the branch canal flows from the Li River into the Yuan River, not the other way around.

Therefore, after the "boat chain" drifted to the mouth of the Li River, it slid into the branch canal on its own without any further effort from people or horses.

Then, under the continuous impact of the water, it quickly spread across the water surface.

Yet, bound by ropes, it is scattered yet unbroken.

Just like a giant fishing net, it wraps up and flows downstream!

The enemy forces at Zhidu quickly noticed the unfamiliar ships and attempted to tow them.

If there were fewer boats here.

Perhaps we can take advantage of this opportunity to reap these "gifts".

However, in order to quickly deploy troops to the island, small boats had already been densely packed on the waterways.

There was simply not enough room to maneuver at that moment.

So the more you drag it out, the more entangled you become.

The more you entangle, the more crowded it becomes.

But a quarter of an hour later.

A huge, irregular, and infamous "floating bridge" that has definitely spanned the two banks of the Zhi River.

finished.

Guan Ping could hardly ignore the commotion on this side.

But at this moment, after fighting fiercely for half a day, he was already bloodthirsty and had no time to think about where this thing came from.

He instinctively felt that heading in this direction would probably allow his men to escape this deadly place.

And so, just as he had done hundreds of times in the past, leading the charge and breaking through enemy lines.

They immediately launched a westward assault.

The enemy's formation on the west side was relatively weak.

Thanks to Guan Ping's targeted attack, they were quickly pushed to the water's edge.

Meanwhile, the Jiangdong warships, which should have been providing support from the water, were instead positioned there.

At this moment, everyone was busy entangled with each other and could not provide timely assistance.

Under the reckless charge of Guan Ping and his men, soldiers at the rear of the formation soon fell into the water.

Screams came and went.

The enemy lines quickly crumbled, and large numbers of them fled.

Guan Ping charged ahead to the pontoon bridge, casually cutting down several enemy soldiers who tried to intercept him, but did not rush to escape.

Instead, he ordered his general's flag to be planted on the shore and called for his men to retreat in that direction.

"Where do you think you're going, you thief!"

Sun Huan, who had already landed, was also in a bloodthirsty frenzy.

Seeing that the great achievement was about to slip away, he immediately gave chase towards Guanping without hesitation.

I don’t know if it’s luck or misfortune.

Because Guan Ping broke through the Jiangdong army's formation on that side.

A path was squeezed out between the originally tightly packed military formations.

Sun Huan charged all the way, and actually managed to reach Guan Ping's front.

(End of this chapter)