At the third watch of the night, the moon was dark, the wind was high, and the stars were shining brightly. Wu's fleet quietly left the port, with familiar sailors leading the way in small boats, and there was a faint fluorescent light.
Jiang Qin led the navy into the waters of the Wei army. He could only hear the sound of wind and waves in the distance, but could not see clearly the movement on the river. He entered the north of Fuling Lake unimpeded.
From a distance, I could see the bright lights in the Wei Jun water village. Soldiers and fleets were patrolling the shore with torches. The village was quiet.
Jiang Qin looked towards the water village to the east, and saw a large black shadow floating on the water. The outline of the ship was clearly visible. It must be where the Wei army's warships were. He immediately sent an order to turn the helm and burn the fleet. As soon as the fire broke out, Dong Xi would Can be picked up later.
The northwest wind was strong, and the ship took advantage of the wind and was near the big ship in a blink of an eye. Wu Jun shouted, raised his torch, lit the arrows and prepared to release arrows.
"Hahaha, the Jiangdong rats are really only good at sneak attacks. I've been waiting for a long time!"
A loud laugh was heard, and the fire lit up on the bow of the ship. Cao Xiu stood on a high place, pointed at the stunned Wu Jun and shouted: "Fire the arrow!"
In an instant, arrows were fired from the bow of the ship, and the surrounding building ships surrounded them, trying to use daytime tactics to surround the Wu army.
Jiang Qin was shocked and hurriedly raised his shield and hid in the cabin, giving the order to retreat. Although he was prepared when he came, he did not expect that the ambush was actually on the boat.
Amid the screams, the Wu fleet was crowded forward and backward. Even though they were skilled in sailing, they were unable to escape for a while. The soldiers who were about to release arrows fell into the water, causing numerous casualties.
The ships of the Wei army were connected with iron ropes, and they surrounded them on the left and right, like a fishing net, forcing the large ships of the Wu army to escape towards the water village. Only the small boats braved the rain of arrows and escaped through the gaps between the ships.
As the fires on the big ships lit up, the drums in the Wei army's water stronghold shook the sky, and countless fleets swarmed out, heading straight to the mouth of the lake to intercept the Wu army.
Fuling Lake seemed to be ignited instantly, with jumping flames everywhere. The water waves reflected the light of the fire, and the top and bottom were red.
Jiang Qin escaped from the encirclement with his remaining soldiers in a small boat. He was shocked and inexplicable when he saw the fire behind him. When he arrived at the mouth of the lake, suddenly drums sounded loudly on the shore, and the fleets on both sides came out again. Two large ships each led a fleet, and they collided with each other. Wu's ships were torn apart and defeated.
While the melee was going on, drums sounded on the Huai River, torches were lit along the river, and five large ships approached quickly to come to meet them. Only then did Niu Jin lead the fleet to retreat.
Dong Xi rushed to the mouth of the lake to catch Jiang Qin and put him on the big ship. Seeing the sky on the north bank turning red and the sound of killings shaking the sky, he asked in shock: "Is there really an ambush by the Wei army?"
Jiang Qin sighed bitterly: "I will not listen to General Liu's words."
Dong Xi led the fleet and waited on the water for a while. When no more fleets escaped, he knew the danger was near and had no choice but to retreat to the stronghold. In this battle, nearly 2,000 men and more than a hundred warships were lost.
Liu Qi appeased the generals and sighed: "The Cao family's Thousand Mile Horse is indeed worthy of its reputation."
Lu Xun frowned slightly and said, "Set an ambush on the water and surround us with large ships. This plan may not be Cao Xiu's idea. Could there be someone else in the Wei army who can give advice?"
"Is it Xia Houmao?" Liu Qi was secretly surprised and hurriedly sent someone to inquire about the military situation.
It would be easy to handle if it was Xia Houmao. Even if he was reborn and made progress, he was still under control. But if other capable people suddenly appeared and were unknown to him, it would be troublesome.
People are always full of fear of unknown things. Since time traveling, Liu Qi knows that he is far inferior to these characters from the Three Kingdoms, but he can probably grasp the character's destiny and personality, and he is at a psychological advantage.
But as the saying goes, times make heroes. Those who are not famous or have not left a name may not be talents. They may just not have the opportunity, or they may be suppressed by others and have difficulty in developing their talents.
Nowadays, the situation in the Three Kingdoms has changed drastically, and Cao Pi's army is even more depleted of talents. Cao Pi vigorously promotes soldiers in the army, and it is not impossible for someone to take advantage of the situation and rise. For Liu Qi, such unknown people are the most terrifying.
…
The cold wind howled, but the Wei army's water stronghold was brightly lit and there were cheers. This battle severely damaged the Jiangdong navy and allowed them to regain their confidence.
In the center of the lake, thirty large ships formed a circle, trapping the Wu army inside and shooting them with random arrows. They all clapped their hands and cheered as they looked at the slowly sinking wreckage of the warships, with a puff of white smoke rising on the water.
Cao Xiu gave an order, and the sound of friction of chains was heard on the ship. The soldiers collected the iron ropes and sailed back to the stronghold. Unexpectedly, it was already bright.
After returning to the stronghold to hand over the order, Cao Cao put his hands behind his hands and looked towards the south, sneering: "Liu Qi's son, Lu Xun's son, how can he be a solitary opponent?"
Cao Xiu knew that Xiahou Mao was complaining about money, so he asked for credit: "This battle was all thanks to Zilin, who sacrificed his life and made iron chains to completely surround Wu's fleet."
This is not entirely a compliment. If there were no iron chains to pull and pull, and only soldiers driving the boats, Jiangdong's fleet might have fled long ago before they were completely closed.
Cao Cao laughed and said: "Zilin's plan is brilliant, and he has contributed money and effort. His contribution is not small. I will order you to take charge of the waterways south of the Yangtze River."
The resentment on Xia Houmao's face disappeared instantly, and he said happily: "Thank you, Prime Minister, for your contribution to the country. I am willing to die in pieces."
Cao Cao nodded and said: "With this responsibility, I am worthy of being a general. The rest of the warship chain in the stronghold will also rely on Zilin."
"Ah? Yes!" Xiahou Mao was stunned, stepped aside and his face fell again.
A banquet was held in the village to celebrate the victory, and the generals exchanged cups for cups. Xiahou Mao was the only one who was unhappy. The few ships alone had used up all the iron in the camp. There were hundreds of warships, and they could only be purchased from other places. This costs a lot of money!
He toasted to Cao Cao, but Cao Cao didn't mention anything about military expenditures. He couldn't help but sit aside and sulk: He wanted the horses to run and not eat grass, but he became inexplicably disgusted with his father-in-law.
After the banquet was over, Cao Xiu invited Xia Houmao to the tavern and persuaded: "The war is not going well now. Not only is Zhishui Army's military expenditures tight, but it is probably the same in other places. As members of the clan, we should be loyal to the country and not consider personal gains. Zi Lin doesn’t have to be so depressed.”
Xia Houmao said dissatisfied: "Loyalty? Can loyalty be exchanged for money?"
Cao Xiu said: "Loyalty cannot be exchanged for money, but money can sell it! The Prime Minister values you and me so much, and now is the time to share his worries. We must do our best. When the great cause is completed, there will be generous rewards. .”
Xia Houmao paused and said, "If you don't have money, who is willing to do things for you?"
Cao Xiu smiled and said: "Zilin has always been good at making money. Who in the country can buy more property than you? If this happens, you will be Fan Li and Xiao He of Wei. If Xun Wen is not here now, who will be the leader in the future? I am afraid that I will have no money. Available?"
"Well, this makes sense!" Xia Houmao was secretly happy in his heart. If he could take charge of the entire rear area like Xun Yu, it wouldn't be a problem to make money every day. He suppressed the smile on his lips, but shook his head and sighed bitterly: "What a coincidence. It’s hard for a woman to make a meal without rice, this is hard, hard!”
After bidding farewell to Cao Xiu, Xia Houmao wandered to the riverbank with his hands behind his back. All his property was buried in Ye County. Maolin Hall was emptied by Cao Pi, and he had no friends in the court. After thinking about it, he could only borrow money secretly from Hanxing Hall temporarily.
Having made up his mind, Xia Houmao hurried back to the camp, wrote a letter and ordered someone to send it to Xuchang, and asked Zhang Wei to handle the matter.
