Zhang Xi is now on Meng Chong's flagship, watching this scene proudly.
One thing to say, Zhang Xi is somewhat unexpectedly satisfied after today's battle.
Zhang Xi does not understand water warfare, Zhang Xi also admits this, so Zhang Xi is not sure at all about how to defeat the Soochow Navy in a water battle.
But, Zhang Xi, he has a big brain.
Although he didn't understand water battles, he had only seen water battles once or twice.
Zhang Xi's first battle that year was against the Jiangdong navy led by Zhou Yu in E County. It was also in that battle that Zhang Xi saw how powerful the defense system Huang Zu had established near Sanjiangkou was. How powerful is the attack power of the bed crossbow?
Back then, Huang Zu single-handedly stopped Sun Jian, Sun Ce, and Sun Quan from coveting Jiangxia. It was really not just the bragging of aristocratic families.
After that, Zhang Xi followed Guan Yu northward. During the Battle of Xiangfan, when faced with the siege of the city by floods, Zhang Xi suddenly thought of moving a heavy-duty catapult onto the ship to use it to attack the city, and the effect was really good. They were so frightened that Cao Ren and Man Chong fled in rowing boats and captured Fancheng.
Now, Zhang Xi combined these two things and wondered if it would also work if the counterweighted catapult was fixed on the Mengchong battleship to serve as a fort, while other walking wheels served as roadblocks to protect the fort? !
Actually, Zhang Xi didn’t know if this would work. After all, no one had fought a water battle like this before. Zhang Xi could only simulate it over and over again in his own mind. But the problem was that he relied on brainstorming to decide the water force. The new way of fighting is somewhat childish and does not take the lives of sailors seriously.
Zhang Xi is not so stupid.
Therefore, Zhang Xi wrote his thoughts in a letter out of caution, and also drew specially designed graphics and sent them to Wenpin stationed in Yicheng to ask for the opinions of Wenpin, a famous navy general in Jingzhou.
After Wenpin carefully read Zhang Xi's letters and graphics, his reply was somewhat ambiguous and might be feasible.
It's hard to say whether Wenpin really thought it was feasible, or whether he was simply giving Zhang Xi face. But at least he didn't directly raise any objections.
The veterans of the navy thought that this might work, so Zhang Xi thought, why not give it a try first.
In this way, Zhang Xi ordered that the two Mengchong battleships be modified, the upper structures of the battleships were dismantled, and a counterweight trebuchet was fixed one in front of the other.
In fact, Zhang Xi really didn't want to launch an attack directly this time during the battle in the water village. He just wanted to find a place to try to see if this could have the effect he hoped for. But he couldn't stand it anymore, and the response of the Soochow Navy was too fast and fierce. .
Zhang Xi had just led the navy out of the stronghold and set up a combat formation on the river. Before he could send out the test ships, the Soochow navy had already arrived.
There is no way, the enemy troops are coming, Zhang Xi can't withdraw now. Besides, actual combat is not the best testing condition.
Of course, Zhang Xi didn't want to just fight Soochow head-on. He thought about it. If it didn't work out, he could just lead the army back to the water stronghold and rely on the water stronghold to continue the defense.
Then, things developed so smoothly that Zhang Xi himself did not expect it.
Obviously, the Soochow Army had never encountered such a water warfare method, and for a while they didn't know how to deal with it. This gave Zhang Xi time to fine-tune the formation and strike preemptively.
Immediately afterwards, the response of the Soochow Navy vanguard made another mistake, which perfectly matched Zhang Xi's expectations for the enemy's attack method. Zhang Xi immediately ordered the entire army to gather for defense, and at the same time let the catapults on the Mengchong battleship attack the center of the Soochow Navy. Attack the rear position to block enemy reinforcements.
In terms of adapting to emergencies, not to mention taking precautions, even Zhu Ran may not be faster than Zhang Xi.
Although Zhang Xi's contingency tactics were still the same as those used for land operations, the problem was that under the current circumstances, they unexpectedly worked.
Of course, the most favorable conditions are the weather and hydrological conditions - Zhang Xijun occupies favorable conditions upstream, and it coincides with the tail end of the Yangtze River's autumn floods. The water speed is not low, but the wind and waves are not very strong.
The speed of the water flow seriously slowed down the attack speed of the Soochow Army. They originally attacked upstream, which was no less difficult than climbing operations in land battles.
The wind and waves are not very big, and it can ensure the shooting accuracy of water warfare bows and counterweight catapults. At least it will not deviate too far. It can accurately and effectively hit the middle and rear joints of the Soochow Army and separate the forward and rear forces of the Soochow Army. Relations between the rear armies.
With so many favorable conditions, Zhang Xi was able to catch up, and his luck was really good.
In this way, a commander who clearly didn't understand water warfare suppressed the Soochow Navy, which was known as the best in the world, in a water battle.
What's even worse is that when faced with such a routine, not only Liu Lue, but also Zhu Ran, after thinking hard, couldn't think of any good solution for a while.
If Zhu Ran had been in command of the battle at the beginning, he would probably have chosen to risk the threat of the boulder, concentrate his superior forces to attack one point, tear open the protection of the Shu army warships, and directly attack the two Mengchong warships.
As long as the threat from the two Mengchong warships is resolved, there will be no major threat to the remaining Shu navy.
But the problem is, Zhu Ran thinks so, but if he really does it, there are actually many uncertain factors.
How to ensure the speed of attack when going upstream? !
Concentrate your troops for a surprise attack, but what if your retreat is blocked by enemy rocks and you are unable to follow up? !
Even if we get close to the enemy's Mengchong warship, what should we do if we cannot successfully seize the ship or cannot destroy it, given the strength of the Mengchong warship? !
It can only be said that Zhu Ran's approach is the only correct solution he can think of now, but Zhu Ran is not sure enough whether it can really solve the current situation.
But it is better than the current situation of being passively beaten.
Now even if Zhu Ran wants to break the situation, there is no other way.
The people in front were fighting hard, and they couldn't attack at all. Stones flew from time to time above their heads. Not only did they have an extremely long range, but they also had frightening precision. They were not like stones thrown by ordinary trebuchets.
Even if an elite fleet is selected for a focused assault now, there is no longer any fighting conditions.
Therefore, the only thing Zhu Ran could do was to brave the threat of stones and move forward as much as possible, use arrows to suppress the pursuit of Jiangling navy, and help the remaining navy to withdraw from the battlefield.
Retreat temporarily! ! !
Just break it off without hesitation. In this way, the water battle lasted for less than an hour and ended with the orderly withdrawal of the Soochow Army.
As for Zhang Xi, he did not order the pursuit.
Although relying on the advantages of hydrological conditions, if the Jiangling Navy really pursues the pursuit, the Soochow Navy will not be able to safely withdraw to the Lukou. But the problem is that Zhangxi's navy has few soldiers, and the Mengchong battleship has also appeared. Due to some accidents, Zhang Xi had to withdraw his troops and return to the camp in order to ensure his combat effectiveness.
Although the measure of installing counterweighted catapults on the Mengchong battleship has achieved miraculous results, there are still many problems.
First of all, there is the problem of stones. A stone weighing fifty or sixty kilograms is not small. Surface warfare is not like land warfare. You can just throw the stones on the ground. They can only be stored in the cabin and reserve some before the war. Just on the deck.
But the problem is that it is really difficult to move this thing. After the stones on the deck are thrown, if you want to move it out from the cabin, you can only use manpower, which seriously affects the subsequent shooting speed.
Well, we have to find a way to install a wheel on the ship similar to that used for drawing water from a well. At least we don't have to ask the soldiers to carry stones to climb the stairs in the cabin. If we miss it, it may cause non-combat attrition.
Secondly, two counterweight trebuchets are installed one behind the other. They must be launched at the same time, otherwise, the hull will rise and fall, causing the hull to become unstable.
It was okay at the beginning. The cabin was filled with stones, which was heavy and could be pressed down. However, when more than half of the stones in the cabin were consumed, the ship began to rock back and forth significantly, which seriously affected the ship's safety. The counterweighted catapult was so accurate that it almost hit his own camp a few times.
Third, it's not that Zhang Xi doesn't want to chase, but that he can't chase. You can't just rely on Zuo Ke to chase. If someone ambushes you on the way, you can't rush into the battleship just by relying on Zuo Ke's combat ability. If I don't help, I'm afraid I won't be able to get out.
But the problem is that the Mengchong battleship has been dismantled by Zhang Xi and used as a mobile fort. Zhang Xi has dismantled all the offensive facilities such as arrow stations on the upper hull. In other words, the Mengchong battleship no longer has conventional combat capabilities. .
This is nonsense.
It is also affected by time. Otherwise, the best solution for Zhang Xi's tactics is to build an additional more suitable platform to place the counterweight trebuchet. But Zhang Xi does not have this time now. , we can only wait for improvement in the future.
Another thing, building such a platform is actually very expensive. Just use it if it can be used temporarily.
Anyway, Zhang Xi's purpose was not to have a showdown with Soochow in a water battle, but just to ensure the food route for crossing the river to attack the police.
Now, judging from the results of preliminary operations, this goal has been achieved.
What are you waiting for? !
The next day, Zhang Xi asked Shi Bao, who had already been prepared, to lead the army and cross the river to attack the police.
But this time, Zhang Xi asked Shi Bao to bring a total of 30,000 people across the river.
Really, with such a huge military advantage, if Shi Bao can't even defeat a public security officer, then it would be better to replace him with someone else as the new Jiangling County Governor.
Obviously, Shi Bao also had such a sense of pressure and motivation. After leading his troops across the river, he headed straight for the Public Security City.
(End of chapter)
