The river in Moon Bay is narrow, with the fighting ships from Jiangdong leading the way, the tower ships commanding in the middle, and the warships and boats interspersed with each other. The fighting ships at the rear are also in the rear, which is a standard fleet attack formation.
Because Samoko's people were dumping sand and gravel, and the river channel for a few hundred meters was covered with rocks and reefs, it was basically impossible for large ships to pass through. Lü Meng sent a few boats to scout ahead, and hundreds of other ships came closer. The boat docked on the north shore.
Thousands of sailors from Jiangdong went down the river to dredge stones, but progress was very slow because of the strong current.
Half a day later, Lu Fan took a boat to the front line and boarded the ship to find Lu Meng looking sad.
"The dredging situation is not ideal?" Lu Fan asked.
Lu Meng nodded, "The current in Moon Bay is too fast. I estimate that it will take at least ten days for the sailors to clear the river channel needed by the fleet. If we have to wait for the river water to fully rise, we estimate that we will have to wait until mid-July. That would be too much." waste time."
"I really don't know why Lai Gong is doing this so much..." Lu Fan was extremely puzzled.
Lu Meng sneered and said: "Pan Wengui is currently stationed on the hill on the north bank. Lai Gong's main force seems to be camped on land. The only thing blocking Yushui River is more than a thousand naval troops. This guy knows how to avoid the most important and take the easy, but he can't stop us for a long time."
"Yulin's navy is very different from ours in Jiangdong. Lai Gong used this method to block our navy's path. Is he planning to fight Captain Pan on land? Now they occupy the peaks on the south bank, whether it's our ships on the waterway or the north bank. We have a clear view of all the troops on foot and cavalry, so Wen Gui must be told not to be greedy for success." Lu Fan looked up at the peaks on the south bank, his face a little heavy.
Lu Meng nodded and said: "The Yue people are extremely brave, and they have more troops than our infantry and cavalry. I have asked Colonel Pan to stand by. If the enemy does not move, I will not move. As long as the waterway can be cleared, Lai Gong's water and land defenders will They will be like chickens and dogs.”
Lu Fan sighed, "It's best to fight steadily like this. Spending more time will only consume more food and grass. When the time comes, it will be a great achievement for Ziming to be able to return to Jiangdong intact."
"Zi Heng will return to Guangxin to manage with peace of mind. I will let Lai Gong know the consequences of not knowing the current affairs. The fleet has two months of provisions left, which is enough to win this battle." Lu Meng said.
"Cangwu has just decided, and it's not suitable to collect food immediately, so I'll go back to Guangxin first." Lu Fan said goodbye.
In early July, Lu Meng's navy had been clearing obstacles for more than ten days. In addition, the water level in Yushui rose in summer, and the deepest-draft ships could barely pass.
Lu Meng couldn't wait to command the fleet to go upstream. The movement of hundreds of fleets was very loud, and the watchtower on the top of the mountain immediately lit a beacon.
After the first beacon fire was lit, the beacon tower in the west saw the fire signal, and the beacon fires along the river were lit one after another.
The Jiangdong soldiers stationed on the south bank discovered something unusual. Army Commander Ma Ma Zhong hurriedly reported to General Pan Zhang, "General, look at the peaks on the south bank. Lai Gong's men lit the beacon."
Pan Zhang walked out of the tent and looked at the other side. He could clearly see the blazing flames on the top of the mountain. He frowned and said to himself: "In the past ten days, Lai Gong has not come to start a fight or sneak attack on the camp. He has just watched General Lu clear out the Hedao, I always thought there was some conspiracy, maybe today..."
"Ma Sima, what's wrong with Moon Bay now?" Pan Zhang asked hurriedly.
Ma Zhong replied: "I have just sent scouts to investigate. General Lu's building boat is advancing from the big bend. It is estimated that the river channel has been cleared."
Pan Zhang nodded, "The beacon fire is indeed related to Moon Bay..."
"Do you want to remind General Lu..."
Before Ma Zhong finished speaking, Pan Zhang quickly shook his head and said: "General Lu is the commander-in-chief. We just have to guard the land route. Maybe he has discovered the clues..."
Pan Zhang did not send anyone to remind him. Although he was also Sun Quan's confidant and favorite general, after all, he belonged to the commander-in-chief Lu Meng. Sometimes he would offend others by saying too much.
Three fighting ships opened the way ahead, and the building ships, stern ships, and walking boats moved forward one after another to form formations.
When the fleet was one third of the way out of Moon Bay, twenty fishing boats loaded with cargo came from upstream.
The sentry on board the ship immediately reported, "General, there are twenty ships coming along the river ahead."
Lu Meng was at the front of the deck at this time. He nodded slightly and said nothing. Even if the sentry officer did not report, he could see clearly.
The boats that Lai Gong blocked had given up to the river half an hour ago. Lu Meng thought that this guy had given up resistance, but what did the twenty boats coming towards him mean?
"General, those boats are only two hundred meters away from us. They seem to be carrying something, but they seem to be fishing boats..." the sentry continued to report.
Lu Meng lightly hammered his forehead. Why is this scene so familiar? He suddenly had an ominous premonition.
Two hundred meters...
One hundred and fifty meters...
One hundred meters...
Fifty meters...
Fire, blazing fire.
Suddenly the fishing boats caught fire at the same time, and the sailors on board abandoned the boat and jumped into the river.
The Jiangdong naval forces watching on the warship were shocked at the same time. Lu Meng instantly recalled the familiar scene, the Battle of Chibi.
At first, Huang Gai used sterns and fighting ships to set fire, but Lai Gong actually used Zhou Lang's fire attack, but this method was undoubtedly a bit petty.
"Quickly stop the incoming ships, don't let these fire ships rush into the fleet." Lu Meng shouted.
"General, look," the sentry officer exclaimed.
Lu Meng followed the sound and saw the same black spot hundreds of meters away, and then slowly turned into a ship again.
It turned out that Lai Gong's fire ship was not finished at all. He also drove fifty meters away and lit the fire into the formation.
Again and again, Lantian and again, a total of sixty fire boats in three rounds rushed towards Moon Bay along the rushing river.
At first, Lu Meng was prepared to stop the fire ships, but the successive fire ships could not be stopped at all, and even the tung oil poured on the ships could not put out the fire.
Sixty fire ships were like a wall of fire, blocking the path of Jiangdong's warships on the Yushui River. After encountering the fire attack, the ships quickly fell into panic. Lu Meng had no choice but to let the ordering troops use semaphore to command the retreat.
What was the mentality of Cao's army during the Battle of Chibi? What was the mentality of Lu Meng's navy at this time? When they were in a panic, they all thought about escaping. The speed of turning the rudder depended on their abilities. They also needed to have a certain turning position, but it was as big as fighting. It is difficult for ships and buildings to turn their rudders for a while.
Soon the flames spread to the fighting warships and the building ships. Because the river channel was not cleaned thoroughly before, many warships running for their lives ran aground on the rocks, forming a 'traffic jam' situation at Moon Bay.
The house leaked and it rained all night. The defenders in the sentry tower on the top of the mountain took advantage of the "traffic jam" in Moon Bay to throw "bolides" into the river, and Lai Gong's navy slowly pressed forward.
There were reefs and damaged warships in front, pursuing troops and fireships behind, and bolides falling from the sky from time to time. All these battlefield factors caused psychological pressure on Jiangdong soldiers.
In the dilemma, Lu Meng became at a loss for a while. At this moment, he still wanted to keep the expensive building ship.
"General, we can't leave the building. Let's quickly transfer to the stern and go to the other side..." the assistant on the building reminded anxiously.
