Boom!
The first bamboo raft detonated by the fire exploded in front of a rebel warship. The flying sparks directly ignited the bow and sail of the ship, creating quite a chaos.
The most troublesome thing is that there is not just one bamboo raft on fire, but hundreds of them, and they have reached the entire fleet, and some have even broken into the team.
The continuous huge explosions completely confused the rebels. People shouted desperately amidst the deafening explosions, asking the ships behind them to stop quickly.
However, the chaos significantly slowed down the rebels' response. More than a dozen ships in front had been bombed and burned, but the ships behind were still pushing forward, and soon there was a scene of congestion and collision on the river.
Bao Xinyan's flagship was located in the middle of the fleet. He stood on the command platform and looked at the sudden burst of fire in front of him. Although he didn't know what was going on, he knew that this was a sudden attack by the enemy on the vanguard.
In desperation, Bao Xinyan quickly ordered his men to beat the order drum and instruct the fleet to move closer to both sides of the river bank and make way for the waterway in the middle so that his own warships could advance and retreat smoothly.
Although Bao Xinyan's decision-making was considered very fast, and the rebel fleet was well-trained and quickly made moves to split sides, due to the large number of floating fire boats and the sudden attack, it still It caused a lot of casualties to the rebels.
At this time, more than thirty large ships were completely engulfed in raging flames, and it was difficult to escape the fate of destruction. In addition, nearly a hundred ships caught fire of varying degrees, and the sailors on board were busy putting out fires and rescuing people, causing chaos.
One-third of the bamboo raft that was on fire was still floating downstream.
Bao Xinyan couldn't help but feel nervous.
In order to avoid the fire raft attack and prevent the fleet from being crowded together and causing more problems, hundreds of warships were ordered to move closer to the river bank, abandoning their original offensive and defensive formation. If the imperial fleet launches an attack at this time, it will be difficult for our side to organize an effective resistance.
As expected, Wang Wenlie and Yang Li were both water battle elites, so how could they let go of such a rare opportunity. The two cooperated tacitly and simultaneously commanded their warships to rush towards the enemy.
However, the two of them were not dazzled by the advantageous situation. Only the front three of the six clusters were responsible for launching the attack, and the remaining three remained in place to help defend Jiangxin Island.
A three-way cluster, with a total of more than two hundred warships, went straight down the river to attack the rebel fleet.
The bamboo raft drifted farther and farther, the explosion continued, and the imperial navy had followed the Liuhuo Qingzhou and entered the core area of the rebels.
The sailors on the ship aimed at the target and fired ignited arrows desperately. Countless rockets pierced the dark night sky, crossed the vast river, and severely damaged more than a dozen rebel ships in the blink of an eye.
Upon seeing this, Bao Xinyan issued another order to have the warships that had been separated and docked gather again in the middle of the waterway, striving to trap the invading enemy ships.
Nearly a thousand warships started a battle in the downstream waterway three miles away from Jiangxin Island.
Although the imperial navy did not have an advantage in terms of number of ships, they were well prepared and formed a complete formation, making it easier to exert joint force; on the rebel side, because the command system was suddenly disrupted by the floating fire boat, they had no advantage in strength, but it was equal to Everyone fights.
The two sides were going back and forth on the river, refusing to give in to each other, and the killing was inextricable.
However, as Bao Xinyan gradually stabilized the fleet's position, and the rebels' combat power gradually came into play, Wang Wenlie saw that the opponent was fighting more and more methodically, and knew that the time should not be delayed for too long, so he quickly sent a message to Yang Li Signal.
After more than half an hour of fierce fighting, the three-way assault group gradually broke away from the battle and retreated towards the upstream direction.
The entire battlefield returned to the way it started, with six clusters lined up in steps, blocking the river horizontally next to Jiangxin Island.
At this time, the sky in the east was turning white. Although the fog was thick on the river, it was no longer as dark as before, and the line of sight was completely blocked.
As the sky gets brighter, both the enemy and ourselves can basically see the opposite side clearly.
Bao Xinyan asked the fleet to get into position, and while towing the damaged ships back, he was closely guarding against the recurrence of the burning bamboo rafts last night. He climbed to the observation deck at the top of the mast to observe the enemy's situation from a distance.
On the distant Jiangxin Island, the fortress loomed in the morning mist, and the camp flags were vaguely changed. It was conceivable that the two thousand soldiers and horses guarding the island were completely destroyed.
Bao Xinyan's eyes were firm and he said to himself: "Li Jiangyao, you are so amazing. You gave me such a gift as soon as we met. Okay, let's have a good competition next!"
Six days ago, he received urgent military information from his uncle Bao Yuchun, saying that the imperial court had appointed Li Jiangyao as the new naval commander. At this time, he might have been stationed in Yiling and took over the command of the entire fleet.
Bao Yuchun specially told his nephew not to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, so as not to fall into the opponent's conspiracy.
To be honest, the rebel navy was really scared by Li Jiangyao before, and everyone was nervous about it.
Although Bao Xinyan was not afraid of Li Jiangyao, he could not ignore his uncle's orders, so he also postponed a new round of offensive operations and planned to wait until he had a clear understanding of the situation before making any plans.
However, he never expected that if he didn't take the initiative to provoke Li Jiangyao, Li Jiangyao would not let him go.
The imperial navy, which had been loosely stretching its hips before, suddenly became more aggressive and actually dared to initiate provocations in return. Overnight, Jiangxin Island was lost, and the reinforcement fleet was ambushed. In just two hours, our side actually lost nearly 80 main warships.
Is it tolerable, which one is intolerable? !
Bao Xinyan was furious and decided to teach the imperial navy a lesson and let Li Jiangyao see what a real invincible fleet was.
He came down from the mast and immediately made new arrangements: 300 warships were responsible for the frontal attack to contain the five imperial clusters on the north side of Jiangxin Island; 100 warships circled into the south of the island and captured one of them there. The cluster was driven away from the waterway; at the same time, three thousand elite light armors were mobilized to land on the narrow beach on the east side of the island, attack the fortress, and must regain control of Jiangxin Island!
"End the battle before noon!"
Bao Xinyan ordered with confidence.
The subordinates received the order and began to take action. For a moment, drums rumbled across the river, and the sails that covered the sky quickly moved, and all three warships were approaching towards Jiangxin Island.
"Send a signal to Dadu! We will hand over the landing force to them and resist the enemy fleet with all our strength!"
Wang Wenlie slowly drew out his dagger and shouted loudly: "Brothers, the real test is here! Those who are afraid of death should all get back to the cabin. Don't be embarrassed! If you are a hero, follow me to kill the thief! Kill!"
"Kill! Kill!" The officers and soldiers on the ship were so excited by his words that they all raised their arms and shouted!
As the order was given, the six groups suddenly dispersed, furling the sails and pulling up the anchor at the same time, allowing the warships to follow the river to meet the enemy.
The sails are furled, firstly, so that the speed will not be slowed down by the southeasterly wind, and secondly, to prevent the ship from being set on fire by the opponent's rockets.
The next strategy they will adopt is the most intense and straightforward method among the navy - boarding the ship! Melee!
Everyone is an expert in water warfare, so no one’s actions can be hidden from anyone else. As soon as Wang Wenlie and others lowered their sails and raised their shields on the deck, the rebels on the opposite side guessed what the imperial navy was going to do and began to make corresponding preparations.
However, one thing was completely beyond their expectations.
After the six groups of imperial naval forces dispersed, a strange scene suddenly appeared in front of everyone: their warships were arranged in a group of two, with several iron chains as thick as bowls connected between the ships. When the ship is moving, its speed is almost synchronized, and the iron chain in the middle is swinging back and forth.
The rebels had never seen this kind of situation before, and they didn't understand what it was used for. They couldn't help but be stunned.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Wenlie and the others collided with the enemy fleet. Due to the protection of baffles and shields, the warriors on board did not receive much damage from the opposing archers. However, the iron chain in the middle of their ship worked wonders.
All enemy ships located between the two ships were violently blocked by the iron chain. The huge momentum either tore the bow of the ship, or pulled the other ship involuntarily to turn and squeeze together with the ships behind.
More than 300 imperial warships, divided into more than 150 groups, lined up across the river, like a moving dam, instantly blocking the same number of rebel ships.
Immediately afterwards, Yang Li led the Yanwutang sailors to take the lead in launching a charge.
The warships of both the enemy and ours were all crowded together at this time. With the help of the bridge, they could step onto the rebel ship in a few steps and launch a fierce attack.
Wang Wenlie was even more ruthless. He ordered his men to lift the lit altar of kerosene and throw it directly at the enemy ship next to them. In the blink of an eye, the opponent's warship would be plunged into a sea of flames. As long as they succeeded, they would quickly untie the iron chain fastened to the side of the ship, successfully separate themselves from the ship of their comrades, and at the same time retreat backwards.
In less than half an hour, thick smoke billowed across the entire river. Nearly a hundred rebel warships were either seriously damaged by iron chains, burned violently by kerosene, or were boarded and attacked by imperial sailors, forcing them to dive into the water to escape.
The unexpected and strange tactics completely disrupted the offensive and defensive rhythm of the rebels, putting them at a disadvantage.
At the same time, the three thousand rebel light armor troops who rushed to land on Jiangxin Island also suffered a disaster.
As soon as they set foot on the beach, before they had time to organize their formation and advance towards the fortress, the war cry of "Long live our emperor" was heard in their ears.
Hundreds of ghost-faced white-robed troops suddenly burst out of the dense forest, sweeping in like a violent storm. In their eyes, it seemed that what was on the beach was not the enemy, but a group of panicked lambs waiting to be slaughtered!
Of course, the Lamb also has the right to struggle, but this struggle is of no use.
The attacking party suddenly became the defensive party, and then turned into the fleeing party.
Three thousand light armors could not hold out for even half an hour before they were all driven into the river by the powerful white-robed army.
