Liu Daogui frowned slightly. Obviously, Cai Lunzhi's words were a bit unexpected. He said in a deep voice: "Is it really impossible to fight? I remember that when we conquered Huanxuan in the Western Expedition, at Sangluo In the Battle of Zhouzhou, the Chu army also had huge ships, but our army did not even have Huanglong warships, only Zhuge and Mengchong. Relying on these small boats, we pressed forward indomitably and still defeated and captured the enemy's giant ships. It was really not possible. In terms of close combat, broadside combat, and letting our soldiers jump onto the enemy ships to fight hand-to-hand, this is always an advantage."
Cai Lunzhi shook his head: "Zhengxi, I don't want to defeat your morale and military spirit, but at this time, at that time, those of Huan Xuan were called fighting ships, or five-tooth warships, which were three stories high and more than forty years old. It is ten feet long and can carry more than three hundred sergeants. However, compared with this five-tooth warship, those eight-foot giant ships are at least five times larger and more than two stories taller. Don't underestimate this gap. This means that even if we engage in a boarding battle and besiege them with Huanglong warships, it will be difficult for us to climb onto their deck."
Having said this, Cai Lunzhi sighed again and said: "Not only that, the demon thieves are also very different from the Chu army back then. Most of the sailors and soldiers on the Chu army's naval warships were from the army and were proficient in water-based skills. There were not many people, and even the few sailors who could move freely on the ship and swing between the mast and the sails were disappointed with Huan Xuan and felt that his situation was over and that he was not worth serving for anymore. And most of them had lost their fighting spirit. When you launched the attack, the old sailors jumped off the ship to escape, and I was one of the many who abandoned ship at that time."
Lu Gui laughed and said, "Commander Cai danced well. If it hadn't been for your jump back then, I wouldn't be here today. This is called a hero who knows the current affairs."
Cai Lunzhi nodded: "Yes, but for demon thieves, this kind of thing is impossible. Everyone knows the ferocity and fanaticism of demon thieves, and most of them are old thieves from Sanwu. These people operate boats." The level is extremely high, even on the deck with strong winds and waves, it is as smooth as walking on flat ground. Our Beifu Army veterans are invincible in land battles, but if they are wearing armor, on a rocking ship, on a slippery deck and fighting If the enemy's old thieves and sailors fight, I'm afraid the result will be the other way around."
Liu Daogui said thoughtfully: "This is a good saying. Water warfare is different from land warfare. During the Battle of Jiangzhou, there were soldiers of our army who fled back. It was also the veterans of Beifu who said that fighting monsters and thieves on warships, They don't even have to come up to fight. They just need to keep shaking their legs to make the whole boat shake. Our soldiers can't even stand, let alone fight. What's more, they won't follow during the fight. We fought head-on, mostly using weapons such as fishing nets, javelins, and harpoons that are rarely seen in land battles. The long spears, large shields, and long knives that our soldiers are accustomed to use can hardly exert their power."
Cai Lunzhi said seriously: "Yes, that's it. We can't rely on the elite and invincible Beifu sergeants to defeat these old thieves in hand-to-hand combat. Even if we can successfully capture one or two giant ships, we will lose a lot of veterans. It’s not worth the loss.”
Tan Daoji blinked: "But, if it is a giant ship approaching the enemy, can't we also use the angle of attack, ramming rod, etc. to break the hull of the giant ship? No matter how tall the giant ship is, No matter how big it is, it must be able to move on the water, and the waterline must not be too high. We only need to mobilize enough small boats and midships to attack one of them, rush up from all directions, and cut off their oars. , make it unable to move, and then pierce the hull with sharp corners and rams, can these giant ships be easily sunk?"
Lu Zongzhi nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, this move is very useful. I heard that during the battle at Sangluozhou, the clippers of the Beifu Army directly pierced the belly of the ship with the ramming angle, and sank five or six ships in this way. How about the Five-Tooth Warship? This time we will fight against those monster thieves’ giant ships, just like this.”
Cai Lunzhi still frowned and shook his head and said: "As far as I know, the design of the eight-story giant ship is to prevent it from being attacked and sunk by small boats. Even this five-story warship looks tall, but in fact it is a The boat comes for a death trap.”
Lu Zongzhi's expression changed: "How do you say this?"
Cai Lunzhi said seriously: "First of all, there are a large number of trebuchets and ballistae on the deck. They are located high and can shoot far. It is like driving a long-range crossbow on the city wall. It is difficult for our warships to get close. , as mentioned before, many ships will be sunk and damaged on the approach."
Lu Zongzhi gritted his teeth and said, "However, even if there are losses, as long as they advance one after another and use rams and rams to ram the side of the enemy's ship after approaching, even if a few holes are made, water can be poured in and this damn giant ship will be destroyed." Sink it. Even if it sinks twenty warships and replaces it with one giant ship, we will still make a profit."
Cai Lunzhi shook his head: "General Lu, what I just said, the losses caused by long-range strikes on the road are just the beginning, and there will be follow-up. You know, the enemy's giant ships are also prepared to defend against this move. There are many long poles and racket poles, which are much longer than our impact angle, some are even three feet long. Before our impact hits the enemy ship, these long poles will withstand it."
Tan Daoji frowned: "Can this withstand it? Can we make the collision angle longer?"
Cai Lunzhi sighed: "The size of the ship depends on it. On the deck and on the upper level, they can put out a very long racket, specially used to push up the small ship. In the past, the reason why you used to fight the five-tooth warship Most of the reason for the success is that the pole-beaters on the upper deck fled the river and abandoned the ship early. Otherwise, if those long poles were still there, you wouldn't be able to get it so easily, and this eight-foot giant ship is even worse than the five-tooth warship. It's much bigger, and you won't have any chance of getting close. Extending the collision angle at the head of the Huanglong warship will cause the ship to lose its balance in the wind and waves, and may even collide with itself on the way to impact, which is absolutely not advisable."
Tan Daoji gritted his teeth: "Then what if we send brave men to cut off these paddles and oars, or even send sailors with good water skills to jump into the river when approaching the enemy ship and use wooden hammers on the side of the ship? Use wooden nails to open up the sides of the ship and sink the bottom of the ship. Isn’t that enough?!”
Cai Lunzhi nodded: "This should be the only chance. If you are not facing a demon thief, you may really fight a bloody battle, but the demon thief has good water properties and can stay at the bottom of the river for more than ten hours. There are hundreds of thousands of water ghosts that cannot breathe. If we really have to fight in the water, when we are sinking the ships, I am afraid that it is not us who will sink these giant ships, but their water ghosts that will sink our ships. Also, the giant The ship has a secret weapon designed to prevent punctures."
