The sound of the horn traveled across the sea, deep and hoarse, like the breath of an evil spirit. Mononobe Renxiong raised his right hand and shouted loudly: "Lower the sails, all oarsmen are in place!"
Following the sound of the order, the deck of Mononobe's warship was in chaos, and the speed also slowed down. This shows that the front team has discovered traces of the enemy fleet. The generals agreed that once an enemy ship is discovered, they are only allowed to use oars and lower the sails to avoid being set on fire by various arson objects of the Tang Dynasty during the battle.
Mononobe Renxiong looked towards the direction of Zhouliu City. From this position, he could not see clearly the figure of the big city. However, he could see the figure of the "Takamagahara". She was the only Japanese ship with sails still hanging. Prince Nakadai and Emperor Saimei sailed from Asuka to Chikushi on this ship, preparing to cross the sea for an expedition to the Korean Peninsula. This time, he handed the ship over to Abe Hirafu, because Abe Hirafu commanded it. Reinforcements were heading to Rencun Mountain Castle, so the person on board the ship was the supreme commander of the Japanese fleet, Kamimono Junzhizi.
Mononobe Renkuma was very familiar with the Takamagahara. It had two masts, two hundred oars, and the bow seemed to be wrapped in gold foil. In addition to the oarsmen, there were two hundred armored warriors on the deck. With the skills of the Japanese craftsmen at that time, it was impossible to build such a huge warship. In order to build this ship, the Prince of Jungdae paid a large sum of money to the Baekje craftsmen he invited. This also became the reason for many opponents to attack Prince Junge. excuse.
The horn sounded again, Mononobe Renxiong listened attentively, his face became gloomy as the horn sound continued. According to the information contained in the horn sound, the forward of our own fleet has already started fighting with the Tang people. The horn sound is urging each team to speed up, catch up with the front team as soon as possible, and fight with the Tang people. Mononobe Lianxiong hesitated for a moment and said loudly: "Give me the order, all ships should maintain their oar speed, organize their formation, and don't rush forward!"
Baicun River estuary.
Six Tang people's long boats were fighting with at least twice as many Japanese boats as their own. In fact, the Japanese boats were even more, but the current at the mouth of the Baicun River was fast and strong, driving the Japanese boats around and making it difficult to maintain their formation. In order to prevent the long oars from getting entangled with adjacent friendly ships, the Japanese ships had to keep a sufficient distance between their hulls. The long ships of the Tang Dynasty were more flexible, stronger and larger than the Japanese ships. They maintained a tight formation, protecting each other's sides. From far away, they used crossbows and scorpions to fire rockets and flying stones, and from near, they used their bows to ram them. Japanese ships were constantly being sunk or set on fire by them. There were Japanese ships everywhere on the river. There were floating corpses and shipwrecks, most of which belonged to the Japanese.
"Kill well, don't let anyone go!" Cui Hongdu roared, and the paddles flew on the water, making a rhythmic sound of hitting the water. From time to time, there was a whooshing sound in his ears. It was the archers who were shooting not far to the right. A Japanese ship shot - to be precise, only half of the ship. The angle of attack of the Tang Army's ship broke it in two. Half of it had sunk. The remaining half had no cover and the deck was full of desperate people. It was the best living target. People kept being shot by arrows and fell into the river, and blood spilled out, dyeing the river surface around the broken boat a lifeless brown-red, like rust.
Woooooooooooo!
The long sound of the war horn seemed to urge the Japanese to continue their fierce attack. More Japanese ships broke through the turbulence and rushed towards Cui Hongdu. This time the battle line was lengthened. It was obvious that the Japanese commander wanted to detour from both wings and then surround Cui Hongdu's fleet and eliminate it.
"Ming Jin, Ming Jin, turn the oars, retreat, retreat!" shouted loudly. The soldiers behind him hurriedly beat the gong on the side, and the crisp sound of the gong resounded across the river. The oarsmen of the Tang army quickly began to paddle in the opposite direction. The long boats of the Tang people sailed upstream with the bow as the stern and the stern as the bow.
The retreat of the Tang fleet without a fight boosted the morale of the Japanese. They also urged the oarsmen to speed up in an attempt to catch up with the enemy ships not far away. The rapid drumbeat seemed to hit everyone's heart, the long oar rose and fell, the bow of the ship crashed through the waves, and moved forward quickly. Cui Hongdu looked back at the Japanese ship that was getting closer and closer, and said with a smile: "Hurry up, keep going faster I’ll catch up with your grandpa soon!”
The river that seemed narrow from the sea is now vast, and the figure of Zhouliucheng gradually climbs out of the horizon. Seeing their own flag still flying on top of the city, the Japanese's morale was greatly boosted. They shouted loudly, urging the oarsmen, preparing to catch up with the Tang army and kill them to pieces.
The main force of the Tang Dynasty finally appeared. There were a total of one hundred and twenty warships, divided into three rows. The largest and strongest sixty ships were arranged in the first row, and the following two rows were each composed of thirty ships. Cui Hongdu's longship disappeared into the gap between the ranks, and the first column of the Tang army moved forward slowly, neatly like a shield wall.
A group of swaying firebirds took off from the Tang army's warship, rushed to the highest point, and then fell due to the pull of gravity. The river water submerged most of the firebirds, but some still landed on the Japanese ship. The firebirds exploded and sparks flew everywhere. The samurai who were about to board the ship were in a mess on the deck. They splashed it with water clumsily, but it only aroused a bigger flame. The flames licked the cables, sawdust, clothes and other things that could burn. Soon, this Several boats lost power and became sideways on the river.
But this was just the beginning. A second wave of attacks followed. This time it was a rain of arrows, stone bullets, and darts. A Japanese warrior was hit by an arrow and rolled over the side of the ship and fell into the water. He struggled to resurface. , his skull was crushed by the flying long oar, and he sank into the water again. The river water washed away the blood on the long oars and pushed the boat forward.
"Blow the drums, blow the trumpets, hurry up and get closer, we are no match for the bows and crossbows, let's engage in a boarding battle!"
The sound of drums and trumpets became more urgent. The Japanese oarsmen had tried their best. Compared with the samurai and soldiers on the deck, they were much better off under the shelter of the deck, but the diffuse fireworks and screams were the best. Stimulants. The Japanese fleet broke through the rain of arrows and fire bombs and rushed towards the first array of the Tang army.
"Send the order, no shooting is allowed without a military order!" Master Sun Ren said loudly.
"As you command!"
Following the rapid footsteps, the herald's loud voice sounded on the deck. Wang Wenzuo turned his head. The racket poles erected on both sides of the warship looked like giant arms. This unique water warfare weapon in ancient China was actually a stick. A long wooden pole with a heavy object tied to the end is erected when not in use. When an enemy ship approaches, it is suddenly released, and the heavy object falls from a height, crushing the enemy ship. Obviously, the larger the ship and the higher the level, the more powerful and powerful the racket poles it can equip. There are more than twenty racket poles equipped on the big ship under his feet. The huge boulder at the end hangs above the head, which is daunting.
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Chapter 236: The Racket Stick is free to read.
