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Seven days later, everything was ready, and the Zhou army was pouring towards the White Emperor City like a tide. But they stopped at a distance of fifty feet from the wall, did not dare to go any further, and then formed a well-defended phalanx. In front of them were five rows of Mo sword soldiers, one by one stood with spears and shields, and behind these five rows of soldiers, there were more than 20 rows of archers, all holding crossbows, bending bows and arrows, and a strict formation.

Li Xiaogong stood on the city tower, looking at Zhou Jun's posture, but couldn't help sneering: "It seems that Zhou Jun is also a group of cowards, who only dare to hide outside the range of my giant crossbow, and dare not attack the city anymore." These guys, you kind of get close to the city walls! ”

Sun Fujia was secretly amused when he heard this, thinking that others had suffered a big loss, and how could he suddenly attack again without being completely sure! Song Jingang is not the kind of general who does not care about the casualties of his soldiers. It's just that I heard that Li Jing has already led the main force of the Zhou army to come, and I am afraid that the enemy will launch a fierce offensive next.

But unexpectedly, the Tang soldiers at the head of the city waited nervously for a long time, but they did not see the slightest attack by the Zhou army on the opposite side. However, a sharp alarm whistle sounded at the dock of White Emperor City, and the Tang Army who rowed up in a small boat reported that a large number of Zhou Army's naval warships were coming in the direction of White Emperor City from the downstream again!

After Sun Fujia heard the report of the incident, he did not think so.

He snorted coldly in his nose and said to the officers and soldiers of the Navy Division under him: "It seems that Zhou Tao's losses have not been enough. This time, I must have seen Li Jing coming, and I wanted to invite merit to die! The biography will order, and the arson ship will attack immediately! This time, we must let the Zhou Junshui Division go and never return, and avenge the revenge of Xiangyang! ”

With Sun Fujia's order, from the wharf under the cliff on the riverside side of the White Emperor City, more than twenty arson boats loaded with fire-starting things were opened. These arson ships are zhang long and one zhang wide, and compared to the warships of the Zhou army, they are dwarfs.

Two sailors stood in each boat. One hides in the stern of the ship and holds the rudder, grasping the direction of the ship's sailing. The other was in charge of observing the water in front of the boat at the bow and rowing with the paddle, because the river in the gorge was so turbulent that they could drive the arsonist boat very fast without much effort.

Dangerous peaks roared past them, and small arsonboats sped downstream. In front of the few Tang sailors in front, a huge Zhou Navy naval division battleship had already appeared.

"Light the ignition! Then the pilot ship will rush up and stick to the enemy ship! Lieutenant Tang ordered. He's already familiar with this kind of thing.

With his order, only to hear the sound of "whew", a cloud of flames rushed onto the roof of the more than 20 arson ships.

In an instant, these more than 20 arson ships became more than 20 fire dragons, and then rushed to the Zhou warships in front with lightning speed, trying to turn them into "fire ships" like themselves, and then die together.

At this time, after the arson, the Tang soldiers who were hiding in the stern of the ship, preparing to jump into the river to escape, were surprised to find that a thick iron baffle had been lowered from the battleship of the Zhou army, which was supported by two curved brackets and blocked in front of the battleship.

The river in the gorge area was very turbulent, and it didn't take long for me to hear "Peng!" Disheveled! Disheveled! With a few loud bangs, the first few arsonist ships crashed into the battleships of the Zhou army.

However, because the battleships of the Zhou army were all equipped with iron plates, the arsonist ships could not touch the hull of the battleships, so they could only "make love" with the iron plates. The loud crash resounded through the sky, sparks shot out, and flames rose into the air.

The bows of the arsonist ships were almost shattered by the tremendous force of the impact.

However, the iron plates on the battleships of the Zhou army were all inches thick, how could this small wooden arson ship smash it? They were immediately blocked at the front of the battleship, separated from the hull.

At the same time, the trebuchet on the deck of the Zhou battleship also fired fireballs.

Listening to the sound of "boom, boom, boom", several firebombs fell on the arsonist ship that followed, which had already set on fire, and then turned into a ball of fire in an instant, and after a few moments it sank to the bottom of the river as a wreckage.

When the captain who led the team saw such a situation, he knew that the Zhou army had taken precautions, and I was afraid that the arson would fail. But Sun Fujia was very kind to him, and since he took over this task, he had long put life and death aside, and he had to find a way to complete the task assigned by General Sun no matter what.

So, his eyes widened, and he turned around and shouted, "Don't panic and jump off the ship and run away, steer the small boat to drive through the gap between their two warships, and stick to their hull from the side of the ship!" Be sure to burn the enemy ships! ”

Those who were selected to drive the arson boat were also dead soldiers who did not want to die, and they were ready to sacrifice for a long time, and after listening to the orders of the captain, they did not object, and said that they would definitely do so.

The Tang soldiers began to maneuver the boat in a circuitous way, dodging the whizzing arrows and fireballs, while looking for gaps that could be opened, trying to penetrate the gaps between the Zhou warships.

And the captain's luck was that he was really lucky enough to drive through the gap between the two Zhou warships and reached the right side of one of the warships.

Moreover, judging from the flagship logo hanging on this battleship, it should be the ship of Zhou Tao, the governor of the Zhou army's naval division.

He was overjoyed, so he immediately beckoned to the helmsman at the stern, turned the bow to the right, and saw that the Zhou warship was no longer avoidable, so Fang Heng made a heart and rushed straight towards the flagship of the Zhou army......

"What a self-inflicted death!" Zhou Tao, who was standing at the bow of the boat, smiled contemptuously after seeing his actions, and then waved his hand.

At this time, I saw more than ten soldiers of the Zhou Army jumping out from the side of the ship, five of them holding iron harpoons about a zhang long in their hands, some of them holding water dragons to spray water to extinguish the fire on the arson boat of the Tang Military Academy, while the other people were holding crossbows, bending bows and arrows aimed at the dead soldiers of the Tang Army on the arson......

"Whoosh! Sou! Sou! Sou! ”

Dozens of sharp arrows flew over, and the lieutenant and his men were struck by several arrows and fell on the burning boat, their bodies reduced to ashes.

The small boat that caught fire was firmly forked by five iron harpoons, and it did not touch the battleship of the Zhou army at all.

The same happened to the other Zhou warships, and the Zhou soldiers on board used the same method to make it impossible for these arson ships to get close to them at all.

In less than half an hour, all the more than ten fireships were sunk by the Zhou army, and most of the dead soldiers of the Tang Army on board were also killed, and only a few people jumped into the river and escaped.

However, there was still an arson ship that crashed into a certain battleship of the Zhou army, but with the efforts of the water dragon team, only half of its side was burned, and no serious consequences were caused.

"Pass the order! The battleships of the 1st Battalion of the Navy Division temporarily pulled aside to rest, and let the battleships of the 2nd Battalion of the Navy Division come up and continue to move forward! Zhou Tao ordered at this time.

His fleet was divided into two battalions and moved in shifts to give his ships and soldiers a respite from repairs.

The arson boats of the Tang Army just now were dealt with by the 1st Battalion of the Navy Division, and now if they continue to advance, it will naturally be the turn of the 2nd Battalion of the Navy Division.

The officers and men of the 2nd Battalion of the Navy Division had just followed behind the fleet of the 1st Battalion of the Navy Division and witnessed with their own eyes the entire process of their comrades-in-arms destroying the arson fleet. One by one, they are all gearing up, ready to do a big job, and also sink the enemy ship and make a great achievement!

Sun Fujia, who received the news, was furious, and he ordered the other two arson fleets on the docks of the White Emperor City to be sent out, preparing to win by quantity.

But Zhou Tao had already prepared, and in the case of mental calculation or unintentionality, the Zhou army's naval division carried out a tight defense, and did not give the Tang army's arsonist ships the slightest chance.

Within more than an hour, nearly 50 arsonist ships were all sunk by the Zhou warships and sent to the bottom of the river. The fireship offensive of the Don army was declared a complete failure. The Zhou army's fleet finally sailed to the Yangtze River outside the White Emperor City.

Looking at the White Emperor City, which was built halfway up the mountain, next to the cliffs and the Yangtze River, the officers and soldiers of the Zhou Army's Naval Division all gasped. With such a steep terrain, it was the first time they had seen it, no wonder Song Jingang had not been able to attack it before.

Zhou Tao also secretly shouted that it was a pity, the wall of the White Emperor City was at least sixty or seventy zhang high from the river, and it was almost at a perpendicular angle to the river. This made it impossible for the catapults on his battleship to throw fireballs into the city.

Moreover, the road from the pier to the castle is full of plank roads and stone stairs carved out of the cliffs, which are twisting and dangerous. It can be said that it is a one-man affair, and it is impossible to open it.

Zhou Tao originally wanted to try to see if he could lead the officers and soldiers of the Navy Division to land from the pier and then enter the city, but looking at the terrain, there was no need to fight this idea.

He glanced ahead, and saw that on the river behind the pier, a thick iron chain lay horizontally, and the two ends were connected to the mountain wall. It must be the iron chain that Li Xiaogong used to lock the river.

It seems that this prince of the Tang Dynasty is also wise and wise, and after suffering a loss, he used this thing to prevent the Zhou army's sailors from landing in the rear, so as not to cut off his own retreat.

The chain in front of him must be cleared, but it will have to be done later, and now we have to get down to business. Zhou Tao touched his chin and thought in his heart.

A moment later, he gave the order to wave the flag at his fleet and tell them to approach the river bank and carry out the plan drawn up.

It didn't take long for the Zhou warships to lean under the mountain wall on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and then they saw the Zhou soldiers on the mountain road, throwing thick hemp ropes from the cliffs.

And the officers and men of the sailors on the deck of the battleship immediately wound hemp rope around the trebuchet frame of the ship. Once they were tied, they waved their flags to signal that the infantry above them could pull up.

The infantry of the Zhou army on the mountain road, when they saw the flag waving, immediately turned the winch and pulled up the trebuchet tied to the hemp rope. At the same time, the soldiers in charge of the transportation also carried up the skins filled with fire oil one by one.

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