It was another day, and the defenders of Fancheng were hungry and spent the night on the city walls and rooftops.

Most of the food, clothing, and equipment were flooded and could not be taken out.

Cao Ren had the intention to escape, and when he returned to Xudu, he was immediately able to organize a new army to resist Guan Yu; If he dies here, it will be a serious blow to the morale of the armies.

Man Chong persuaded him, pointing out the key: "If Xiangfan is lost, the south of the Yellow River will no longer be owned by the state." ”

Such a big responsibility is not something that Cao Ren can bear, and he may not be able to live if he runs back.

So, at dawn, Cao Ren summoned his military officials and drowned his beloved white horse in public to show his determination to defend the city.

On the flood waves, the Jingzhou Navy Division slowly pressed on three sides, and the building ships and warships were faintly higher than the city towers.

Tian Xin's headquarters was in the east of Fancheng, and when he saw that the water level was four or five feet lower than yesterday, he couldn't help but sigh. Yesterday, if the main force was gathered to storm Fancheng, it was not good to say that the warships could hit the city wall repeatedly, and they could collapse part of the city wall, and even the ships rode to the wall and became the stronghold of the Han army.

Now the water surface is about a zhang away from the city wall, and the defenders on the wall have set up door panels and other things to strengthen and heighten, and it is no longer easy to climb by boat.

The boat is unstable, and you can't wear heavy armor when you take a boat, otherwise you will die if you fall into the water.

If they don't wear armor, the ship's crossbowmen will cause accidental injuries and affect morale.

Probably tomorrow, the flood water will recede to the foot of the Fan city wall, and at that time no boats of all sizes will be able to reach the city.

It is only a chance to take advantage of the aftermath of the flood to attack the city by boat today.

It is possible that by the afternoon, the navy will have to retreat into the deep water area due to the drop in the waterline.

Siege by boat?

Jingzhou sailors have no training or experience in this area, and neither does Tian Xin.

The most suitable for attacking Fancheng by boat was yesterday, and the most suitable for attacking Xiangyang was also yesterday.

After a night of pacification and rectification, the morale of the army has been largely restored.

The city walls are separated by more than 50 zhang, and Tian Xin asked Chen Lei, the governor of the right part of the sailor: "How about using a warship to rush straight to the city wall and make the ship sink in front of the wall?" ”

"What does Captain Tian mean by this?"

"There's nothing else to do, just plan for the worst."

Tian Xin raised his hand and pointed to the gray line of the wall of Fancheng that had been stained by the falling waterline and said, "If you can't capture Fancheng by boat today, then you have to wait." Wait for the flood to subside, wait for the ground to dry, and then dig trenches, lay antlers, fences, and make several heavy enclosures. It takes a long time, and it must be in October, and the reinforcements of Cao thieves will arrive in October. What worries me the most is that after the flood waters in Fancheng subside, the defenders will search the city for waterlogged food, equipment, firewood, and so on. The defenders have the means of living and will encourage the will to resist. ”

Chen Lei was nearly thirty years old, tilted his head and thought about it: "Captain Tian, the battleship cannot afford to lose. If the shipwreck is here, Chen will not escape the blame. ”

His army opened his mouth at this time to explain: "Captain Tian, the foundation of the navy is in the ship, and it is impossible to build a warship in three years. The sin of the sinking of the ship is in the light army. ”

"I will report this matter to the prince, and I will bear the corresponding responsibility, and I will not implicate the two of you."

Tian Xin said sideways to guard the army Luo Qiong: "Take pen and ink, you and I will make a note." ”

Chen Lei breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Does Captain Tian want to use the shipwreck as a siege step?" ”

"Yes, if you are lucky, you can collapse the city wall, if you are unlucky, you will sink in front of the city wall. With the earth mountain as the step, our army attacked in turn, and the defenders of Fancheng were less than 5,000, how could they be my opponent? ”

Tian Xin raised his hand and pointed to both sides of the city wall and said, "Take out half of the big ship and hit the city wall, and hover the other half twenty zhang outside the city wall." When the flood waters receded, the boat stopped on the muddy ground, more than four feet high, and my crossbowmen could board the boat and shoot at the defenders on the wall day and night. ”

The wall of Fancheng is no more than three zhang high, and it is only two stories high, and in Tian Xin's eyes, it is like that, far less lofty and strong than the Jiangling City rebuilt by Guan Yu.

He was making preparations here, and the warships used to storm the city were lined up in front, and the equipment in the ships, the surplus sailors, and the infantry troops were withdrawn to the small boats to stand by.

And send people to Da Hyeon Mountain to collect green bamboo, or make a bamboo raft to pull here, or bring green bamboo here to process on the spot.

Guanping to the south of Fancheng, Xiahoulan to the east has begun to attack with drums, firing crossbows with the defenders, and the sergeants transported to the city in small boats, and the bamboo ladders were dragged behind the boats like bamboo rafts.

The process of erecting bamboo ladders is difficult, and it is often pushed down by the defenders just after it is erected, and it is never possible to enter the city and meet each other in short combat.

Cao Ren patrolled all parts of the city wall with a shield in his left arm, his lips were white and cracked, and he came to Dongcheng to ask Xu Cheng, the general guarding here: "Why don't the enemy troops in Dongcheng attack?" ”

Xu Cheng hid behind a door, and his lips were also white: "General, the thief general Tian Xin is probably going to crash into the city wall." ”

"Although Fancheng is small, it is not inferior to Xiangyang, let him rush."

Cao Ren said and looked at the large and small warships cruising on the water outside the city, and turned to the south of the city.

From yesterday to now, although some water-soaked grain has been salvaged in the city, there is not much dry firewood available.

Firewood is being dried on the roofs of the houses in the city, and there is no fuel, no warm, clean food, and no clean hot water to drink.

As for the floods that were everywhere, the defenders would rather die of thirst than drink the floods that had soaked the city with drowning people, animals, and dung.

Cao Ren strode and looked up to see the blue sky, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The weather is getting clearer, which is probably the best news.

If it continues to rain heavily, it will not take a few days, and another day of such rain will cause the defenders to collapse under hunger, cold, and wounds.

Now that the sky was clear and the sun was shining, the defenders of the city had a chance to breathe.

On the south bank, Guan Yu and Wang Fu climbed to watch the battle, and saw that fifteen warships in the east had sunk on the edge of the city wall, Wang Fu praised: "Prince, Tian Xiao has the wisdom first. ”

Guan Yu laughed: "He's making a long-term plan." ”

To the east of Fancheng, a large number of bamboo rafts cut and made from Da Hyeon Mountain were towed to Tian Xin's army, and under the gaze of the defenders, these bamboo rafts were cobbled together into larger rafts.

The defenders' equipment and supplies were flooded, and even the arrows were very valuable, so they could only watch as the huge bamboo raft approached the wreck area, and the bamboo raft was connected to the wreck with ropes. In the rear, there are still small boats constantly dragging bundles of green bamboos here.

By the middle of the day, the flood waters had receded by nearly two feet.

But Cao Ren had to come to Dongcheng in person, he shrank behind a door panel to observe carefully, ten zhang away in front of him, the Jingzhou army had used green bamboo to connect the shipwreck, and built a three-layer platform, all with guardrails, forming a wooden 'Han Que' in his eyes.

In Tian Xin's eyes, this kind of thing is called a tower.

The defenders saved arrows and arrows rain sparsely, most of them missed, or were covered by the Jingzhou army's shields, green bamboo walls, and guardrails, and only a few arrows could hit the sergeants who were working.

And the bed crossbows on the fifteen battleships were fired from time to time, and the other crossbows were silent.

Nearly half of the arrows fired will fly into the city and be suspended above the water, but will be salvaged by the defenders and used again.

Tian Xin had never shot arrows here, and Guan Ping and Xiahoulan, who discovered this situation, also stopped shooting arrows.

In the afternoon, Tian Xin wore an iron basin collar armor and halberd to climb the bamboo tower temporarily built on the shipwreck, the first layer is the original deck of the shipwreck, the second layer is suspended on the deck of the bamboo raft, and the third layer is built of green bamboo. The west side faces the direction of Fancheng, and has been tied and fixed with a layer of bamboo rafts, or three layers of bamboo bundles.

Bamboo rafts, or two-layer bamboo, or three-layer bamboo, are good fortifications when stood horizontally.

"Continue to harvest the green bamboos of Da Hyeon, and strengthen the two wings before dark to prevent the defenders from attacking at night. And informed Liao that the more green bamboo, the better, and when the flood subsides, our army will lay green bamboo as a road, and troops can be deployed to attack Fancheng at any time. ”

"In addition, an official letter was sent asking Guan Zhonglang to transfer fifteen warships. I'm going to hover fifteen warships in the northeast and southeast. Now I am a thorn in Cao Ren's eye, and if he doesn't pull me out, it will be difficult to sleep and eat. Therefore, tonight he will either flee or send men to attack and tear down the tower. At that time, the two-wing warships will shoot arrows to kill the enemy soldiers, and discipline him for coming and going! ”