Wu's naval division had been fighting in the southeast inland water network area before, and had never made such a large-scale and long-distance voyage.

Nothing is known about the sea conditions, climatic conditions and the distribution of islands and reefs in the Yellow Sea. I don't even know which islands have fresh water and where there are reefs. There were many objective factors that were unfavorable to Wu's army in this expedition.

However, in the previous water battles, Wu's naval division fought from Dongting Lake to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and from the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to the estuary. They are invincible and have hardly ever been defeated. It can be said that Wu Jun's momentum is very high. But ignoring the objective factors that are unfavorable to oneself, this high morale evolves into a feeling of pride, which lays the foundation for later failure.

At the mouth of the Yangtze River, the main general Xu Cheng ordered the fleet to stop, convened a meeting of the generals, and said: "My Great Wu Sailor is determined to win this expedition to Qi. Although we fought on inland rivers and were invincible, it was the first time we fought at sea. During a long-distance attack, everyone should not only pay attention to the situation at sea, but also practice tactics. The State of Qi also has a water division, and it is still very powerful. We must be prepared with both hands, both to prepare them to meet them to the south, and to prepare them to hide in place and launch a sneak attack. ”

The generals said one after another: "Please rest assured, the general will be on high alert during the march to prevent the Qi army and sailors from taking advantage of it." ”

Xu Cheng said: "That's good. We divided the march route into two sections, north and south, and in the southern section, it is estimated that we will not meet the Qi army and naval divisions, and everyone will concentrate on the flagship, and we will study the tactics while marching. After reaching the northern section, everyone returned to their respective ships and prepared for battle. ”

The generals said, "Yes!" ”

Xu Cheng said: "We have been traveling all the way, and we have consumed a lot of fresh water, and when the tide is low, we will replenish the fresh water, and after entering the sea, it will be difficult to find fresh water to replenish." ”

When the sea is at high tide, the sea water will push dozens of miles, or even hundreds of miles, at this time the river water is not drinkable, and it must wait until the low tide to flow in the river is the fresh water flowing downstream.

In the spring of 485 BC, the Wu army sailors replenished fresh water at the mouth of the Yangtze River, entered the East China Sea, and began the first expedition in history. Although the battle ended with the annihilation of Wu's naval division, it demonstrated that China had excellent shipbuilding and navigation skills 2,500 years ago.

The fleet was mighty, heading north, and their huge fleet was mighty in the inland rivers and in the waters of Dongting Lake and Taihu Lake, but on the sea, it was only like a few fallen leaves floating on Taihu Lake.

The vastness and vastness of the sea made these sailors who had been training and fighting on the water extremely shocked. Fortunately, the weather is good these days, the sea is calm, and nothing big happens.

The main general, Xu Cheng, is still more cautious. After entering the waters of Qi State, he sent several groups of spies ashore in small boats to inquire about the situation.

In the evening, the boat brought the spies back to report on what they had discovered. For several days in a row, the spies reported the same situation.

Hearing that Wu formed a five-nation alliance and killed the north by land and water, the entire Qi country panicked, not only the common people panicked, but the entire army also panicked.

When Xu Cheng heard the report, he laughed: "It is said that the Qi country is so strong, but it is such a timid mouse, how can such a country and such an army fight?" We will win this battle,"

This kind of pride made Xu Cheng ignore the crucial point, that is, they couldn't hear anything about the Qi State Sailor at all.

This is the most terrible thing. If you don't know where the opponent is, how many people the opponent has, and don't know the opponent's equipment, then you are a blind man on the battlefield, how can this battle be fought?

In fact, if Xu Cheng uses his brain a little and analyzes it, he will learn the following situation: inland river operations and sea operations are completely different things. First of all, the construction of the ships was different, the ships of the Wu army were completely adapted to combat in inland waters, while the ships of the naval division of the Qi army were completely built for naval warfare. In contrast, Wu Jun was clearly at a disadvantage.

In addition, the state of Wu and the state of Qi are two thousand miles apart, and the temperature difference is extremely large, and the Wu army grows and operates in the warm southern zone, and the climate is hot. In addition, the soldiers of Wu have always been brave and good at fighting. Therefore, the Wu soldiers often fought with each other barefoot, shirtless, without helmets, or even with their heads. At this time, it was early spring, and the climate in the northern Yellow Sea was still very cold. The soldiers of the Wu army, who were accustomed to a warm environment, were greatly weakened in this climate. On the one hand, the soldiers of the Qi army fought locally and adapted to the climate. On the other hand, he wore a helmet and armor and held a shield, and he also surpassed the Wu army in individual protection measures.

In addition, Wu Jun was not suitable for sea voyages, and was already very tired, coupled with seasickness, the physical exertion was huge, and the combat effectiveness declined. These are the fatal weaknesses of the Wu army.

As the main general, Xu Cheng was not aware of the potential crisis, blindly optimistic, and did not think of ways to make up for his shortcomings and shortcomings.

At noon, the spearhead boat in front caught a fishing boat fishing at sea. Two middle-aged fishermen were brought to the flagship. The two fishermen knelt down in front of Xu Cheng and kowtowed repeatedly: "My lord, spare my life!" Spare your life! ”

Xu Cheng said: "Look at the appearance of your thieves and thieves, it must be the spies of the Qi Kingdom, pulled out and cut down, and threw them into the sea to feed the fish!" ”

"Yes!" A few soldiers rushed up, set up two people, and dragged them out of the cabin.

The two fishermen shouted, "Spare your life! We are really ordinary people fishing! ”

Xu Cheng beckoned, and the soldier dragged the two people back, and the two people trembled with fright, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Xu Cheng observed for a long time, but he couldn't see any flaws. So the interrogation began.

"Are you really fishermen?"

"Lord Hui, are we really fishing?"

"You haven't heard that there is going to be a war here, how dare you go out to sea to fish?"

"We've heard about it, but we're going to eat, my lord, it's hard for the poor!"

Xu Cheng nodded: "Okay." Do you know what this sea is called? ”

"Go back to your lordship, walk more than ten miles to the north, and you will enter the sea area of Langyatai. There is a lot of tidal currents and a lot of fish, so we often come here to fish. ”

"You haven't seen the Qi Navy here?"

"My lord, I used to see warships here, but in the last ten days, I haven't seen a single warship, so I don't know where they are hiding."

Xu Cheng groaned and said, "Do you want to die or live?" ”

"My lord, who wants to die? We want to live, we are the common people, please let the adults let us go, the villains kowtow. ”

Xu Sheng said: "It's not difficult to live, you set up a small boat and take us to the waters of Langyatai to see the situation, and we will let you go, but if you are naughty, you will die." ”

"Yes! Be! We don't dare to be naughty. ”

In the evening, a reconnaissance ship sent out came back and reported: "There are many islands in Langyatai, and the situation is more complicated, but the wind and waves are calm, and there is no trace of the Qi army's sailors. ”

Xu Cheng ordered to anchor and camp in the waters of Langyatai that night.

Sleeping until midnight, he suddenly heard the sound of drums on the sea all day, Xu Cheng ran out to take a look, only to see a large torch illuminating the sea surface.

Xu Cheng shouted: "The Qi army is coming, start a war!" ”

The first large-scale naval battle in history began.