(Regarding dragon totems, early dragons had wings, such as Ying Long during the Yellow Emperor's battle with Chiyou.) In this article, Ying Long is used as a comparison. ）

Torches are extremely important military supplies, and both Hu Zesheng and his predecessors must be careful and never use them indiscriminately.

Both the white people in the south and the barbarians in the north have an instinctive avoidance of the night. In particular, night battles can be avoided as much as possible. If there is a real fight, both sides will invariably choose an open area.

There are already dozens of ships on the river. The lights on the ship were on, and from a distance, you could see the heavy decks on the side of the hull slowly opening, revealing deep black square holes.

No one, including Hu Zesheng, has ever seen a similar scene. The Tigers are a race that runs on land, and they are unfamiliar with rivers and lakes. Of course, this does not refer to swimming, but to create and control ships to form combat effectiveness and achieve the result of controlling the surrounding watershed.

In the battle of Red Moon City last year, Hu Zesheng began to have a new experience of inland river operations. In view of the threat of the Niu fleet stationed in Bailu City, he suggested that while rebuilding Gangwei City, the cities along the Pantuo River should strengthen water patrols and set up heavy ballistae along the river to deal with the possible sneak attacks of the Niu fleet at any time.

"Order all the infantry to form up, light torches, and base the deer and fortifications by the river to stop these damned cattle mongrels."

"What the hell are those guys in the tower doing? Why don't they fire ballistas? ”

"Get the cavalry ready, as soon as the infantry of the Ox people comes ashore, launch an attack immediately, and throw them into the water to feed me to fish!"

Hu Zesheng is not a mediocre talent, and the brainless idiot commander will never become a tiger prison guard.

The entire defense plan came from him, and he held many meetings and discussions with officers and subordinate commanders, and only put it into practice after on-the-spot inspections and repeated arguments. The direction of Mianmi is also bounded by Hugao Pass, extending about a kilometer to the south. Hu Zesheng knew very well that the front of the Tiger Prison Pass was impregnable, and only a fool would want to attack from this direction. In doing so, there is no benefit in doing so, except for giving away the heads of the defenders for nothing.

The rear of the Tiger Pass is one of the shortcomings of the defenders. If it was once upon a time, there was no need to think about it at all. However, the appearance of the Ox Clan fleet is a wake-up call for everyone. Hu Zesheng had to spend a lot of supplies to build fortifications behind the pass, and at the same time asked the Tiger King to send more cavalry to him to enhance the overall combat effectiveness. The bravery of the Niu people is known to the world, and with the help of the boat, they can go down the Pantuo River and fight wherever they want. Passive defense will only make the situation worse, and in Hu Zesheng's opinion, the only way to deal with it is cavalry. The speed of the horses is faster than the speed of the ship, according to the configuration of one person and two horses, under the premise of rebuilding the Gangwei City, each cavalry only needs to be equipped with three days of grain and grass, and can form a coastal monitoring of the cattle fleet that crosses the border, and then cooperate with the defenders of the downstream Tiger City to annihilate it.

This is not an unfounded fantasy.

The lesson brought by the Battle of Red Moon City was so painful that everyone from His Majesty the Tiger King to the ordinary commanders was learning from the pain, and the plan for the new shipbuilding team was unanimously approved. Although it is far less advanced than the Niu clan in terms of technology, it can meet the basic requirements of inland water combat.

The Tiger River Warriors are similar in size to the Ox Clan, equipped with heavy ballistas and boarding hooks. The main mode of combat is still the traditional gang fight. To this end, the Tiger King ordered the training of a group of armed sailors to deal with the Niu Clan sailors.

For the infantry who had just come off the ship and landed, the cavalry with a high-speed charge was simply a natural enemy.

It's a scene that makes people's blood boil just thinking about it.

The efficiency of the defenders of the Tiger Prison Pass was extremely high, and before Hu Zesheng's order was given, crossbow arrows were shot from the towers set up along the coast, and with a scalp-numbing roar, they crashed straight into the big cattle boat that was slowing down on the river.

Despite the long distance, one could still hear the crisp metal crash coming from the center of the river.

On the tower, an experienced Tiger Clan veteran carried a giant crossbow arrow weighing several kilograms and put it into the ballista chute with force, and he pointed to the brightly lit Ox Clan ships on the river: "These damn bastards, they actually covered the surface of the hull with a layer of iron armor. I bet with my head that it was at least five centimeters thick! ”

Installing iron armor on the surface of the hull is not new, and the advantages and disadvantages of doing so are equally obvious. As you gain strong defense, your speed decreases. This means giving the enemy ship more chances to get close and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

I don't know why, Hu Zesheng has always had a very bad premonition.

He saw two large ships sail into the shallow water, and did not blindly go deep into the dense reef area to cause them to run aground, so they anchored outside the danger line and lowered their iron anchors.

This scene made all the tiger clan commanders, including Hu Zesheng, feel incredible.

"What do they want to do?"

"Are the Ox people going to get off from that position and let their soldiers swim to shore?"

"Wait, look, you're right, they really didn't plan to land and attack from the water."

Farther away, several large ships began to lower their dinghys one after another. It was a larger boat, each tied with a cable, slowly releasing a dozen rowboats. The capacity of the dinghy is not high, and there are only about 20 people per boat.

Seeing this scene, Hu Zesheng's nervous face finally showed a hint of relaxation, and his hanging heart slowly fell back to its original place. He even exuded undisguised disdain, letting out a contemptuous sneer.

"I always thought the Ox people were smart, and now it seems that it is nothing more than that. The reason why we lost the Battle of Red Moon City last year was because we were not familiar with their tactical style. I admit that it is indeed a good idea to launch a landing operation from the river. But it also depends on how it is used. If the defending side had prepared in advance, as it is now...... Hehe, the Niu people are destined to hit their heads and bleed here, and I want to leave a deep impression on them that will never be forgotten. ”

It is very stupid to transport soldiers in small boats. Not only will it not be able to form a scale in a short time, but it will also be suppressed by bows and arrows during the landing process. Heavy ballistas could not penetrate the heavy hull steel armor, but they were enough to deal with unprotected dinghys.

Finally, it is the third killer weapon in Hu Zesheng's hands. The assembled cavalry was located behind the position, and under the onslaught of the large-scale cavalry formed into formations, the light infantry equipped only with basic armament was no match at all, not to mention that they had been ravaged by bows and ballistas before this, and there was no second possibility except to wait for death.

Hu Zesheng felt a strong sense of pressure coming from inside his lower abdomen, and he was eager to release it. This feeling is only felt when you are nervous and happy. It can be seen from this that the commander of the Niu clan on the opposite side is a fool, he doesn't even understand these most basic truths, and he takes the soldier's head and sends it to the front in vain.

"Boom!"

There was a huge roar on the river, one after another, and the successive intervals were stable and orderly. Hu Zesheng saw the flanks of the big ships moored at the edge of the shallow water emitting flames, followed by the harsh whistling sound of high-speed flying objects cutting through the air.

The fortifications built on the shore were blown open, and the powerful air currents rolled up the garrison soldiers, tearing them to shreds in the explosion, and the bloody arms, legs and feet were thrown into the distance, leaving only cavity craters blackened by smoke and fire, and various burning objects.

There are still some technical problems with the steam engine that have not been solved, and Tianhao has temporarily shelved the plan for the manufacture of inland river armored ships, and still uses traditional sail gunboats. The difference from the civilized period of the Age of Discovery was that the conventional caliber breech-loading gun replaced the front-loading gun. Although it was a caliber of one hundred and five millimeters, each ship had as many as thirty guns on the side of the ship alone. Three gunboats lined up on the river, with a total of ninety guns.

On a section about a kilometer in length, this level of firepower projection can be called intensive.

The Tigers have no concept of defensive artillery fire, and their understanding of long-range firepower is limited to bows and ballistas. It's not their fault, sulfur has not been found in the north of the continent for thousands of years, resulting in the barbarians in the era of cold weapons for a long time. The barbarian ancestors had an indescribable fear of the sea, which evolved into a strong sense of rejection.

The towers were blown to pieces, and the archers fell from the heights screaming, torn apart by fragments of broken wood and sharp rock scattered on the ground, killing them instantly.

Stormtooth stood on the bridge of the flagship, staring intently at the chaotic riverbank.

The power of the new rear-loading guns was so impressive that after two rounds of firing, there were no fortifications in sight along the entire riverbank. More than a dozen towers collapsed in the flames, and makeshift walls were reduced to piles of rubble. Regardless of the effect of the night on the attacking troops, there were burning flames everywhere, corpses, rags, and wood were the sources of energy that sustained their existence, and the smell of burnt flesh emanated from the air.

"Order, extended shooting, the troops on the boat can land."

Two orders were given at the same time. The herald quickly put it on paper, turned and ran under the mast on deck, where he folded the paper on which the order was written and handed it to a ten-man officer guarding the bottom of the mast. The man opened it and quickly skimmed through it, turned around, picked up a wooden clamp hanging on the side of the mast, fixed it, and then pulled the long rope tied to the wooden clamp vigorously, and immediately got a response, and the sailor standing on the lookout in the upper middle of the mast hurriedly pulled the rope and the wooden clamp together.

The commands written on paper are simple and straightforward. The sailor standing on the lookout took back the long pole containing the lantern, hung a lantern covered with a thin blue cloth at the bottom of it, and then poked out the long pole with two lanterns, one red and one blue, and drew a continuous triangle in the air in the direction of north, east and south.

This is a signal that is specifically designed for nighttime transmission.

After a stagnation of about two minutes, the guns of the gunboats in front completed the reloading of ammunition. Under the orders of the officers, the gunners skillfully raised the muzzles and reset the rulers, regardless of accuracy, but only controlled the river bank in the mode of extended fire, buying time for the landing infantry and creating enough safe space.

The most threatening towers had been wiped out, and the first group of dragon infantry to land had briskly trotted across the damp and soft sands of the river and rushed into the shattered fortifications that were still burning.

The situation was reversed in a very short time, and the dense defensive line set up along the river was smashed to pieces by artillery. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Hu Zesheng wouldn't have believed it was true anyway.

"That's artillery...... They, where did they get their artillery? ”

"Look at the cattle people down there, all of them have guns in their hands."

It's no secret that the Ox people have artillery. In the battle of Red Moon City last year, the captured Deer Clan prisoners of war more or less revealed something, especially the fall of Broken Horn City, an important town in the north, which had long spread among the Deer Clan. It was only because there was a contract between Lu Qingxi and Tianhao at that time, and the two sides were barely allies, and he strictly ordered that the news should not be spread, which did not attract the attention of the Tiger Clan.

But no matter what, from the Tiger King Yaoxian to the ordinary officers of the Tiger Clan, they all fell into a preconceived thinking misunderstanding. They have always believed that artillery is far away from them, and that the advantages of hot weapons can be completely overcome by cold weapons and brave soldiers...... Until now, as many as nearly 100 artillery pieces have been fired together, both in terms of momentum and destructive power, completely subverting their previous concepts.

"Where are the cavalry? Rush over and get those damn cow mongrels down. ”

"Order all infantry brigades to assemble and attack the river."

"Defend me no matter what. This is the Tiger Prison Pass, and once it is occupied by the Niu people, there will be endless troubles. ”

As Niu Zesheng issued new orders, the cavalry and infantry stationed in the open area west of the pass began to advance eastward. They are huge, numbering tens of thousands.

Hu Zesheng hurriedly walked down the city wall, and with the help of his attendants, he began to put on his armor, and his face was pale.

"Send a messenger at once and call for help from the rear." He instructed his cronies standing next to him, his brows furrowed, and he was worried: "The Niu people are not good, although they do not have many troops, their weapons are more advanced than ours. Damn it...... Where did they get the gunpowder? ”

His cronies' faces were solemn, and he quickly wrote down three orders with the same content on a piece of paper, folded them separately, and handed them to the heralds who were waiting nearby. The latter quickly turned and walked out of the room, and there was the sound of footsteps and horses neighing outside.

"My lord, we may not be able to stop the attack of the cattle people. Their fire was so heavy that our fortifications had little effect on them. The cronies thought for a while and persuaded: "My lord, you better withdraw with the guards, and leave it to me here." ”

Hu Zesheng, who was putting on his helmet, stopped what he was doing, he looked at his cronies with a resolute expression, and couldn't help but smile with emotion.

"Boy, you're a little tender if you want to be a hero. I'm the commander here, and it's not your turn to say that kind of thing. ”

The cronies shook their heads and insisted on their opinion: "You are the main general and have a lot of experience. Tiger Prison is a fortress, and it doesn't make much difference between you and you're not. The Ox people don't play their cards according to common sense, their fleet is huge, but it takes time to land on the ground, and I'm confident that I'll lead my team to stop them here. Your Excellency, you will take the guards to Gangwei City to give an early warning now, and organize a defense there by the way. ”

Although Hu Zesheng is irritable, he is not stupid, he has always been steady, he thought carefully for a moment, and nodded slowly: "What you said makes sense." ”