In August, Cao Ren led his troops to cross the Huai to Zhongli and joined forces with Cao Xiu, and then sent the army and civilians to carry sediment to fill the moat.

In order to delay Cao Ren's speed of breaking the city, Xu Sheng often led his soldiers out of the city at night. Earlier, due to the unstable foothold of Cao's army, Xu Sheng occasionally made gains, but as Cao Ren built a long siege and Zhongli was tightly besieged, Xu Sheng no longer went out of the city.

At the same time that the Wei army besieged Zhongli City, Xiahou Shang led the Qingxu army to Xiapi, and seeing that Huo Yu had no intention of surrendering, he immediately adopted the plan of flooding Xiapi.

In September, while the Wei offensive was launched, Lu Xun led reinforcements from Wuhan to Huaiyin from Guangling. After Lu Xun joined Jiang Ji, Huo Du, Ding Feng and other Jianghuai generals, he led his troops to the camp under Xutai by boat.

Knowing that the reinforcements of the Southern Han Dynasty had arrived, Cao Hong sent Manchu Favor to the east and camped on the north shore of Xubei, thinking that it was for the purpose of containing Lu Xun.

Han Army, Xutai Dazhai.

In the big tent, the map of the situation on the Huaisi battlefield was hanging in the camp tent, and Lu Xun and the generals were having a headache for the current situation.

"Xiapi was surrounded by Xiahou Shang, who wanted to break the city with water; Cao Ren besieged Zhongli, and most of the moat outside the city had been filled. With the current situation, if we can't quickly solve the siege of the two cities, I am afraid that we will be in danger of losing it! ”

Jiang Ji crossed his chair and said: "The general came to aid Huai on the order of the Great Sima, it is better to take advantage of the winter before the arrival of the boat to the west, since the containment of the thief army, making it difficult for Cao Pi to gather all his strength to besiege Zhongli City." ”

"What is the situation outside the city today?" Lu Xun asked.

After a little muttering, Lu Xun said: "The fall of autumn and winter, the water of the Huai River is getting shallower and shallower, and it is appropriate to lead the boat division to see if the bridge can be broken." ”

Lu Xun stared at Shao Yangzhou on the map, his brows furrowed slightly.

"The last general commands!"

The Southern Han Dynasty was long with boats and bows and crossbows, and Lu Xun originally planned to take advantage of the advantages of the sailors to divide the Wei army in Huainan and Huaibei. Although it could not inflict a large number of casualties on the Wei army, it could cause chaos to the Wei army.

Lu Xun was very satisfied, looked at Quan Cong in the tent, and said, "General Fu is brave, and General Quan is strategic." I want to take General Fu as the vanguard, and then order General Quan to take over, what is it? ”

As he spoke, Lu Xun looked at the generals in the tent and asked, "Which general dares to lead the boat division to destroy and burn the pontoon bridge?" ”

The river wind was cold, the flags were rolling, the sergeants shouted slogans, and the boat broke the waves and went against the current.

Fu Wei stepped forward with a lance and shouted: "Raise the flag and march!" ”

"The general is heroic!"

Fu Wei stepped out of the ranks, and said with high morale: "Although the thief has a boat, how can he defeat our army." Wei was unwilling to lead his troops and horses to swim upside and destroy the pontoon bridge. ”

Three thunderous drums sounded in the Han army's water village. Then Fu Wei and Quan Cong led 10,000 people out of the camp, boarded the boat one after another in the sound of drums, operated the oars, held the bows and crossbows, and nearly 200 fighting boats and flying boats were arranged in an orderly manner, and they went out of the village in turn.

"No!"

Fu Wei and Quan Cong went against the waves by boat, and got closer and closer to Shaoyangzhou upstream. The Wei army upstream discovered the Han army's naval division and issued an early warning.

The turbulence and water volume of the Huai River are far less than those of the Yangtze River, coupled with seasonal problems, the water level of the Huai River is declining day by day, so Lu Xun did not carry large warships equipped with shooting poles, and most of his naval warships are mainly small and medium-sized boats.

"General, the thief army camped on Shaoyang Continent, made a pontoon bridge to connect the north and south, in order to prevent our army from hitting the bridge with a naval division, it built a high platform on the continent, and nearly 1,000 crossbowmen were distributed between the towers. Outside the pontoon bridge, there are thieves' boats, shuttling back and forth in the Huai water. Yu Shao said.

Today, Cao's army camped in Shaoyangzhou, and built a high platform and deployed a sailor outside, obviously preventing him from destroying the pontoon bridge. However, in the current situation, even if there is an attack, troops must be sent to destroy the pontoon bridge. Otherwise, when winter comes, the Huaishui River will drop sharply, and the Han army will completely lose the advantage of boats.

Compared with the Han army's sailors marching in an orderly manner and making the flags fly, the Wei army's sailors led by Cao Tai had a chaotic lineup, without the appearance of a strong army, and most of the boats were mainly small warships, which was weaker in terms of momentum.

He led 55,000 soldiers and horses, and there were more than 70,000 soldiers and horses in Jianghuai, and the elite and the old and weak were mixed. Facing more than 100,000 Wei troops attacking Zhongli City, Lu Xun did not dare to directly fight the Wei army. Only by exploiting our strengths and avoiding our weaknesses can we win.

Quan Cong stood up with his sword and led the way.

The next day, the autumn wind was bleak and the sky was dawning.

The drums sounded in the water village of the Wei army, and Cao Tai, in the urging of his father Cao Ren, led the water division to leave the village to face the battle.

For a time, hundreds of warships of the two teams appeared on the same river, going up and down against each other,-for-tat.

"Shoot the arrows!"

Seeing that the Wei army's sailors entered the firing range, Fu Wei raised his lance and shouted loudly: "Catch up, first invest with bows and crossbows and short spears, and then take on hand-to-hand combat." ”

"No!"

As the bowstrings shook, hundreds of arrows shot up from the bucket boat and flew towards the Wei naval division. Thousands of arrows fell into the river due to wind and waves, or they were shot into the planks of the ship due to poor archery. However, under more than a thousand arrows, there were always hundreds or dozens of arrows that hit Wei Paw.

"Ahh

An arrow struck Wei in the shoulder, causing him to scream in pain, and was then shielded by a kind colleague.

"Archers shoot back!"

At the urging of the officers, the archers of the Wei army drew their bows and arrows and fired back at the Han soldiers. As a result, because they were not used to the bumpy river or the undulating deck, they almost did not hit the Han army.

"Haha!"

Seeing Wei Jun's archery skills such a crotch-pulling, Fu Wei laughed and said: "Wei Dog can't even use a bow, how dare he operate a boat to meet our army?" ”

"Come forward and greet them with a short spear!"

"No!"

Finding out the true level of the Wei army's sailors, the Han soldiers were no longer polite, and they all plucked up their courage and used bows and arrows to shoot the sailors on the boat. shot the Wei sergeant crying for his father and mother, or was shot to death, and plunged into the Huai water; Or be hidden under shields and houseboats, occasionally striking back with a bow and arrow.

As the boats of the two armies approached rapidly, at about twenty or thirty paces, they entered the range of spear throwing.

"Whoosh!"

Fu Wei took the lead in picking up a short spear, aimed at a Wei shieldman, and threw it violently. But seeing the sharp short spear with a terrible sound of breaking through the air, it immediately pierced through the wooden shield with a 'snap', poked into the chest of the shield hand, screamed, and fell to the ground in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, after Fu Wei threw the short spear, hundreds of short spears were thrown out of the Han warships, although the number was not much, but the momentum sank, and the Wei troops on the boat were all frightened, for fear of being shot.

"Ahh

Several Wei soldiers could not dodge in time, and were unlucky to be shot by a short spear, the sharp spear tip pierced into the body, and hot blood gushed out, accompanied by their own screams, they fell into the river one after another, and the red blood mixed with the river water, and immediately stained the water surface red.

The short spear is thrown at close range, and the spear has a heavy force, which is comparable to a strong crossbow critical attack, and the longitudinal wooden shield cannot be blocked. In an instant, the Wei army's sailors suffered heavy casualties, and the wails and screams were endless.

Huo Junxi set a four-step procedure for the Han army's naval division, using bows and arrows from afar, short spears at close range, batters for receiving boats, and spears for short soldiers.

Relying on the four methods of the water division, the Southern Han sailors first defeated Sun Wu sailors with weakness and strength, and then destroyed the Jiang Han sailors in the Yangtze River. The Huai River Water Division facing the Wei army today is not something that Wei soldiers can withstand with only two steps.

After several waves of short spears were thrown, the large and small warships in the front row of the Wei army leaned towards both sides of the strait, and they no longer dared to fight with the Han army's sailors.

Cao Tai saw that the boats under the tent were scattered, and saw that the Han army and naval division under the command of Fu Wei and Quan Cong were moving rapidly, he knew that he could not know where to block, so he immediately ordered the withdrawal of the army.

In less than an hour of fighting, the Wei army's naval division was completely defeated. The Han army's sailors faced the river wind, and the banners were hunting, and they would force the Wei army to pontoon.

"Up!"

Fu Wei stood with a lance and shouted loudly: "The thief army is defeated and walks away, and goes straight to the pontoon bridge." ”

As the Han army's sailors approached Zhouzhu, the archers on the high platform were clearly visible. Under the waving of the command flag in the king's hands, the archers on the high platform condescended and shot boats on the Han army.

"Whoosh!"

Thousands of feathered arrows flew down diagonally, and the Han army was on guard and was hit by many arrows. Fortunately, the high platform was far away from the ship, and the damage from the arrows was not great. In order to destroy the pontoon bridge, the Han soldiers held shields and braved arrows to approach the pontoon bridge in the middle of Wei Junzhouzhu.

Suddenly, just as the Han army's naval division was getting closer and closer to the pontoon bridge, a dull horn sounded on Shaoyangzhou, as if it was releasing some signal.

Then, the aquatic plants and reeds on both sides of the river swayed, as if something was stirring inside.

"Boat!"

The sharp-eyed Han army soldier pointed to the reeds and shouted: "There are ambushes on both sides of the strait!" ”

Fu Wei immediately looked at the two sides of the river, but saw hundreds of pointy boats coming out of the reeds, the fast boats stirring the waves, and with the blessing of the river, the sailing speed was extremely fast.

Within a few breaths, the ships on the periphery of the flotilla approached. Without waiting for the Han army to react, the Wei soldiers ignited the sulfur and wood on the ship, and tried to crash into the fighting boats on the periphery.

In autumn and winter, there are many northwest winds, and the fire on the ship is blessed by the strong wind, the fire is getting bigger and bigger, and the fireworks are confused in the sky. Cao Jun's sailors braved the rain of arrows, fearlessly operating the fireboat to crash directly into the Han army's sailors.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp arrow broke through the air, and the Wei army, who was in charge of the ship, screamed in pain, but endured the pain and continued to operate, until it was about to crash into the Han army's sailor fighting boat, and then jumped into the cold Huai water.

When the Han soldiers saw the attacking Wei army's fireboats, they were so frightened that they forgot the task of destroying the pontoon bridge, and tried to avoid the fireboats.

But in a hurry, how could it be so easy to avoid, and now there are peripheral fighting ships that have been entangled by Wei military ships.

"Not good!"

Fu Wei caught a glimpse of the fire in the distance, pounded the side of the ship angrily, and scolded: "Wei Gou is so cunning, the sailors can't fight, but they use fire to stop me!" ”

With a long sigh, Fu Wei could only give the order and shouted: "If the enemy wants to attack with fire, quickly order the whole army to retreat!" ”

"No!"

"Withdraw!"

The command flag on the flagship flew, and the trumpeter blew the signal to retreat. Hundreds of warships hurriedly turned around in Huaishui under the order.

At present, the Han army sailors want to retreat but it is a little late, the small boat is flexible, the big ship is sluggish, many Han ships have been entangled in the pioneer fire boat, the flame is burned from the small boat to the big ship, the ship wood is burned by the fire, making a burst of sneering sound. The flames rose into the sky and began to engulf the hull of the ship from the bottom of the ship.

On the riverside, Cao Ren looked at the scene on the Huai River, laughed a few times, and said: "Mr. Ziyang is worthy of deep planning, and it is expected that the water thieves will use boats to counterattack the pontoon bridge. Although our army's sailors are far inferior to the water thieves, under the fire attack, even if Huo Jun is here, he must be afraid of one or two! ”

In water warfare, if you want to defeat the strong with the weak, there is no other way than to attack with fire. Liu Ye knew that his own sailors were not the opponents of the Han army, so he simply took advantage of the smooth wind and water to use small boats to carry out fire attacks.

Shaoyangzhou is located in the Huai River, and the river between it and the two banks is narrow, and once the Han army tries to destroy the pontoon bridge, the fire boat can burn or force the Han army to retreat.

After laughing a few times, Cao Ren was in a much better mood, looked at Zhongli City in the south, and said in a deep voice: "Order all the subordinates to fill the moat outside the city as soon as possible, and then attack the city with weapons, and be sure to break the city before winter." ”

"No!"

Although many boats under Fu Wei's tent were burned by the flames, fortunately, Quan Cong responded behind. Cao Tai wanted to lead the remnants to pick up the leak, but was frightened back by Quan Cong. Fu and the whole second army won first and then lost, and now under the pressure of the fireboats, they can only withdraw to the water village in the sound of golden drums.

Downstream of Huaishui, Lu Xun learned the news of Fu Wei's defeat, his Confucian face became a little gloomy, and his heart was full of gloom.

If the Wei army's pontoon bridge cannot be broken, it will not be able to cut off the Wei army's communication. Now that Zhongli and Xiapi have been besieged for many days, he must think of other ways to relieve the pressure on the two cities.

(End of chapter)