Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3450 Back-up preparation
Big river.

In the mountains.

At this moment, the river is green and clear.

Although it is late autumn, the mountains and forests are still covered with dense vegetation, and the green, yellow and red leaves rustle in the river breeze.

There was a brief stagnation in the battle between the Sichuan Army and the Jiangdong Army.

Neither side has the ability to defeat the other side's front line in a short period of time. If the front battlefield is difficult to open up in a short period of time, there will be two different options.

Attack fiercely and open a gap.

Disrupt and break up the formation.

Fierce generals often prefer the first method, while those who like to use their brains tend to adopt the second method.

As for Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, they both knew the other party's two methods clearly and would use them.

Zhou Tai looked at the messenger and frowned, "Did the governor really say that?"

This new order is different from the previous ones!

Previously, Zhou Yu asked Zhou Tai to ambush here and wait for the Sichuan Army to arrive, just waiting for the signal to raid the flank or rear.

Now Zhou Yu changed the original order, telling Zhou Tai not to wait for the signal and to lead his troops to attack from the side directly.

The messenger confirmed.

Zhou Tai received the order and nodded, "In that case, I will obey your order."

Although Zhou Tai was not a very smart person, he had an innate intuition about the battle situation and even danger. Now his intuition reminded him that things were not going well.

Zhou Tai felt more and more that his previous uneasiness was correct.

But if asked to say what was wrong, he couldn't tell. Besides, he had already searched the surrounding area in a big way before. If he said now that he sensed danger, the Jiangdong soldiers would most likely not think that Zhou Tai was being cautious, but that he was sick again.

Therefore, Zhou Tai had no choice but to order his troops to move forward, following Zhou Yu's orders, to go around the mountains and move towards the rear of the Sichuan Army.

When passing by the forest that he had checked before, Zhou Tai went in again to check for a while, but still found no traces on the ground.

I just feel that there seem to be more bugs and other things on the ground.

Perhaps the difference between a big river and a large river is that most of the banks of a big river are rocky.

Between the rocks is a mountain stream that cannot be considered a road.

The road is not easy to walk on, and in some places you even have to use a human ladder to climb up.

Because the equipment of the Jiangdong soldiers was not completely unified, the equipment of Zhou Tai's direct subordinates was different from that of other Jiangdong soldiers. Therefore, when they were on the move, each soldier prepared and carried their own equipment, and the styles and materials were different. Therefore, when the Jiangdong soldiers marched, there would be a sense of disorder.

Zhou Tai stood on a rock, still looking at the surrounding mountains and forests with some uneasiness.

The various green, yellow and red colors in the mountains and forests, against the black and gray background, create multi-layered and varied colors.

Perhaps this kind of scenery will seem beautiful and full of vitality to those in later generations who have been surrounded by steel and concrete for a long time. However, in Zhou Tai's eyes, he felt the chill of autumn and the hidden murderous intent.

Some Jiangdong soldiers fell down while climbing a rock. Fortunately, they did not fall seriously. Some of them were busy checking the wounds caused by falls or friction, while others were muttering and cursing.

The Jiangdong soldiers were good at staying on the boats. The swaying hull made them feel like they were sleeping on a rocking bed and they did not feel seasick at all. However, after standing on land, they felt a little dizzy.

As Zhou Tai watched, his uneasiness grew stronger.

Ambushing and setting up ambushes are no problem for the Jiangdong soldiers.

Since they are just waiting in one place anyway, the disadvantage of moving slower on land than soldiers in other places can be almost ignored if they stay in the same place.

So Zhou Tai set out early and arrived at the ambush site in advance.

But now it's not an ambush, it's an advance, and we're going to march over land, climbing the mountain road...

This weakness of the Jiangdong Army became quite obvious.

"What does the governor want to do?"

Zhou Tai muttered.

To the soldiers, Zhou Tai was a big shot, but to Zhou Tai, Zhou Yu was the big shot.

When the big guys are speaking, the little guys have no right to speak.

Zhou Tai knew that when he gave orders, he would not care whether these Jiangdong soldiers would be injured or killed if they fell while climbing the rocks. Similarly, when Zhou Yu gave orders, he would not care whether Zhou Tai would be injured or killed.

Zhou Tai also knew that if any of his troops were killed or injured in the battle, he would go to the dead or injured troops' home with a sad face and say that the dead or injured troops were brave warriors and that they died gloriously...

So, what if you are killed or injured?
Zhou Tai turned his head and looked in the direction of the river. Although his view was blocked by the rocky mountain, he could still faintly hear the sound of war drums.

Zhou Tai suddenly had an epiphany.

Zhou Yu's battle was not going well.

If everything went well for Zhou Yu, then he should act according to the plan step by step, instead of...

On the other side.

Gan Ning stared at the Jiangdong soldiers with a frown on his face.

The Jiangdong army was coming towards them.

However, it seemed that they did not discover them, but were just hurrying on their way. Their formation was scattered and divided into several sections.

If they do nothing and hide in the mountains and forests, the Jiangdong Army will most likely pass by Gan Ning and his men...

But the question is, is it really a good idea to let them go?
Zhuge Liang had not yet developed a system of tricks and strategies, so it was certainly impossible for him to give Gan Ning any special instructions.

Zhuge Liang's original plan was not much different from Zhou Yu's plan, but because Gan Ning was a step slower than Zhou Tai, he had to hide in the mountains and forests to wait and see.

But now that the Jiangdong Army has shown unusual movements ahead of time, Gan Ning is forced to make a choice: should he attack this unusually moving Jiangdong Army from both sides, or should he attack the Jiangdong camp as originally planned?

Indeed, if this Jiangdong army was let go, there would most likely be a gap, which would be beneficial for Gan Ning to advance and raid the Jiangdong Water Fort. However, at the same time, there would be corresponding gaps in his formation!
Although all tactics depend on changing homes, when it comes to making this decision, you must not only have the determination to lose everything you have, but also secretly send a few farmers out to build a wild base.

Gan Ning turned his head and looked towards the east.

If he did not attack this branch of the Jiangdong Army, would Zhuge Liang and his men be able to defend it? If the Jiangdong Army succeeded in its attack, would his sneak attack on the Jiangdong Army's water stronghold be considered a success?
"General, what should we do?"

The Sichuan soldiers on the side asked Gan Ning.

Gan Ning gritted his teeth and said, "My Lord, we can't just let them go. Beat them up!"

Gan Ning finally decided to change his original combat goal.

It would be too dangerous to let the Jiangdong Army pass so easily. What if the Sichuan Army is not prepared accordingly?
No, we must intercept this Jiangdong army!

"We have to stop them! Get ready! Listen to my command and act together!"

……

……

Big river.

water surface.

"Boom!" A sound like thunder rang out on the river.

This roar also broke the original mirror attack and completely widened the gap in armaments between the two sides!
Along with the sound of roaring artillery fire, there was a "bang" sound, accompanied by the terrified screams of the Jiangdong navy soldiers. A cannonball whistled and smashed a big hole in the deck of a Jiangdong navy ship with great force, rushed into the cabin, and created a bloody alley inside the cabin!
The Jiangdong soldiers who were working in the cabin were either dead, injured, or fled in panic, and the entire warship came to a sudden stop!

Not only that, the shells may have directly smashed and damaged the cabin floor, or parts such as the keel, destroying the entire structure of the Jiangdong fighting ship, causing the ship to quickly begin to tilt, and then lift up one side, and almost in an instant, it sank to the bottom of the river.

The Jiangdong army on the battlefield were stunned for a moment.

For some things, relying on personal ability can indeed make up for a certain gap.

It's like a lion leading a flock of sheep to fight with another flock of sheep, then there is a high probability that the flock of sheep led by the lion will win.

But what if the opponent is not a flock of sheep?
"That's... a cannon? I see..."

Zhou Yu stared at the rising cloud of smoke and lost the ability to speak for a moment.

Even though it was the first time he saw the power of artillery, he quickly realized that the entire surface warfare... no, the entire world, all combat forms and modes, will undergo tremendous changes because of the emergence of artillery!
The spies he placed in Guanzhong also mentioned this magical, terrifying, and indescribable weapon, but Zhou Yu was skeptical at first, until now he saw it with his own eyes.

Zhou Yu stared at the hit ship.

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No one in Jiangdong had ever seen a cannon, but that didn't stop people from instinctively responding to danger. Many people would subconsciously hide behind cover, or simply jump off the ship to escape. The Jiangdong ships around the ship that was hit were also turning around and fleeing in a panic. Even the Jiangdong soldiers who escaped in the water were trying their best to stay away from the cannon.

Zhou Yu exhaled slowly and calmed himself down. After all, Zhou Yu was a veteran of many battles. Even when facing the artillery of a new thing, after a brief moment of distraction, he immediately regained his senses.

As the commander, Zhou Yu knew very well that if he himself showed panic, then it was easy to imagine what would happen to the general soldiers. Although Zhou Yu, like the ordinary Jiangdong soldiers, was facing new weapons and had little experience in this area, he needed to remain calm in order to stabilize the morale of the Jiangdong army.

Zhou Yu squinted his eyes and stared, then he found that not all Sichuan ships had cannons.

If this is true, then he doesn't need to fight anymore and can just order a withdrawal.

Zhou Yu saw that cannons were only installed on tower ships, and there was only one at the bow.

"boom! 』

There was another loud noise.

But this time, it failed to successfully hit the deck or side of the Jiangdong Navy ship, but hit the upper wooden structure of the Jiangdong ship, and half of the wooden wall collapsed. It looked quite miserable, but in fact it had little impact on the ship's navigation ability.

Zhou Yu nodded, and had a rough idea in his mind.

Although this thing is powerful, its firing speed is not fast and its accuracy is not that precise. The first shot directly hit the hull deck and destroyed a Jiangdong fighting ship. It was just a coincidence.

"See?!" Zhou Yu shouted loudly, causing the surrounding soldiers and military academies to regain their fighting spirit. "Not every shot can hit the target! And even if it hits the target, not every ship will sink!"

The facts were before their eyes. Seeing Zhou Yu remained calm, the Jiangdong soldiers more or less regained some of their morale.

"Order! Avoid the bow of the Sichuan-Shulou ship! Encircle it from both sides!"

Zhou Yu gave the order and then sneered, "Are you forcing me to outflank from both wings and give up the middle? That's perfect!"

……

……

When they saw the Jiangdong navy's ships being hit, damaged, or even capsized, they all cheered.

For a while, the shouts of the cavalry's victory were heard everywhere.

It has to be said that Zhuge Liang was multi-talented.

He worked with craftsmen to solve many problems on how to mount cannons on ships.

Although these issues were also being studied in Guanzhong, the Han Dynasty, which had difficulty in transmitting information, could not share information in real time. Therefore, even if Guanzhong made some progress, Sichuan and Shu might not know about it. Without Zhuge Liang's assistance and the resolution of many practical lifting and installation engineering problems, there would be no artillery roars that shocked Jiangdong.

In fact, in this era, the power of artillery is not yet stronger than that of a large catapult.

The stone shells of large catapults are often several times heavier than artillery shells, or even more than ten times heavier, so the destructive power they bring is naturally much greater than that of artillery. After all, artillery is subject to more constraints of production technology, while catapults can be made as big as the trees they have...

If you want to make heavy artillery, the artillery itself will be too heavy to maneuver, and there will not be enough metal to cast heavy artillery in large quantities.

Just like the cannons installed on the ships today, they are actually small cannons.

The only advantage is that the accuracy and attack frequency of artillery are better than those of large catapults.

Moreover, large catapults are used to deal with fixed objects and solid mixed earth walls. Now, no matter from which angle you look at it, every ship on the water, even if equipped with armored rams, is still unable to withstand the medium and short-range bombardment of artillery.

Therefore, under the bombardment of the Sichuan Army's artillery, several Jiangdong Army warships that tried to approach the Sichuan Army's tower ships were either sunk or damaged. For a moment, the entire Jiangdong Army's offensive was interrupted...

However, new orders soon came from the rear of the Jiangdong Army.

After receiving the new order, the Jiangdong Army abandoned the damaged and even sinking warships and began to change their formation.

Xu Huang stood on the top floor of the ship, looking around, "Kong Ming, Jiangdong really gave up the middle road!"

"This cannon is really powerful!" Xu Huang clapped his hands, "Now I know what the cavalry meant when they said 'strong ships and powerful cannons, invincible'! It's a pity that this cannon is very expensive... If there were hundreds or thousands of these cannons, who in the world would dare to challenge the lord? ! "

Zhuge Liang listened and nodded slightly, "General, what you said is very true, but... at this moment, the Jiangdong navy has not yet come out in full force... Zhou Gongjin has a backup plan..."

"There is a backup plan?" Xu Huang asked, "Kong Ming is saying that the Jiangdong Army has a backup plan on the water?"

Previously, Zhuge Liang said that the Jiangdong army might have sent out two surprise attack groups, one for the regular force and one for the surprise force. Xu Huang understood this, but now Zhuge Liang said that Zhou Yu had some backup plans on the water, which made Xu Huang a little confused.

Zhuge Liang looked out at the battlefield.

The military has no constant position, and water has no fixed shape.

Perhaps the little treasure I took out could give the other party a big shock, but the strength of this shock actually had a huge upper and lower limit...

It’s like maybe some people think they are very important, but they may just cooperate with others and say “oh oh, um”.

After all, these days, there are many people who have experienced many hardships.

The cannons were heavy, and the structure and size of the ship did not adapt quickly and automatically to the appearance of the cannons. Although the cannons roared and looked majestic, they were not completely without problems.

The artillery pieces that were transported from Guanzhong over a long distance were not large.

It’s too big to transport.

Today, this small artillery can inflict severe damage on the Jiangdong Army, mainly due to its material superiority.

Just like bronze suppresses obsidian, and iron suppresses bronze.

Jin Kemu.

This is the wisdom of our ancestors for thousands of years.

However, the current artillery structure is not perfect.

First, the cannon was mounted on the bow, replacing the original eight-bed three-gun crossbow carriage, but it was much heavier than the crossbow carriage, which forced the ship to add some ballast stones at the stern to maintain the balance between the bow and stern. Secondly, the center of gravity of the cannon on the centerline was obviously not as stable as the center of gravity distributed on the wings. It might not be a big problem in rivers, lakes and seas, but if the wind and waves were strong, this drawback might cause the ship to capsize.

Another very important point is that the artillery is now half exposed. Although it can give the Jiangdong Army a very direct visual shock, the gunners and craftsmen who operate the artillery may be under greater threat.

These all require further improvements, and improvements take time, materials, and more importantly, redesigns. New ship structures must be developed to work in conjunction with artillery.

So now we have sharp weapons, but other things are not matched. Just like in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the six countries also created several peerless swords, but they could not defeat the Qin State which was still using bronze ware on a large scale.

Zhuge Liang watched as the Jiangdong navy began to spread out to both wings, exposing Zhou Yu in the middle of the battle. He could not help but shake his head, "Zhou Gongjin, really... If my guess is correct, he is using the opponent's trick..."

Xu Huang was stunned, "Take advantage of the enemy's tactics?"