Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3574 Hindsight

Captain Li, who was on Cao's ship, felt his heart beating like a drum, and even his body seemed to tremble.

Under the cover of night, the warship approached the landing point of Liao Hua's men.

When the boats sailed out, there was no noise or beating of war drums. The sound of flowing water covered up the noise of the boats. It was not until the boats approached Liao Hua's troops that the soldiers left on the river bank discovered the arrival of Cao's warships. They sounded the alarm and began to organize a defense line.

"Ready, fight!"

Captain Li didn't notice that his voice was trembling. He held on to the side of the boat so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

It was not until this moment that the war drums were sounded on the ship, and the archers standing on the deck sprayed arrows and crossbow bolts at the hussars on the shore.

Cao's army naturally did not dare to fire any rockets, and the soldiers led by Liao Hua on the shore did not have time to prepare any rockets because the incident happened suddenly. Arrows from both sides crossed each other, and it was obvious that the Cao army archers who had been prepared had the upper hand. In addition, there were parapets on the tower ships and fighting ships, which could block some of Liao Hua's counterattacks. In this case, Liao Hua's soldiers on the shore were almost in a passive situation.

This suppressed situation lasted for about an incense stick of time, until the warships and rafts left by Liao Hua in the Dan River rushed up and started fighting with Cao's three warships. Only then did the archers on Cao's warships begin to shift their targets of attack to the water surface.

Because there were not many ships on the water, whether it was Cao's army or Liao Hua's side, the battle on the water was a conventional one at the beginning, with bows and crossbows shooting from a distance, and ramming and boarding when they got closer. However, Liao Hua's ships were relatively small and fragile, so when they saw Cao's warships charging, most of them would directly avoid them, not giving Cao's army the opportunity to hit them with their bows.

And this is exactly what Cao’s warships want to see...

"Seize the upstream!" Captain Li shouted.

He felt that success was just around the corner, but before he could be happy for too long, bad news came.

"Captain! Our ship is stuck!"

"Ah ha?" Captain Li was totally confused. What did it mean to be stuck?

But that's the reality.

Because Liao Hua's vanguard troops were riding on rafts, and the durability of the rafts was obviously very poor, after Cao's ships arrived, some of the rafts fell apart in the collision, and one of these woods was stuck in the rudder of the tower ship, making it impossible for the tower ship to turn.

A ship sails and steers in the water, relying on a rudder on the one hand and oars on the other.

If the tower ship was fully staffed, there would naturally be enough troops to operate the oars or repair the stuck rudder, but the problem was that the tower ship was used for fire, and not only were there no soldiers in the cabin, but there were also a large number of flammable materials doused with kerosene!

This resulted in a serious shortage of soldiers on the tower ships and fighting ships, and even when the rudder was stuck, there was no way to repair it in time.

Most of the time, good news usually comes late, while bad news comes in pairs. Just after Captain Li urgently dispatched people to remove the stuck rudder, someone came to report that kerosene in the cabin was leaking!

The cabin of the building ship had holes for the oars, and the kerosene leaked from these holes, spreading to the outside of the ship and the water surface, forming a long colorful black...

"broken!"

Captain Li quickly turned his head and looked towards the shore. Sure enough, among Liao Hua's soldiers on the shore, he saw someone pointing towards the tower ship!

At this moment, those "good" memories that had been suppressed suddenly popped up in Captain Li's mind!

This attack method, similar to the "suicide ship", was originally intended to create an information gap.

Just like the Battle of Red Cliff in history, if Cao's army had discovered the problem with Huang Gai's ships earlier, it cannot be said that they would not have fallen into the trap at all, but at least some of the losses could have been reduced.

But seeing that the hussars on the shore seemed to have discovered the abnormality of the ship, Captain Li's calves could not help but twitch. He didn't want to die...

Strictly speaking, he didn't want to be burned alive!

Even dying by swords and guns is better than being burned to death!

He couldn't help but move his eyes left and right, his head was buzzing, and after a moment he seemed to hear the soldiers around him urging him and asking him what he was going to do?

"Fire! Fire! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"

Captain Li shouted out almost instinctively, and without caring about anyone else, he walked to the stern first. He wanted to board the fighting ship and leave this dangerous area.

Everyone has their own particular fears.

Some are easy to understand, such as fear of heights and fear of snakes, but some are more difficult to understand, like Captain Li, who is actually afraid of fire.

This kind of fear is usually not expressed, just like a person who is afraid of heights will not feel how high he is when sitting in an office on the 33rd floor. However, if he accidentally walks to the window and looks down, his legs may go weak on the spot.

The same is true for Captain Li.

Normally, no one would have thought that he was afraid of fire, or that he would lose his composure because he was afraid of being burned to death.

As a result, when Captain Li left, the Cao army soldiers on the tower ship naturally evacuated as well, and Cao Ren's previous repeated emphasis on seizing the upstream position and blocking Liao Hua's return route was naturally forgotten.

The two fighting ships picked up Captain Li and some other Cao soldiers on the tower ships and started to set fire.

The flames quickly burned up, and after a moment, the ship became a huge torch in the Dan River, and the kerosene and wooden fragments that burst out covered most of the river surface...

……

……

Cao Ren, who was standing halfway up the mountain, was overjoyed when he saw the fire on the river below. But before he could laugh out loud, his face froze and even the smile on his face froze!

What the hell is going on?!

This is just like Huang Gai's fire attack in history, but when he reached the middle of the river, before he got close to Cao's water fort, his boats caught fire...

The river water is always flowing, so if the flames and kerosene do not touch the enemy's hull, the effectiveness of the fire attack will be greatly reduced. As for Cao Ren, his original plan was to use fire to burn it, at least temporarily trap the landing site of Liao Hua and others, so that Liao Hua and his soldiers would be trapped in a battle with their backs to the water!

Not everyone can succeed in "fighting with their backs against the wall"...

The reason why Han Xin was able to succeed was not because he simply ordered his soldiers to "back to the water", but because he had already sent a light cavalry unit to attack the enemy camp before "back to the water"! Without this trick, the enemy could have formed a battle array and pushed Han Xin and others into the water step by step, drowning them all!

However, many so-called military masters in later generations avoided talking about Han Xin's technique of sending troops to attack the enemy camp from the side and forcing the enemy into a dilemma. Instead, they emphasized "fighting with one's back to the water", which naturally misled many fools into getting trapped in the water.

Moreover, the location chosen by Han Xin was also very clever. He took advantage of the terrain surrounded by water on three sides to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of their numbers, which allowed his own soldiers to rotate and delay more time.

However, Liao Hua's formation in front of them obviously did not have these "back-to-the-water" conditions. Even if Liao Hua sent a detachment to attack Cao's hill, Cao Ren could divide his troops to fight back. If that didn't work, he could retreat to the military camp in Danjiangkou and continue to resist. Giving up the position in Yingzui Bay was acceptable to Cao's army, and it was not like the critical juncture of the battle of back-to-the-water in history.

Simply put, this place is very important to Liao Hua. If he doesn't get through, he can't move forward. For Cao's army, there are subsequent strongholds. They just need to kill as many soldiers of Liao Hua as possible here...

This led to an unequal battle situation between the two sides, and Cao Ren was more relaxed in arranging the battle situation.

But now, there was a major flaw in Cao Ren's arrangement!

Although it was unclear why the ship suddenly caught fire halfway through its journey, now was not the time to investigate the issue. Cao Ren could only take advantage of the situation and give orders to gather all the soldiers to counterattack Liao Hua's line on the banks of the Dan River!

The Cao army soldiers were not quite clear about Cao Ren's specific arrangements, so when they saw the fire in the river, their morale was greatly boosted, and they rushed down towards Liao Hua's line of troops, and in a short while they actually beat back Liao Hua's formation!

Cao Ren now only hopes that Liao Hua will lose his mind in such a battle situation and want to fight a "back-to-the-water battle". Then Cao Ren can thoroughly teach Liao Hua what the real "back-to-the-water battle" is...

……

……

Unlike generals who need to have a global perspective, soldiers are generally limited to the opponent in front of them and the current situation. Therefore, after the fire started in the river, the morale of Liao Hua's soldiers was also shaken. Some soldiers could not help but look back, even if they were reminded by the military academy not to look back, they could not help but look back.

Liao Hua did not expect that Cao's army would use fire attack, or to be more precise, he did not expect that Cao's army would use fire attack on the water.

He had seen the reeds being cut before, and thought that Cao's army would set up troops on land, so he never dared to rush too deep, for fear of accidentally falling into Cao's trap.

Of course, compared to battlefield experience, Liao Hua was undoubtedly a little more immature than Cao Ren. Liao Hua guessed that Cao Ren had an ambush, but he didn't guess that Cao Ren not only had an ambush on land, but also had an additional preparation in the water!

In fact, the battlefield games between the two sides are not much different.

Cao Ren also guessed that Liao Hua would launch a surprise attack, but he didn't expect that his own outpost on the hilltop would be so useless...

In the game between the two sides, not only does one's side have to make smooth progress, but it also depends on how many mistakes the other side makes.

Sometimes, it is more important not to make mistakes than to get a winning hand.

At this stage, Cao Ren has almost played all his cards, and it all depends on how Liao Hua responds.

As for Liao Hua, he sent soldiers to attack in two directions, one by water and the other by mountain road. Both sides achieved certain results, but with Cao Ren in charge, the Cao army still showed no signs of defeat.

Now that there was a fire on the water, Liao Hua had to make a decision: to continue fighting and try to make a last-ditch effort, or to withdraw, regroup and attack again.

"Captain! What should we do now? !"

The military school students under Liao Hua shouted anxiously.

At a certain moment, the words "fight to the death" did appear in Liao Hua's mind.

However, after quickly scanning the battlefield, Liao Hua found that the terrain here was not suitable for launching a decisive battle.

Liao Hua had already sent out the reserve force, which was the one attacking the Eagle Bay Hill. If Liao Hua ignored the boats and rafts in the Dan River and just formed a battle array on the bank of the Dan River, or led his troops to advance and try to open up a communication channel with another force on the Eagle Bay Hill, he would inevitably suffer multi-angle and long-distance attacks from Cao's army.

To hold the banks of the Dan River would mean that Liao Hua had to believe that the troops on the flank would definitely break through the Yingzui Bay. If he continued to attack, it would mean that Liao Hua had put all his soldiers and forces on the table, including himself. If he succeeded, it would be great. But if he failed, regardless of whether he could escape with his retreat cut off, the Wuguan attack on Jingbei would suffer a severe setback, and at least in the short term, it would not pose a subsequent threat to Jingzhou.

It will even affect Li Dian and Pang Shanmin...

So, if he retreated, what Liao Hua would lose would be his own casualties in the attack tonight, as well as some of the positions and results that had already been achieved.

The military merits he had gained at the moment were actually Liao Hua's current "anchor" and also his "cost".

Bet or not?

Liao Hua looked around, not only at the top of the mountain, but also at the direction of the water.

There is a fog between the two sides of the war.

This is somewhat similar to the real-time strategy games of later generations, but the difference is that no matter which side you are on, you cannot replenish soldiers without any support. And the most important point is that in the battle, if a soldier dies, he is dead. His experience points will not be saved on the squad flag or squad number. The next wave of recruits will still be recruits. It is impossible for a squad to be promoted directly to a three-star veteran just because it has existed for a long time...

Therefore, only if the soldiers survive can they have the possibility of growth. If they fail to survive, no matter how much experience points they gain in this battle, they will be reset to zero with one click.

Liao Hua let out a long breath. He was not sure if this was the only wave of Cao Ren’s attack on the water.

If……

Although the fire on the surface of the Dan River had ignited the sunken warships that Cao Ren had originally placed lower down, forming a large sea of ​​fire that covered most of the river surface, making it difficult for Cao's navy to continue the attack, if more Cao's naval ships attacked, they would certainly be difficult to resist.

"Order! Direct team, follow me!"

Liao Hua finally made a decision.

……

……

Cao Ren, who was on the hillside, had been paying attention to Liao Hua's movements. When he saw that Liao Hua's battle flag did not retreat but instead advanced a distance, he could not help but clap his hands and laugh. Even the pain in his left ear seemed to be relieved a lot.

"Good, good!" Cao Ren was like a hunter who saw his prey about to fall into a trap, and he couldn't help but feel happy. "Pass the order! Pass the order quickly! Don't shoot yet, let them in! Get ready first, let them in! Wait for my order before shooting!"

The messenger under Cao Ren rushed to the flank to deliver the message, while Cao Ren stared closely at Liao Hua's battle flag, watching it fluttering and flashing in the night and the firelight, estimating the distance and direction.

Cao Ren looked up and saw the hilltop on the other side of Yingzui Bay. The fighting was still going on there. Liao Hua's army did have a certain advantage, but Cao Ren's soldiers did not completely collapse because Cao Ren was still holding on here. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain, they fought and retreated.

"Yes, that's it..." Cao Ren nodded, "Bring them in... bring in some more..."

Cao Ren endured it, controlling his desire to attack, trying to get Liao Hua to lead his men deeper into the enemy's territory. This way, he could gather attacks from all directions and completely defeat Liao Hua's troops in one fell swoop!

But just when Cao Ren thought Liao Hua had almost fallen into the trap, he suddenly discovered that Liao Hua's battle flag was missing!

In the first few breaths, Cao Ren thought that it was blocked by some rocks, bushes, or something else, but after waiting for a while, he found that he still could not see Liao Hua's battle flag, and he was shocked!

Looking up into the distance, Cao Ren then noticed that the hussars on the bank of the Dan River were boarding the boats...

"Damn it!"

Cao Ren immediately realized that he had fallen into a trap!

Liao Hua had no intention of fighting a decisive battle with Cao's army. He led his direct troops to attack Cao's line just to provide more time and space for other soldiers on the river bank to retreat.

Obviously, Cao Ren and most of Cao's soldiers were fooled by Liao Hua. By the time Cao Ren realized what was happening, Liao Hua's main force had already boarded the remaining boats, and Liao Hua's direct team was also retreating rapidly...

This is the role of the elite troops. When attacking, they act as the vanguard and break into the enemy's formation. When retreating, they act as the rear guard and can retreat without chaos.

"Attack! Attack!"

Cao Ren's order was somewhat belated.

The Cao army soldiers who were on standby rushed out, trying to stop Liao Hua and Liao Hua's direct team, but it didn't have much effect. Liao Hua's retreat speed was even faster than the speed at which these Cao army soldiers rushed down.

When Cao's soldiers rushed to the bank of Dan River, Liao Hua had already boarded the ship with the last group of people and withdrew his troops.

As the horn sounded on the ship, Liao Hua's soldiers on the top of Yingzui Bay also began to retreat.

Cao Ren stood by the Dan River, holding his sword tightly and gritting his teeth.

"Tell General Cao, don't be so polite, and don't send me off so far!"

The sound coming from the boat made Cao Ren, who had arrived at the bank of Dan River half a step behind, feel uncomfortable in his chest.

From a certain perspective, Cao Ren met Liao Hua's surprise attack and successfully repelled Liao Hua, which can also be called a victory, but is it really a victory?

Cao Ren made so many preparations and put so much thought into it, but in the end he didn't spare Liao Hua's head, he just killed some of Liao Hua's soldiers...

But Cao Ren looked at the Cao army soldiers around him, who seemed to be celebrating for defeating Liao Hua. Cao Ren had to force a smile on his face, "Well done! Well done! Count the results and reward them according to their merits!"

"Oh oh oh..."

Cao Jun's soldiers cheered.

Amid the cheers, Cao Ren slowly lowered his head and hid his stiff smile in the shadows.

Liao Hua retreated, and he also had to retreat from Yingzui Bay...

Because Li Dian came from another direction.