Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

"Brother, have you found out the distribution of the water forts on the Yu River?" Zhong Ping lost his composure for only a moment, but soon regained his composure. While instructing the county magistrate to properly arrange the bodies of the Bai Li soldiers and garrison troops that could be buried, he asked Li Meng.

Li Meng came out of the cabin holding a dripping iron spike, with a few fish scales clinging to his rattan armor: "We have found out, their water fort is thirty miles away, with about 50,000 soldiers, led by Shi You's brother Shi Cong."

"Thirty miles... But is it the narrow pass with cliffs on both sides of the river, shaped like a lying cow?" When Zhong Ping turned around, his wet clothes threw out a string of water drops. Seeing Li Meng nod, he grabbed the charcoal pencil on the board and sketched the distribution of the water fort on the bulkhead according to Li Meng's description: the central main fort was built on the sandbar in the middle of the river, twelve tower ships were connected head to tail and blocked the river surface, and there was an arrow tower on the top of the cliffs on both sides.

Hearing the sound, Fan A came closer and couldn't help but gasp after seeing the picture drawn by Zhong Ping: "Linking boats to lock the river, and the top of the cliff to control the bowstring, this is to turn the Yu River into a urn with no way out."

"This is the most troublesome thing." Zhong Ping drew circles in the middle of the river. "Hundreds of ships are locked in the river. The boats we seized the day before yesterday have a shallow draft and can still pass through, but our warships can't..."

Before he finished speaking, the boat suddenly shook violently. A muddy scout emerged from the reeds on the shore and knelt on the deck, soaking wet. "Report! There are nine iron chains across the surface of the Hanshui River, the largest of which is as thick as a bowl!"

"Order all ships to hang the flag with Shi Xie's name seized the day before on the mast." When Zhong Ping turned around, Li Meng noticed that his left hand was always on a certain place on the bulkhead - there was densely packed small words written in charcoal, and the latest line was "Iron chains are linked together, and the wind helps the fire grow."

Zhong Ping wrapped his hair with a cloth and said, "Load the confiscated corn onto the ship. Use the oldest sacks."

"Bo Heng wants to use fire attack?" Li Meng's eyes lit up, "I'll go prepare the kerosene right away."

"No." Zhong Ping threw the charcoal pencil into the river and watched it being swallowed by the whirlpool. "Shi Xie is not a northerner who is unfamiliar with naval warfare. Since he dared to cross the river with iron chains, he must have made preparations to deal with fire attacks."

"Decorate the grain ship."

He planned to talk to Xu Jing first and make some preparations for the night attack.

At midnight, the river was filled with fog. Thirty grain ships were pressed towards the water fort with the southeast wind, and the flags hanging on the bows were pale blue in the moonlight. Zhong lay flat in the interlayer of the cabin, and the muffled sound of the river water hitting the hull was in his ears. He could clearly hear the footsteps on the deck above. It was the Bai Li soldiers pretending to be the Shijia Army talking in slang with the guards of the water fort.

"Twenty ships of millet from Pingnan!" The Bai Li soldiers waved the talisman at the guards, and soon a small boat sailed out of the village gate. The guards held torches close to the side of the boat, and the flames swept across the bulging sacks.

He suddenly stretched out his hand and poked a hole in the outermost bag, and the yellow corn poured out immediately. He then carefully checked the talisman and the pattern of the rattan armor and said, "Let it go!" When the guard signaled the patrol boat to make way, no one noticed that the waterline of the ship's belly was sinking abnormally - there were ten Bai Li soldiers hiding inside each grain ship, they were huddled in the mezzanine, biting hollow reed stalks in their mouths.

Zhong Ping leaned against the boat board and listened to the outside world. When the boat bumped slightly for the third time, he knew that they had entered the water fortress. When the iron chain was lowered, Zhong Ping smelled a smell of raw oil - it seemed that these boats were coated with tung oil to prevent fire.

It was a pity for Zhong Ping. If Meng Ling had enough kerosene, these ships would have been burned to ashes by now. After all, although tung oil was resistant to high temperatures and could reduce the burning speed, it was still oil after all. It would still catch fire if it encountered open flames!
"Do it!" The ship suddenly tilted violently. When Zhong Ping broke through the mezzanine, he saw fire dragons lighting up on the cliffs on both sides and vaguely saw familiar flags fluttering.

He pulled out the iron hook from the bottom of the cabin. It was a "hook and hook" made according to the description in "Mozi Beixue". The three-edged barb glowed dimly in the firelight.

Dozens of waves suddenly exploded on the river surface, and the Bai Li soldiers attacked from underwater with reed pipes in their mouths. The iron hooks in their hands accurately stuck into the iron chain buckles, and with the help of Zhong Ping, they took the lead in leading others to climb onto the wing of the boat.

Zhong Ping stepped onto the deck of the main ship. He inserted the hook into the base of the mast with his backhand, and leaped into the air with the force of the rope, avoiding the attacking bamboo shoots. He held high Shi Xie's personal seal in his hand and said, "Shi Xie has surrendered. Don't you know your destiny?!"

Dozens of boats came with the wind from upstream, each equipped with a fish-dragon car. Zhong Ping himself had even forgotten when the system gave him the reward.

When he first arrived in Jiaozhou, in addition to giving Fan A medical skills and prescriptions, he also took out a lot of drawings piled up in the system column and threw them to Zhuge Liang in Yangzhou for experiments. Anyway, this guy would send the simplified version of the drawings back after the research was successful, so Zhong Ping did not continue to pay attention to this matter. Unexpectedly, he saw the results for the first time today.

The Yulong Chariot "can fire all its arrows within twelve hours if the crossbow is stretched to a high level. It can shoot long arrows in succession, and can reach any distance." Zhong Ping only took a distracted look, and when he saw that the reinforcements avoided the tower ship where he and the Bai Li soldiers were, he concentrated on seizing the ship. He swung his knife to cut the mainsail rope, and the tilted mast happened to crush the enemy soldiers who tried to board the ship. Zhong Ping took the opportunity to lead his men to rush to the wheelhouse. The moment the hatch was kicked open, three short spears came through the wind. Zhong Ping dodged sideways and used a hook to pick up the flying short spears: "My army has arrived with the wind, and the time is not right for you! Kneel down and surrender, and you can still survive!"

The soldiers in the cabin heard the crossbow arrows raining down from the river and the sounds of fighting, and knew that what Zhong Ping said was true. They also saw that the clothes and armor on Zhong Ping were all the standard of Shi Xie's subordinates. How could they not understand that Shi Xie had suffered a great defeat in Mengling?
Once they lost their spirit, they no longer had the will to fight. Except for a few of Ujijong's personal guards who still put up a stubborn resistance, most of the other soldiers followed Taneping's advice and surrendered.

The battle on the river was in full view of the people on a small boat anchored on the shore. Shi Xie and Xu Jing sat opposite each other at the bow, surrounded by Li Meng and a dozen Bai Li soldiers.

"Xin'er should be one year old now, right?" Xu Jing pushed the warmed wine across the table. The remains of the water fort flickered outside the window, and the river breeze carried the aroma of burnt corn.

Shi Xie's hand holding the cup trembled suddenly. He thought of the lychee tree he had planted in Hepu County when his youngest son was born last year. Has the tender green now turned into a thick shade that can provide shelter? The copper cup in his hand reflected his graying hair, and he suddenly realized how similar the blood stains in the seams of his nails were to the red soil of Lingnan.

"Xu Wenxiu, you and I were both students of Duke Zheng during the Xiping period." Shi Xie suddenly spoke in Luoyang dialect. This was the first time in thirty years that he did not speak Cangwu dialect. "Back then, you and I debated the Gongyang Commentary in the Imperial Academy, and you said, 'Great unification does not depend on the size of the territory, but on the peace of the people'."

The river wind blew into the tent, blowing the bamboo slips in Xu Jing's hand. The unfolded "Jiaozhou Customs" happened to stop at the "Hepu" chapter, with Shi Xie's handwritten annotation on the header: "In July, the fish are fat, and the boy picking lotus sings: 'Tie me with five-colored ribbons, and fish swim on the lotus picking path. The clear water reflects the green peaks, and the clouds and mists surround the green waves. There are so many beautiful scenery here, how can I not spend my old age here.'"

"Majesty, since you have sent out troops so frequently, how many times have you done it to appease the people, and how many times have you done it for your own ambitions?"

Xu Jing's voice was low, but loud enough for him to hear clearly.

Shi Xie suddenly stood up, and the jade pendant on his waist clanged against the table. He staggered to the tent door and saw the captured Li soldiers repairing the warship. There was a boy with a broken arm biting a hemp rope with his teeth to tie a knot, and the tattoo on his forehead was a beast pattern unique to Hepu County.

"You understand what he said." Xu Jing came to his side without knowing when, "He said he wanted to repair the boat and go back to Lidong to take my mother to pick lotus seeds."

"Everyone says Jiaozhou is remote and barbaric, but you say Jiaozhou is rich in natural resources. Don't return home. If you do, you will be heartbroken."

Shi Xie's body trembled slightly in the morning light. He remembered that twenty years ago, when he was appointed governor of Jiaozhi, he swore in the Fubo Temple: "I am willing to lead the southern shield and not allow the beacon fire to be lit." At this moment, the scorched ship wreckage on the river hurt his eyes more than any steel knife.

Perhaps it was because he had been too successful in Jiaozhou for the past thirty years and he could not afford to lose a war. Or maybe he was too old and had developed a kind heart, so he was actually moved by Xu Jing's few words.

The battle on the river was already decided. When Liu Bei came in, he saw Shi Xie staring at the "Records of Jiaozhou Customs". On the table was a wooden box sent by Zhong Ping, which contained thirty unused wolfsbane heads and his seal.

"The lychees in Cangwu County are in great demand this year." Liu Bei took off his sword and placed it on the map. "Mr. Xie, are you willing to go with me? When the sword becomes a plow, we should use the Fengtu Ji as a guide."

A seagull flew over the water and picked up a fish with its belly upturned. It was the season when the fish meat was plump and delicious. Shi Xie suddenly laughed softly, and as he laughed, tears fell on the map, blurring the ink marks on the map.

He raised his head, not looking at Liu Bei, but at Xu Jing opposite him, as if it was still more than 40 years ago when the two of them first met in Luoyang. At that time, the two had different views on the school of thought, but both had the most upright ideals in the world.

"This failure is not due to my fault, but to the people's heart."

Perhaps he was trying to save his reputation, or perhaps he really regretted it, but Shi Xie could guarantee that he was sincere in what he said: "Please treat the people well. I am willing to offer Jiaozhou as a gift. If you have any requests, please follow my instructions."

(End of this chapter)