I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1168 Tear it to shreds
The so-called Poseidon's Web Project is actually very simple, yet extremely cruel.

That is to use a large number of small and medium-sized warships, and to be intimately familiar with the complex waters of the Aegean Sea, to launch continuous wolf pack attacks from multiple directions at night or in bad weather! Use fire ships and boarding tactics, at all costs, even if it means exchanging ten ships for one enemy ship, to exhaust the fighting power of the Han army's main battleships! Once the main battleships are sunk or severely damaged, the remaining Han army ships will be no threat.

So, the Roman fleet then dispatched multiple fast ships to closely monitor the movements of Su Yao's fleet, while simultaneously consolidating and regrouping on a large scale, quietly moving the ships scattered throughout the Aegean Sea toward the waters surrounding Rhodes Island like a net being pulled in.

Crete, Kos, Naxos… Roman naval bases blazed with lights, warships galore. Sailors were urgently conscripted, barrels of oil and pitch were being loaded onto the ships from the warehouses. Veterans solemnly polished their daggers and javelins, while recruits, under the reprimands of their officers, underwent their final boarding drills. A tense atmosphere, like the calm before the storm, hung over the entire Aegean Sea.

Governor Emilius's strategy was clear: avoid direct confrontation and strike decisively.

He concluded that the Han people were building ships with great effort in order to seize control of the Aegean Sea, and that Rhodes Island was the most forward gateway for taking control of the Aegean Sea.

Cyprus is 400 kilometers from Rhodes, a journey that takes about three or four days by ship. Governor Emilius decided to make full use of this precious window of opportunity to intensify the operation. When the Han army arrived in the waters off Rhodes or launched its island-seizing operation, they would light a signal fire to gather and annihilate the Han army, destroying its naval power in the Mediterranean in one fell swoop, and even capturing the Han's powerful warships to study and utilize them for their own purposes.

Everything was going smoothly. Under the watchful eyes of their fast ships, the Han army did not deviate from its course and sailed straight toward Rhodes Island. In fact, to accommodate the slower warships in the fleet, the giant ships did not hoist their sails fully.

However, on the third day after the Han fleet set sail, Governor Emilius, who was closely monitoring the battle reports from the front on Rhodes Island, was horrified to discover that he had lost control of the Han fleet.

"disappeared?!"

"How is this going???"

"Didn't we send over a dozen speedboats to keep an eye on them day and night?!"

On the afternoon of the third day, facing the governor's repeated inquiries about intelligence from the front lines, Admiral Agrippa reported with a pale face:

"Yes, that's right."

"Our Clippers were keeping an eye on them until last night."

"But who knew that six hours have passed since then and there has been no news from the front."

"Whether it was the Han Chinese warships or our fast ships, they all vanished without a trace, as if swallowed by the sea!"

Agrippa's voice trembled uncontrollably: "Your Excellency, all the scouting ships we dispatched... have lost contact! The last message came back at midnight last night, reporting that the Han fleet was sailing normally about fifty nautical miles southwest of Milos Island. But since then, there has been no further news!"

Governor Emilius abruptly stood up, his face ashen: "Overnight, more than a dozen fast ships have all lost contact? How is that possible?! Even if they encountered a storm, it's impossible that not a single one could have escaped!"

“Unless…” Agrippa swallowed hard, uttering the terrible conjecture with difficulty, “unless the Han people were prepared in advance and, in a way we couldn’t detect, pulled out all our ‘eyes’ right under our noses!”

A deathly silence fell over the council chamber. Fear, like an icy tide, instantly engulfed every Roman general present. Their intelligence network, upon which they relied to formulate tactics, had been utterly paralyzed at this crucial moment. Now, they were blind, completely unaware of the Han fleet's movements!
"Immediately send double... no, triple the number of Clippers! Expand the search area! We must find them!" Emilius practically roared the order.

However, it was all too late. Northeast of Rhodes, on the open sea off a port in Asia Minor, sails were numerous.

"The Romans actually thought they could stare down Your Majesty's fleet with mere small boats. How naive and laughable."

Guo Jia lightly waved his feather fan, stood on the bridge of the "Dingyuan" ship, and looked at the coastline that was faintly visible in the distance, a hint of sarcasm on his lips.

He still can't forget how terrified and helpless those Roman barbarians were last night when Su Yao rode the Griffin and cleared out the Roman speedboats one by one under the moonlight.

“Indeed,” Zhou Yu laughed. “They were really being too clever for their own good, and ended up losing their lives. They were so focused on watching our ships that they forgot His Majesty has a pair of wings that can soar through the heavens.”

Although Su Yao did not unlock the entire Mediterranean map due to the fog of war, the unusual actions of the Romans could not escape their notice.

Ever since the Romans began to tighten their defenses, Zhou Yu and Guo Jia had warned that they might use tactics such as setting traps or luring the enemy deep into their territory.

Therefore, Su Yao had already dispatched multiple groups of spies and surrendered Syrian and Egyptian sailors, disguised as merchant ships or fishing boats, to gather information throughout the Aegean Sea.

Soon, various intelligence reports came in: the Roman naval bases on Crete, Kos, Naxos and other islands were unusually active, with warships gathering and supplies being frequently moved; patrols in the waters around Rhodes were significantly strengthened; and some fishermen even reported seeing a large number of ships secretly gathering at night.

"The Romans are trying to lure us into a trap," Guo Jia said with a light wave of his feather fan as he looked at the intelligence report. "They thought we would definitely attack Rhodes Island, so they moved their main force there to lay a trap."

Zhou Yu nodded in agreement: "This plan might work against an ordinary navy. But they don't know that His Majesty has a divine beast to assist him, which can soar through the heavens and overlook the vast sea. His Majesty can see their troop movements as easily as reading the lines on the palm of his hand."

So, the rest was quite simple.

After Su Yao's fleet set sail, it outwardly continued its journey towards Rhodes Island to lull the enemy into a false sense of security. Once the night was deep and quiet the following day, he made his move directly, eliminating the Roman sentry ships. Then, he launched a preemptive strike, directly attacking the ports they had set up around the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor—where their fleet, prepared to encircle and annihilate Su Yao, was anchored.

With Su Yao and Griffin escorting them, the Han army's ships appeared like ghosts, silently appearing outside the Roman port.

boom--

Boom boom——

The deafening roar of cannons shattered the morning tranquility, as scorching shells whistled through the air and crashed into the densely packed Roman warships anchored in the harbor. Splinters flew, flames soared, and many Roman warships, before they even had a chance to weigh anchor, were destroyed or severely damaged by the sudden attack. The harbor was instantly engulfed in flames and chaos.

Thus, the "Net of the Sea" plan, which the Roman naval commanders had racked their brains to devise, was shattered by Su Yao's surprise attack before it could even be implemented, leaving gaps in its fabric.

(End of this chapter)