I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 892: The Navy Gathers
In mid-June, at Xiacai Ferry, there were ships stretching for thousands of miles and flags covering the sky.

Under Su Yao's command, the imperial army quickly completed the deployment for the meeting. Huangfu Song, Guan Yu and other army generals had gathered at the ferry and were ready to cross the river.

The Qingxu Navy led by Taishi Ci, together with the Liaodong Navy and the Pei State Navy, totaling more than a thousand warships, were also lined up on the river in a mighty manner.

In contrast, on the other side of the Huai River, the hundreds of warships that Yuan Shu had previously dominated the Huai River seemed dwarfed by this army, and could only hide in the water forts and rely on the shore for defense.

At this time, Yuan Shu's governor Liang Gang was standing on the arrow tower of the water stronghold, looking at the imperial fleet that blocked out the sun on the river, his face as pale as death.

He knew very well that his navy was no match for the imperial army. But military orders were as strong as a mountain, so he had to brace himself and command his soldiers to strengthen the defense, trying to delay time and wait for good news from Yuan Shu.

"General, can our few warships really stop the attack of the imperial navy?" a deputy general asked worriedly.

Liang Gang glared at him fiercely and cursed, "Shut up your crow mouth! As long as we defend the water fort and hold out until the lord defeats Yuan Shao and returns to rescue, we can turn defeat into victory. Now you are saying these discouraging words and shaking the morale of the army. Be careful of military punishment!"

The deputy general shrank his neck in fear and dared not speak again. Liang Gang looked at the enemy army in the distance, but he was unsure. He knew that Yuan Shu's plan was too risky. If Yuan Shao failed to win quickly and the imperial army successfully crossed the river, Shouchun and even the entire Huainan would be doomed.

But now, he has no other choice but to do it. Every day he can gain is a better chance.

Fortunately, this water fort was built particularly solidly as a water base to protect Shouchun and control the Huai River and the Bi River.

Its huge wooden stakes are driven deep into the riverbed, forming a solid defense line. The tall and thick walls of the village are also built with several layers of wooden boards. Not only can two people walk side by side on it, but there are even arrow towers for defense at regular intervals.

Inside the water fort, warships of all sizes were densely arranged. Although their number was far less than that of the imperial navy, they were still able to put up a battle-ready posture under the protection of various defense facilities in the fort.

Su Yao and Huangfu Song stood side by side on the bow of the flagship, each holding a telescope in their hands, carefully observing the layout of the water fort on the opposite bank.

That's right, one telescope each.

The telescope today is no longer the one that Su Yao originally exchanged from the system.

It has been a year and a half since the new king ascended the throne. As Su Yao fought wars in the south and the north, the territory he actually controlled continued to grow, and the prosperity of Luoyang City gradually recovered. While fighting in the front, Su Yao did not forget to farm and develop production in the rear.

In addition to the papermaking and printing workshops, which are two money-burning workshops that mainly meet the administrative needs of the government, the glass workshop is the first important technological branch that Su Yao pointed out.

With the help of the drawings and processes provided by the system, the skilled craftsmen in Luoyang City quickly mastered the technology of glass manufacturing and successfully fired glass products with high transparency.

Although the initial production was limited, after continuous improvements, he is now able to produce not only ordinary craft consumer goods that sell well throughout the Central Plains and earn money for him, but even telescope lenses that require more sophisticated craftsmanship can be produced in small batches.

The telescope in Huangfu Song's hand was made in the Luoyang workshop.

He closed one eye and observed like Su Yao. He secretly admired the rapid changes under the general's rule, and frowned at the enemy's water fortress: "General, this water fortress is easy to defend but difficult to attack. A strong attack may not be a good strategy. Moreover, most of our soldiers are from the north and are not familiar with water battles. If we attack rashly, we may make mistakes."

There is nothing wrong with what Huangfu Song said.

Although the imperial navy has many ships, naval warfare in this era has a major characteristic, that is, the number of professional naval forces is limited, and the larger the warship, the more it needs to bear the transportation task.

Therefore, despite the large number of ships, most of these warships only have one sailor quota to barely operate the ship. Once the war breaks out, the army will still need to board the ship to replenish manpower.

At this time, the gap between the northern and southern navies will become apparent.

This is also one of the main reasons why the naval battles in the North were far inferior to those in the South. If you have money, you can build a ship at will, but there are only so many professional sailors.

Su Yao put down the telescope and narrowed his eyes slightly. "General Huangfu's words make sense, but our army cannot stay here with them for long. If we let Yuan Shu destroy Yuan Shao, I don't know how many casualties will be caused."

To be honest, Su Yao did not expect that after Yuan Shao was weakened by him several times, he was even unable to deal with Yuan Shu.

With this understanding, Su Yao simply regarded the army under Yuan Shao's command as his own reserve and did not want to destroy them just like that.

"In that case, I have a plan."

The one who spoke was Guo Jia. He walked forward, waved the feather fan in his hand, and said confidently:

"The enemy has limited warships and is hiding in the water fort. Our army can pretend to attack and attract the enemy's main force to the front of the water fort. At the same time, we can send elite naval forces to bypass the flanks and find the weak points of the water fort. We can use fire attacks to burn the water fort. In this way, the battle will be won."

Su Yao's eyes lit up and he said, "Feng Xiao's plan is brilliant. Although this water fort is strong, it is just a wooden building after all. Even if it has some fire protection, as long as we use more sulfur kerosene and other materials, once the fire starts, it will be difficult to contain with the help of the river wind. But this task is arduous. I wonder which unit of our army is suitable for the task of this fire attack?"

Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci took a step forward, clasped his hands together and said in a loud voice: "General, I am willing to lead the Qingxu Navy to undertake this important task! Most of our Qingxu Navy soldiers are coastal warriors, skilled in water, and can maneuver boats very quickly. They are also well versed in the art of fire attack. We will definitely be able to find the flaws in the enemy's water stronghold and burn it down in one fell swoop!"

Su Yao looked at Taishi Ci's resolute eyes and nodded with satisfaction: "Ziyi has such a lofty ambition, very good! This operation is of great importance, so you must be careful. I will also allocate you 500 fast ships, all equipped with strong bows and crossbows and sufficient kerosene, to help you."

Taishi Ci knelt on one knee and accepted the order, saying, "Thank you for your trust, General! I will definitely live up to your trust. If I fail to burn down the bandit camp, I will bring my head to you!"

After arranging the mission of the surprise attack, Su Yao ordered Guan Yu to lead the rest of the navy to lure the enemy head-on and display a strong attack posture in front of their water stronghold to attract Liang Gang's attention. Huangfu Song led the army to support in the rear, ready to cross the river quickly after defeating the enemy.

After everything was arranged, Huangfu Song looked up at the flag on the mast, frowned, and said that although this plan was good, it might not be practical.

Because judging from the astronomical phenomena, it is not suitable to launch a fire attack in the near future.

(End of this chapter)