The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 436: The Linked Warships at Red Cliff

Zhou Yu glanced at Zhuge Liang.

"Mr. Zhuge, Gan Ning is now in prison, Cai Mao and others are dead, and the Cavalry Army and the Navy are all missing. What should we do next?"

He really wanted to know what other plans Zhuge Liang had next.

Zhuge Liang waved the feather fan in his hand and chuckled, "How does the commander-in-chief plan to defeat the bandits?"

"Sir, how do you plan to defeat the bandits?" Zhou Yu asked in return.

"You two gentlemen are both smart people. I believe you have already thought of a way to defeat the thieves. Why don't you write it down together?" Upon seeing this, Cao Cao chuckled.

"I'll join in too." Guo Jia also became interested.

After hearing this, Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu looked at each other and smiled. They immediately took a pen and wrote a word on their palms. Then they turned the pages and saw the word "fire" written on the palms of all three people. Immediately, a burst of laughter rang out in the big tent.

"It really is true that great minds think alike!" Liu Bei couldn't help but praise.

"The enemy has a large number of soldiers and strong horses, so there is no problem in using fire attack. But we are in Chibi and the enemy is in Wulin, which is upstream. It is not easy to use fire attack." Cao Cao quickly shook his head and said.

Everyone was silent for a while. The only thing they could rely on to launch a fire attack was the wind direction. This was the fastest way to rush to the middle of the enemy's warships and launch a fire attack.

On the big rivers, only the southeast wind will do.

But now it was winter, the wind was blowing from the northwest, and there was no southeast wind at all. This meant that the prerequisite for launching a fire attack had been lost.

Zhou Yu also showed hesitation when he heard this.

Guo Jia looked at Zhuge Liang and saw a smile on his face. He immediately asked, "Kong Ming is smiling. Could it be that he has found a way to bring the southeast wind?"

After hearing this, Cao Cao and others showed a hint of curiosity on their faces and looked at Zhuge Liang.

"It's hard to say, it's hard to say." Zhuge Liang shook his head, looking a little mysterious, and said, "Right now, we have no other options, but we should prepare everything first. The more we plan, the better."

Cao Cao and others nodded after hearing this. There was no other way at the moment, so they could only take one step at a time and make more preparations.

After everyone left the tent, Cao Cao and Guo Jia returned to their own camp.

"Fengxiao, without the southeast wind, it is almost impossible to launch a fire attack." Cao Cao was a little distressed and said, "Do we have to wait until next spring or summer?"

Only in spring and summer will the southeast wind blow over the river.

But could the coalition forces wait until then? Cao Cao could not guarantee it.

Qin Shou's family was big and powerful, and he could sustain a long decisive battle, but the coalition forces could not. Tens of thousands of troops were fighting in the front, and more than 100,000 young and strong were needed to provide them with food and grass.

But the next spring was the time for spring ploughing. Under Qin Shou's rule, hundreds of thousands of people were mobilized to transport food and fodder, which had little impact on the next year's harvest and could continue to support the war.

But the coalition forces cannot do this. If the war cannot be ended before the spring, it will affect the spring plowing of the next year. If this continues, the coalition forces will surely be defeated.

Cao Cao was a military expert and naturally knew the importance of food and fodder. In this kind of large-scale battle, the battle was actually about food and fodder.

"Our food and fodder cannot sustain long-term warfare. The war must be ended before the spring plowing season."

Guo Jia's face was solemn, he also discovered the problem.

"Although the plan is good, it is difficult to implement." Cao Cao was very regretful. "Perhaps Zhuge Kongming has a solution."

Guo Jia thought of the smile on Zhuge Liang's face and always felt that Zhuge Liang had some solution.

"Zhuge Kongming?" Cao Cao shook his head and said, "Fengxiao, Zhuge Kongming may have some wisdom, but some fatal things cannot be changed by human power."

Cao Cao believed that it was almost impossible for a southeast wind to blow in the middle of winter. Unless it was a god, there would be no southeast wind in winter.

Guo Jia nodded after hearing this. If it weren't for Zhuge Liang's confident look, Guo Jia would not have believed that such a thing would happen. But now, facing the huge pressure brought by the Cavalry Army, everyone had no confidence at all.

At this moment, in the Wulin Navy camp, several men wearing bronze masks were walking between the warships, watching the soldiers' training. However, these men shook their heads from time to time, and it was obvious that they were not satisfied with the training situation.

"Brother, these soldiers are all from the north. They are fine on land, but they can't even stand steadily on the river. How can they march and fight?" said one of them, shaking his head.

"Northerners are good at riding horses, and southerners are good at boats. It has been like this since ancient times. The main force of the Cavalry Army are all from the north. It is almost impossible to make these soldiers form combat effectiveness in a short period of time. Even for our training, it is the same." The man shook his head.

These problems can only be solved if there is a lot of time. Unfortunately, the army is gathering in Wulin and the war is imminent. Preparations for the war must be completed in a very short time.

"I'm afraid the Prime Minister won't give us more time." One person said worriedly.

"Don't worry, the Prime Minister is magnanimous. I think the Prime Minister has already made plans for this situation. Otherwise, you and I would not have been killed. At this time, I am afraid that Liu Bei, Cao Cao and others still think that you and I were killed by the Prime Minister!" The leader laughed.

These three people are Cai Mao, Cai Zhong and Cai He.

"Humph, who are Cao Cao and Liu Bei? Do they think they can compete with the Prime Minister? They are simply overestimating their own abilities." Cai He said with disdain on his face.

When the three brothers were killed this time, Cai He was not angry. Instead, he was amazed at Qin Shou's wisdom. These strategies fooled not only the enemies but also his own people.

If I am like this, I am sure Gan Ning will be the same.

It is possible that Gan Ning is hiding somewhere at this moment, ready to attack the coalition forces at any time.

"Most of our army's main forces are from the north. They can't even stand steadily on a boat, let alone fight!"

There were a few people standing on the deck in the distance, and they also sighed.

"That's not difficult. Just tie all the warships together. In this way, the warships will be like being on land, and the soldiers walking on them will be like walking on land." Someone suggested.

Everyone looked and found that the person who offered the plan was Kuai Qi.

Cai Mao and the other two's eyes lit up when they heard this.

"Linked warships?" Cai He clapped his hands and said, "Brother, Kuai Qi's suggestion makes sense! The so-called seasickness is because the ship is too small and is affected by the waves, causing the ship to be bumpy. If all the warships are linked together, they will not be affected by the waves of the river and will be like flat ground."

Cai Mao nodded and then hesitated, "It's no problem for the warships to unite, but it would be bad if they were attacked by fire."

"Fire attack? That depends on whether the enemy has such an opportunity. They are downstream, and it is difficult to go upstream. Moreover, the wind is against them, so it is impossible to carry out a fire attack."

Cai Zhong said indifferently.

After hearing this, Cai Mao nodded immediately.

(End of this chapter)