The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 442: Zhuge Liang almost drowned while borrowing arrows from a straw boat
At night, the river was covered with thick fog, and it was impossible to see what was happening within a few feet. Hundreds of ships appeared on the Yangtze River. Inside the cabin, Zhuge Liang and Guo Jia sat at opposite tables.

"Kong Ming, in which round do you think Qin Shou will shoot the rocket?" Guo Jia suddenly asked.

"The second round will fire rockets. The Qin thief doesn't trust anyone, not even Zhou Gongjin." Zhuge Liang shook his head.

Appreciation is one thing, but trust is another.

Under the current circumstances, it was difficult for Qin Shou to trust Zhou Yu.

Shooting him with sharp arrows or even rockets is the most suitable approach for the current situation. If we send troops to attack Zhuge Liang, it can only mean that Zhou Yu has really surrendered to Qin Shou.

According to the speculations of Zhuge Liang and Guo Jia, the most likely scenario was that Qin Shou would shoot rockets to block or even burn enemy ships.

At night, the sound of war drums rang out, reaching far across the river.

In the navy camp, Qin Shou heard the sound of war drums, his face remained calm, a smile appeared on his lips, and he fell asleep again. Seeing this, Jia Xu on the shore stroked his beard and ordered his men to start shooting arrows.

First came the sharp arrows, and in the second round came the rockets.

But Zhuge Liang was obviously well prepared. The gear on the warships had already been wetted, so the rockets shot into them could not set the warships on fire at all. The sharp arrows could shoot into them but could not do any harm to Zhuge Liang.

After a burst of rapid shooting, about 30,000 to 40,000 sharp arrows were shot, and the drum sound on the river disappeared for a moment. In fact, Zhuge Liang ordered the soldiers to change the direction of the warships.

Jia Xu was sitting in the navy camp, and Sima Yi was drinking nearby. They heard the sound of war drums outside stop.

"Could it be that Zhuge Liang has already left?" Sima Yi hesitated.

"It's just changing sides, preparing to receive more sharp arrows."

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said nonchalantly.

Sure enough, just as he finished speaking, the sound of war drums was heard again on the river, and it was even approaching the navy camp, as if it was going to launch a violent attack.

"This Zhuge Liang is really greedy. He thought it was enough to get our 40,000 or 50,000 sharp arrows, but now he actually wants more. He is not afraid of sinking into the river." Sima Yi cursed.

"Tell the archers to stop shooting."

"Order the navy ships to hang lights, beat drums to encourage battle, and prepare to march out."

Jia Xu burst into laughter after hearing this.

"Good plan, good plan." Sima Yi understood what Jia Xu was thinking the moment he heard it.

The other side used it to trick the Cavalry, and Jia Xu also wanted to trick Zhuge Liang. After all, the other side had fewer troops and took advantage of the thick fog to cause trouble.

It's just a paper tiger. In this case, we can just send out the navy warships to scare them away.

"Hehe, Zhuge Liang's warship has sharp arrows on only one side, and forty to fifty thousand sharp arrows are pressing on one side of the cabin. If we are not careful, the warship will be in danger of capsizing. If our army sends warships to pursue, I wonder what choice Zhuge Liang will make." Jia Xu snorted coldly.

Sima Yi opened his eyes wide and looked at Jia Xu in amazement. He really had not expected this move, but he had already imagined what Zhuge Liang's reaction would be when he encountered this situation. He believed that he must be very panicked!

This was indeed the case with Zhuge Liang at the moment. His usual elegant look was no longer on his face, and he was extremely flustered.

He didn't expect the enemy to play by the rules. After shooting half of the arrows, they changed to sending troops directly. And he could clearly feel that the warship was showing signs of capsizing to one side.

"Military advisor, the enemy's naval camp is on fire and the sound of war drums resounds through the heavens and earth. It seems that a large number of ships are about to attack."

At this time, Zhao Yun's nervous voice was heard outside. Inside the cabin, Zhuge Liang and the others actually heard the sound of war drums, and their faces were filled with panic.

"Quick, withdraw."

Zhuge Liang quickly gave the order.

He didn't dare to gamble now. No one knew what Qin Shou was thinking. The safest way was to leave here immediately. Once the enemy rushed out, he might fall into the enemy's hands, and he would become a laughing stock of the world.

Guo Jia also quickly ordered his men to urge the warships to leave here as soon as possible. For a while, there was chaos on the river, and even two ships capsized on the river.

Zhuge Liang and his companions had no time to rescue and had to rush downstream. Fortunately, the wind and the current were favorable and they could run very fast, so Zhuge Liang escaped far away in a very short time.

It’s just that this escape scene is different from what I imagined.

Zhuge Liang in the cabin looked embarrassed, his face gloomy, and his eyes flashed with coldness. He had originally thought of asking the soldiers below to shout "Thank you Prime Minister Qin for the arrows", but all this disappeared without a trace in the hasty escape.

Guo Jia, who was in the cabin with him, was also in a mess, but he was open-minded by nature, and when he saw the appearance of the two people, he couldn't help laughing.

"Kong Ming, the other party already knows our plan, it is normal for us to encounter such an experience. It's enough that we can escape with our lives." Guo Jia persuaded.

Zhuge Liang could only nod his head in frustration, but he still felt very depressed. He was a person who demanded perfection and hoped that everything would go according to his plan.

"Humph, I'll make him pay next time."

Zhuge Liang said viciously.

After hearing this, Guo Jia just smiled and didn't say anything.

When they arrived at the Chibi camp, Zhou Yu, Liu Bei and others welcomed the three men in. Guo Jia told them what happened on the river, and everyone was secretly shocked.

I was thinking to myself how I would deal with this situation if I were to encounter it. Thinking about it carefully, I would only become more embarrassed.

"This Qin thief still doesn't believe in Gongjin! Otherwise, he only needs to send a group of people to capture you all in one fell swoop, and there is no way Kong Ming can succeed." Sun Quan said this with a bit of gloating.

Zhou Yu sat aside, not knowing how to answer this question for a moment, and looked extremely embarrassed.

Liu Bei saw it clearly, smiled secretly in his heart, and quickly said: "Now that we have this time, can we implement our plan next time?"

Everyone looked at Zhuge Liang at once. The next plan was to burn the enemy camp, but whether it would succeed depended on whether Zhuge Liang could borrow the southeast wind.

Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and said, "I have ordered people to build a platform on Nanping Mountain, named the Seven Stars Altar. It is nine feet high and has three floors. One hundred and twenty soldiers will be selected to surround it, each holding a flag. When the time comes, I will perform a ritual on the platform and borrow a strong southeast wind for three days and three nights."

Zhuge Liang stood tall and looked very confident.

"When will the wind come?" Zhou Yu asked impatiently.

"On November 20th, we will offer sacrifices to the wind. On the 22nd, we will see the wind stop." Zhuge Liang looked at the crowd and said with a smile, "General, is it possible to defeat the enemy?"

"That's enough! That's enough!"

Zhou Yu said quickly.

(End of this chapter)