Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

Ronan frowned, his thoughts racing like gears.

After a long while, he still couldn't recall any other formidable figure surnamed Lu in the Han army.

"It seems that the deputy general is probably just an unknown nobody."

Ronan curled his lips in a contemptuous smile, then waved his hand and shouted:
"Pass down the order: all ships line up in formation, maintain sufficient spacing between them, and advance steadily."

The order was quickly issued, and the command flag fluttered in the wind.

Luya looked puzzled and asked:

"Marshal, the enemy only has about thirty supply ships. Why should we be so cautious?"

"Why don't we press on with our full force and take them down in one fell swoop?"

Ronan's expression was serious, and he said in a deep voice:

"Underestimating the enemy and being careless is a major taboo in military strategy."

"The Nain River is narrow. If our boats rush up together, and the enemy launches a fire attack, we'll be finished!"

Luya, however, disagreed and scoffed:
"Most of Xiao Fangjun's troops are landlubbers; they don't know anything about naval warfare or fire attacks."

Ronan, however, said seriously:
"According to Sima Yi, there are still some people in the Han army who are skilled in naval warfare. We must not be careless."

Luya suddenly realized what was going on and quickly praised:

"I see. Marshal, you have considered everything very thoroughly. I have learned a lot from you."

Thus, more than two hundred Parthian warships, arranged in rows of ten, spread across the entire river like a black cloud, slowly approaching the grain ships upstream.

Five hundred steps! Three hundred steps! Two hundred steps!
On the Parthian flagship, Ronan's face was filled with murderous intent.

He slowly drew his sword, pointed it forward, and was about to give an order:

"Archers, listen to my command, fire!"

However, before the word "arrow" could be uttered, the warship, which had been moving at high speed, seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall and suddenly stopped.

Due to inertia, the soldiers on board had no time to prepare and were all thrown out with screams.

More than ten soldiers were thrown directly into the Nain River, splashing up a large amount of water.

Ronan, at the bow, suddenly lost his balance and tumbled forward, crashing heavily from the top deck onto the bottom deck with a thud.

The entire warship instantly descended into chaos, with soldiers' cries of alarm and screams echoing throughout the ship.

Ronan was completely stunned by the fall, lying sprawled on the deck, his vision blurred, as if the world was spinning.

As he struggled to get up despite the excruciating pain, he found a warm liquid entering his mouth. When he touched it, he found his hand covered in blood.

The fall broke his nose, and blood gushed out.

Ronan was always most concerned about his appearance, so how could he possibly accept that he had suddenly fallen flat on his face and broken his nose?

Ignoring the excruciating pain, he hurriedly tore off a piece of his shirt and frantically wiped the blood from his nose.

"Marshal, how are you? Are you badly injured?"

Luya jumped down from the top deck, hurriedly helped Ronan up, and asked with a worried look.

Ronan, enraged and embarrassed, demanded in a deep voice:
"What's going on? Why did the boat suddenly stop?"

Lure Road:
"There seems to be something underwater that's holding our warship back."

"Not only the flagship, but all the ships are blocked and unable to move forward!"

Ronan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately became alert.

He looked around and saw that all the warships sailing side by side had been inexplicably stopped by the impact.

The soldiers on the warship were all sprawled out, a scene of utter chaos. Ronan rushed to the side of the ship and looked down into the water.

Sure enough, an iron chain, hidden a few inches below the surface of the water, connected the east and west banks of the Nain River, cutting off the river's path like a giant scythe.

It was this undetected iron chain that suddenly stopped their speeding fleet, leaving them in such a predicament.

"How come there's suddenly an iron lock down the Nain River?"

"Who did this?"

Luya also noticed the anomaly and exclaimed in confusion.

Just as he was shouting in confusion, the warships behind him couldn't stop in time and swarmed towards him.

Almost all the warships were trapped, either blocked by iron chains or by the warships in front.

The boats collided with each other, making a "bang" sound.

Two hundred Parthian warships were immediately thrown into disarray, crowding together on the narrow river surface before the iron chains, like wild beasts trapped in a cage, unable to move.

Ronan looked at the iron chains underwater, then at the crowded and chaotic warships around him, and then at the Han army's grain ships two hundred paces away. His doubts grew stronger.

Suddenly, a chilling thought flashed through his mind.

"Oh no, we must have fallen into a trap!"

"Xiao Fang definitely intends to launch a fire attack!"

Ronan broke out in a cold sweat and screamed in a hoarse voice.

Luya looked bewildered and asked, puzzled:
"It's just an iron chain. How could the marshal have guessed that the enemy was going to launch a fire attack?"

Ronan's face turned ashen, and he explained through gritted teeth:
"Don't you find it strange that this iron lock suddenly appeared here?"

"This iron chain must have been made by Xiao Fang in advance and secretly hidden under the river."

"Our army was completely unprepared, and now almost all of our ships have crashed into us, disrupting our formation and trapping us here. We are too vulnerable to fire attacks."

"I bet those grain ships over there aren't carrying grain at all, but rather kerosene and firewood!"

"If they launch their fire ships downstream and crash them into us, how can we, trapped here, avoid them?"

"It must be Xiao Fang who came up with such a trick."

"We must have fallen into a trap!"

After hearing this, Luya suddenly realized what was happening and broke out in a cold sweat, exclaiming in shock:

"How did Xiao Fang come up with such an absurd plan?"

"Never mind how you came up with that idea, immediately issue the order to retreat!"

Ronan yelled at him angrily:
"If we hesitate any longer, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Luya suddenly woke up, no longer wanting to think about it, and hurriedly ran around relaying the order.

On the flagship, a flag signaling retreat slowly rose, fluttering in the wind.

The raising of this flag was undoubtedly an urgent signal for the Parthian fleet.

The Parthian warships, already in disarray due to the stalemate in the battle, were now like frightened birds, hastily turning their bows and attempting to escape the river that was about to become a battlefield.

However, fate did not seem to intend to let these warships, which were eager to escape, off the hook so easily.

An iron chain stretched across the river, like an insurmountable chasm, completely disrupting the Parthian fleet's formation.

The warships were crowded together, pushing and shoving each other, making it impossible for them to turn around in a short time. They could only helplessly spin around in place.

A hundred paces upstream, Lu Xun and Zhuge Dan stood on a tall command ship, their faces beaming with joy as they witnessed the spectacular scene of the Parthian fleet descending into chaos. (End of Chapter)