Tiger Guards

Chapter 466 Naval Showdown
That night, after Zhao Yun crossed the river at Ao Cang, Gan Ning immediately led his troops to cross the river as well.

They crossed the river at Aocang and rowed their boat more than ten miles upstream to the opposite bank.

Almost simultaneously, they landed and immediately set up fortifications on the shore.

As the boats approached the dock, the archers on board stood guard and waited.

Under the cover of night, Ju Shou's entire army set sail from the Qishui Estuary downstream, advancing against the current.

The north wind blew at night, and the Hebei navy's side sails, aided by the wind, were able to offset much of the water resistance.

The officers and soldiers rowed and paddled, and the boat moved at a considerable speed.

As Yan Liang looked at the bonfire navigation points on the north bank, spaced two or three miles apart, he felt a little more at ease.

Sailing at night is a dangerous undertaking, but Ju Shou had already made all the necessary arrangements.

For example, the beacon towers along the coast were converted for navigation purposes. Some of these beacon towers were permanent structures built of rammed earth, while others were temporary structures erected during wartime.

Tonight, fires will be lit to provide the fleet with coordinates on the shore.

How could Ju Shou possibly allow Wen Chou and so many others to fight an unknown battle in the open field?

The entire fleet used torches to illuminate each other as they sailed. Now, with the Yellow River's flow surging, the distance between the north and south banks had widened, and the Jin army scouts on the south bank failed to detect them.

However, the Hebei soldiers were not good at naval warfare, and during night voyages, ships would often get lost or fall behind.

Following Yan Liang's fleet was Ju Shou's central fleet.

Ju Shou, dressed in a tunic and armor, stood in the cabin of the warship, gazing at the twinkling lights of the fleet ahead.

He was unsure whether this battle would yield any results, or how significant those results would be.

He just felt that the fighter jets were precious and should be seized to fight a battle.

He carefully studied Zhao Ji's combat methods this year and found that Zhao Ji was more frugal and valued his soldiers more.

During the entire War of Protecting the Nation and Punishing the Rebels, Zhao Ji's biggest battle was cutting off the water supply to flood Ji Ling's Ruyang camp, taking advantage of the chaos to advance, and breaking through half of Ji Ling's camp in one fell swoop.

After his victory, Zhao Ji did not seize the opportunity to expand his gains, but instead left the remnants of Ji Ling's army to Wei Yue and Zhang Liao.

Therefore, Ju Shou concluded that there were significant internal problems within Zhao Ji's ranks, and that he dared not expend his core troops to fight a tough battle.

This applies to all factions; none of them are monolithic.

Based on this judgment, Ju Shou strongly advocated for war.

We cannot refrain from attacking Zhao Ji just because he is like a mad dog; we must interrupt Zhao Ji's process of adjusting the internal balance!

Even without Yuan Shao's order to start the war, Ju Shou still exercised his emergency authority as the commander of the vanguard, leading his troops on a night voyage to attack.

We'll decide whether to launch a surprise attack on the south bank of the river, around Aocang and Xingyang, or to launch a pincer attack on Zhao Yun's troops crossing the river.

If they are lucky, they might be able to block Zhao Ji on the north bank, thus separating him and his army from the north and south banks.

If this effect is achieved, Yuan Shao will definitely launch a full-scale attack!

For now, Ju Shou is merely leading his troops on patrol to practice nighttime navigation.

That's right, it's currently a military exercise.

As the fleet continued its journey, around midnight, the vanguard of Yan Liang's fleet finally arrived at a point about ten miles northeast of Aocang.

However, at this moment, the warning boats set up by Gan Ning on the north bank set fire to the reed rafts that had been towed to the north bank.

More than fifty fire rafts were lit one after another and floated downstream. Many of the fire rafts drifted to the middle of the river and encountered Yan Liang's fleet that was moving against the current.

This was just a very rudimentary fire tinder with lighting, and it was not filled with grease or mixed with arsenic, sulfur, saltpeter or other combustion aids or smoke generators.

As the fire rafts burned, warning beacon fires were also lit one after another on the south bank.

At Aocang Wharf, Zhao Ji stood on the watchtower and looked out: "Tsk tsk tsk, no wonder he's Ju Shou, he still wants to attack my camp."

Pei Xiu, standing beside him, was speechless. If it weren't for his strong persuasion, Zhao Ji would have already crossed the river.

Before the various prisoners and people were transported away, the army was actually very vulnerable, and this vulnerability stemmed from the extremely low efficiency of its organization and coordination.

Because of the large number of prisoners, if the camp were to be attacked and then riot, it would hinder the transmission and response of critical information.

Prisoners are human beings too, and the chaos and panic they cause can spread to other troops.

Moreover, not everyone in the army is necessarily of the same mind as Zhao Ji.

People who are usually good at hiding their true intentions will naturally do things like fanning the flames, pulling the ladder away after someone has climbed onto the roof, or accidentally shooting friendly forces when the army is in chaos.

After a moment of reflection, Zhao Ji said, "Let's wait a bit longer. If Ju Shou doesn't retreat by dawn, I'll have a naval battle with him."

Seeing that Zhao Ji was truly going to join the battle this time, Pei Xiu immediately asked, "If something goes wrong in the camp after you cross the river, what should we do?"

"If I hadn't made preparations to cross the river, why would Ju Shou have backed down in the face of difficulty?"

Zhao Ji said calmly, “If I do nothing, with Wen Chou’s armies on the shore and Ju Shou leading a large army to attack from both sides, should I just sit and watch Zilong and Xingba suffer a bitter battle? Or should I retreat after being thwarted? If our army’s morale is damaged, Ju Shou will not take the initiative to withdraw his troops. Only by breaking his teeth in one battle will he run away with his tail between his legs.”

While the discussion was taking place, Wen Chou had already led his troops to advance to within three or four miles of the ferry crossing on the north bank, openly displaying their weapons and banners, fearing that Zhao Yun might not notice them. After reorganizing their ranks and resting briefly, Wen Chou launched a probing attack, sending out a mixed infantry and cavalry force of over five hundred men to harass the enemy.

They threw torches at houses near the ferry crossing, gradually setting fire to various buildings and bushes where soldiers might be hiding.

The north wind blew, and the burning thatch flew everywhere, igniting the reed flowers on the large reed beds on the north bank.

The fire blazed brightly on the north bank, but the reeds burned rapidly, and the flames soon weakened considerably.

Wen Chou's probe troops quickly advanced to the temporary camp area, which was hastily constructed by Zhao Yun and Gan Ning's troops, mostly by dismantling nearby houses and taking wood to build it.

Wen Chou's infantry easily scaled the low walls or destroyed the unreinforced wooden obstacles, while some elite cavalrymen even leaped in on horseback.

Inside the simple wooden barrier, there was nothing but emptiness.

There is no possibility of harassing the camp, entangled with the landing infantry, or making it difficult for the enemy to withdraw.

On the transport ship, Zhao Yun quietly watched the Hebei soldiers who suddenly rushed in, waiting for them to get closer.

However, these Hebei soldiers dared not approach the riverbank dock. After setting fire to the obstacles, they quickly withdrew as if fleeing.

On the east side, the Gan Ning fleet.

Gan Ning moved his flagship, mobilizing the entire army to change formation at dawn.

As dawn broke, Gan Ning clearly observed the vanguard fleet of Hebei people coming against the current. Seeing the enemy's fleet of three or five boats changing formation repeatedly under the scouring of the river, he knew that the enemy dared not fight.

With its fleet positioned upstream and relatively well-organized, Gan Ning was confident of overwhelming the enemy in one round.

By disrupting the enemy's command and coordination, and causing each ship to fight independently, he can then calmly hunt down each other.

In naval warfare, the worst thing is to be isolated or cut off from the group.

Only by moving warships can they avoid being targeted by concentrated fire; and only through proper command, allowing each warship to move effectively, can they strike the enemy at any time.

Clearly, in Gan Ning's eyes, the Hebei soldiers were completely unfamiliar with naval warfare and could only be described as skilled at boat transport and fishing.

As Gan Ning observed the scene, the sky grew brighter, and the sun rose halfway up in the east. At this moment, he saw Ju Shou's fleet of ships downstream.

Gan Ning couldn't help but feel hopeful, hoping that Ju Shou's fleet would also approach and join the vanguard.

The more he gathers, the more chaos he can create on the enemy when he launches his attack!
However, Ju Shou's fleet remained suspended, though not entirely still. The river flowed eastward, and Ju Shou's fleet continued to sail, though its position changed in various ways, and there were even instances of ships colliding with each other while suspended.

Gan Ning's fleet was positioned across the river, with its sails turned to the side to catch the wind, and the boats maintained a roughly equal distance between each other, almost in a hovering state.

They had a superior grasp of sails, wind, and water currents. With just over fifty transport ships, they formed three rows of horizontal formations in the river, forcing Yan Liang, the vanguard general of Hebei, to restrain his sharpness and begin to examine the Jin army in front of him with a more cautious attitude.

Yan Liang dared not launch an attack, nor did he dare to retreat.

Stopping here helps maintain order in the fleet; if we were to evacuate... who knows how much chaos would ensue.

If they maintain their formation and circle around the center of the river before turning back, it would be tantamount to exposing their vulnerable flanks to the Jin army, a move that would be seen as a sign of weakness.

At that time, the Jin army upstream could not help but pounce and attack, and in an instant, they could crush the vanguard commanded by Yan Liang.

He wasn't good at naval warfare, so having him lead a fleet to transport grain or something similar was naturally no problem.

There were no decent warships in the entire Hebei province, and the Jin army also lacked warships.

Both sides mainly used medium-sized transport ships, while Hebei had large transport ships.

Even the largest transport ship is still for transport purposes; at most, there's only one wooden deck on the deck, enough to house two layers of archers.

Unlike the most basic three-toothed warship, it has two wooden floors above the deck, which can accommodate three layers of crossbowmen, as well as a high platform for heavy crossbows, and catapults can also be placed on it.

The sun has fully risen over the land on the north shore.

When Wen Chou saw that Jiao Chu and Ma Yan had also led their troops to join him, he pointed with his horsewhip to the burning houses and obstacles to the south and said, "Zhao Yun's defenses were hastily laid and crude, and I have already set them on fire. Now his soldiers are stationed on the boats and can leave at any time."

Ma Yan remained silent. He was just a captain, and when the investigation and accountability were carried out after the war, he had nothing to do with it.

Upon hearing this, Jiao Chu said, "Our army is exhausted from our rapid advance, while Zhao Zilong's troops are resting and recuperating. If his troops wait for us to board the ships and engage in battle, our army will be at a disadvantage."

Ma Yan wisely refrained from interrupting or expressing his opinion. The three of them then gazed southeast for about seven or eight miles, where Yan Liang's fleet was awkwardly assembling. The more they tried to assemble, the more mistakes they made when coordinating their ships.

These sailors and boatmen who operated the transport ships did not receive the subsidies and benefits of sailors and soldiers, nor had they undergone similar training. You can't expect them to suddenly burst out with courage and generously sacrifice themselves for Yuan's great cause.

Behind them, Ju Shou observed the changes in the ships and saw that they were all unconsciously hoisting their sails, as if they were all gathering strength.

But he felt even more strongly that the accumulated strength was not meant to clash with the Jin army upstream, but rather to turn around and withdraw.

Seeing the changes before him, he began to feel pessimistic about the upcoming battle in Qingzhou.

Sun Ce had no shortage of naval forces and warships.

With a navy like ours, if we were to fight in Qingzhou, we probably wouldn't even dare to cross the Yellow River easily, let alone the Ji River basin.

Crossing the Yellow River is easy, but getting back to the north bank is not so easy.

(End of this chapter)