Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 268 Sailing with a Boat, Cutting Off the Waves and Locking the River

The Three Gorges of Badong and Wuxia are long.

The monkey's cry rang out three times, and tears soaked my clothes.

From Wuxian County down to Zigui, a distance of three hundred li, the land is desolate and uninhabited.

The mighty river cuts through towering mountains and rushes through deep gorges, occasionally revealing massive rocks half-submerged in the water, resembling crouching beasts.

There are almost no well-formed mudflats along the riverbank.

Only jagged rocks and slippery moss remained.

This is a pristine land that has been sparsely populated since ancient times.

Only birds and monkeys are frequent visitors here.

On the great river.

The water was no longer as murky as it had been several hours earlier when the giant raft had pulled the silt from the riverbed, but it was by no means clear either.

Upstream floated broken planks, torn sails, scattered oars, and silent floating corpses, including Wu people clad in earthen-yellow battle armor and Han soldiers covered in crimson Han clothing.

The floating corpses swayed and collided with the river's current, occasionally being swept into the bottom by whirlpools, only to resurface a short while later. Some were caught by branches extending from the bank, temporarily anchored in a twisted posture, waiting for the next rise and fall of the river to carry them back into the torrent.

Flocks of waterbirds circled and pecked at their prey, emitting sharp cries, while the mournful howls of monkeys echoed from the deep mountains on both sides of the river.

The strange noises echoed the floating corpses on the river.

The Wuxia Gorge now exudes a sense of desolation and deathly silence.

Suddenly, three light boats fully loaded with Wu soldiers' red horses formed a fleet that sailed upstream, appearing at a bend in the river and carefully weaving through the debris drifting downstream.

The sound of oars breaking through the water shattered the silence of the Wu Gorge.

Looking at the floating corpses that kept drifting on the river, some soldiers on the boat looked sad, while others seemed numb. But most of them, though exhausted, revealed a hint of excitement.

Suddenly, from the mountains upstream, came several lifelike bird calls, three long and two short, repeated twice.

Liu Yin's spirits lifted, and he suddenly raised his hand and clenched his fist.

All the Han soldiers tensed up instantly.

Before long, at a bend in the road ahead, seven or eight identical Wu army red-horse boats suddenly sprang out. They came extremely fast, as if they were being whipped from behind.

Liu Yin lowered his voice: "They're here."

Fa Miao nodded, his eyes cold and stern: "Proceed according to the plan. Remember, be quick, leave no survivors, and do not let a single person escape!"

Moments later, the two collided.

"Password!" On the red horse boat sailing upstream, a man who looked like a Wu army commander shouted at the red horse boat upstream.

Judging from his accent, he is from Yiling or Jiangling.

"What time is it? There's no password!" On the red horse boat drifting downstream, the Wu man, who looked like a middle to upper-ranking officer, was exhausted, flustered, and unable to suppress his anger.

The password was updated every few days and secretly passed down to downstream by Generals Pan Jun and Sun Shao, and was rarely known by others.

When Pan Jun sent these Wu people down to ask for help, he indeed forgot to tell Wei Shuai the password that had just been updated the day before.

"No password, you're a Shu soldier!!!" The Wu general with the Jiangling accent immediately raised his crossbow and was about to pull the trigger.

At the same time, all twenty-odd people on the three red horse boats made the same move, raising their crossbows as if to fire.

With no one steering or maneuvering, the several red-horse boats drifted downstream.

Seeing that the enemy actually dared to raise their crossbows in response, the officer's anger intensified. He abruptly raised his hand, stopping the soldiers behind him who were about to make a move:
"Open your dog eyes and look carefully! What are those floating on the river?! Can't you see all these dead bodies?!"
"People of Shu!"
"People of Shu!!!"
"Pan Taichang and Sun Zhenxi are trapped in Wuxian County. The Shu people are about to break through the Hengjiang Iron Chain. Why are you still asking me for the password?!"

Get out of the way!

"Stop going against the current!"

"Going there again would be suicide!"

"Go immediately and notify the downstream outpost!"

"Contract the defense line to Zigui!"

"This is a military order!" the man said hoarsely.

"What?! The iron chains across the river are about to break?!"

The leader of the team going against the current was struck dumb, his face paled in shock, and his arm holding the crossbow trembled slightly, almost pulling the trigger.

"What's the situation with the fighting upstream?!"
"Those who drifted down said...The Shu ruler is personally leading the expedition?!"

"My Great Wu... my Great Wu has lost again?!"

The officer going downstream remained silent, only glancing at the other side with disgust before ignoring the crossbow bolts aimed at him. He then skillfully maneuvered his boat, narrowly missing the other vessel, and continued speeding downstream.

The six red horse boats behind him followed suit, flying past the three red horse boats that were going upstream like frantic fish.

The river waves were split open and pushed towards both banks, leaving behind spreading ripples.

"Should we pursue the vehicle that was being used for arson?"

On a light red horse boat closest to the north bank and far from the Wu people's ships, Liu Yin looked at Fa Miao.

Fa Miao first looked towards the upper reaches of the river.

A moment later, he looked down at the several red horse boats downstream.

Finally, he nodded heavily: "This must be the person Pan Jun sent the message downstream. Chase after him!"

This morning, just as the Han troops on both sides of the strait launched their attack on the Wu people.

Taking advantage of the thick mountain and river fog, Liu Yin and Fa Miao led more than 600 soldiers out from the mountains on the south bank of the Yangtze River.

Taking advantage of the absence of others, they pushed the red-horse-drawn light boats carried by the Han soldiers into the river, waiting to ambush them.

When the soldiers on the mountain ridge spotted patrol boats going upstream, they imitated bird calls to give a signal.

Several Han army boats, carrying the flags that Pan Jun had discarded at Yanyu Pass, sailed downstream and easily subdued the patrolling Wu people, learning the password for the day.

Afterwards, Liu Yin and Fa Miao led their troops downstream and, under the pretext of an urgent military situation, seized the nearest outpost ten miles downstream.

Then they followed the same method, going downstream and eliminating all four Wu outposts within a 60-mile radius downstream.

None of the Wu people escaped.

From Wuxian to Yiling, a distance of over 400 li, the Wu people would set up a sentry post every ten or twenty li, with each sentry post guarded by two squads, that is, twenty-six people per sentry post.

There were also several hidden sentry posts along the way, which were not easily detected.

Although the Han Dynasty had obtained a map of the river defenses from those who surrendered and submitted to the cause.

However, after losing Yanyu Pass, Pan Jun redeployed his hidden sentries.

Due to his carelessness, Commandant Liu Yin failed to realize this and almost rushed straight to the hidden sentry position on the river defense map at the first moment.

Fortunately, Fa Miao was by my side and took this into consideration.

Afterwards, Liu Yin first disguised himself as a Wu man on patrol and dealt with the two outposts downstream. Only then did he learn the location of the two hidden sentries from the surrendered prisoners. Afterwards, he led his men to eliminate the hidden sentries.

In fact, while the Han army and the Wu navy were engaged in a bloody battle upstream, many unclaimed Wu ships drifted downstream to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

A very small number of Wu soldiers who fell into the water managed to grab onto warships and survive after leaving the battlefield. However, they did not choose to return upstream. Instead, they stayed on the boats and fled downstream to escape, or perhaps they tipped off the enemy.

Those Wu people who managed to survive were all dealt with one by one by Fa Miao, Liu Yin, and others who were lying in wait on the river, and none of them escaped.

On the great river.

Seven boats were in front, and three boats were behind.

Ten Wu army-style red horse boats sped downstream.

Not long after, we passed another bend in the river.

A slightly dilapidated, seemingly ownerless, medium-sized Wu-style warship was stopped by tree branches hanging into the river from the north bank and remained at anchor.

On the red horse boat, Pan Junwei looked at the warship and for some reason suddenly became suspicious. So he sent someone to approach the warship.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the area was covered with corpses.

Most of them were from Wu, but there were also some Han Chinese.

Wei Shuai then turned around and shouted at the several red-horse boats behind him, "Didn't you see a single living person today?!"

As they fled eastward in their red-horse boats, they encountered three or four Wu army warships, which indeed carried some remnants and defeated soldiers.

The Wu leader with the Jiangling accent, upon hearing this question, was clearly a little nervous, but he still steadied himself and answered loudly:
"Didn't I just tell you? The people who floated down said the Shu ruler has arrived?! They've already been sent to the Wushui outpost downstream!"

The Wushui River is a tributary of the Yangtze River, and its outlet is located 30 miles downstream, where there is a bay.

Wushui Post is the largest outpost within a hundred miles downstream of Wuxian County.

There are more than two hundred people stationed there.

At the same time, Wushui Post is also the first grain depot for grain transport downstream of Wuxian County, and all grain sent to Wuxian County must be transferred here.

This is also the most difficult aspect for Liu Yin and Fa Miao to handle in this battle.

Two hundred men—if even one of the Wu people's light boats or fast ships manages to escape downstream, their mission to cut off transportation will have failed.

The Han army now has only about 600 men left, and it is obviously difficult to completely eliminate these 200 defenders with a surprise attack alone, nor is a surprise attack possible.

According to intelligence, the more than 200 Wu soldiers stationed at this Wushui outpost were scattered across multiple outposts on both the east and west banks of the Wushui River.

The Han army had no time to make arrangements, so it was impossible for them to launch a surprise attack on so many outposts at the same time and eliminate them all at once.

We need to gather them all together and then figure out a solution.

How do we bring them together?
Then they would have to rely on people sent downstream by Pan Jun and Sun Shao to relay the message.

Pan Junwei recalled the events and realized that the captain with the Jiangling accent had indeed said those words. He then stopped doubting and ordered his men to continue rowing, speeding downstream.

They hadn't walked five li.

The fleet of ten red-horse boats encountered another small to medium-sized warship, which was also moored on the north bank of the river.

Looking into the distance, there was no one there either.

Wu's army flags were stuck diagonally on the deck.

The canvas was nowhere to be found, leaving only a few bare masts.

Pan Junwei, who was tasked with delivering the message, no longer minded and simply walked past the warship.

Just as all seven red-horse boats had entered the firing range of the fighting ship.

"——Boom!"

A war drum suddenly sounded from behind them.

"—Boom boom boom!" As soon as one drumbeat ended, an even more terrifying and loud drumbeat suddenly rose from the unmanned warship!

"kill!"

A thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the small to medium-sized warship next to them, which appeared to be completely deserted!
"Kill!" Shouts of battle rose from the great river.

Pan Junwei was instantly horrified.

The seven red-horse boats, carrying dozens of Wu soldiers, were also terrified and at a loss.

Suddenly, dozens, even nearly a hundred figures rose up as if by magic from the warship beside them! They were clad in earthen-yellow Wu army armor, and held bows and crossbows, clearly ready to fire.

"Oh no! We've fallen into a trap!" Pan Jun, the messenger in charge of relaying the message, was completely bewildered and couldn't understand how the Han army had gotten here.

Before the Wu people could react, a rain of arrows swooped down like locusts, accurately covering the seven red horse boats.

At such close range, there was no way to dodge.

The Wu people fled in haste, most of them without armor. Blood splattered instantly, and their screams were quickly drowned out by even more piercing wails.

The sounds of arrows piercing flesh, embedding themselves in the boat planks, and falling into the river blended together instantly.

Wu soldiers fell in droves.

Some people even planted themselves directly in the river.

In an instant, it dyed the surrounding river water red.

After several rounds of rapid and deadly arrows, fewer than twenty Wu soldiers remained standing on the seven red-horse-drawn light boats.

On the Wu warship, Han soldiers swiftly threw out grappling hooks, snagged Pan Jun's light red horse boat, and nimbly boarded it.

The light boat carrying Liu Yin and Fa Miao was also rapidly approaching.

"Die, you Wu dog!" Fa Miao shouted sharply. Although he was a scholar, he was dressed in Wu armor and helmet today and held a Wu-style crossbow in his hand.

At that moment, he aimed directly at Pan Junwei, pulled the trigger, and the crossbow bolt shot straight into Pan Junwei's chest.

Pan Junwei glanced at the arrow in his chest, his expression filled with despair, and reached into his robes as if to pull out something to destroy.

In the blink of an eye, several Han soldiers rushed forward with their swords, and after several blows, Pan Junwei was killed on the ship.

As a result, all the people of Wu collapsed.

The Han soldiers were expressionless, their eyes sharp, as they carefully examined each corpse.

Upon encountering a Wu soldier who was still breathing, he would not hesitate to bend down and deliver the final blow, slicing open the throat with his blade and piercing the heart with his spear.

Fa Miao removed his armor and jumped aboard.

His gaze swept over the wrecked boats and finally settled on the corpse of a Wu man who looked like an officer and was riddled with arrows.

He stepped forward, bowed, and carefully examined the items.

Soon, he found what he wanted in the officer's close-fitting oilcloth wrapping.

A letter written in blood, bearing the seal of General Pan Jun, addressed to Sun Quan; and a letter pleading for aid from Zhou Fang of Zigui and Zhu Ran of Yiling.

The blood-written letter handed to Sun Quan was written in messy, dark brown characters, exuding an air of despair.

Fa Miao chuckled, feeling incredibly pleased.

Back on the warship, the man handed the blood-written letter and paper to Liu Yin: "Found it."

Liu Yin took it, defeated it, and immediately frowned.

"This guilty subject, Jun, has disgraced Your Majesty's grace. If Wu County falls, I will have no face to see Your Majesty again. My only recourse is death to repay Your Majesty's great kindness." "What a fine example of disgracing Your Majesty's grace!"
"What a fine way to atone with death!"
"That scoundrel Pan Jun! How did the late emperor treat him?!"
"Why didn't he die for the late emperor back then?!"
"A coward who clings to life and fears death, a shameless scoundrel! Wu County will fall soon, and I want to see if he will truly die for Sun Quan!"

Fa Miao smiled upon hearing this, his gaze sweeping across the river:

"Clean up all the bodies and the ship."

The Han soldiers silently carried out the order, throwing the Wu corpses one by one into the river, where they mingled with the floating corpses that drifted downstream, making them indistinguishable from each other.

The damaged red horse boat was also scuttled and quickly swallowed by the river, leaving only a few whirlpools behind.

After doing all this, the Han army's red-horse boats and the disguised warship reunited, as if nothing had happened, and continued to drift downstream, quietly approaching the checkpoint called "Wushui Sentinel".

On the way, with Pan Jun's token, handwritten note, and password, the Han army easily took over the last two outposts before Wushui.

Wushuishao Wharf.

Several small red-horse-drawn boats, like frantic fish, broke through the river and roared in.

With two muffled thuds, the lead ship slammed into the ramming board of the pier.

Before the boat had come to a complete stop, the Wu soldiers on board jumped ashore in a panic, their faces still showing signs of shock.

A Wu army-style fighting ship is still upstream, about four or five miles from the dock.

The ship had a deep draft and was full of Wu troops fleeing eastward from the outposts along the way. On the bow, the Wu troops looked dejected and powerless, their flags hanging low.

On the dock, the Wu soldiers, who were already terrified by the horrifying scene on the river, were startled by the sudden commotion.

Their gazes fell on the uninvited boats in front of the dock with suspicion and uncertainty.

An officer dressed in the armor of a Wu general, looking exhausted and anxious, stepped heavily on the damp wooden planks.

His sharp gaze swept over the somewhat chaotic dock, and finally, in a thick Jiangling accent, he demanded sharply, "I am Dou Yue, the personal guard of Grand Master Pan! Where is Zhang Gui, the garrison commander of Wushui?! Come to me immediately!"

The question was delivered with an unquestionable, commanding tone.

A Wu army officer was startled by the voice and hurriedly ran over, clasped his hands in salute, and asked anxiously, "This humble general is Zhang Gui, the garrison commander of Wushui. Commander Dou, what is the situation of the battle upstream?"

After asking the question, the man's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the Yangtze River.

Two hours ago, the river water became very muddy, and broken planks, sails, floating corpses, and oars followed one after another, so everyone knew that the battle upstream was fierce.

However, the extent of the devastation and the degree of defeat suffered by the Wu people remain unknown.

The Wu general named Dou Yue, who spoke with a strong Jingzhou accent, had a furrowed brow and spoke very quickly:
"The war is going very badly!"

"The people of Shu must have used some kind of sorcery to break through the Jiangchong Cone Formation!"

"The Shu ruler personally led the expedition, with countless warships and battle vessels, directly reaching the iron chains across the river, launching an extremely fierce attack!"
"The north and south docks and the two iron chain passes have all been lost!"

"Pan Taichang and Sun Zhenxi are trapped in the isolated city of Wuxian!"
"When I was ordered to break out, a steel chain across the river had already been melted down by the Shu people! The river was boiling, and the sound could be heard for miles around!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the growing number of Wu soldiers, their faces drained of color, and his voice grew increasingly heavy:
"The people of Shu will probably be able to completely melt down the iron chains across the river in an instant!"
"At that time, the warships will sail downstream as fast as galloping horses!"
"We have no natural defenses to defend ourselves; how can we possibly withstand the fierce and powerful army of the Shu people, with their towering ships and massive warships?!"

"I have been ordered by Pan Taichang and Sun Zhenxi to withdraw all the soldiers from the outposts along the way!"

"This outpost is definitely going to fall. Quickly issue the order for everyone to board the boats immediately and head downstream!"

Zhang Gui and the Wu soldiers around him turned pale and their legs went weak upon hearing this.

Crossing the river cone?

Melt the iron chain?

The greatest barrier that Wu relied on to hold back the Shu people was breached in one day!
Pan Jun and Sun Shao are both trapped in an isolated city?!
Dou Yue didn't give the other party much time to think; his tone was decisive, almost reprimanding.

"All garrison soldiers at Wushui outpost should abandon their posts, immediately take all the bows, arrows, armor, and weapons they can carry, and burn the granaries and supplies, so as not to supply the enemy!"

"Once everything is done, everyone board the ship and immediately sail downstream to Zigui!"

"After we join forces with the garrison in Zigui, we will then work together to resist the enemy and rescue Wuxian!"

Upon hearing the military orders to "abandon the outpost" and "retreat to Zigui," Wu general Zhang Gui's tense nerves instantly relaxed, and a huge weight was lifted from his heart.

For more than two hours, he was already on tenterhooks, but he never expected the battle upstream to be so fierce. What he feared most was receiving orders to hold out for reinforcements or to go upstream to support Wuxian.

It's fortunate that we can retreat now.

"Your subordinate obeys!" the man replied loudly, straightening his back.

Then he turned around.

He roared at his soldiers:
Did you all hear that?!
"Quickly! Beat the drums to gather the troops!"
"Everyone, assemble immediately!"
"Set the granary on fire!"
"Only carry your personal weapons and bow and arrows!"

"Quick! Move quickly!"

The drums for gathering troops sounded rapidly.

The previously calm Wushui whistle suddenly erupted.

Wu's soldiers poured out from the camp, sentries, and watchtowers, rushing towards the dock in a panic.

In the chaos, many people bumped into each other, and shouts of cursing, urging, and officers' reprimands echoed throughout Wukou.

Several officers led their men towards the granary. Soon, plumes of thick smoke rose first, followed by flames.

At the dock, two medium-sized warships and several red-horse and light boats became the target of everyone's scramble, and the soldiers rushed to the ships.

The situation was chaotic at one point.

Wu general Zhang Gui attempted to maintain order, but with little success.

At that moment, a lone boat suddenly appeared on the upper reaches of the river, drifting erratically downstream.

There were only three or five Wu soldiers on the boat, all of them dressed in rags and covered in blood.

One person was slumped over the side of the boat, seemingly vomiting.

The other person waved frantically toward the dock, looking extremely terrified.

The small boat finally reached the shore, and a defeated soldier who looked like a squad leader practically tumbled and crawled onto the dock:
"No...it's terrible! It's all over! The Shu fleet...so many junks and large ships...have already charged down! I'm afraid...I'm afraid they're less than ten miles away!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Jun on the dock was completely thrown into panic.

"Ten li?!" Dou Yue's expression changed drastically. He jumped onto the nearest red-horse boat and shouted to the shore:

"It's too late! I have important business to attend to. You all cover our retreat!"

Having said that, the man didn't even glance at Zhang Gui's face, which turned deathly pale with disbelief. He simply waved to the few red-horse-drawn light boats and the warship on the dock: "Let's go first! Go to Zigui to report! Quickly!"

Several light boats and the warship quickly sailed away, heading downstream, as if a moment's hesitation would result in them being swallowed up by the approaching Han army fleet.

Zhang Gui stared dumbfounded at the departing figure of the man named Dou Yue, then looked at the empty river upstream, and finally surveyed the soldiers around him who had completely lost their fighting spirit and were only concerned with crowding onto the boats. A huge sense of absurdity and anger welled up in his heart.

"Cover the rear?! Cover the rear with your head?!"

"Sima! What do we do?!" a soldier asked, his voice trembling with tears.

Zhang Gui stomped his foot, a resolute look flashing across his face: "I can't worry about that anymore! If you want to live, get out of here!"

Not only did Dou Yue leave, he also took all the light boats and fast ships from the dock.

The last two medium-sized warships beside the dock became the Wu people's last lifeline.

The Wu soldiers surged onto the two warships in a frenzy.

The deck was instantly packed with people, Wu people shoulder to shoulder, with almost no room to put their feet down.

With the mooring ropes cut and the oars straining to propel them, the two overloaded warships struggled to turn around and flee downstream with the river current.

Because it was carrying too many people, the boat was not moving very fast at first.

The Wu people on the boat were terrified and kept looking back upstream.

"They're coming! The Shu people are coming!" the soldier looking out from the stern of the ship screamed.

"Quick! Faster!"

"Throw away everything that's useless! Lose weight!" Zhang Gui ordered angrily.

In the chaos, the soldiers began throwing everything they considered heavy or superfluous from the boat into the river.

Spare oars, bundled-up tents, heavy earthenware pots and pans... the sounds of splashing into the water were incessant.

However, looking back upstream, several blurry black dots can be seen magnifying as they meet the sky.

The Han Chinese warships were clearly much faster than their two cumbersome escape ships.

Panic intensified.

"The armor and helmet are too heavy! Take them off, throw them away!" someone suggested.

Without a second thought, some began to remove their armor, while others threw their helmets forcefully into the river.

Even more extreme, some people didn't hesitate to throw weapons like ring-pommel swords and halberds into the river.

Hard work pays off; after the two Wu ships were lighter, their speed was indeed much faster than before.

The Wu people shouted work chants and rowed frantically, and the distance between them and the pursuing troops behind them even seemed to be widening.

A sense of relief at surviving the ordeal rose in the hearts of the Wu soldiers.

Unnoticed by anyone, the fighting ship and several red-horse boats slowed down and adjusted their positions not far downstream.

Unbeknownst to them, several warships formed an attack formation, with the red horse boat slightly spread out on both sides, while the fighting ship occupied the central waterway.

Finally, a sharp-eyed Wu soldier seemed to sense something was amiss and pointed ahead: "The ship ahead... why does it seem to have slowed down? Is it waiting for us?"

The other person, panting with relief, said, "We should wait until we meet up and go to Zigui together!"

Sima Zhanggui gripped the ship's railing, staring intently at the deck of the warship ahead.

The distance is now closer.

One hundred steps.

Fifty steps.

He vaguely felt that the figures of his comrades seemed too quiet and too orderly.

"They all seem to be holding something in their hands...? Are they bows and crossbows?"

As he asked the question, the two Wu ships had already approached the Han army's fleet from within fifty paces, seemingly unaware of what was happening.

"Boom!!"

A heavy, abrupt sound of a war drum suddenly rang out from above the warship!

Immediately afterwards, the rapid, heart-pounding sound of war drums, like rolling thunder, completely shattered the eerie silence of the Wuxia Gorge.

On the central warship, on the red-horse boats on either side, all the disguised Han soldiers moved in unison, raising their crossbows and aiming them precisely at the two Wu ships approaching from the opposite direction.

"Release!" Fa Miao, standing at the bow of the warship, waved his hand to give the order, his face stern.

Liu Yin, standing beside him, shouted sternly, "Liu Yin, the Commandant of the Great Han Dynasty who is responsible for subduing the barbarians, is here! Wu dogs, prepare to die!"

A dense rain of arrows instantly covered the foredeck of the two Wu ships.

At such close range and with such an unexpected attack, it was a devastating blow to the Wu soldiers who had just abandoned their armor and weapons in their attempt to escape.

A piercing scream erupted instantly.

His unprotected body was easily torn apart by crossbow bolts.

Blood splattered, and Wu soldiers fell in droves.

Many people were shot down or plunged into the river before they even understood what was happening.

After several volleys of arrows, the two Wu ships were in complete disarray.

The dead lay piled up, while the living, terrified, huddled together in complete chaos.

"Fire-filled oil bladder!"

The open, flaming oil sacs were thrown onto the Wu people's warships.

"Rockets!" Liu Yin's military order was concise.

The Han archers, who were already prepared, wrapped strips of cloth soaked in hot oil around the arrow shafts, lit them, and drew their bows again.

"put!"

Arrows rained down on the Wu ship with whistling flames.

The flames spread rapidly across the wooden hull, and when they encountered the flowing oil, the fire intensified dramatically!
Thick black smoke billowed up, engulfing canvas, ropes, and everything flammable.

Wu Chuan was thrown into complete chaos.

The survivors futilely tried to extinguish the flames, but the fire, fueled by the wind, burned ever brighter. The crowded hull made rescue impossible.

People kept getting their bodies on fire and screaming as they jumped into the river.

"Shoot!" Fa Miao was merciless.

The Han soldiers obeyed the order.

The crossbows were aimed at the Wu soldiers struggling and thrashing in the river, and the triggers were pulled without mercy.

The arrows were fired and hit their targets precisely. Soon, more corpses floated to the surface of the river, and blood stained a large area of ​​the river.

The battle, or rather the massacre, ended quickly.

Whether out of fear and panic or because the Wu people threw all their bows and arrows into the river, the Han army suffered almost no losses.

The two Wu ships were soon engulfed in flames and slowly sank.

Fa Miao didn't know if there were any Wu spies or lookouts nearby, but it didn't matter whether there were or not.

No matter how fast the people of Wu are on the mountain, they can't outrun the boats on the river.

Liu Yin quickly directed the warships to continue downstream, then boarded the fighting vessel and asked Fa Miao somewhat nervously:
"The floating corpses, broken boats, and oars will all expose the bloody battle upstream. Is cutting off transportation really useful?"

Fa Miao answered without hesitation:

"Of course it's useful. The Wu people of Zigui only know that the Han and Wu fought in Wuxian, but they don't know that the iron chain across the river has been broken. That's enough."

(End of this chapter)