Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 253 The Battle of Guangzhou with Cross-Sea Warships

The tower ship is a massive, gold-devouring behemoth that has thrived for millennia in the history of Chinese naval warfare.

The Guangzhou navy's warships were several meters high, each carrying hundreds of men. Several battle towers were built on the decks, each spacious enough for horses to run across, and equipped with crenellations. They were manned by countless crossbowmen and spearmen, suitable for both close and long-range combat. Once within range, the archers would unleash a barrage of fire from their elevated positions, making it virtually impossible for small boats to withstand the attack.

The ship's hull and sails were painted with various patterns and decorated with gold and silver, making them extremely exquisite.

In addition, there were hundreds of other ships, such as the Mengchong and Zouge, which cooperated with the Louchuan in combat.

Just by looking at this massive fleet of warships, one can imagine the immense wealth Li Tiao had accumulated over many years of business in Lingnan.

The disadvantage of the tower ships was their tall, flat-bottomed size, making them vulnerable to capsizing in storms. Since the battle was being fought at sea, the Guangzhou navy placed a large number of ballast stones to ensure the stability of the ships and also to reduce their already slow speed.

Taking advantage of the speed difference, the Cao army dealt a heavy blow to the sea hawk offensive led by Li Weihan in the boarding action. However, the tower ship battle formation personally led by Li Yi had already overwhelmingly pressed in.

When the soldiers of the peasant army saw the warships gathering like clouds and the masts and sails like a forest, they felt that the disparity in strength was too great, and most of them were somewhat afraid.

A soldier requested an audience with Zhu Wen, saying, "On such a vast ocean, I realized that the entire Guangzhou navy had come out in force, and its momentum was so terrifying! If the sea falcons are already so difficult to deal with, how much more difficult would these towering ships, which are like mountains in the sea, be?"

He further suggested that since the rebel navy had already won a battle and dampened the enemy's morale, it would be better to proceed cautiously and rely on speed to maneuver against the enemy ships. As long as Li Yi was held back, the Guangzhou navy would be unable to land and harass the flanks of the rebel army.

Huo Cun angrily rebuked, "What are you saying? Our army should press on and wipe out the remaining enemy forces. Your words have demoralized our troops; you should be executed!"

Zhu Wen smiled and said, "Little Huo, you're too excited. He just boarded the ship and fought a bloody battle, beheading an enemy and being wounded in the left ribs, but he's not a coward. He's not the only one among the soldiers who had such thoughts, but he just dared to tell me."

Hearing Zhu Wen clearly recount his military achievements, the soldier couldn't help but show gratitude: "I am not afraid of death, but only thinking of the army's well-being..."

Zhu Wen shook his head: "You are a calculating person, which is why you came up with a plan. I, however, have a better plan. I will issue a reward and order the small boats to go back and forth to lure the enemy's warships into attacking."

"The enemy fears that our small boats are going to use fire, so they will definitely keep throwing stones. In less than half a day, the huge stones on them will be exhausted. Then we can use iron hooks to hook their boats, climb up, and fight to the death to take them. Wouldn't that be as easy as taking something out of a bag?"

Upon hearing Zhu Wen's plan, the soldier who came to offer advice clapped his hands in admiration: "General, your insight is far superior to my inferior strategy! Why not issue an order immediately to act in this manner?"

Zhu Wen said calmly, "No rush. Our army has dealt a blow to the enemy, and some brave warriors will want to strike while the iron is hot. Let's go up and charge first. If things don't go well, we can use our secondary strategy, which will achieve the best results."

After saying this, he ordered someone to shoot the military order with an arrow and pass it on to the other ships.

Knowing that Zhu Wen had such a plan, the soldiers on each boat were emboldened. They thought to themselves, "It's just a matter of charging in and fighting for a while. If we're defeated, there's always a backup plan to deal with the enemy!"
Considering this point, I felt much less fear.

Li Yi led his army, eager to advance on the enemy's navy, but to his surprise, the enemy showed no fear and charged straight at him.

Flocks of small boats darted swiftly through the undulating waves, heading towards the Guangzhou Navy.

Leading the pack was a large warship, its hull covered with cowhide, leaving only arrow and spear holes, resembling a beetle floating on the water. This type of ship was extremely fast, and its hard ram at the bow could be used for ramming.

Following them were the slightly larger Qingya and Feizhen boats, both equipped with sturdy wooden canopies to protect against arrows. The boats also had arrow and spear holes. The Qingya was powered by a foot-operated waterwheel, while the Feizhen was longer and narrower, propelled by oars on both sides, making it faster, although its deck was not as thick as the Qingya's.

In addition, there are a large number of boats converted from ordinary fishing boats.

The Cao Jun fleet quickly entered the firing range of the Guangzhou Navy's Dapao.

How can we ignore the approaching enemy ships?
The stones ripped through the sea with a whooshing sound, and huge waves rose between the warship and the other smaller vessels.

There weren't many large ships participating in this round of bidding, and no small ships were directly hit.

However, one of the unlucky warships was capsized by a huge wave on its side, its hull facing upwards, and it quickly sank to the bottom of the waves.

The surrounding boats struggled to row, preparing to avoid the second round of attacks. No one cared about the people who had fallen into the water, leaving them to drift and sink on the boundless sea.

The Guangzhou Navy's first round of bidding was less than ideal, leading to more warships joining the bidding process. The Guangzhou Navy's gunners, having undergone rigorous training, possessed considerable accuracy even on turbulent waters.

During the second launch, a small boat belonging to the Grass Army was smashed by a boulder, and the fragments scattered and drifted on the sea.

As the enemy ships drew ever closer, all the Guangzhou army's warships flapped their wings and started firing, hurling stones into the damp sea breeze, which then plummeted downwards. Many warships were fitted with smaller, modified piles of stones, which, when thrown out, scattered fragments of stone flew with a crackling sound, like hail falling in a downpour, striking the rebel ships and creating hole after hole.

After the third and fourth rounds of attacks, the grass army's ships suffered increasingly heavy losses.

However, some warships had already approached the Guangzhou army's warships, and after ramming them, they turned and scattered to both sides, like water flowing into a reef in the middle of the river.

The ship was struck by the ram, creating a small hole below the waterline, through which seawater rushed in.

The multi-storied ship had a watertight compartment structure and was enormous, so even if a hole was drilled in it, it wouldn't sink quickly. However, the fact that the massive ship was damaged by a small boat still annoyed the proud and arrogant soldiers of the Guangzhou Navy.

After the warship turned around, the small boats behind it continued to face the Guangzhou army's increasingly fierce slinging, advancing in turn with a determination to fight to the death.

As they drew near, a barrage of arrows exchanged was inevitable. Many of the arrows fired from the straw-hulled ships were fire arrows, which struck the towers of the warships, causing flames to spread rapidly. The soldiers on board hurriedly used prepared water tanks to extinguish the fires. There were also fire ships loaded with firewood, which used stone paint to fuel the flames. After engaging the enemy, the helmsmen jumped into the water to escape, and the flames roared up, using the tailwind to attack the enemy ships.

The towering ship was relatively tall and not easily set on fire, but seven or eight escort ships, including the warships and small boats, were caught fire and quickly turned into bright red fireballs on the water.

To avoid the fire and out of fear of further fire attacks, the government fleet had to disperse to prevent the flames from spreading if they got too close.

The rebel army also had several warships, which took advantage of the situation to approach and launched a barrage of flying stones, which sank a large ship next to Li Yi's flagship.

The Guangzhou soldiers initially thought the enemy was no match for them, but they never expected that the enemy's desperate fighting would create such immense pressure.

"Our army is defeated!"

Li Yi, watching from the command platform as the enemy's bandit warships swarmed and tore at his fleet, gritted his teeth. Just then, he suddenly heard a loud shout carried on the wind, and a sense of panic washed over him.

The Battle of Fei River was such a famous example that Li Yi couldn't help but wonder if the bandits had sent spies into their own fleet.

Upon closer listening, the sound was coming from the enemy's ranks.

This swift offensive, while catching the Guangzhou navy somewhat off guard, resulted in far greater casualties for the Grass Army. The newly established Grass Army navy, suffering heavy losses and hampered by its diverse troop composition, finally succumbed to the pressure and began to retreat.

In the midst of the retreat, people shouted and yelled, and this sense of panic spread among the ships, quickly becoming pervasive.

Li Tiao and his son had certainly planted spies within the rebel army, but Huang Chao was also adept at identifying and eliminating spies, and had recently caught and executed many of them. Li Yi wasn't sure how much of a role the remaining spies could play.

But when the enemy's offensive was so fierce, the sudden collapse made Li Yi naturally think that the spies planted by his side had worked.

As for the possibility of feigning defeat?

The feigned defeat on land was a prelude to an ambush and counterattack. But where could one possibly ambush on the vast ocean?

"Order the entire army to pursue and kill the fleeing enemy, and make sure they are wiped out without leaving a single one alive!"

Li Yi relayed the order, and colorful flags fluttered on the ships, drums thundered, and the Guangzhou Navy pursued the enemy towards the open ocean.

Those towering military ships, as well as the large sea hawks that originally belonged to Li Weihan but were now occupied by Zhu Wen, were particularly conspicuous in Li Yi's eyes.

……

On the coastal side, the Guangzhou city wall was also two zhang high, covered with barbed wire to prevent enemy water monsters from climbing up.

At that moment, a group of bamboo rafts silently approached the sea wall.

They were linked together by iron chains, instantly forming a huge platform.

Each bamboo raft had a small tower on it. When the soldiers of the Grass Army pieced these movable towers together with mortise and tenon joints to form a giant tower, the tower suddenly became taller than the city wall.

A long ladder extends from the top of the tower and rests on the top of the city wall.

"No matter what methods the newly built navy uses, it is impossible to defeat the Guangzhou navy." Zhu Wen revealed a wicked smile: "But only by putting on a good show can this battle, which is bound to be lost, be fought realistically enough to trick the enemy ships guarding the sea wall into joining the pursuit."

Huo Cun asked in surprise, "Boss, the secondary strategy you mentioned, which involves repeatedly consuming the enemy's stones, is also unlikely to succeed?"

"That's right. After a few rounds of attrition, we'll suffer heavy casualties, and no one will be willing to charge anymore. I'm just trying to fool my own men and get them to fight alongside me for a while."

Military strategy states: One must deceive the soldiers' eyes and ears, keeping them ignorant; change their tasks and alter their plans, leaving them clueless; change their positions and detour their routes, preventing the people from considering the consequences. When the commander sets an appointment, it's like climbing a mountain and removing the ladder; when the commander leads them deep into the territory of other states, he can then launch his attack. Burning the boats and breaking the cauldrons is like driving a flock of sheep, driving them forward and driving them back.

A battle that is destined to be lost will inevitably result in heavy casualties. If the soldiers are made aware of the impending defeat from the outset, their fighting spirit will be severely diminished, and they will be unable to even accomplish the task of restraining and deceiving Li Yi.

To win this battle, we must deceive our own people.

Putting aside other matters, if the Cao army hadn't fought desperately in the first round of battle, consuming a large number of the Guangzhou navy's frigates, why would Li Yi have drawn the reserve force guarding the sea wall into the battle?

Zhu Wen was, after all, a young man in his twenties, and at this moment, he could not help but reveal his smugness.

After a long and arduous journey filled with bloodshed and dust, we have finally arrived at this point.

Zhu Wen stepped onto the solid city wall of Guangzhou, and with a swing of his Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Sword, beheaded a rapidly approaching enemy soldier.

"I have learned something," Zhu Zhen nodded, appearing composed.

He had never thought of such a strategy before: to lure the enemy away from their stronghold in a battle he was destined to lose.

(End of this chapter)