Temporarily sawn wood was piled near the water, and then tied side by side with thick Nanxiang hemp rope.
"puff!"
"puff!"
Someone took out a shriveled sheepskin and blew it hard.
Of course, there are also some people who are angry and take out their bullshit and start bragging about it.
The use of sheepskin rafts and cowhide rafts to cross the water was originally only popular in Liangzhou.
After all, there are flocks of cattle and sheep in Liangzhou, so it is easier to obtain sheepskin and cowhide.
Later, Feng Duhu came to power in Liangzhou, and Ji Han had his own animal husbandry base.
Coupled with the support of silage technology and captive breeding technology, as well as the high profits of wool spinning workshops, the development of Liangzhou's animal husbandry can be said to be rapid.
The rapid development of animal husbandry can provide enough leather for the army.
The processed sheepskin is extremely light in weight and can be folded on daily basis without taking up any space.
Once it's time to cross the water, just take it out and blow it.
After blowing, just tie several sheepskins together to form a sheepskin raft.
It can also be tied around bamboo or wooden rafts to increase the load of the raft.
The cavalry can also use this thing when crossing water.
Tie the blown sheepskin to the horse's body, and with the help of the horse's swimming ability, you can even cross large rivers.
How could King Feng Gui let go of such a powerful weapon for crossing water?
Naturally, it was vigorously promoted among the military.
Shi Bao said that he would try to cross the water immediately, and this was his confidence.
"Wow!"
Soon, the first raft was pushed into the water.
Then the second one, the third one...
"Quick, follow up!"
A team leader stood in the water and shouted:
"Zhao, Dazhao, hurry up!"
Immediately afterwards, the soldiers carrying the big pillars quickly jumped onto the raft, and with a bang, they erected the big pillars in front.
The second leader of the team followed, stood behind the soldiers, waved and said:
"Those behind, follow up!"
The soldiers who had been waiting in line at the water's edge began to board the raft one after another.
After a while, the raft was filled with people.
They all only wore light leather armor, and even the company team members did not wear iron armor with better protection.
The reason is very simple. In addition to reducing the weight so that the raft can carry more people, there is also a high probability of falling into the water when trying to cross.
Wearing leather armor, as long as he is not shot to death by an arrow, after falling into the water, there is no chance that he will be rescued by the people behind him.
If you are wearing iron armor, you will sink to the bottom if you really fall into the water, and you will have no chance at all.
The soldiers on the raft, the ones standing at the front, looked dull, even indifferent.
As if he didn't care what was on the other side.
They just stood quietly, and except for someone occasionally stroking the weapons in their hands, they made no other movements.
These people are all veterans of hundreds of battles. Fighting has been engraved in their bones. They have been on the line of death countless times.
Compared to their calmness, the soldiers following them were more or less nervous.
From the bulging veins in their hands that were holding weapons tightly, it could be seen that their hearts were not at peace.
Although Tu Chen's army had undergone rigorous training, they also fought a not easy battle at Gaoping Pass.
But they still have a long way to go before they want to be like the leading veterans.
And this section of the road is probably the distance between life and death.
However, those who were selected for forced crossing did not have too much fear on their faces, and they were able to obey the military orders of the team leader in an orderly manner, which was considered rare and valuable.
As long as time is given and they have experienced actual combat, it will be a matter of time for them to become elite soldiers - provided they can survive.
Just like the current forced crossing, even if it is successful, it is normal for them, as the vanguard, to suffer casualties of 67%.
If it fails, it will be a narrow escape.
The actions of the Han army quickly attracted the attention of the Wei army on the other side.
"General, it's bad, the bandits are crossing the water!"
"What!"
General Wei immediately became anxious after receiving the news. He almost ran up to the observation tower and took a closer look.
Although he couldn't see it completely clearly, he could still see the raft moving towards him.
"Absolutely crazy!"
After confirming that the Han army was indeed in trouble, General Wei's expression changed drastically and he couldn't help but cursed:
"Madman! Madman!"
Who is leading the charge on the opposite side?
So unreasonable!
How could anyone organize a water crossing as soon as they arrive?
Don't you want to camp?
Don't you want to take a break?
He simply didn’t care about the lives of the soldiers below, and he wasn’t afraid of the soldiers mutiniing!
General Wei cursed viciously in his heart, but he did not dare to neglect it:
"Someone is coming!"
"General?"
"Organize everyone immediately and prepare to face the enemy!"
"Here!"
General Wei cursed and ran down the watchtower again.
He had to go to the front and personally stop the Western pirates from landing.
The raft gradually passed the middle of the water and began to enter the east side of Danshui.
The Wei army on the east bank also began to form a formation on the bank according to the predetermined plan, and was ready.
Seeing that they were within the range of the crossbows, the Wei army's war drums sounded.
"Fire the arrow!"
"Peng!"
As the first arrow came out, a dense rain of arrows followed, thrown into the air and falling towards the first batch of rafts.
"Raise your shield!"
Although the large frame can block the arrows in front, it cannot block the arrow feathers falling in the air.
Fortunately, almost all the soldiers on the raft carried small bucklers.
Everyone raised their small bucklers and huddled together as much as possible to minimize body exposure.
The first wave of arrow feathers did not cause much damage to the Han army. More arrow feathers fell into the water, causing harmless splashes, and finally flowed down the river.
But as the raft continued to move forward, a rain of arrows that was far stronger and denser than the first wave of arrow feathers soon came again.
This time, someone in the Han army finally screamed.
"Don't move, hold on!!"
After seeing the rookie recruit next to him being injured, he couldn't help but want to shrink back.
The veteran shouted loudly.
However, the sound of breaking through the air in his ears, the heartbreaking pain in his body, and the horror between life and death made the recruits unable to control their survival instinct at all.
As he moved, his body became more exposed.
Soon, another arrow hit him.
"ah!"
The recruit writhed in pain.
The small raft had no room for him to roll over, so he quickly fell into the water with a "plop" sound.
"help me!"
The cold water seemed to calm him down, but also seemed to make him more panicked.
After drinking a few gulps of water, he struggled to get his head out, waving his hands wildly, crying and yelling.
Seeing the comrades who live together day and night struggling between life and death, many people can't help but have a look of intolerance in their eyes.
"Hold on!"
Shi Chang grabbed the bamboo pole on the raft and handed it over, shouting: "Hurry up!"
The soldier who was drowning desperately grabbed the life-saving bamboo pole.
"No one else moves!"
Seeing someone wanting to help, the chief quickly stopped him and said, "Protect yourselves! No one is allowed to move!"
Then he looked at the fallen soldier and said, "Hold on tight. Don't let go. If you let go, you will die."
"Pull me, pull me up..."
The soldiers in the water were begging.
"Hold on to the pole, don't let go, and keep following to the shore. When the time comes, you will find a way to climb up."
The raft was full of people, and there wasn't much room for movement. If we really tried to save him, it would only cause more people on the raft to be hit by arrows.
What's more important is that rescuing him now will inevitably waste time. Not only will it block the raft behind him, but it will also delay the beach landing.
As he spoke, the arrows from the Wei army became denser and denser.
The soldiers paddling on the raft also gritted their teeth and worked hard to make the raft faster and faster, trying to cross the last section of water.
Shi Chang suddenly felt the pole in his hand lighten, and he knew something was wrong.
Looking closely, I saw that the soldier who fell into the water had let go of his hand, his body rolled a few times with the waves, and then gradually turned into a black shadow in the water, and finally disappeared.
On the surface of the water, there was nothing but a line of blood that was gradually turning reddish.
The waves stirred up by the raft next to it swept over the blood line, and finally merged with the water flow, no longer strange.
The look in Shi Chang's eyes darkened, then he wordlessly took back the pole and began to grip his weapon again.
…
After suffering a lot of casualties, the first raft finally hit the rocks on the shore.
"boom!"
The sheepskin could not bear the heavy load and broke with a loud noise.
But it didn't matter anymore. The Han soldiers on the raft shouted, jumped down one after another, and rushed forward.
The last wave of arrow feathers from the Wei army also arrived, and then the Wei army's halberds, spears and spears, which had been waiting on the shore for a long time, began to pierce.
Several Han soldiers who were at the forefront were picked up high and died without even uttering a scream.
The leather armor on their bodies could not stop the prodding of these long weapons at all.
"楥!"
"Wow!"
A few large tents that had just been temporarily formed were unable to block the crazy attacks of so many weapons.
When they reached the shore, the Han army had not yet established a firm foothold and was pushed back.
"Ah! Kill!"
The team led several veterans to form the most typical small group formation of the Han army, the Sancai formation, and rushed to the front bravely.
Block, assassinate, slash, alternate cover...
The Wei army was caught off guard and finally suffered casualties.
"Follow! Cover!"
Shi shouted loudly and led the people below to fill this rare gap.
With the river behind them, there was no way to retreat, and since they came with the intention of dying, the remaining Han troops shouted loudly and followed them without fear of death.
"Hold it, you must hold it, there are not many of them, and you can bury them to death!"
The generals of the Wei army also urged the people below and drove them up.
Blood flowers floated up, the fishy smell filled the air, and the swords and metals clashed, making the nose, mouth, and ears feel uncomfortable.
"It's a pity that there are so many good men..."
Hu Zun held up the telescope and observed the battle situation on the other side. He looked a little sad and let out a sigh of regret.
No one in the Han army retreated because they knew there was no way to retreat.
However, facing the Wei army whose number was several times their own, they fought hard and used their last strength, but were finally drowned in the Wei army's crowd.
These people are all the ones who defeated Chen Jun!
They are all rare soldiers.
"It's a pity. I will bury them myself tomorrow."
Shi Bao put down the telescope, his face was solemn and his eyes were deep.
"tomorrow?"
Hu Zun was surprised, "General Zhonglang means that tomorrow..."
"Let the soldiers continue cutting wood and building rafts. Tomorrow, I will cross Danshui!"
"General Zhonglang, this..."
Shi Bao turned to look at Hu Zun, with a sneer on his lips and pointed to the other side:
"General Hu, have you noticed something weird about the Wei thieves just now?"
Hu Zun, whose attention had been attracted by the brutal fighting on the other side, and who felt sorry for so many good men at the same time, couldn't help but secretly scream in shame.
"The last general is ignorant, please ask the lieutenant general to teach you."
"Fake!" Shi Bao stared at the other side, "Those camps of the thieves are fake, or in other words, they are empty. The thieves did not deploy many troops on the other side at all!"
"What!" Hu Zun couldn't help being shocked when he heard this, "How is that possible!"
Earlier, the scouts had clearly detected that the thieves were keeping tight guard on the other side.
"Have General Hu noticed that after our people crossed the water, the thieves only gathered there, and according to my observation, there were only a few thousand people."
"On both sides of the crossing point, there are no extra troops to protect the two wings. This is not in line with the formation method at all."
"If we had extended the front line and crossed the water in large quantities just now, the thieves would probably be trapped on both sides."
When Hu Zun heard this, he was immediately startled. He raised the telescope again and observed it carefully. After a while, he put it down with a look of surprise on his face:
"It's true as General Zhonglang said, the formation of the thieves seems a bit strange."
He looked at Shi Bao and couldn't help but feel a little admiration in his eyes.
It makes sense for Zhonglang to be valued by Feng Duhu.
Hu Zun asked in a low voice:
"Then according to General Zhonglang's opinion, do the thieves have other plans? Or are there some ambush?"
Shi Bao shook his head confidently:
"If it were somewhere else, it might be possible, but with the current situation in Shangdang, I'm afraid the thieves have no intention of guarding this place."
"General Hu, don't forget that General Zhendong has already moved south from Taiyuan to Shangdang."
"If the thieves are dragged here by us, let alone being unable to defend the Shangdang, I'm afraid even they will be blocked in the eldest son."
Hu Zun was shocked:
"General Zhonglang means, is the thief planning to escape? Or is he planning to defend Hu Pass?"
Shi Bao said categorically: "Nine times out of ten, they want to escape!"
Want to guard the Hu Pass?
Why should they keep it?
Saying that, Shi Bao said "Hey" again, "It seems that the thief general is not a simple character, he is very decisive!"
Sima Yi was forced to flee from Jingxing to Jizhou by General Zhendong. Presumably, he must have notified the Shangdang rebels in advance so that they could prepare.
The thieves of Shangdang probably decided to abandon the defense of Danshui immediately after learning about General Zhendong's movements.
Therefore, there are many camps on the other side. Not only did they not have time to dismantle them, I am afraid they also wanted to deceive themselves by using the empty camps to delay time.
"Fortunately, General Zhonglang took him by surprise and sent someone to test the crossing. Otherwise, I might not have discovered the thief's scheme!"
After all, Hu Zun was also the leader of the army. After Shi Bao's analysis, he immediately reacted.
"General Hu, I'm afraid you will have to work harder today and tomorrow to urge the soldiers to build more rafts so that the entire army can cross the water tomorrow."
"How dare you say you have to work hard when it's your job?"
Shi Bao and Hu Zun had reached a consensus, so they took action separately.
Hu Zun went down to arrange a surprise attack on Chen's army, while Shi Bao went to find the engineering camp.
I believe that with the help of the engineering camp, this matter will go much faster.