North of Lingzhou, at the crossing of the Yellow River. On the Yellow River as the sun rises, a fierce battle is going on.
Dozens of large ferries have completely entered within a distance of 500 steps, and the nearest ferry has already entered a crossbow attack range of 200 steps.
On the northern cliff and the pier, the roar of artillery continued, and dozens of crossbows fired wildly. The sharp whistle of the cannonballs was terrifying, and the sound of thick crossbow arrows piercing the air with the faint sound of wind and thunder was equally frightening.
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Although the solid shells of the artillery are difficult to withstand, the number is insufficient after all. There are only ten general cannons in total, and both the number and accuracy are limited. In this case, the probability of the artillery hitting the target can only depend on luck.
After all, the warships were scattered in a wide area on the river. Although there were many in number, the target was actually not big. Therefore, most of the cannonballs fell into the water and splashed water columns several feet high, which looked scary.
In fact, it's not that threatening.
Of course, there are also shells that hit big ships. Once they hit, they caused huge damage. However, that can only be called an accident.
Several small boats were hit by artillery shells and were directly blown to pieces. The soldiers on them fell into the water and floated on the water with the help of sheepskin bags. The boat responsible for rescuing those who fell into the water quickly arrived and rescued them on board. Only seven or eight people were killed or injured.
, which is not harmful at all.
The real threat comes from the dense concentration of bed crossbows. The bed crossbows are numerous and have high accuracy within hundreds of steps. They are easy to adjust the shooting angle and can carry out coordinated shooting strikes. A dozen bed crossbows can attack a large ship at the same time.
The probability of winning is greatly increased.
When the giant crossbow arrows with the sound of piercing wind and thunder hit the big ship one after another, the damage and lethality caused were extremely powerful. The iron crossbow arrows could easily smash the ship planks and break the masts, causing great damage.
destroy.
However, all this could not stop the rapid progress of the large ships crossing the river. Even the several large ships that entered the range of the crossbows were not blocked by the dense arrows on the shore at the first time.
Although there were as many as ten thousand archers on the shore, and the arrows they fired enveloped the entire ship like dark clouds, they could not effectively kill the soldiers on the ship or destroy the ship other than shooting the ship into a hedgehog.
It has to be said that the baffles Yang Yiqing installed on the big ship still played a role. The high baffles can protect the soldiers on the deck from attacks. As long as they avoid the bombardment of artillery and crossbows, once they enter the shore two hundred paces
Once within a certain distance, these baffles are still extremely effective in preventing crossbow arrows.
The baffles like giant shields can block most of the arrows, allowing the soldiers on the ship to have a relatively safe space to hide. Moreover, these baffles have another function, that is, they can be quickly put down once they get close to the river bank.
A springboard allows soldiers to charge and disembark.
As expected, the rebels finally began to fire rockets. When they were a hundred steps away from the shore, a large number of rockets were fired at the seven or eight first batch of large ships. For a time, the fire and black smoke drew a black smoke in the air.
Following a similar trajectory, a large number of fire arrows fell on the large ship and began to burn.
The water hoses and other fire-fighting tools prepared on the big ship began to work. The soldiers used buckets to fetch water, and the water hoses started to extinguish the rockets. Although some soldiers were shot and killed while running to put out the fire, the rockets wanted to ignite the big ship.
The plan was stopped.
Except for the enemy-facing side of the bow baffle burning, the hull did not catch fire. The fire on the baffle was actually nothing at all. Even if it burned out, it would not affect the ship's continued progress.
Yang Yiqing stood on the deck of the big ship at the rear, holding a telescope in his hand to look at the battle ahead, with a smile on his face.
Now it seems that the success of crossing the river is a foregone conclusion. The large ship closest to the other side has more than a hundred steps to reach the shore. This distance can be reached in less than tea time. Although the defensive firepower on the opposite side is fierce, it has not been able to stop it so far.
Means for large ships to dock.
It took me nearly half a month, a lot of manpower, and a lot of resources to build the ferry that lived up to expectations. The defense facilities and means on the ship were also effective. At least from the current situation, although the ship was damaged, there were many casualties.
Soldiers and horses. But according to previous expectations, this level of loss is completely within the acceptable range.
If nothing unexpected happens, all the more than 5,000 troops and horses will be able to land ashore in less than half an hour. By then, they will be able to gain a firm foothold, and subsequent troops and horses can follow quickly without interference. A large number of sheepskin rafts
It can even be used as a tool for crossing rivers.
Everything seems to be under control.
Yang Yiqing remembered Zhang Yanling, Shi Yong and others who had tried hard to stop his plan to cross the river, and he despised them in his heart. They were too ridiculous. Cao Xiong's defeat made them afraid of the enemy and they did not dare to cross the river again. This
The gang members were actually the leading generals, and it was really sad that the imperial court gave them the responsibility of leading the army in battle.
Especially Zhang Yanling, an unlearned and unskilled person who relied on nepotism to rise to power in his infancy. What could he know? Fortunately, I didn't give him face and didn't let him lead the army. Otherwise, this important task of counterinsurgency would be far away.
It’s just that he is incompetent, but he is also being laughed at.
Yang Yiqing thought about this, and his heart was filled with joy. The telescope in his hand continued to be pointed at the big ship in the front to observe carefully. Suddenly, he was stunned.
"Why did the boat stop? Why didn't the ferry at the front stop on the river? What's the trick?" Yang Yiqing shouted loudly.
Several generals around him also noticed something unusual and looked at each other wondering what was going on.
"Send a flag to ask why the ship is stopped? We want them to land ashore at once." Yang Yiqing shouted sharply.
The messenger on the mast raised a flag and began to ask questions. Soon after, Yang Yiqing received news that stunned him.
"All ships approaching the shore within a hundred steps are blocked by underwater foreign objects and cannot move forward a step."
When Yang Yiqing heard the news, he had goosebumps all over his body and broke into a cold sweat.
The rebel general He Jinyi and deputy general Ding Guang stood side by side on the cliff on the opposite bank. They looked nervously at the densely packed imperial boats crossing the river on the river below, with serious expressions on their faces.
"Did it work?" He Jinyi asked with eyes wide open.
"It seems to have worked. Hahaha, General, the ship has stopped. Our method worked." Ding Guangda laughed.
After He Jinyi carefully observed and confirmed that all the large ships near the shore could not move, he also laughed.
"Your method is better. Arrange underwater obstacles along the coast to prevent them from landing. It's really a clever idea." He Jinyi praised.
Ding Guang cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, General, for the compliment."
Not long ago, it had been clearly seen that the soldiers and horses on the other side were building large ships on the dock. The soldiers and horses of the imperial court did not even hesitate at all and started building the ship in front of them, which made He Jinyi and Ding Guang very annoyed.
Although both He Jinyi and Ding Guang believed that the defense on the north bank was impregnable. After Cao Xiong's defeat, their morale was extremely high. They believed that they could definitely give the imperial troops trying to cross the river a head-on blow and repel them.
However, for many days in a row, the soldiers and horses of the imperial court on the other side continued to build large ships. As the number of large ships on the opposite pier increased, He Jinyi and Ding Guang couldn't help but murmur in their hearts.
At first, Cao Xiong used sheepskin rafts, but now the soldiers and horses on the other side are building large wooden boats. This cannot be compared. And now there are more soldiers and horses on the other side. Looking at this posture, they are going to build a large number of ships to force the crossing. Once they are blocked by
They succeeded in forcibly crossing the border, but the consequences were disastrous.
In view of this, He Jinyi and Ding Guang urgently discussed countermeasures. Both felt that they must make complete preparations.
Ding Guang proposed a way to put obstacles in the river where the ferry landed. He Jinyi agreed to his plan. So they built many giant logs to resist the horses and dragged them to the river in small boats. Then they used large bluestone chains.
Hang on top and sink underwater.
Within a hundred steps of the shore, more than 30 giant horses were laid down. These horses were less than a foot above the water, completely submerged under the water, and could not be seen at all. Small boats could even sail directly by.
There is water, but big ships will never be able to get through.
Today, these methods worked wonders. More than ten large ships on the opposite side have been completely stuck in the obstacle area and cannot move forward even half a step.
But this is only the first step in He Jinyi and Ding Guang's plan to resist the enemy.
"General, we can proceed to the second step. They are stuck here, which is a good opportunity." Ding Guang said in a deep voice.
He Jinyi nodded and said: "That's right. Now is the time. The opportunity cannot be missed. Send the order immediately."
A big tree high on the top of the cliff fell, and a group of rebel soldiers on the top of the cliff beyond Lixu upstream were ordered to move quickly. Soon, dozens of small boats piled with firewood appeared from the shade under the cliff.
On the river. They follow the river water quickly towards the river where the ferry is located downstream.
After a cup of tea, the boats appeared two or three hundred paces upstream of the ferry.
"Light the fire and abandon ship!"
In an instant, dozens of boats burst into flames and smoke. Then the rebel soldiers cut off the ropes connecting the boats, and allowed the dozens of boats to steam with flames to drift majestically with the current, heading straight for the river crossing fleet on the river.
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This is the second step of He Jinyi and Ding Guang's plan to resist the enemy. Fire attack!
When the opponent's ships are blocked by obstacles under the water, the most effective method is to use the prepared fire ships to get close and burn these large ships.
Yang Yiqing and others saw dozens of fireships coming upstream with blazing flames. Everyone was stunned and showed horrified expressions.
Yang Yiqing's mouth opened wide in shock, his throat was so dry that he could hardly breathe.
"The boats and oars were wiped out in ashes!" Yang Yiqing was shocked. It turned out that the pride that surged in his heart not long ago was actually predicted.