Chapter 3574: Aftermath

Li Xiaowei, who was on the Cao Junbo's boat, felt his heart beating like a drum, and his body seemed to be trembling.

With the cover of night, the warship approached the landing site under Liao Hua.

When the ship was driving out, there was no noise, nor any war drums were sounded. The sound of the flowing water covered the movements of the ship. Until the ship approached Liao Hua's troops, the soldiers left on the river bank discovered the arrival of the Cao army's warship. While sending an alarm, they began to organize a defensive front.

『Prepare, fight!』

Li Xiaowei didn't notice that his voice was trembling. He grabbed the side of the ship tightly, exerting so forcefully that his joints were a little white.

Until now, the war drums were ringing on the tower ship, and the crossbowmen standing on the deck splashed arrows and crossbows at the Hussars on the shore.

The Cao army naturally did not dare to ignite any rockets, and the soldiers led by Liao Hua on the shore did not have time to prepare any rockets because the incident happened suddenly. The arrows from both sides passed by, and it was obvious that the Cao army archers who had prepared had the upper hand. There were female walls on the tower ship and the fighting ship, which could cover up some Liao Hua's counterattacks. In this case, the Liao Hua soldiers on the shore were almost in a passive situation of being beaten.

This suppressed situation lasted for about a stick of incense. It was not until the warships and rafts that Liao Hua left in the Danshui rushed up and fought with the three warships of Cao's army that the crossbowmen on the Cao's army began to transfer the target of the attack to the water.

Because in Danshui, whether it is Cao's army or Liao Hua, there are not many ships on the water surface, so the battle on the water surface is a conventional pattern at the beginning. There are crossbow shooting in the distance, and when it is closer, it will hit the ship and jump the gang. However, compared to comparison, Liao Hua's ships are relatively small and relatively fragile, so when they see Cao's warships attacking, most of them will directly avoid it and do not give Cao's army the chance to hit the bow.

And this is exactly the situation that Cao's warships want to see...

"Snatch up the upper reaches!" Captain Li shouted.

He felt that success was right in front of him, but before he could be happy for too long, bad news came.

"Captain! Our ship is stuck!"

"Ahha?" Li Zhengwei couldn't understand at all. What does it mean to be stuck?

But that's the reality.

Because Liao Hua's vanguard was riding on a raft, and the durability of the raft was obviously very poor, after Cao Jun's ship arrived, some rafts fell apart in the collision, and among these woods, one of them happened to be stuck at the rudder of the raft, making it impossible for the raft to turn.

Ships sail in the water and turn, on the one hand, rely on the rudder and on the other hand, rely on the oar.

If the tower ship is full, then there will naturally be enough troops to control the oars or repair the stuck rudder. But the problem is that the tower ship is used to set fire. Not only are there no soldiers in the cabin, but there are also a large amount of flammable materials sprinkled with tincture oil!

This has caused serious shortage of soldiers on the tower ship and the fighting ship, and even the rudder was stuck and it was impossible to repair it in time.

Most of the time, good news is usually late, while bad news will be paired. Just after Captain Li urgently dispatched people to eliminate the stuck rudder, someone came to report that the cabin had leaked out!

There are oar holes in the cabin of the building, and turmeric oil leaks from these holes and spreads to the outside of the ship and on the water surface, forming a long colorful black...

"broken!"

Captain Li quickly turned his head and looked at the shore. Sure enough, among the Liao Hua soldiers on the shore, he saw someone pointing at the shore!

At this moment, the "beautiful" memories that were originally suppressed instantly emerged in Li Xiaowei's mind!

This attack method similar to "self-destructing ship" was originally a message difference.

Just like the burning of Red Cliffs in history, if Cao's army had discovered something wrong with the Yellow Gai ship earlier, it would not have been said that it would have been impossible to fall into the trap at all, but at least it could reduce part of the losses.

But seeing that the Hussars on the shore seemed to have noticed the abnormality of the tower ship, Li Zhengye's calves couldn't help but twitch, he didn't want to die...

Strictly speaking, he doesn't want to be burned alive!

Even if you die under swords and guns, it is better than being burned to death!

His eyes couldn't help but move around and his head buzzed. After a while, it seemed that the soldiers around him were urging him and asking him what to do?

『Image, ignite! Abandon the ship! Abandon the ship!

Captain Li almost instinctively shouted out, and then ignored the others and walked to the stern of the boat first. He wanted to board the fighting ship and leave this dangerous area.

Everyone has something they are particularly afraid of.

Some are easy to understand, such as those who are afraid of heights and those who are afraid of snakes, but some are difficult to understand, just like Li Xiaowei, who is actually afraid of fire.

This kind of fear is usually not reflected, just like a person who is afraid of heights sitting in the office on the 33rd floor will not feel how tall they are. However, if you accidentally walk to the window and look at it, your legs may become weak on the spot.

The same is true for Li Xiaowei.

In normal days, no one expected that he would be afraid of fire, and would be afraid that he would lose his inch if he was burned to death.

As a result, when Li Zhengwei left, the Cao army soldiers on the tower ship naturally evacuated. Cao Ren repeatedly emphasized the need to seize the upstream position and cut off Liao Hua's mission to return, so he was naturally left behind.

The two fighting ships picked up Li Ziwei and some other Cao's soldiers on the building and began to set fire.

The flames quickly burned, and after a moment, the tower ship became a huge torch in the Danshui River. The bursting of tincture oil and wooden board fragments covered most of the river...

...

...

Cao Ren, who was halfway up the mountain, was very happy when he saw the fire on the river below, but before he could laugh, his face froze and his smile condensed on his face!

What the hell is going on?!

It was like the Huang Gai fire attack in history, but when he walked to the center of the river, he had not yet approached Cao Jun Water Village, the ship had spontaneously burned...

The river water is always flowing, so once the flame oil does not touch the opponent's hull, the effect of fire attack will be greatly reduced. For Cao Ren, his original plan was to use the flame to burn it, at least temporarily trap the landing site of Liao Hua and others, causing Liao Hua and his soldiers to fall into the process of fighting back and forth!

Not everyone can succeed in "betraying the water"...

The reason why Han Xin was successful was not simply to let the soldiers "carry the water", but to send a light cavalry force to attack the enemy camp before "carrying the water". If there was no such move, the enemy could form a formation and press Han Xin and others into the water step by step, drowning them all!

However, many so-called military masters in later generations avoided Han Xin's skills in attacking the enemy camp and forcing the enemy into a dilemma. Instead, they simply emphasized "behind the water", which naturally misled many fools and was really trapped in the water.

Moreover, Han Xin chose a very clever location. He used the terrain surrounded by water on three sides to make the enemy's numerical advantage unable to be used, which allowed his own soldiers to rotate and delay more time.

However, the Liao Hua array in front of him obviously did not have these "back-to-water" conditions. Even if Liao Hua sent a side army to attack the mountaintop of Cao's army, Cao Ren could divide his troops to fight. If it really doesn't work, he could retreat back to the military camp at Danjiangkou and continue to resist. It was acceptable for Cao's army to give up the position in Yingzui Bay, and it was not like the back-to-water battle in history was at a critical juncture between both sides.

Simply put, this place is very important for Liao Hua. If you don’t open it, you can’t move forward. For Cao’s army, there are subsequent strongholds. You only need to kill Liao Hua’s soldiers as much as possible here...

This led to an inequality in the battle situation between the two sides, and Cao Ren's arrangements for the battle situation were more calm.

But now, Cao Ren’s arrangement has made major mistakes!

Although it is not clear why the tower ship suddenly caught fire when it was halfway through, it is not the time to investigate this problem. Cao Ren could only take advantage of the situation and order to gather all the soldiers to counterattack the Liao Hua front on the bank of Danshui!

The soldiers of Cao's army were not very clear about Cao Ren's specific arrangements, so when they saw the fire in the river, their morale was greatly boosted and they rushed towards Liao Hua's line of troops. In a moment, they actually drove Liao Hua's array back!

Cao Ren now only hopes that Liao Hua will be stunned under such a battle situation. If you want to have a "battle of backwards", then Cao Ren can teach Liao Hua completely, what is the real "battle of backwards"...

...

...

Unlike generals who need to have a global perspective, soldiers are generally limited to their opponents in front of them and the current situation. Therefore, after the fire broke out in the river, the soldiers under Liao Hua's men were also in a turbulent manner. Some soldiers couldn't help but look back. Even if they were reminded by the military academy not to look back, they could not help themselves.

Liao Hua did not expect that Cao's army would use fire attack, or to be precise, Cao's army would use fire attack on the water.

He had seen the reeds being cut before and thought that the Cao army would arrange them on land, so he never dared to rush too deep, worried that he would accidentally rush into the trap of the Cao army.

Of course, compared with the battlefield experience, Liao Hua is undoubtedly a little more immature than Cao Ren.

Liao Hua guessed that Cao Ren was ambushing, but he didn't guess that Cao Ren was ambushing not only on land, but also prepared more in the water!

In fact, the battlefield game between the two sides is almost the same.

Cao Ren also guessed that Liao Hua would come to attack, but he didn't expect that his checkpoint on the mountain was so useless...

The game between the two sides is not only about the progress of one side, but also depends on how many mistakes the other side makes.

Sometimes, it is more important to not make mistakes than to catch a handful of Hu cards.

Cao Ren's stage is almost equivalent to playing all the cards, it depends on how Liao Hua dealt with it now.

For Liao Hua, he sent soldiers to attack in two groups, and on one side he took the water route and the mountain route he took the same, and both sides achieved certain results, but Cao's army still showed no sign of destruction while Cao Ren was in charge.

Now that the fire broke out on the water, Liao Hua had to make a decision, whether to continue fighting, try to fight back, or withdraw, regain the situation and then attack.

"Captain! What should we do now?"

The military academy under Liao Hua shouted anxiously.

At a certain moment, the words "Fighting with the water" did appear in Liao Hua's mind.

However, after quickly scanning the battlefield, Liao Hua discovered that the terrain here was not suitable for the necessary conditions for launching a war of back and forth.

Liao Hua has sent a reserve team, that is, the troops attacking the top of Yingzui Bay. If Liao Hua does not care about the ships and rafts in the Danshui River, he blindly forms formations on the banks of the Danshui River, or leads troops to advance, and tries to open up a channel to connect with another troops on the top of Yingzui Bay, he will inevitably be hit by Cao's army from multiple angles and long distances.

Holding on the bank of Danshui is equivalent to asking Liao Hua to believe that the troops on the flanks will definitely open up Yingzui Bay. If you continue to attack and advance, it means that Liao Hua has pushed all the soldiers to the card table, including himself. Once he succeeds, it is naturally great. If he fails, then let alone whether he can escape with the retreat cut off. The way Wuguan attacks Jingbei alone will be severely damaged, at least not pose a subsequent threat to Jingzhou in a short period of time.

It will even affect Li Dian and Pang Shanmin...

Then, if you retreat, Liao Hua will lose his own casualties and soldiers who attacked tonight, as well as some of the positions and achievements that have been achieved at the moment.

The current military achievements are actually Liao Hua’s current "anchoring" and "cost".

Do you gamble or not?

Liao Hua's eyes scanned the surroundings, not only looking at the direction of the mountain, but also looking towards the water surface.

There is a fog between the two sides of the war.

This is somewhat similar to the real-time strategy games in later generations, but unlike the game, no matter which side, it is impossible to replenish troops in the void. And the most important point is that in the battle, soldiers die if they die, and their experience value will not be saved to the team flag or the team mark. The next wave of new recruits coming in are still new recruits. It is impossible for a certain team to be promoted directly to become a three-star veteran because of the long existence of a team...

Therefore, only when soldiers survive, they can grow. Even if they cannot survive, no matter how much experience they gain in this battle, they will be cleared with one click.

Liao Hua let out a long sigh. He was not sure if there was only one attack on Cao Ren's water surface?

If...

Although the fire on the Danshui surface now ignited the shipwrecks that Cao Ren had originally arranged a little lower, forming a large sea of ​​fire that covered most of the river, making it more difficult for the Cao army's naval army to continue attacking, but if Cao army naval ships attacked again, it would be difficult to compete.

"Telection! Direct team, follow me!"

Liao Hua finally made a decision.

...

...

Cao Ren, who was halfway up the mountain, was always paying attention to Liao Hua's movements. When he saw that Liao Hua's battle flag did not retreat but instead advanced for a distance, he couldn't help but smile, and the pain in his left ear seemed to be much lighter.

"Okay, okay!" Cao Ren was like seeing his prey about to fall into the trap, and couldn't help but be happy in his heart. "Send the order! Send the order quickly! Don't shoot first, let them in! Get ready first, let them in! Wait until my order before shooting!"

The messenger under Cao Ren rushed to the flank to send the command, while Cao Ren stared at Liao Hua's battle flag tightly, watching the battle flag fluttering and flashing under the night and fire, estimating the distance and direction.

Cao Ren looked up and looked at the hillside of Yingzui Bay on the other side. The battle continued. Liao Hua's side army did have a certain advantage, but Cao Ren's soldiers did not completely collapse because Cao Ren was still standing here. With his familiarity with the terrain, he fought and retreated.

『Yes, that's it...』 Cao Ren nodded, 『Bring in... and come in some more...』

Cao Ren endured and controlled his desire to attack, trying to make Liao Hua lead his men deeper, so that he could gather multi-faceted attacks and completely defeat Liao Hua's troops in one fell swoop!

But just when Cao Ren felt that Liao Hua had almost entered the trap, he suddenly found that Liao Hua's battle flag was missing!

During the first few breaths, Cao Ren thought he was blocked by some rocks, shrubs, or something else, but after waiting for a while, he found that he could not see Liao Hua's battle flag, and was shocked!

Looking up again at the distance, Cao Ren noticed that the Hussar soldiers on the bank of Danshui were boarding the ship...

『Damn it!』

Cao Ren suddenly realized that he had fallen into the trap!

Liao Hua did not want to fight the Cao army to the death. He led his direct team to attack the Cao army's front just to provide more time and space for other soldiers on the river bank.

It is obvious that Cao Ren and the vast majority of Cao's soldiers were all fascinated by Liao Hua. When Cao Ren understood, Liao Hua's troops had already boarded the remaining boats, and Liao Hua's direct team was also retreating quickly...

This is the role of elites. When attacking, they act as a vanguard and break into the enemy's formation. When retreating, they can also retreat without being confused.

『Occurrence!』

Cao Ren's order was somewhat late to realize.

The Cao army soldiers who were originally on standby rushed out roaring and trying to keep Liao Hua and Liao Hua's direct squad, but there was no effect. Liao Hua's retreat speed was even faster than the Cao army soldiers rushing down.

When Cao's soldiers rushed to the bank of Danshui, Liao Hua had already boarded the ship with the last group of people and retreated his troops.

With the sound of gold ringing on the ship, the Liao Hua soldiers on the top of Yingzui Bay also began to retreat.

Cao Ren stood by the Danshui River, holding the sword tightly and gritting his teeth.

"Tell General Cao, don't need to be too polite, don't give it far away!"

The sound from the ship made Cao Ren, who was half a step behind and rushed to the bank of Danshui, feel so uncomfortable in his chest.

From a certain perspective, Cao Ren faced Liao Hua's surprise attack here and successfully repelled Liao Hua, which can also be called a victory, but is this really a victory?

Cao Ren made so many preparations and put so much thought into it, but did not leave Liao Hua's head, but only killed some Liao Hua's soldiers...

But Cao Ren looked at the surrounding Cao army soldiers and seemed to be celebrating to repel Liao Hua. Cao Ren had to try his best to move his face and squeeze out a little smile, "War is good! Good! Statistics of the results of the battle, rewards according to merits!"

『Oh oh oh oh…』

The soldiers of Cao's army cheered.

Amid the cheers, Cao Ren slowly lowered his head and hid his stiff smile in the shadow.

Liao Hua retreated, and he was going to retreat from Yingzui Bay...
Chapter completed!