Chapter 639
Long March into Deep Zizhou
Coincidentally, just as Gan Zhuo was discussing the naval matter with Wang Kuang, the Han army was also preparing for an attack.
This was He Pan's idea. He said to Liu Xian, "Your Highness, our army's fortifications are now largely complete, and the enemy's central route has come from afar and is showing signs of fatigue. Rather than waiting for them to attack from all sides, it would be better for our army to launch a water attack first and strike at the enemy's morale!"
This is a very radical suggestion, but in fact, throughout history, the best strategy for defending a city has never been to defend it at all, but rather to take the initiative and catch the enemy off guard, thus deterring them from launching a reckless siege. Cao Ren defended Jiangling against Zhou Yu, and Chen Deng defended Guangling against Sun Quan, both of which followed a similar approach.
He Pan made this suggestion for no other reason than that the most vulnerable point for the Jin army in the defense of Yi'an was indeed the dike. While the dike did offer protection against the navy, and at this time of year, the autumn floods were completely over, and the winter water level was at its lowest, preventing the Jin army from breaching the dike and flooding the city, the dike's circumference of over thirty li (approximately 15 kilometers) made the defensive line too long. A concentrated naval attack would be difficult, as the warships were equipped with numerous specially made ballistae, while the fortifications on the dike were static and couldn't be moved as quickly as the warships. Under these circumstances, only identical warships could engage in a direct confrontation.
However, as mentioned before, the Han army's current strength is in a mediocre position. It is sufficient to support the overall defense of Yi'an City, but not enough to deploy the navy. Therefore, He Pan believes that it would be better to take the initiative and send out the navy before the enemy attacks, to inflict a heavy blow on the Jin navy and make them more cautious. This would make the subsequent defense much easier.
However, there's a problem with engaging the Jin army in a naval battle: the Jin army's current attitude is very cautious. Based on previous encounters with the Jin army, if our side launches a preemptive strike, the enemy might adopt a strategy of avoiding battle. If the enemy navy retreats first, the Han navy cannot pursue too deeply, otherwise it would further fragment the battlefield.
Therefore, to launch an attack, it is necessary to first find a way to arouse the fighting spirit of the Jin army and lure them into facing each other.
He Pan already had an idea for this, and he offered his advice to Liu Xian: "Your Highness, I think we can first use small boats to block the enemy, and then send out a large army to engage them in battle."
He then explained, “Small boats are light and fast. Our army will send out more than a hundred small boats to advance first. We should not rush to engage the enemy, but take advantage of the favorable wind and current to glide all the way to the heart of the enemy army, and then attack. In this way, we will divide the enemy army in two. The enemy will not be able to retreat and will have no choice but to engage our army. Then our main force will press up from the rear. Even if they want to leave, it will be too late.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Xian quickly realized the difficulty involved and asked, "Master He, this might not be appropriate. If we do this, won't all the small boats we sent out become expendable pawns?"
Regardless of the circumstances, sending an entire army to serve as a sacrifice would place immense pressure on the soldiers. A hundred or so ships represent thousands of soldiers. No matter how loyal a soldier may be, they are still human. Such an order would inevitably create tremendous pressure, forcing them to consider whether they would fight to the death or betray their cause.
Furthermore, compared to the Jin army, the Han army already had fewer ships. If they were to casually throw in hundreds of ships, the Han army would have even fewer ships in the subsequent main battle. Could they really be confident of winning? This forced Liu Xian to think twice.
He Pan understood Liu Xian's concerns, and he explained with a smile: "Your Highness, this is like Tian Ji's horse race. The enemy's warships have a limited number of crossbows and arrows. If our hundred or so small boats can deplete their crossbows first, preventing them from returning to shore to reload, then when our main force attacks with the warships, what will they use to resist?!"
"Therefore, these hundred or so ships do not require too many people. Each ship can have ten or so oarsmen to lure the enemy. There is no need to worry about whether to fight the enemy. If a ship is damaged, they can simply jump into the water and swim away. That is enough!"
After listening, Liu Xian finally understood He Pan's true intention. After pondering for a moment, he nodded in agreement and said, "Alright, let's do it that way!"
With the strategy agreed upon, the next step was personnel. He Pan planned to lead over 20,000 men on this naval expedition, more than half the number of the city's garrison—a gamble indeed. But since Liu Xian had already agreed, he didn't hesitate. Apart from Li Ju leading the Hedong army to defend the city, he entrusted almost all of the general's elite troops to He Pan. This was a situation where only victory was allowed, and defeat was not permitted.
Liu Xian then issued a reward in the army, recruiting over a thousand skilled oarsmen, each awarded ten bolts of silk, to serve as the vanguard in rowing boats to lure the enemy. After the battle, regardless of life or death, they would be rewarded with another ten bolts of silk. This was a generous reward, and the soldiers gathered the money that very night.
The following day, another day of strong northwest winds, the weather was overcast, and the sky was covered with thick, dense clouds that blotted out the sun. The Yangtze River rippled in the strong winds, yet the sky still reflected the clouds, like a lake lying in the clouds, letting the gray-white waves gently sway and rock the boats, almost hypnotically. The Han army's boats, large and small, lay across the banks of the river, lying in the water and wind, displaying a peculiar tranquility. Because the sounds of the water and wind masked everything, people could barely hear each other across a boat, let alone any other sounds; perhaps only the sound of war drums and whistling arrows could penetrate them.
At this moment, the Han army prepared more than a hundred Maotu warships to launch the first attack. After they weighed anchor, they raised their sails and the strong wind quickly filled the sails with large bulges. With almost no oarsmen, these small boats sailed downstream with the river current, like arrows released from a bow, getting faster and faster.
Leading these fast boats was Mao Bao, confident in his swimming skills, who volunteered for the interception mission. His attack was brimming with heroic spirit. After crossing the Youjiang Estuary, he turned east, watching the withered reeds rush past on both banks, making him feel as if he were riding a swift horse. Excited, he encouraged his oarsmen, "Strive on, men! A true man should ride the wind and waves, achieving unparalleled feats!" With the swift wind, fast boats, and fast waves, the twenty-mile journey took them no more than a quarter of an hour. Passing the Gong'an Dike and then the Donghu Lake, Shenzi Island suddenly appeared before them. Shenzi Island was named for the abundance of catalpa trees there, but by now, the leaves had all fallen, and the bare trunks stretched upwards amidst the withered reeds, revealing the Jin army's boats gathered like a school of fish on the riverbank. The Jin soldiers were stunned when they saw hundreds of fast ships flying past, and then they shouted loudly.
The Jin army ships at the easternmost point, like those of Mao Bao's forces, were small boats used for harassment and surveillance. Wang Xun had positioned them there to guard against attacks from the Han army, so some of his men realized this and immediately tried to spur their ships to intercept them. But it was too late. They still needed to raise their sails, weigh anchor, and turn, but Mao Bao's forces, with the wind and current at their backs, had increased their rowing speed to the maximum. Over a hundred ships, arranged in a goose-shaped formation on the river, swept past the Jin army's small boats in an instant.
This demonstrated the Han army's high level of naval warfare proficiency. A few months earlier, they would never have been able to achieve this, but after leaving Sichuan, they gained extensive practical experience. From initial discomfort, they had now developed the skills to maintain formation and speed simultaneously on the river. Therefore, the Han army was able to swiftly bypass the Jin army's positions and advance rapidly.
After charging for several more miles, the Han army passed through several battle formations and finally saw the location of the warships ahead. Over a hundred tall warships, like giant elephants, were moored on the riverbank, adorned with colorful banners and flags like clouds. A considerable number of soldiers were active on the decks, and various types of crossbows could even be seen standing on the bows and flanks. Once fired, these crossbow bolts were powerful enough to pierce through ordinary small boats. Compared to them, Mao Bao's ships were like shrimp encountering a carp.
Upon seeing this, the Han army's oarsmen inevitably felt a sense of fear. They had reached the agreed-upon location, but to simply maneuver and harass the enemy ships was to risk their lives. Even though they had prepared themselves for sacrifice, the reality of the situation still made them hesitate and waver. This slowed their pace slightly, and their formation became somewhat disordered, with several ships even huddled together, showing signs of chaos.
Mao Bao was prepared for this. Normally, he would have killed someone to establish his authority, but at this moment, killing might only provoke a rebellion. So, he calmly drew his sword, rose from the bow, pointed it at the distant warship, and shouted to the ships behind him:
"Gentlemen, we've come this far, is there any way back? The enemy is unprepared and has no time to defend themselves. We can take this opportunity to disrupt their formation, which will greatly increase our chances of survival. Wait a little longer, and when the enemy is in position and their crossbows are flying, that will be their death wish!"
Having said that, he gave a whistle and immediately ordered his ship to speed towards the warship, leading by example as he plunged into the enemy ranks. This indeed caused a stir among the Jin army, whose soldiers on the warship couldn't understand what use this warship could possibly have.
At first, they thought it was an envoy sent by the enemy. But when Mao Bao stood at the bow, drew his bow, and fired an arrow, shooting down a Jin soldier, the Jin army realized their mistake and retaliated with arrows. However, as Mao Bao had said, the Jin army was caught off guard and could not use ballistae, so they could only use ordinary arrows. But Mao Bao had already retreated to the cabin, and the arrows were stuck in the cowhide, unable to penetrate the defenses of the warships. They could only watch as Mao Bao's warships shuttled back and forth between the multi-soldier ships, the soldiers shouting and yelling, but no one could do anything to him.
Wang Xun, the Jin army's naval commander and military supervisor in Nanyang, observed everything. He had already guessed the Han army's general intentions, and seeing his troops in such disarray, he couldn't help but feel indignant. He thought to himself, in the current situation, avoiding battle was definitely out of the question, and allowing a single warship to rampage between the larger ships was utterly disgraceful. Morale would be severely damaged. He had to find a way to stop the ship, kill the crew to establish his authority, and only then would the army's morale be boosted!
Thinking of this, he immediately grabbed Li Yun, the general beside him, and said, "This mere pirate ship dares to treat our army as nothing! It's outrageous! We should kill one to warn a hundred, otherwise it will ruin everything! Go forward and seize this ship; that will be your way of redeeming yourself!"
Li Yun was a remnant of the Guanzhong refugees who had previously joined Wang Ru and Zhang Fang's uprising. After Zhang Fang surrendered, the Jin army executed Wang Ru and other leaders, but most of them were resettled. Among them was a group of people who were quite brave and strong. Wang Dun, seeing their strength, formed them into a martial arts battalion and let them fight to atone for their crimes. That is why Wang Xun said that they could atone for their crimes by performing meritorious service.
Upon hearing Wang Xun's command, Li Yun drew his broadsword, tucked two short swords, each a foot long, into his belt, and walked to the railing of the warship. With a nimble leap, he jumped from the towering vessel onto a smaller, more menacing ship below. The ship rocked violently, and before the sailors could even regain their footing, Li Yun ordered, "Go after that reckless pirate ship!"
The oarsmen dared not delay and quickly rowed after them. By this time, Mao Bao's warship had already been hit by over a hundred arrows, slowing its speed slightly. Li Yun soon caught up. Without further ado, seeing the two ships side by side, he immediately jumped onto the warship from the bow, grabbed a nearby Han soldier oarsman, and casually pulled out a short knife from his waist, plunging it into the man's neck before tossing him into the Yangtze River like a chicken. The process was swift and chilling.
Mao Bao was initially startled that the enemy dared to board the ship, but he quickly recovered and swung his sword to counterattack. Li Yun responded with a ring-pommel saber. Both were aiming for a quick victory, so they attacked the center relentlessly, the clanging of weapons echoing throughout the cabin. After only a few exchanges, both swords were broken. They then fought with short swords, both fighting with a reckless style and their skills were evenly matched. Although Mao Bao inflicted several wounds on his opponent, he could not deliver a fatal blow.
Frustrated by the situation, Mao Bao realized that close combat was not his forte. Had he known this man was so formidable, he would have simply used an arrow. Just as the stalemate reached its peak, a quick-thinking oarsman in the boat seized the opportunity. He drew a spare oar and, at the opportune moment, struck Li Yun squarely in the leg. Li Yun, in pain, lost his balance, and Mao Bao, taking advantage of the situation, pushed him out of the cabin, preparing to draw his bow and fire. Knowing he could no longer fight, Li Yun flipped over and tumbled into the Yangtze River, swimming away to escape.
This allowed Mao Bao's warship to escape the pursuit and successfully navigate through the towering ships, returning to the hesitant Han army vessels. Despite the pain of being stabbed three times by Li Yun, he calmly addressed his subordinates, "How about it? Dare to charge with me again?"
The Han soldiers who had initially hesitated were all impressed by Mao Bao's courage and composure, and immediately bowed and said, "General Mao is a young hero, we are no match for him! We will obey your orders!"
The hundred ships scattered in a flurry, swarming towards the Jin army's warships like flies. (End of Chapter)