Chapter 394: Killing Dragon on the River

Let’s talk about Dong Zunhui leading more than 6,000 soldiers to advance east along the Huaihe River. While the group was rushing, suddenly the scout heard news that the Zhou army and the Tang army’s naval forces were fighting last year!

After listening to the report, Dong Zunhui immediately led the generals to reconnaissance. Everyone hid in the woods, hid their whereabouts, and looked quietly on the river. He saw that the Southern Tang army was wearing the flags of Li Jingda and Chen Jue on the river, and the scale was very large. Zhang Yi had some knowledge of the navy's ships. According to his calculations, the current Southern Tang army has more than 40,000 to 50,000 people!

Dong Zunhui couldn't help but frown. Wang Huan originally had thousands of soldiers and horses in his hands. After being supplemented by Guo Rong's main force, the navy did not exceed 20,000 people. Now it is only because of the limited width of the Huaihe River, which is stalemate with the Tang army. If the single battle is consumed, the Later Zhou navy will definitely not be the opponent of the Southern Tang navy!

Dong Zunhui whispered: "Although the battle situation is still stalemate, our navy is limited after all. The more we compete and consume, the more we suffer. We must find a way to help them!"

Shi Shouxin immediately asked, "How about setting fire?"

Han Chongyun immediately shook his head, "It's the east wind now. If you set fire, it will easily burn our own ships. This is not a good idea!"

Dong Zunhui nodded slightly, "It's still March now, and it's easy to find dead wooden branches and bamboos. We can immediately send cavalry to the downstream, organize wooden rafts, pile up fire-driven objects, and attack enemy fleets from the downstream. This is also a good way, but we have to find some people who can water, ignite fire-driven objects after approaching the enemy ships, and dive to escape."

Zhang Yi immediately asked: "General, give this task to me! I have 200 cavalrymen under me to get water. Let them rush downstream, organize rafts, and nail wooden strips to make sails. They will definitely catch the enemy off guard!"

Dong Zunhui immediately agreed and ordered Zhang Yi to lead the army immediately. At this time, Han Chongyun also thought of a way. He said to Dong Zunhui: "General, although we do not have ships, there are many hard bows and crossbows in the army. We have seized a lot of bed crossbows when we defeated Yang Shouzhong's troops. We can use them to attack the enemy's south bank naval army. As long as we evacuate quickly after shooting, we can avoid the enemy's retaliation!"

Dong Zunhui nodded slightly, "This is also a good way. I ordered the soldiers to prepare more rockets and shoot all the rockets of the entire army this time. As long as we can help Wang Huan defeat the enemy's navy, all parts of Jiangnan will be in our pockets in the future!"

At this time, Cao Quan also said to Dong Zunhui: "General, I also came up with an idea. We have seized the banners of Xu Wenzhen, Bian Hao, Yang Shouzhong and others, which can use this to shock the enemy and attack their confidence and morale!"

"This is also a good way!" Dong Zunhui nodded repeatedly and said to everyone: "Although we are an army, we can come up with so many ways. You guys, I am proud of you!"

Everyone saluted Dong Zunhui together, and lowered their voices and shouted: "My Palace Front Office, Wan Sheng!"

About half an hour later, Dong Zunhui's troops were ready for the pre-war and rushed towards the Huai River. The troops of the King Huan of the Later Zhou Dynasty immediately discovered the soldiers rushing over, but when they looked carefully, they found that they were their own people, and their morale suddenly increased. Li Jingda and Chen Jue of the Southern Tang Dynasty looked at Dong Zunhui's troops in disbelief, and were at a loss!

Li Jingda asked in a trembling voice: "The Zhou army has already rushed here. Can you say that the Purple Gold Mountain has completely fallen?"

Chen Jue's eyes were also staring at the shore without any focus. Li Jingda pulled him several times, and then he regained his mind. Then Chen Jue said with a sob voice: "Your Highness, look at it, isn't that Xu Wenzhen and Bian Hao's flag? Even this was captured by the Zhou army. Xu Wenzhen and Bian Hao seem to have sacrificed their lives for their country!"

Li Jingda looked at the general flag displayed by the Zhou army and was shocked. He pointed to the distance with trembling and said, "There is also Yang Shouzhong's battle flag. How many soldiers and horses have come from Houzhou? How can he swallow so many troops in one bite!"

The two were surprised. Dong Zunhui would not be polite to them. The soldiers who rushed to the river quickly immediately played bows and shot all the rockets in the arrow bags. Especially those crossbow machines with a longer range were equipped with several times of personnel, and soon completed the shooting preparations and shot the Tang army ships on the south bank of the Huai River into sieves!

Under the joint attack of archers and crossbowmen of Dong Zunhui's troops, the troops near the southern bank of the Huai River in the Southern Tang Navy suffered severe damage. About ten warships caught fire and remained silent, and more than a thousand people were injured or killed by bows and arrows.

Li Jingda said tremblingly: "There are all Zhou troops on the shore. When they advance with the Zhou navy, our army will be in crisis. There are so many dangers! Now, the military supervisor will think of a solution!"

Chen Jue also said with a bitter face: "What can I do? Let's withdraw our troops..."

Li Jingda shook his head gently, "Is this appropriate? The Purple Mountain has been lost. If we withdraw our troops, our efforts to recover the Huaihe River Basin will be ruined!"

Chen Jue also felt that what he said was a bit reckless. After all, the wind direction is very beneficial to him now. If he withdraws, he will have to go against the leeway, his speed will drop a lot, and he is easily hit by the enemy. Moreover, the troops are now in a relatively close formation, and once the withdrawal of troops will definitely induce chaos. If the Zhou army seizes this opportunity, the situation on the battlefield will be reversed, and the Tang navy may face failure!

The two were hesitating, and the navy behind the palace suddenly sent a message. A large number of thick rafts of Zhou's army were found on the east side and requested an attack! The raft that was going up the wind, Li Jingda jumped up suddenly and shouted: "That is the Zhou army's arson ship. Intercept quickly and don't let them get close!"

Although Li Jingda reacted in time, the Zhou army's arson raft had already rushed to the vicinity, and the Tang army had no time to react. The Zhou army soldiers on the wooden bamboo raft fixed the direction of the sails, ignited the flammable materials piled in front, then jumped into the river, and swam desperately towards the receiving ship behind. After everyone swam on the receiving ship, Zhang Yi immediately ordered the soldiers to cut off the sails and row the boat to dock.

At this moment, the several arson ships rushing into the top of the head had already hit the watercraft of the Southern Tang Army under the influence of the wind, and the fire suddenly spread!

Most of the more than forty wooden rafts and bamboo rafts that Zhang Yi's troops hurriedly hit their own targets, burning the ships behind the Tang army into a mess, making the soldiers cry!

Li Jingda and Chen Jue looked at this scene in horror, and they shouted at the same time: "The whole army retreats!"

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Chapter completed!