120 warships???? The outcome of this battle is difficult to predict. The Xing Han army has a large number of sturdy and massive warships, with firepower that is astonishing, but unfortunately the quality of its soldiers is uneven. A more serious drawback than the previous question is that the over 1 million soldiers under Chen Liang's command were temporarily drawn from various counties in Jingzhou, and they are very unfamiliar with each other.
It goes without saying that no matter how talented and militarily gifted Chen Liang was, it would have been impossible for him to turn these soldiers into a cohesive unit in just a few days.
In contrast, the Qin army's southern battalion had only half the number of troops as the Xing Han army, with fewer warships and smaller vessels. However, their armor and blades were extremely well-crafted. Moreover, the Qin army had been stationed in one place for a long time, so they were very familiar with each other and their tactics were well-coordinated. As for problems, it wasn't that there weren't any - the Qin army was facing a sudden change in external circumstances, and with the empire on shaky ground, everyone felt helpless and uncertain about their future and belonging. Many people couldn't fully commit to this battle.
The battlefield situation is changing, and no plan can cover all possibilities, so everything unexpected may happen on the battlefield. In this battle, both sides have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it's not surprising who wins or loses. It's in this delicate balance that the most terrifying casualties are created.
It is often said that the singer does not get tired, but the watcher's waist hurts. On the nearby land and water surface, the bloody killing scene of slaughter, even if it is a veteran soldier, will be moved by it.
Lin Xu was completely indifferent to those things, and looked at the Yin soldiers under his command with great displeasure as they stared blankly at the scene of war, scolding:
"What are you staring at? Get to work! They're killing them, and you're just standing there like fools. Hmph, a bunch of ignorant idiots."
Scolding his subordinates who were staring blankly at the bloody battlefield, Lin Xu hummed a tune. This time he came prepared, and with his identity, he couldn't always be the solo actor, so he had previously gathered a thousand dark soldiers from the Mountain God Temple to follow him. This non-human army was currently camping on Mount Yue, not far from the battlefield, waiting for the battle to start before collecting the yin souls. Lin Xu was also thinking of taking advantage of the situation to secretly benefit himself by withholding a batch of high-quality military souls and adding them to the Mountain God Temple's combat sequence. Who would have thought that the war really started, and this large-scale battle involving nearly 200,000 people actually left those low-intelligence dark soldiers stunned, forgetting their original duties?
It's actually no surprise, a massive brawl involving over 100,000 people, anyone who hasn't seen it before can easily imagine it.
Throughout the long history of China, wars on this scale were not easily seen. Every time there was a change of dynasty, victories in three consecutive battles of this scale would be enough for the winner to accumulate enough capital to become emperor.
Gazing at the two armies clashing below, Lin Xu's heart was filled with conflicting emotions. It was he who had personally pushed Chen Liang into this game of no return, and now, seeing someone's life hanging by a thread, Lin Xu couldn't help but feel a pang of unease.
Human affairs are ultimately human affairs, and the space for gods to intervene is limited. If one's claws stretch too far and provoke the Arhat of Human Affairs, it won't be a small problem that can be solved by peeling off a layer of skin. Lin Xu sincerely hopes that Chen Liang indeed has the destiny and good fortune of being a 95% noble, now he can only wish for his own good fortune.
Under the command of Situ Ya, the Xing Han military's naval fleet used its only batch of large rockets to almost perfectly resolve the Qin army's crossbow array. As the Grand Commander, he still did not dare to be careless. The navy's primary task was to defeat the Qin army's navy, cut off the Lingqu waterway, and sever the Qin army's rear supply lines. Now it seems that this task is not easy to complete. As the Qin army warships located upstream of the Xiang River began to accelerate their attack, the Qin army's fire attack ships also ignited a fierce flame, followed by a downstream surge.
Witnessing this scene, Situ Ya shouted loudly:
"Don't hesitate, go all out and crash through!"
After receiving the command, the lower deck windows of Situ Ya's warship were pushed open, and a row of oars stretched out from inside the hull. The three rows of densely packed oars resembled the wings of birds, moving in rhythmic motion through the water, striving to increase speed to the maximum extent.
Before the advent of the explosive shell, it was difficult to sink a warship with gunfire alone.
In the era of cold weapons, whether in inland waters or in offshore battles, the key to winning naval battles was still the two traditional tactics of boarding and melee combat and fire attack. Today, these two classic tactics are being used by both sides to the extreme.
The Qin army knew that their ships were small and could not confront the large vessels of the Xing Han military in a head-on battle, so they adopted a scorched earth policy from the start. The Qin army had loaded civilian ships and makeshift wooden rafts with flammable materials such as sulfur, pine resin, and oil, which they had forcibly requisitioned in the previous few days, and then launched their first wave of attacks on the Xing Han military while the current was flowing downstream. These suicidal fire attack ships, equipped with iron nails over a foot long at the front end, would become stuck to enemy ships as soon as they collided, and the spreading flames could burn down warships dozens of times larger than themselves.
At this time, Situ Ya commanded the Xing Han army's naval forces to advance bravely, but under the threat of numerous fire attack ships drifting with the current, the situation was precarious.
"Hurry, use the pole to push the fire boat away. Go tell the hook man, don't let these bastards get close."
After a period of observation and understanding, Situ Ya was certain that Chen Liang's character would not be so ungrateful as to burn his bridges after crossing the river. He then staked his entire second half of life, including his future enfeoffment and the glory and wealth of his descendants, on the premise that this grassland hero could achieve great things. For this reason, he also risked his own life, personally commanding the flagship to charge into the front line of the fleet, shouting orders to the soldiers to break through the Qin army's fire attack ship warfare tactics.
In a naval battle, going with the current is better than going against it, and sailing with the wind is better than sailing against it. This is basic common sense. Even if the Xing Han military's naval forces gather a group of elite soldiers and powerful generals, human strength can still be exhausted at times.
"Boom——"?
As a sudden loud rumble sounded, Situ Ya looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the deputy ship, which was only more than ten zhang away from his warship Qing Xiao, had just been hit head-on by a fire attack ship because it had dodged too slowly.
At this moment, a burst of orange-yellow flames suddenly rose from the deck of the ship, and the flammable materials such as fire oil and sulfur on the Qin army's fire attack ship flew up under the action of kinetic energy, splashing onto this large ship, and in an instant, ignited the sail ropes and other fiber fabrics and wooden boards, the leaping flames were as colorful as fireworks lit during the New Year.
When they saw this scene, a personal soldier next to Situ Ya let out a mournful cry and said:
"The Grand Commander, the White Dragon is on fire."
At this point, Situ Ya's eyes were bloodshot, and he had no mind to care about the private goods of the officials. He immediately drew his sword and pointed it forward with force.
Due to exerting too much force, Szeto Nga's tightly clenched fingers had turned white as he loudly said:
"Listen up, you few bunnies! Don't bother about the white dragon or black dragon anymore. Give it your all and charge forward for me! As long as we break through to the Qin army's rear and cut off their roots, the general will definitely reward us heavily. Anyone who shrinks back, I'll have his head roll on the ground!"
"Got it!"
The fleets of both sides brushed past each other on the Xiang River section of Changsha, and the excited sailors gave each other gifts such as throwing spears, arrows, stones, quicklime, fire pots, and fire oil. From time to time, soldiers were hit by flying objects and fell into the water with a loud cry. The sound of Qin army's small boats being crushed by Xing Han army's large ships was even more frightening. This short but brutal naval battle lasted only for a moment, and both sides occupied most of the river due to burning and out-of-control warships. However, Situ Ya's tactical goal was also achieved, and the Xing Han army's fleet had already penetrated the Qin army's formation and broke into the upper reaches of the Xiang River.
Naval warfare emphasizes the importance of favorable weather and geographical conditions. When a warship sails with the wind, the range of its long-range weapons is automatically extended, and when it sails downstream, its speed naturally increases, both of which are very beneficial to one's own side.
Xing Han's massive warship struggled to turn around in the river, finally occupying a favorable position. Situ Ya wiped away a cold sweat and instructed those beside him:
"Notify all ships, prepare iron chain rafts, I will sweep away these native dogs and chickens today."
The Admiral of the Fleet, Sze-toh Yah, issued this pre-arranged signal and the surrounding ships received the flag signals and immediately followed suit.
The sailors took out the fine iron chains prepared in the cabin and threw them towards the nearby warship, with thick lock chains trailing behind. As a result, one by one, thick iron chains as thick as a child's arm linked the large and small warships together on the water surface. Before long, the massive objects were combined into one body by the chain, like a floating city on the water. After completing the connection of the ships, Xing Hanjun's naval fleet accelerated to the limit, and Situ Ya's flagship raised a row of seven red dragon flags, announcing the start of the charge.
At this time, relying on the accelerated water momentum, the entire fleet rushed towards the Qin army's fleet like a fierce tiger going down the mountain.
If our side has the upper hand, to be precise, if we have a numerical advantage, adopting this tactic of "hitting oneself to harm others" is a very effective special warfare technique that is almost impossible for the weaker side to break through.
Someone once made a big fuss about this, saying that you think those ancient famous generals would stay up all night in their tents, counting on their fingers and doing arithmetic. In short, they were calculating how many enemy soldiers could be killed in exchange for one of their own soldiers. As long as the exchange rate was reasonable, it didn't matter. The so-called "benevolent" generals, no matter how much they pretended to love their soldiers like sons, ultimately saw human life as just a number. This is why those examples of victories against overwhelming odds are often printed in history textbooks for future generations to admire. The reason is that in the vast majority of wars, the side with more people won.
It's fitting to apply the motto that unscrupulous media outlets in later generations believe in: a dog biting a person is not news, but if a person bites a dog, that's big news.
"Abandon ship, everyone swim towards the shore."
The Xinghan fleet is connected into a whole with iron chains, almost without any dead ends, like a sharp razor cutting through. Wherever the blade of this sharp knife reaches, the outcome of not leaving an inch of grass can be fully anticipated.
The Qin army warships that failed to dodge to the shallow water area near the shore were instantly crushed, and even more so, entire ships were swept away by iron chains stuck to the surface of the water. Although the hull itself remained largely intact, the deck was a mess of blood and flesh, making it impossible to tell who was who, and not a single breath could be found.
The Qin army's naval forces were annihilated in the face of Shi Yu's shameless and unscrupulous tactics, and at this point, it can be said that the outcome of this battle has already been decided.
"Hurry up and get to work, don't be distracted."
Along with Lin Xu, the general manager Mi Long who came to collect the yin souls would occasionally shout at the yin soldiers, lest they become too engrossed in the intense battlefield killings and forget their original duties.
At this time, Lin Xu was still standing on a prominent rock, gazing out at the battlefield that stretched for dozens of miles. He let out a sigh and turned back to face Mi Long, saying:
"It seems like we're done, let's pack up and head back!"
At the sound, Mi Long glanced at the battlefield still raging like a fire on the banks of Xiang River below the mountain and said cautiously:
"Old man, isn't it a bit early to pack up now?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xu smiled but didn't speak, merely lightly patted Mi Long's shoulder twice and let his subordinate continue to think wildly on his own.
Soldiers are fierce and war is perilous! The cruelty of using troops is nothing more than water and fire. The poison of using troops is nothing more than cutting off grain supplies.
Under the ravages of Situ Ya's iron chain linked boat war book, the Qin army lost 90% of its water power, and the control of Xiangshui was no longer in the hands of the Southern Army. What's worse is that this waterway became a thoroughfare for the opponent to gallop at will. If Situ Ya had enough guts, leading part of the fleet against the current from Lingqu to Lingshan would not be an impossible task.
Faced with a desperate situation, the Qin army, which had been ordered to march north and fight, had to make a choice. They not only relied on supplies from Lingnan, but also their only retreat route.
Now, more than half of Jiangnan, including Jingzhou, have been divided up by the various rebel armies. The Qin army is in enemy territory no matter where they go. It's unrealistic to ask them to continue fighting. Even if the scarce food and laborers can be supplemented locally, essential items such as military equipment and medicine cannot be resolved locally in the occupied states and counties of Jingnan. Moreover, the Xing Han army has a clear advantage in numbers, and relying solely on numerical superiority and logistical convenience can slowly wear down the Southern Army, it can be said that the situation is already hopeless.
