Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1066 Bait
In the autumn of the seventh year of Jian'an, when Cao Cao was still recuperating and watching the situation in the world, King Wu of the Wei Dynasty, the younger brother of Jiangdong Tiger, Sun Quan, who would never admit defeat, used his only remaining trump card to issue a warning to the Dongwu fleet in Kuaiji County, which was ready to go. Ordered him to go north immediately, join Baiji and the Gongsun family, and launch a surprise attack on Yuan Xi's fleet that was about to attack Sanhan.

After receiving the order, Jiang Qin, Ding Feng and others immediately set sail, preparing to sail from the sea far away from the coastline in order to hide their tracks and bypass Yuan Xi's navy patrolling the coast.

But after they set off and entered the waters of Xuzhou and Qingzhou, they soon discovered that the patrol route of Yuan Xi's navy extended to nearly a hundred miles beyond the coastline!

This was a big surprise to Jiangdong generals. In their expectation, Yuan Xi's army would patrol a few dozen miles at most, so when Jiangdong's army sailed, it would be enough to be fifty or sixty miles away.

However, this miscalculation resulted in the Jiangdong fleet having to stay at least a hundred miles away from the coastline if it wanted to deceive others. However, this location was already an offshore area with strong winds and high waves. This was not true for the Jiangdong fleet, which was mostly flat-bottomed river boats. , it is difficult to safely sail through!
The sea was surging with big waves, and the boat under Jiang Qin kept shaking. He held on to the side of the boat and said to Ding Feng beside him: "We can't go to the open sea anymore. If we continue like this, I'm afraid our boats will sink if we don't get there." "

Ding Feng looked depressed and said, "What should we do?"

“If we just go back like this, wouldn’t we be returning in vain?

While the two were talking, Xu Sheng and Pan Zhang who were in the front army also sent a message, saying that there was a sudden change in the clouds in the sky ahead, and there was likely to be strong winds and waves. The situation was critical, and the two had no choice but to turn around and lead the fleet back first.

After Jiang Qinding heard this, he had no choice but to order the ship to turn around temporarily and go dozens of miles south to avoid the wind and waves.

Sure enough, a storm hit that night. Although the four people had prepared for the ships to anchor in advance, dozens of ships sank or lost contact due to the strong waves.

The wind and waves lasted for a whole day and night, and did not completely stop until the second night. No distant scene could be seen on the sea. Although the Jiangdong fleet anchored, many ships were damaged and could only be supported with difficulty.

Now the four people's flagships were next to each other. They watched the ships constantly rubbing and colliding with each other, and the sky was gradually getting dark. They were helpless for a while.

In fact, some of the four people already wanted to quit, but Sun Quan had given a death order before sending troops. Who dared to speak first?
Xu Sheng said in a seductive voice: "We can't go on like this. Many ships are about to enter the water. If the wind and waves get stronger, I'm afraid more and more ships will sink!"

Pan Zhang hesitated and said: "What should we do?"

"Is it possible to..."

"No!" Ding Feng gritted his teeth and said, "There is no retreat at this time, only forward, which is the best opportunity!"

"There is a storm at sea, and all the ferocious ships have entered the harbor. Especially now that it is almost night, no one will go out to patrol at night!"

Jiang Qin was stunned: "Chengyuan means...not to retreat but to advance?"

"That's right!" Ding Feng nodded heavily, "If we go back like this, our reputation will be ruined for the rest of our lives!"

"Now that the enemy is not going to sea, this is our last chance. If we go fifty or sixty miles along the coast and sail in the wind and rain, under the cover of night, we will definitely not be discovered by the enemy!"

"As long as the wind and rain at sea last for three days, we can bypass the Qingzhou Peninsula and go straight to Liaodong!"

Pan Zhang asked: "Isn't this a bit risky?"

"If our whereabouts are leaked, we will definitely be blocked in the open sea..."

Ding Feng shouted: "We have no way out!"

"If we go back now, we may never encounter this kind of opportunity again!"

"We have been losing these past few years, don't you guys want to win?"

"Don't you all want to avenge Righteous Gong and be proud of Jiangdong?"

As soon as these words came out, the other three people could not argue. Xu Sheng gritted his teeth and said: "Okay!"

"This time I will take a gamble and fight against the fierce tiger!"

"If we can't even reach the place, it means that destiny is not on Wu's side, and we will die knowingly!"

Jiang Qin heard this and sighed: "Okay!"

"If you don't want to go, you can return now. In the name of the Governor, I will bear this responsibility for you!"

Seeing this, Pan Zhang could only say: "Since you said so, I have no objection."

"However, it is dangerous to sail at night. Each ship must keep a safe distance, and the ships on both sides must light lights to avoid collision and capsizing."

Xu Sheng hesitated and said: "Then what if the enemy sees me?"

Pan Zhang said: "It's better than colliding with each other and overturning."

"Anyway, we have to rely on fate to survive the wind and waves, and we have to rely on fate to not be discovered by the enemy. Otherwise, how can we defeat the fierce tiger if there are only a few boats left?"

"If we are discovered by the enemy, we will simply fight with them. Now the main force of the Fierce Tiger Navy is in Jianghuai. We now have thousands of warships and tens of thousands of soldiers. If we add the four of us, can we still win?" Everyone After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement and shouted: "Okay!"

"Just follow Wengui's advice!"

However, they didn't know that Pan Zhang was really not optimistic about sending troops this time. What he was thinking about now was how to save his life.

If you encounter an enemy on the open sea, with the current condition of the warships, you have nowhere to run and you can only die in the sea. But if you can fight the enemy offshore or on the shore, you can at least escape ashore. The worst is to be captured, which is better than death. Is it strong in the sea?

Moreover, Pan Zhang did not have a good relationship with Jiang Qinding and Feng Xu Sheng. Although he fought bravely, his personal ethics were lacking. He was extravagant and greedy for money. He openly set up a military market to sell weapons and private goods, and even found excuses to kill his own wealthy men. Generals and soldiers to obtain their property.

Among the Jiangdong officials and generals who were not very particular about their behavior, Pan Zhang's behavior was also at the level of an angry beast. Therefore, although Jiang Qin and others did not show it on their faces, they were unwilling to associate with him in private.

But because Pan Zhang fought bravely and made many military exploits, he was deeply liked by Sun Quan, and generals with such knowledge would be more loyal, so Pan Zhang had a very comfortable life over the years.

But in fact, Pan Zhang's actions were much worse than Mi Fang's. This is why Mi Fang wanted to run to Jiangdong after the accident. If Jiangdong can tolerate Pan Zhang, naturally he can also tolerate himself.

Now Pan Zhang sneered in his heart, if you want to avenge Han Dang, go and avenge yourself, don't get involved with him, in the end only those who survive on the battlefield are qualified to speak!

The Jiangdong fleet sailed for five or six days in the storm, losing hundreds of ships along the way. Finally one night, it crossed the waters near Huangxian Pier and headed straight for Liaodong.

Naturally, all this was not hidden from the exploration of Yuan Xi's navy. Soldiers had already reported the news to Tian Yu and Zhuge Liang who were stationed at Huangxian Wharf. Tian Yu said to Zhuge Liang: "Military advisor, do you want to follow us and pursue us?"

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and said: "There are eight to nine hundred ships and several generals on the opposite side. With the hundreds of ships and one general we have at the Huangxian dock, what are the chances of winning?"

Tian Yu said honestly: "Not even half."

"But what I'm worried about is what if it cuts off the lord's escape and threatens his safety?"

Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "My lord is leading the fleet to pretend to attack the coastal ports of Baekje. It is precisely because my lord personally acted as bait that we were able to lure Jiangdong's army into his trap."

"So we have to stay calm to avoid alerting the enemy. If we let him escape, our plan will be in vain. If we attack Jiangdong in the future, we will pay several times the losses."

"This opportunity is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. Jiangdong has used almost all his cards to make a desperate move. If they can win this game, they will never have the strength to make a comeback."

"If God doesn't take what he wants, he will suffer the consequences. What we have to do now is not to let down the master's hard work, find the right moment, enter the battlefield at the most appropriate time, and give the opponent a fatal blow!"

Tian Yu listened and nodded heavily, "Yu has learned a lesson."

"When is the best time?"

Zhuge Liang said in a deep voice: "When they have wiped out all the lord's bait fleet and want to go ashore to kill the lord, that will be the time for them to sacrifice their strengths and weaknesses, cut off their own arms and expose their flaws!"

Yuan Xi waved his hand, and the catapults on the ship fired a wave of stone bullets, covering the entire dock opposite.

The Baekje army defending the pier was in a panic and struggled to hold on amid the dense stone bombs. In the end, they could not withstand it and were forced to retreat into the city behind the pier.

Yuan Xijun's warships began to dock, and the soldiers rushed down pushing the catapults. They pushed the catapults and started hurling stones again.

But this move has had little effect. Baekje is still very good at building cities. Most of the city walls are covered with hard soil and solid rocks. The damage caused by stone bullets is very small. Moreover, most of Baekje's cities are on dangerous terrain. There are several places where you can climb, which is very difficult for the siege team, because the defenders need very few soldiers to hold it.

Yuan Xi thought to himself, no wonder it was so difficult for later generations to conquer Goguryeo. The terrain of the Korean Peninsula was too troublesome. Even in modern times with heavy firepower, it is not easy to capture such a city.

Even during World War II, siege parties with heavy firearms could only blast away the ancient city walls with one shot and could not take advantage of them.

While Yuan Xi ordered the soldiers to continue throwing stones, he looked into the sea. There were hundreds of ships of the Gongsun family watching on the sea. These were sent by the Gongsun family to assist Yuan Xi.

It was also Yuan Xi's plan to lure Jiangdong's army into a false surrender.

Of course, if these ships really want to harm Yuan Xi and instead join forces with Jiangdong to cut off Yuan Xi's escape, then Yuan Xi will be in trouble.

Yuan Xi is still gambling this time, and he is using his body as bait. The stakes are not small.

Instead of attacking Samhan in the north, he organized a fleet to attack directly from Baekje, the southernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula. He deliberately exposed a flaw that made it impossible to escape, which was to lure the enemy.

What he wants to do is to take advantage of Jiangdong's confusion about the situation of Baekje and the Gongsun family and his blind self-confidence to completely eliminate the other party.

But the pressure on Yuan Xi was also great. Jiangdong sent thousands of ships, more than ten thousand soldiers, and four generals this time. Even if a naval force of this size fell into the trap, Yuan Xi would not be able to take it easily.

Therefore, while Yuan Xi succeeds in using himself as a bait, it also depends on the response of Tian Yu and Zhuge Liang who are ambushing behind him. The timing of these two men entering the battlefield is the key to determining the success or failure of this battle.

(End of this chapter)