Chapter 104 If you want to win, you have to risk your life! Lao Liu, he is playing the decapitation tactic! Gan Xingba, the god descended to earth!
Along the coast, more than 30,000 soldiers of Liu’s army were sweating in their palms and looking nervously at the river.

On the Han River.

The two naval forces have formed their battle formations and are sailing towards each other.

On the flagship.

Gan Ning's eyes were as sharp as blades as he stared at the Jiangling navy as if they were grass.

"Xingba, it's not that I'm afraid of Cai Mao. We will fight to the death today no matter what."

"But the Jingzhou army not only has more than twice as many warships as ours, but also has far more large and medium-sized warships such as tower ships and fighting ships."

"How do you plan to fight this battle?"

Although Xu Sheng was the deputy governor, as he was a senior official, it was not an exaggeration to call Gan Ning Xingba.

The meaning is very clear. I am not afraid even if I die in battle. The key is that you have to let me die knowing clearly.

"If Wen Xiang has the will to fight to the death with you, we will have won half the battle."

"A naval battle is a competition of who is more fearless. As long as you and I risk our lives, Cai Mao will surely lose!"

Gan Ning was extremely domineering. He looked at the "Cai" flag in front of him with contempt, as if he were an ant.

Xu Sheng couldn't help but shudder.

Wow, it turns out that the lord and military advisor Xiao went to great lengths to recruit this world's best naval commander, but his naval warfare tactics are so crude and simple.

Just two words - risk your life.

"Don't worry, Wen Xiang. My reckless fighting style is not to commit suicide. There is a trick to it."

Gan Ning suddenly changed the subject, and his originally domineering tone suddenly revealed a hint of weirdness.

Xu Sheng was stunned, failing to understand the hidden meaning of Gan Ning's words.

Gan Ning said no more, swung his iron halberd, and shouted:

"Pass the order down, all boats, sail and oars filled, push on!"

As soon as this order came out, Xu Sheng's face suddenly changed.

The enemy outnumbers us, and we are few. If we put all our efforts into the fight, it would be like risking everything.

If Cai Mao relied on his large number of ships to divide his troops and encircle the enemy from both wings, and his attack was thwarted, wouldn't he be unable to even retreat?

"Xingba——"

"I know what you're worried about!"

Gan Ning interrupted Xu Sheng's reminder, his face was resolute and confident, and he said sternly:
"I have my reasons for fighting this way, just pass on the order!"

Having said that, Xu Sheng could only follow orders.

"Well, since he is someone that Military Advisor Xiao values, he must have some outstanding qualities!"

"I won't think too much about it. I'll just go crazy with him. The worst that can happen is that I'll die in battle for my lord..."

Xu Sheng had made up his mind, so he said no more and immediately issued the order.

Above the flag, trumpets sounded, drum beats accelerated, and the flag of attack was raised high.

The flagship accelerated first, the sailors rowed as hard as they could, the sails fluttered, and they sped up.

Upon receiving the order, more than 300 warships of various sizes rushed forward at an accelerated speed.

A few hundred steps away was the Jingzhou army fleet.

On the huge flagship.

Cai Mao was standing proudly with his sword in hand, glancing at Liu Jun's navy from afar with half-open eyes.

The flag with the word "Gan" on it was particularly eye-catching.

"Jinfan thief!"

"Liu Bei really used that thief Jinfan to lead the navy!"

"He is not afraid of being ridiculed by the world for using a pirate to lead the navy. It seems that he really has no one else to use."

Cai Mao's mouth corners slightly raised, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

Seeing that the two armies were approaching, Cai Mao had his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to order the entire army to press forward, relying on the advantage in numbers to crush the Gan Ning navy.

At this time.

In the opposing navy, trumpets sounded and the flag of attack was raised among the flags.

The ships that had been advancing steadily suddenly accelerated and rushed towards his Jiangling navy.

"That Jinfan thief actually attacked first?"

Cai Mao's eyes widened and a look of surprise flashed across his face.

When the weak are against the strong, and the few are against the many, we should maneuver and look for opportunities to fight.

But this Gan Ning did not play by the rules. He sent out his entire army and launched an attack right from the start?

What's wrong with this?

After Cai Mao was surprised, he immediately raised the corner of his mouth and sneered:
"This Jinfan bandit really doesn't know how to fight. He just wants to crush our army with brute force. He really overestimates his own abilities!"

He put away his sneer, drew his sword, and shouted:

"Order, all the warships in the central army, press forward and suppress the enemy head-on."

"The rear army is divided into two teams, outflanking from both wings to cut off the enemy's retreat."

"I will annihilate the Big Ear Thief's navy right here, and not let even a single ship of the Brocade Sail Thief escape back to the north shore!"

The command flag was raised above the ship and the sound of war drums suddenly sounded.

Nearly three hundred main warships came forward to meet the enemy head-on.

Cai Mao even urged his flagship ship to overtake more than ten fighting ships in front and rushed forward at an accelerated speed.

The two hundred warships of the rear army were divided into two teams, and they circled around to the two wings of Gan Ning's army.

The two armies rushed towards each other at full speed and were within the range of bows and crossbows in the blink of an eye.

Almost at the same time, thousands of sharp arrows flew into the air from the large and small warships of both armies and attacked the enemy warships.

Screams rang out one after another, and streams of blood spurted into the air.

In an instant, soldiers from both the enemy and our side were nailed to the ground, either falling into the river or falling on the deck.

Dense arrows soon intertwined into a light net above the center of the river.

South Bank Water Camp.

Liu Biao and Kuai Yue were standing on the watchtower, watching the battle on the Han River.

"This Gan Ning is so impatient that he rushed forward with his entire army."

"Yidu, this thief Jinfan doesn't look like he is proficient in naval warfare. Could it be that you overestimated him before?"

Liu Biao stroked his thin beard, raised the corners of his mouth, and a look of contempt flashed in his eyes.

Kuai Yue's face flashed with embarrassment, and he could only smile bitterly and mock himself:
"Yue also visited Mr. Shui Jing that year and happened to hear him mention Gan Ning."

"People at that time said that Sima Decao was the best in the world at judging people, and Yue believed that Gan Ning was indeed extraordinary."

"Now it seems that Sima Decao's ability to judge people is just a name in vain."

Hearing Sima Hui's name, Liu Biao showed disgust on his face and snorted:

"When the old lady heard that he was a noble scholar from Yingchuan, she wanted to recruit him to serve as an official, but he refused several times."

"Now it seems that this person is just so-so."

The sarcastic words had just fallen.

Kuai Yue's eyes lit up, and he pointed at the battle situation in Hanshang and said:
"Degui's ability in water warfare is indeed unmatched on the Han River. No one can match him."

"My Lord, you see, he really took advantage of Gan Ning's hasty advance and used the advantage in the number of our warships to divide his forces and outflank the enemy from the rear."

"Degui has a big appetite. It seems that he wants to wipe out Liu Bei's navy in this battle!" Although Liu Biao is not a famous general, he has led troops into battle and knows a thing or two about naval warfare.

Following Kuai Yue's pointing, he took a closer look and was immediately delighted.

"I think Liu Bei has the ability of a good mentor, and all the people he employs are talented."

"I didn't expect that today, in such a crucial battle, he would recognize the wrong person."

"God bless me, God bless me too..."

Liu Biao was overjoyed. The stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, and he couldn't help laughing out loud.

Kuai Yue also stroked his thin beard, watched the battle on the river with a smile, and waited for Cai Mao to achieve great success.

Battlefield on the river.

Liu Jun's situation was already quite bad.

In naval battles, long-range bow and crossbow shooting is the most important method of combat.

The Jiangling navy not only had a large number of archers and crossbowmen, but also a large number of large ships such as tower ships and fighting ships, and also had the advantage of being high above.

In a blink of an eye, all the ships were suppressed to the point where they could not raise their heads, and the situation fell into a disadvantage.

"Xingba, our army is being suppressed too much by the enemy's bows and crossbows. This is not a solution!"

"Look, Cai Mao's flagship is coming up, his huge ship——"

Before Xu Sheng finished his reminder, Gan Ning's eyes flashed, and he immediately put the iron halberd behind him, with half of his shoulder bare, and strode towards the stern of the ship.

"Xingba, what are you going to do?"

Xu Sheng turned around and looked at Gan Ning blankly.

"The command is now in your hands. Just hold on to the ships. I will end the battle within a quarter of an hour!"

Gan Ning jumped off the stern of the boat without even looking back.

Xu Sheng was startled and was about to stop it when he remembered that there was a barge towing at the stern.

Gan Ning jumped and landed right on the deck of the ship.

Then, the ropes were untied, and the submarine hidden at the stern quickly turned, passed by the flagship, and sped forward.

at the same time.

On the left and right wings, several blitzkrieg ships hidden behind the fighting ships appeared at the same time, rushing forward like flying sharks on the water.

"This Gan Xingba, what exactly does he want to do?"

Xu Sheng looked at Gan Ning standing at the bow of the ship, speeding past him, with deep confusion on his face.

North shore.

On the watchtower, Liu Bei, who was also watching the battle, asked the same question as Xu Sheng.

The generals on both sides had no way to explain it and were all confused and puzzled.

"Behead!"

"My lord, the strategy to achieve victory is the decapitation tactic!"

Xiao Fang said it all in one sentence.

"Decapitation tactics?"

Liu Bei looked back at Xiao Fang blankly, unable to understand the deeper meaning.

Xiao Fangyao pointed at the river and said slowly:

"My lord, look carefully. The enemy has more troops and larger warships, which gives them the upper hand."

"Under normal circumstances, it can be said that our army has no chance of winning."

"Xingba deliberately took the initiative to attack in order to lure Cai Mao's entire army forward and drive the ships forward quickly."

"When the two armies were engaged in a chaotic battle, he suddenly led the speedboat and rushed straight towards Cai Mao's flagship."

"He wants to capture the leader first for Cai Mao!"

"As long as Cai Mao's flagship is captured, Jiangling's navy will collapse without a fight, no matter how many warships they have!"

Xiao Fang revealed Gan Ning's intention.

Liu Bei suddenly realized and immediately showed surprise:
"I see. I thought Gan Xingba was going to win by brute force, but I didn't expect he had such a subtle fighting method!"

At this time.

Wen Pin, who was standing by, also saw the clue and said:

"This decapitation tactic is indeed a way of defeating the strong with the weak."

"But although the ship is fast, its defense is weak. I'm afraid it will be difficult to break through the enemy's arrow net and successfully board Cai Mao's flagship."

The surprise in Liu Bei's eyes faded a little in an instant, and he quickly looked at Xiao Fang.

"This is why Gan Xingba asked the lord for iron armor and cowhide when we first met that day."

"The cowhide covering the outer wall of the ship can strengthen the ship's ability to resist arrows, and the iron armor can protect the soldiers on the ship from being injured by arrows."

"This is the reason why Xingba dared to charge directly at the enemy's flagship with only a few ships."

The last mystery was thus solved by Xiao Fang.

Wen Pin suddenly understood and no longer questioned.

Old Liu's eyes suddenly became clear, and he couldn't help but sigh:
"Jinglue, your ability to judge people is truly unparalleled in the world."

"Gan Xingba, whom you recommended, is both brave and resourceful, and is worthy of the title of the world's number one marine general!"

Xiao Fang smiled and pointed to the south bank:

"The outcome has been decided. My lord, let the troops board the boats and prepare to cross the river!"

Liu Bei immediately issued an order, and the 30,000 infantrymen watching the battle on the shore immediately began to board the boats.

Battlefield on the river.

Gan Ning led several ships to charge towards Cai Mao's flagship.

At this time, Cai Mao finally saw through Gan Ning's tactics.

"This Jinfan thief turned out to be coming for me!"

Cai Mao was panicking and immediately shouted:
"Order all ships to shoot arrows to stop those ships from charging!"

When the order was given, all the ships along the way fired arrows at Gan Ning and his ship.

Arrows rained down.

Gan Ning waved his halberd like the wind, deflecting all the incoming arrows.

The direct subordinates behind him, relying on the defense of iron armor and cowhide, successfully blocked most of the arrow attacks.

at last.

The fleet where Gan Ning was located passed through the enemy's rain of arrows and crashed into the flag of the Jingzhou army with unstoppable force.

"boom!"

There was a loud bang.

Gan Ning used the force of the collision to push his feet forward vigorously.

The towering figure like an iron tower rose into the air and leaped onto the deck of the enemy ship like a god descending from heaven.

"Gan Ning is here!"

"I want to capture Cai Mao alive!"

"Kill anyone who stands in my way!"

(End of this chapter)