? Huang Gai couldn''t understand why the crossbows and catapults on the mountaintops had such a high accuracy. Even if they secretly pulled out obstacles in the water at night, they would still be hit after a few rounds of calibration. Although being hit on the hull may not necessarily cause many casualties, as long as it is hit by a stone bullet, the ship is basically not far from being scrapped.


    Jiangdong soldiers died a few, or even dozens, hundreds, or thousands. If necessary, Huang Gai would not even blink an eye. But if a few or dozens of ships were lost, Huang Gai would My flesh hurts so much.


    It’s not that human life is cheap…


    Well, human life is indeed more valuable in this era.


    Well, in the feudal era, human life was cheap.


    ?Of course Huang Gai would not admit this. He just said that if the ship is too seriously damaged, what will happen next? Is it possible that instead of taking a boat, everyone takes the land route and climbs over the mountains to go fishing?


    So, if you can avoid losing ships, try not to lose ships.


    This is the major premise.


    ?Then, just set fire to it!


    The crisp autumn air is a good time to set a fire.


    The reason for setting fires, or even being obsessed with setting fires, is generally caused by human beings'' own desire for self-destruction, just like destroying a sand castle that has been piled on the beach for a long time.


    Destruction is always simpler than construction.


    The wind stopped yesterday.


    ?Huang Gai didn''t dare to move.


    He needs an exact direction of the wind. Otherwise, halfway through setting the fire, the wind starts to blow again. Wouldn’t it be like kicking himself in the foot?


    You must know that ships are also afraid of fire...


    To this afternoon, the wind direction finally changed.


    Huang Gai looked at the flags flying on the boat and smiled so much that all the wrinkles on his face bloomed.


    To set a fire, first prepare some small butter, then prepare some paper, and finally find a hidden place to start rubbing...


    Um?


    Why does something seem wrong?


    ?That''s right, most people who like to set fires are not right anyway.


    In order not to alert the people of Sichuan and Shu in advance, Huang Gai issued a ban on speaking. No one was allowed to speak loudly. If the soldiers of Sichuan and Shu were scared away, wouldn''t the fire be in vain?


    The strategy of setting fire is an old trick.


    The ancient primitive people set fire to compete with wild beasts for territory.


    Shang Zhou also set a fire, but he burned himself.


    Anyone can set fire, the key is to use it properly.


    ??The Sichuan-Shu Army''s routine howling of ghosts and wolves began. Huang Gai sat on the building boat and listened quietly.


    Originally, these ghostly screams gave Huang Gai a splitting headache, but for some reason, they sounded very pleasant tonight.


    Yes, just call it that, and it will break your throat later...


    In order not to be disturbed, the Jiangdong Army retreated to the other side of the bank at night, facing the Sichuan and Shu Army across the water from the hills on the north bank. There are also temporary camps set up on the shore, which are usually used for cooking food during the day. After all, although food can be cooked on the boat, it is not convenient and safe enough. At the same time, humans are not aquatic creatures, they still need land, and they need to get off the boat for some exercise from time to time.


    ?In the Yiting area, both sides of the bank are steep. It is not like you can find larger flat land by the water to the west of Yidao, so you can only take turns to go ashore to repair it.


    Huang Gai waited for the Sichuan and Shu soldiers who had been waiting in the dark to retreat. After the surrounding areas fell into silence again, he stood up and began to give orders.


    First prepare some butter…


    ?Hmm, that’s wrong. First, move some ships as quietly as possible.


    Even though the wind is blowing northward now, who can guarantee that the wind will not turn when the fire is halfway through, or that the flying sparks will ignite the mountains and forests on the south coast? Therefore, the safest way is to stay as far away from both sides as possible and let the river become an isolation zone to block flames and sparks.


    The key is that after the mountain fire breaks out, even if a small number of Sichuan and Shu people escape, Huang Gai can immediately remove those disgusting obstacles and directly pursue them!


    ?This is how you can vent your hatred!


    ?After the fleet had entered a safe area, Huang Gai ordered people to take the stern and set off to the north bank with fire starters.


    For a time, people all over Jiangdong waited with bated breath...


    Come on, let’s change the scene.


    Speaking of Fei Qian…


    Forget it, let’s go see Zhuge.


    ?Zhuge is also making a transition.


    After the wind direction changed, Zhuge Liang changed sides.


    Shamoko didn''t understand it very much. He even thought that Zhuge Liang had something wrong with his head.


    You clearly have the advantage, so why retreat?


    ?Zhuge Liang still smiled and did not explain much.


    Shamoko could only retreat in muttering, and follow the soldiers of Sichuan and Shu to move obediently.


    Samoko is the leader of the Wuling Mountain Barbarians, and he is a leader who is willing to go out and see the world. From a certain point of view, Samoke is already very good. After all, most of the South Vietnamese mountain barbarians only think about themselves forever. Stay in a certain area, stay in the village and be a local emperor for the rest of your life.


    ?Just because Samoko came out of the mountains and forests, it did not mean that he could immediately wash away his old habits.


    Originally, Shamoko could be said to be indispensable in Wuling, at least within his own clan. However, when he arrived in Sichuan and Shu, he was reduced to the role of a younger brother. He changed from giving orders to taking orders from others. This This kind of role change is not something that can be fully adapted to in a day or two, especially when there are some of Shamoko''s younger brothers following him, which sometimes inevitably makes Shamoko unable to determine his position.


    If you are an ordinary person, or someone who has no patience, most of them will adopt a direct and high-pressure state in this situation. Regardless of whether there is any preliminary preparation, and whether it is the younger brother or the younger brother''s younger brother, they will always be suppressed. .


    It happened that Zhuge Liang had enough patience.


    After all, Zhuge Liang is still young, and he has plenty of time to slowly adjust Shamoko. The way he adjusted Shamoko was to let Shamoko watch from the sidelines, and then only give some pointers or two when Shamoko really couldn''t figure it out.


    After all, in Lushan, Pang Degong followed this pattern when he treated Fei Qian and others, including Zhuge Liang. Only the answers that people get after thinking hard will be particularly profound.


    ?The flames quickly broke the tranquility of the night.


    ?Blowed by the south wind, the flames ignited from the riverside climbed up the mountain forest almost in an instant, and then quickly invaded upward from the foot of the mountain, making the whole sky red!


    ?Seeing such a scene, Shamoko was stunned for a moment, and many question marks immediately appeared on his head.


    ? Zhuge Liang paid no attention to Shamoko, nor did he stop because of the fire rising behind him.


    If nothing else happens, Huang Gai will soon notice the flaw...


    Zhuge Liang had to hurry.


    Running up a mountain to death, especially walking in a mountain without roads, requires a lot of physical strength and endurance. Fortunately, Zhuge Liang arranged early soldiers, who not only cut down vines and thorns in advance, but also waded out a path. , and more importantly, there are marks not far apart to avoid accidentally losing the direction.


    The river is curved. When Zhuge Liang walked down the hill, he naturally reached the edge of the river.


    On one side of the river, soldiers from Sichuan and Shu were pushing a small boat into the river. When they saw Zhuge Liang approaching, they stepped forward to salute.


    ?Zhuge Liang waved his hand and said, "Move quickly, or you may run away." 』


    "yes! ” The Sichuan and Shu soldiers immediately sped up their movements.


    Shamoko was dumbfounded and said, "Zhang, what are you... doing?" 』


    Just a few small boats are going to fight Huang Gaijun?


    Can’t?


    Or just ran away?


    Shamoko stood aside in a daze, while Zhuge Liang got on the boat, turned around, and exposed a row of shining teeth in the night, "What''s the matter, Lieutenant Sha?" Are you planning to stay here? 』


    "Oh, oh..." Samoko quickly boarded the boat, but saw that there seemed to be a lot of things placed in the cabin of the boat, "Uh... what is this?" 』


    Shamoko subconsciously wanted to find a torch on the left and right to have a look, but he suddenly found that the people holding torches were all on the shore. After Zhuge Liang and others got on the boat, he immediately immersed the torch in the water. , and then got on the ship.


    ?Shamoko suddenly had a not-so-good feeling in his heart, as if he was leaning against the entrance of a black bear cave, and then blowing out some frightening breath from the cave entrance...


    ‘Well, be careful, that’s kerosene. Zhuge Liang said in a very calm tone, "Be careful not to get it." 』


    "ah! ” Samoko was shocked. He had seen kerosene and knew how powerful this thing was, and he also saw clearly the rows of kerosene cans in the cabin, "This... so much?" ! 』


    The boat rocked and left the shore.


    The earthen jars collided slightly, making a creepy sound.


    Shamoko stared at the earthen jars in the cabin with his eyes wide open. He held the sides of the boat tightly with both hands and decided that if anything went wrong, he would jump out of the boat immediately. Although he is a Shanyue from Wuling, he still knows how to do the dog paddle style a few times...


    ?Zhuge Liang stood on the bow of the boat, and not far behind him were four other boats.


    ??The five boats swayed downwards with the current, gradually bypassing the bend of the river, and the light gradually became brighter in front of them.


    The fire was already very strong.


    ?The jumping flames engulfed the shrubs and danced joyfully on the treetops.


    ??Rolling black smoke roared up, fangs and claws in mid-air.


    ?Zhuge Liang looked at it and then waved his hand.


    The boat gradually stopped, then propped up with bamboo poles and swung slightly sideways.


    ??Several other small boats followed Zhuge Liang''s boat and stopped and swung away, forming a small horizontal line on the river.


    One person took two steps forward and stood beside Zhuge Liang.


    ?Zhuge Liang tilted his head slightly, then nodded.


    ?The man turned around and waved.


    Immediately, the people on each boat began to take out the cans of kerosene from the cabins. After arriving at the bow of the ship, they opened the cans and poured half of the cans into the water. Then they closed the cans and put the whole cans into the water.


    Soon after, Samoko saw the water carrying the kerosene jars floating downstream...


    "Zhao, what are you doing..." Shamoko guessed Zhuge Liang''s thoughts and was obviously a little excited, "You want to burn the ships in Jiangdong?" ! 』


    ?Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and nodded.


    “But why didn’t we burn it directly with a catapult before? ’ Samoko asked with some doubts. Because when he was in Sichuan and Shu, he had also seen catapults firing kerosene bombs. He always thought that Zhuge Liang would use kerosene bombs to hit the warships in Jiangdong on the mountain, but he did not expect that Zhuge Liang did not use kerosene bombs to hit them at all. He just used ordinary stone bullets to attack, and he didn''t take out the kerosene until now.


    Zhuge Liang smiled and said: "If someone hits you and you can''t hit him, will you stand and wait for that person to hit you, or what will you do?" 』


    Can’t hit him? Then...oh, I understand..." Samoko suddenly realized, "Then they won''t run away now? 』


    Zhuge Liang pointed at his feet.


    Shamoko lowered his head and looked at Zhuge Liang''s feet carefully.


    Because the flames on the mountain in front were very big, Shamoko could clearly see that Zhuge Liang was wearing a pair of cowhide boots with some traces of mud on them...


    ??Is there any answer written on these leather shoes?


    It’s a boat. Zhuge Liang said, his voice still calm.


    "What? ’ Samoko still didn’t understand.


    ?Zhuge Liang smiled, pointed at the boat at his feet, and finally said one word, "Ship." 』


    Then there will be no explanation.


    Shamoko stared at the boat, then looked up at Zhuge Liang, then looked down at the boat, then looked up again, and then started scratching his head. He couldn''t figure it out...


    ??When Samoko couldn''t figure it out, Huang Gai also had some doubts in his heart.


    At the moment when the flames first rose, Huang Gai was excited. The destructive factor in his body was churning crazily after being satisfied, and then incidentally gave Huang Gai some dopamine.


    After a short period of joy, there is often emptiness.


    The same is true for Huang Gai. As he excitedly watched the wildfire spread, he gradually felt that something was wrong.


    ??He ordered Jiangdong to be quiet in order not to alarm others. However, it was clear that the mountain fire had spread to the mountainside and was still attacking upwards. Why didn''t he hear the sound of Sichuan and Shu soldiers?


    What did you hear? Huang Gai thought he had missed something and asked the soldiers on the side.


    General! What a big fire! 』The soldier was still immersed in the pleasure of setting fire, his eyes followed the flames, and his face looked obsessed.


    “…” Huang Gai took a breath, and then said in a deep voice, “I’m asking you to see… No, I’m asking you if you heard anything?” ! Not asking what you saw? ! 』


    ?The soldiers listened quickly and looked around blankly, "Yes, there are many sounds. Listen, it''s the monkeys barking..."


    ??The veins on Huang Gai''s head jumped twice, and he felt more and more uneasy, as if he was being spied on by a wild beast. As he gets older, the function of his eyes and ears inevitably deteriorates, so he is not sure whether he heard it or not, "Didn''t you hear someone screaming?" 』


    ‘Uh…it seems like…no…’ The soldiers didn’t quite understand what Huang Gai meant.


    ?Is it possible that General Huang likes to be called?


    Or are you hinting at something?


    Want me to call out twice?


    ??If so, what would be a better way to call it?


    When the soldier was worried, Huang Gai slapped the armrest, turned his face and ignored the soldier as if he had lifted his pants. He took two steps forward and found another soldier, "You have Didn''t you hear the screams of someone on the mountain? It''s human! people! 』


    "ah? It doesn''t seem like... they were probably all burned to death. If they were burned to death, they wouldn''t scream..." Another soldier replied.


    When the mountain fire first started, the forest was not absolutely peaceful. Birds and animals made a lot of noise, so Huang Gai didn''t pay attention at first, but when the mountain fire spread to the mountainside, those birds All the birds, animals, and other things that could fly flew away, and those that could escape fled. The remaining voices became quieter, and among these successive noisy sounds, Huang Gai didn''t seem to hear anyone shouting. , and there were no screams...


    Huang Gai''s heart sank.


    ?Water and fire are the things that humans fear the most, because humans need water and fire, but cannot do without water and fire, and cannot completely control them. Instead, they are more often affected by water and fire. So when humans see uncontrollable water and fire, they should be like those birds and animals, screaming uncontrollably!


    ?But now Huang Gai didn’t hear it...


    Didn’t hear it!


    what does that mean?


    Huang Gai''s eyes darkened, but he still couldn''t believe it, because he didn''t tell anyone about setting fire to the mountain, so how could the Sichuan and Shu troops on the mountain know that he was going to set fire to it?


    Is it just a coincidence?


    ??The mountain fire is still devouring everything crazily, and then spitting sparks everywhere.


    ?Those sparks blended into the stars in the night sky, as if the heaven and earth in front of us were cut into two halves, half bright red and half indigo.


    A thin voice sounded, which seemed very close.


    Huang Gai frowned and asked the soldiers beside him, "Did you hear anything?" ! 』


    The soldiers were going crazy, "I...what should I hear?" 』


    Another sound.


    ? Huang Gai frowned, then leaned on the armrest and looked down.


    ?The dark river surface seemed to reflect some inexplicable luster, and some small black objects seemed to drift down from the upper reaches and hit the hull, making a shattering sound.


    What is that? ! Huang Gai shouted, pointing at the things rising and falling in the water.


    ??Among the ships ahead, there were soldiers from Jiangdong who heard Huang Gai''s order and held torches and came to the side of the ship to check.


    As Huang Gai watched, he suddenly felt his heart suddenly pause, as if he missed a few beats, and even his breathing became a little faster, as if some ferocious beast was about to pounce out in the dark night, and then he I saw the soldier lying on the boat, holding a torch in one hand and reaching out to fish...


    The next moment, I don''t know whether it was the fallen fragments from the torch that ignited the kerosene, or whether the soldier accidentally overturned the kerosene tank. After a ray of light blue light jumped into the air, the kerosene disappeared in the blink of an eye. Turned into a fire ship!


    Immediately, the human scream that Huang Gai had been thinking about resounded through the sky!


    The ignited firecracker immediately lost control and ignited more kerosene.


    ?The flames spread across the river, as if the entire river was about to surge and burn!


    "retreat! Weigh anchor! retreat! 』


    Huang Gai is indeed a veteran general. He issued the most correct instructions at this moment.


    ?It’s cool when you set fire to others, but now it’s very miserable when you are being set on fire by others.


    Although Huang Gai issued the most correct order, he forgot one thing in his panic. It was impossible for the ship to turn around...


    The Jiangdong ship at the front wanted to turn around, but they collided with each other, and then watched helplessly as the kerosene cans floating down from the upstream hit the side of their boat. Immediately, the flames spread along the route of the kerosene, It pounced ferociously from the water!


    The boat was close to the water and was more susceptible to being burned by the flames on the water. Even if the boat could not be ignited temporarily, the Jiangdong soldiers on the boat were severely attacked by the fire poison. Many Jiangdong soldiers couldn''t bear it and jumped into the water one after another. But when they waited When they emerged, they found that their heads and faces were covered with flames!


    The screams resounded throughout the world!


    ‘Don’t turn around! Use pulp! ” Huang Gai seemed to be sweating all over because of the surrounding flames, “Move quickly! quick! 』


    Large ships are relatively better. Although it was also contaminated with some kerosene, the flames could not directly burn the people on the boat, and the flames would also be affected by the surge of the river.


    ?This is only a relative term. If you stay in the sea of ????fire for a long time, no matter whether it is a big or small boat, it will burn the same!


    General! There''s a boat behind us! "Some soldiers shouted.


    『Bump out! Huang Gai yelled, "Crash out of the way!" Otherwise, everyone will die! 』


    ?At this time, I no longer care about friendly troops or whether I have escaped unscathed. I can only escape as much as I can!


    ??Amid the crashing sound, Huang Gai’s ferocious face appeared...


    ?At the bend of the river in the distance, Zhuge Liang stood on the bow of the boat, his sleeves fluttering in the night wind, the smile on his face still indifferent, only the flames in his eyes burned everything.