It was past midnight when Niu San led three thousand Jin soldiers to the outer perimeter of the Panzhou Lake water fortress to observe the situation inside. The water fortress remained calm, with nothing unusual.
There were some patrolling soldiers in front of the gate, walking unsteadily, clearly drunk.
After walking back and forth a few times at the entrance of the water fortress, they entered a nearby tent.
At this moment, there was no one in front of the water village gate, which was a perfect opportunity to enter the water village. Niu San gave a low order, and the Jin soldiers quickly approached the gate.
The gate to the water fortress was not closed, with only a horizontal beam blocking the way. The Jin soldiers moved the beam aside and entered the fortress silently, unnoticed by the guards at the gate.
The lights were still on in the water village, some of which had been turned off, but the situation inside the main camp was still clearly visible.
The dining table hadn't been cleared away; there were still some leftovers on it, and the wine jars lay to the side. No one was around; the drunken soldiers must have gone back to camp to sleep.
Niu San dispersed the Jin soldiers, and at his command, the soldiers lit the firewood in their hands and threw it towards the camp.
Niu San threw a large amount of firewood into the place where the warship was being built, so that if a fire started there, the flames would be the most ferocious.
Soon, fires broke out in many places in the camp, and people began to shout in alarm, wanting to come out and see what was happening.
The fire inside the camp burned brighter and brighter, clearly indicating an attack, and the water fortress was thrown into chaos.
At this moment, Niu San realized that he had succeeded. The sailors were completely unprepared. He had made a great contribution this time, and in his excitement, he began to give orders.
"kill."
The Jin soldiers immediately rushed towards the panicked sailors and began to kill them.
At this moment, the camp was in chaos. The sailors cried out for their parents and fled desperately. Some fled to the warships, some jumped into the water to escape, and most fled to the gate of the water camp.
Seeing the towering flames in the water fortress and the desperately fleeing sailors, Somailon realized that Niu San had successfully burned down the water fortress, leaving it completely unprepared. Now was the perfect opportunity to rush in and kill the soldiers of the Northern Dynasty.
Without further hesitation, Someron led his Jin soldiers into the water fortress.
Thirty thousand Jin soldiers quickly rushed into the water fortress. Flames burst out from the fortress, but no one was seen. Even the three thousand men that Niu San had brought in were gone.
"Oh no, we've been tricked." Someron immediately realized he had fallen into a trap and tried to withdraw his troops.
At the entrance of the water village, a group of soldiers blocked their way.
The fire in the water fortress was burning brighter and brighter. If they didn't break out soon, the fire would engulf them. Someron didn't hesitate any longer and ordered the Jin soldiers to rush out.
As soon as the Jin soldiers rushed to the door, a hail of crossbow bolts rained down on them, quickly felling a large number of them. The Jin soldiers hastily retreated.
Someron realized this was not going to work; they had to break out or their entire army would be wiped out.
So he personally commanded the Jin soldiers to charge outwards, and those who retreated were beheaded.
This tactic really worked. The Jin soldiers rushed out regardless of their lives. Just as they were about to break through the gate, a lot of bombs were thrown at them, and blood and flesh flew everywhere, killing a large number of them.
Someron led the Jin troops in several more charges, but none of them succeeded. By this time, the fire in the water fortress had spread, and the Jin troops had nowhere to hide.
The Jin soldiers didn't know if the fire had reached the sailors, but it was certain that it had burned their own men.
Someron finally understood that the sailors had used their own water fortress as bait, even burning it down to lure the Jin soldiers into a trap.
Although I had considered everything very carefully, my eagerness to win led me to make a big mistake, and now it's too late to say anything.
It seems the sailors are determined to wipe out the Jin soldiers this time. Their bombs and crossbows are too powerful, and the Jin soldiers will not be able to break through no matter what.
This water fortress is built on the lake, with wooden planks underfoot. Before long, these planks will burn down, and we will either be burned to death or fall into the water and drown.
There seemed to be a wooden walkway on the side, but it was unclear where it led. At this point, Someron had no choice but to see if he could break out of there.
The Jin soldiers all boarded the wooden plank road and charged forward. The plank road was very long, and the Jin soldiers had no idea where it led.
Perhaps due to years of disrepair, or perhaps because there were too many people on the boardwalk, the wooden boardwalk began to shake violently as we walked further.
At this point, the Jin soldiers were only concerned with escaping and had no time to think about anything else. Gradually, the wooden plank road began to tilt and eventually collapsed with a crash.
This wooden walkway was several miles long and was full of Jin soldiers. As the walkway collapsed, all the Jin soldiers perished and fell into the lake.
The lake was not deep, and under normal circumstances, no one would drown. However, there were tens of thousands of sailors in the water who had been waiting for a long time.
Seeing that all the Jin soldiers had fallen into the lake, the sailors raised their swords and began to hack and slash fiercely, and the Jin soldiers immediately began to howl and scream.
The lake water turned red, and countless Jin soldiers died. Of course, some Jin soldiers climbed ashore, only to be hacked and killed by the people on the shore.
The battle continued until dawn. Someron's 30,000 troops were almost completely wiped out. Someron did not escape; he fell into the lake, swallowed a lot of water, and was captured by several sailors.
Of course, the Panzhou Lake naval forces also suffered losses; the entire water fortress was burned down, and the surface of the water was covered with charred remains.
Looking at the scene before them, the sailors were filled with emotion. What excited them most was that Someron's army had been completely wiped out.
The water fortress was burned down; where would they live? The sailors began to worry.
At this moment, Ding Tong led Li Guang and others over. He was overjoyed and said:
"Although our water fortress was burned down, this battle wiped out more than 30,000 Jin soldiers and captured their commander, Someron."
What's even more exciting is that we recaptured Panzhou City last night and wiped out the garrison. From now on, we'll temporarily stay in the city until the new water fortress is built, then we'll move back.
Upon hearing this, the sailors cheered immediately. They hadn't expected that last night's battle would even allow them to recapture Panzhou City, and now they no longer had to worry about having nowhere to stay.
Ding Tong gestured for the soldiers to be quiet, and then he continued:
"The soldiers prepared their gear, took the prisoners, and returned to Panzhou City."
Soon the large force began to march towards Panzhou City, with the sailors and soldiers standing tall and high in morale.
Meng Liang led his rattan armor troops, who lined up in a row at the city gate to welcome the soldiers who had come from Panzhou Lake.
After entering the city, Li Guang instructed Ding Tong to write a report on the battle situation in Panzhou and send it to the imperial court.
Although he didn't know where the emperor was, the presence of the Fourth Prince in the court ensured the smooth operation of the Northern Dynasty.
Ding Tong immediately complied and began writing a rapid report, detailing everything from Li Guang's burning of the Jin army in Lingzhou to the great victory at Panzhou Lake last night.
After writing the battle report, Ding Tong immediately ordered it to be sent to the capital by fast horse.
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