三國演義英文版

第289部分 (第5/7頁)

lt　satisfied　that　he　was　safe　by　land。　But　in　the　privacy　of　his　own　apartment　he　felt　miserable；　for　he　realized　that　no　preparations　had　been　made　against　an　attack　by　water　under　the　Wei　leader　Wang　Jun。

Then　the　favorite　eunuch　Cen　Hun　asked　the　Emperor　why　he　bore　a　sad　countenance；　and　Sun　Hao　told　him　of　his　dread　of　the　enemy　navy。

〃The　armies　of　Jin　are　ing；　and　I　have　deployed　troops　for　general　defense。　Only　the　water　front；　by　which　Wang　Jun　and　his　several　thousand　battleships　sail　east　along　the　tide；　makes　me　feel　so　worried。〃

〃But　I　have　a　scheme　that　will　smash　all　Wang　Jun's　ships！〃　cried　Cen　Hun。

〃What　is　it？〃　asked　the　Ruler　of　Wu；　pleased　to　hear　this。

〃Iron　is　plentiful。　Make　great　chains　with　heavy　links　and　stretch　them　across　the　river　at　various　points。　Also　forge　many　massive　hammers　and　arrange　them　in　the　stream；　so　that　when　the　enemy's　ships　sail　down　before　the　wind；　they　will　collide　with　the　hammers　and　be　wrecked。　Then　they　will　sail　no　more。〃

Blacksmiths　were　soon　at　work　on　the　river　bank　welding　the　links　and　forging　the　hammers。　Work　went　on　day　and　night；　and　soon　all　the　chains　were　placed　in　different　points。

As　has　been　said　Du　Yu　was　to　attack　Jiangling；　and　he　sent　General　Zhou　Zhi　with　eight　hundred　sailors　to　sail　secretly　along　the　Great　River　to　capture　Yuexiang。　There　they　were　to　make　an　ambush　in　the　Bashan　Mountains　and　a　great　show　of　flags　along　the　bank　and　among　the　trees。　Drums　were　to　be　beaten　and　bombs　exploded　during　the　day　and　many　fires　lighted　at　night　to　give　the　appearance　of　a　great　army。

So　Zhou　Zhi　sailed　to　the　Bashan　Mountains。

Next　day　Du　Yu　directed　the　army　and　the　marine　forces　in　a　simultaneous　advance。

The　scouts　reported：