Wang Ping received the order and fired three volleys of arrows in succession. Only then did he send men to seize the warships. He set the naval camp ablaze, then without hesitation turned the ships around and headed for the Yangzhou Navy's northern base.
The Yangzhou Navy's northern base was its main force, but the camp now stood empty. Most of its ships had gone to pursue Zhou Ye.
Wang Yue wasted no time in capturing the northern base. He took all the craftsmen there aboard his ships, then burned the camp and headed north to ambush the Yangzhou Navy pursuing Zhou Ye.
By the time Wang Yue arrived, Zhou Ye was indeed in trouble. Even with Wang An harassing the Yangzhou Navy along the way, some of its ships had caught up with the merchant vessels from Youzhou.
But Zhou Ye had prepared for this. His ships carried many archers, and he had a number of guards protecting him, so the Yangzhou Navy couldn't board them for the time being.
The two sides chased and fought, locked in a stalemate for a while. With Wang An's troops launching intermittent attacks along the way, the Yangzhou Navy couldn't focus all its attention on Zhou Ye's merchant vessels from Youzhou. As a result, it couldn't do anything to him.
The Yangzhou Naval Commander, a trusted subordinate of Wang Shanquan, was furious and frustrated. Since he couldn't do anything about Zhou Ye, he decided to deal with Wang An and the several thousand troops under his command first.
Wang An hadn't expected the Yangzhou Navy to abandon Zhou Ye and focus all its strength on them. Caught off guard, he was trapped on a narrow peninsula.
Seeing that escape was hopeless, he had no choice but to stay and fight. He