Naval warfare had always been Qin Tian's weak point, but the principles of military strategy were largely universal.
Hearing Gan Ning's words, he was startled and hurriedly asked, "What trick lies within the enemy's formation? Why would advancing further mean falling into their trap?"
Gan Ning kept his eyes fixed on the front and pointed into the distance. "What you may not know, sir, is that in ordinary naval battles, ships must be arranged in formations."
"Sometimes the great ships are placed in front, sometimes behind; they shift formation according to the enemy's disposition to meet them!"
"The enemy's formation now appears chaotic, but there is order within that chaos."
"Huang Zu has now sent out his Mengchong fleet, intending to break through the enemy's formation!"
"If Zhou Yu is well versed in naval warfare, he should swiftly send light boats to meet them, rather than hold his troops in place."
"Yet the enemy has not moved at all. That means there must be a trick waiting behind them!"
As he spoke, Su Fei in the distance had also noticed that something was wrong with Zhou Yu.
Seeing that the enemy did not move at all, he went to Huang Zu's side and said, "My lord, the situation is not right. Though Zhou Yu's ships are blocked, it is not as if their hands and feet are bound. Why have they made no response upon seeing our army advance?"
"Order a slow advance and beware of enemy trickery!"
Upon hearing this, Huang Zu raised his hand and shouted, "Pass down the order! The vanguard is to proceed slowly; the central army is to halt!"
As soon as he finished shouting, cries of command rang out one after another from his subordinates, carrying far along the riverbank.
At the same time,