The more Jiang Zhengyang thought about it, the more pleased he became. Just then, he heard a sudden fluttering. Looking up, he saw a great bank of black clouds approaching from the western sky. The falling snow had severely limited visibility, and by the time he noticed them, the clouds were already overhead. Puzzled, he suddenly felt something fall from the sky and land squarely on his helmet. He reached up and touched a puddle of bird droppings.
Looking at his fouled palm, Jiang Zhengyang did not know whether to laugh or cry. Beside him, Zuo Xingjian hurriedly offered a silk handkerchief. He was exceptionally good at reading people and well versed in the art of flattery.
Jiang Zhengyang accepted it without ceremony and wiped his hand, then frowned. "Strange. Why are there suddenly so many birds?" He had barely finished speaking when the flock overhead swooped down.
Thousands upon thousands of birds hurled themselves madly at the soldiers aboard the ships, pecking and clawing with their beaks and talons. In an instant, the decks descended into chaos. Jiang Zhengyang shouted in panic, "Loose arrows! Loose arrows!"
At Jiang Zhengyang's command, his soldiers bent their bows, nocked arrows, and began shooting at the birds overhead. Dense showers of arrows flew into the sky, bringing down many birds that failed to dodge in time. Yet the killing did not frighten the birds away; instead, it provoked even fiercer retaliation. Above the fleet, the flocks circled and gathered like black clouds pressing down on them. Other flocks formed orderly ranks and swept onto the decks like black smoke. Soldiers who failed to evade them took the full force of the assault and were flung off the decks toward the lake's center like kites with severed strings.
On another ship, Ruan Jingwu was