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: