When Chen Youyi and Zhu Yuanzhang fought the Battle of Poyang Lake, the Story of the Three Kingdoms was already very popular at that time, and the important Chibi War during the Three Kingdoms period was the most brilliant part of the Three Kingdoms story. Moreover, Luo Guanzhong, who wrote the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, also appeared at that time. And he also met Chen Youyu.
In short, Chen Youyu should be familiar with the story of the Three Kingdoms in which Cao Cao connected the ship with an iron lock, so he was eventually attacked and burned by Zhou Yu.
Not only that, in the "Battle of Yashan" at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, when the Southern Song General Zhang Shijie retreated to the surface of Yashan Sea, he also connected the entire ship with iron chains. And this practice also made the Mongols chase after the cliff mountain, using fire attack, setting fire to the ship. When the ship burned, Zhang Shijie and others hurriedly cut the chains with axes. But it was too late, and one ship burned, and soon the others burned as well. The entire Southern Song Dynasty army and people were plunged into a sea of fire. In a panic, they had to jump into the sea. This is also the story of the "100,000 soldiers and civilians in the sea" that was widely praised by later generations for the southern Song Dynasty.
The deeds of the Battle of Yashan, of course, Chen Youyu is also very familiar.
(Burning Chibi)
Then, since Chen Youyu is familiar with both the "burning chibi" in the story of the Three Kingdoms and the "Battle of Yashan Sea", why did Chen Youyu use iron chains to connect his giant boats during the Battle of Poyang Lake, resulting in the tragedy of being burned by Zhu Yuanzhang's fire in the end?
I think that the reason why Chen Youyu thinks this way is mainly due to the following reasons.
First, it is not an ordinary ship.
Although Chen Youyu knew that Zhu Yuanzhang might attack him with fire, his ship was different from the ship in the "Battle of Chibi" and the "Battle of Yashan Sea". At that time, the boats were not very large, and the ships were also very bumpy, and if they were not connected by chains, they would stand unstable on the ship.
And Chen Youyi is not an ordinary boat, it is a giant boat, also called a building boat. The ship was several stories high, and the people upstairs spoke, and the people downstairs couldn't hear. This kind of boat is not to let it sail on the lake, but like a piece of land growing out of the lake.
Chen Youyu thought that he was not afraid of fire attacks. Because his army stood on the ship, condescending. Although Zhu Yuanzhang's small boats were flexible, they could only shoot arrows from below and upwards. Their small boats had not yet come closer, and the arrows fired by Chen Youyi's army had already killed them cleanly.
This height advantage is not available in the "Battle of Chibi" and the "Battle of Yashan Sea", so it is not the same.
(Chen Youyi in the memorial)
Second, it is not the previous connection method.
Of course, Chen Youyu knew that if the ship was connected with iron chains, once the enemy attacked with fire, it would not be easy to break after burning. However, Chen Youyu's connection to the ships is different from the connection methods of those ships in ancient times. Chen Youyu did not let the ship stand in parallel, but connected end to end.
One of the great advantages of the end-to-end connection is that it can facilitate the reinforcement of Chen Youyi's army. Historical records record that Chen Youyi's kind of boat can run horses on it. Since you can run horses, it is natural to come and go very conveniently.
What Chen Youyu thought was that even if Zhu Yuanzhang had invested more troops somewhere, there was no need to be afraid, and the troops in other places could immediately reinforce and concentrate superior forces against Zhu Yuanzhang.
Moreover, Chen Youyi's ship is connected end to end. When Chen Youyu's bow and tail were connected, it extended for a full ten miles. Such a ship not only facilitates the transfer of troops, but also, once Zhu Yuanzhang fires up and cuts the chain with an axe, those giant boats can also come and go freely.
(Portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang)
Third, it is not the kind of army that was before.
In Chen Youyu's view, the armies of Cao Cao and Zhang Shijie were different from those of Chen Youyi. Cao Cao's army itself was a northern army, unfamiliar with neither water warfare nor the southern climate. They came to the south to fight, and they were weak in themselves. The reason why the ship is connected by iron chains is to avoid this weakness.
Zhang Shijie was at the end of the road. There was really no way out, so I had to use chains to connect the ship. Zhang Shijie did not intend to defeat the Mongols himself, but wanted to die with the Mongols on the ship.
At that time, Chen Youyu was strong and strong. In his opinion, Zhu Yuanzhang was not his opponent at all. Therefore, he believes, connecting ships with iron chains has only advantages, not disadvantages.
But in the end he still lost. The reason for the defeat was first, because Zhu Yuanzhang broke through each other and sneaked in everywhere, making Chen You forgive one and lose the other. In any case, Chen Youyi's boat was dead, and the working area was relatively narrow. Although Zhu Yuanzhang's fleet was small, it was very flexible, and Chen Youyu could not cope with it at all. Second, Zhu Yuanzhang insisted on attacking with fire, and he attacked with fire everywhere. Because there are more attack surfaces, chen Youyu can still not extinguish the fire even if he cuts the chains between the ships. Third, Zhu Yuanzhang's luck was also relatively good, and the wind just blew in the direction of Chen Youyi's ship, so Chen Youyu's ship quickly burned up.
In short, the reason why Chen Youyu failed was both his arrogance and arrogance, and his rigid dogma. In the end, although he was powerful, there was a tragedy.
(References: History of the Ming Dynasty, Records of the Ming Dynasty)