The trapped Song fleet at Yamen

Zhang Shijie rejected a move to secure the bay's exit because he feared individual ships would flee and abandon the civilians. He burned palaces, houses, and forts ashore, then chained roughly a thousand vessels into a long defensive formation with the child emperor at its centre. A comparison with the Battle of Sluys makes the tactical tradeoff explicit: chaining can steady a limited formation, but it becomes dangerous when applied to a whole fleet. Yuan fire ships failed because the Song had coated hulls with a fire-resistant mud or clay preparation. The Yuan navy and army instead sealed the bay and cut access to land-based food and fresh water. Zhang Hongfan also used Zhang Shijie's captured nephew as an intermediary in three unsuccessful surrender appeals, showing that coercion and negotiation accompanied the blockade. Song troops were reduced to dry provisions and seawater, producing nausea and weakness before the decisive assault. Blockade logistics are central to the outcome alongside ship-to-ship firepower.