The rise of the prince

Chapter 618

After a long voyage, the huge fleet finally reached the estuary of the Haihe River in early July. The upper reaches of this river originated from the Taihang Mountains, passed through Yanshan Prefecture, and flowed southwest into the Bohai Sea.

The estuary is like a T-shaped, with a small bend, much narrower than the estuary of a big river, and there is no strange scene with distinct colors. After so many days, everyone has become accustomed to living at sea.

Originally, they would have traveled much faster than the land troops, and had already entered the river from the sea, but the lord repeatedly told him that they must advance by water and put pressure on both ends, and they were not allowed to enter the Haihe River before the fifth day of July.

So they drifted on the Bohai Sea for a few days, and they didn't approach the mouth of the sea until about the same time.

With an order, the messengers began to raise semaphore on the bow, and then the big ship began to change its formation to a long dragon formation, led by two fireships, Admiral Qirui and Admiral Qifang.

Eight troop carriers followed, with the two transports at the end.

The whole process took about half an hour, and after it was fully adjusted, the fleet began to officially enter the Haihe River Basin, heading upstream.

The mighty army entered the territory of the Liao Kingdom, and the soldiers on the ship became nervous. Di Zhi's command ship was located on the brave general Qirui in front of the fleet, and he could see the situation on the shore most clearly.

There are many villages on both sides of the estuary, but because of the two years of war, they have been completely deserted, and there are basically no people to see.

Two fireships, each with 24 guns, add up to 48 guns. After each firing ship, the gunners are ready, and the orderly stands on the stairs on the first and second decks. As long as he gives an order, The order will be delivered as soon as possible.

Di Zhi knew the power of artillery, so it was hard for him to imagine the power of 24 cannons firing at the same time.

But the prince told him that the palace could build warships with 48 or even [-] guns in the future, and he couldn't even imagine what kind of ship it would be.

The huge fleet is very fast, and water transportation has a natural advantage. It quickly goes up the north of the Haihe River, passes through the villages at the mouth of the sea, and enters a large uninhabited area.

There are vast plains on both sides of the strait. As the prince said, such a vision environment is simply a good place for gunners to dream of!

They continued to sail northwest along the river, and after several hours, they finally came across the first village on the bank where there were still people living, and there were quite a few people coming and going.

After seeing the huge fleet flying the flag of Jing Guo, they immediately ran away in fright.

Three or five of them got on their horses and ran northward, apparently to inform them.

Yan Shen pointed to the Liao people who were galloping on horseback and said, "Do you want to bring them down?"

Di Zhi shook his head: "No need, the boat is so big, there are plains all around, and we can be seen from a distance of more than ten miles, they will know anyway, tell the brothers to get ready, we have a battle to fight!"

The emperor's condition gradually improved, and he was able to get out of bed and walk slowly. However, after this illness, his energy was not as good as before. Concubine Tian accompanied him and helped him walk in the imperial garden to recover his body.

"What is the queen doing these days?" the emperor asked.

"The Queen's sister is eating vegetarian food and praying for the Emperor, praying for the Bodhisattva to grant the Emperor peace." Concubine Tian said.

The emperor shook his head: "I don't know her very well yet. What about praying for blessings and chanting Buddha? She is just angry with me. If I let Xingzhou go to the north to fight, it is better to fight a battle that cannot be won at all."

"I think about her. The last time someone from their natal family came to plead for mercy, I might have spared Wu Zhengqing, but why didn't she think about it for me?" The emperor was a little angry: "Now that the situation of the family and the country is in such a state, internal and external difficulties, alas If you feel ashamed of your ancestors and ashamed of the world, you probably went to the doctor in an emergency."

"Your Majesty, don't say that. That kid from Xingzhou always has tricks, doesn't he? There are many impossible and impossible things in his hands, and there will be unexpected turns." Not much?"

The emperor didn't speak, and walked around slowly again, "There are indeed many such things, but he is not perfect, just use the grenade from the military inspection department. At first glance, I thought it was loud and could kill people. It is a sharp weapon, and Xingzhou must have thought so at the time. So I also allocated him 10 taels, and he also let go of his hands and feet.

But as a result, the imperial army hardly dared to use it after taking it over. This thing affected the army's forward movement, often injured by accident, and would startle the horse.
So he is not perfect in everything, I regret it now, the defeat this time is small, I don't care how many casualties, the most important thing is that he himself is fine. "

Concubine Tian nodded: "Such a smart child, don't let anything happen to you."

"The tone outside is not good. No one in the court thinks that he can win. According to Ji Chunsheng, the rumors in the market are the same."

"What do ordinary people know?" Concubine Tian said indifferently.

The emperor shook his head: "It's not that I don't understand, but it seems that I can win without seeing it, even the most vulgar and incompetent people can see it."

The former Great General's Mansion is now deserted and almost no one visits. Since he was relegated to the common people and lost his salary, it is very difficult to support such a huge courtyard. I don't know, I always tell stories about admiring the great general, so I give some small gifts to show respect.

It was strange at first, but gradually Zhong Daoyu became no longer surprised, because it is said that the Pingnan Palace bought the storyteller in Beijing and controlled this gray area.

Zhong Daoyu made tea, and poured a cup for Degong who was opposite him: "Aren't you afraid of the influence if you come to see me now?"

"At this age, what else can we be afraid of?" Degong said, picked up the tea cup and blew, and then took a sip.

"Are you worried about your grandson-in-law?"

Degong didn't answer directly, but said: "It's almost time for the battle report these few days."

Zhong Daoyu made some calculations, shook his head and said: "It's still early, he took the road in Shanxi, after passing through Daizhou, he won't be able to come back so early."

"Do you think he can win?" Degong asked.

"Oh, you have come to ask me, it means that you have no idea, doesn't it?"

"You have fought more battles than you have held, so you understand better than me."

Zhong Daoyu was speechless, in fact, he knew in his heart that Wang Yue was just looking for comfort, but sooner or later he had to face the reality, so he said bluntly: "It seems that the chances of winning are very small for saving me, and it is a blessing not to lose a lot .

but"

"But what?"

"King Pingnan always seems to have his own ideas. Maybe he even fights wars. If that's the case, the new army has a brand new way of fighting, so I can't judge it." He said while making tea, because of his body Because of the relationship, he has long since dared not drink.

Wang Yue sighed and didn't speak for a long time, "I thought that before the battle report arrived in Beijing, I could have a few more days of peace and quiet."

"Sooner or later, these things will have to be faced. If King Pingnan is defeated, how to deal with the aftermath and how to deal with it, you'd better make preparations early and come up with a charter early."

(End of this chapter)