Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 266 Dressed Beast

"Fake death?"

In the cabin, Yang Hui finally heard clearly this time.

He slowly stopped crying and looked at Yang Zhan in confusion, only to see Yang Zhan say: "I faked my death and surrendered to His Highness Bohai, and now I am leading my troops to raid the capital. Please return to the deck properly and take your Please let me go."

"Ah?" Yang Hui was stunned for a moment, but was kicked by Yang Zhan: "Why are you standing there so stupidly? Otherwise, why do you think my father doesn't cry?"

"Oh...I know...I know." Yang Hui was kicked awake and quickly got up, reaching out to wipe the snot and tears from his face.

He turned around and looked at the team of personal guards: "They are all from the Yang family, remember the young master, right?"

"Remember." Everyone agreed and looked at him with strange eyes.

Yang Hui also knew that he had made a fool of himself, but compared to learning that Yang Zhan was not dead, this bit of foolery was nothing.

"When we get to the ship, whoever exposes the young master's plan will be chopped into pieces by me."

Yang Hui spoke fiercely, but was kicked in the butt by Yang Zhan: "Who are you talking about in front of me?"

"Aren't I reminding them..." Yang Hui turned around aggrievedly, only to see Yang Zhan wave his hand: "Go back quickly, don't stop my good deeds."

"Okay! I will take people back right now to clear the way for you, young master."

Yang Hui touched his kicked butt before getting on the deck at Yang Zhan's urging, and then returned to his own warship.

"It is indeed the people sent by the commander-in-chief. Brothers, please clear the way for them."

Back on the warship, Yang Hui regained his face as a thousand-household official, but the few Yang family followers following him were looking at his majestic back and couldn't help laughing secretly.

Their laughter was heard by Yang Hui, but he didn't take it seriously. Instead, he was happy in his heart that Yang Zhan was not dead.

"Beep……"

Amid the whistle, Yang Hui's boat began to clear the way for the fifty or so warships behind it. Although it was going upstream at a very slow speed, with Yang Hui clearing the way, no one came up to look for trouble.

After all, everyone older than Yang Huiguan was invited by Yang Qiu to have dinner in Gaoqiao Town.

Soon, three hours passed slowly. Although Yang Zhan and the others were going upstream at a very slow speed, they still entered more than thirty miles in three hours.

But now they have not crossed Chongming Island, but only reached Changsha Ferry on the south coast.

They did not stop, but continued towards the Yangtze River.

In the boat room, Cui Jun looked nervously at Jiangnan outside the window. He never thought that he would go home in this way.

At present, they are not out of the dangerous range. Once the fort at the Yangtze River Estuary discovers them, based on their current situation, they will be wiped out in a few hours at most.

"At the current speed, it will take about three days to reach Shizhuang."

"After arriving at Shizhuang, our ship can transport 6,000 people to the port at one time, but it is difficult to transport troops and horses."

"Including transporting people, we can transport at most 6,000 people and 2,000 horses. However, His Highness said that the first batch of people must have 4,000 people and horses to attack Nanjing, so we can only transport 4,000 people and horses to Bao Port at one time, and then turn back. Transport two thousand people to Jiangning Town."

"Including starting from here to Shizhuang and then transporting people to Baogang, it will take at least the eighth day of April to arrive at Baogang."

"It takes two hours to turn back, and then transport people from Shizhuang to Jiangning Town. It will take almost four and a half days, that is, it will arrive at Jiangning Town at noon on April 13th. The troops will be divided into Moling Pass and Dasheng Pass. It will take at least half a day of running on the ground. Only at dusk on April 13th can the south be surrounded..."

Sitting on a chair in the ship's room, Yang Zhan analyzed the time it took to encircle the Southern Army.

Meng Zhang's four thousand cavalry arrived at Baogang late at night on the eighth day of April, which means that someone would know about their landing on the ninth day of April. It would only take a few hours for the news to reach the capital via Tangqi, but the second batch of cavalry would need more time. It can only be surrounded on April 13th.

From the ninth day of April to the thirteenth day of April, there were five days in between. If Zhu Yunwen wanted to run away, he could definitely run out.

Therefore, the two thousand people from the south must be allowed to set off first, and then the four thousand people from the north can be sent across the river.

However, if their transport capacity is to send 2,000 people to Jiangning Town, they cannot send 4,000 people to Baogang in one go.

"We need to get some ships that can transport 6,000 people and 6,000 horses at the same time."

Yang Zhan thought about the problem of transportation capacity, and then after thinking about it carefully, he knew how it should operate.

"There's nothing wrong with transporting people. The problem is the horses."

Cui Jun heard Yang Zhan's words and immediately said: "There are many people fleeing in Jiangbei right now. We can let the brothers take civilian ships from Shizhuang to Baogang, and then we will transport the armor and military horses to Baogang."

"If there are less than 6,000 men, we can transport 6,000 troops and horses in one go."

"When they arrive at Baogang, we will take advantage of the darkness to hand over 4,000 troops, horses and armor to Meng Zhang, then lead 2,000 people on board and go straight to Jiangning Town."

"No..." Yang Zhan shook his head: "There will still be a time difference of at least three days."

"But your words reminded me that we can first transport two thousand people and two thousand troops and horses, and then recruit some ships to transport four thousand troops and horses."

"This way, the gap will be much smaller."

"Calculating the time and distance, around the time Xu Sheng and his two thousand people arrived at Longtan by boat, Meng Zhang and his friends, who were on a civilian ship, would be able to receive four thousand troops and horses. This time is just right, and there is no need to recruit so many ships."

After Yang Zhan finished speaking, he directly said to Cui Jun: "Send someone to ask Yang Hui to recruit some civilian ships, or directly recruit their warships. In short, after ensuring that 2,000 men and horses set off first, you can also transport 4,000 military horses. .”

"Okay!" Cui Jun nodded in agreement, then walked out of the ship's room and headed to Yang Hui's warship.

Not long after, Cui Jun walked back with the news, and Yang Hui also began to recruit the Ping-Japanese navy warships that passed by along the way, but the warship generals had lower official positions than him.

While they were operating, Chen Xuan, who had been blowing the sea breeze all day and night in Liao Kok Tsui, became more and more wrong.

Just when he was wondering whether Yang Qiu's news was false, a wooden whistle suddenly sounded from the warship in the north.

"Beep--"

"Prepare for war!!"

All the original speculations disappeared the moment the wooden whistle sounded, and Chen Xuan devoted all his energy to the upcoming battle.

About a quarter of an hour passed, and more and more warships were heading south from the north. As they gradually approached, Chen Xuan commanded the army in an orderly manner to start a counterattack based on Liao Kok Tsui, and at the same time notified the fireships upstream to prepare.

As long as the Bohai navy engages them in battle at Liao Kok Tsui, the rocks at Liao Kok Tsui will be able to restrain the Bohai navy when they retreat at noon, and then it will be the time for the fireships to make their mark.

Chen Xuan was very excited. Now that the Bohai Sea Navy has arrived at his home court, he can finally wash away his shame.

Although he does not like this so-called Jianwen New Deal, Zhu Gaoxu's situation is not optimistic, and he will naturally not choose to seek refuge with Zhu Gaoxu.

The army from the north is returning for reinforcements. Qu Neng from Sichuan is said to have arrived in Jianchang. It will take at least a month for the armies from the southwest and north to return for reinforcements. By then, Zhu Gaoxu's 40,000 soldiers and horses can only fight for Huaidong.

"what a pity……"

Chen Xuan clicked his tongue several times, and then heard the violent sound of gunfire.

"Boom boom boom——"

Still familiar with the routine, the Bohai Navy tried to suppress the Yangtze River Navy by relying on the range of artillery, but the Yangtze River Navy had already been prepared.

They hide in Liao Kok Tsui and rely on the river current to flexibly avoid the Bohai Navy's artillery shells.

For a time, the Bohai Navy's artillery shells had little effect, but the Yangtze River Navy's formation also began to disperse.

After the formation of the Yangtze River Navy dispersed last time, the Bohai Navy chose to rush into the formation and bombarded the warships with cannons on the left and right sides. So this time...

Chen Xuan's eyes flickered, and at the same time, a Qianhu officer on the Bohai Navy's warship also asked Zheng Jun, who commanded the fleet.

"Commander Zheng, the enemy ships are scattered. According to the information given to us by Governor Zhu, Liao Kok Tsui will retreat at noon and midnight. By then, our ships will be easily restricted by the rocks."

"I know." After hearing what Qian Huguan said, Zheng Jun put down his telescope and chuckled:

"It's a full show. If we put the enemy in the right place, Chen Xuan will have time to think about other issues."

"So what we have to do now is to beat him until he has no time to think about other things."

"Send my military order, all troops attack, prepare for close range artillery fire!"

"Yes!!"

"Uuuuuu——"

In an instant, the sound of horns came from the Bohai Navy formation, and fifty-six warships with more than 2,000 pieces of material began to charge like the last Dengzhou naval battle.

"coming!"

When Chen Xuan saw this scene, he was so excited that he also began to order: "The entire army should ignore the losses of the warships, attack them all, and leave them at Liao Kok Tsui until the tide ebbs at noon!"

"Yes!"

At this moment, the Bohai Navy, under the command of Zheng Jun, rushed into the Yangtze River Naval Formation.

The Yangtze River Navy with more than 150 warships surrounded the Bohai Navy with 56 warships. Although their ships were not as tall as the Bohai Navy, at close range, even Wankou Guns and Hongwu Iron Cannons could Can cause harm to the Bohai Navy.

It's just that compared to the damage they caused, the damage caused by Bohai was more fatal.

"put!"

"Boom boom boom——"

When explosive shells were combined with solid shells, all Confederate sailors, whether on the deck or in the cabin, were bombarded.

Just one round of shelling from the left and right, nearly fifty warships of the Southern Navy were scrapped, and Chen Xuan was waiting for the opportunity to stop the artillery.

"Send the order to the whole army to pick up the ship's side and engage in hand-to-hand combat!"

Under Chen Xuan's command and preparation, this time the Southern Army warship did not relax its vigilance after receiving the ship's side. Instead, it raised its shields and tried to land against the Bohai Navy's matchlock volleys.

Not to mention shields, even armor at such a distance could not block the Bohai Navy's volley of guns.

However, after paying hundreds of lives, southern sailors still landed on the Bohai Navy warship.

Seeing this scene, Chen Xuan immediately drew his sword excitedly: "Call the Ping-Japanese navy from the mouth of the Nanjiang River to come to the rescue. All the warships besiege the pirate warships that have been boarded!"

Chen Xuan was so excited that he drew his sword and commanded all the warships to attack, even his own ship. Seeing him coming up, the commander next to him quickly grabbed him: "Captain, you are a man of gold, how can you put yourself in danger?"

"Who do you think I am?" Chen Xuan's eyes widened: "Who advised me when I was trying to kill Yuelu Timur and Jia Hala?"

"Listen to my military order and move the ship closer!"

Chen Xuan waved his sword, and the warship charged helplessly.

For a time, the entire Liao Kok Tsui was filled with shouts of killing.

An hour later, Yang Qiu received the news. He immediately led the entire navy to join the battle and mobilized a large number of warships in the Yangtze River waterway to attack Liao Kok Tsui.

Seeing time passing by, when Yang Qiu led the warships to the battlefield, nearly one-half of the Yangtze River Navy in Liao Kok Tsui had been lost, seven warships of the Bohai Navy were stranded, and 13 were engaged in hand-to-hand combat. .

The scene directed by Zheng Jun successfully ended when Yang Qiu led the navy to the battlefield.

"Ming Jin retreats! All brothers board the ship and retreat!"

After Zheng Jun spoke, the already surrounded Bohai Navy began to paddle, turn the bow, and rush out of the encirclement along the river before the tide ebbs at noon.

Many Bohai soldiers who had been prepared cut off their armor, jumped into the water, and grabbed the ropes dropped by their own warships.

Seeing that they were about to be taken away from the fleet, many Confederate sailors also cut off their armor and jumped into the sea.

The first battle between the two sides ended with seven warships stranded in the Bohai Sea and 62 warships damaged and sunk in the Yangtze River.

The Bohai Navy suffered heavy losses, but the Yangtze River Navy suffered even more heavy losses.

They were unable to pursue the Bohai Navy and could only search and rescue their own soldiers in the water.

The fire illuminated Liao Kok Tsui, and soon the tide began to ebb in Liao Kok Tsui, but Chen Xuan looked angrily at the Bohai Navy that was retreating to the north.

They did not evacuate too far, but were cruising on the sea not far from Liao Kok Tsui, seemingly ready to regroup and fight again at any time.

When Yang Qiu's Pingwa Navy arrived, they only participated in the search and rescue work. After the entire battle, in addition to more than two hundred Bohai Sea soldiers' corpses found in the sea, many more were the corpses of their own people.

They killed and injured many Bohai navy, but unfortunately these people were all taken away by warships, which greatly reduced their gains.

"Captain, there are no prisoners, they all died in battle..."

When Chen Xuan was angry, Yang Qiu led people to search for all the people and corpses that could be rescued. He was also shocked by the tenacity of the Bohai Navy.

He has never seen an entire army without prisoners. Even when he fought with Japanese pirates, many brothers would be captured.

For them, it was either to be killed or to be rescued.

But no matter which one, they can't gain a foothold in the military.

On the other hand, in the Bohai Navy, many wounded soldiers were not taken away, but these wounded soldiers fought hard until the last moment, which made Yang Qiu, a person who joined the Bohai Navy, find it very incredible.

"I got it."

Chen Xuan turned his head and gritted his teeth and said: "Jiangyin Marquis said before that the Bohai Navy's death benefit is very high, and they will be given forty acres of land and twenty stones of food."

"Because of this, there are prisoners in the Bohai Sea, because once captured and killed, the land and food will be halved."

Chen Xuan's words shocked Yang Qiu and the surrounding Confederate sailors. Those who died in battle would be given forty acres of land and twenty shi of grain, which could be said to be enough to support a family's lifetime expenses.

Even if it is reduced by half, there will still be twenty acres of pension land and ten stones of grain.

In comparison, if a general is killed in the Southern Army, his eldest son can inherit the position. If the son is young, he can be given full salary until he reaches adulthood and inherits the position.

If a soldier is killed in action and no one succeeds in his position, he will be given full military pay for three years and then reduce it by half.

Calculated, if they were killed directly in battle, the average soldier of the Confederate Army would only have thirty-six shi of rice at most. His parents would help the garrison farm for free every year, and they would be given six shi of rice every year.

If thirty-six shi of rice is used to buy land, in places like Jiangnan, it can buy at most two acres of land. Even if one goes to buy land in Beiping, it can only buy up to five acres of land.

In comparison, the Bohai Navy's pension policy is simply not too generous.

Even if it is reduced by half, it is an insult to the policy of the Southern Army. After all, the value of the twenty acres of pension land is too high. No wonder there are no prisoners in the Bohai Navy.

The difference between being killed directly in battle and being captured and killed is at least five years of military pay for the Bohai Navy and twenty years for the Southern Army.

Such a policy, not to mention the ordinary soldiers of the Southern Army, even the junior flag officers, chief flag officers, hundred households officers and other grassroots officers were very moved.

From ancient times to the present, when has anyone paid so much attention to these low-level Qiu Ba?

"Okay, prepare for war. The Yangtze River Estuary in the south will be taken over by the Yangtze River Navy, and the Pingwo Navy will take over the Yangtze River Estuary in the north."

Chen Xuan realized that he had said something wrong and immediately began to make up for it and directed everyone to do things to forget about it.

But how could such a thing be forgotten so easily.

The news spread quickly. For a while, the Southern Army sailors looked at the two hundred Bohai Navy corpses that were transported to Chongming Island and buried. Their eyes no longer showed pity and hatred, but hatred mixed with too much. envious.

Ignoring their envy, Zheng Jun successfully retreated to the north and counted the casualties. The Bohai Navy had 627 lightly or seriously injured and 374 killed, almost one-third of the sailors in his hands.

However, the effect of this is also very obvious. The Yangtze River Navy was severely damaged and now can only rely on the Pingwa Navy.

More importantly, he bought at least three hours for Yang Zhan and the others.

"Counting the time, they should have arrived at Baimao by now, right?"

Zheng Jun had never been to Jiangnan, so he could only make a rough guess. However, his imagination needed to be improved, because at this moment, Yang Zhan and the others had already arrived at Fushan Ferry, less than a hundred miles away from Shizhuang, under the guidance of Yang Hui.

All of them were wearing civilian clothes. Although they were interrogated when they landed at the ferry, they were all blocked by Yang Hui on the grounds that the warships were being transported to the Longjiang Shipyard to load artillery.

Time passed little by little, and soon it was dusk.

Before nightfall, seeing that the Bohai Navy had no plans to attack, Chen Xuan left the river mouth to Yang Qiu and returned to Chongming Island by boat.

He originally thought that Lin Jiayou would celebrate for him and truthfully report his contribution to repelling the Bohai Navy. However, when he landed at Chongming Ferry, he saw Lin Jiayou standing at the ferry with a pale face, waiting for him.

"What does this bird man want to do?" Chen Xuan frowned, but he still had to get off the boat and stay with his smiling face.

"Censor Lin, our army has defeated the bandits today. Please tell the court that there is no problem with the copper wall at the mouth of the Yangtze River."

"Iron walls?" Hearing Chen Xuan's boasting, Lin Jiayou sneered and mocked:

"Commander Chen, you lost thousands of soldiers, destroyed dozens of warships, and only left seven pirate ships and 200 soldiers. Don't you feel ashamed?"

"I..." Chen Xuan wanted to curse back when he opened his mouth. Their ships and artillery were not comparable to the Bohai Navy. Being able to leave seven warships and more than 200 soldiers behind was already a very good result.

"I will report this matter to Your Majesty truthfully. Governor Chen, please take care of yourself!"

After Lin Jiayou finished speaking, he didn't give Chen Xuan a chance to refute. He walked directly onto Chen Xuan's boat and ordered the soldiers on the boat to escort him back to the south bank.

Chen Xuan wanted to curse, but when he thought of the pensions and rewards for his brothers who died in the battle, he shamelessly caught up with Lin Jiayou.

"Censor Lin, I am indeed ashamed, but my brothers are innocent. Now the bandits are moving south and prices are soaring."

"If the families of many brothers do not have pensions and rewards, they may have a difficult life..."

"Okay, Governor Chen." Lin Jiayou interrupted Chen Xuan, glanced at him, and said sarcastically:

"For the death of these soldiers, if you really want to blame it, it's also Governor Chen. As for the compensation, it's natural to provide it, but it's just a reward..."

Lin Jiayou paused, and then said:

"The capture this time was 237 people. Before the war, His Majesty offered a reward of ten guan for each person who killed the bandits, which is 2,370 guan. It will be up to Governor Chen to divide these rewards. "

After he finished speaking, he no longer looked at Chen Xuan, but ordered the military attache on the boat: "Set the boat!"

The soldiers on the boat did not dare to disobey, so they could only escort Lin Jiayou to the south bank under Lin Jiayou's demonstration.

As the warship left, Chen Xuan, who was hundreds of steps away, pulled out his long sword and slashed at the wooden piles of the ferry beside him like crazy.

"This person insulted me too much!!"

He cursed and began to feel unbalanced.

More than 2,000 soldiers died in the battle today. He was heartbroken more than anyone else, but Lin Jiayou actually scolded him and felt that he should be ashamed.

He really should be ashamed. He shouldn't have helped this birdman guard the river mouth, otherwise so many brothers wouldn't have died!

Thinking of this, Chen Xuan was extremely angry, and this scene was also seen by the Pingwa navy who escorted him.

Before it turned dark, the sailors sent the news back to Yang Qiu in Liao Kok Tsui.

Yang Qiu was still eating, but when he heard that Lin Jiayou actually made Chen Xuan so angry, he immediately laughed angrily.

"The recommended people have made the temple a mess, but now they have offended Chen Xuan."

"Chen Xuan, Chen Xuan..." Yang Qiu laughed, but gradually he felt that this was an opportunity.

He found his cronies and told them: "You secretly take a boat to the warships in the Bohai Sea and say that someone who is related to their governor has something to do with them, so say..."

Yang Zhan's smuggling to the south entrance could not be concealed. Even if it could be concealed from the soldiers at the bottom, it could not be concealed from the generals commanding the three armies.

Therefore, Yang Qiu wanted to ask the Bohai Navy on the opposite side to cease fighting for one day, and he planned to go to Chongming Island to find Chen Xuanlao.

In today's water battle, Chen Xuan's soldiers had grudges, the reward given by the court was shallow, and Chen Xuan was ridiculed by Lin Jiayou, it can be said to be an excellent opportunity.

If he could persuade Chen Xuan to surrender to the Bohai County Prince, then his father and son's status on the Bohai side would be even higher.

Thinking of this, Yang Qiu's eyes flickered.

Today, he is no longer the small official of hundreds of households. Moreover, since Yang Zhan has successfully smuggled in, how far is it from Zhu Gaoxu's army to surround the capital?

He had to have made plans early, and dragging Chen Xuan into the trap was a good choice...

　"Bohai Chronicles": "Qiu Sumu Shang heard that his son had faked his death, so he opened the mouth of the Nanjiang River to provide convenience. It happened that Jun led the navy south to fight Xuan in a fierce battle at Liaojiaozui. He had no time to take care of it, so Zhan led his troops into the mouth of the river. Xuan did not know , However, Jiayou hates Xuan, and Xuan loses his ambition, so Qiu then understands."

　　"Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty": "Qiu and Xuansu admired the emperor, and because the Jiayou sent by Jianwenjun were harsh, they opened the mouth of the Nanjiang River to provide convenience."

　　

　

(End of this chapter)