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Chapter 564 The Decree
It was past noon, and sawdust floated on the banks of the Yellow River.

Tang Jun's navy in the Yellow River, after a morning's fierce battle, has mostly disappeared.

More than [-] warships of the Tang army were either destroyed or captured by the Zhao army. Huang Junhan, the general manager of Huaizhou of the Tang army, was injured, and the general Zhang Yecha was captured. Only [-] of the [-] Tang army sailors survived.

The Zhao army only lost five or six warships, the navy suffered more than [-] casualties, and the Tang army captured nearly a thousand people. This was a complete victory.

Now on the bank of the Yellow River, the Zhao Jun fleet is approaching the Yumen Ferry at the north gate of Hulao Pass, completely cutting off the Yellow River waterway of Li Tang.

Cheng Mingzhen was full of ambition, standing on the battleship, Zhou Zhou, Zhao Xin and other civil officials stood beside Cheng Mingzhen, very happy.

Zhao Xin cupped his hands and said: "I am ashamed to say that this battle did not contribute at all, which made General Cheng laugh at me. The memorial for this battle must be General Cheng's military exploits, and I will report to the emperor to let him know General Cheng's bravery! "When Zhao Xin said this, everyone had no doubts that, as a county guard, he had the right to report to the emperor in secret without going through the Zhongshu province.At the same time, his official position is also the highest among the people, and he should write the battlefield memorial.

Everyone thought that this person was lucky, if he wrote it himself, he wouldn't write about his embarrassment on the battlefield.

Cheng Mingzhen laughed, put away the arrogance he had just had when he was fighting, and politely cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Mr. Zhao."

"Where, where." Zhao Xin smiled slightly.

At this time, two men, one tall and one lower, came to the end of the boat, one was dressed in Zhao Jun's military uniform, and the other was a tall young man in a short suit.

The soldier of Zhao Jun bowed his hands to Cheng Mingzhen and said: "Sir, this is a boatman on the Yellow River. He was the one who led our warship all the way to the Yellow River. The general promised him that if he wins, he will be rewarded." Ten strings of money, but he didn't want the money, he said he wanted to see the general, and the general brought him here."

Cheng Ming said curiously, "Why do you want to see me?"

The man was stunned for a moment, and the soldier at the side said to him: "This is the general, you are so good at talking."

The other party obviously heard that Cheng Mingzhen was a general and was very nervous. After a while, he stammered and said: "I don't want to reward you, I beg the general manager to allow me to join the Zhao army."

"Oh?" Zhao Xin said displeased to see that man's simple-minded appearance, "If you join Zhao Jun, you won't have ten pennies. Do you still want to join?"

The man hesitated and said, "Then can I be a gang leader?"

As soon as this remark came out, everyone laughed, and the soldier next to him said: "This is Mr. Zhao from Donglai County, answer seriously."

It’s okay if you don’t talk about it, but when you talk about it, the other party is even more nervous. Zhao Xin smiled and said: “My Zhao Jun is the most important military merit, and I will be promoted according to the order. Possibly. You think it through."

The man was so hesitant, he weighed things up and said, "I still want to join Zhao Jun!"

Everyone was amazed that Shiguan's money was not rare. It is rare for this person to join the Zhao army without money.

"Why don't you love money, but join our army?" Cheng Mingzhen asked.

The other party said loudly without hesitation: "Because I want to stand out!"

"Okay!" Cheng Mingzhen patted the opponent's shoulder heavily, and praised, "If you have ambition, reward him with ten pennies, and then mention him to serve as a soldier in the army!"

The other party was stunned and said: "General, you are really willing to give me money and let me join Zhao Jun!"

Cheng Mingzhen nodded, and Zhao Xin saw the other party's overjoyed look on the side, and was slightly unhappy. Originally, as him, he shouldn't care about the other party, but today he really lost face, so he wanted to save some face.

He saw a jade pendant hanging beside the other party, and immediately said: "You said that you are an ordinary boatman in the Yellow River, how could you have such a precious jade pendant on your body?" He was very excited, and he had been prepared for a long time, and Zhao Jun's soldiers clamped him from left to right.

"Give it back to me!"

"Be honest, mother, you really have a few catties of strength."
The man struggled desperately, but was held tightly by Zhao Jun's soldiers.

Zhao Xin was holding the jade pendant, but seeing a word engraved on the jade pendant, he sneered and said, "This jade pendant is at least worth a hundred guan, how can you, a boatman, have such a priceless thing! Tell me, are you the secret work of Tang Jun?"

The man put away his cowardly look, and immediately said seriously: "I'm not meticulous, this jade pendant is only worth ten or so pendants at most, how can there be a hundred pendants."

Zhao Xin snorted and said: "It's good for you to die in peace. This jade pendant is clearly carved by famous masters in Guan, and the quality of the jade is high-quality Kunlun jade. It would not be difficult to get it in any pawn shop in Youjing." Less than a hundred."
The man said loudly: "So she lied to me, oh, I understand, she was afraid that my father and I would not accept it, so she deliberately only said that it was worth more than ten pens."

"Who is she?" Zhou Zhou stepped forward and asked.The man lowered his head, but gritted his teeth and refused to speak.

Zhao Xin said: "Give this person to the Department of Rumors, Shi Shi will also speak to the Department of Rumors."

"Wait," Zhou Zhou stepped forward and said, "I don't know if I guessed right, this jade pendant was given to you by a girl, this girl owes you some kindness, and will you use the jade pendant to repay it later?"

Seeing the man's expression, Zhou Zhou smiled slightly and said, "It seems I guessed it right."

Zhou Zhou said: "Governor Zhao, the most important thing about this matter is not this person, but this jade pendant. What kind of girl gave him the jade pendant is the key."

Cheng Mingzhen said: "The two of you are talking about it, and I'm talking about it, but I believe he is innocent, so I don't need to inform the Department of Rumors. If those guys intervene, the matter will never end!"

"Thank you, General." The young man gave Cheng Mingzhen a grateful look.

Zhao Xin glanced at Zhou Zhou, knowing that he understood something, but due to the bad relationship between the two, the other party would never tell him.
The Hulao is closed.

Li Shimin witnessed the destruction of the Datang Navy from beginning to end.

Seeing the battleship burnt down and the soldiers drowning in the water, shouting and struggling helplessly, Li Shimin could only watch from a distance, helpless.He couldn't help with all these. Li Shimin was conceited that the Tang army was invincible in horse fighting and infantry fighting, but when it came to water warfare, who would dare to say that he was proficient as a child of Guanlong.

Li Shimin felt powerless, watching the elite soldiers defeat in battle, this scene made him resentful.He has never been defeated in his life, and he never thought that his navy would be defeated on the Yellow River.

"His Royal Highness King Qin!" Hou Junji said beside him.

Li Shimin waved his hands and said: "Huang Junhan's navy is the entire strength of our army on the Yellow River. Now that it is destroyed, I have no boats to send."

What Li Shimin said is the truth, from Guanzhong to Guandong, although the west is high and the east is low, there is a tendency to build a strategic position as mentioned in the art of war.But this is only compared to the land, and the waterway is not as good as the Yangtze River. Sichuan and Shu have advantages over Jingyang and Yangzhou.

That is to say, although Li Tang occupies the upper reaches of the Yellow River, it is impossible for ships coming from the upper reaches of the Yellow River and Weishui in Guanzhong to leave Sanmen Gorge and go down the Yellow River because of the obstruction of the middle-flow stone.Therefore, in the Central Plains, Li Tang only had Huang Junhan, a naval division, to rely on.

But the Zhao army was different. Li Chongjiu relied on merchant ships and passenger ships on the Yongji Canal to use his troops. He also collected the Da Sui Zheng Liaohai ship from Donglai County as the main battleship, and his craftsman workshop also imitated warships such as the Wuya Daship.

It takes at least two or three years for a big five-toothed ship. Could it be said that two or three years ago, Li Chongjiu decided to use the Hebei Navy to capture Hulao Pass and fight him?
In this way, it is really a deep calculation. If it is Dou Jiande and Liu Heitai, how can they have such vision.

Huang Junhan came to Li Shimin with a limp and said: "The last general is incompetent, and was defeated by the Zhao army's navy."

Li Shimin looked at Huang Junhan. Although he even wanted to kill him right now, there was no one in the navy under his command, and he was the only one he could rely on for the time being. He said calmly, "You have done your best, go down and rest first." !"

Huang Junhan looked at Li Shimin, and immediately said: "King Qin, the last general has something to say, please let me finish."

"Say it!"

"After the Zhao army breaks through our water army, it is likely to go upstream. We need to strengthen the defenses of Heyang and Huiluo!"

Li Shimin nodded with a serious expression, "Go down!"

Huang Junhan sighed, and went down with the support of the soldiers.

Fang Xuanling said to Li Shimin: "His Royal Highness, King Qin. At present, Zhao Jun Xu Shiji and Wang Ma Han's [-] troops are launching an offensive in Hanoi. King Huai'an has only a few thousand remnants. If King Huai'an is defeated, the Zhao army captures Hanoi. Attack the three cities of Heyang, then once the Zhao army snatches Mengjindu, they can reinforce Luoyang from the north."
Li Shimin didn't speak, but Du Ruhui said, "That's all for the three cities of Heyang. If the Zhao army uses warships to cooperate with the main force and attack the tiger prison together by land and water, our army may be in danger. Our army has made a secret report saying that this time Zhao's army will go south." , carrying a sharp siege weapon of kerosene bombs, once this thing is released, I am afraid it will be difficult for the tiger prison to hold on."

Li Shimin glanced at Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui. The two confidants looked worried and not optimistic.

Hou Junji said: "Is it right now that we can only invite Chang'an, and then send reinforcements to Luoyang?"

Hearing what Hou Junji said, Li Shimin shook his head. At this moment, a person outside the door hurried forward and said, "His Royal Highness, there is an imperial decree from Chang'an, and it was sent by a six-hundred-mile horse."

Li Shimin paused when he heard the footsteps.

Soon after the incense table was set up, the eunuch who passed the decree saw Li Shimin and first smiled and said: "His Royal Highness, congratulations, this old slave will come to congratulate you first."

Li Shimin greeted him with a smile and said: "Eunuch, what's the matter, Eunuch Lao has traveled all the way to pass the decree to Gu, and it's too late for Gu to thank you."

The eunuch laughed and said, "His Royal Highness is just being polite, so I will announce the decree."

The King of Qin knelt down on one knee, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and other generals of the Tang army also knelt down at the same time.

(End of this chapter)