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Chapter 672
Above the Yangtze River, the rapids are surging.

On the big river, warships are like clouds.The battle flag with Tang characters fluttered in front of the bow.

In October, Li Yuan took Li Xiaogong, the king of Hejian County, as the general manager of the Jingxiang Road, and Li Jing, who was also the commander of the army, was in charge of the [-] generals. They moved eastward from Kuizhou. Tian Shikang, the governor of Qianzhou, went out of Chenzhou Road, which was the South Route Army; Xiao Xian surrendered, and Zhou Faming, the general manager of Huangzhou, went out of Xiakou Road, which was the East Route Army.

The armies of the four routes split up and advanced side by side, and their fronts pointed directly at Jiangling, the capital of the Liang Dynasty.

For more than a year, Li Xiaogong and Li Jing built warships in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, in the land of Bashu, and drilled the navy, ready to go. This time down the river, Li Xiaogong personally led more than [-] warships to the east, trying to break the momentum , conquered Jiangling in World War I, and took the land of Jingxiang into his hands.

However, Li Xiaogong's plan suffered a bit of a change. It was the autumn rainy season, the river was soaring, and the Taotao River flowing through the Three Gorges roared and rushed down, and the sound shook the canyon.The battleships of the Tang army in the canyon are densely packed, making it difficult to advance and retreat, and the Three Gorges channel is a difficult and dangerous place on the Yangtze River.Before dispatching troops, the Tang army saw that the Three Gorges was so difficult to navigate, so they couldn't help but hesitate.

But Li Jing said to Li Xiaogong: "Soldiers are precious and fast, and the opportunity must not be missed. Now that our army has just assembled, Xiao Xian still doesn't know that our army is coming. If we take the river to rush out and go eastward, we will suddenly appear under the city of Jiangling. , It is the best strategy for a military strategist to be quicker than thunder. Even if Xiao Mian heard the news that I would leave the army and hastily mobilized the army, he would not be able to fight, so capturing Xiao Mian will surely succeed in one fell swoop."

Li Xiaogong followed Li Jing's opinion, and now he is leading the fleet to forcibly cross the natural danger of the Three Gorges.

At this moment, the torrential rain is pouring, and the water of the Yangtze River is inevitably as muddy as the Yellow River.

Looking from the battleship, I can see cliffs standing on both sides, hundreds of feet high and less than a hundred meters wide. The left and right are like portals, towering above the battleship.However, the water in the gorge is deep and fast, and the narrowest part of the river is less than [-] feet.The warships of the Tang army braved the heavy rain and marched in the torrent, which made people tremble with fear.

On the prow of a huge ship, Li Jing and Zhou Faming stood side by side, talking and talking, not paying attention to the difficulties and dangers in front of them.

Li Jing smiled and said to Zhou Faming: "Brother Zhou, you see that this place is called Kuimen. It has been said since ancient times that Kuimen is the hero of the world. It is really amazing to see it today."

Zhou Faming was noncommittal. Zhou Faming's father, Zhou Jiong, was the governor of Southern Chen Dynasty. His brother Zhou Fashang, a general of Sui Wuwei, came to guard Pyongyang as his deputy. Both father and brother were the leading navy generals in the two dynasties.During the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Zhou Faming took advantage of the momentum to rise up, seized the prefectures and seized the counties, first attached Li Mi, then returned to Xiao Xian, and then surrendered to Tang after Li Tang crusade.

Zhou Faming's expression was cold, and his emotions and anger were invisible. Hearing what Li Jing said, he just said indifferently: "Going out of Kuimen in the east is just the first step in the crusade against Xiao Xian. Look, the mountains and rivers on the left and right are dangerous, but they are not hindered. .But leaving the Three Gorges is what people worry about.”

"How to say?"

"Out of the Three Gorges, there is Yiling below. The ancient meaning of Yiling is that when the water reaches this point, it becomes flat, and when the mountain reaches this point, it becomes mausoleum. Kui, lead Jingxiang down. The river slows down here, and the danger is saved."

Li Jing's guards on the side asked puzzledly: "The water has turned the danger to safety, so it should be easier to go, why is it worrying?"

Li Jing smiled and said nothing, Zhou Faming said with a sneer, "Have you never heard of the battle of Yiling? Liu Bei came out of Baidi, went down the river, and penetrated two or three hundred miles into the border of Wu without hindrance. Why was it blocked by Lu Xun?" In Yiling?"

The guard was speechless and unable to answer.

Zhou Faming said old-fashionedly: "Let me tell you, our army went down the river and penetrated deep into the enemy's territory. It is beneficial to fight quickly. Although the Three Gorges is dangerous, the same enemy army is not easy to stop here, but Yiling is different. If Xiao Mian guarded this entrance and was unable to stand against our army, so he had to abandon the boat and land on the shore to camp, repeating Liu Bei's mistakes."
"So that's how it is." Li Jing's guard suddenly said.

Li Jing said: "Boss Zhou is a famous navy general. You can learn more from him in the future, and you will never learn from him in your life."

"promise."

Zhou Faming looked at Li Jing and asked strangely, "Looking at Li Changshi's confidence, why is he not worried about how to break through Yiling?"

Li Jing smiled and said: "Boss Zhou, fortunately you are our army, not Xiao Mian's side. If Xiao Mian listens to your plan, it will not be easy for our army to go east this time. Do you know? Xiao Mian ordered General Wen Shihong to lead the army An army of [-] is stationed at the mouth of the Yishui River. But there are only a few hundred people stationed in Jingmen and Yiling, so you say I have nothing to worry about."

Zhou Faming looked stunned and said, "I know, the reason why you persuaded the county king to cross the Three Gorges by force is to break through Yiling with lightning speed, so that Scholar Hong won't react and send more troops to the north."

Li Jing nodded and said, "Exactly."

Zhou Faming looked Li Jing up and down, held out his thumb and said, "Li Changshi, you really are a general, Zhou admires him so much."

"Don't dare," Li Jing said sternly, "The battle to attack Xiao Xian is related to the fate of my Tang Dynasty. If Jiangling can be defeated in one battle, then the land in the south of Jingxiang and Lingnan will follow the trend, and Jiang Yang is the only one. It is hoped that the wind will come down. If it is unfavorable, it will be difficult."

Zhou Faming said: "I was based on one side of the land, and I have watched the changes in the world for a long time. Your Majesty's great talents, Li Mi, and Wang Shichong are all far behind, and Xiao Xian and his ilk are far behind. I thought that within three to five years , Li Tang seized the world as easily as picking something out of a pocket, but he did not expect that there would be an opponent like Li Chongjiu."

"In particular, I heard that Li Chongjiu had broken Goguryeo. My brother and General Laihuer hadn't done anything back then, but he had done it. Once Goguryeo was broken, Li Chongjiu's reputation in the world would inevitably rise. In a decisive battle, but to accumulate power, if he is allowed to continue to grow, it will be out of control in the future. Not to mention who wins and who loses in the end, if the two families fight for decades, then the Central Plains will inevitably be destroyed, and it will be meaningless for whoever wins the world at that time I don't know what His Majesty thinks."

Li Jing heard the words and said seriously: "You and I both know about this matter. Your Majesty is the Lord of Yingrui, so he must understand it more deeply than you and me. To be honest, the situation has evolved to the point where it is today. The confrontation between the two countries is not just one or two wars." The outcome can be decided. Although Li Chongjiu defeated Goguryeo, I, Li Tang, may not be afraid of him."

"Zhao Guozong defeated Goguryeo, and the general trend of the world is still on my side. What's more, as long as I can defeat Xiao Xian in the next step, I, Li Tang, can deal with Zhao Guo with all my strength. Besides, Zhao Guo also has Turks, Du Fuwei, etc. With a strong enemy at your side, destroying a Goguryeo will not help."

(End of this chapter)