Emperor Taizong's Growth Plan

Chapter 287 The Sound of Fighting on the Nanpan River

On the Nanpan River, the sound of slaughter was deafening.

The soldiers and horses from the prefectures and counties along the river, armed with longbows and heavy crossbows, were temporarily recruited from both sides, and they kept shooting at the Li Chao navy on the river.

Compared with the mighty Li Dynasty navy that came here, the total number of county soldiers on both sides of the strait was less than [-].

But these soldiers were obviously also conspired by someone.

Wanting to stop Li Chao's navy, he didn't rush forward in a foolish way, directly attacking the huge ship of thousands of materials.Instead, taking advantage of the narrowness of the Nanpanjiang River, the difficulty of turning around for large ships, and the lack of support, they specially selected ships that transported grain, grass, and soldiers in the middle to launch an attack.

Arrows rained heavily, trying their best to suppress the soldiers of the Li Dynasty on board.There are also military masters who are proficient in water, driving a ship full of kerosene, rushing straight to the ship.

There was only a muffled sound of "bang", and the boat with Peiran's strength directly bumped into the Li Dynasty warship, almost smashing into it.Fire oil splashed and scattered on the warship.

The specially arranged archers fired rockets, which shot directly at the hull, and the flames burst into flames with a "boom".

Not long after, there were five or four ships with black smoke burning on them, and the fire gradually became raging.

Thick smoke was billowing, accompanied by the exclamation and panic of Li Chao's sailors and soldiers, many warships wanted to come to the rescue at this time.

It's just that the river is narrow, and all the boats rushed in, not only failed to help, but blocked the entire river.All of a sudden, the formation of the entire Li Dynasty Navy was in chaos, and chaos appeared!

The soldiers of the Yun army on both sides of the strait were only trying to procrastinate. At this time, seeing that there were warships coming to support them, they didn't bother, and retreated slowly under the order of the general without saying a word.

There were only a few ships that were nearly half burned by the fire, and the ships that were about to be scrapped slowly sank into the water, as well as the Li Chao navy in chaos.
-
Sitting in the center of the navy, Li Weining, who was on the largest and most magnificent dragon-headed battleship with the Xuanwu flag inlaid with gold and black background, was wearing a gorgeous black-blue armor with a crown hanging on his head. When he heard the report from the soldiers, Li Weining immediately frowned , drank:
"Why do we have to stop? After entering the Nanpan River, the army will stop and go, and it will take five or six days to embark on the previous day's itinerary. If there is any further delay, I am afraid that Yunguo will have to deploy heavy troops for defense. !"

Prior to the secret preparations, Li Weining already had a surprise attack, and Da Yunguo was caught off guard.But if this delay continues, what is the use of the previous planning?

Hearing the words, the general under his command immediately fell to his knees and said anxiously:
"Your Majesty, calm down! There has been a small army of clouds setting up ambushes on both sides of the bank and burning the ships of our navy to transport food and soldiers. The Nanpanjiang River is narrow, and the front and rear warships are unable to support the rescue. After a few days, the losses are not small. Stopping every now and then to adjust formation."

Hearing the report from his soldiers, Li Weining's face was ashen, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"Damn!"

He originally thought that he led the army this time, and with the secret method left by the old immortal, he used the power of the national fortune to bless the army, which would be enough to advance triumphantly, cooperate with the army of the Xia State, win glory, and revive the prestige of the Li Dynasty.

However, he never expected that his mighty army would naturally catch Yun Guo by surprise, but he suffered too many hidden losses like this.It was completely different from what he had imagined before!
Li Weining's eyes turned hard, and he said sharply:
"Sneak attack in Yun Kingdom, only dare to attack small warships, it's just a case of scabies. According to Gu's order, if any ship is destroyed, abandon the ship and leave immediately, and the ministries can't rescue... Humph, just wait for the isolation of Yun Kingdom Contacting Yongzhou, Yunguo lost tens of thousands of troops, all the humiliation suffered before, and Yunguo must repay all of it!"

Hearing the words, the general under his command paused slightly, hesitatingly said:
"Your Majesty, it's okay for the troop carrier to abandon the ship, but if the ship that transports food directly abandons the ship, the food it carries will be gone... Our army has gone deep into the country of Yun, and it's not easy to supply it!"

Ever since Li Chao suffered from starvation and suffering due to lack of supplies on the south bank of Yunguo, Li Chao's navy has attached great importance to food and grass supplies.Hearing that Li Weining had abandoned the grain transport ship at this time, he immediately hesitated.

When Li Weining heard this, he immediately reprimanded:

"As long as the grain and grass materials arrive in Shicheng County, Xia Kingdom will be responsible for supplying them. Soldiers are precious, and the top priority must be rushed to the waters of the Yongjiang River as soon as possible. If it is too late, Yunguo has many arrangements, and if it cannot be held for a long time, it will be overwhelmed." Disaster!"

The general under his command was so scolded by Li Weining, his heart froze immediately, he didn't dare to say more, he quickly bowed and saluted:
"The minister obeys the order!"
-
At this time, it was in Xiushan County and Longzhou County, which were less than a hundred miles away from here.

The water of the Nanpanjiang River is rolling in, so far it turns southeast and enters the Yongjiang River.

Compared with the Nanpan River, the Yongjiang River is flatter and has a wider waterway, and the surging river flows into it, and it suddenly becomes calmer.

The wide and meandering river separates the four states of Yongzhou from Yunguo.The only thing that maintains the connection between the two places is Shicheng County, an important town in Yunguo ahead!
On a high hill, after asking about the climate and wind direction changes on the river in Longzhou County in the past years, Zhuge Liang bowed slightly to several fishermen and farmers, and said softly:
"Thank you all!"

The few people who were brought in for questioning were all poor people begging for a living by the river, even though they were treated with such courtesy by the officials, they bowed quickly with fear and humility on their faces.

Zhuge Liang thanked a few more words, and asked the soldiers around him to take some silver taels for them to share, and then he sent the people away.

Seeing the people leaving behind him, Xu Shu stepped forward and came to Zhuge Liang. He stretched out his sleeves, shook his brand-new eighth-rank official uniform, and said grandly:

"how?"

Zhuge Liang came back to his senses slightly, looked at the expression on Xu Shu's face, chuckled lightly, nodded and said:
"This new court uniform inherits the ancient system, and is embroidered with patches and belts of different materials according to different official positions, so as to distinguish the official rank. This is much more convenient than before, it is much more convenient to distinguish by the belt on the waist!"

Xu Shu looked down at the official robe, smacked his lips, and said:
"It's the rhino patch on the chest, it's not too powerful... just, let's change it to a better one later!"

The eighth rank joins the army, a military position, and the chest patch is a rhinoceros.Maybe it's because of the embroidery workers, this rhinoceros patch looks silly, and it's really not very good-looking.

Zhuge Liang laughed when he heard this, and said:
"If ordinary people want to become an official, even if they don't take the imperial examination road where thousands of troops cross the single-plank bridge, they must be recommended by nobles, and then go through the selection of the court, and then they will only be awarded an official position of seventh or eighth rank. We are like this It is easy to get official status, if others hear these words again, I am afraid that they will feel uncomfortable!"

With the talent and learning of the two, it is natural that one of the eighth rank joins the army, which is not in the eyes.But some words are heard by others, which will always cause some controversy.

"Yes, yes, Yuanzhi, remember!"

When Xu Shu heard the words, he bowed and saluted as if acting strangely.

Then he suddenly pointed to the brand new official uniform on his body, and said softly:

"Speaking of which, we were forcibly brought here by Yang Big Eye, but you didn't think of a way to get out all the way. It really doesn't look like you. Did you want to take the opportunity to enter the court before? "

Zhuge Liang nodded slightly when he heard the words, and said:
"This Pingman General Yang Dayan is a member of the Yang family, and he can be heard in the court and in the harem. If you work under his command, you don't have to worry about other things!"

Don't look at the present, the three in-laws of the Yang family have left two families, and their strength is not as good as before.But Ma and Qu were raised at home with titles after all, and Xiao Cheng didn't take ruthless measures to clean up their former students and officials, so they still had some influence in the court.

The most important thing is that the youngest daughter of the Yang family is in the harem, and her honor and favor will not diminish.

Yang Dayan, a younger brother of the Yang family, served closely before, and gained Xiao Cheng's trust, so he sat in one side and commanded an army of tens of thousands.Yang Yanhe was in the cabinet before, and his ability was often praised by the court, and now he has been promoted several times to serve as the third-rank political envoy.

Entering the dynasty through the Yang family's family is obviously more able to enter the eyes of His Majesty today.

Having said that, Zhuge Liang paused slightly, with a complicated expression on his face:

"It's just that I thought I needed some means to prove our abilities, but I didn't expect that His Majesty is so... so courageous, he directly bestowed the official title, and immediately ordered craftsmen to build the Wind Praying Platform .”

Zhuge Liang spoke for a long time before he squeezed out the sentence "have courage".

After all, it is really unbelievable to directly confer an official position and agree to build a prayer platform with only a military newspaper.

I don't know whether His Majesty is too trusting of Yang Dayan, or is it too easy to be fooled.

When Xu Shu heard this, his eyelids drooped, and he said seriously:
"Haven't you paid attention to some rumors before?"

Zhuge Liang was taken aback for a moment, and asked back:
"What rumor?"

Xu Shu lowered his voice, pretending to be mysterious and said:
"It has been circulated between the ruling and opposition parties that His Majesty now has a secret agent in his hands, lurking in all parts of the world, and does not spy on information. It is only responsible for collecting talents and intelligence from various countries for the emperor to collect for His Majesty. Nowadays, many young and capable ministers in the court, He was discovered and appointed without taking the imperial examination."

Zhuge Liang frowned and said:
"Is there such a spy agency... It's just that you and I have just learned something, and we have gained some reputation in Xiushan County in the past two months, and can it be spread to the ears of His Majesty today?"

"At the time, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials, the two Masters Zhang, are said to have been conferred official positions as soon as they arrived in Zhongqing City... Who can say for sure the power of the people hidden in the shadows in this vast court? It is not unusual for the Dayun royal family to have been dormant for decades, secretly forming such a team to prepare for regaining power!" Xu Shu said.

Zhuge Liang was silent for a moment, nodded slowly, and said no more.

Xu Shu paused for a while, then said seriously:
"By the way, the only inland navy in the country has just been ordered to come."

Having said that, he sighed slightly and said:
"It's just that the navy in this country has not been taken seriously before, and the largest ship is only over five hundred. You and I have seen Li Chao's navy with our own eyes, and we know how big the gap is! If you and I didn't try our best Dissuade, I am afraid that with General Yang's temperament, the warship will be sunk in the river to block the waterway."

As far as the two of them have seen before, among the Li Dynasty navy, there are more than a dozen large ships of two or three thousand.However, a warship of [-] materials can only be used as an escort ship in the Li Dynasty. The gap between the two sides makes people unable to resist!

Before Yunguo was an inland country, the navy was naturally not taken seriously.In recent years, the court has only paid attention to it a little bit, but how can it be compared with the Li Dynasty, which is based on the navy, in a short period of time?

Zhuge Liang was not so frustrated, he said in a deep voice:

"Hidden rocks and hidden reefs can't stop the pace of Li Chao's navy, even if all the warships sink into the river, how long can they stop it? Besides, without the navy, it is the loss of the means of attack and containment... What is it? On the Nanpan River, it’s not the boundless sea that cannot be guarded against. Li Chao’s navy just caught us off guard!”

Previously, the Red River was tortuous and turbulent, and it was difficult to pass through. No one thought that Li Chao's navy would have a way to kill them.If it had been prepared early, and there were water fortresses everywhere, how could the Li Dynasty have made a surprise attack here?
Zhuge Liang continued in a deep voice:

"The army along the way has mobilized long bows and heavy crossbows, and has tried its best to delay the progress of the Li Dynasty Navy. The most urgent task is to block the river with iron chains at the mouth of the river. Build more water fortresses and wait for the opportunity!"

Having said that, Zhuge Liang turned his head and looked into the distance.

The craftsmen have not yet arrived, but the recruited civilians have gathered and started to carry various materials needed for praying for the altar.

Xu Shu looked along the line of sight and saw the place where the wind praying platform was going to be built, and couldn't help but ask:

"Looking at the materials you ordered people to prepare, and the questions you asked the people, I can guess that you plan to use fire to attack. The so-called Qifengtai should be that you want to use it to lay down formations, so as to use the power of heaven and earth, It depends on the strategy of attacking with fire. I just don't understand, is it necessary to report this kind of thing to His Majesty?"

Yang Dayan had seen Zhuge Liang's methods before, so he respected and trusted the two of them.To build a small altar, Yang Dayan can deploy some manpower to build it. There is no need to play Xiao Cheng and ask for an order to build it.

Hearing Xu Shu's question, Zhuge Liang paused, shook his head and said:
"The army of the Li Dynasty is coming, and the king Li Weining personally sits in the town. This is a gamble on the fate of the country. The vision of the condensed army can ward off all evil. Is it unusual? If I directly deploy the formation, it will call the east wind. I can't do anything to the Li Chao Navy who is suppressed by visions!"

Having said that, Zhuge Liang's expression sank, and he said seriously:
"Only by His Majesty's decree that I can use the power of Dayun's national destiny to help me suppress the vision of Li Chao's luck in the dark, can I completely defeat this Li Chao navy!"

Hearing what Zhuge Liang said, Xu Shu was a little silent.

After a long time, he said in a deep voice:

"I know... I have already explained something before, to assist General Yang in mobilizing all the soldiers and horses, and try my best to prevent Li Chao's navy from coming. After that, I will rush to the front line and make arrangements!"

When Zhuge Liang heard this, the corner of his mouth curled up, and he said with a light smile:
"It's because Yuan Zhi is here that I am so relieved."

　Post a chapter first, and the rest are still being written...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)