Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2636 Zhu Wu Joins the Battle to Attack the Grain Supply Line, Xu Cheng Fights Wu Zixu Three Times

Chang Yuchun's purpose in fighting this battle was not for the Southern Chu navy, but to guard against another enemy: the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's faction.

Nine years ago, the Southern War ended, and the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's forces, with the support of Wu Zixu, a civil official, and Jing Xiang, a military leader, followed Zhu Zhanji to Yizhou.

Among these remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's forces, the most important military force, in fact, 80% of the military force, was mainly composed of the former Yangzhou Navy.

After arriving in Yizhou, in the initial period, there was a lack of a large population to reclaim the land. Even some soldiers joined the land reclamation teams to carry out semi-military and semi-agricultural labor.

At its worst, a portion, or even the entire military, was converted into civilians.

However, even at the worst point, the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's forces did their best to protect this naval force. Although some members of this naval force inevitably engaged in both military and agricultural activities, they were never completely converted into civilians like other military units.

For Yizhou, this naval force was the fundamental military force upon which their survival depended.

After all, the local inhabitants of Yizhou posed no real military threat to Zhu Yuanzhang's remnants. The real threat to Zhu Yuanzhang's remnants came from external sources.

As for external threats, such as the Great Jin, if the coastal defense could not be guaranteed and the enemy were to land, how could Yizhou continue to defend itself given its backward state at the time?
It should be noted that at that time, Yizhou did not even have a decent city.

The remaining military forces of Zhu Yuanzhang's remnants were mainly composed of the navy, and they still possessed a large number of warships left over from the Yangzhou navy.

In contrast, after years of development, the overall strength of Southern Chu was not necessarily inferior to that of the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's forces. However, in terms of naval power alone, Southern Chu still could not match the forces of Zhu Yuanzhang's remnants.

Bai Qi and Yang Su's northern army could rely on the levies imposed on the occupied territories for their food supply, or, if all else failed, on the Great Jin territory itself.

However, if we rely on the Jin Dynasty's own territory, the logistical pressure will be greater.

However, Chang Yuchun's Southern Route Army relied almost entirely on local transportation for its food supplies.

After all, the islands in southern Southeast Asia were too backward and sparsely populated. In this era, and for at least the next thousand years, the focus of Southeast Asia was actually on the part connected to the mainland.

Therefore, Bai Qi and Yang Su's northern army could obtain supplies in the occupied territories, but Chang Yuchun's side could not.

For them, if they wanted to obtain supplies from their homeland, the only option was to transport them by sea.

Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of the supply lines, the comparison of the naval military forces of both sides is of paramount importance.

If one day, the navies of Southeast Asian countries, represented by the Southern Chu navy, were to unite with the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's forces, they would absolutely be able to threaten the security of their supply lines.

Therefore, even though Chang Yuchun had to bear some losses, he still managed to crush the Southern Chu navy before the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's faction got involved in the matter.

Among the navies of Southeast Asian countries, the Southern Chu was one of the two largest navies.

To put it bluntly, in the very early days after the Southern Chu arrived in Southeast Asia, in order to rebuild their power, they adopted the same approach as that Western queen, starting their power through piracy.

Therefore, it laid the foundation for the later Southern Chu navy. In fact, Chang Yuchun's decision to destroy the Southern Chu navy at all costs was tantamount to foresight.

Because, not long after, the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's faction officially joined the battle.

At that time, the Great Jin Dynasty's northern war was underway. A large number of troops from the Central Plains and the north were engaged in the northern war and were unable to provide strong support to the south when trouble broke out there. Meanwhile, the southern troops were largely deployed to the Southeast Asian battlefield.

At that time, although Yangzhou still had 50,000 troops in the Southern Camp and 20,000 Yangtze River naval forces left behind by Qi Jiguang, it was already considered to be poorly defended compared to the vast south.

However, the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's forces still did not attack the homeland of the Great Jin, but instead chose to join the Southeast Asian battlefield!
Today, the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's faction have their military strength mainly concentrated in the navy, while their infantry has weakened, and their cavalry has been virtually destroyed.

The total number of cavalrymen is less than five hundred.

With this limited strength, even if they were to take action against the south, they could at most manage to seize a few opportunities along the coast, but they would be powerless to conquer and plunder territory in the south.

Moreover, even if they wanted to seize a few opportunities, they would have to take risks. During Qi Jiguang's participation in the northern war, the 20,000 naval troops he left in the south were not just there to watch.

Furthermore, the South was once their stronghold, and they still retain a certain level of prestige there. If they were to resort to violence in the South merely for a few rounds of robbery, their reputation back home would be completely ruined.

Therefore, they had no choice but to join the Southeast Asian battlefield.

In any case, there are at least a few allies in the Southeast Asian theater, so they don't have to fight alone.

As expected, after Zhu Yuanzhang's remnants joined the Southeast Asian battlefield, they immediately set their sights on the safety of the supply lines for Chang Yuchun's troops.

Wu Zixu was no simple man either; he saw through Chang Yuchun's weakness at a glance.

Unfortunately, without the cooperation of the Southern Chu navy, even with the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's forces, their military strength at sea was no match for Xu Cheng's East China Sea navy.

Today, the remnants of Zhu Yuanzhang's forces are indeed primarily armed with their navy. However, Yizhou in this era has a limited population and resources, and their remaining strength from their initial retreat from Yangzhou is also meager.

Therefore, at this point, the power is always limited.

Even if it is just one of the naval forces of the Great Jin Dynasty, given the strength of the Great Jin Dynasty, this force is beyond their reach.

Over a period of nearly a year, Wu Zixu planned three naval raids. Although Wu Zixu relied on his military skills to win three battles against overwhelming odds and inflicted some casualties on the East China Sea navy, he still managed to achieve his goals.

However, Xu Cheng always managed to complete his logistical tasks. Even if it meant sacrificing more lives, he was determined to ensure that the grain supplies could be transported to Chang Yuchun.

Although Wu Zixu achieved three victories against overwhelming odds, after these three victories, Wu Zixu had run out of strength to continue fighting.

After these three battles, Wu Zixu was no longer able to fight.