The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 210 Slapping Wan Yan Kang, Calculations in the Court
The big ship was shaken by the hitting of the pole. The soldiers in the cabin could not stand and staggered from side to side. Some of them could not hold on to the side of the ship and fell off the ship, landing in the river, splashing waves.

The cannonballs hit the boat, wood chips flew everywhere, and some soldiers were unable to dodge and had their heads smashed open on the spot.

"The boat is taking on water, jump off the boat!"

"It's on fire, run!"

Thousands of warships filled the river channel in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Flaming stones in the sky kept moving back and forth on the river. Some fell onto the ships and were extinguished by the soldiers, while others were directly nailed to the white sails and started a fire. The soldiers holding the sails quickly lowered the sails and put out the fire. There were also people who were shot by arrows and fell down, screaming in pain and asking their companions to rescue them.

The vast river surface stretched out to the left and right, and the long and narrow warships, as the main force on both sides, were constantly intertwined in the fierce fighting on the battlefield. When they collided with each other, dozens of spears protruded from the hatches on both sides and stabbed frantically at the opposite side. There were also soldiers with lit rockets rushing out of the hatches, standing on the side of the ship and firing at the other side at close range, nailing them to the hull, cowhide, or people, and igniting flames amid shrill screams.

Occasionally, the wind blows and the flames spread. The whole boat begins to sink, revealing half of it with countless corpses on the water. As the river rises and falls, the sailing ships push away the corpses.

Water and fire are merciless. At this time, even the strictest military discipline will be of no use. Of course, falling into the water will not kill you. Most of the soldiers are fishermen who make a living by the river, so they have a certain chance of survival.

The sun rises in the east, surrounded by clouds, and the morning sun is as red as blood, as if foreshadowing something.

On the bank of the Yangtze River, hundreds of catapults were ready to go. When the commander gave the order, the soldiers released the catapults, and the catapults whizzed through the sky, falling from the sky across a distance of dozens of feet.

On the river, thousands of warships gathered together and fought fiercely.

"boom!"

The rocks fell with a loud bang, and the high fences on the fighting ship broke apart. The entire ship capsized under inertia, and dozens of Jin soldiers were thrown into the water. There was another bang, and the stone cannon fell into the water, splashing countless water, and then sank into the river. There was bright red blood in the bubbles that rose to the surface of the water.

As the view expanded, hundreds of such stones continued to fall from the sky.

"Catapult? They actually used catapults in naval battles!" The Jin general Wanyan Heda was horrified when he saw the stone bullets falling from the sky.

The sudden change surprised both sides. The Han army was mostly in small boats, which were easy to turn around. After the first wave of stone bullets fell, the soldiers on the boats rowed their boats to escape from the center of the battlefield, leaving the Han warships entangled with the Jin warships.

Thousands of warships gathered on the river. Unlike small boats, they could not turn around easily and had to endure the attack of stone bullets.

Li Tianda, the deputy general standing by, urged anxiously, "General, let's retreat quickly. The enemy's catapults are too far away. If this continues, we will lose all our ships."

Although the Jin Kingdom still had shipyards and hundreds of warships, it was difficult to train naval soldiers. Even for fishermen who were good at swimming, it would take at least several months to integrate them into an army. But in this battle, the enemy would not give them several months.

While the Jin army generals were hesitating, Shi Tianze, on a black-covered boat, looked at the river not far away, with a sad look on his face, "Alas, they are all good men."

"General, as long as we can drive the Jin people away, our men will die a worthy death. The Jin invaded my country and destroyed my homeland. Such a great hatred must be avenged. Only if we win can our descendants live with dignity on this land. No matter how much blood is shed, it will be worth it as long as we can drive the Jin people away." The armored soldier nearby looked at the battlefield in the distance, with a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.

Shi Tianze patted his shoulder and consoled him, "Don't worry. After this battle, the Marquis will grant land to their families, and all the compensation will be handed over to their families to ensure that they will have a worry-free life in the future. In the future, their descendants will also become soldiers under the Marquis' command."

"General, in my opinion, the Jin navy is about to escape. We should prepare to give chase."

"hold on!"

Not long after, stone bullets rained down one after another. Dozens of warships had their keels broken by stones and sank into the water on the spot. What was more serious was that they caught fire. The enemy's stone bullets were coated with kerosene and they would catch fire as soon as they fell on the ship. Even Wanyan Heda's main ship was hit by some stone bullets, but fortunately the fire was put out by the soldiers and the damage was not serious.

But the other warships were not so lucky. One warship after another caught fire, and thick smoke rose into the sky, and then slowly sank into the river. Seeing the miserable state of their friendly warships, the Jin army dared not besiege the Han warships anymore. They maneuvered their boats to avoid the attack, trying to escape for their lives, and the formation they had maintained was also broken up.

Riverside.

Guo Jing stood on the river bank, looking at the situation on the river in the distance, with no expression of sadness or joy on his face. This battle could not be said to be a win, but only a tragic victory. The Jin army had no choice but to retreat, but their warships were almost completely lost.

In the short term, the Jin army did not dare to fight them again.

The battle in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River lasted from morning until dusk. There were several catapults beside Guo Jing that kept stirring and throwing catapults. The large crossbows on the lower layer occasionally shot at the Jin warships that were swimming around. If they were lucky, they would directly pierce a hole in the hull, but most of the catapults were shot into the water.

"Order all troops to clean up the battlefield and rescue people quickly. Also, save as many ships as possible."

By evening, the Jin army finally withdrew from the battlefield. Shi Tianze sent his men to chase them for a while and then sounded the call for the troops to be withdrawn, and issued an order to clean up the battlefield.

His eyes were fixed on the battle situation on the river. More than 300 warships were hastily built in more than a year, which had exhausted all the strength of the north. However, compared with the navy of the Jin Kingdom on the opposite side, the number was still too small.

If it weren't for the catapult's success this time, they would have surely lost the battle. After all, naval warfare and land warfare are different fields. Even a strong man like Cao had failed in a naval battle. Water and fire are merciless and will destroy an army the fastest.

Guo Jing, who watched the entire battle from the riverside, could not help but sigh, "This battle is dangerous. A naval battle is like gambling, unpredictable."

At this time, the Chief Clerk Pei Andao said, "My Lord, I think we should quickly send troops across the river and occupy the fortress. The Jin people will not expect that they will lose the naval battle. This is the best time to cross the river. If it fails, we can also explore the enemy's troop deployment."

In the past few years, Pei Andao has demonstrated his real talents and has handled government affairs in an orderly manner. Before Guo Jing set out, he promoted him to the position of chief secretary and sent him to accompany the army on the expedition.

Guo Jing was a little hesitant. Although the Jin army was defeated in this battle, they still had other warships available, but the Han army's warships were almost all lost. Crossing the river was not difficult, but the difficulty lay in supply. If this failed, the army would be isolated after crossing the river and would be at risk of being trapped to death.

He was unable to make a decision for a moment, so he said, "This matter is of great importance, let's discuss it later."

However, Jinling in the army learned that the Jin navy had lost, and came to ask for a fight, and Guo Jing decided to take a risk. That night, he sent several armies to the south. Lu Guanying's army attacked Cai Shi, and Zhang Rou's army went out of Liuhe and camped in Taoye Mountain.

……

"Snapped!"

In the inner hall of Jiankang Imperial City, a loud slap sounded in the room. Yang Kang lowered his head, and a slap mark quickly appeared on his fair face, but he just lowered his head and said nothing. Wanyan Honglie stabilized the court, made military deployments, and summoned Crown Prince Wanyan Kang to the palace.

As soon as he entered the room, Yang Kang was slapped. Wanyan Honglie stood in front of him and said in a cold voice, "Asshole, who asked you to lead the troops north? You almost missed the big event."

Yang Kang stammered twice, then slowly replied, "No one suggested it. It was I who wanted to go north to resist the Mongols."

"Don't you know why I keep you in Jiankang?" Wanyan Honglie stared at him with burning eyes, his eyes full of intimidation.

"I know, but my father can lead the army in person and boost morale. How can I sit in Jiankang City with peace of mind? The Mongols are powerful, and I am willing to contribute even if I don't care."

Hearing this, Wanyan Honglie was stunned, and the anger on his face dissipated a lot.

Wanyan Honglie did not dwell on this matter any further. "This time, Sizhou City was captured. When you were on the north bank, our army's granary was attacked and breached by Mu Huali. What do you think about this?"

"Father, there is a traitor in the court, and he has considerable power."

"Oh? Go on."

Yang Kang's expression relaxed, and he began to talk freely, "Our deployment in Huaibei was a top secret, but how come the Mongols knew where we stored our food and grass? Moreover, Mu Huali was originally attacking Xuzhou, so how did he suddenly appear somewhere else? It is obvious that they were well prepared and deliberately paralyzed us."

Seeing that Wanyan Honglie didn't respond, he continued, "The only explanation is that there was a traitor among the Mongols in the army who tipped them off in advance, allowing them to break through Sizhou City and break the defense line in Huaibei."

Wanyan Honglie's eyes flickered as he stared at him and asked, "Who do you think this person is?"

"Wanyan Chenghui!" Yang Kang threw out a name without thinking.

"reason?"

"The last time Kaifeng was besieged, I heard that the Mongols had to give up the siege because of the plague. But I got intelligence from the north and learned that Guo Jing had introduced an epidemic prevention law. Obviously, they had a countermeasure. In other words, they didn't lose many troops. They still had the strength to attack the city, but why did they withdraw their troops directly?"

"The following year, Mu Huali took Kaifeng. If the two had worked together, Kaifeng would definitely not have been able to hold out. After the plague broke out, Wanyan Chenghui fled Kaifeng, causing the plague to rage in the north. If it weren't for the great river blocking it, I'm afraid the south of the Yangtze River would have been ravaged as well."

Yang Kang had already made up his mind about this matter. Regardless of whether the traitor was Wanyan Chenghui or not, he would definitely take the blame. Someone had to take the responsibility for the loss of Huaibei. This responsibility could not be borne by him, so it could only be Wanyan Chenghui who went to the battle with him. "At that time, he had the merit of defending the city, and my father did not pursue the matter. But when I think about it carefully, he stopped the Mongols the first time, and then he was promoted all the way, but he lost Kaifeng to others and saved it from disaster. How could such a coincidence happen in this world?"

"What's more, this man's identity and status enable him to know the deployment of most of our Great Jin Kingdom's troops. At that time in Huaibei, no other general was qualified to know this except him." In the end, even Yang Kang himself believed it.

In the army, food and supplies are of great importance, and usually only senior generals and commanders know about them. The Jin Dynasty's deployment in Huaibei was only two years, so it was difficult for ordinary people to know about it.

"It seems that this is really the person!"

Wanyan Honglie murmured to himself. Deep down he did not believe that the traitor was Wanyan Chenghui. However, Wanyan Chenghui was an old minister left by the previous emperor. He had a high level of experience and great power. This man was vaguely related to the internal crisis in the Jin Dynasty before.

It can be said that he had long wanted to take down this old guy. He had this in mind when he stationed him in Kaifeng. Unexpectedly, this old guy was lucky and the Mongols withdrew their troops. Later, he was not sent to serve outside because of illness.

There were many civil and military officials in the court who disagreed with sending troops, but he and Yang Kang were the only ones who went together, which made him highly suspicious.

At this time, Wanyan Chenghui at home had no idea that a blame had fallen from the sky.

……

Great Song Dynasty, Nanchang Prefecture, Imperial City Council Hall.

An angry voice rang out in the hall, "Negotiation? What a joke. If they want to fight, they fight. If they want to negotiate, they negotiate. What do they think of our Song Dynasty? In my opinion, there is no need to negotiate. Let's continue fighting!"

The person who spoke was Jin Dexiu, the leader of the pro-war faction.

Qiao Xingjian, who was sitting opposite, was calm and composed, with a slight smile on his face. "It seems that this time, the Mongols have pushed them too far, so the Jin Kingdom is willing to withdraw its troops. But if they want to withdraw, they will have to pay a price!"

This sentence instantly angered Zhen Dexiu. He slammed the table and pointed at the other person's nose and shouted, "Qiao Xingjian, what do you mean!"

Qiao Xingjian swept his eyes over everyone and stood up suddenly. "My meaning is very clear. If the Jin Kingdom wants to withdraw, let them withdraw, but they must pay a price. After all, the Liangzhe Road should be returned to us, and the annual tribute should also be stopped."

Zhen Dexiu's pupils shrank, and veins popped out on his forehead. "You are ridiculous and confused. The Mongols are heading south, and it is the right time for us to join forces with the Mongols to attack the Jin Dynasty. Now, you actually want to withdraw your troops?"

"Everyone, the Jin Dynasty was a tiger and wolf, but Mongolia is not a tiger and wolf? Don't forget the past of the Jin Dynasty. Mongolia was even more powerful than the Jin Dynasty back then. If we destroy the Jin Dynasty, who knows if the next one will be our Great Song Dynasty."

"What good will it do us if we continue this war? We increased taxes a few days ago, and there is instability in various places. We urgently need troops to suppress it. Do you still want to fight at this time?"

Instantly, everyone in the hall fell silent.

What Qiao Xingjian said was true. In order to launch the war, the Song government printed a large number of Jiaozi, which led to inflation in the market, unstable prices, and increased taxes by the government, which was extremely exploitative. Originally, the emperor was far away in the south, so they lived a good life.

Who would have thought that the emperor would have difficulty escaping to the south, and the south, which had been peaceful for a hundred years, suddenly became uneasy.

"Okay, you all think so?"

Zhen Dexiu looked at everyone with disappointment, as if he had lost all hope. "Don't forget that we still have an alliance with Mongolia. It was over a few years ago. Mongolia is 1,800 miles away from us, and the two sides have no contact."

"But now they have occupied Guanzhong, which is enough to threaten Shu. If we don't take this opportunity to train a group of usable soldiers, what can we do to stop them if they really turn against us in the future?"

(End of this chapter)