While Zhao Chengxiao was fighting, he noticed with his peripheral vision that his own formation had been formed. He gave an order to his seventeen companions beside him, and then slowly retreated into his own formation.
Seeing that the enemy began to retreat without showing any signs of defeat, the Lingnan army was inevitably suspicious, but without too much time to think, they immediately moved forward. However, what awaited them were cold steel shields and sharp iron anchors. Several Lingnan soldiers who rushed to the front had their abdomens and chests pierced by iron anchors in the blink of an eye.
The Lingnan Army had seen this tactic before and had suffered losses from it before. Seeing the government army repeating the same old trick today, they panicked and instinctively stopped the attack and retreated slightly. While the Lingnan Army infantry was retreating, the archers did not stop. Taking advantage of the opportunity when their infantry broke contact with the enemy, they began to shoot arrows at Zhao Chengxiao and his men.
However, the three words "Dangshiying" are not called for nothing. They were naturally set up to resist the enemy's arrows. Even though the soft arrows of the Lingnan Army were dense, they could not hurt the "Dangshiying" at all, let alone the infantry and crossbowmen hiding behind them.
Zhao Chengxiao in the queue saw that after this round of fighting, the front line had stabilized, and he immediately became confident and called on his brothers to slowly advance forward.
As the war progressed to this point, the debris originally set up by the Lingnan Army on the dock to block the enemy's landing troops actually became the best cover for Zhao Chengxiao and his men.
Relying on the terrain, they dispersed the large formation of 200 people, and formed small formations in groups of three or five. They still used the method of large shields in front, spears in the back, and crossbowmen on the sides, interspersed among the broken walls and rocks, and launched a counterattack on the Lingnan army.
Emperor Zheng Rong, who was watching the battle on the side of the ship, was stunned by this scene - he did not expect that Qiu Yi's men were so good at fighting. With only two hundred men, they defeated the enemy army that had been well prepared and on high alert and had superior manpower, and put them in such a passive position. Even his own royal guards might not be able to achieve such a record - and up to now, they themselves had not lost a single person!
Qiu Yizi also saw the battle situation at Yanziji Wharf - at this time he had forgotten to play deaf and dumb, for he was afraid that the reinforcements of the Lingnan Army would come from Jinling City, relying on their ten or a hundred times advantage in troop strength, and drive his own soldiers and militiamen down the Yangtze River.
So he hurriedly said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the enemy's defense has revealed a flaw. Now the space above the Yanziji Wharf is enough to deploy reinforcements. Please order the attack to take advantage of the victory. Don't miss the opportunity!" Somehow, Qiu Yizi's words suddenly took on a pleading tone.
After hearing this, the emperor Zheng Rong, who was always trustworthy, pondered for a moment and finally made up his mind. He shouted, "Pass on my order. All troops disembark and attack. Drive the rebels out of Nanjing!"
As soon as Zheng Rong finished speaking, an officer who was in charge of conveying imperial orders spread his message throughout the fleet.
After receiving the imperial edict, the troops immediately took action. Several large ships, slightly smaller than Li Shengjie's flagship, slowly moved with a "squeaky sound" and gradually docked at the Yanziji Wharf. Countless officers and soldiers on the ships swarmed down from the ships using ladders, gangplanks and other equipment.
The morale of these imperial troops was high. As soon as they stepped onto the ground and calmed themselves down, they engaged in a battle with the Lingnan Army and gradually gained the upper hand. Behind them, reinforcements were still landing from the ships in an endless stream.
The Lingnan Army, who originally thought they could hold out for a long time at Yanziji Wharf, was taken down by the government troops in just one wave of attack, and their morale had fallen to the bottom. The most combative of the Lingnan Army, King Lingnan Zheng Gui, was being held in custody by the court, so there was no one to clean up the situation.
As the situation changed, the disadvantage of the Lingnan Army became more and more obvious, and the advantage of the government army became more and more obvious. After less than an hour of bloody fighting, the morale of the Lingnan Army finally collapsed. It was unknown who was the first to leave the team, and then the other soldiers followed suit. In a blink of an eye, the Lingnan Army's defense line, which was originally well prepared and had a huge advantage in manpower, suddenly collapsed like a river embankment that had been soaked by floods for several days and nights and seemed foolproof on the surface. They trampled on each other and retreated to the city of Jinling.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to report to Zheng Rong: "Your Majesty, Yanziji Wharf has been captured by our army!"
The so-called victory can cover up many contradictions.
In the face of such a great victory today, Zheng Rong also forgot the unhappiness caused by Qiu Yizhi's use of artillery just now, and praised: "The soldiers under Yizhi are indeed experienced and brave. I will reward you heavily for your victory today. With today's great victory, our army can follow the established strategy, advance calmly, and quickly capture Jinling City."
Seeing the emperor happy, Qiu Yizhi thought that what he had just done was just the wrath of ignorance, which came and went quickly, so he did not take it seriously. After thanking Zhao Chengxiao on his behalf, he suggested: "Your Majesty, our army is unstoppable, and the Lingnan rebels will surely be in chaos. Your Majesty should quickly order the entire army to land and advance, so that we can capture the entire city as soon as possible."
Zheng Rong was still thinking while listening, but Zhongli Kuang walked up to him and said, "Your Majesty, what Yizhi said is in line with the military strategy, please issue an order."
After hearing this, Zheng Rong said, "I am worried that the enemy will be defeated. This is a trick to lure the enemy deep into the city. If there is another ambush in the city and our army is not prepared, won't we be caught off guard by the enemy? It is better to wait and see, and be safe first. What's more, our army's troops are not yet fully in place. In addition to the more than 10,000 elite troops who came here with me, the main force is still in Jiangbei and has not been ferried over..."
Qiu Yizi knew that what the emperor said might not be wrong, but he thought in his heart: my adoptive father, Emperor Zheng Rong, is also a man who is proficient in military strategy. The enemy's retreat just now was disorganized and it didn't seem like they had any tricks left. Moreover, our army is now winning a new victory. As long as we invest enough and sufficient troops, even if the enemy uses some tricks, we can easily solve them. Therefore, instead of hesitating in the tiny Yanziji Wharf, it would be better to immediately lead the army to attack the city. We would rather pay a certain price and capture the city of Jinling.
Although Qiu Yi's mind was clear, she didn't know why the emperor hesitated at this critical moment. She also seemed to be afraid that the emperor was angry again, and didn't know how to persuade him.
It was Zhongli Kuang who spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, I am just a scholar and do not understand military affairs, but I have followed Your Majesty to the north to attack the Turks. I remember the battle at Mantou Mountain that year. Your Majesty had only a few thousand troops, but faced with the siege of tens of thousands of elite cavalrymen prepared by Pisimi, you were still able to annihilate the main force and retreat unscathed. The heroic spirit of that day is still vivid in my mind... Today, our army has the right time, place, and people. The main culprit of the Lingnan rebels has been captured, and the rest are just clowns. Even if they really have some evil tricks, they will surely collapse once Your Majesty's heavenly soldiers arrive. Your Majesty, please order the siege of the city now, so that I can see with my own eyes the heroic scene of our army defeating the enemy with fewer troops and with unstoppable momentum."
Zhongli Kuang's words contained both advice and encouragement, and he also recalled the battle of Mantou Mountain. Qiu Yizi couldn't stop nodding his head, and he admired his master very much - he was indeed a man of sharp temperament, and he became more fierce with age!
Emperor Zheng Rong was persuaded by Zhongli Kuang. He seemed to recall the time when he led his army to fight on the battlefield. His passion, which had been almost exhausted by complicated government affairs, finally ignited. He said, "Mr. Zhongli is right! Tell all the military commanders to come to this ship. The military strategy we decided on in Jiangbei is too slow. I need to redeploy it."
After a while, a dozen generals received the imperial edict and gathered on Li Shengjie's ship.
Due to the urgent military situation, Zheng Rong ordered his men to spread out the map of Jinling City on the deck. He took an empty sword sheath and pointed on the map, casually stating which general led how many troops, where they would enter, where they would exit, where they would stop, etc.
Zheng Rong was worthy of being the general and prince who had traveled all over the northern border in the past. The temporary change - and speeding up the offensive advance - of the established plan suddenly became clear under his guidance. Although the generals who obeyed his orders were still a little vague about the overall battle plan, they were very clear about their tasks.
Zheng Rong threw the empty scabbard in his hand onto the deck and shouted, "Do you understand?"
All the generals answered in unison: "We understand!"
Zheng Rong nodded with satisfaction and said, "This battle went very smoothly. The key is speed. Now that you have made a clear plan, you should act quickly and follow my orders. Anyone who delays the battle will be killed immediately!"
All the generals agreed in unison: "We understand!"
"Okay!" Zheng Rong said, "Also, Nanjing is the land of Six Dynasties. Although a large army fighting in battles will inevitably disturb the people, it cannot harm the civilians, otherwise it will be punishable by military law!" After that, he waved his hand and ordered the generals to lead the army into action immediately according to the strategy just decided.
Most of these officers were from the old Youyan Dao. After following the emperor into the capital, they rarely had the opportunity to fight. Today, they finally got the chance to fight the enemy in close combat, and they were eager to try. When they heard the order, they immediately joined their soldiers and landed from the ship in order to the Yanziji Wharf, which was already in the hands of the imperial army. After a few instructions, they followed the instructions of Emperor Zheng Rong, either rushing along the main road opposite the wharf, or entering the small road beside the main road, or moving towards the Jinling city wall - teams of people and horses, like streams, disappeared from sight extremely quickly and flexibly.
Qiu Yizhi was watching with great interest on the boat, and hurriedly said to the emperor: "Your Majesty, the troops have already moved. I am quite familiar with the terrain of this city. Please give me an order to lead a group of troops into the city to fight."
Emperor Zheng Rong was in a good mood, and he smiled and joked, "The first batch of soldiers who came with me have all been dispatched. I must have some soldiers around me to protect me, right? If you leave, won't I be left alone as an emperor?"
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi couldn't understand: the Lingnan Army had been beaten so badly that they couldn't even defend themselves, so where would they get the troops to retake the dock and attack the dragon boat? Besides, Zheng Rong was on the boat. In addition to Li Shengjie and his sailors, there were more than 300 imperial guards on the boat. If they encountered a small force, these men and horses would be enough to deal with it. To take a step back, even if they encountered a large enemy attack, as long as Li Shengjie drove the dragon boat away from the dock, the emperor's safety could be ensured - the so-called "eight-armed emperor" did not exist, and it was not a big deal.
Just as he was about to explain, he saw Zheng Rong had asked someone to put a dragon chair on the deck. He walked slowly to the chair, sat down comfortably, and began to close his eyes to rest.
If I were to go forward and make a suggestion at this time, thus interrupting the emperor's rest, I would be guilty of disturbing the emperor, and even if I was right, I would be wrong...