Not long after Li Daozong left, several shuttle boats slid up the river. They were the sentinels sent by Qin Mubai to the north of the Yangtze River. On board the ship were several hundred cavalry sergeants. Although Li You's rebels in Jiangbei also implemented blockade and martial law along the river, for the capable Baiqi sergeants, such a defense line was simply riddled with holes. It's easy to infiltrate and find out the military situation.
The information brought back by the three groups of sentinels was almost the same, which proved the reliability of military intelligence and was one of the reasons why Qin Mubai made such arrangements in the first place.
When the two armies are at war, knowing ourselves and the enemy is of course the first priority.
The sentinel reported that within a few days, Li Youxian led more than 2,000 Dengzhou soldiers under his command to raise the flag and rebel. Then, almost overnight, all the local officials under his rule were trapped. Use coercion and inducement to force them to rebel. Then, he appointed Yin Hongzhi as the commander of the army (equivalent to military adviser), and Zan Junmo and Liang Mengbiao as generals. He led his troops to sweep across Rangxian, Nanyang, Xinye, Xiangcheng, Lintuan, and Neixiang under Dengzhou's rule. , Jutan and other seven counties, they opened government treasury to collect money and grain, collected weapons and purchased carriages and horses, and recruited refugee villains at high prices to join the army and join the rebellion.
Within a few days, the area hundreds of miles below Dengzhou's rule was transformed into hell. The so-called "army" led by people like Liang Mengbiao and Zan Junmo are mostly rogues and gangsters. What good can they do? They robbed the government treasury and looted treasures, killed and tortured officials to seize their official seals and appointed themselves to official positions, robbed the people for money, food and livestock, and also kidnapped a large group of brothels or girls from good families and sent them to the army for the pleasure of military schools, displaying the ugliness of women day and night. All kinds of things.
Under high-price recruitment and coercion, the Dengzhou rebels quickly grew to 30,000 people within a few days. They made their own banners and flags to form an army, imitating the guard system of the Tang Dynasty army, and formed three guards and horses: "Longxiang", "Huben" and "Shenshu". They were led by Liang Mengbiao, Zan Junmo and Li You himself.
The sentinel also reported that Yin Hongzhi and others urged Li You to proclaim himself emperor and fight against Chang'an, but Li You refused and still called himself "King of Qi". Later, in order to persuade Yin Hongzhi and others, he used the official system of the East Palace to "increase officers and nobles" for them. He gave them whatever he wanted, such as the prince's Taibao, the prince's Taishi... whatever he wanted.
After hearing these reports, Qin Mubai sneered: He is really a clown who has won the crown just like a monkey!
According to the military intelligence report, two days ago the puppet general Liang Mengbiao led 3,000 puppet troops and occupied the navy port in Xinye County, Dengzhou. They prepared more than 30 large and small warships and arrow towers and beacons were scattered along the river. The security was extremely tight. Prepared for the battle.
"Explore again—" Qin Mubai ordered and sat down again.
When Pang Fei and others saw that Qin Mubai did not move at all, they could no longer suppress the warlike emotions that had been suppressed for a long time. They asked one after another: "General, the puppet general Liang Mengbiao is just a gangster. How can he fight? Why don't we kill him in one go? Go to the river, flatten the Xinye military port and kill him!"
"Why are you so anxious?" Qin Mubai said calmly, "Across the river, how can a mere mob stop our army? I don't even bother to crush that clown Liang Mengbiao to death for fear of getting my hands dirty. Just wait!"
"What are you waiting for, general?" Pang Fei asked softly.
The corners of Qin Mubai's mouth slightly raised a fine line and he said, "You'll know soon."
About an hour later, a fast horse from the Governor's Office came galloping and reported that the King of Wu invited General Qin Mubai to return to the office to receive the imperial edict.
As expected!
Without saying a word, Qin Mubai took several of his servants and left the boat, mounted their horses, and headed for the Governor's Mansion.
The imperial envoy arrived very quickly, and it was only seven or eight days before Li Ke submitted the letter. It is enough to prove that the emperor attaches great importance to this matter. Moreover, the imperial envoy sent was no small figure either. Chu Suiliang, the former living minister and current Zhongshu Shilang, was the emperor’s confidant secretary!
He is also an old acquaintance of Li Ke and Qin Mubai. He was involved in the previous Jiangzhou case.
When they arrived at the Governor's Mansion, officials of all sizes stood in two rows on both sides of the main hall, looking back at Qin Mubai striding in wearing his military uniform. Li Ke wore a purple deer robe and was dressed as a formal attire for the court, waiting for Qin Mubai to receive the order together.
Chu Suiliang watched Qin Mubai step in with solemn eyes and said, "General Qin is here, and I will announce the order immediately."
"Chu Zhongshu, please wait a moment." Qin Mubai stepped forward and said, "His Majesty has made it clear that he will accept the order together with King Wu?"
"Yes." Chu Suiliang answered simply and affirmatively.
"Then I will accept the order." After Qin Mubai said this, he knelt down and clasped his fists in a march to salute. Li Ke opened his front robe and knelt down, and all the officials in the hall followed suit.
"Order, Li Ke will hand over the state affairs to Quan Wanji, who will act as the governor of Xiangzhou on his behalf, and will immediately go to Beijing to face the saint. Qin Mubai, immediately suppress the troops and horses to protect the territory and the people, and do not act rashly. I do this!"
There were only two sentences in the imperial edict, and Chu Suiliang read it out quickly.
Li Ke and Qin Mubai looked at each other, their faces tightened at the same time, but they didn't reply for a long time. Quan Wanji behind him said hurriedly: "Your Highness, General Qin, please take the order quickly!"
"General, I dare not accept the order!" Qin Mubai suddenly said loudly.
"What did you say?" Chu Suiliang was taken aback and asked in surprise.
"Your Highness, please accept the order! The general is out there, and the military orders will be compromised. General, I don't dare to accept the order!" Qin Mubai stood up and said in a sonorous and powerful voice.
Everyone in the hall was shocked. Everyone looked at him in panic and their eyes widened.
Chu Suiliang was calm. He slowly folded the imperial edict and handed it to Li Ke, saying, "Then, Your Highness, King Wu, are you willing to accept the edict?"
"Wei Chen, take the edict." Li Ke took the imperial edict with both hands, stood up, stared at Qin Mubai, and said in a deep voice: "Qin Mubai, do you know what you are doing?"
"I know. The general is resisting the decree." Qin Mubai said calmly, "His Majesty the Emperor is thousands of miles away and does not know the military situation in Xiangzhou, so he strictly ordered the general not to use troops. However, the general can invite you to come up to the river. Look. The enemy and puppet army, Chen Zhou, may attack across the river at any time. Do you want me, Qin, to be a coward with more than 2,000 hot-blooded men at my mercy? Sorry, I can't do that!"
Chu Suiliang frowned heavily and said: "If the enemy and puppet troops attack across the river, they will counterattack in a timely manner, which is part of the scope of protecting the country and the people. Naturally, they will not blame the general. General Qin, you should accept the order!"
"If you don't accept it, you won't accept it." Qin Mubai finished speaking decisively, took out a military intelligence report from his breastplate pocket and threw it to Chu Suiliang, saying, "Chu Zhongshu, please take a look for yourself. The enemy and puppet troops are in Dengzhou." What have you done? Burning, killing, looting and raping | **women, you have committed all kinds of evil! You want me, Qin, to watch the show across the river and watch the enemy and puppet troops being so tyrannical and oppressing good people, I, Qin, can’t do it!”
Chu Suiliang was surprised to open the military newspaper and read it for a few times. He took a breath and said in surprise: "I didn't expect that Li You would act like this! After all, he is also the prince of the Tang Dynasty, and the people under his rule are all his own people. How can he be embarrassed?"
"Hmph!" Qin Mubai sneered, "If he understood human ethics, he wouldn't have done what he did today. The so-called generals he appointed are all rogues and rogues. What good things can these people do? Qin I fully thought that His Majesty would issue a decree ordering the general to cross the river to attack the rebels and quell the rebellion. Who would have thought that the general would be a coward? The soldiers under my command will not agree! Many of the people on the other side are the relatives and compatriots of the people in Xiangzhou. The generals are already full of fighting spirit. If they continue, they will eventually become worried!
Chu Suiliang took a deep breath and said: "General Qin has given so many reasons, but there is only one purpose - you want to rebel against the decree and raise troops, right?"
Qin Mubai grinned slightly: "Chu Zhongshu is a smart man, and he guessed it right at once. It's just a pity that the general has not prepared a prize for you. The military situation is so fierce that no one will wait for me, and the general has no time to argue with you here. Goodbye!"
"Slow down!!" Chu Suiliang shouted, walked a few steps forward and stood between Li Ke and Qin Mubai, and said, "His Royal Highness King Wu, you should at least give some advice to General Qin. General Qin, you should too You know, what are the consequences of doing this?”
"The governor and the captain have mutual titles, but there is no subordinate relationship. I have no right to issue orders to General Qin." Li Ke said calmly, "Besides... I have already packed my bags and left for the capital, how can I dissuade General Qin? "
"You!..." Chu Suiliang hit a soft nail hard, and then smiled bitterly, knowing in his heart - these two people had clearly planned this. How can people not bow their heads when they are under the eaves? Even though he was an imperial envoy, the emperor's orders could no longer suppress Qin Mubai. Chu Suiliang had a mouth, so what could he do to stop the determined Qin Mubai
"It seems that my words are useless." He shook his head and said with a wry smile, "General Qin, please take care of yourself. I will report everything to His Majesty the Emperor truthfully."
"Very good." Qin Mubai looked at Chu Suiliang and nodded, and then said, "The two armies are about to fight, and the rivers and land routes are impassable. His Highness King Wu has to wait three to five days to go to Beijing, in order to avoid getting hurt. After suffering a military disaster, I will say this and say goodbye!"
After that, Qin Mubai walked away with his Liuyun shirt flying in the same way as when he came.
"Hey..." Chu Suiliang looked at Qin Mubai's back and shook his head with a wry smile.
Li Ke took the imperial edict, walked to him and asked in a low voice: "Chu Zhongshu, why do you smile bitterly and sigh?"
"It's nothing." Chu Suiliang smiled and shook his head and said, "Chu was just sighing, when did he become so unaware of current affairs?"
Li Ke also smiled: "Why did you say this, sir?"
Chu Suiliang glanced at the officials in the hall, smiled and shook his head: "Forget it, let's not talk about it! Since it is inconvenient to leave now, why not ask His Highness King Wu to arrange a good place, and we can simply climb up together to watch the battle between Qin Mu and Bai Shui. How about a fierce battle?"
"Okay! It's just what I want!"
Qin Mubai had just walked a few steps away from the Governor's Mansion when he ordered to his attendants: "Take my seal and ride back quickly to issue military orders - the whole army should be in order, and everyone should board the ship and prepare for battle!"
"No!" The soldier took the seal and rode away.
"Huh!..." Qin Mubai snorted heavily and said to himself: It's finally time to vent the resentment that has been suppressed for many days!
You kidnapped me, Ling'er, and trapped me in injustice... Yin Hongzhi, you must die!
Li You, you will definitely pay the price for your unkindness and ignorance!
Qin Mubai tightened his grip on the handle of the "Guiyi Sword" at his waist and thought to himself: Compassion to the enemy is cruelty to oneself. Since we are killing, we should be decisive. I must be ruthless! … Linger, forgive me!
When he returned to the military port, Pang Fei, who had received the military order, had already ordered all 2,400 soldiers in the army to board ten divine fish spaceships in order.
Eight hundred Bailang navy, four hundred elite Chinese army cavalry, a thousand regiments of crossbows and infantry swordsmen were on standby.
Qin Mubai's horse had just arrived at the port and stopped, and more than 2,000 men in the army sang in unison - "Please give the general's order to cross the river to attack the thieves!"
Its momentum is majestic and its power is overwhelming!
"Okay! -" Qin Mubai shouted, walked up to the flagship armored soldier majestically, stood on the bow of the ship, pulled out his sword and pointed forward -
"Give me the order, and the navy will set out to defeat the enemy!"
"W-Woo!"
Eight long metal horns, each as long as a person, were placed on the sergeant's shoulders and blew toward the sky, the sound reverberating hundreds of miles away. The flag bearer waved the flag, the drums were beating loudly on the five naval warships of the former army and the flags were flying. The huge and majestic Shenyu spaceship cut through the waves and advanced forward, stirring up the water of the Han River into thousands of angry waves!
At the lookout lighthouse at the ferry of Bagui Ferry, Li Ke and Chu Suiliang looked side by side. Even though they were several miles away, the sound of drums and horns that shook the sky made my ears and heart beat faster.
"It's so majestic to seize the lead. Just two thousand soldiers and horses can have such military might!" Chu Suiliang couldn't help but sigh, "Look at the ships moving in a controlled and horizontal manner. The military is majestic and has high morale. Qin Mubai is indeed a good general. Talent!”
"Why do you say that?" Li Ke curled his lips and said jealously, "Even the old man in the army, King Jiangxia, said the same thing. Qin Mubai, a boy who has never led an army to fight, what ability can he have?"
"Haha!" Chu Suiliang laughed, "In the past, Zhou Lang of Jiangdong was not a weak man in command. Did he start leading troops from his mother's womb?"
"Can he be compared with Zhou Yu?" Li Ke sneered, "At the very least, Zhou Yu has Xiao Qiao, but he doesn't!"
"The King of Wu is really good at joking." Chu Suiliang said with a smile, "General Qin, isn't this just a matter of anger and going to save his Xiao Qiao?"
"It's true, it's true." Li Ke nodded seriously and cursed, "This kid is obsessed with sex. He tried his best to disobey the imperial edict, but also tried to show his courage and go to save the beauty as a hero."
Of course Chu Suiliang knew that Li Ke was deliberately showing off, so he shook his head and sighed with a bitter smile: "The water of the Han River is really deep!"
"Then I don't know." Li Ke said seriously, "I can't swim and have never been in the water."
"Look - the fight is about to start!" Chu Suiliang raised his hand and pointed, and the two of them looked forward attentively.
At this time, five Shenyu spaceships were in the shape of arrows and had already rushed to the enemy and puppet army's water stronghold on the other side. Liang Mengbiao had already begun to take precautions, deploying ships to pull up arrow towers in the water village, and he did it quite decently. In front of the Xinye Naval Port, he built a water stronghold stretching for three to five miles, with more than ten arrow towers. The gate was raised, and more than a dozen large and small battleships rushed out, beating drums and shouting, and fired arrows at the divine fish spaceship.
However, an attack of this level is like scratching an itch when faced with the Shenyu spaceship that looks like a city wall tank. The most powerful among these so-called enemy and puppet "water armies" are some idle men who can swim. How can they shoot arrows well if they have only stupid strength? Many arrows fell to the ground before they even reached the deck of the Shenyu spaceship.
Pang Fei, who was on the leading flagship, grinned and sneered, waving the command flag in his hand: "The whole army obeys the order - launch rockets!"
Hundreds of Bailang navy troops neatly set up their strong bows and crossbows, and fired rockets upwards at a forty-five-degree angle.
Suddenly, the Martian arrows came overwhelmingly like a gust of rain and wind. It was like a firework suddenly bursting out in the middle of the night, completely covering the enemy warship!
"Ah!! -" Originally, the enemy and puppet troops were already frightened when they saw such a huge warship. If they were not afraid of being beheaded by Liang Mengbiao, few of them would have dared to rush out of the water stronghold to fight. Now that the overwhelming fire arrows are coming, there is no desire to fight. As soon as the first round of fire arrows fell, screams broke out everywhere. Many people were killed or injured by the arrows and fell into the water. The remaining people rowed back desperately in fear, and some were timid and frightened. If you have to cry for your father or mother, jump into the water.
At this time, the cabin of the Shenyu spaceship suddenly opened, and countless Geyus one or two feet long poked and stabbed into the water. The enemy and puppet soldiers who fell into the water screamed repeatedly, and thick clouds of thick water appeared in the water. Bloody water splashes, buried at the bottom of the river.
"It's not a competition at the same level at all. The cannon is killing the mosquitoes." Qin Mubai sneered when he saw this scene on the flagship.
At this time, Pang Fei stood on the bow of the ship and waved the command flag in his hand: "Crash into the enemy's stronghold, break their formation, and destroy their army!"
"promise-"
Countless civilian laborers in the cabin were desperately pedaling to lift the ship. The five Pioneer Divine Fish spacecraft accelerated together, and their hard bows faced the so-called "water village" built by Liang Mengbiao, and they collided fiercely!
The more than ten enemy ships that attacked were so frightened that their livers and gallbladders were broken. They rowed and swung desperately but could not avoid the impact of the divine fish spacecraft.
"Ah!!—" Screams spread everywhere!
"Crack-Crack!"
The enemy warships and water fortress fences were like paper models. Under the impact of the giant water barrier of the Shenyu spaceship, they collapsed instantly and were like a piece of wood!
Liang Mengbiao, the commander of the battle craftsman who was standing on the river bank, suddenly turned pale and broke out in cold sweat. The flag in his hand almost fell to the ground.
"Horse, horse! Bring the horse!" he screamed.
The servants hurriedly fetched the horses. He hurriedly turned over, patted the horses and left, shouting: "Get out quickly!!"
With a group of surviving minions, Liang Mengbiao fled. At this time, he was lucky that he did not board the ship or enter the water village. Otherwise, I don’t know where to find the corpse now!
"The water stronghold made of such strong metasequoia wood, iron rivets, and cowhide ropes was torn and smashed like paper! Qin Mubai's navy army was too terrifying! There is no chance of winning on the water, and there is no way to fight! "Liang Mengbiao gritted his teeth and said bitterly, "I'll deal with you when we get to the shore!"
Qin Mubai raised his eyes and saw clearly a group of enemy and puppet troops fleeing on the river embankment, abandoning their helmets and armor. He sneered and said to himself: The mob is a mess! Such trash is not worthy of being my opponent!
At this time, Li Ke and Chu Suiliang on the Eight Ghost Crossing Watchtower almost said in unison: "What a disparity!"
Li Ke sneered and said: "None of Li You's men can really lead troops to fight. He will only make friends with some crooked characters. How could Liang Mengbiao, a gangster, be Qin Mubai's opponent? In fact, if it had been a year or two, Before, the Xiangzhou navy was almost the same as the one on the opposite side. When the two sides fight, it’s really uncertain who will win.”
"So, it is easy to get a thousand armies, but it is hard to find a general." Chu Suiliang nodded and smiled, "See, Qin Mubai only sent one deputy to lead a mere five warships and achieved a complete victory. The enemy troops fled. . He hasn't even taken action yet. The five warships just now are a model of the navy's proficiency and combat power. Although Chu has never led a soldier, he has read a lot of books on this subject. Water battles are more difficult than land battles. The reason is that it is not as easy as on the water to control the boat, the wind direction, and the speed of the water and the natural fear of the water. No matter how well-trained the army is, it may be vulnerable to defeat on the water, and the water battle will be even more tragic than the land battle."
"War is really a university subject." Li Ke clicked his tongue and said, "Normally I only pay attention to Qin Mubai's behavior and life details, but I really don't care about his military affairs. I didn't expect that I would not be able to do anything when I came to Xiangzhou. In one year, he has done so many things.”
"He is outstanding." Chu Suiliang said concisely and comprehensively, "in every aspect."
"It seems..." Li Ke nodded in agreement.
At this time, the enemy and puppet naval forces in Xinye Military Port were either dead or fled and were completely defeated. In the newly built water village, raging fire burned several feet high, turning it into ruins instantly. All military strongholds and warships were reduced to ashes under the wrath of the God of Fire.
Pang Fei gave the order again: "Be kidnapped, captured, and disembarked from the ship. Build a dock to clear the way for the rear troops!"
The 800 navy troops achieved a complete victory with almost zero casualties. Landing on the side of Xinye Military Port one after another, the sergeants chased down the prisoners who fell into the water and escaped along the river. They used military shovels and other tools to quickly excavate a dock suitable for large warships to dock. They set up sampans, pulled up water stakes, and put up flags to form defensive formations.
Everything was in order, and hundreds of soldiers were in their positions, sweating like rain.
Qin Mubai put his hands on the side of the ship, looked at the scene in front of him, and nodded with satisfaction: "You bastard, you did a good job. You have been working hard in the past few months."
At this time, the Xin sentinel rowed a shuttle boat to report: "Report to General Qin, General Pang has cleared the enemy and puppet water strongholds, and is repairing the docks and preparing the river banks. Please give the order to General Qin!"
"Order Pang Fei to set up multiple crossbows to prevent the enemy from taking the opportunity to attack. The Huotou army landed first with enough grain, rice and cooking utensils to bury pots and make rice for the army. Two hours later, the whole army landed. Eat and drink well and rest for a while. At that time, the navy was stationed in the warships without building a camp, and the army attacked Xiangxi City with light troops! "
"yes-"
Qin Mubai breathed a sigh of relief and thought: Liang Mengbiao must have reported the news to Li You when Xinye Military Port was lost. The puppet troops under Li You are just a ragtag group, and there is no need to worry about being vulnerable to a single attack. Even if there are 30,000 people, my two thousand troops are not afraid of him. I'm just afraid that he will use Ling'er to make some articles... Hey, Ling'er, I don't know what's going on now.
At this moment, she is the one suffering the most in the world!