On the other side of Jingkou, on the bank of the canal in Jiangbei, is the central garrison of the main force of the Great Zhou navy transferred from Tokyo, led by Commander Han Tong.
Han Tong stared with his eyes wide open, his face stern and expressionless, and read: The Caishi Navy plans to set out on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month in the fifth year of Xiande, and launch an attack on the water surface of Jingkou on the tenth day. Order, Han Tong's troops in Yangzhou will attack the east side of the enemy on the morning of the tenth day, and should try their best to break through the blockade of the canal, and the whole army will enter the Yangtze River; if successful, they will attack the east side of the enemy. And grant Han Tong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, the power to make decisions on the spot. Jiangnan Front Camp Military Office, written by Guo Shao himself.
After Han Tong finished reading, he slammed the general's order on the table and looked up.
Looking around, the generals in both rows turned their heads to look at him. Except for him, who was sitting, all the others were standing.
Han Tong asked: What do you think
A general turned around and said: Let's fight.
Han Tong nodded: "Don't make trouble again this time. If I want to beat you, be careful. If anyone embarrasses me again, that Shi guy will have something to say. If you do that again, I won't be so easy to talk to. Everyone, get ready immediately and set off on the eleventh day of the first lunar month."
Someone else asked: What if the weather is bad over there, or the wind is not blowing in the right direction
Han Tong said coldly: Even if the world rains knives, we must row the warships into the river.
There were only a few people in the Zhou army camp south of Jiangning City. Guo Shao looked at the people sitting on the chairs. Li Chuyun was gone. He had left in the morning to go to Caishi to mobilize the navy. Guo Shao himself was also going to Caishi Water Fort in the afternoon. This battle was of great importance. He wanted to go to the navy ship to boost the morale of the soldiers.
In case the Nan Tang army breaks through the Chizhou at Wankou, the floating bridge at Caishi Ferry can also be abandoned. Guo Shaodao said, as long as the Nan Tang navy at Jingkou is destroyed, Han Tong's troops can join us, and we can also get reinforcements from the rear of our country through the Caoqu, and then we can recapture Caishi; Jingkou will also be one more ferry connecting the north and south of the Yangtze River.
After he said that, he turned to look at Wang Pu and said: After I leave the camp, General Wang will use the decision-making power of the Jiangnan Front Camp Military Headquarters to coordinate the various land-based units. Generals such as Shi Yanchao and Dong Zunhui should obey General Wang's orders.
After hearing this, the generals clasped their fists and said, "Yes." Wang Pu also nodded in response.
Zuo You advised: Since the lord has handed over the naval power to General Li Chuyun, there is no need for him to go on board the ship in person.
Guo Shao said: "The soldiers know that I am in the navy, so they may fight harder. This battle is crucial and will lay the foundation for the victory of the war against Southern Tang. Mr. Zuo does not need to persuade me anymore."
After everyone discussed it for a while, Guo Shao stood up and left the tent.
Not long after, Lu Chengyong came out of the central army tent holding a large sack. He caught up with the old general Qin Shitou next to him and handed the sack: This is something the Lord usually uses, now General Qin has kept it.
Guo Shao turned around and whispered: "Watch out for the woman named Wang Yao, don't let her get into any danger." He couldn't help but emphasize: "I usually want you to follow me wherever I go, but I'm leaving you behind this time."
Lu Chengyong said: I will keep my lord's instructions in mind.
Guo Shao and his entourage walked out of the central army camp and looked at the entrance of the camp from afar. There was a group of soldiers gathering there, some of whom did not even have weapons. Zuo You followed Guo Shao's gaze and said, "These people are the miscellaneous soldiers in the camp. They will follow us to quarry stones and board the ship." In the morning, I heard Wang Shijun and General Li talking about this in the central army tent. General Li was afraid that the wind direction would be wrong on the ninth day of the first lunar month, and he needed people to row the oars, but he was afraid that there would not be enough people, so he asked Wang Shijun to transfer people from the land camp. Wang Shijun found some strong men and miscellaneous soldiers from various units who could still fight. It was estimated that this matter was not a big deal, so I didn't tell the lord.
I see. Guo Shao nodded.
The group of people gathered at the gate of the camp were precisely the miscellaneous soldiers summoned from various departments of the Palace Front Department.
In the Zhou army, the status of ordinary soldiers is not determined by seniority or age. On the contrary, the brave young men are the main combat soldiers, the ones who charge to the front in the battle formation, and they have a higher status. There are also some soldiers who have been in the army for too long and have never been promoted. They have high military qualifications, but they are the lowest-ranking soldiers. They should have been eliminated and sent to farm. However, these people are very skilled and experienced in various military tasks. The army also needs some soldiers who usually take care of horses and cook, and these old soldiers do this.
Li Lao Han is one of them. He is actually only in his forties, but he has been living in the open air for a long time, with wrinkles all over his face and gray hair on his temples, so he looks older. He is called Li Lao Han. Li Lao Han is a miscellaneous soldier in the second command of the Third Army of the Tiger Guards. He has been in the army for nearly 30 years. He is kind and has a good relationship with the officers and soldiers, so he was kept after several eliminations of redundant soldiers.
Combat soldier Yao Erniu was also the second in command. He was helping Old Man Li carry his things over and send him off.
Go back, go back. Old man Li waved his hand.
Yao Erniu said: You have to be careful. Although he didn't say anything, he seemed reluctant.
They were both warriors who could not read much, so their parting was not as formal as that of the officials, and their words were also very simple. Old man Li said: I am just a rower, hiding from arrows.
Yao Erniu was also a dull person. He touched his forehead, turned around and walked a few steps, then turned back and said: I haven’t thanked old man Li for that matter yet.
Hehe. Old man Li laughed and said, "It's hard for you to talk about that kind of thing yourself. It's different when it's spread from other people to Commander Zhang's ears. It's okay, go back, go back."
They were talking about Yao Erniu trying to hide behind the battlefield in Dangtu. Later, Yao Erniu was often mocked by the soldiers. When he reported that he had killed an enemy soldier on the battlefield, no one believed him. So the old man Li told everyone about Yao Erniu's family affairs.
It turned out that the house that Old Man Li rented in Tokyo was not far from Yao Erniu's home, so he probably knew something about his family. However, Yao Erniu had not been in the imperial army for a long time, and he was also dull. He did not make many friends with the soldiers under his command, and he was not familiar with Old Man Li. When the soldiers learned that there was only one young and strong man in Yao Erniu's family, they felt a little sympathy, and those who were unwilling to testify for him to capture the enemy soldiers changed their words.
Upon hearing this, Commander Zhang Jiankui also changed his attitude towards Yao Erniu.
So Yao Erniu was very grateful to Old Man Li. In addition, he usually had a big appetite, and Old Man Li often gave him an extra piece of cake when he was working as a stoker, so the two of them had a good relationship despite the big age gap.
When Old Man Li saw Yao Erniu leaving, he put his package on his back and lined up with the surrounding soldiers. At this time, a military general came to lead the troops, and everyone followed the general to leave the barracks and go to the main road.
The snow was intermittent, and the surroundings were white, except for the muddy black-brown road in the middle, which stretched into the distance. The new journey was in the distance where this road stretched.