More than 600 miles southwest of the Jingkou battlefield, the Southern Tang Army’s Nando Army had just arrived at Wankou.
Although the army was still 600 miles away, it would not take too long to break through this line of defense and go down the river for hundreds of miles. This line of defense occupied by the Zhou army mainly consisted of two strongholds: Wankou in the north of the river, where the Wan River flows into the river, where there were water and land strongholds operated by the Zhou army; Chizhou in the south of the river, where there were cities and water forts occupied by the Zhou army. Once this section of road was passed, it would be possible to travel all the way, first breaking through the Zhou State's quarrying floating bridge, and then threatening its navy from front to back.
The Southern Tang army's reinforcements were said to number 150,000 and were coming from Poyang Lake. The Southern Tang's capital was in the northeast corner of the territory, and a large amount of land in the west and south was far away from the capital. The southern capital, Nanchang, was a very important defense center, where heavy troops were stored. Now this group of troops was one of the core forces of the Southern Tang.
On the south bank of the Yangtze River, a forest of swords, spears and flags stood in the snow. On the parallel avenues, there were countless horses and carriages, and the sound of horses and carriages was heard. Several long black dragons were winding along the river, with no end in sight. On the river, thousands of ships and boats were like a black tide swept up by a flood.
In a spacious cabin, a middle-aged civil servant was sitting at a desk. He was Chen Qiao, the assistant to the Southern Tang Guoguang Administration. He had regular facial features and a well-trimmed beard. He was a good-looking man, and his gesture of stroking his beard was very elegant.
Chen Qiao stroked his beard, raised his head and sighed, the sadness in his eyes lingering. In front of him was a carved window propped up from below. Outside the carved window, the turbulent water surface was undulating, and white snowflakes disappeared on the water. The sound of waves kept coming, mixed with the creaking sound of the oars rubbing against the wood.
He lowered his head and continued to carefully examine the letter in his hand, shaking his head and sighing as he read.
A letter from a friend in Jiangning City informed him of some recent events. In particular, the king had concealed the assassination plot from his ministers, planted assassins among the singing girls in the name of peace talks, and assassinated Zhou Jun in the main tent.
Chen Qiao was speechless. Although the world relies on force, morality is also very important. Such behavior will not only alienate the world, but also make Chen Qiao confused: I work hard to protect the country, if it is unjust, then what is it for? Just to get promoted and make money, to maintain my own glory and wealth
And that Liu Cheng, why did he still use the fact that he controlled such an important military power as Huangfu Jixun? Wasn't that enough of a lesson
This battle is not only about the strength of soldiers and generals, but also about the wisdom of internal power struggles.
The damp and cold wind blew in through the open carved window, making the papers on the table sway and blowing on Chen Qiao's face. He shivered and felt that the flame in his heart seemed to be gradually cooling down in the cold wind.
At this moment, a man in a cloth robe and with his hair in a bun walked out of the open cabin door and said in a deep voice: My lord, the enemy has been spotted ahead.
After hearing this, Chen Qiao quickly put away the letter, stood up and walked out quickly.
After getting on the deck, Chen Qiao glanced at a patch of reeds in the distance. He turned around and saw Zhu Lingyun standing behind the railing above, with one hand covering his forehead, staring intently into the distance.
So Chen Qiao also climbed up the stairs and stood beside Zhu Lingyun. Zhu Lingyun was so focused that he didn't pay any attention to Chen Qiao.
Chen Qiao didn't care about such a small detail, and stood on a high place to look ahead. This ship had a tall building, but it was not in the front. Looking in the direction, there was a large group of his own warships in front.
Further away, the first thing you see is a large piece of land in the middle of the river, which is Jiangxin Island. To the north of Jiangxin Island is a waterway separated from the Yangtze River by Jiajiang. There is an estuary on the north bank of Jiajiang, which is the estuary where the Wanshui River merges into the Yangtze River, so this place is called Wankou.
The area at Wankou was full of reeds. In the depths of the reeds, many things like wooden poles stood up. They looked like masts.
Zhu Lingyun and his generals were focusing on the masts. After a long while, Zhu Lingyun retracted his gaze and turned to look at Chen Qiao without saying anything. This warrior didn't like Chen Qiao very much. Of course, Chen Qiao didn't like him either, but he was the governor of Zhennan before and had a strong backing. It would be troublesome to take away his military power at once, and it would involve too many things. In order to consider the overall situation, Chen Qiao didn't plan to argue with him.
That's the mast. The Zhou people have set up an ambush in the reeds. Zhu Lingyun looks timid.
Chen Qiao said: "There are not many Zhou army naval forces on the Yangtze River. Now they are attacking Jingkou. Where can they find naval forces capable of fighting? There is no waterway connecting Wankou and the hinterland of the Central Plains. There must be no elite naval forces. At most, they are a group of temporary rabble with a few broken ships. I think those masts are just decoys to scare us and delay the eastward advance."
Even the warriors did not refute his remarks, and everyone thought they made a lot of sense.
But Chen Qiao immediately said: If General Zhu is afraid, why not send someone to take a look now
As soon as this was said, the warriors immediately laughed in contempt. One of them blurted out: Wankou is the Zhou stronghold, and there are their people all around. How can we send people there temporarily? Mr. Chen said it lightly.
Chen Qiao thought, the army is in your hands, what have you been doing
He was a broad-minded man and did not get angry because of a mockery. He knew that he was a civil servant and had no military experience. It was normal and nothing to be ashamed of for he did not know the specific details of marching and fighting.
A man next to him said: "The Wan River is full of reeds, and it's hard to see clearly. Why don't we go through the Jiajiang River in the north and take the waterway in the south?"
Zhu Lingyun sneered: What if there are really a large number of ambushes at Wankou? If we leave them alone and head straight to Chizhou, won't we leave the rear for others to attack
He held the railing and paced back and forth for a long time, looking at it, but he couldn't see anything. Chen Qiao also only saw a field of reeds and the mast faintly exposed among the reeds, and he couldn't see the flowers at all.
Drive the boats to the front and order the fleet in front to move closer. I'll get closer and take a look. Zhu Lingyun ordered.
Chen Qiao said no more. He was here to supervise the battle, but the general Zhu Lingyun had the final say in the battle, and he did not want to interfere too much. So the ship sped up, passed the warship in front, and headed forward. At the same speed, Chen Qiao felt like riding the wind and waves when he stood on the upper floor. The snow was not heavy, and the wind was from the northeast, blowing the robe tightly against his body.
The boats gradually entered Jiajiang. Although the Yangtze River is wide, this place is separated by an island in the middle of the river, and the river gradually narrows.
After a long time, they approached the mouth of the Wan River and saw the wooden poles in the reeds moving slowly. They really looked like masts. Chen Qiao was also puzzled. The Zhou army ambushed a large number of ships on the Wan River.
At this moment, suddenly one can see large sails rising towards the mast. Usually the sails are taller than the hull. For a moment, it seems as if countless large ships suddenly emerge from under the water.
Seeing this, Zhu Lingyun's face changed and he blurted out: Sure enough, there are ambushes!
Chen Qiao had never fought a war, but he was more patient and reminded him: "General Zhu, don't worry. Even if there are ambushes, they will come straight at us." General Zhu has thousands of warships and more than 100,000 troops. What is there to be afraid of
Zhu Lingyun calmed down after hearing this and said hurriedly: Beat the drums and prepare for battle!
The sound of drums was heard everywhere, and many archers climbed up the stairs and lined up beside the generals. Zhu Lingyun gave another order: "Our ship, turn around and go back."
Chen Qiao frowned. He had no intention of interfering in military affairs, but he felt something was wrong, so he couldn't help but said: The largest general flag is on this ship. If the general turns around and runs, it will cause unrest in the front. Since you found the enemy and wanted to run, you shouldn't have come here.
I know my limits. Zhu Lingyun was furious. You are a civilian. Can you shut up on the battlefield? I am commanding the troops now. A group of crows are cawing in my ears. Can you come
Chen Qiao's face turned pale and blue. Even the emperor would not talk to him like this in the court. He almost vomited blood. Seeing a sail in front of him, he gritted his teeth and held back his outburst.
On this ship, there was a very tall flagpole with a square central army flag hanging on it, and several flags on both sides were fluttering in the wind. The ship had slowly turned around and was gradually lying across the river. There was also chaos on the warships of the enemy, and many people could be seen running.
At this moment, the reeds fell down one after another, and the two huge sails in front gradually floated out. Soon the real bodies of the two ships finally appeared in sight.
Suddenly, Chen Qiao's eyes widened.
That's not a boat, at most it's a crudely made raft with a sail on the back. I'm afraid that Wankou can't really build a decent warship. Although this raft is simple, it's big enough. Chen Qiao estimated that it was at least several dozen feet wide and several dozen feet long.
The tall city walls of a city like Jiangning City were only two or three feet high. However, the two rafts, which were at least ten times longer than the city walls, suddenly emerged from the reeds, making people feel like ancient monsters emerging from under the water.
There was no one on the raft, but there might be someone manipulating the sails at the back. The entire raft was piled with reeds, straw, and firewood, and it looked like two small mountains moving.
It must have been difficult for the Zhou people to gather so many incendiary materials. I'm afraid they had planned it long ago. What they wanted to do was obvious to a blind man. They wanted to burn the Southern Tang army. After the Battle of Chibi on the Yangtze River, when it came to water battles, it seemed that there was no other tactic other than fire attack.
However, it was really terrifying to have so much firewood piled on it. The key point was that the wind was blowing from the northeast, and the Zhou army was coming with the wind at their disposal. The soldiers of the Southern Tang army on the warships were all stunned. Everyone's eyes were on the monster over there, with fear on their faces.