xymnovel Chapter 87 Yan Hua Presents the Map
Chapter 87 Yan Hua Presents the Map
Chapter 87 Yanhua Presents the Picture (Seeking First Subscription)
Thirty li north of Jiangning Prefecture lies the Yangtze River.
Zheng Yanhua's 50,000-strong Southern Tang navy was anchored on the river. The warships were densely packed and stretched for miles. On the warships, the soldiers were performing their duties, and the archers and sailors were all in place, forming an impregnable fortress.
"Why is there still no news from Yangzhou?"
Zheng Yanhua stood at the bow of the boat, looking towards Yangzhou, and let out a long sigh.
Since Lin Renzhao sent a messenger to deliver a message when he led his army across the river, a whole night has passed. At this moment, it is already dawn. According to the distance traveled, the army should have already reached the gates of Yangzhou.
"Master, you've kept watch all night, you should rest."
Just then, a handsome young military servant, as beautiful as a girl, floated over and draped a cloak over him.
Having served as a general in the army for a long time, Zheng Yanhua naturally knew the ways to enjoy himself during the army's expeditions.
This handsome young man was the one he had carefully selected for himself. Generals are traditionally not allowed to bring their families or maids when they join the army, so he had to settle for second best.
Looking at the gentleness in the boy's eyes, Zheng Yanhua's tense lips relaxed slightly, but he still shook his head: "I'm waiting for news from Lin Huzi so I can be prepared at any time."
"Master must be very tired. Why not take a short rest? Scouts will surely report if there is any news. Why wait so anxiously?"
The boy stepped forward, gently wrapping his arms around Zheng Yanhua's waist, his cheek lightly rubbing against the cool back of Zheng's armor: "Instead of waiting so long, why doesn't Master enjoy the service of his servant?"
These words ignited Zheng Yanhua's anger. After thinking it over, he realized that even if he took a short rest, it wouldn't cause any major problems. If the situation changed, Lin Renzhao would send someone to report.
With this in mind, he first ordered a heightened state of alert, then reached out to the boy and said, "Come on, it's time to go to bed."
The boy bent over and carried Zheng Yanhua into the cabin's sleeping quarters.
Stepping on the thick carpet, the young man gently placed Zheng Yanhua on the specially made wide military couch, carefully and neatly stripped him of his armor and boots, then brought over a basin of hot water and carefully wiped every corner of his body before thoughtfully covering him with a silk quilt.
It must be said that the generals of the Southern Tang Dynasty enjoyed a level of luxury that was unmatched by those in the Central Plains.
After doing all this, the young soldier blew out the military lamp and quietly slipped into the silk quilt.
After a bout of heavy breathing and agitation, Zheng Yanhua embraced the smooth, tender flesh and began to snore heavily.
In the midst of a deep dream, suddenly a mountain roar and a tsunami roared!
The young servant let out a scream, and Zheng Yanhua sat up abruptly, cursing rudely, "Did a scorpion crawl between your legs?! What are you yelling about?!"
The boy trembled, pointed nakedly outside the tent, and then clung softly to Zheng Yanhua.
In an instant, a cacophony of killing cries swept in like a raging tidal wave, and flashing red light illuminated the entire cabin!
In a daze, Zheng Yanhua broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't help but scream. She pushed away the flesh clinging to her arm and jumped naked off the military bed.
Just then, a disheveled lieutenant general, his face ashen, rushed in: "General! The Song army has launched a surprise attack!"
"Where did these Song soldiers come from? Aren't they in Yangzhou?" Zheng Yanhua asked urgently while haphazardly fastening his armor straps.
"Your subordinate does not know, only that the Song army is coming from the direction of Jiangning!"
No sooner had the general finished speaking than the sound of arrows whistling through the window came from outside, followed by the crackling of burning wood.
"Jiangning? Nonsense! How could there be Song troops in Jiangning!"
Zheng Yanhua cursed angrily and rushed out of the cabin. The cold wind, carrying a strong smell of smoke, hit him in the face, making him suddenly freeze in place.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!
A barrage of rockets rained down, instantly igniting a massive fire upon contact with the warship's wooden structure. The raging flames spread rapidly with the help of the river wind.
Flames soared into the sky over the river, and soldiers, fleeing in disarray, abandoned their armor and weapons, but their general was nowhere to be seen.
Zheng Yanhua first looked towards the north bank of the river. At this time, the morning mist had already risen, and he could only see shadowy figures on the shore, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden, making it impossible to judge the strength of the enemy forces.
"Follow me ashore to fight the enemy!"
Zheng Yanhua roared and tried to fight his way ashore, but his roar was quickly drowned out by the loud roar!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Although they lacked siege equipment, the Imperial Guard Battalion was able to throw mortars more than a hundred paces away using simple tools. When nearly a dozen mortars crashed onto the river, the entire Yangtze River roared deafeningly!
Wow!
Water splashed several meters high before crashing down, carrying wood chips and pebbles in a chaotic spray. The warships tossed and turned violently in the raging waves, and the screams of the soldiers falling into the water mingled with the roar of cannons, creating a scene as chaotic as boiling water.
"Damn it, what is this?!"
Zheng Yanhua couldn't care less about going ashore to fight the enemy. He didn't know the enemy's situation, and a rash attack would only be suicide. So he roared, "Cross the Yangtze River northward! Quickly!"
Just then, the scouts sent by Lin Renzhao arrived and witnessed the fire on the river, leaving them stunned.
"General, what's going on?"
Seeing Zheng Yanhua come ashore in a disheveled state, the scout quickly stepped forward and asked.
Zheng Yanhua glanced at him coldly without saying a word. Instead, he looked towards the opposite bank of the Yangtze River. The morning mist and fog on the river made it impossible to see the situation on the other side, but the other side seemed to have stopped moving.
It seemed as if the other party was just trying to drive him away.
"Where did this guy come from?" Zheng Yanhua frowned, feeling that this was the most frustrating and humiliating experience he had ever had since joining the army.
They fled in disarray without even seeing the enemy.
Enraged, Zheng Yanhua spoke without restraint, coldly asking the scout, "What did Lin Huzi send you here for?"
"General, His Highness said—" The scout had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain what Li Congjia had entrusted to him.
"Nonsense!" Zheng Yanhua laughed angrily after hearing this: "So that's how it is! So that's how it is! I was wondering where these Song soldiers came from."
"So you guys rushed over here?"
"I'd like to ask you, you keep saying you've besieged Zhao Dezhao at Cuiping Mountain, so are the Song troops on the other side of the river ghosts?"
"This—" The scout hesitated, speechless, as he looked at the furious Zheng Yanhua.
Zheng Yanhua took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, and calmly analyzed the current situation: "The Song army still has more than 10,000 troops in the Jiangning area, while half of our 150,000 troops are in Jiangbei and the other half are stationed at Taihu Lake to defend against Wu and Yue."
"So, in other words, the only vital point in the heart of our Great Tang now rests on Lin Renzhao's 20,000 troops?"
Thinking of this, his back instantly broke out in a cold sweat, and his heart skipped a beat!
He instantly realized why Zhao Dezhao had only attacked the ships with fire instead of engaging in battle or pursuing them.
Zhao Dezhao wanted to drive him to the other side of the Yangtze River!
With the warships destroyed, the 50,000-strong navy responsible for protecting the capital could not cross the river quickly and lost all mobility. Zhao Dezhao could then take the opportunity to rush straight to Jiangning!
It should be noted that the garrison in Jiangning itself numbered only 5000!
"quick!"
Thinking of this, Zheng Yanhua could no longer sit still. He grabbed his lieutenant and said urgently, "Find someone who is a good swimmer and immediately cross the river to Cuiping Mountain. Order Lin Renzhao's 20,000 troops at Cuiping Mountain to return and reinforce Jiangning! Delay could lead to unforeseen circumstances!"
"Here you go!"
Seeing Zheng Yanhua's anxious expression, the lieutenant dared not delay and quickly found an old soldier from the navy who was skilled in swimming and ordered him to carry the order across the river.
The veteran accepted the order and hurriedly jumped into the river to go ahead.
Seeing that everything was arranged, Zheng Yanhua breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced expressionlessly at the scouts sent by Lin Renzhao, then loudly ordered, "Once the morning mist dissipates, immediately gather the remaining boats, count the usable vessels, and connect them with iron chains to form a pontoon bridge across the river to cross back to the south bank!"
"Here you go!"
After giving his instructions, Zheng Yanhua gazed at the direction of Jiangning on the opposite bank of the Yangtze River, his expression slightly gloomy.
The thick fog obscured everything, so he didn't notice that dozens of warships of various sizes were drifting leisurely down the Yangtze River under the cover of fog, eventually quietly anchoring deep in the dense forest north of Cuiping Mountain.
Cuiping Mountain, which connects to the Yangtze River to the north, Jiangning to the west, and Runzhou to the east, was originally a natural barrier to the east of Jiangning, but now it has become the best hiding place for the Song army.
Cao Bin disembarked from the boat and led dozens of people ashore. Following the marks left by Li Chuyun, they quickly found his hidden camp.
"What are your orders, Your Highness?" Li Chuyun asked impatiently as soon as he saw Cao Bin.
"Come with me!"
Cao Bin led the way, taking him to the northern part of Cuiping Mountain facing the river.
Looking at the dozens of ships moored on the shore, Li Chuyun's eyes still held a look of amazement, and he clicked his tongue in wonder, "Your Highness is truly a divine being."
This is the only weak point in the encirclement of Cuiping Mountain, because the Yangtze River is a natural barrier!
But no one could have imagined that His Highness would be able to intercept Zheng Yanhua's ship and escape from Cuiping Mountain by using a clever escape tactic, crossing the Yangtze River!
Although these dozens of warships were not many, each only able to hold less than a hundred people, the transfer of eight thousand soldiers in two separate operations was quite manageable.
On the other side, Zhao Dezhao's elite troops remained hidden on the south bank, keeping a close eye on the movements of the Southern Tang navy on the north bank of the river.
The Southern Tang navy consisted mostly of skilled swimmers, and in a short time they linked dozens of wrecked ships together with iron chains to form a pontoon bridge spanning the Yangtze River.
Seeing this, Zhao Dezhao did not hesitate and immediately ordered, "Burn!"
At Zhao Dezhao's command, hundreds of rockets were launched simultaneously!
For this expedition, he brought a total of 5,000 rockets and 1,000 mortars. One-third of them were used in the attack on Yangzhou, and a few more were used in the surprise attack on Zheng Yanhua. Now he only has 2,000 rockets and 500 mortars left.
But it's enough.
The rocket landed on the wrecked ship, and the newly erected pontoon bridge was instantly engulfed in flames. Zheng Yanhua stared at the thick smoke rising again from the river, his face ashen.
The Yangtze River, originally intended as a natural barrier for the Tang Dynasty to defend against foreign enemies, has now become the biggest obstacle in his path.
"You thief!"
Zheng Yanhua gritted his teeth and cursed angrily. Unable to see clearly what was on the other side, he dared not build a bridge rashly.
However, the enemy is close to Jiangning City, and remaining inactive is not a long-term solution.
After a moment's hesitation, Zheng Yanhua immediately ordered: "Leave 10,000 troops here to continue regrouping the remaining ships and lure the enemy into a lingering state. The rest of the troops shall march 30 li westward along the river and choose another location to build a pontoon bridge!"
This was the best method he could think of.
The morning mist on the river obscured his view of the opposite bank, but it also hindered Zhao Dezhao's vision.
Since neither side knew the other's military situation, he could use this opportunity to launch a feint attack, using his remaining troops to hold Zhao Dezhao back while he led his army to sneak across from another direction and outflank the enemy.
However, the idea was nice, but the reality was cruel.
No one expected that such a wonderful gift would be delivered to Zhao Dezhao.
"Your Highness, we have captured one enemy scout!"
Cao Bin and Li Chuyun's 8,000-strong army successfully broke free from the encirclement of Cuiping Mountain and joined forces with Zhao Dezhao.
Behind them, a Southern Tang naval officer was pinned down.
This was the scout that Zheng Yanhua had previously sent to Cuiping Mountain to deliver a message.
The scout originally intended to travel down the river to reach Cuiping Mountain quickly by water, which would be faster than running on foot. However, he unexpectedly ran into Cao Bin and Li Chuyun, who were on a transfer, and was captured on the spot.
Upon learning of this situation, Zhao Dezhao was both amused and exasperated, and immediately ordered an interrogation.
Before long, Zhao Dezhao obtained information about the deployment of all the Southern Tang troops from the scout.
"So, we only have 20,000 Tang troops behind us? And only 5000 garrison troops in Jiangning? And Zhu Lingyun's 50,000-strong navy is still on Taihu Lake?"
Upon learning all this, Zhao Dezhao was overjoyed: "In the past, a great man had Long Yun present him with a map; now I have Yan Hua presenting me with a map. It is truly the will of Heaven!"
(Attached: Map of Zhao Dezhao's marching route during his first crossing of the Yangtze River)