…
December 20th, the capital of God.
In the imperial study room, Honglin looked radiant today and was in particularly good spirits.
Because during this period, good news spread frequently from various places, making Honglin seem to see the resurgence of the empire.
"Reporting to your Majesty, my servant Huang Yan, the governor of Ningzhou, reported that Dongyi and Haihai invaded the sea territory on the fourth day of the 11th month. I personally climbed up to the city tower and fought hard with the defenders to kill the enemy.
They sank one enemy ship, killed forty enemies, and captured three sets of Dongyi armor and four weapons. Dongyi saw that there was no hope of conquering the city, so they retreated. The soldiers and civilians were all happy to hear this. "
Looking at the good news on the desk, Honglin Longyan was delighted and directly signed the memorial: "Okay!"
"Long live the memorial, my servant Yao Lian, the governor of Bajiang, reported that on the seventh day of the eleventh month, Dongyi pirate ships invaded our Bajiang Port. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers in the city resisted vigorously. The pirates were timid and could not take advantage of them after cruising in the port for a day. Seizing the opportunity, they retreated, killing more than a hundred enemies in total, severely damaging several enemy ships, and capturing a Dongyi war flag."
Honglin nodded and said: "I love you and serve the country, so you should do your best."
"Long live the memorial, my slave Hongqiu, the governor of Guangling, reported that on November 12, more than a hundred Dongyi pirate ships invaded Haixi. I commanded the officers and soldiers to fight bloody battles. Amid the excitement of the crowd, the Dongyi soldiers collapsed and fled.
The slaves led their troops out of the city and pursued them for more than ten miles. They drove the Dongyi out of Haixi and took away their baggage. They killed more than a thousand Dongyi and won a great victory. "
Honglin smiled brightly and immediately said: "Ai Qing is the humerus of our court. When Dongyi is defeated, he will be rewarded heavily."
More than a dozen reports of victory in a row made Honglin very energetic, as if he had seen the defeat of the Dongyi Navy, and his gloomy mood in the past few months had been wiped away.
However, the fact is that the "Eastern Yi invaded the border" mentioned in these submitted memorials is true, and the talk of repelling the East Yi is pure nonsense.
The real situation is that Gan Ziba's navy quickly conquered these key passes, then looted the city's treasury to obtain a large amount of supplies, and then retreated.
As for the bloody resistance of the city's defenders?
It's even more ridiculous.
Gan Ziba's main ship fired a volley of long-range artillery, killing dozens of people, and even collapsed after a dozen or so people. It was effortless to capture the key point.
Because he was afraid that Honglin would be accused, he began to compile false news of victory and sent it to the capital. After all, the city was indeed "not lost" and he could have an explanation.
Honglin also urgently needed good news to cheer him up, and these "victory reports" were exactly what he needed.
In fact, it was not that Honglin had never thought that these good news might be fake, but rationality made him unwilling to think about it. He needed to maintain the glory of the current golden age, so he simply enjoyed it.
Not long after, the eunuch came to report: "Long live Lord Qi, Lord Li is asking for an audience outside the door."
"Let him in quickly!"
Hearing that Li Shen had arrived, Honglin suddenly beamed with joy and was eager to find someone to share this joy.
When Li Shen entered the room, he was about to kneel down and salute, but Honglin stopped him: "Li Shen, come and take a look, come quickly."
Li Shen bowed and came to Honglin: "Long live the Lord, what do you want to tell me?"
Honglin pointed to a pile of victory reports on the table: "Look, we, Dajin, are not without soldiers who dare to fight. These are the battle reports sent by the local prefect. The Dongyi navy cannot quickly conquer our territory at sea, but will lose money." The loss outweighs the gain."
Li Shen said hurriedly: "That's because Long Live Lord is wise and powerful, commanding well. First of all, Long Live Lord is an eternal wise king. He has managed Dajin in an orderly manner. Naturally, the army and the people are bent on conquering the Eastern Yi.
Secondly, Dongyi mobilized troops and came from afar. Although the army was strong at the beginning, and I, Dajin, were not prepared, Dongyi became rampant for a while.
However, now that Dongyi's vigor has weakened and his true nature as a bandit has been revealed, he is no match for me as the master of the King of Gold. Everything is managed well by Long Live Lord. "
Honglin was elated by the flattery, and kept saying: "This is the result of our Daijin's unanimous efforts to the outside world, and it is not the result of just me."
Then he sighed and said: "However, what dissatisfies me is that the officers and soldiers in various places are more than capable of defending, but they are not aggressive enough."
When Li Shen heard this, he immediately whispered: "Long live my Lord, I have something I don't know whether to say or not."
Honglin smiled and said, "What do you have to say?"
Li Shen: "Long live my lord, the weapons and equipment of various naval forces should also be replaced. Although the Dongyi invasion was repelled by loyal and brave men from all walks of life,
However, it is precisely because Dongyi has ships that we cannot fully annihilate them. If all the officers, soldiers and navy are ready..."
Honglin stopped and said, "I understand what you mean. In fact, when Dongyi sent envoys to send those giant ship models last time, I had already made plans to do so and asked craftsmen to imitate them.
However, I have no experience in this area. Although the model is exquisite, it lacks key details. It can only be built if there is a real object. However, Dongyi's asking price for this ship is sky-high, and I have not agreed.
Anyway, after defeating Dongyi, I will give them a chance. As long as they are willing to surrender to me, I am willing to reopen maritime trade to strengthen our military power. "
When Li Shen heard this, he kept shouting "Long live the wise Lord", but actually kept complaining in his heart: "In this case, when the Han Dynasty sent the credentials, wouldn't it be better to just agree? Why go to such trouble."
Just as the monarch and his ministers were looking forward to a bright future, little did they know that the situation in the south had undergone earth-shaking changes.
…
December 25th, Jiangnan, Wusong Port.
After seven months of ups and downs, Gan Ziba's navy finally reached the most important turning point.
Looking at Wusong Port dozens of nautical miles away, Gan Ziba couldn't help but pat the side of the ship: "After seven months of battle, today has finally come to the decisive battle. Whether we can end this battle in one battle depends on today's battle!"
Zheng Sanbao asked: "Why did Admiral Gan say this?"
Gan Ziba: "According to the operation of the Intelligence Department, Wusong Port is the starting point for maritime grain transportation in Nan'ao. Now Lu Ziming and the others have controlled the river transportation. If they can control this place again, the Northland Jin soldiers will be completely in despair, and this battle will be won. "
Zheng Sanbao: "But I haven't heard that the Kingdom of Jin relied on sea transportation to transport food."
"Stupid!" Gan Ziba scolded with a smile, "This port is set up as a backup when the river is in trouble. The river transportation is blocked along the way. If the northern part of the Jin Kingdom needs food and grass, it can only go to sea from Songzhou Port. If this place is blocked, the Nan'ao court will We are in danger of running out of food, so we send an order to all the troops to prepare to cross Songzhou by force and seize the port quickly."
…
Wusong's seat, Zhenjiang City, is an important town in the south of Nan'ao, which is related to the smooth access to the sea in the southern part of the Jin Kingdom.
Zhenjiang Dutong Hai Ling was a local aristocrat who was well versed in the art of war. In his early years, he accompanied Zhang Gui, Fulin and others on expeditions in all directions and achieved considerable military exploits.
Knowing that the situation in the north was corrupt, Hai Ling was the first person in the south to predict that the Han army and navy might move south along the sea to attack various places south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, during this period, the city defense was tightened to prevent the arrival of the Han army.
Facts have proved that Hai Ling's prediction was very accurate. After the Han army attacked the important river transportation channel, they immediately mobilized troops from all walks of life to strengthen the Wusong defense line.
Once the main river transportation route is lost, all the pressure to maintain the war situation will be on Wusong Port. This Dajin's last transportation route cannot be allowed to fall into the enemy's hands no matter what.
