Night gradually fell, and the river surface, which had been fighting fiercely during the day, slowly began to return to calm.
Zhang Xi arrived at the water village early and found Chen Ju, who was still in shock. He wanted to discuss with the commander of the Jiangxia Navy what to do next.
Zhang Xi, the commander of the navy, knew nothing about it, so during the day he just worriedly followed the battle situation from the tower of E City.
Although I don't understand the naval tactics, I can still tell who has the upper hand. What's more, Chen Jiu's navy even lost a Mengchong warship. Even if they stubbornly held the line of defense in the end, it still didn't matter. It can't be called a victory.
Therefore, as soon as the worried Zhang Xi saw the Jiangdong fleet retreating, he hurried to Shuizhai to ask Chen about the specific situation.
And Chen Jiu didn't hide it, because he couldn't hide it. Wei Yan was on his flagship during the battle. Even if he didn't tell it, Wei Yan would.
Immediately, Chen reported his losses to Zhang Xi.
"The navy lost one Mengchong warship, more than 40 large and small warships, more than 1,300 people were killed, and nearly 3,000 people were injured and unable to fight. The general is incompetent. Please punish the governor."
Zhang Xi suddenly fell silent.
Although he saw Chen Jiu in a passive position on the tower, Zhang Xi really didn't expect that the loss would be so huge.
"How could this be so?!" Zhang Xi frowned and asked anxiously, "Jiangdong marched a few days ago, but there were only more than a thousand casualties. How come there are so many casualties today?!"
It was really difficult for Chen to explain to Zhang Xi for a while.
In water battles, bows and crossbows are used as the main means of attack, so the death rate is not necessarily high, but the number of injuries is generally higher than in land battles.
But there is a premise, that is, the ship was raided by Jiangdong today, and the Mengchong warships were snatched away by Jiangdong. The surrounding large and small warships responsible for protecting the Mengchong warships were either dispersed by Jiangdong, or destroyed or overturned by Jiangdong.
If the ship is gone, where can the soldiers on the ship go? !
This is the Yangtze River, not a swimming pool. No matter how good the water quality of the navy is, there are few who have the physical strength to swim from the water to the shore. What's more, there are battlefields all around. Who will care whether there is someone to rescue the enemy soldiers after they fall into the water? ah.
At the end of the day, it is reasonable that the number of casualties reached more than 1,300.
This number of casualties is still the result of Chen's decision to abandon the Mengchong warship and let other boats move closer to him. Although this is very sorry for the brothers on the Mengchong warship, it is better than everyone dying together.
By the way, if the soldiers on the Mengchong warship were captured or surrendered, they would be considered dead here in Chenju. After all, it was impossible for these people to escape and continue to participate in the war.
Chen explained briefly, and after Zhang Xi roughly understood why the losses were so great, he began to make plans.
There are more than 20,000 navy troops in total, but not all of them are stationed in Echeng.
Echeng is the base of Jiangxia Navy, but Jiangxia is not the only base like this. There is also a naval base over there in Sha Xian.
This is because when Sun Quan attacked Huang Zu, Huang Zu was beaten and retreated to Shaxian to resist the enemy, and a water fort was built there.
The water fortress was very costly. Later, after Sun Quan withdrew his troops, Huang Zu did not dismantle Sha Xian's water fortress, but left a part of the navy to garrison there, numbering about 3,000 people, and some warships as well. spare.
It can be said that Echeng is where the main force of Jiangxia Navy is located, and there is also a partial division base over Sha Xian.
But now, the main force of Echeng's navy has suffered more than 5,000 casualties in just ten days during the Jiangdong attack, which is close to one-third of the casualty rate.
In these years, more than one-third of the army's death rate had not yet mutinied. Chen Jiu was considered a good commander. Therefore, Zhang Xi could not demand anything from Chen Jiu. This was a common problem in this era.
However, because of the high casualty rate, the morale of the Jiangxia navy is now low, and the fear of failure permeates the army. Chen has nothing to do about this.
"The Mengchong ship was captured, the soldiers were damaged too much, and the morale of the army was low." Chen looked hesitantly at Zhang Xi, who was silent, and then at Wei Yan, who was staring at him. He gritted his teeth and said what he wanted to say. He said, "Supervisor, why don't you retreat from Shaxian temporarily and reorganize the army to prepare for war, so as to make a good plan?!"
As soon as Zhang Xi heard this, he stood up and objected, "No! If this happens, what will happen to Echeng and Zhu County?! How will Xiling, the governor of the county behind him, deal with himself?! Prince Liu Qike is in Xiling!"
Young Master Liu Qi plays a very important role in the planning of Zhang Xi, Zhuge Liang and others, and Liu Qi must not be allowed to make any mistakes.
As for Chen Jiu, nothing can go wrong with the young master Liu Qi.
Chen Jiu and Zhang Shuo were both navy commanders appointed during Huang Zu's period. Speaking of which, they can also be regarded as Huang Zu's people.
But now Huang Zu has lost power, and the governor of Jiangxia has been replaced by Liu Qi. If Liu Qi makes a mistake, Chen can fully imagine how the furious Liu Biao will react.
Huang Zu has now relinquished control of Jiangxia, and has the Huang family of Jingzhou as a guarantee. In order to show his generosity, Liu Biao must support Huang Zu, but he will definitely not have any "cherishing for talents" towards Chen.
If the young master Liu Qi makes any mistake, Chen Jiu will have to pay for it with his own head.
But the problem is that Chen's suggestion was not out of selfish fear of death.
After repeated hesitation, Chen Ju led Zhang Xi to Jiangxia's defense map and explained it carefully.
"Please take a look, Supervisor." Chen pointed to the defense situation on the map and explained to Zhang Xi, "The counties in Jiangxia, except for the three counties in the north, are basically built along the water. The Jiangxia navy is to defend the Jiangxia counties. The important support of the county. If our navy is defeated here, or even the whole army is annihilated, the Jiangdong navy can move up the river, force Xiling, occupy Shaxian, occupy Xiakou, and enter the Han River. Whether to advance or retreat depends on In one thought, Jiangdong and Jiangxia are in danger."
Zhang Xi followed Chen Ju's instructions and looked over, and was shocked to find that what Chen Ju said was actually true.
E County is in the southeast of Jiangxia, and Zhu County is in the north of E County across the river. The two counties lock the mouth of the Yangtze River like a pair of pliers. Therefore, Huang Zu placed the main force of the Jiangxia navy in E County, with the purpose of locking any enemy here. Invading enemy.
In order to prepare for possible accidents, such as during Sun Quan's first expedition, Huang Zu also left a backup base in Shaxian, leaving some soldiers and warships as a reserve force. Once E County could not withstand it, the water would The army can retreat to Shaxian to rest and then fight again.
But the premise is that most of the navy must be preserved intact.
If the navy is defeated in E County, then Shaxian's three thousand navy alone will not be able to stop the invasion of Jiangdong's navy. And Zhu County, Xiling, Shaxian and other counties along the river will directly face Jiangdong's navy. Army.
The most terrible thing is that after occupying Xiakou, the Jiangdong army can enter the Han River from the Yangtze River and attack the counties in the northwest of Jiangxia along the Han River.
At that time, you will really be able to advance and retreat freely. If you want to attack the city, you can attack the city. If you want to steal the money, you can grab the money. Without the navy, Jiangxia will not be able to pose a substantial threat to the Jiangdong Group.
Even if your infantry defends the city, you won't be able to pursue Jiangdong's army. If they retreat to the ship, you don't have a navy, can you just stare? !
Don't they just hit them when they want and leave when they want? !
And the most terrible thing is that Zhang Xi's letter asking for help has been sent out for more than ten days, but there is no response at all from Xiling. Zhang Xi even doubts that with this efficiency, if the Jiangxia Navy is gone and the Jiangdong Army approaches the city, what will happen? Unfortunately, the other counties in Jiangxia still look like the world is at peace.
Therefore, whether from a theoretical or practical point of view, the Jiangxia Navy must be preserved so that the Jiangdong Army does not dare to advance too recklessly.
Only with the presence of the navy can Jiangxia have the power to fight. Without the navy, Jiangxia is just a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
But the problem is, if the navy is allowed to retreat to Shaxian now, what will happen to Echeng, what will happen to Zhu County, and what will happen to Jiangxia County and Xiling behind Echeng and Zhu County.
In fact, it boils down to one question - what to do with Liu Qi, the young master.
Regarding Zhang Xi's worry, Chen Jiu had no good solution.
"Why don't the governor write another letter to inform the young master of the situation, and then we abandon the defense of E city, so that we can have an explanation." Chen Jiu whispered a damaging move to Zhang Xi.
That's what Chen meant. In fact, he asked Zhang Xi to write a letter to Liu Qi, informing Liu Qi of the reason for their retreat to Shaxian, and then there was no need to wait for Liu Qi's reply and they could just retreat from Echeng.
This letter is not to obtain Liu Qi's consent, but to have an excuse to argue when there is a liquidation in the future - I said it in advance, but the military situation on the frontline is changeable, and we have no choice but to withdraw without waiting for military orders. .
Huang Zu often used this trick to fool Liu Biao back then, but Liu Biao was unable to do anything against Huang Zu.
But Zhang Xi is not Huang Zu, and he can't just watch Liu Qi in danger. This kind of damaging move is of no use to Zhang Xi.
When Chen saw that Zhang Xi did not adopt this suggestion, he sighed and shut up and stopped talking.
As a commander of the navy with independent command authority, who is not familiar with Zhang Xi, it is extremely benevolent to help Zhang Xi consider these things.
Chen didn't speak, so Zhang Xi could only think by himself, and Zhang Xi found that he was now in a dilemma.
To protect Jiangxia, we must agree to Chen Ju's suggestion and retreat to Shaxian. If E County is not protected, the young master Liu Qi in Xiling County will also be in big trouble.
If you want to protect the young master Liu Qi, you must delay time in Echeng. However, in this way, the Jiangxia naval forces will inevitably suffer heavy losses. If the young master Liu Qi just does not send reinforcements to rescue Echeng, then Zhang Xi and Chen will be finished together. It will be a small matter and there will be no water. Jiangxia will fall into a passive position and may even be annexed by Jiangdong.
Therefore, this is a question of whether to protect the big or the small.
(End of chapter)
