Chapter 186 Baling Night Fire
While talking and laughing, the boats and oars disappeared into ashes. ---------Su Shi of the Northern Song Dynasty "Niannujiao Chibi Nostalgia"
It is said that Chen Long's special forces appeared mysteriously, pretending to be Huang Zujun's army patrol force, and successfully took over the patrol mission of the navy camp. Hundreds of soldiers on the night shift of the Navy were sleeping peacefully in the military tent, and no one noticed that a troop of nearly a hundred people had sneaked into the bottom of the docked warship.
Chen Long left a few soldiers watching the gate to confuse the enemy, and waited in the dark bottom warehouse for dark to set sail. While he was taking a nap with his eyes closed, Chen Long's mind was racing, thinking about how Liu Biao's troops suddenly sent Zhang Yun's navy down the river to attack Changsha. Could it be that he was confident?
Now Lingling's rear area is Jiaozhou. Shi Xie is already his strong backing. Guiyang and Changsha are in his hands. Liu Yan of Yizhou used to be his strategic ally, but after all, he and Liu Biao are both members of the Han Dynasty. Dear, I wonder if he might be the target of Liu Biao's conspiracy?
East of Changsha, Chaisang's Jiangdong forces have not yet taken shape, and the warlords in Lujiang and other places are not worth mentioning. Moreover, even Huang Zu is unwilling to get involved in the war between himself and Liu Biao. Other small forces should sit back and watch. Fighting is. As for Yuan Shu, Cao Cao and others, I am afraid that the enemies in the Central Plains cannot take care of them, and Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu are their imaginary allies.
The more Chen Long thought about it, the more frightened he became. It was indeed very possible for Liu Yan to betray him. First of all, his strength has obviously surpassed that of Liu Biao. Jingzhou tightly controls the gateway to the Yangtze River in Yizhou. If he occupies Jingzhou in the future, he will naturally be Liu Yan's biggest worry. Secondly, his direct troops have already controlled Chang'an and Yizhou. Going north to the gateway to the Central Plains, and at the same time controlling the current Han royal family, how do you know that these Han clan members will not regard themselves as their number one enemy?
Yizhou's navy has been training and cruising near Baidi City. It is very likely that it will go down the river to take over Jiangling's surface defense, or send Yizhou soldiers to Jiangling. Only in this way could Liu Biao dare to let Zhang Yun's warships sail down the Han River with peace of mind to seize Changsha and undermine Chen Long's overall strategy.
Thinking of this, Chen Long was frightened for a while. If this was really the case, what was waiting for him in Jiangling City was definitely not just the tens of thousands of Jingzhou Jiangling garrison. If you cannot know yourself and the enemy and lead your troops towards the Jiangling trap, I am afraid that hundreds of thousands of Yizhou and Jingzhou coalition forces are waiting for you.
If Liu Biao knew that Zhang Yun's troops were moving along the river, Chen Long would have guessed his cooperation with Liu Yan, and he would definitely regret letting Zhang Yun's navy attack. In fact, Liu Biao had been in close contact with Liu Yan after Zhang Lu captured Hanzhong. After Liu Yan saw Chen Longjun's super strength, he became afraid and agreed to cooperate with Liu Biao.
Chen Long was thinking in the dark and couldn't help but feel anxious. He hoped that Zhou Buji and Guo Jia could see the battlefield situation accurately and not easily gather Huang Zhong's troops and rush to Jiangling before he returned. I also hope that Xi Zhi can investigate more and intercept information about Yizhou sending troops before attacking Jiangling. Alas, I don’t know whether Zhang Ning and Liu Xian’s espionage troops in Xiangyang can intercept this important information.
I don't know how much time passed, but when Chen Long was in a daze, the ship's hull shook and it had already set sail. The team members instantly became energetic and drew their daggers in their hands. Chen Long lifted up the cover of the bottom warehouse and took a closer look. He saw that the upper level was also too dark and he couldn't see anything. He ordered his men to wait, and only took Lu Chang to climb up to the first level of the warehouse and investigate up the gangway.
After going up a few floors, I finally saw the opposite side of the long corridor. There were some torch lights reflected at the cabin door, and some faint noises could be heard. Chen and Long did not dare to neglect, so they found an empty cabin, climbed up through the open porthole, and exposed their heads on the deck to observe. Because the anchor had just been lifted, the deck was busy with sailors. Those raising sails, pulling ropes, carrying weapons and equipment, and patrolling were all bustling. Chen Long took a quick look and saw that there were about a hundred people in the navy. There was another warship not far behind, and the harbor was already full of warships returning from training and patrol during the day.
The hull of the boat was originally very stable, but suddenly it trembled slightly. Chen Long looked around and saw that it had already left the water port and entered the Yangtze River. The two patrol warships parted ways at this time, one went upstream, while Chen Long's warship raised its sails and went straight down the river.
Chen Long was delighted. First, the ship patrolled alone and had no auxiliary ship, making it easier to rob. Second, the sailing direction made it easier for him to grab the ship and land ashore before rushing back to Changsha.
Using the cover of darkness, Chen Long returned to the bottom warehouse and arranged all actions to seize the ship. The special forces team members all knew this tacitly. Although their number was smaller than that of the sailors who were wearing them, the special forces team worked hard and groped through layer by layer, controlling or knocking out all the people they found, and finally made it to the deck without anyone noticing.
The busy scene on the deck was over, and many sailors were sitting around relaxing on the deck, chatting and having fun. Chen Long's special forces poured out from the rear deck. They shouted continuously and waved their iron palms. In less than five minutes, they knocked hundreds of Huang Zu navy to the ground and took control of the front deck in one fell swoop. Chen Long had already taken control of the cockpit, and all the soldiers' heads were tied up. He didn't even have time to send out a signal arrow.
Chen Longling tied up all the enemy troops and locked them in the bottom warehouse, and searched the whole ship. After confirming that there were no enemy troops on the ship, he only took one soldier of Huang Zujun and led the ship to the other side.
When the ship was stable, Chen Long took out his dagger, cut off the rope from the head of Huang Zu's army, and said warmly: "You go to the bottom warehouse to release the people. When he reported back to General Huang Zu, he said that Chen had no choice but to borrow the boat this time. Whatever you have offended, you will pay it back in the future." As he said this, he led everyone into the darkness on the shore.
The special forces members took turns carrying Tang Zhou on their backs, regardless of the terrain, and quickly headed south to Changsha. Fortunately, they are all hard-working men, and no one is left behind. Chen Long also jumped up and down to find out the road. The water system here is developed, and I don't know how many rivers I have swam in. The sky gradually became brighter, and I saw a large lake blocking the road.
The lake was vast and boundless, and everyone looked around blankly, finally staring at Chen Long for instructions. Fortunately, Chen Long had a light brain in his head and called up the map to compare, and realized that the direction of travel was slightly off. The big lake should be Quanhu near Xianning, an important town in Jiangxia.
Chen Long adjusted his direction and headed west along the lake to reach the Xiang River. Then he would see if he could rent a private boat. However, it would be bad if he encountered Zhang Yun's warship. Chen Long still wanted to continue returning to Changsha by land.
After traveling and exploring like this, they finally came across a larger town. Chen Long ordered people to buy a few simple carriages, and he was finally able to hide Tang Zhou. The soldiers also took turns to board the carriages to guard Tang Zhou and rest. After stopping and going, the road was twists and turns, and it was inevitable to change ferries several times. Finally, in the evening of the next day, we arrived near the Xiangshui River. Upon inquiry, it turned out that we were not far from Baling, the entrance to Dongting Lake.
This land trip was very difficult, and Chen Long once again realized the importance of a strong naval force in fighting in Jingzhou, Jiangnan, and Jiangdong. Even in army operations, ships are indispensable and important means of transportation. Otherwise, you will have to walk to death. There are rivers, lakes, mountains and natural dangers everywhere, and it is too difficult to walk by land.
Chen Long didn't know whether Baling was controlled by Huang Zhongjun, so he let everyone sleep in the open and sent more than 20 people to inquire about Baling. In the middle of the night, Hao Pu returned with a few people and reported bad news. It turned out that the entrance to Dongting Lake on the Xiang River was full of warships, and there were no traces of merchant ships or civilian ships. The flag turned out to be Jingzhou's navy.
Chen Long nodded and said: "It turns out that Zhang Yun's troops are gathered at Dongting Lake, and they can advance or retreat. But I wonder if Baling City was conquered by him?"
Hao Pu shook his head and said: "In Baling City, Zu Lang led the team to investigate. We observed the waterway, discovered Zhang Yun's navy, and quickly returned."
Chen Long nodded and asked again: "How many people and how many boats are there?" Although he asked this question, he also knew that Haopu's simple shore reconnaissance, and it was dark, it was probably impossible to see how many boats there were. , how many soldiers.
Unexpectedly, Hao Pu replied simply: "Looking at the size of the ships, the number of people in each ship should be about a thousand. The ships were parked neatly by the river, and the number could barely be counted. They should be about forty. How many are there? It’s a very large building ship, I don’t know if it’s a command ship.”
Chen Long asked: "Are there no ships in the lake?" Hao Pu said: "The wind and waves in the lake are strong, so we generally don't anchor directly in the lake, so I guess most of the warships are here."
Chen Long murmured: "Zhang Yun's navy is about 40,000 people." Calculating Huang Zhong's strength in his mind, he estimated that the navy would never be able to compete with Zhang Yun and could only defend the city.
Waiting until late at night, Lu Chang led the team and finally returned. Chen Long hurriedly asked: "Lü Chang, whose army is in the city?"
Lu Chang said: "Baling City is heavily guarded, but at least I found someone to find out. I naturally went to the city to contact, and finally contacted the guard Sun Da. Zhang Yun's navy did not attack Baling, so Baling is still Huang Zhong's general Sun Da. We are under guard, but our troops are no more than 2,000, so we are completely on the defensive."
After hearing this, Chen Long had an idea and said, "In that case, let's go to the city first. I have my own plan."
To put it briefly, Chen Long entered Baling, and Sun Da was already waiting at the city gate. As soon as Chen Long entered the city gate, he helped Sun Da who was bowing down and asked directly: "General Sun, how much kerosene is there in Baling City?"
In a word, there are different religions, and the fire in Baling stains the banks of the Xiangjiang River. If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
