In just a few days, the Jiangnan area was disturbed by the sudden appearance of a small group of Xinjiang-suppressing troops.
In Hangzhou, Xuanzhou, Changzhou, and Huzhou, rebels from various places were mobilized and prepared. This also includes the navy fleet located in Jingkou.
Captain Han Lin was appointed as the commander-in-chief here by Bao Yuchun. Naturally, he did not dare to be careless. He quickly strengthened the vigilance of the Jingkou camp and asked Yao Mingjie, who had done meritorious service, to lead a thousand light armors to set up defenses in the Nanshan area of Jingkou.
Not long after, the scouts at the front sent back the latest news. The Xinjiang Army crossed Maoshan Mountain and appeared near the Tongji River. They were obviously heading for the Changzhou Transport Camp. Not only that, they also had two fierce battles with the Jin army in the direction of Changzhou, and the attack momentum was extremely fierce.
At present, Changzhou has begun to assemble a large army, and troops from several nearby state capitals are also rushing there, preparing to encircle and annihilate their opponents in the area east of the Tongji River.
Hearing this report, Han Lin and Yao Mingjie both secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The power in their hands is mainly surface ships, and there are very few troops capable of conducting land operations. If the opponent really comes towards them, the situation may be very bad.
However, it is finally over now. The target of the Zhenjiang Army is Changzhou, not Jingkou. Their love to death has nothing to do with the navy.
Yao Mingjie sent someone back to ask Han Lin if he could consider withdrawing the Nanshan defense line. In this weather, the mosquitoes in the mountains are so poisonous that one night is extremely painful.
Han Lin hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded in agreement. Yao Mingjie is the deputy general of the navy, and his position is higher than him. Moreover, he is the brother-in-law of Commander Bao. If Yao Mingjie had not been punished for his previous defeat, he would not have become the deputy general's temporary boss.
Therefore, Han Lin still has to give him the face he deserves.
Yao Mingjie got the commander's approval and immediately called the troops down the mountain. All the sentries originally located on the mountainside and at the foot of the mountain were also evacuated.
However, he never expected that just when he led his men back to the water village, Li Jiangyao was leading his troops to secretly approach Nanshan.
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"Defender, we have investigated clearly. Half an hour ago, all the rebels on the mountain returned to the camp, and even the sentries were withdrawn."
Li Jiangyao nodded: "It seems that the First Battalion fought very well on the Tongji River side, and the illusion it created for the enemy worked. Send a small team to the south, ready to receive the First Battalion at any time."
"Yes! Protector General, when will we take action?"
"According to your previous plan, send people to raise the sky lanterns on the bank of the river," Li Jiangyao ordered: "As soon as the Tenth Army on the opposite side responds, we will immediately launch an attack."
The captain of the fourth battalion agreed, turned and left.
Li Jiangyao stood on a hill and looked far to the north. Under the dark night, the river stretches thousands of miles, vast and endless as far as the eye can see.
The rebel water stronghold on the south bank of the river looked like a sleeping giant beast, silent and defenseless.
Not long after, several paper lanterns suddenly rose up from the riverside, fluttering into the sky. Li Jiangyao used his inner strength to concentrate all his energy on his eyes, staring at the other side further away.
After about an hour of burning incense, a few tiny lights appeared on the north side of the hazy river, slowly rising into the night sky.
It’s done!
Li Jiangyao was overjoyed and quickly called the captains of the 4th and 5th Battalions: "The Tenth Army has received the signal and the general attack is about to begin! You follow my arrangements. At dawn, the 4th Battalion will attack the water village gate, and the 5th Battalion will attack the military port pier. , no reserve team will be left, the decisive battle will begin when the war begins, do you understand?"
"Understood!" the two captains responded loudly.
Being able to follow Li Jiangyao and fight and kill the enemy under his personal command, the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Army were already excited. Not to mention sneak attack on the unsuspecting rebels, even if there were mountains of swords, seas of fire, and abyss ahead, the soldiers of the two battalions They will also charge without hesitation!
If you die for the protection of Dadu, your life will be worth it!
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Dong dong dong——
The exciting sound of war drums suddenly came from the river, and for a while it was difficult to distinguish where the drums were being beaten.
The only thing that is certain is that the war drum has more than one side, or even more than a hundred sides!
The dense drumbeats roared loudly, as if the entire river was awakened in an instant. In the darkness, there were many shadows of sails, and countless giant battleships fell to the ground like dark clouds, oppressing them.
"The enemy is attacking! Be on guard! Be on guard!"
Han Lin woke up amidst panicked shouts. He didn't even bother to put on his armor and rushed out of the tent, roaring: "Don't mess up! What's going on?"
His men turned pale, pointed at the river and shouted: "Sir, the enemy fleet!"
Needless to say, Han Lin had already seen it at this time. He asked in shock: "So many ships?! Where did they come from?"
"Over there at the mouth of the canal!" his subordinates reported: "The enemy moved too fast. The twenty-five warships guarding the mouth of the canal were all sunk before they even had time to warn!"
Han Lin had no time to explore why twenty-five large ships collapsed so easily. He had to make the most reasonable response first, which was to fight!
At this time, Lieutenant General Yao Mingjie was also tidying up his clothes and running forward in a panic. He asked the same question as Han Lin: "Why are there so many enemy ships? Where do they come from."
Han Lin didn't bother to answer him, and couldn't answer him. He said anxiously: "Stop talking nonsense. General Yao, board the ship quickly and lead your men to stop the enemy!"
"Okay, okay." Yao Mingjie nodded repeatedly, turned around and ran towards the battleship.
At this time, Shuizhai Pier was already in chaos. The warships of the Zhenjiang Army had actually rushed so close to the place, and they would be able to take the lead in launching an offensive in a blink of an eye. If it were later, let alone fighting, they would just be waiting to be beaten and put out the fire.
Han Lin felt a little at peace when he saw Yao Mingjie's fleet gradually leaving the dock. He was about to organize his men to go out to fight, but he didn't expect that a burst of earth-shattering shouts of killing suddenly erupted from the direction behind him.
"Long live my emperor, kill!"
Immediately afterwards, arrows flew across the sky, figures flashed, and countless Zhenjiang troops rushed out from the darkness, killing all the sentries in front of the water village gate in the blink of an eye.
The crisis of being attacked from both sides instantly destroyed the last psychological defense line of the rebels. Everyone didn't know how many people came over from the opposite side, nor how they surrounded them, but everyone knew very well that if they didn't run away, they might not be able to escape!
Han Lin was also deeply entangled at this time. He hesitated when he least should have hesitated, wondering whether to deal with the threat on the river with all his strength or to block the attack from behind.
"Sir, the enemy is approaching, get on the boat quickly! It's safe to get on the boat!"
The words of his men immediately reminded Han Lin. He came to his senses and quickly called the soldiers on board. They are naval forces, and only warships are the most reassuring place.
As soon as the general took the lead, the others no longer thought about it. No one wanted to stay and carry it for others, so everyone scrambled to climb onto the warship, untied the cables, raised the sail, and fled up the river.
However, the river is no safe haven. On the contrary, the river surface at this time had already turned into a hell on earth.
Kunpeng's Tenth Army was dispatched in its entirety, and four hundred large warships surrounded the entire military port dock in a fan shape. Nie Xianzang was concerned about Li Jiangyao's safety and issued a death order to the entire army:
Rush into the port! Respond to the great protector! Whoever dares to block us will smash it directly!
Hearing that the coach was on the other side and in danger of being trapped in a siege, the Tenth Army immediately rushed to the Shuizhai Pier like crazy, killing Han Lin and Yao Mingjie to the point where the rebels almost doubted their lives.
I have seen people risking their lives in fighting, but I have never seen anyone so desperate.
The maneuverability and attack power of the new type of flywheel warships are fully advantageous at this time. They are extremely fast and can turn flexibly. The dozen or so giant crossbows on the bow and sides are even more unreasonable. Wherever the battleship passed, the rebel ships were scattered with debris and wood, and they were either destroyed or disabled.
In less than an hour, the battlefield was decided.
On the river, hundreds of rebel warships were slowly sinking, and countless sailors were struggling in the water holding planks; on land, the military villages and docks had been completely occupied by the Xinjiang Army, and all surviving rebels had disarmed and surrendered obediently.
Han Lin took more than 170 boats that were still intact and took advantage of the chaos to break out of the encirclement of the Tenth Army and fled downstream along the river bank.
Nie Xianzang jumped onto the pier on the bridge plank and asked the soldiers of the Fifth Army where the majority of the guards were. Li Jiang saw him from a distance, waved and shouted: "Xianzeng, here! Come here!"
Seeing that the Protector-General was safe and sound, Nie Xianzang finally put his heart into his stomach and hurriedly ran closer: "I have been ordered to take care of you, my lord!"
"Thank you for your hard work." Li Jiangyao nodded with satisfaction: "I have been watching the battle from the observation deck on the shore just now, watching you beat up the rebel fleet. Let's increase the number first. The Tenth Army fought bravely and deserves praise. However, This method was somewhat chaotic, I just lowered my head and rushed towards the shore, and let go of many enemy ships."
Nie Xianzang blushed and was about to explain, but Li Jiangyao raised his hand to stop him and continued: "I knew in my heart that the soldiers were concerned about my safety, so they moved closer to the dock regardless of their own safety so that they could rescue me in time. But. I still need to remind you that as the commander-in-chief, you can be more calm. For example, organize a raiding fleet to rush to the military port, while other warships hold their positions and prevent the enemy from escaping. I think these rules for fighting , in fact, you know it all, it’s just because of me that you are a little busy."
Nie Xianzeng nodded sincerely: "The Protector is right. I only considered supporting you, but I forgot to allocate all the troops, so that I let the enemy escape, and I asked the Protector to punish him."
Li Jiangyao laughed loudly and patted the opponent on the shoulder: "You won a big victory, and it's too late for me to reward you. How can I punish you? The enemy ran away as soon as he ran away. You can beat him hard next time."
"Yes! I will definitely beat them up and cry next time!" Nie Xianzeng responded loudly.
At this time, his subordinates came to report that the first battalion, which had previously been responsible for confusing and containing the enemy, had successfully returned to the team. It was only four or five miles away from the water village and would arrive in a blink of an eye.
Li Jiangyao was overjoyed when he heard this and waved his hand: "Brothers, get on the boat, we are returning to camp in triumph!"
