Li Jiangyao felt somewhat surprised when he suddenly received an urgent appointment from the court.
The navy was defeated and Yiling was besieged. Nearly a thousand warships and tens of thousands of sailors were beaten by the enemy and were unable to fight back. They could only hide in the water stronghold to avoid the battle. Let him take the lead at this time, there is really no other good way.
Xu Youchang asked Li Jiangyao if he could politely refuse the court's decision. After all, the Zhenjiang Army also needs him. It doesn't make sense that the coach is leaving when the big war is about to begin.
Li Jiangyao thought about it carefully, showed Dong Tianxing's letter to Xu Youchang, and then expressed his thoughts.
"No need to talk too much about national justice and national responsibility. Let's talk about something real. First of all, the navy upstream must not collapse, otherwise Kunpeng's Tenth Army will be in serious trouble."
Xu Youchang nodded silently.
"Secondly, if more than a thousand warships are destroyed by Bao Yuchun, he will be able to disperse his forces again and block the entire river, and we will not be able to successfully cross the south."
Xu Youchang continued to nod.
"Third, once the morale of the military suffers a heavy blow, it will not only affect the court, but also all the legions, including us, will be greatly affected."
Li Jiangyao said calmly: "Under such circumstances, how can I refuse to serve as the commander of the navy?"
Xu Youchang worried: "The imperial navy is not very powerful, and it is a completely unfamiliar force to you. If they disobey the command or fail to fight effectively, your situation will be very dangerous!"
Li Jiangyao nodded slightly: "The problem you mentioned does exist, and I must treat it with caution. But then again, my mission to Yiling is not just to help the navy regain its strength and make them capable of fighting. Really? The two are essentially the same thing."
Xu Youchang understood Li Jiangyao's intentions and suggested: "Then you can't go to the post alone. Take the people from the Tenth Army with you. They can become the core force of the new navy."
"We both have the same idea." Li Jiangyao said with a smile: "I plan to take Wang Wenlie and fifty middle and lower-level officers of the Kunpeng Army. With them by my side, I can easily watch the fun again. "
Xu Youchang nodded and said: "In addition to them, you must also bring the White Robe Army, at least 10,000 elites, and it cannot be lower than this standard."
Li Jiangyao was surprised: "Why so many? The white-robed troops are cavalry, and they are useless in river battles."
Xu Youchang pretended to be angry and said: "Stop pretending to be confused with me. Who said that the White Robes only know how to fight with cavalry? They dismounted and they are still the strongest army in the world! Jiang Yao, listen to me and take the most loyal guards with you. Well, you have the confidence to speak."
Li Jiangyao couldn't resist him, and agreed with a smile: "Okay, okay, then I'll do what you want. Ten thousand white-robed troops and fifty naval officers, come with me to Yiling!"
Three days later, Li Jiangyao, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Holy Tang Dynasty and General Yunhui, set out from Luzhou and galloped all the way to the upper reaches of the river.
Li Jiangyao knew that the Yiling Navy was in critical danger and could not afford to waste even a minute. Therefore, it only took them seven days to complete the normal journey of more than ten days, which was extremely fast.
As soon as they heard that most of the powerful Zhenjiang Army was coming to escort them, the imperial navy trapped in Yiling all breathed a sigh of relief. Deputy Governor Gu Hongjiang led all the generals to welcome the new commander out of the water village.
Li Jiangyao didn't talk nonsense. After a few simple greetings, he went straight to the commander's tent and listened to Gu Hongjiang's introduction to the current enemy situation.
"Grand Governor, the current situation... well, it's very unfavorable." Gu Hongjiang said: "As of yesterday, the rebels have launched a total of eleven major and minor attacks on me, destroying seventy-three battleships, three shore fortresses, and injuring soldiers. Nearly four thousand people. We can only rely on the two water forts in the east and west of Yiling to defend as much as possible."
Li Jiangyao asked: "What is the strength of the enemy and us? Who is commanding on the other side?"
Gu Hongjiang quickly replied: "Our army currently has 104 large ships, 519 light fighting ships, 202 stern ships, and about 150 other types of ships. There are 46,000 sailors. One hundred and twenty-three people, including eight thousand soldiers and six thousand archers."
"The situation on the enemy's side is not much different from ours. There are between 780 and 800 warships, battleships and various types of warships, with a strength of about 50,000. The commander is Bao Yuchun's nephew Bao Xin. rock."
"Bao Xinyan?" Li Jiangyao was slightly startled: "This name sounds so familiar."
Gu Hongjiang responded: "Grand Governor, please remember your humble position. You were a special martial arts student at the imperial capital's martial arts hall in the year 820 of the Holy Tang Dynasty, right? Just like General Murong. That Bao Xinyan was a student of the same period as you, a naval officer."
Li Jiangyao suddenly realized when he heard this: "Oh, I remembered it. Yes, yes, yes, we did have him in that issue! However, the Navy Department rarely interacts with us, we only met a few times."
Gu Hongjiang nodded: "After Bao Xinyan graduated from the martial arts hall, he went directly to Kuohai to serve in his uncle's army. This man was good at fighting and made great achievements many times. Before the rebellion, he had been promoted to General Dingyuan. position."
Li Jiangyao smiled and said: "I didn't expect that I could actually meet my classmates. You are right, Bao Xinyan himself is quite talented, and it is not just a matter of relying on nepotism. When he was in the martial arts hall, he was quite famous. And he is the kind of good youngster who is popular among teachers. Compared with the naughty and mischievous ones like Murong Xue and Xu Youchang like me, I don’t know how many times better."
Hearing this, Gu Hongjiang smiled helplessly: "Now he is even more complicated. We retreated to Yiling, and before we had time to rest and breathe, Bao Xinyan chased us here. He won all eleven battles and beat us. It’s miserable.”
Li Jiangyao asked curiously: "What's this guy's fighting habits? What's his fighting style like?"
"Bao Xinyan got the true legacy of his uncle Bao Yuchun," Gu Hongjiang sighed: "His water warfare is flexible and elusive. He is especially good at raids and drilling. Often a lone army can easily penetrate behind our fleet. , implementing a two-sided attack, even if you can’t block it, you can’t stop it.”
Wang Wenlie next to him couldn't help but asked: "Mr. Gu, when you talk about interspersed with lone troops, do you mean fifteen to twenty three-sailed battleships with iron sides covered with iron sheets, specially designed to rush forward when the two armies confront each other? Go straight to the back of my square formation?"
Gu Hongjiang nodded slightly: "That's true. Bao Xinyan has succeeded in this tactic more than once."
"That's no wonder." Wang Wenlie turned to Li Jiangyao and said: "Dadhu, the tactic that Master Gu mentioned is officially called 'Lingbo Flying Cavalry'. It happened when Bao Xinyan was studying in the Yanwu Hall. , a new method of warfare created by himself. Although it is not included in the navy textbook of the martial arts hall, many generations of martial arts students have read it since he graduated. "
Li Jiangyao was greatly surprised: "So powerful? He created new tactics when he was studying. He is indeed a good student."
Wang Wenlie couldn't help but laugh and said: "Daduhu, you are also a good student. The special martial arts of the cavalry is much more difficult than that of the sailors."
Li Jiangyao waved his hand: "Don't praise me, it's easy to get carried away. Wen Lie, since you have all read the content of Lingbo Feiqi, you must have a way to crack it, right?"
Wang Wenlie said modestly: "I dare not say that I have cracked it, but I at least understand some principles. Bao Xinyan is a water warfare wizard, and his tactics are often flexible and changeable according to the battlefield situation. They may not just follow what he wrote."
Li Jiangyao nodded in agreement: "In this way, you can go back and compile a list of tips and characteristics of Lingbo Feiqi and teach everyone the experience. Not only this, but other things related to Bao Xinyan can be written down. .”
"I humbly obey my orders!"
Li Jiangyao turned to look at Gu Hongjiang: "Where is the enemy's garrison currently? How far away are they from us? How many days does it come on average?"
Faced with the series of questions from the Grand Governor, veteran Gu Hongjiang answered seriously: "The enemy fleet is divided into two groups. One group is stationed in the Linzigang area thirty miles downstream of the river, and the other group is stationed in Shipai upstream. Almost It's also twenty or thirty miles away. There are six military forts built along the coast of the two places, which are tightly guarded. They will attack in three to five days. If we don't fight, they will attack and burn the water stronghold. They should want to wear out our army to a certain extent. , and then choose an opportunity to launch a general attack."
Li Jiangyao asked again: "How many warships come each time?"
"That's not necessarily true," Gu Hongjiang thought for a while: "Sometimes there are dozens of ships, and sometimes there are hundreds of ships. The most recent time, it was about two hundred. Grand Governor, is there any way to do this?"
Li Jiangyao nodded: "The tactics of harassing tired enemies are usually not done at will by the general. Who to send, how many people to send, when to send, and how to control the rhythm are all issues that ordinary generals may have to deal with. It has to be simpler, but for those who are good at fighting, there must be deeper considerations.”
He paused briefly and continued: "For example, if Bao Xinyan sets the time for the general attack on a certain day, then working backwards, he will try his best to let all his troops carry out rounds of fighting before that day comes, and continue to Familiar with the situation on the battlefield, improve the morale of personnel, and complete some specific damage targets. It can be said that every action has its own specific purpose."
Wang Wenlie listened very seriously and suddenly said: "So, every time you record the enemy's attack in detail, you can figure out their patterns and detect their hidden intentions, right?"
Li Jiangyao nodded slightly: "That's right. Which enemies have come? What have they done? By summarizing these situations and then analyzing them carefully, you can often see through the thoughts of the opponent's general."
"Oops! I'm so confused!" Gu Hongjiang slapped his thigh and said angrily: "All those beatings I received before were in vain, I didn't remember anything!"
Li Jiangyao smiled casually: "Old general, I just said it casually, don't mind it. There are still many battles ahead, let's take our time. Come on, you guys accompany me to the riverside."
After saying that, Li Jiangyao stood up and walked out of the tent. Upon seeing this, all the generals quickly followed him and accompanied him to inspect the water village and river defenses.
Unexpectedly, it didn't matter if he didn't look at it. He immediately felt a chill in his heart when he looked at it. The situation of the imperial navy was really terrible, a hundred times worse than the worst situation he had imagined before!
