The rebel fleet's retreat was not slow, but because the back roads were being mixed up, there were also Xinjiang Army warships on both sides rushing to intercept. Therefore, many warships either had to fight and escape very hard, or they simply fought with each other completely. together.
The retreat route became increasingly crowded and congested.
At this time, there was no queue formation to speak of, and it would be lucky to escape from this water area smoothly.
Upstream, Luo Yuan's main force was also approaching at full speed. Dozens of the fastest flywheel warships had already broken into this waterway and launched a charge!
Guo Qifeng felt that the exciting Zhenjiang war drum was getting closer and closer, almost beating in his ears. He looked around blankly, and at some point, the flagship was surrounded by the flags of Kunpeng's Tenth Army. The whistling arrows and violent collisions made him feel as if he was in the end of the world.
With a loud bang, the flagship was once again charged by the Zhenjiang warship. A dozen black figures flew along the bridge and rushed towards Guo Qifeng's command podium. The leader was Luo Yuan, the fierce general of the Tenth Army!
Seeing this, the rebel guards quickly stepped forward to stop him, but no one could withstand Luo Yuan's long sword sweep. In the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred more light-armor soldiers from the Zhenjiang navy successfully boarded the ship, and fierce close combat was fought everywhere on the flagship.
Luo Yuan swung his sword to chop down the last guard, and faced Guo Qifeng, who was holding a long sword and trembling slightly. He pointed the knife at the other person, with a sneer on his face covered in blood: "Damn it, where is my brother Zhao Shuo?"
Guo Qifeng was worried and shouted viciously: "Zhao Shuo? Before we set off, I cut off his head and sacrificed him to the flag!"
Hearing this, Luo Yuan's eyes flashed with coldness, and he said three good words in a row. Then he shouted loudly, stood up, and slashed at Guo Qifeng with all his strength.
He struck out with hatred, and his martial arts were far superior to his opponent. Only five or six of them came face to face before he kicked Guo Qifeng in the chest and kicked him several feet away. Luo Yuan's movements did not stop at all, and he immediately moved in front of the opponent. He raised the knife and cut off Guo Qifeng's head.
Without the command of the general, the rebel fleet was even more confused. Fighting independently, they could only be surrounded and beaten by the Tenth Army. The river surface of the eight upper and lower branches was full of warships engulfed in flames, and the water was crowded with people, all of them rebels who had jumped off the boats to escape.
The fierce battle lasted for more than two hours, and did not stop until the sun rose in the sky and the fog on the river cleared.
Except for a dozen large ships that managed to escape, the entire rebel fleet was completely wiped out.
-
When Bao Yuchun received news of the defeat of the two armies at Jiuzi Fortress, he almost vomited blood and fainted on the spot.
One day and one night, all eight hundred main warships were destroyed, and the nearly four hundred miles of river waterway from Chizhou to Xuanzhou was completely out of control.
No matter who it was, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to bear it.
When Bao Yuchun came back to his senses, he felt panicked. This section of the out-of-control waterway happens to face Luzhou and Chuzhou on the north bank, which is also the jurisdiction of the 300,000-person Zhenjiang Army. If Li Jiangyao launches a cross-river battle at this time, the Xuanzhou base camp will suffer a devastating blow, and the entire river defense line will be crumbling.
No time for regret and sorrow!
Bao Yuchun forced himself to calm down, and while hurriedly mobilized all the troops near Xuancheng to build a defense line on the river bank, he notified Bao Xinyan upstream and Yao Mingjie and Han Lin downstream to send fleets to rush for rescue.
Ignore the other areas for now, save the immediate area.
As long as the newly added fleet can arrive here within ten days, Li Jiangyao will not dare to act rashly and cross the river to invade because he is worried that the supply line will be cut off.
Things turned out just as Bao Yuchun expected. The rebels' land forces were fully mobilized, and the upstream and downstream naval forces responded quickly and rushed to help. Indeed, the Suppressing Army was not allowed to further expand its results.
However, this was not because their precautions were in place in time, but because Li Jiangyao never thought about crossing the river from the beginning.
"We can defeat the rebels' water power in one battle, but it does not mean that we have complete control of the river. Before that, I will not take radical risks."
At the Wuwei Water Village Camp, Li Jiangyao presided over a war preparation meeting for the entire Zhenjiang Army's top brass. All major officials from the General Headquarters, the Zhenjiang Military Mansion, the main army corps, the Intelligence Department, the War Medical Bureau and other agencies participated.
Li Jiangyao continued to preach to everyone: "It is not difficult to cross the river, and the battle after crossing the river is not difficult. The difficulty lies in the connection between the control of the river and the follow-up support. We must not only survive, but also be able to come back; not only If we want people to cross, we must also let supplies continue to cross. In a word, we must have the final say over the entire river before we can let go of the southern expedition!"
Xie Tanzhi nodded slightly: "Your Excellency is right. For example, Dajiang is another form of Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan. As long as Bao Yuchun's navy still occupies a dominant position, it can cut off the crossing of the river at any time. The army's retreat. We should not become the second Ashina Zijin."
Li Jiangyao agreed, and continued: "The situation between the enemy and ourselves on the river has been developing and changing. At the beginning, Bao Yuchun returned to Shengtang from Kuohai, just in time to catch up with the north's comprehensive resistance to the Turkic invasion, so their warships galloped across the river , almost invincible and unmatched. Later, we joined the Central Plains battlefield, first drove away the Jiangnan rebels, and then eliminated Huaiyang King Li Kuang, which brought the Jiangbei army to its peak, and the defensive pressure completely fell to Lao Jianhua, Bao Yuchun and the others. On the head."
"That's right!" Du Jian responded loudly: "The current situation is that we can send troops to the south, but Bao Yuchun dare not send troops to the north. The rebels dare to land in Jiangbei, no matter which defense zone they are in, they will only be beaten. Share!"
Li Jiangyao smiled and nodded: "That's true. Therefore, Lao Bao can only try his best to consolidate Jiang's defense and buy time for Lao Jianhua in the south to recruit and train more soldiers and horses to offset our threat. However, The river stretches for thousands of miles, and it is impossible to completely block it. They can only set up defenses in sections and guard key areas. When we really want to cross the river, they gather fleet forces and come to intercept us. "
Xu Youchang continued: "Under this situation, as long as we do not organize a large-scale crossing of the river for the time being, the enemy will become more and more passive. Because our fleet can move and fight freely, but the rebel fleet can only Stay in the fixed defense area and wait for us to come to you."
"This is also the key to winning this water battle," Nie Xianzang said with a smile: "We concentrate our forces. If we want to attack Jiuzi, we can attack Jiuzi. If we want to attack Chizhou, we can attack Chizhou. The other party must make corresponding actions based on our actions. Adjust. If there is a lack of information or a misjudgment in the process, the rebels will definitely lose the battle!"
Li Jiangyao said to everyone: "What I said first is exactly what the headquarters wants to tell you. We must be patient now, concentrate our superior strength, and eat Bao Yuchun's navy one by one until the river completely changes. Become our world! By that time, the Jiangnan rebels will only have a dead end!"
Jigrizi responded loudly: "Please rest assured, Protector, we will go back and explain the truth clearly to the brothers. Although everyone is homesick, as long as you say a word, it will be no problem to return to Western Xinjiang in a few years!"
Xiong Yunjie smiled and patted his shoulder: "In my opinion, you want a wife yourself, right?"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone couldn't help laughing.
Li Jiangyao smiled and scolded Xiong Yunjie, raised his hand to calm everyone down, and said affectionately: "Most of our Xinjiang Army are descendants of Western Xinjiang. We worked hard to eliminate the Turkic ghosts, and now we have to suppress the rebellion for the country. Being away from our homeland for so long has indeed been a hardship for our brothers. It is human nature to miss our relatives in our hometown, and as the leader, I cannot help but take it to heart. Therefore, I discussed a plan with Tomo Naga Tanji and the others. Tomo Naga , tell everyone about it.”
Xu Youchang agreed and introduced: "The Protector General is sympathetic to the soldiers and decided to take advantage of the period of fighting for control of the river to implement troop rotation. There are two methods of rotation. I invite you to come today. I also want to make a total and take a look. Which one is better?"
"The first plan is to rotate the army's organizational system. The princess's third army will take over the fifth army; Shenhua's fourth army will take over the ninth army; and the seventh army is a heavy armored corps, and will take over. Take over the Sixth Army. Those three armies will be transferred from Western Xinjiang, and the three armies here will return to their hometown."
As soon as these words came out, the three replaced military commanders immediately looked at each other. Xiong Yunjie, Jigrizi and Duan Jun were hesitant to speak, obviously they had some ideas about this plan. However, Zhenjiang has always had strict military discipline, and it was okay to joke around in peacetime, but when it came to military orders and transfers, the superiors did not ask for opinions, and no one dared to say anything easily.
Xu Youchang glanced at the three of them indifferently and continued: "The second plan was proposed by Mr. Xie. He advocated giving holidays in batches, allowing officers and soldiers who have made great achievements in the army or the only sons of the family to return to Western Xinjiang first. I will call back to the team some time ago depending on the situation.”
"I think..." Du Jian looked at Li Jiangyao's face first, and then tried: "This method is not bad, it will catch the rain and dew."
Hearing his nondescript words, several generals couldn't help but cover their mouths in amusement. Xu Youchang shook his head angrily and amusedly, and ordered: "Okay, everyone, let's talk about it and speak freely."
Seeing what he had said, Xiong Yunjie was the first to stand up: "Daduhu, Xu Shuai, Mr. Xie, our Fifth Army does not want to return to Western Xinjiang as a whole, so we should follow the second plan."
"The same goes for the Sixth Army," Jigriz continued: "We are the commander's personal soldiers and the main force in attacking fortresses. Wherever most of the guards are, there is the Nulang Sixth Army. Hey, don't look at me like that, I My daughter-in-law wrote to me and told me not to worry about my family and to put down the rebellion."
Duan Jun stood up and cupped his hands and said: "My lords, the Ninth Army does not need to be replaced. When will the Ninth Army enter Hangzhou and return home in triumph?"
Seeing this, Xu Youchang turned to Li Jiangyao and shrugged: "Look, Lao Xie and I guessed right, these guys are not willing to go back at all."
