Gong Chengze never imagined that it was such a decision to stay on the ship that ultimately saved his life.
On the night when Yin Chengyi went to Yangzhou City, the imperial fleet docked inside and outside the dock was suddenly surrounded by a large number of rebel warships.
The arrival of these rebels was both secretive and sudden. The imperial navy had just arrived here and was not familiar with the surrounding combat conditions at all. Moreover, after the long journey, the whole army would inevitably relax, so until the huge black shadows were scattered nearby, Fan, then became frightened and sounded the alarm.
Suddenly, the entire navy fleet was like a rabbit with fried hair, jumping up and down in a panic. However, the commanders of each battalion and team were surprised to find that they could not find their commander.
Can that be found? The Governor of Yin is currently drinking and having fun in Yangzhou City.
Gong Chengze also knew nothing about water warfare, but the current situation was extremely tense and it was difficult to judge the enemy's intentions. He had no choice but to order the warships parked outside to retract into the harbor while asking people to quickly notify Yin Chengyi so that he could come and take charge of the overall situation.
Soon, the messenger who was responsible for finding Governor Yin ran back, covered in blood and looking panicked. Along with him, there were several personal guards of Yin Chengyi.
When Gong Chengze saw this, his heart suddenly became cold and he quickly asked where the Governor was?
The messenger told him with a sad face that as soon as Yin Chengyi received the news of the large-scale invasion of enemy warships, he immediately left Yangzhou City with his men and rushed to the port. Unexpectedly, they were suddenly ambushed by rebels on the way, and the governor Yin Chengyi was killed on the spot. In the end, only a few people managed to escape.
Hearing this, Gong Chengze suddenly felt his scalp numb and cold sweat breaking out down his spine. It seems that the rebels are repeating their original tactics again and are coming to raid Yangzhou again!
"Where are the Suppressing Army?!" He came back to his senses and asked urgently: "The enemy came and they didn't take any action?"
The messenger responded: "Two brothers have already gone to Yangzhou City to report the news. I believe that the Zhenjiang Army will arrive soon for reinforcements."
Gong Chengze finally felt a little more at ease. Since the Suppressing Army can appear at any time, the landing rebels are nothing to worry about. As long as the enemy fleet is blocked from the port, your own safety can be guaranteed.
Thinking of this, Gong Chengze issued an order to have the warships guard the dock and not go into battle easily without instructions. His idea is very clear: first, ensure that he does not die, and second, try to avoid unnecessary losses to the fleet. When the Zhenjiang Army comes to take over, it will be enough for him to have a basic explanation to the court.
Anyway, he is just an inspector responsible for supervising the army. The governor has already died for the country, so there is really no reason for him to rush to the front and fight for life and death.
Not long after, thousands of soldiers and horses, holding torches, came from the direction of Yangzhou City to the port terminal. When the captain who led the team saw Gong Chengze, he first said solemnly: "General Gong, the captain confirmed that he was killed in the attack. When I came here just now, I saw his body."
Gong Chengze couldn't help but shook his head and sighed: "Oh, I have long advised him not to go back to the city, not to go back to the city, but he just refused to listen. This is the front line, and there are dangers everywhere. He has been in the imperial capital for a long time, and he has no idea about it. It’s so awesome that we met with misfortune right after we arrived. It’s really…oh, what a pity!”
The captain glanced at the river in the distance and asked: "What to do next? Do you plan to lead the fleet to attack? If the enemy storms the dock later, our current formation will only be beaten."
Gong Chengze was stunned when he heard this, and then waved his hand: "No, no, no, I am the military affairs inspector of the Southern Expedition. I am only responsible for supervising military affairs. It is not my duty to fight. Besides, I don't know what the navy does. .”
The captain of Zhenjiang frowned and murmured: "In this humble position, I know how to fight on the water, but unfortunately I can't command without the authorization from my superiors. You are the highest-ranking general here besides the Commander-in-Chief of Yin, so you should go out in person to fight."
Upon hearing this, Gong Chengze quickly responded: "This is easy to handle! Can't you just let me hand over the command of the fleet to you? Come here, go to the Grand Governor's cabin to get the general's seal! Also, immediately send the commanders of each battalion and each team The boss shouted to come here, I have something to say."
The subordinate promised to do it immediately.
In less than a moment, dozens of mid-level officers from the fleet were ordered to arrive, one of whom was holding the seal of the commander-in-chief.
Gong Chengze put his hands on his hips and said loudly to everyone: "Brothers! The shameful rebels have landed for a sneak attack! Before, when I was inspecting the frontline troops, those beasts did this once. I didn't expect that they would repeat their old tricks now. Not only did they send a fleet to surround Yangzhou Port with the intention of launching an attack on us, but they also sent people to set up an ambush halfway and killed the governor!"
As soon as this statement came out, the officers were shocked and couldn't help talking about it on the spot. Everyone's face could not hide the look of surprise and doubt. I just arrived at the front line today, and the general is dead after not even one night? !
However, based on the previous battles with Japanese bandits, it was not too surprising that Yin Chengyi was ambushed and killed by the rebels.
But what should we do next?
This group of naval forces were all transferred from the rear, and they were already a little afraid of the front line. Now that the general died in battle, they suddenly lost their backbone, and they couldn't help but feel confused and worried.
Gong Chengze waved his hand and said resolutely: "No need to worry, everyone! I have reviewed the situation and made the final decision. Next, the entire fleet will obey the command of the Zhenjiang Army and fight bravely to fight against the powerful enemy! This... what is your name? Are you here? Oh yes, this is Captain Luo Yuanluo, from now on, just listen to him!"
After that, Gong Chengze took the seal and stuffed it into Luo Yuan's hand: "I am the military affairs inspector of the Southern Expedition and can act on behalf of the emperor. Brother Luo, I leave everything to you from now on!"
Luo Yuan smiled and asked: "My lord, where are you going next? Aren't you going to face the enemy with us?"
Gong Chengze waved his hands and said solemnly: "Unfortunately, Governor Yin was killed in battle. For such a big thing, I have to go back to the imperial capital to report it in person. It's up to you here. Please say hello to Governor Li and General Xu later for me. , help take care of the fleet, thank you very much."
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Gong Chengze really didn't want to stay any longer on the terrifying Dajiang front line. The last experience of disguising himself as a common man and escaping from Taizhou under Ye Rongcheng's nose once caused a great psychological shadow on him.
Unexpectedly, I was in a bad year, and as soon as I returned to the front, I encountered the enemy's attack again. Especially the death of Yin Chengyi made Gong Chengze determined to leave as soon as possible.
After explaining the docking of the naval forces, he immediately ordered the guards and horses, and ordered Luo Yuan to send him an extra team of elite Suppressing Army troops. Then he left the port overnight and headed northwest.
After Gong Chengze left, Luo Yuan smiled faintly, and then motioned to his men to quietly send a light signal outside. In about half an hour, all the rebel fleets on the river returned and soon disappeared completely in the night.
Luo Yuan immediately conveyed the order, and the 600 warships were divided into two groups. One group continued to stay at Yangzhou Port, waiting for the fleet of the second flag of Kunpeng's Tenth Army to come and rendezvous. The other group headed west after dawn to go to Wuwei Shuizhai received reorganization training.
Although the officers didn't know what was going on, the Zhenjiang Army was a prestigious ace unit. It was definitely more reliable to follow their command than to follow Yin Chengyi's, so everyone agreed one after another and went back to prepare. .
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The news that Yin Chengyi was killed in the attack and that the six hundred warships were temporarily returned to the command of the Zhenjiang Army soon aroused consternation and surprise in both the north and south of the Yangtze River as Gong Chengze returned to the imperial capital.
Emperor Li Bing never expected that his commander-in-chief died before leaving the army. He finally survived the harassment of Japanese pirates and arrived at his destination Yangzhou, but he was defeated by the enemy without even fighting a decent battle. Kill by sneak attack.
Is the death rate on the Dajiang front so high? But I haven’t seen the generals of other legions die as soon as they come on the field?
Maybe Yin Chengyi's fate is really bad. Li Bing sighed silently in his heart: It still echoes the old saying, if the earthen pot is not broken away from the wellhead, the general will inevitably die in battle.
Although Li Bing was not very satisfied with Gong Chengze's sudden decision, he still had no better way. Apart from temporarily handing over the fleet to the Zhenjiang Army for command, what else can we do?
Should we leave 600 warships alone in Yangzhou?
Therefore, after listening to Gong Chengze's successive reports, Li Bing still comforted the inspector with a few words of gentleness and expressed approval of his decision at that time. Although one of the imperial generals was lost, the warship was finally transported to the river smoothly, and everyone's hard work was not in vain if they could beat the rebel navy.
Compared with Li Bing's relaxed attitude, the Jiangnan rebels were completely confused.
From Wei Zixuan to Bao Yuchun, to Lao Jianhua and Li Zhang, everyone felt a little confused: The rebel fleet besieged Yangzhou Port? And they also sent troops to ambush and kill Yin Chengyi? Who did this?
A fool like Yin Chengyi personally went to the front line to command the fleet. Bao Yuchun and the others were too late to be happy. How could they be willing to kill him?
Aren't you happy with yourself?
There must be a conspiracy here!
Lao Jianhua and Bao Yuchun thought of Li Jiangyao almost immediately: This guy as cunning as a fox has really dark hands! In order to prevent Yin Chengyi from causing trouble, he actually dared to pretend to be a rebel and stabbed the imperial general for the sake of 600 new warships.
Simply more ruthless than the rebels!
Lao Jianhua immediately decided to send someone to the imperial capital to send a letter to Wei Zixuan, instructing him to try to investigate the death of the governor Yin Chengyi, and to seize evidence of Li Jiangyao's attack on imperial officials and conspiracy to rebel, and then set off a conflict between the emperor Li Bing and the Zhenjiang Army. conflict.
At the same time, he also asked Wei Zixuan for help in secretly searching for Rui Ji's whereabouts.
Since Rui Ji went to the Imperial Capital, not only has there been no progress in the secret mission, but she herself has also disappeared and there is no news. Even the spies lurking in the Imperial Capital have lost contact with Jiangnan.
An ominous premonition hung over Lao Jianhua's mind all the time, making him start to feel restless.
