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The panicked Du Ping saw that the water surface of the harbor had turned into a sea of fire, and suddenly felt that it was dark in front of him, and the sky was spinning.

The sailors that his father had set up with great difficulty and great difficulty originally expected to use them to prevent the Zhou army from crossing the river.

And he is also ready to use this sailor to fight a big victory and make a contribution to the fight for the reserve. But he never imagined that the first time he went to sea to fight, the whole army would be wiped out.

If my father knew that the Jianghuai Army Naval Division suffered a crushing defeat because of his sudden battle, and that the whole army was wiped out, then his fate could be imagined.

At this time, his lieutenant Wu Bo desperately pulled up Du Ping, jumped into the boat that had been put into the water, and then fled.

While escaping, Wu Bo comforted: "Little prince, now that our army has been defeated, and the main force of the Navy Division has been wiped out, the only way to do this today is to flee back to Jiankang first." King Du still has more warships in his hands. If our army can requisition some more ships from all over the river, it will also be able to fight the enemy. It's just that now that our army has suffered a crushing defeat, I am afraid that we will no longer be able to prevent the Zhou army from landing on the south bank of the Yangtze River, so we have to go back quickly and inform King Du to take precautions as soon as possible! ”

Du Ping let out a long sigh, looking at the sea's continuous burning and sinking warship, he also had a feeling of pain. He didn't know if his father would forgive him this time, but now he could only nod helplessly, and then rowed a small boat to find a secluded place to dock.

At this time, Zhou Tao led the Zhou army's naval division to launch a fierce attack and sank all the warships of the Jianghuai army that had not yet been ignited. Full control of the Yangtze River estuary.

Du Ping and Wu Bo relied on their familiarity with the waterways here, jumped ashore, and fled to the other side of Chongming Island from a young age, and then found a fisherman's boat from there, and then fled back to Jiankang.

After Zhou Tao landed and occupied Chongming Island, he led the sailors to land in Cangcang and took control of the port.

Immediately, Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, Cheng Yanjin and others led an army of 60,000 from Cang to attack Suzhou.

The left-behind Wu in Suzhou only had a thousand soldiers in his hands, and most of them were old, weak, sick and disabled, and they were not the opponents of the wolf-like Zhou army at all. He then surrendered.

After Qin Qiong and others occupied Suzhou, they continued to attack westward, connecting Wuxi, Changzhou and Zhenjiang, and fought until the suburbs of Jiankang, and the entire Yangtze River defense line of the Jianghuai Army completely collapsed.

……

This sky-high fire not only burned the main naval division of the Jianghuai Army, but also burned their original high-spirited fighting spirit.

After Du Fuwei learned that Du Ping's defeat at the mouth of the Yangtze River not only wiped out the main force of the Jianghuai Army's naval division, but also lost the important stronghold of Chongming Island, he couldn't help but be furious. Prepare to push Du Ping and Wu Bo out and behead. But fortunately he was dissuaded by Feng Huiliang.

He comforted: "Although King Du, the little prince and Wu Bo were defeated, which led to the landing of the Zhou army in Jiangnan, causing the loss of Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Zhenjiang, and their crimes should be punished. It's just that at the moment, there is no one available for our army's naval division, and apart from them, there is no one who is familiar with the combat of the naval division. And after they were defeated, they did not surrender to the Zhou army, but fled back to Jiankang, reported the truth to the king, and pleaded guilty, which shows that they are still loyal. And the little prince is the king's own flesh and blood, and he is also a popular candidate for the future prince, if he is beheaded, it will inevitably make the soldiers feel cold. ”

"But! These two bastards actually lost more than seven warships, and the sailors that this king worked so hard to build were destroyed in such a flash, how can they fight? Du Fuwei was still angry.

Feng Huiliang hurriedly said: "Now that the Zhou army has landed south of the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River defense line has been broken. Jiankang is surrounded by plains on all sides, and it is impossible to hold on. According to the opinion of the last general, it is better to retreat to Jiujiang and rely on the complex water conditions of Poyang Lake to prevent the Zhou army from continuing to advance westward. ”

Feng Huiliang's words made Du Fuwei's expression soften slightly, but he was still angry: "Then what about this little beast who committed a big disaster? ”

"The king can make him guilty and make meritorious service and continue to serve as the admiral of the navy! Then he ordered Wu Bo to collect ships from Jiujiang and Yuzhang to build a defense line at the mouth of the lake, so that the Zhou army's naval division could not attack Poyang Lake! At the same time, we can also send people to Li Tang for help, and when the Tang army's reinforcements arrive, maybe we can repel the Zhou army and regain the lost territory! Feng Hui Liang said.

Feng Huiliang's words finally dispelled Du Fuwei's concerns, and he also knew that Jiankang was now unguardable. He could only continue to retreat westward to the area of Yuzhang and Jiujiang. If the Zhou army continues to chase after him, he is afraid that if he can't wait for the Tang army's reinforcements to arrive, he will collapse completely.

Therefore, he called Du Ping and Wu Bo, reprimanded them fiercely, and then ordered them to mobilize warships from all over the river to gather at the mouth of the lake to continue to resist the westward advance of the Zhou army's naval division.

When Du Ping and Wu Bo learned the results, they were also surprised and delighted. He was immediately grateful, and said that he would definitely make meritorious service and prevent the Zhou army from advancing westward.

After the Jianghuai Army withdrew from Jiankang to the west, the main force of the Eastern Army of the Zhou Army successfully crossed the Yangtze River and joined Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, Cheng Yanjin and others who had crossed the river in advance in Jiankang.

After Yuming held a meeting of the divisions, he ordered the division of troops. Led by Luo Shixin, he went south to attack Huzhou, Hangzhou, Huiji and other places, and completely included the land south of the Yangtze River. The other was led by Yu Ming himself, attacking Poyang, Yuzhang and other places to the west. The first was the water division, led by Zhou Tao, along the Yangtze River upstream, attacking Hukou and Jiujiang.

At the beginning, the Zhou army made relatively smooth progress, capturing Tongling, Liyang, Lujiang and other counties. However, when we arrived at the mouth of the lake, because this place was already the confluence of Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River, the water and grass were flourishing, the rivers were vertical and horizontal, and the terrain and water conditions were very complicated, so it was a little difficult to attack.

And Du Fuwei, Du Ping, and Du Yu's father set up heavy guards here, and hid the boats that had been blown in the lake before, so that the Zhou army's sailors suffered great losses in several attacks.

Du Ping, who was eager for meritorious service, also counterattacked several times, but under the tight defense of the Zhou army's naval division, there was no chance.

Yu Ming knew that if the Jianghuai army's sailors could not be eliminated, the Zhou infantry would not be able to cross Poyang Lake, and they would not be able to continue westward and occupy Yuzhang, Jiujiang and other places.

So, in order to annihilate the fleet of the Jianghuai Army in one fell swoop, he did not let Zhou Tao take the initiative to attack, and both sides were patiently waiting for the fighters.

In this way, the two sides confronted each other in Poyang Lake for half a month. Except for some sporadic skirmishes, there was no movement between them.

At this time, the Zhou army's powerful water logistics transport fleet began to play a huge role, transporting a large amount of grain, oil, arrows, and catapults from the rear in a steady stream to ensure the continuous combat capability of the Zhou army's naval division.

At the same time, Du Fuwei also urgently asked Li Tang for help, saying that if reinforcements were not sent to rescue, the Jianghuai army would inevitably be wiped out within a month.

It's just that Li Yuan was a little helpless when he got Du Fuwei's distress letter. Because the main force of the Tang army has been put into the Hetao, Hedong and Luoyang battlefields. Except for Li Yuanji, who attacked Luoyang, there was no progress, Li Jiancheng, who attacked Hetao, and Li Shimin, who attacked Hedong, both made significant progress. How could he order the Tang Army to stop attacking at this critical time?

Now, Li Yuan can't even draw reinforcements from Li Xiaogong's side, so where can there be so many soldiers to send to rescue Du Fuwei?

However, Liu Jing gave Li Yuan an idea at this time, he said: "Your Majesty, if you don't save the Jianghuai army, Yuming can quickly withdraw his troops from the battlefield in the south of the Yangtze River, whether he continues to advance westward, attack the land of Jingxiang, or put it into the battlefields of Luoyang, Hedong, Hetao and other places, it will be greatly disadvantageous to our army." Therefore, Du Fuwei really can't help but save it. According to Weichen's opinion, it is better to let Li Xiaogong go to the aid of Du Fuwei! ”

"What? Let Xiaogong go to the rescue of Du Fuwei? He himself was beaten by Li Jing and cowered in Xiangyang City and didn't dare to come out, and asked him to come to the rescue? Won't Xiangyang be lost soon? Li Yuan also asked with wide eyes.

"Your Majesty, Weichen didn't want Li Xiaogong to send cavalry infantry to rescue, but asked him to send sailors to help in the battle!" Liu Jing said at this time: "Our army cooperated with the Jianghuai Army, and after destroying Xiao Miao, we captured a large number of warships of the Liang Army's naval division. The ships are now stored in the harbor of Gangneung. His Majesty could order Li Xiaogong to send these warships to Du Fuwei for him to reorganize the naval division. ”

"Fighting in a place like the south of the Yangtze River with a dense water network is different from the north, and if you want to win, you mainly rely on the naval warships. As long as the Jianghuai Army's naval divisions can resist the attack of the Zhou Army's naval divisions, then they will be able to drag the main force of the Zhou Army to the south of the Yangtze River, so that our army can successfully conquer Hetao, Hedong and other places. Liu Jing said with a sly smile in her eyes.

"It's good to be quiet, then let's do what you want!" After Li Yuan heard this, he was also relieved. He immediately ordered the supervisor to prepare pen, ink, and paper, and then wrote down a secret decree and asked people to bring it to Li Xiaogong and tell him to act according to the plan.

At the same time, Li Yuan also sent messengers to urge Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, who were on the Hetao and Hedong fronts, to speed up their attacks and take these two strategic points as soon as possible.

……

A month later, Du Pin finally waited for the fleet of his dreams,

Li Xiaogong sent people to send more than two warships of the former Liang Army that had been sealed at the Jiangling Wharf to Jiujiang and handed them over to the Jianghuai Army. Coupled with the existing ships in Du Fuwei's hands, Du Ping could call on more than four warships, and there were about 40,000 officers and men in the naval division. The number of ships of the Jianghuai and Zhou naval divisions was once again equal.

In fact, Du Fuwei was not satisfied with letting Du Ping command the sailors to fight, and felt that he was a little proud and complacent, and his decisions were rigid and self-serving. It's just that he himself doesn't know how to command a water war at all, and the assistant Gongzuo, who understands water warfare, has defected. Although there were also some sailor generals in the Jianghuai army, he couldn't believe it in this situation. Fearing that he would defect before the battle, he surrendered to the Zhou army.

Therefore, after weighing up, Du Fuwei still had no choice but to hand over the command of the naval division to Du Ping, hoping that he could learn lessons from the defeat in the last naval battle at the mouth of the Yangtze River and strive to win the next water battle.

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