"What did you just say, what is the name of the head of the Zhenjiang Army Naval Division?"

"Back to Bao Shuai, his name is Nie Xianzeng, and he was a first-class martial arts student in the Imperial Capital Yanwutang Sailor Section."

Bao Yuchun frowned: "First-class martial arts? How come I've never heard of this man? ”

"Nie Xianzeng only graduated from Yanwutang in 821 of the Holy Tang Dynasty, because the Turks invaded at that time, so he did not join the navy according to the custom, but returned to his hometown to farm. Recently, he was invited by Li Jiangyao to take command. ”

Hearing this, Bao Yuchun suddenly showed a look of disdain: "No wonder, it was only completed in eight hundred and twenty-one years, and he is still a doll." Li Jiangyao is really unavailable, and he actually found someone who has never led troops or fought in battle. ”

The adjutant general on the side also smiled and said: "I said, the previous scouts came back and said that the Zhenjiang Sailor hiding in Hongze Lake did a good job on the surface, but the discipline was lax, and he had no courage but no rules. In this way, it makes sense. ”

Bao Yuchun nodded silently, thought for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "It seems that this Nie Xianzeng really lacks the necessary experience, and the reason why we were able to succeed in one blow last time was completely because we were defenseless. And the battle of Guazhou Ferry, most of the time Xue Meng was too careless to the enemy, and was rushed by the other party and caught off guard. ”

A naval lieutenant on the other side was still a little puzzled: "What about the so-called new warship?" According to Xue Meng's subordinates, they did see a strange-looking new fighting ship that night, as fast as a galloping horse......"

The adjutant general interrupted: "Most of the time those guys are dazzled in the middle of the night, or they are deliberately made up an excuse to shirk the responsibility for the defeat." The scouts went to several groups, but they didn't see the kind of ship they were talking about. ”

When Bao Yuchun heard him say this, he couldn't help but believe it a little in his heart. The Zhenjiang army swept through the ghost desert of Western Xinjiang and defeated the Turkic iron cavalry, if they invented any new infantry weapons or siege magic weapons, he believed; But if they can design a new warship out of thin air, it is difficult for Bao Yuchun to accept.

Even he, the No. 1 water war general of the Holy Tang Dynasty, has never made any water weapons for so many years, why are the buns of soil buns and landlubbers in the Zhenjiang Army?

Could it be that there is a sea in the western frontier?

Bao Yuchun smiled coldly: "Since that's the case, then don't worry about him for now." There are only about 200 broken boats, and they can't turn up any big waves. As long as the sneak attack tactics can no longer be effective, the sailors of the Zhenjiang Army have nothing to worry about. First try to defeat the imperial navy in the Jingxiang area, and then turn back to clean up the Zhenjiang army and avenge Xue Meng and them. ”

The adjutant general agreed: "The handsome and wise! The imperial navy is the primary target. According to reliable sources, they have now assembled more than 1,300 warships, and they occupy the advantage of the upstream, and their strength should not be underestimated. ”

Bao Yuchun bowed slightly, turned his head and instructed Du Lieutenant Han Lin: "I'll leave it to you here, give you 300 new ships, and block the mouth of the canal, Guazhou Ferry, Mangdao River, and Yinjiang River to prevent the Zhenjiang army from attacking again." In addition, let Yao Mingjie follow you and make meritorious contributions! ”

Han Lin replied: "Obey!" Please rest assured, Bao Shuai's humble position will never let the Zhenjiang Army succeed again! ”

Bao Yuchun waved his hand: "Pass the military order, all departments of the navy will assemble in the upstream Chaisang from now on, and the commander will start a decisive battle with the main force of the imperial court to destroy their water power in one fell swoop!" ”

-

The news of the rebel fleet's successive westward advances soon reached Li Jiangyao's ears.

He knew that the plan to deceive Bao Yuchun had worked, and at the same time, the imperial court's navy was about to face a severe test.

Bao Yuchun mobilized 2,500 ships of various sizes this time, and his overall combat power was twice that of the imperial fleet, and he himself was a well-deserved famous general in water warfare, so for the imperial capital, this battle was very dangerous.

However, even if he knew that the chances of the imperial court were not good, Li Jiangyao had no better way. In a hard-fought battle like this, unless you choose to run away, you can only make up your mind to carry it to the death.

Water warfare is also different from land warfare. Open plains, steep mountains, as long as you want to preserve your strength, there is always a way to get out of the battlefield and avoid the enemy's edge. But when the fleet is in the middle of a river, there is almost zero room for manoeuvre.

You'll have to run along the waterway, and the enemy will chase you along the waterway, and unless you decide to abandon the ship and go ashore, you won't be able to escape.

In this case, even if they knew that they were invincible, the naval army of the imperial court could only face it head-on.

Alas, may God bless you, and don't let the court lose too badly.

Li Jiangyao prayed silently in his heart, and at the same time began to study the map: Do you want the Tenth Army to drag Yuchun's hind legs? How about you be able to help?

To be honest, he really doesn't want to let the fledgling navy fight a tough battle now. The expensive building ship fighting ship, that is really sinking one less one, can directly consume the old capital.

However, he could not stand by and watch his allies be destroyed while he stood by and watched.

Suddenly, Li Jiangyao fell into a tangle.

However, his entanglement did not last long, because a new enemy situation suddenly appeared.

There is an urgent report from the military department: there is a large-scale invasion of Japanese thieves in the eastern states!

After getting the news, Li Jiangyao immediately became vigilant: Such a coincidence? It must be Lao Jianhua and Bao Yuchun who are making trouble!

Since he can come up with the idea of sending a naval army to outflank the enemy's rear, how could a cunning two old foxes ignore this trick of four or two thousand pounds?

Bao Yuchun led his troops to fight bandits in the wide sea all the year round, and he dealt with the thieves a lot, maybe he really worshiped a few ronin leaders and became his own private soldiers. At this time, the thieves suddenly landed in Shengtang and attacked the state capitals in the rear, which was obviously extremely beneficial to the Jiangnan rebels.

Li Jiangyao immediately wrote a letter, preparing to ask the imperial court for war, and sent troops to the north to deal a head-on blow to the invading thieves.

However, before his letter was written, the Ministry of War sent another notice: after being promoted by the Governor's Office, the matter of resisting the pirates would be undertaken by the newly formed Eastern Government Army, and the front-line armies should not be distracted by this, and they should be responsible for recruiting the southern rebels.

Eastern Soldiers? Li Jiangyao was stunned, wasn't that a recruit just recruited? Let a group of ordinary people who have never been on the battlefield go to the death of thieves? Crazy?

He hurriedly rewrote the letter and sent a Pegasus urgent report directly to the imperial capital.

He disagreed with the bullshit idea of the Governor's Mansion, and bluntly said that there were gains and losses in it, and I implore the Ministry of War to consider it carefully, and I implore the emperor to consider it carefully!

But it's a pity that Li Jiangyao's letter didn't even enter the palace, and was intercepted by Wei Zixuan, the left servant of Shangshu.

"The eastern state capital has recruited 100,000 soldiers, and if they are not used there, is it a waste of food and salary in the national treasury?"

The left minister said righteously and sternly.

"In the face of the rebels' attacks, the front-line army is still too busy to take care of it, how can it have the energy to suppress the bandits. There are thousands of ronins, the army is not like the army, and the bandits are not like bandits, so it is enough to send government soldiers to deal with it! ”

The Metropolitan Governor was well-founded.

In this way, for the third time, the imperial court ordered all legions to stick to the defensive area in place and not to leave without authorization, so as not to be taken advantage of by the southern rebels to counterattack and delay the major event.

To put it simply, you all obediently keep an eye on the south side and defend against the thieves and ronins, so you don't have to worry about it.

Of course, the only ones who can be obedient are the Qinglong Army, the Vermilion Bird Army and the Xuanwu Army. As for the Zhenjiang Army, they never knew what it meant to be obedient.

Li Jiangyao took the order of the imperial court and smiled at Xu Youchang: "The face of the imperial capital still has to be given, and it is really unreasonable for us to send troops to leave the defense area in a grand manner." ”

Xu Youchang smiled and nodded: "But the problem is that we already have a force that has already left the defense area and gone to the north, and the imperial court doesn't know." ”

Li Jiangyao showed a rather helpless expression: "Oh, look at it, why is this incident so coincidental?" ”

Xu Youchang understood and responded: "Speaking of which, I really have to inform them quickly, there are robbers and bandits nearby, and if they get into trouble, they can't be beaten in vain." ”

These two guys sang and harmonized, talking about Nie Xianzeng's Kunpeng Tenth Army.

Two hundred and fifty large building ships and fighting ships, and 14,000 fierce sailors, are in Luoma Lake at this moment, no more than two hundred miles away from Donghai County and Langya County, which were attacked by Japanese thieves!

To fight or not to fight, is it a problem for Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang?

The herald rode straight to Luoma Lake, and Luo Yuan, the deputy general of the Kunpeng Tenth Army, immediately jumped up and shouted excitedly. It's no wonder that he himself is a native of Donghai County, and his hometown was washed in the blood of Japanese thieves, how can he not be in a hurry?

Nie Xianzeng carefully read the military order of Dadu Hu, raised his eyebrows, and shouted: "Greet the brothers, kill the thief!" ”

After reconnaissance by the scout troops, Nie Xianzeng divided the Tenth Army into three routes, Luo Yuan led one way, took the Shu River, and went straight to Donghai County; Wang Wenlie led all the way, walked the Xinyi River, and went straight to Langya County. He himself led the main force and marched by land, responsible for the two lines of troops and horses.

In other words, if the main force of the thieves was encountered, or the battle was not going well, Nie Xianzeng immediately brought people over to reinforce him.

The task was properly assigned, and the three soldiers and horses acted at the same time, leaving the Llama Lake where they were hiding, and headed east.

At this time, the pirates had been wreaking havoc on the eastern coastal areas for more than half a month, burning, killing, looting, and committing all kinds of evil wherever they went. They are different from the Turkic army, and they are not the same as the horse bandits in the ghost desert, they are fierce thieves by nature, they have almost no humanity at all, they will do whatever they are perverted, they will love whatever they are shameless, they are no different from beasts.

During this period, the recruits recruited by the eastern state capital, under the leadership of Captain Ojichong, also had several battles with the pirates. But as Wei Zixuan expected, the government soldiers, who lacked battlefield experience and were also seriously undertrained, were not opponents of the ronin at all.

The Shengtang miscellaneous army, which had been defeated in successive battles, could only give up protecting the towns and villages in the end, retreat to the two county capitals of Donghai and Langya, and struggled to support it.

The thieves became more and more arrogant, and in a short time gathered tens of thousands of troops, attacked these two important towns respectively, and vowed to kill all the men in the city and take all the women captive.