Xiahou Ninghan and Xu Youchang had the same thoughts. Li Jiangyao was attacked and wounded, and Lian Ji unfortunately died, which had already touched her bottom line, and the traitors in the court were in power, and the emperor had a lot of suspicions about the Zhenjiang army, and with normal means, he could not get justice for his husband and sister-in-law at all.

Since the other party made the first move, then don't blame the Zhenjiang army for not being emotional.

Xiahou Ninghan suggested that Yudra, it is best not to talk to Li Jiangyao about this matter for the time being. The war is imminent, and he needs to plan and think about how many clues he has, and his injuries have not yet healed, so if he worries about this matter again, it is tantamount to adding trouble.

Yudra originally wanted to protect the capital, of course, he didn't care about the Zhenguo Mansion, seeing that his wife and Xu Shuai both meant this, he nodded and agreed, and went back to let the Imperial Capital Branch continue to investigate the case while preparing for a counterattack against Cheng Xi.

At this time, the Dajiang battlefield had been silent for a month, and the north and south were accumulating their own strength, and constantly looking for each other's flaws.

Of course, in the strict sense of the word, complete silence cannot really be achieved. Although large-scale battles have not yet broken out, sporadic clashes have occurred from time to time.

Yiling and Jingxiang, including the Jinling waterway downstream, the imperial navy and the rebel fleet often come and go, with as few as three or four warships and as many as dozens of large ships, attacking each other and refusing to give in to each other.

Bao Yuchun thought the same as Li Jiangyao, the control of the river is the key to the decisive victory of the north and the south, so he is always vigilant and does not dare to relax for a moment.

After Li Jiangyao left Yiling Water Village, Bao Xinyan tried to launch an attack on the imperial navy, but Yang Li relied on the main force of the Four Banners, with the assistance of Wang Wenlie and Guan Sansheng and others, successfully repelled the invading enemy and did not let the other party succeed.

Seeing that the imperial fleet was highly morale and well prepared, Bao Xinyan knew that it was difficult for him to continue to consume the strength of the Yiling naval army as before, and the timing and conditions for the decisive battle were not ripe, so he also gave up the attack strategy and turned to consolidate the Linzigang base and block the waterway as much as possible.

At the same time, the problem of bandits and bandits on the eastern seaboard has intensified.

Although Dong Tianxing personally went to the front line to coordinate and supervise the battle, the leaders of the Japanese thieves such as Sugata Yamanu and Kojima Takayoshi, with the support of Bao Yuchun, successively increased their troops and landed, and won several victories against the imperial army. Not only the Qilu Peninsula, but also Donghai County, Langya County and other places have also fallen into their hands.

A large number of local people dragged their families and families to flee to the west, and the war was raging on the coastal frontline, and the people were struggling to make a living.

Helpless, the military department had no choice but to ask Li Bing, hoping to mobilize some main army corps to participate in the battle and completely quell the invasion of the thieves.

Li Bing weighed it again and again, and consulted the Governor's Office and various army corps, and finally decided that the Xuanwu Corps, which was closest to the defense area, would be in charge of the matter. Xuanwu general Chang Tao gathered 60,000 soldiers and horses under his command and marched north to assist the local government soldiers in the crusade against the Japanese thieves.

However, at this time, the thieves had basically gained a foothold. Not only do they have a strong army in their hands, with a total of nearly 100,000 people, but they also occupy many cities and fortresses in the eastern region, with complete fortifications, abundant food and grass materials, and the ronin warriors themselves are fierce and good at fighting, so even in the face of the main army of the Holy Tang, they will not fall behind at all.

With the geographical advantage, Sugata Yamagu and others even repelled the attacks of the Xuanwu Army several times in a row, and won a solid battle.

The rear is unstable, which naturally affects the front.

On the one hand, the supply routes of the imperial court were interfered with by bandits, and it was difficult to collect the grain taxes in the eastern region and transport them to the front line of the Great River. On the other hand, because the thieves became more and more ferocious, and there were signs of continuing to invade westward, the imperial capital considered letting the Xuanwu Army continue to increase its troops, which was tantamount to continuing to weaken the frontline forces and slow down the progress of the rebels in the south.

Under these circumstances, Li Jiangyao could not take care of his injuries and studied the map for several days, and finally decided to launch a large-scale campaign in the near future to break the current situation, reverse the unfavorable situation, and regain the initiative on the battlefield.

In his words: It is to lead Lao Jianhua Bao Yuchun's nose in turn, and not give the southern rebels a chance to accumulate strength!

-

It was almost early winter, and the wind was blowing. Northwest winds rolled up on the surface of the river, and the chill was better than the day.

The Kunpeng Tenth Army is located in the Shuizhai camp in Wuwei Town, Chaoxian County, and it is now full of preparations for war.

Not long ago, they received orders from the high command to prepare for an attack on the southern bank town of Guz.

Jiuzi is subordinate to Xuanzhou and directly under the jurisdiction of Xuancheng, which is the command center of the Jiangnan rebels, and the five hundred main warships under the command of Bao Yuchun are gathered here, holding the waterway defense line in front of the Zhenjiang army, and the position is extremely important.

Li Jiangyao's decision to attack here was not small, obviously intending to severely damage Bao Yuchun's core combat strength in one fell swoop and greatly demoralize the rebels.

When Nie Xianzeng and Luo Yuan received this important task, they did not dare to slack off in the slightest, and immediately mobilized the whole army to prepare for the attack on Jiuzi. Upon hearing the order, the officers and men of the 10th Army began to carry out various combat drills in view of the terrain of the Jiuzi Waterway while repairing the warships and replenishing supplies.

At present, the northwest wind is blowing, and Wuwei is located in the upper reaches of Jiuzi, and the favorable time and place are very favorable to the Tenth Army, so the Kunpeng soldiers are all high morale and full of energy, and they all hope to make great contributions in this battle.

However, all their actions have fallen into the eyes of the enemy. Wuwei Water Village is on the riverside, and there is no secret about the coming and going of soldiers, and the Kunpeng Tenth Army is obviously going to fight a big battle, which immediately arouses the nervous attention of the rebels on the opposite side.

Bao Yuchun had already returned to Hangzhou to meet Li Jiong, the king of Jin, and discussed with Lao Jianhua about the follow-up conscription by the way, but as soon as he heard that the Zhenjiang Naval Division on Wuwei's side was suddenly mobilized, he immediately guessed that Li Jiangyao had returned to Luzhou, most likely to do something, so he set off in a hurry and returned to Xuancheng day and night.

As soon as he arrived at the place, Bao Yuchun immediately convened a meeting of his subordinates to analyze the movements and intentions of the Zhenjiang army.

The generals of the rebel naval division were all experienced experts, and they all speculated that Li Jiangyao's target was most likely Jiuzi, sixty miles downstream of Wuwei.

There are not only more than 500 of their own main warships, but also located in the core position of the entire middle section of the river, once the Jiuzi is lost, not to mention the loss of troops, the strategic point of the waterway will also be controlled by the Huizhen Xinjiang army, and the upstream and downstream will be completely cut off by the other side into two.

Even, the Xuancheng headquarters will face a direct impact from the 300,000 Zhenjiang army.

Bao Yuchun bowed slightly when he heard this, and then asked in a deep voice: "Is the Zhenjiang Army really so confident?" Are you sure you'll eat the main force of my water army? ”

A subordinate general pondered: "The combat power of the sailors of the Zhenjiang Army is not weak, and the new flywheel warship also has many unique features. In addition, according to scout reconnaissance, the total number of opposing warships is around 600, and it does have a fighting force with us. ”

Another responded: "The opponent has the upper hand, the situation is more favorable, and with the previous consecutive wins, it is not surprising to have this confidence." ”

The other generals did not speak, but they all nodded in agreement.

Bao Yuchun turned his head to look at the Dajiang situation map hanging on the wooden shelf, and after pondering for a while, he muttered: "Li Jiangyao has always been scheming, and he rarely fights stupid battles that go straight to the point, what kind of conspiracy does he have this time?" ”

When all the subordinates heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other. Some people suddenly felt that what the boss said was indeed reasonable, and Li Jiangyao, who was "as brave as a tiger and as cunning as a tiger", did not play some ghost tricks in the war, which seemed unreasonable.

However, more people still think that Bao Yuchun thinks too much.

Considering the location of Wuwei Water Village, the best target for attack is none other than the Jiuzi fleet. If this place is abandoned, the Zhenjiang army can only attack upstream, which is both against the wind and the water, and it has to guard against the Guzi fleet from cutting off its retreat from the back at any time, which is simply a self-defeating approach.

Bao Yuchun didn't know the difference between the pros and cons of this situation, but he didn't dare to underestimate his opponent Li Jiangyao at all, and he didn't dare to make a judgment easily, believing that the Zhenjiang Sailor was going to take Jiuzi directly.

"Let's find out and report again!" After thinking about it for a long time, Bao Yuchun frowned and snorted: "Don't be in a hurry to determine the enemy's attack target, everything is based on accurate military information." Starting today, all flags and formations will be on full alert and ready for battle at any time. ”

Everyone received the order in unison, and then each returned to the unit to explain the task. Bao Yuchun stood alone in front of the map, deep in thought.

-

"Jiang Yao, your complexion looks much better these days." Xu Youchang walked into the house quickly, rubbing his hands and breathing, and said with a smile: "You can really boil this body, I heard the guards say, I didn't sleep all night last night, and my spirit is still so strong at this time, why don't you secretly eat any supplements?" ”

Li Jiangyao glanced at him, and snorted angrily: "Yes, I take the ginseng of Changbai Mountain as a radish to gnaw, not to mention that I haven't slept all night, and I won't be sleepy after three nights." ”

Xu Youchang laughed a few times, stretched out his hand to bake the fire next to the stove, turned his head and asked, "Are you planning a water war?" Right now, this is the big thing that can keep you up at night, right? ”

"Bao Yuchun is an old fox, I'm afraid it's not easy to deceive." Li Jiangyao nodded, gave Xu Youchang a bowl of hot tea, and continued: "He has returned to Xuancheng now, have you heard?" ”

Xu Youchang smiled: "I already knew." Not only him, but also six thousand Xuanjia elites arrived with him, presumably to prevent us from crossing the river and attacking. Hey Jiang Yao, what do you say Lao Bao is thinking? ”

Li Jiangyao stretched his waist, loosened the muscles of his shoulders and neck, and sighed: "If only I could know what Lao Bao was thinking." It's a pity that we are not half-immortal bodies that can pinch and calculate, and the opponent's calculations all rely on blind guessing. ”

"I don't think so." Xu Youchang sat down next to him: "Let's worry, Bao Yuchun is even more worried." You can't guess his mind, and he can't guess yours. I'm afraid that until now, Lao Bao has not figured out what the Kunpeng Tenth Army is going to do. ”