Miao Tong, who was on another building ship, was a little confused after hearing the military order.
"Cut the reeds and make them into straw men? What does King Xu Shu mean by this?"
"King Xu Shu conquered the south and the north, and was good at planning. Maybe he was using tricks. It only takes two hours. General Miao can do it." There was Dongling counselor who was accompanying the ship next to him, and he thought for a while before speaking.
"That's it." Miao Tong hesitated for a while, then immediately sent an order, and according to Xu Mu's military order, he sent people out to cut the reed poles.
"My lord, they have begun to cross the river. I hope King Xu Shu can lead me and others to successfully hold off the Cangzhou Navy."
Deep down in his heart, Miao Tong was still willing to believe it. Not to mention anything else, just being the man in the mantle of the young marquis was worthy of admiration.
About an hour or so.
As the straw men were bundled up and the boats were lined up, Dongfang Jing ordered ten fire boats to carry the smoke-filled objects. After a while, when they were burning up, the thick smoke suddenly rolled into the sky, and black mist rolled in.
…
Moving east of the Yangtze River, a mighty 60,000-strong alliance navy was rushing towards the river bank of Cangzhou. It looked like it was not far away.
On the main ship of the coalition forces, there was a middle-aged man wearing a battle armor, with a beard and a fighting spirit in his eyes.
He is Xia Houfu, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces. Among all the soldiers in Dongling, he can be regarded as the chief navy general in Dongling.
"General, we're not far away." A confidant said beside him.
Xia Houfu nodded calmly, without any loss of expression. This time, with his lord placing high hopes on him, he naturally wanted to show off his majesty.
"Soldiers came to report earlier. Xu Buyi's side has already begun to take action to contain the enemy in the western section of Cangzhou."
"I have heard Xu Buyi's name for a long time. Although he is also a man who is good at fighting. But this time, it is me, the Dongling Navy, who is mainly attacking the Cangzhou Demon Queen."
"Don't worry, the Lord is at the rear camp, waiting for the good news of our victory."
Xia Houfu exhaled and narrowed his eyes. In front of him, he could vaguely see the outline of the Cangzhou River bank.
"It's not far from Cangzhou -"
"Report to General, Cangzhou Navy appears ahead!" Before Xia Houfu could finish speaking, a military report suddenly came.
"As expected, our army is approaching. It is normal for the Demon Queen to intercept it. Tell me, general, how many enemy warships are there?"
"Less than a hundred ships."
Xia Houfu smiled faintly, "The master's plan has been completed, and with Xu Buyi's restraint, the main force of the Cangzhou Navy is already too far away. This is the opportunity I have been waiting for."
"The Demon Queen is good at calculating, the general must not be careless."
"Of course I know." Xia Houfu nodded calmly, "But have you ever heard of the principle that soldiers need speed? If we wait for the Cangzhou Navy to return to defense, I'm afraid everything will be too late."
"Send the order, let the captain speed up the oars. Also, fill up the sails, and the whole army will rush to the shore!"
Military orders were passed down from level to level, and the leaders of many forces were full of fighting spirit, roaring to the sky, ordering their warships to continue approaching Cangzhou.
But in the end, a fleet of more than 500 ships did not rush with them. Instead, they slowly slowed down and soon fell far behind the coalition forces.
"Fifth Master, if we don't speed up, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up." On top of the lagging main ship, a veteran hurriedly walked to the bow and spoke in a deep voice.
The fifth master he spoke of was a Confucian young master in his thirties. As the fifth eldest son of the Tang family in Qingzhou, he naturally wanted to be called the fifth master.
"I remember that you have been following my brother for more than ten years, right?" At this time, Tang Wuyuan turned around steadily and spoke to the veteran with a smile.
"Fifth Master, we are facing a formidable enemy, so we should focus on war."
"Brother, I won't live long." Tang Wuyuan answered the question inappropriately. There was sadness in his eyes when he spoke.
"Fifth Master?"
"That year, my fourth brother and I fell into a lake. My eldest brother was not good at water, so he jumped into the lake out of desperation. Although he didn't drown, he still suffered from many illnesses."
"He is a very good scholar. In a prosperous age, he would naturally be admired by thousands of people. It's a pity that we all live in troubled times."
"What are you talking about, Master Wu!" The veteran took a few steps back warily, pressing one hand tightly on the knife.
"I didn't say anything. The meaning... probably is that for the convenience of scheduling, I, Tang Wuyuan, will be the king of Qingzhou in the future. As for the three brothers, I have no intention of harming them. They just need to understand that I, Tang Wuyuan, will eventually be the king of Qingzhou."
Lead the Tang family to glory in troubled times."
"You want to rebel!"
"You are wrong, I am doing it for the good of the Tang family." Tang Wuyuan smiled, "In the Qingzhou Army, a veteran like you is the most difficult to deal with. You die here today, and I will take care of it when you return to Qingzhou after a great victory.
I will give you a thousand taels of silver as compensation for your family."
The veteran's eyes widened and he wanted to scold again——
Several halberds stabbed the veteran until he coughed up blood and fell into a pool of blood.
"Tang Wuyuan, the youngest of Qingzhou, come to save Cangzhou!" Tang Wuyuan raised his head and roared in the river wind. Behind him, on the left, right, and behind him, on the more than 500 warships, there were the sounds of soldiers shouting.
"The order of the Tang Dynasty is here! I have passed down the order to our army. The traitor Zuo Shiren has committed a rebellion. Now I have received a secret edict from the Holy Lord to kill the Dongling thief and bless me!"
With his shirt fluttering high in the air, Tang Wuyuan stretched out his hand and pointed angrily at the coalition navy that had washed ashore.
"The enemy is ahead!"
"Kill it!"
…
"What's the sound?" Xia Houfu frowned for a moment on the main ship.
"General, the three thousand merchant helmsmen behind the coalition forces have been killed!"
"The Tang family in Qingzhou...the Tang family has rebelled against the alliance!"
Xia Houfu looked horrified. He followed the deck and hurried to the stern of the ship. He took another closer look. Sure enough, behind them, there were 20,000 Qingzhou troops. The ship was going very fast and they were shooting at Dongling with bows and arrows.
Allied forces.
"Why does the Tang family... want to rebel against the alliance!"
Xia Houfu knew very well that his lord spent a lot of effort to win over the Tang family in Qingzhou. But now, he has clearly become an enemy like a mad dog.
"General, the Qingzhou Army is approaching too close, and we can no longer turn the ship around."
The boatman was speeding up, and the sails were full. How could they turn around in a short time? Moreover, these Qingzhou troops were clearly using simple boats, and their speed was terrifyingly fast.
"General, in front of us, the Cangzhou Navy has come out of the dock again!"
"How many warships?" Xia Houfu gritted his teeth.
"At least, at least eight hundred ships!"
"Why are there so many people? What is Xu Buyi doing!" Xia Houfu's face became grave. The most feared thing during an expedition was to be surrounded by enemy troops and be attacked from both sides.
Not wanting to think anymore, Xia Houfu gritted his teeth and said, "Raise the command flag and notify our alliance navy. Temporarily stop rushing to the shore, and quickly close the water formation with the main ship as the center!"
"Tang family, Tang family! A family of scholars and scholars can be so vicious and vicious!"
"The Tang family mistakenly made me Dongling! Gather the water formation, don't worry, everyone, the master is at the base camp. If he finds out that something is not good, he will definitely lead an army to come to the rescue!"
Xia Houfu forced himself to calm down and tried to comfort the allied navy who started to commotion.
He didn't know that in Tang Wuyuan's eyes, these tens of thousands of coalition troops were already like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
…
Amid the screams of the fight, Tang Wuyuan said nothing, raised his head, and looked at Cangzhou, which was getting closer and closer. His eyes suddenly became bright and full of energy.