The moon is slanting across the sky, and the few stars are shining brightly. I don’t know that the autumn night will last forever. The sound is slow and the drops are cold. My eyes are not easy to open.
The frost leaves are falling, and the worms are catching. How can I get drunk with thin wine? The affairs of the world, the hearts of young people, are clear and deep.
——"Gengluozi·Original Intent" Wang Fuzhi (Ming Dynasty)
…
On the first day of fighting, Liu Zhan's navy returned with a heavy defeat, and the Tang army's navy was victorious.
Liu Yin said to Liu Zhan: "The lake is shallow and it is difficult for the boat to maneuver. It is better to enter the river and hold the enemy upstream. If the boat enters, we will be captured."
Chishui Lake is shallow and the giant ship has a deep draft, so it is more appropriate to move to the Yangtze River.
Liu Zhan was convinced and retreated overnight.
There are many shoals in Chishui Lake, so retreating at night is easy to get stranded, so Liu Zhan ordered each ship to hang a lantern on the stern, and the entire fleet lined up in a long snake formation, with each ship following the ship in front.
The generals of the Tang army asked whether they should pursue him.
At this moment, a marching Sima under the scholar's command stood up, licked his lips, and said cautiously: "General, I will finally come up with a plan that may be able to keep Liu Zhan."
As the scholar had expected, Liu Zhan was indeed planning to escape. Attacking Jiangning was a hasty decision on his part. The army was poorly prepared and he had no much food and grass. He sent 500 ships to Jiangzhou to escort his general Fu Ziang to rescue them.
forage.
…
Zhang Ziming, the envoy from the Tang Army, saw Liu Zhan was angry. Not only was he not afraid, but he added fuel to the fire and said: "My general said, you were originally a bandit from Chenliu. You got the wealth you have today through bad luck. You don't want to commit yourself to it."
The country repaid Heaven's kindness, but instead committed rebellion and brought disaster to the Jianghuai River.
Bai Fu left the scholar alone. After dismissing everyone, Bai Fu said to the scholar: "The Japanese navy is the most serious problem of the Tang Dynasty.
The generals were talking in full swing. Hawkeye took the pigeon letter he had just received and hurried into the big tent. He said to Bailong: "Bailong, as you expected, the Japanese navy has arrived in the Tang Dynasty and is hiding in the Tang Dynasty."
Shengsi Islands and Zhoushan Islands in the southeast of the Yangtze River estuary.
You and other rebels should have been killed in the rebel army. Since all the generals under your command were colleagues in the Tang army, I will give you three days to think about it. If you don't surrender again, your bones and ashes will be crushed and thrown into the river to feed the shrimps.
"
Secretly ordered Lord Changsun, Sun Dashan and the Persian General Alberts to mobilize the "King of the Seven Seas" to go north from Hangzhou Bay to block the Japanese navy at the mouth of the Yangtze River. They must annihilate them all in the Huduzhou area (today's Nantong)! For
The Tang Dynasty created a century of peace!"
Bai Fu encouraged the man to continue speaking with his eyes.
…
After the failure in the first battle, he will definitely reorganize the fleet and give full play to the advantages of his huge ships and powerful guns. Therefore, we will have to change our strategy in the next water battle.
As soon as Liu Zhan's navy arrived in Jiangning, the Tang Army sent an envoy. The Tang Army's envoy Zhang Ziming was arrogant and rude and sent Liu Zhan a letter written by Bai Fu urging him to surrender.
The strategy was decided, and the marching Sima resigned silently. Before leaving the tent, Bai Fu called him out: "Brother, I don't know your name yet."
The marching commander bowed deeply to Bai Fu and said softly: "Thank you, general, for your kindness. The general has nothing to worry about. If I can exchange my life for the lives of millions of people in Jianghuai, it will be worth it!"
…
Ding Jiuqu said: "Sailboating at night is extremely dangerous. It is not recommended to snipe enemy ships."
…
Therefore, we must attract Liu Zhan’s navy to the Jiangning area, and at the same time lure the Japanese navy into the inland sea..."
Sheng Hailiu said with a smile: "Don't worry too much. Our navy also has an advantage on the Yangtze River. The rebel giant ship is inconvenient to operate with oars and oars, and it is dangerous in any place with fast currents.
Bai Fu stared into the man's eyes and said nothing for a long time. Finally, he sighed softly and said, "If this plan works, your life will be gone."
After the man finished speaking, there was so much silence in the tent that you could hear a pin drop to the ground.
If the rebel navy's next strategy is to go to Jiangzhou to join the rebel general Fu Zi'ang and go up the river, it will inevitably move slowly. Our navy can imitate the method of sharks hunting whales and wait for opportunities to attack during the pursuit.
The strategy was very clear, but the generals had different opinions on how to keep Liu Zhan's navy in Jiangning. They discussed it for a long time, but there was no perfect strategy.
Now that the rebel fleet has returned to Jiangning, it will be difficult for our navy to win again, right?"
Ding Jiuqu cupped his fists and saluted, and replied: "Master Tang, although Liu Zhan doesn't understand water warfare, he has learned a lesson and won't let warships enter the shoal easily again.
After Liu Zhan read it, he was so angry that he tore the letter into pieces.
The military meeting ended and the generals left the tent one after another.
The scholar slapped the table and said anxiously: "No, the rebels are trying to escape!"
…
The marching commander grinned, smiled silently, and said, "The last general is Zhang Ziming."
Tang Kui asked: "General Ding, our army's previous strategy was to use the disadvantage of the rebel giant ship's deep draft to lure it into the shoal, so we chose to fight with it in Chishui Lake.
When the generals looked around, they saw this man dressed as a Confucian scholar. His appearance was unattractive and he was extremely thin.
Come on, drag this man out and bring his head back to Bai Fu!"
Liu Zhan was furious, pulled out the sword from his waist, and cursed loudly: "Baifu, how dare you insult me like this?! I will fight you to the death!"
After the battle in Chishui Lake, the generals admired Ding and Sheng and obeyed their advice.
Bai Fu pointed at the map, frowned, and said: "Once the rebel navy goes down the river and enters the sea from Jiangyin, they can go south along the coastline and hide in Taizhou, Niutoushan off the coast of Wenzhou, Dongji Islands, and Mount Lu
The islands in the archipelago have turned into pirates, waiting for opportunities to plunder coastal states and counties to replenish food, grass and luggage... At that time, if we try to annihilate them again, we will get twice the result with half the effort, and it will be even more difficult."
In Bai's reply letter, there were many insulting words about Liu Zhan: "The Duke took a boat with a big tail and couldn't drop it, and he immediately prepared his troops to fight with me..."
If there is a decisive battle in Jiangning, once the battle reaches a stalemate and the warships of both sides drift downstream together, our army can use the shoals around Guazhou to ambush them here."
With Bai Fu's approval, the marching Sima mustered up the courage to reveal his planned strategy.
After the rebels were defeated at Chishui Lake, the Japanese navy began to move northward, preparing to meet the rebel navy through the Yangtze River estuary."
Xu Yi hurriedly advised: "General, as the saying goes, if the two armies are fighting and do not kill the envoy, they cannot be killed."
Liu Zhan pointed his sword at Zhang Ziming, the envoy of the Tang army, and said angrily: "This man is so rude. If I don't kill him, it will be difficult to relieve the hatred in my heart!"
Xu Yi quickly ordered people to take Zhang Ziming, the envoy of the Tang Army, down.
Turning his head, Xu Yi whispered to Liu Zhan: "General, Jiangning City has been surrounded by us. Not even a homing pigeon can fly into the city. The victory or defeat of Chishui Lake is not known to the defenders in the city. If we can follow the plan,
This act... will surely shake the morale of his army and capture Jiangning City within three days!"
After hearing this, Liu Zhan slapped his thigh, overjoyed and said: "General Xu really has a brilliant plan!"