knife

Chapter 528 Going Downstream
Hundreds of boats of all sizes sailed down the river.

The fluttering black Qin Dynasty flag identified this fleet.

More than a decade later, the Shu Commandery's navy once again launched a major offensive, aiming at Badong and Zigui, intending to reclaim these two strategic locations on the Yangtze River and once again pose a threat to the Jinghu region.

About six years ago, Badong and Zigui were both under the control of Shu Commandery. Whenever the Qin Dynasty launched its southern expedition, the Shu Commandery's navy would sail down the river, greatly restraining the Chu state.

However, before the Battle of Xiangcheng broke out, Jiang Qian sent Wang Pu, the general of the Chu navy, to lead the navy upstream and seize the two places of Badong and Zigui.

Wang Pu is the flag leader of the Shanghai Flood Flag.

It was this battle that made Wang Pu famous, and it also gave Jiang Qian the opportunity to carry out a large-scale reorganization of the Chu inland waterway navy, thus completely controlling it.

The Shu Commandery's navy at that time had been neglected for many years and was weak because King Li Huimin of Shu and the Tang family wanted to cross the Qinling Mountains to seize Chang'an.

After all, the navy could play almost no role in the struggle for the Qin throne in Chang'an, and the cost of maintaining a navy was many times greater than that of maintaining a land army.

Li Huimin had no incentive to spend huge sums of money to maintain an army to help the Chang'an court.

Even after Wang Pu seized Badong and Zigui, he remained unmoved.

The next natural next step was the Battle of Xiangcheng.

Without the threat from upstream, the Shu Commandery's navy completely controlled the Yangtze River, and eventually even several of its tributaries. This was one of the important reasons why the Qin state lost control of the waterways after its defeat at Xiangcheng.

After Li Dachui captured Shu County, he immediately began to deploy and rebuild the navy.

Yao Dali, the naval commander from outside the pass, and a group of key naval personnel were directly transferred to Shu County as part of a formal organization to begin rebuilding the naval force.

The navy, which was originally neglected in Shu County, has begun to take root and sprout again after a large amount of funds, technology and personnel were injected. Now it is full of buds, and we will see if it can bloom into a beautiful flower this time.

The warship cleaved through the waves, the yellow river water crashing against the bow, creating waves taller than a person before crashing down. On the third-floor deck, Yao Dali stood with his legs apart, motionless, his black cloak billowing in the wind, revealing the bright red underneath.

He appeared calm, but his heart was actually surging like the river.

Strictly speaking, this was his first real battle after joining the Beiting Protectorate.

Back in the area outside the Great Wall, he was at best a transport captain. The Yuan people didn't have a navy at all. His greatest achievement was suppressing those river bandits, but that didn't really give him any sense of accomplishment.

So when Li Dachui transferred him to Shu to serve as the naval commander, he agreed without hesitation.

He realized that the Beiting Protectorate was thriving and had the potential to conquer the world. If he didn't find another way, his life would probably remain the same.

He originally wanted to go to the sea, where the Sea Falcon-class warships under construction made him drool. However, after staying in Xuanwu Prefecture for a few months, he realized that the difference between naval warfare and inland river warfare was truly as small as a hair's breadth, yet vastly different. Even if he started learning now, he would still be no match for people like Cai Ming and Cai Tianci.

He would never let go of the opportunity to take command of a newly established inland waterway navy in Shu County.

He has been here for over a year, and every day has been tough, but incredibly fulfilling. Whenever he watches the fleet grow from nothing to something, bit by bit, under his own control, he feels a great sense of accomplishment.

The naval forces in Sichuan are actually quite strong, but they have been deliberately ignored by those above. What he needs to do is simply to rekindle their fighting spirit and confidence, and then unite them. And that's not a difficult task.

With the military pay paid and the families settled, the rest was easy to handle.

In fact, he spent very little time in the army in the past six months. He left the training of soldiers entirely to the officers below him, while he disguised himself as a boat captain and went up and down the river. The only thing he did was to figure out the characteristics of the river and find out its hydrology, geography and so on.

The Shu Commandery has existed for countless years, but there is virtually no information about it. It is all passed down orally among the old sailors, which is obviously not enough. Yao Dali even understands that if he does not figure out the secrets of the Yangtze River as soon as possible, the next time he sees Protector Li, it may be the time when he is removed from office.

Six months of hard work resulted in dozens of thick hydrological maps, clearly marking the secrets of all the waterways from Shu County to Yiling and Zhijiang.

This time, the goal is to capture Badong and Zigui to draw away the Chu navy and coordinate with He Zudao's forces in the Battle of Yong'an.

Although Yao Dali didn't understand why he had to cooperate with He Zudao in battle, it didn't stop him from his ambition to take over Badong and Zigui.

Once these two places are captured, the perilous nature of this waterway will be fully under our control, making it much easier to then advance from Yiling, down to Zhijiang, and eventually threaten the Jinghu region.

At the very least, the State of Chu would have to keep a large army stationed in places like Zhijiang to guard against possible attacks at any time.

Wang Pu, the naval commander of the Chu Kingdom, has been a master of the water for decades. Although his martial arts cultivation is only at the eighth level of the Xuan Yuan realm, which is not considered top-tier in the Demonic Sect, his skill in playing with water is known as the best in the world. The Demonic Sect's Flood Flag has always been immersed in the water and is extremely powerful. The correct mindset is to put yourself in the position of the underdog and fight.

This was Wu De, the military commander of Shu Commandery, solemnly explaining to him before leaving.

Wang Pu did not station too many naval forces in Badong and Zigui. It is estimated that taking these two places will not be difficult, but the enemy will definitely launch a counterattack next.

Whether we win or not is not important. The purpose of this battle is twofold: first, to hold back the Chu navy; and second, to give the Shu navy real war experience. Therefore, the longer the battle drags on, the better, and of course, the smaller the losses, the better.

Wu De set a low goal for Yao Dali, but Yao Dali hoped he could do better this time.

For newcomers who want to achieve instant fame, the quickest shortcut is to climb up the ladder by stepping on the shoulders of established heroes. Wang Pu is undoubtedly one such person who can lend him a helping hand.

Although there were only three of these three-tiered main battleships standing beneath his feet, Yao Dali was well aware of their combat power. These newly designed warships, in terms of both speed and maneuverability, were completely superior to the Chu Kingdom's three-tiered main battleships. In a direct confrontation, given equal numbers, he could easily crush his opponent. Meanwhile, nearly ten more such warships were under construction simultaneously in shipyards throughout Shu County. In at most another year, the Shu County navy would possess a fleet of at least thirty three-tiered main battleships.

When that time comes, it will be time for the Shu Commandery's navy to launch a major offensive.

Next year, or the year after!

The flags on the watchtowers of the vanguard ships ahead began to change, and Yao Dali's spirits lifted; he had spotted the enemy warships.

The battle is about to begin.

However, according to previous intelligence, the Chu navy stationed in Badong had only twenty or thirty ships of all sizes, which was really not worth mentioning.

"Send the signal to the first team. The enemy in Badong is now in their hands. The main force will follow me and continue downwards. Speed ​​is of the essence. We must take Badong and Zigui in one battle! We cannot give the enemy any chance to breathe."

(End of this chapter)