knife

Chapter 530 Wanting to Fight a Short and Quick Battle

The State of Chu had two naval forces.

One force consisted of inland river fleets, while the other was a fleet of ships operating on the open ocean.

Jiang Qian truly controls the inland waterway navy, commanded by Wang Pu. As for the maritime fleet, although Jiang Qian has been trying to incorporate some foreign elements in recent years, the results haven't been particularly good.

There are many reasons for this, but the most important one is that the Chu court had never truly controlled the maritime fleet in the past.

The true owners of the maritime fleets were actually the powerful and influential families of the Chu state. These families controlled the fleets for long-distance trade and were incredibly wealthy.

Although the imperial court appointed a general to oversee the naval forces, the results were minimal. Fortunately, these naval forces were not of one mind and were engaged in fierce internal struggles. Sometimes, they would even attack each other after setting sail. As a result, this originally powerful force, though wealthy, did not have much influence on the court, far less than the inland river navy, which could even sway the situation.

After Jiang Qian took power, she did not give up controlling this force, which is one of the reasons why Zhu Chi rose rapidly after opening up maritime trade with the outside world.

The Zhu family was originally a powerful and influential family. Now, with the support of the Chu Kingdom and the area beyond the Great Wall, they have quickly gained a foothold in the ocean trade. Today, the Zhu family's fleet is an important part of the Chu Kingdom's maritime power.

Jiang Qian believes that the power of the Zhu family is her own power.

At least so far, Zhu himself believes this.

But what will happen in the future is hard to say.

The most typical characteristic of powerful and wealthy families is that they never completely bind themselves to any one power or stick to one path, unless they have no other way out.

The general of Chu's fleet was a mere figurehead, unable to command the fleets at sea, but Wang Pu was highly respected in the inland waterway navy, and his call to arms was met with great obedience.

This commander of the flood flag had been lurking in the Chu navy for many years. After Jiang Qian came to power, he quickly rose through the ranks and helped Jiang Qian completely control the inland waterway navy.

"That shouldn't be!" Wang Pu, whose body was as thin as a javelin, looked puzzled. "If this Li Dachui is really Li Jimin's son, then he has an irreconcilable hatred for He Zudao. Why would he help He Zudao to start a war with us?"

At present, the State of Chu has received reliable intelligence that He Zudao is preparing to launch an attack on Yong'an County from the Xiangfan direction. At present, Feng Kuan, the governor of Xiangcheng County, has gathered nearly 30,000 troops. The battle is imminent. The newly appointed governor of Yong'an County, He Jiong, has also sent a letter requesting reinforcements. Because of Lin Hong's death, Yong'an is still in a mess.

At this moment, the Shu Commandery's navy suddenly attacked, capturing Badong and Zigui, which was tantamount to cooperating with Feng Kuan in the battle. The loss of Badong and Zigui was equivalent to opening the gateway to Jinghu, something absolutely intolerable for the Chu Kingdom. If even the Jinghu region were lost, the entire Jianghan Plain would be at risk of total collapse. "He's not helping He Zudao, he's helping himself!" Thinking of that guy who might still be watching the sunset by the river, Jiang Qian felt a surge of resentment. Her bare foot, resting on the map of mountains and rivers, unconsciously dug into it, instantly wrinkling the entire Jinghu region.

Seemingly realizing her lapse in composure, Jiang Qian stretched out her foot and ruffled the map a few times, making it neat and tidy. She said, "He Zudao is not clear-headed. He does things haphazardly and still can't accurately position himself. So let's help him find his place."

Lin Yunqi stared at the map and said, "Does the Empress Dowager mean to give He Zudao a good beating?"

"Not only He Zudao, but also the Shu Commandery's navy, give them a good beating and drive them back!" Jiang Qian looked up at Wang Pu: "General Wang, mobilize the main force of the navy and take back Badong and Zigui. Let those horsemen outside the pass see that we still call the shots on the water!"

Everyone in the room laughed. Wang Pu cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. However, with the departure of my main naval force, our support for Yong'an will be greatly reduced, and Prefect He Jiong will likely face even greater difficulties. Furthermore, I have read the intelligence from the Ministry of War. The Shu Commandery's navy is fully equipped and its combat strength is not weak. Since Your Majesty wants to break the claws that Shu Commandery has extended, we must allow more time for me to make arrangements. Otherwise, if they retreat in pain, it will cause trouble later. A minor injury can be healed with rest, but to prevent them from coveting us on the water again, we must cripple them in one fell swoop!"

"Before we crush the Shu Commandery's navy, you don't need to worry about things on land!" Jiang Qian looked down at the map on the ground and said, "He Zudao is just a minor ailment with limited strength. No matter how much he tries to excavate, he won't be able to cause much trouble. But the situation in Shu Commandery is different. If we let them gain a foothold, once Li Dachui enters the pass, it will be like adding wings to a tiger. Therefore, we can't let the fledgling eagle grow wings. We have to clip them as soon as possible."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Once the Great Chu completely controls the Yangtze River, the Shu Commandery will no longer be able to threaten the Chu Kingdom.

"We still need to get the reinforcements to Yong'an as soon as possible!" Zhou Zheng said, "Your Majesty, I think we can have Wang Pu's navy take the reinforcements with them when they set off. They can arrive faster by water!"

“Na Wei has just arrived in the capital, and the southwestern barbarian troops have not yet set off!” Lin Yunqi shook his head and said.

"I think we can't drag things out when we fight He Zudao. We need to strike with lightning speed and overwhelming force, letting him know the difference in strength between us!" Zhou Zheng said, "Since the southwestern barbarian troops haven't arrived, we can send the Danyang Tiger Warriors over first. The Danyang Tiger Warriors fought alongside the Empress Dowager in the Battle of Xiangfan five years ago. They are experienced and loyal. Moreover, He Zudao's current army is much weaker than the troops of the eight garrisons of Jiangnan five years ago. The difference is huge, and we can defeat them in the blink of an eye."

Jiang Qian pondered for a moment and said, "Prefect Zhou's words are not without reason. When two sides are facing each other, we cannot give the enemy a chance to gain momentum. Some time ago, because of Lin Hong's matter, we lost Fancheng, which boosted their morale quite a bit. If we really let them win a few more battles in Yong'an County, their morale will be even higher. Prefect Zhou, you are also a veteran general. If we want to fight a quick and decisive battle this time, how much force will we have to commit at once?"

Zhou Zheng glanced at Lin Yunqi and said, "I have also discussed this with Minister Lin in private. In the current situation, we can either let He Jiong use space to buy time, advance step by step, and resist gradually while waiting for the southwestern barbarian troops to come up, or we can go all out and completely defeat the enemy in one go! If we choose the second strategy, we will have to send at least 50,000 reinforcements at once."

“Danyang and its surrounding important towns only have a total of 80,000 Tiger Warriors!” He Han shook his head and said, “In that case, Danyang will be vulnerable.”

"Are there enemies around Danyang?" Zhou Zheng scoffed. "Chief Steward He, you don't understand matters of state, so don't talk nonsense! If we win this battle cleanly and decisively, and General Wang also defeats the Shu Commandery's navy, we can make He Zudao realize reality and force him to quickly decide to surrender to us. Once we achieve this goal, hehe, Empress Dowager, our next step is to put the Northern Expedition on the agenda."

(End of this chapter)