Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 143 Be prepared
High tide refers to the periodic rise and fall of sea water due to the influence of the moon.

Both the Qiangkai River and the Dahuangpu River originate from the Dianshan Lake, and the place where the Qing army crossed the river was still quite far from the estuary.

Therefore, the theory of high tide is just a misunderstanding of coastal rivers that Liu Liangzuo, a landlubber, developed after he stationed by the Qiantang River for a period of time.

So the question is, why did the river suddenly rise by nearly a foot?

Liu Liangzuo naturally did not know the answer to this question, but when he saw the Ming army warships coming downstream, he could easily guess who the instigator was.

"Enemy attack!"

"Line up and prepare for battle!"

Waves of shouts echoed on both sides of the river. Although the soldiers who had been baptized by artillery fire were a little panicked, they also prepared to line up to meet the enemy as the general instructed.

However, the general Liu Liangzuo was stunned for a moment after seeing the black objects extending from both sides of the warship.

Then, as if he had thought of something terrible, he ignored the soldiers who were ready to fight off the enemy, turned his horse's head and galloped away into the distance.

In such a situation, the personal soldiers and generals beside him would not hesitate at all. Without waiting for Liu Liangzuo to run far, they would throw the objects in the way to the ground and follow the marshal.

According to military law, this is definitely considered deserting the battlefield, but if you think about it carefully, this behavior is just a helpless act because he has no means to attack the warships.

It is not difficult to imagine what happened next. The Qing army vanguard of more than 5,000 people, led by their commander, disappeared from the sight of the Ming army warships in just a matter of seconds.

When the Ming army's land camp arrived, there was nothing but a mess on both sides of the river, and there was not even a trace of the Qing army to be seen.

This situation can be considered good news for the Ming army, but Hou Chengzu's troops, who had already prepared for a tough battle, felt like they had hit nothing and sprained their waists.

"Master Shen, have you driven the Qing army away?"

When making the plan, Zhu Cilang took into consideration that the river surface was narrow and there was a high possibility that Tatars were stationed there, so he placed Hou Chengzu's troops there to assist Shen Tingyang in cutting off the Tatars' path.

But there are always various accidents on the battlefield. After Hou Chengzu learned from Shen Tingyang how decisively the Qing army on the north bank fled, he could only accept it silently.

just
"Master Shen, what do you think we should do next?"

According to what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thought, Hou Chengzu's troops should have a hard battle with the Qing army guarding the ferry with the assistance of the navy, and finally win the victory with the help of artillery and cut off the Tartars' path.

But in the current situation, his troops have no place to use their skills here, so his words seem to be an arrangement made after consulting Shen Tingyang, but the subtext is that he wants to go to the place where a fierce battle might really take place.

"Commander Hou, the river water has risen a bit, but it is far from reaching the level of Dahuangpu. If the Tartars..."

The width of the river was only eighty or ninety feet, and in the shallowest part, there was not enough space for a person. In order to implement the plan, Zhu Cilang did not hesitate to sink dozens of troop transport ships downstream to increase the depth upstream and ensure the smooth passage of warships.

But this level was not enough to guarantee the absolute safety of the warships in the river, so Shen Tingyang wanted Hou Chengzu's troops to help him defend against the Qing army's counterattack before thinking of other things.

After all, Hou Chengzu was not one of those arrogant guys in Jiangbei. Moreover, every word Shen Tingyang said made sense. After a little thought, he got off the boat to arrange the defense.

But even though he agreed, he still had some concerns in his heart.

That night, after Zhu Cilang landed at Jinshanwei, he was recognized by a military general who had been to Chongming Island.

Afterwards, Hou Shilu handed over the defense of Jinshan to his generals, and followed Zhu Cilang here at all costs.

Therefore, he began to think about leaving this place and going to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

It would be a bit unfair to Hou Chengzu to say that such thoughts were entirely out of selfishness.

It is true that he is concerned about his only son, but on the other hand, everyone knows that the key to this battle is not in the two rivers.

As the most powerful force of the Ming army in this battle, Hou Chengzu naturally did not want to waste time here.

After flowing out of Dianshan Lake, the Dahuangpu River and the Qiangkai River gradually drift away, and the area between the two rivers becomes a funnel inserted into Dianshan Lake.

According to common sense, it is actually unlikely that a large army could be trapped in such terrain.

However, this place is after all the area of ​​the ancient Taihu Lake, and there are several small rivers three or four meters wide crisscrossing it.

What is even more rare is that these small rivers crisscross and entangle each other, dividing the opening of the funnel into pieces.

Such terrain formed a natural line of defense. With the assistance of small warships, it was naturally not easy for the Qing army to break out from here.

But how can everything be perfect?

As the opening of the funnel, this area is as long as fifteen or sixteen miles. Even if you only defend the key nodes, it will take thirty to forty thousand troops. Taking into account patrols and preparations, in the end, only seven hundred guards and three hundred Zhutang soldiers are left in Zhu Cilang's hands.

However, in his opinion, this problem would not have much adverse impact on his own plans.

To be honest, we are defending the river. Not to mention whether the Qing army can swim across the half-person-deep river wearing armor, even if they can really make it, we don't know if they have enough strength to break through the defense line we built at all costs.

"General Zhang, don't be stingy with the shells and gunpowder. Stopping the Tartars is the most important thing."

"Yes."

After some instructions, Zhang Pengyi took the order and left.

Due to the needs of this operation, Zhu Cilang mixed the Chongming Island navy and divided it into three parts.

One group was composed entirely of large warships, led by Tian Yang, who was in charge of Dahuangpu. Their mission was simple. Once the Qing army wanted to build a pontoon bridge, they would just drive the boats over and ram them.

One group consisted of medium-sized warships, led by Shen Tingyang, who was responsible for opening the river;
The last group had the largest number of ships, but they were all small warships, some of which were even converted from civilian ships.

But precisely because these small boats had a shallow draft, the task of patrolling along the creek and assisting the land camp in defending the funnel opening was given to them.

At this point, Zhu Cilang had completed all his tasks, and with nothing else to do, he could only wander around with Xiang Rensheng.

"Boss, have you met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"Yes, I have seen him. Wasn't he there just now?"

With Zhu Cilang's departure, the soldiers who were building fortifications breathed a sigh of relief. However, a tall and thin soldier in Zhou Xiancai's small flag asked him some silly questions.

"That's not what I meant. I meant, is there anyone nearby, especially close?"

After hearing this incoherent question, Zhou Xiancai thought about it for a while before he truly understood its meaning.

Then he inserted the dismantled planks into the pre-dug pit, and signaled the tall soldier to fill the pit with soil. When the wood in his hand was firmly on the ground, he said leisurely: "I have had dinner with His Highness."

"oh?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was an exclamation from all around, and even the soldiers of the next small flag could not help but move closer to Zhou Xiancai.

However, there are always exceptions. Just when he was about to use his own experience to shock these "country bumpkins", a discordant voice sounded. "Don't brag. For people like us, it would be a great honor for our ancestors to say a few more words to the thousand households, let alone have a meal with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

As soon as Zhou Xiancai heard the voice, he knew it was Gu Renhou, a flag officer from the next flag.

Ever since they joined forces, this guy would make some sarcastic remarks from time to time. Sometimes he said that they were unlucky and were lured away by Lord Ma; sometimes he said that the battle outside Hangzhou was all thanks to General Fang's desperate efforts and had little to do with the killing of the rear guard.

If Zhou Xian had not been instructed by his commander before to build good relations with these "fellow villagers", he would have definitely let this guy know how powerful he is in the backfield.

"What's so strange about having eaten with him? Who among us who have followed His Highness to guard Yingtian has not eaten with His Highness?"

He deliberately raised his voice when speaking, and although he did not glance at Gu Renhou, every word he said was in response to him.

"Lao Hua, have you ever had dinner with His Highness?"

"I have eaten, what's wrong?"

At the end, he even asked a question in the distance, and after receiving a positive answer, he continued to work while talking: "I was having lunch that day, and suddenly someone squeezed next to me. Guess who it was?"

The answer was obvious, it was naturally the Crown Prince they were talking about. However, even though they knew the answer, the soldiers around them were still nervously waiting for Zhou Xian to solve the mystery.

"It's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"oh!?"

Another round of exclamations came from the soldiers, and Zhou Xiancai's vanity was immediately greatly satisfied. But before he could say anything else, he heard a voice shouting, "Zhou Xiancai! Have you finished your work?"

Hearing this, Zhou Xiancai looked back and saw Chang Guanlin and his young captain standing not far away.

How could he still be in the mood to brag in such a situation? He didn't even dare to respond and just picked up a piece of plank and poked it into the pit.

"This guy is a little confused, but he's lucky. He was the one who found a few guides when we attacked the Tartars at night."

"He looks like a good man."

Xu Wenjue acted mature and then looked at his immediate superior.

After he accompanied Yang Tinglin to meet Zhang Guowei that day, Yang Tinglin used various connections to arrange for him to be appointed as a centurion in the Yingtian Army led by Ma Shiying.

But after a few days, this group of people was reorganized, and Chang Guanlin, who recognized his identity, quietly promoted him to the rank of Qianhu.

Of course, the operations involved are definitely justifiable.

In order to convince the crowd, Chang Guanlin even arranged a competition.

Needless to say, the third son of the Duke of Wei's mansion crushed almost all challengers in both literary and martial arts competitions, and Chang Guanlin also discovered quite a few capable soldiers and generals through this competition.

In the end, Mr. Xu San, who was not much older than Zhu Cilang, took only a few days to reach a position that ordinary people would find difficult to achieve in their entire lives.

Even though there was that competition as a foundation, there were still people talking behind people's backs.

But Chang Guanlin had done everything openly, so even if some people were dissatisfied, they could not say anything else. The position of the thousand households was firmly in the hands of the third son of the Xu family.

Is this reasonable?
Of course it doesn't fit.

But if you ask whether this is reasonable, it will probably require some debate.

In Chang Guanlin's eyes, Xu Wenjue was definitely one of their own. Moreover, his abilities were much better than many veteran centurions. Even if he lacked some experience, he would be able to handle things with confidence as long as he had his careful guidance.

Under such circumstances, why would he use someone else instead of Xu Wenjue?

This is how things are in this world. Unless there are some strong constraints, Zhu Cilang would not be able to say anything about such things even if he came.

"I'll go somewhere else, you stay here and keep an eye on it," Chang Guanlin said, and then he was about to leave. But after taking a few steps, he turned around and said, "The wooden wall must be built firmly. Your Highness has dismantled all the civilian ships."

"Understood, Commander."

Watching Chang Guanlin leave, Xu Wenjue suddenly felt panicked.

When his second brother wanted to go to the city, he once said that if he joined the army he would have to start as at least a thousand households. But when he really became a thousand households, he didn't know what to do for a moment.

"Calm down, calm down, think about what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did."

After going over the information about Zhu Cilang's actions in Yingtian City in his mind, he walked towards the soldiers who were working.

"Master Qianhu."

"Ah."

When the superior arrived, everyone had to pay their respects, but who would have thought that the commander-in-chief would just respond with a word and then pick up a piece of plank and dive into the pit.

"grown ups."

"Fill the soil."

The soldiers had never seen such a situation before and were immediately shocked and at a loss as to what to do.

Normally, small flag officers would work with everyone else, and a centurion would basically just walk around and shout a few words. When it comes to the level of a thousand households, it's like what Gu Renhou said before, being able to say a few words to them is a great honor, so how could they ever see someone working with them?

Therefore, the soldiers' reaction can be considered reasonable.

However, there were some soldiers here who had seen the "big world", so Zhou Xiancai was only slightly startled and shoveled a shovel of soil into the pit.

Although the soldiers were still a little uncomfortable with the situation, they could not just stand there in a daze since their superiors were working. So they focused on building defensive fortifications on the shore.

In order to be sure of success, Zhu Cilang took great pains. Not only did he set up various obstacles in shallow waters, he also turned all the civilian ships sent by Wu Yi into pieces of tough wood.

But time is still a bit tight, and the planned wooden wall is still just like a fence.

Although this level is not enough to withstand the attack of arrows, it is enough to prevent the Qing army from landing.

However, everyone in the Ming army knew that the more perfect the wooden wall was, the higher their chances of winning would be, and their lives would be safer. So even though the scouts had reported that a large group of Qing troops were heading towards this place, no one on the Ming army stopped their work.

After about an hour, the wooden wall that had been leaking everywhere finally took shape, and a large group of Qing troops also appeared in the sight of the Ming army.

"Get ready!"

With the continuous shouts of the generals, the "civilians" behind the wooden walls on the river bank suddenly turned into majestic warriors, waiting for the Qing army's attack.

(End of this chapter)