Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 369 The Iron Cable Crosses the River
"Your Majesty, several iron chains have come out of the mountains and blocked the Fen River, hindering the movement of ships. Both ends of the iron chains are nailed to the cliffs. It will take several days to remove them..."

"You don't have to tell me specifically. I have eyes to see."

Li Ming waved away the scouts, gnashing his teeth in his heart.

Sometimes, I really admire the imagination of the ancients.

Blockade, blockade, they actually use physical iron chains to seal it off.

This can also be regarded as the "Gu Zheng Project" of the Tang Dynasty.

You know what, these iron chains across the river are quite thick.

With the weak sail power and the two layers of debuffs stacked up against each other upstream, the large ship really had no way of forcing its way through the iron chain array.

"Can't we just cut the chain?" Xue Wanche slapped his head.

His thinking has always been so direct.

Qibi Heli stroked his beard calmly:

"It will take time to drill through such a thick chain. What should we do if the Tang army takes the opportunity to attack and harass us?"

Xue Wanche slapped his head again:
"What? The Tang army came to us on their own initiative. Is there such a good thing?"

Qibi Heli shook his head: "Your idea is really..."

Li Ming interrupted: "I think it's okay."

Qibi Heli nodded: "What a wonderful idea."

The Ming army fleet dispatched several work boats, and the boatmen and river workers sailed towards the iron chains with sledgehammers and chisels.

Sure enough, several Tang army ships emerged from the mountains on both sides and rushed towards the work boat.

Then there were a few bangs.

The Ming army warships supporting the work boat launched stone cannons in time and hit the Tang ships accurately.

Everything about the Ming army's warships was huge, so the stones they threw were naturally doubled in size.

The stone cannon, which normally weighed only a dozen pounds, was doubled to forty or fifty pounds.

The Tang army warship was hit by a double-caliber ship, and its hull was like paper. A big hole was made in it, and it soon leaked and sank.

The remaining Tang army warships did not retreat but advanced, taking advantage of their location in the upper reaches of the Fen River to launch a suicidal charge against the Ming army warships.

When they got close to the Ming ships, the crew jumped into the Fen River and let their warships follow the current and rush into the Ming ship camp.

This move is very obvious.

"Set fire to the ship?"

Sure enough, the Tang ships floating downstream started to catch fire, quickly igniting tung oil, hay and other flammable materials on the ship, and soon turned into fireballs, floating towards the Ming warships!
"Hiss~ Cunning!" Li Ming wiped his teeth.

Although the Ming Dynasty was rich, that wealth did not come from random chance.

Fortunately, although the Ming ships were large, they were very flexible in steering.

The first ship to be hit twisted left and right in the water and actually managed to avoid most of the "barrage" attacks from the Tang army's incendiary ships.

But the Fen River is not the Yellow River, and its river channel is not wide.

The maneuvers of the Ming army's front-row ships quickly threw the fleet's formation into chaos.

The fire ships will not be refreshed automatically, they are still rushing towards the rear of the fleet!

The fleet at the rear had to hide again, and the scene was full of danger.

A burning incendiary ship had already approached the edge of a large ship, less than five meters away!

At this extreme distance, it is impossible to avoid it no matter how hard you steer.

"Not good!" Xue Wanche clenched his fists.

Even if you are a billionaire, it would be disgusting if your luxury car was deliberately scratched by a disabled car.

"Put down the pole!" the experienced captain gave the order decisively.

The sailors immediately cut a rope on the side of the ship in a well-trained manner.

The rope was connected to a high-raised wooden pole with a huge rock tied to the top of the pole as a counterweight, making it top-heavy.

This is the most commonly used heavy machinery in naval battles during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, besides the catapult - the battering pole.

As soon as the rope broke, the wooden pole was immediately snapped down under the gravity of the boulder.

boom!
Like a palm of Tathagata falling from the sky, the heavy stone on top of the pole hit the arson ship accurately, pressing the deck of the ship below the waterline and preventing it from moving forward.

However, the tung oil in the hull was also splashed out and landed on the paddling pole, and the flames burned up.

"Abandon the rod!"

Under the captain's order, the crew immediately cut the rope connecting the racket to the hull and abandoned the burning racket.

A crisis of shipwreck and loss of life was averted safely.

The Ming fleet was like a group of nimble fat men, and they escaped the sudden attack of the fire ships unscathed.

"Good job!" Xue Wanche said quickly, waving his fist. Qibi Heli also breathed a sigh of relief.

Even for the wealthy Ming Dynasty, warships were extremely valuable assets.

Not to mention the crew on the ship, all of them are skilled workers who have been engaged in shipping for many years. It would be a pity if the ship capsized in the Fen River.

"Hmm..." Li Ming did not look relaxed.

He frowned, stroked his smooth chin, and fell into deep thought.

At the same time, the workboats were not idle either.

While the covering troops were struggling with the enemy, they swung hammers vigorously and finally hammered the iron bar into the keyhole between the chains, successfully untying the first chain of the Hengjiang Iron Chain.

After all, although the Ming Dynasty was rich and powerful, there was no technological gap between it and the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty had taken great pains to set up such thick iron chains, it was impossible for the Ming Dynasty to break them with just a breath.

And ahead, there are at least dozens of identical heavy chains.

The work boat moved forward and continued to work hard.

The entire fleet formed a line and followed obediently behind the work boat.

Minfu felt that he was carrying pressure that was not appropriate for his level, and he almost swung his hammer leaving an afterimage.

But no matter how hard the Ming army tried, they could only exert force on one iron rod.

Therefore, no matter how many people there are, it will be useless and multi-threaded work cannot be carried out.

The Ming Dynasty's naval and land armies could only watch anxiously as a few civilians on a small boat swinging hammers.

Li Ming's frown deepened.

"Is there any way to cut the chain more cleanly?"

Xue Wanche pointed to the two banks of the Fen River.

"The chain is fixed to the stone wall, and it is hanging on the river surface by its own weight. If we break the stone wall, won't the chain fall apart?"

Qibi Heli could not help but admire his old friend's intelligence:

"Well, then, you fly up to the cliff and smash the fixed stake? Even if you can really fly up, do you think the Tang army is hiding there, waiting to shoot you down with an arrow?"

Xue Wanche stopped talking.

He believed that given the Tang army's cowardice, this kind of waiting and waiting thing was, if not a foregone conclusion, at least a nine out of ten chance.

"Using land to control water, this is a very clever move. We can't continue like this..."

Li Ming often sighed as he looked at Alexander's work boat.

Qibi Heli immediately echoed:
"Yes, if this delays the march and the process of unifying the world, it will be really frustrating..."

"Time is on my side, so it doesn't matter if it goes slower. It's nothing more than writing a letter to the north and asking Hou Junji and others to slow down their march. It's not a big deal." Li Ming said.

Qibi Heli changed his words in a second:
"Haste makes waste. Your Majesty is wise."

"The problem is..." Li Ming frowned.

"The iron chain can indeed slow down the advance of our fleet." "If the enemy takes advantage of the gap when we remove the iron chain and deploys more fire ships, then...

"Will the result be as lucky as today?"

Xue Wanche's thoughts were as direct as ever:
"Since it is difficult for the navy to follow our army in the Northern Expedition, why not just not follow?
"When we fight wars, we don't necessarily need the support of the fleet!"

…………

It turns out, no.

The battle situation is ever-changing, and Xue Wanche's experience is not applicable on the Shanxi battlefield.

Without the support of the navy, the progress of the Ming army could not be said to be difficult, but it could also be said to be obstructed at every turn.

Xue Wanche: "Has the supply not arrived yet?"

Qibi Heli: "The grain transport ship was surrounded by iron chains and could not get through. It was left behind for about 20 miles."

Xue Wanche: "Why are we still stuck at 20 miles? It's been three hours!"

Qibi Heli: "The enemy has too many iron chains, and they are harassing us with flaming boats. Our army is surrounded by enemies..."

Xue Wanche: "…It's ok for you to use idioms incorrectly, but could you at least say something auspicious? We have hundreds of thousands of soldiers who only need food and horses. If the supply can't keep up, we will really have to accompany the Overlord of Chu."

Such conversations between the two main generals of the Ming army occurred more and more frequently.

Although there were baggage trains on land, the supply efficiency was far different from that of water transportation.

What’s more, it is located in the ancient Jin Kingdom with mountains and rivers.

This is also why all marching routes are along rivers. There are only a few fixed routes, which make it easy to be ambushed or blocked by passes.

This is also the reason why after the great war between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the size of the army became smaller and smaller, and armies of tens or hundreds of millions like that of Brother Fu Jian were almost extinct.

Logistics, logistics, and more logistics.

Without water transportation, the logistical supply of large troops would be very difficult.

In addition to logistical issues, the navy also has an unexpected effect on land warfare.

Xue Wanche: "Another Tang army bunker has been discovered ahead? Damn it, are they like rats? Why are they digging holes and building bunkers everywhere?"

Qibi Heli: "I think he must have learned our mountain warfare tactics during the battle. The Tang army is not ashamed to learn from our inferiors."

Xue Wanche: "...Damn it, what did Su Dingfang and Xue Rengui teach the other side?"

The march was repeatedly obstructed, and Xue Wanche and Qibi Heli were a little frustrated.

Because there was only one marching route from south to north, the Tang army built many simple defensive fortifications along the route.

The scale of this kind of fortification is generally not large, with only a few to a dozen people in one fortress.

The defensive arrangements were also crude, consisting of nothing more than a stone wall made of glutinous rice and clay, camouflaged with grass and trees.

But there are a lot of such fortresses, scattered throughout the mountains on both sides of the main roads.

The Tang army squatting inside would shoot cold arrows from time to time, and it would be very uncomfortable if there were too many of them.

If the Ming army wanted to eliminate these strongholds, it would be like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. It would require high investment but yield little return and would be very time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Although a mountain had been swept once, there were always some fish that slipped through the net and emerged from the wooded mountains and attacked the Ming army.

That's not the most disgusting thing.

The most disgusting thing is that the Tang army's ambush troops would also use their traditional skills of intercepting logistics, letting the large troops in front go and focusing on attacking the logistics baggage convoys.

The logistics were already suffering from some indigestion due to the lack of water transportation, and now it has directly caused intestinal obstruction.

If there had been cooperation from the navy before, the army could have hidden in the hard hulls and easily passed through the fortress area via the Fen River.

After all, such a small stronghold could not have heavy crossbows and catapults, but the metal turtle shell was not available.

but now……

"The fleet is too slow. How long have they traveled these dozens of miles?"

Li Ming muttered impatiently.

The tactic of using the navy to perform leapfrog attack has been physically blocked by iron chains.

The infantry can only use their own crown to break through.

The Tang army's targeted guerrilla harassment warfare was particularly effective in delaying the movements of large armies.

However, without using a large army, it would be difficult to shake the strong cities in Shanxi.

Dilemma.

The question is, where did they learn such a wretched mountain warfare method?

"hiss……"

Li Ming rubbed his eyebrows and felt a little pain in his forehead.

The boomerang that he had thrown in Liaodong that year has now flown back to his forehead.

"Let's take it easy and wait for the navy to catch up.

"Go north to Shuozhou to inform Hou Junji that the southern army's attack has been blocked. Tell them to march slower and not rush to encircle both sides."

Li Ming ordered the message to be passed.

"Yes!" The messenger retreated immediately.

There are actually many small streams in the mountains, enough to bypass the blockade of the Tang army. They are only suitable for small troops to pass through, but not for large troops to advance.

Not long after the messenger left, a fast horse came and reported:
"Report! News from Shuozhou!"

"So fast?!" Li Ming took the letter in surprise.

The letter came from Hou Junji, and its content was certainly not a response to Li Ming's order.

However, it has the same purpose, which is to request to slow down the marching speed.

"On the way south from Shuozhou, we were ambushed by the Tang army and suffered heavy casualties?"

Li Ming was surprised by the news reported by Hou Junji.

Although he was not as careless as Hou Junji, who thought that the Tang Dynasty was like a shaky thatched house that would fall down with a single kick.

But the Tang Dynasty was doomed, and any discerning person could see that, and Li Ming was no exception.

"I didn't expect that Datang's last tremor was so powerful?"

Li Ming frowned and found that things were not simple.

The Tang army's organization did not show any signs of collapse. Instead, it showed a tendency to become more courageous as the battle went on.

"Why? Their country is already crumbling like a house with its load-bearing walls removed. Why are they still fighting so hard?"

Civil engineer Xue Wanche was very puzzled by this.

The purpose of fighting a war is to win. If you know you can't win, then why fight?

You don't think that the Tang Dynasty can still turn the tide when the whole country is occupied and the emperor is captured? No way, no way?

Qibi Heli, the last loyal member of the Tang Dynasty, was saddened:

"You who play with profit will never understand the realm of integrity."

Xue Wanche punched him in the chest:
"How dare you still talk nonsense here? You and I are in the same boat..."

The two of them started to make noise, and the atmosphere was quite relaxed.

After all, although there were some setbacks, the Ming army did not suffer any serious damage.

It's just a matter of waiting a little longer and it won't affect the overall situation.

Li Ming stood aside, remaining silent.

After a long time, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Li Er, do you have this plan as well?"

(End of this chapter)