Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 508 Chaos in Jiangnan
"Dong Chang, the military governor of eastern Zhejiang (Song Wei, the military governor of western Zhejiang), has betrayed and sided with the rebel Chang, and deserves to die! However, the soldiers are innocent, and we hope that Prince Gao will show mercy..."

On the 12th day of the tenth month of the third year of Qianfu, with Dong Chang and Song Wei opening the gates of Mingzhou and Yuyao and surrendering to Gao Pian, Gao Pian finally pacified the Jiangdong and Liangzhe regions.

Dong Chang and Song Wei personally came to Yuyao to surrender to Gao Pian. At this moment, Gao Pian was sitting in his tent watching the two men bind their hands and surrender with thorns on their backs.

"Take it off."

Gao Pian placed the military treatise beside him and gestured for Gao Qin and Wang Zhongren to untie the two men.

The two men exchanged glances, indicating that they would untie Song Wei and Dong Chang inside the tent. Upon hearing this, Song Wei and Dong Chang both breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the two men put their clothes back on, Gao Pian finally spoke, "Since you had already surrendered to Liu Jilong, why have you come to surrender to me?"

"Reporting to King Gao!" Upon seeing this, Song Wei raised his hand in a bow and immediately recounted how Yuan Xi had suggested that the two armies join forces and surrender to Liu Jilong, and how Liu Jilong and others had agreed to hold back Gao Pian's main force, and how the Huainan troops had remained unmoved.

The two men thought that their words would please the generals in the tent, but to their surprise, the generals looked very unpleasant, which made their hearts sink.

"What about Yuan Xi?"

Gao Pian's expression did not change upon hearing this; he was simply curious about who Yuan Xi was.

"This man was Yang Xingmin's strategist. Three days ago, Yang Xingmin and Qian Liu betrayed their master and fled to Wengshan Island. Yuan Xi was also on the ship."

Dong Chang quickly explained, and Gao Pian frowned slightly upon hearing it.

He had intended to recruit Yang Xingmin, Qian Liu, and Li Shenfu, all of whom were outstanding generals, but to his surprise, all three abandoned him.

Is Liu Jilong really that good, making them prefer to flee to Wengshan rather than submit to him?
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Gao Pian then said, "Yuan Xi's plan was quite good. Liu Jilong did help you a lot in order to contain our army. It's just a pity that it was I who attacked you."

Gao Pian did not try to cover it up, because he wanted to block the two men's path and prevent them from going back to Liu Jilong.

"What does King Gao mean by this?"

Song Wei and Dong Chang had already realized something was wrong, but then Gao Pian said:

"Liu Jilong sent 300,000 troops to attack our army in Qianzhong and Jiangbei. Now we have lost 15 prefectures in Qianzhong and Jiangbei, and I'm afraid it won't be long before we lose another 3 prefectures."

"If Liu Jilong knew that he had expended so much effort only to see the two of you surrender, he would probably be furious."

"This……"

Upon hearing this, Song Wei and Dong Chang's expressions immediately turned rather unpleasant.

They did get a lot of intelligence from Li Yangchun, but they always felt that Li Yangchun was just stalling for time.

Now it seems that Li Yangchun did not lie to them; on the contrary, it was their own lack of determination that led to their failure at the last moment.

For a moment, the two were at a loss for words, but Gao Pian smiled at them and said:
"However, thanks to your surrender, I was spared a lot of trouble. Now I can devise a plan to deal with Liu Jilong."

"Isn't he planning to use his navy to attack Jiangdong, launching a two-pronged attack?"

“Then I will grant his wish.” Gao Pian looked at Wang Zhongren: “The news has spread that Mingzhou has surrendered, and our army is returning to reinforce Hunan.”

"Yes!" Wang Chongren bowed in response. Gao Pian then looked at Dong Chang and Song Wei and asked, "How many troops did Yang Xingmin and Qian Liu take with them?"

"Less than three thousand," Song Wei and Dong Chang answered in unison. Gao Pian, however, didn't take it to heart and directly instructed the generals in the hall:

“Wang Shenshi, you shall lead 10,000 troops to garrison the three prefectures of Hang, Yue and Ming, to guard against Yang Xingmin leading his troops to invade.”

"The last general takes command!"

One of the generals stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Gao Pian.

Seeing that he agreed, Gao Pian nodded slightly, and then ordered, "Tomorrow the three armies will head to Huzhou. I want to see if Li Yangchun will lead his troops to attack!"

Under his orders, the Southern Tang army could only rest briefly before setting off for Huzhou the following day.

At the same time, Yang Xingmin also sent an envoy to Yangzhou to inform Li Yangchun of the news that Song Wei and Dong Chang had surrendered.

Li Yangchun had long considered that Song Wei and Dong Chang would surrender, but he did not expect them to surrender so quickly.

"They have more than 3,000 men, all of whom are naval forces, enough to help our army cross the river."

Inside the Yangzhou government office, Li Yangchun put down Yang Xingmin's letter and then instructed the generals in the hall:
News has come from Jiangdong that Gao Pian has occupied Mingzhou and is currently leading his troops back to reinforce Hunan.

"This news is half true and half false. I don't believe that Gao Pian would be so calm in returning to Hunan after learning that our army intends to attack Jiangdong."

"Let us hold our troops and wait for news from the west that Gao Pian's troops have appeared in Hunan before we cross the Yangtze River again."

Li Yangchun was not misled by the information released by Gao Pian, but continued to wait for an opportunity.

Anyway, the Han army on the western front is advancing triumphantly, so the person who should be worried is not him, but Gao Pian.

On the contrary, if he could keep Gao Pian tied up in Jiangdong, even if he achieved nothing, he would also avoid any mistakes.

At his signal, the army in Huainan remained inactive, but a fast horse carried Li Yangchun's message to Jiangling City.

Upon seeing Li Yangchun's memorial, Liu Jilong of Jiangling City frowned slightly, then turned his gaze to the sand table in front of him.

By October 20th, Wang Jian had led his troops to recapture Yizhou, Nanzhou, Qinzhou, and Zhenzhou in the Qianzhong region, leaving only Bozhou in the south unrecaptured.

Once Bozhou is captured, the eight prefectures north and west of the Qian River will be firmly under the control of the Han army. The remaining nine prefectures in the Qianzhong region are mostly inhabited by barbarians and have few Han people. Lu Ruyue will not only have to block Wang Jian, but also guard against the barbarians in the rear. He will not be able to hold out for long.

Liu Jilong had already discerned the situation in Hunan through Yu Gongchu's arrangements over the past half-month: there were no more than 30,000 troops in the entire province, with 20,000 of them stationed on the south bank of the Li River.

The Han army also had 20,000 naval troops and 120,000 soldiers, as well as 250,000 laborers in Jiangling and Shannan East Road.

Although Huangpo has not yet been captured, it is not far from being captured.

As long as we march south to Huangpo, regardless of whether Gao Pian returns to reinforce, we can divide our forces to attack Hunan and Jiangxi.

"The imperial edict orders that Huangpo be captured quickly, and then the main army be sent across the river to attack Hunan and Jiangxi. After Wang Jian has reorganized the eight prefectures, he need not worry about the other prefectures and counties in Qianzhong. He should go directly south to attack Juzhou, then take Lingxi through Juzhou and recover Annam and Lingdong."

Liu Jilong chose to launch a military campaign in winter because he was worried that the hot and humid weather in summer would make it difficult for the northern troops to adapt. However, if the hot and humid Lingnan region could be captured in winter, it would be easier to fight in Hunan, Jiangxi, Jiangdong, and Liangzhe.

If Gao Pian were to retreat to Lingnan, the war would likely drag on until next winter, which Liu Jilong could not accept.

"I obey!"

Zhao Ying agreed without hesitation, while Liu Jilong looked at Jing Xiang, who was writing the daily records, and couldn't help but ask, "Do you think I'm being a bit too hasty?"

"No." Jing Xiang clearly hadn't expected his prince to ask him, but he had already prepared a response, so when asked, he immediately replied:
"In my opinion, the army should not advance eastward too quickly, nor should it be slow in its southward campaign."

“The situation in the Kanto region is complex, with various regional warlords having been established for decades or even centuries, so it cannot be rushed.”

"Your Highness has taken three years to pacify the towns in Guandong, which is already a bit too hasty. If Your Highness had not been able to bring out artillery to attack the towns and break through the cities that the towns had painstakingly built up over decades or even centuries, our army would probably still be stuck in the quagmire of Hebei."

"However, now that the north has been pacified, we must not proceed slowly when dealing with the south. Instead, we should take swift and decisive action to reclaim Jiangnan."

“The longer Jiangnan remains divided, the more difficult it will be to govern. Moreover, the Yangtze River and Guizhou are natural barriers. If Gao Pian is given a few more years to manage the situation and pacify the millions of people in Jiangdong and Zhejiang, he will surely be able to field an army of equal size to ours to confront us.”

"Even if our army has artillery, given the complex terrain and official roads in Jiangnan, our artillery will certainly not be able to be transported as quickly as it was in the north."

"I have read the military reports from Commander Wang in Qianzhong. When Commander Wang's troops were in Qianzhong, their marching speed was only forty li, which is far lower than our army's daily marching speed of sixty or seventy li."

"The reason for this is that the cannons are heavy and their daily range is limited."

"Our army has artillery but is slow, while Gao Pian has no artillery but is fast. Your Highness must be more aware than I am of the opportunities that arise from this difference in speed, so I will not presume to show off."

Jing Xiang stopped there, and Liu Jilong, hearing this, was very impressed and couldn't help but say, "With your talent, it would be a waste of your abilities to serve as a court attendant."

"Your Highness is too kind to me." Upon hearing this, Jingxiang quickly bowed with a wry smile.

"By Your Highness's side, I can not only learn a lot, but also accumulate experience and become familiar with the other officials, which will make it easier for me to be transferred to other posts in the future."

"Moreover, I have only been in the Southern Office for less than four years. To be appointed as a court attendant at such a young age is already an extraordinary favor."

Liu Jilong was very satisfied with Jing Xiang's tactful attitude and thought that after pacifying the country, he could transfer this person to his eldest son to cultivate his son's team in advance.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong turned his gaze to the sand table, while Zhao Ying, who had just left, quickly returned to the Sizheng Hall.

"Your Highness, a messenger has arrived with news: our army has recaptured Huangpo, and the garrison commander Liang Zuan has been captured!"

Zhao Ying brought good news, which surprised Liu Jilong: "How were they recovered?"

In his eyes, although Liang Zuan and his group were not very capable, they were loyal to Gao Pian and it was unlikely that they would surrender without resistance.

"Huangpo was about to fall, and his troops captured Liang Zuan under cover of night and surrendered the city."

Zhao Ying explained calmly, and Liu Jilong nodded after listening: "Including Liang Zuan, our army now has two generals under Gao Pian."

"In addition, the families of his former generals were also settled in Chang'an, which is beneficial for our army to persuade his generals to surrender."

"An imperial edict was issued to the garrison in Chang'an, ordering all those people to write letters home. Once our army crosses the Yangtze River and marches south, all those who surrender will be pardoned and granted official positions to support their families."

The hard measures have already been used; now it's time to use a combination of soft and hard approaches.

With both the Jiangbei and Qianzhong defense lines already collapsed, Liu Jilong did not believe that all of Gao Pian's generals could be as loyal as Zhang Lin and Lin Ruzhen.

Once the Han army crosses the Yangtze River, this group will immediately reveal their true colors, but before that, the most important thing is to cross the Yangtze River.

How are the supplies for crossing the river?

Liu Jilong asked Zhao Ying, who quickly bowed and said, "Jiangling has 500,000 shi of grain stored up, and the troops under the command of Prefect Wang of Huangzhou have another 300,000 shi of grain. There is no shortage of grain, but there is a shortage of laborers."

"If the army is to cross the river, we must first conscript laborers in order to ensure that our army can recover all the prefectures."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong no longer hesitated and directly issued an edict: "Order Cao Mao to lead his army south to attack Lizhou."

"An imperial edict was issued ordering Geng Ming to lead the main army across the Yangtze River to Ezhou, and ordering Wang Shi to command troops to attack Hunan and Jiangxi."

"An imperial edict was issued to Luoyang, ordering officials from Jiannan and Shannan to be dispatched south ahead of schedule, based on the number of prefectures and counties in Jiangnan."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ying dared not delay and immediately accepted the order to get up and take care of it.

Watching him leave, Liu Jilong became somewhat worried about the governance of the south.

This doesn't mean he felt there weren't enough officials, but rather that there weren't enough officials who could adapt to special circumstances.

Places like Lingnan, Fujian, and Guizhou are home to elephants or rhinoceroses, which gives a glimpse into the local environment.

Governing these areas is far more difficult than governing the arid and impoverished prefectures and counties in the north.

However, the advantage is that the southern prefectures and counties can see the effects of each governance over time, while the northern prefectures and counties, especially those in the northwest, become increasingly difficult as the rainfall line moves southward over time.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong felt that there were still many things he needed to do ahead. Reclaiming Jiangnan was just an interlude in governing the world in the future.

Lost in thought, he returned to his seat and picked up his pen to continue handling the affairs of various prefectures and counties.

Meanwhile, on the south bank of the Yangtze River, Cao Mao, who was stationed in Gong'an City, decisively chose to march south after receiving the imperial edict to attack Yu Gongchu, who was defending Lizhou.

Yu Gongchu's 20,000 troops were all new recruits who had been trained for less than half a year. Facing Cao Mao's 20,000 Han troops marching south, the pressure on the entire defensive line undoubtedly increased sharply.

While sending fast horses to Jiangdong to seek reinforcements, he also held firm on the Lishui defense line, trying to block Cao Mao's advance.

Cao Mao had no artillery, but Yu Gongchu's Lishui defense line also lacked a fortified city built of rammed earth and bricks.

Gao Pian only served in the south for a few years, focusing on developing the defense lines in central Guizhou and north of the Yangtze River. Although he also built many fortified cities in Hunan, which had the Yangtze River and central Guizhou as natural barriers, he focused on the area east of the Xiang River in Tanzhou and Yuezhou, rather than western Hunan.

Now that Cao Mao has led 20,000 troops to attack, Yu Gongchu has no choice but to grit his teeth and hold his ground.

At the same time that Cao Mao and Yu Gongchu were fighting in Lizhou, Wang Shi, who had recovered Huangpo, began to lead his army across the Yangtze River.

More than a hundred Fujian-style ships were nailed together, instantly forming a pontoon bridge more than two miles long across the Yangtze River.

"Slow down, don't rush, be careful not to fall into the water!"

On the 22nd, a cold wind blew from west to east across the Yangtze River, making people's cheeks turn red.

On the north bank of the Yangtze River, more than 300,000 soldiers and civilians gathered. Dozens of Fujian-style boats traveled back and forth between the north and south, responsible for transporting horse-drawn carts, oxcarts, and supplies to Ezhou, south of the Yangtze River. The soldiers and civilians were organized into military units and crossed the Yangtze River southward one after another via the pontoon bridge formed by the Fujian-style boats.

This method of crossing the river is only useful in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It would be impossible to use it in the lower reaches, where the distance can be several miles or even tens of miles.

"The army has finally crossed the river."

On the 800-ton Fujian-style ship, Wang Shi stood at the bow, while Chen Ying, Chen Jingchong, and others beside him sighed with emotion.

They all knew that once the Han army crossed the Yangtze River, unifying the south would only be a matter of time.

"If Gao Pian knew that Huangpo had been lost and our army had already crossed the Yangtze River, he would probably be thrown into chaos."

Chen Jingchong couldn't help but laugh out loud, and Chen Ying beside him also smiled, her eyes filled with the scenery of Jiangnan.

"He is only one person, and ultimately he cannot be in two places at once."

"There is no one else who can stop our army like this except him."

"If he has ambitions to compete for supremacy, he might be able to hold off our army for even longer."

Wang Shi did speak a fair word for Gao Pian, who had only ever thought about how to carve out his own territory.

If he had any ambition to compete, and instead of attacking Song Wei and Dong Chang, he had attacked Geng Ming north of the Yangtze River, the outcome might have been very different.

Of course, given Liu Jilong's speed in sweeping through Hebei, even if Gao Pian were to occupy many prefectures and counties north of the Yangtze River, it wouldn't affect the final outcome.

The South will eventually be pacified by Liu Jilong; it's just a matter of time.

Thinking this, Wang Shi looked at the hundreds of large Fujian ships not far away, and the Han soldiers who were quickly crossing the river on the wooden planks of the ships.

Ten years ago, he never imagined that Liu Jilong, who lived in a remote corner of the country, would swallow up the entire north from west to east in just ten years, and now he was going to swallow up the south as well.

"If it can bring peace to the world, what does it matter if dynasties change..."

Wang Shi thought of the things that happened to Li Chen and Li Cui, and couldn't help but sigh. At his sigh, more than 300,000 soldiers and civilians in Jiangbei, like ants moving house, kept surging towards Jiangnan.

Twelve large Fujian ships equipped with cannons and more than twenty large Fujian ships without cannons blockaded the mouth of Dongting Lake and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Gao Jie wanted to lead his troops to stop them but was powerless to do so. Zhang Ji was originally a river pirate, so naturally he would not use his own brothers to fight the Han army to the death.

He only sent his navy in a feigned attack, and after experiencing the power of the Han army's naval artillery, he immediately withdrew to Jiangzhou and sent a fast horse to Jiangdong to request reinforcements.

On the 25th, Wang Shi led more than 300,000 soldiers and civilians across the river. After the army landed in Ezhou, Wang Shi divided his troops into two groups: Chen Ying's and Chen Jingchong's.

Chen Ying personally led 50,000 troops to attack Jiangxi, while Chen Jingchong personally led 70,000 troops to attack Hunan. Wang Shi, on the other hand, chose to stay put and coordinate the supply of gunpowder and provisions for both armies.

After nearly two months of fierce fighting in Jiangbei, Jiangling Prefecture cast another twenty cannons. Wang Shi assigned the original thirty cannons to Chen Jingchong and the twenty brand-new cannons to Chen Ying. The two armies began to divide their forces to attack Hunan and Jiangxi. When Gao Pian of Huzhou received the news, even he couldn't help but sway slightly.

"How is Liang Lang...?"

Inside the Huzhou government office, Gao Pian questioned the messenger on horseback, wanting to know whether Liang Zuan was alive or dead after Huangpo was captured.

"I have not heard any news about Magistrate Liang."

The fast horse lowered its head, and Gao Pian looked at Wang Zhongren after hearing this: "There are 30,000 new soldiers and 10,000 veteran soldiers stationed in Jiangdong. I will entrust all 40,000 troops to you, hoping that you can stop Li Yangchun's invasion."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Wang Zhongren agreed without hesitation. Seeing this, Gao Pian turned to Gao Qin beside him and said, "Inform all the soldiers that we will break camp tomorrow and return to reinforce Hongzhou."

"Yes!" Hearing that Gao Pian was finally willing to return to help, Gao Qin also breathed a sigh of relief.

But thinking of the more than 100,000 Han troops crossing the Yangtze River and heading south, he couldn't help but ask, "Father, if that's the case, our army will only have less than 40,000 troops to return to the rescue."

"The combined forces in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces number no more than 40,000. Even with our 40,000 troops, the total is only 80,000. Can we possibly defeat the rebel army of over 100,000?"

Faced with Gao Qin's concerns, Gao Pian remained calm: "The one leading the troops this time is Wang Xiaonian. If it is only Wang Xiaonian, then I have nothing to fear."

"What I am worried about is that after the defeat of the vanguard, Liu Jilong will personally come to Jiangnan."

Gao Pian had not suffered any losses at the hands of several people, but he had not gotten any good out of Liu Jilong.

He was very familiar with Wang Shi and was confident that he could defeat Wang Shi, but he was not confident that he could defeat Liu Jilong.

"An imperial edict was issued ordering Kuang Shiqian to lead his troops and escort His Majesty to Guangzhou for a southern exile."

"Yes!"

Gao Pian lacked the confidence to defeat Liu Jilong, so the only thing he could think of was to move the emperor south to Guangzhou.

If he can hold off the rebel army until February of the following year, given the situation in Jiangnan in February, he will definitely be able to give Liu Jilong's hundreds of thousands of troops a hard time.

With these thoughts in mind, Gao Pian could only calm down and think about how to repel the more than 100,000 troops.

As for surrendering to Liu Jilong, he's lived to be so old, he could kneel to anyone else, but he just couldn't bring himself to kneel to Liu Jilong.

"Let's all go back."

He dismissed the others and went alone to the yamen to devise a strategy to defeat the enemy.

However, he still hadn't come up with a good solution by the time the army broke camp the next day.

He chose to travel from Huzhou to Muzhou, then through Wuzhou, Quzhou, and Xinzhou before arriving at Hongzhou, a journey of nearly a thousand miles that would take a month to complete.

Before that, he could only hope that Yu Gongchu and his men could hold Hunan and Jiangxi, buying him time.

His idea was good, but Yu Gongchu and Kuang Shiqian simply couldn't do it.

Upon learning that the Han army had crossed the river and headed south from Ezhou, Yu Gongchu had no choice but to abandon Lizhou and Langzhou and retreat to defend Xiangyin.

Therefore, in less than half a month, the Southern Tang lost Lizhou, Langzhou and Ezhou in Hunan.

At the same time, Jiangzhou was under fierce attack by Chen Ying and Geng Ming, and Zhang Ji's navy dared not approach.

Upon learning of the situation in Jiangzhou, Gao Pian, who had just arrived in Quzhou, examined the map and quickly conceived a plan.

"The imperial edict ordered Zhang Ji to lead the navy to retreat to Chizhou, and to allow the rebels to capture Jiangzhou and attack Hongzhou City."

"Issuing the order to Zhong Chuan, the garrison commander of Hongzhou, that he must hold Zhongling for fifteen days. After fifteen days, I will be able to lead my troops to Zhongling and defeat the rebel forces."

On the official road of Quzhou, Gao Pian pointed to Zhongling City, the seat of Hongzhou, on the map, and had already come up with a plan to wipe out the Han army's eastern route forces in one fell swoop.

"The last general takes command!"

Gao Qin didn't know what his father was thinking, but he knew that his father wouldn't fight a battle he wasn't sure of winning.

Moreover, Chen Ying, who was leading the troops this time, was not well-known in the Han army. Even if the Han army was brave, it would be difficult for them to compete with their side.

Under Gao Pian's order, 40,000 elite troops of the Southern Tang began to head towards Hongzhou, while Zhang Ji, following Gao Pian's order, retreated directly to Chizhou.

After Zhang Ji retreated, Chen Ying and Geng Ming intensified their offensive against Jiangzhou, and within three days they had captured the entire territory of Jiangzhou.

Instead of ordering the army to rest, Chen Ying rushed towards Hongzhou.

The general stationed in Hongzhou was Zhong Chuan, who had organized the militia to fight against Wang Xianzhi. However, he did not have many merits at the time and only received the official position of Hongzhou General.

Later, when Gao Pian occupied Jiangxi, he promoted him to Prefect of Hongzhou and Defense Commissioner, but he only had less than 5,000 soldiers under his command.

Therefore, after Gao Pian's imperial edict arrived, he gathered all 5,000 troops from Hongzhou into Zhongling City and ordered the people to cut down all the trees around Zhongling City and transport them into the city.

As Zhongling was a city where Gao Pian once stayed temporarily, it was naturally very well repaired.

The city wall, which was 36 feet high, was made entirely of rammed earth and brick, and was 50 feet thick. Even if Chen Ying had cannons, he would still feel a headache when he saw this city.

"It is now the 20th of the 11th month. If our army's artillery wants to break through this city, it will probably take at least ten days to half a month."

"Isn't the Gan River right next to Zhongling? Send someone to ask Governor Geng if it's possible to send gunboats into the Gan River and bombard Zhongling City!"

Chen Ying was giving instructions to his generals, while the 30,000 troops setting up camp behind him also attracted the attention of Zhong Chuan, the garrison commander of Zhongling City.

"So many troops have come to deal with this tiny Zhongling City! How exciting! How exciting!"

Looking at the scene outside the city, Zhong Chuan felt not fear, but rather a hint of anticipation.

In times of turmoil, only by demonstrating one's talents can one gain recognition and be given important responsibilities. Regardless of whether Gao Pian or Liu Jilong ultimately triumphs, he only needs to showcase his abilities, and people will naturally come to win him over.

Regardless of who wins or loses, all he cares about is wealth and status!

"Are you all ready?"

Zhong Chuan looked at the officers beside him, who all bowed and said, "Rest assured, my lord, the city is impregnable. Even if someone brings an army of 100,000 to attack, they will not be able to take it easily!"

“Alright!” Zhong Chuan said with a broad smile, then turned and walked down the city wall.

As he descended the city wall, the fast horse Chen Ying had dispatched had already returned to the mouth of Poyang Lake.

Upon learning that Zhongling was well-defended, Geng Ming immediately prepared to send gunboats down the Gan River to bombard the city.

Although it is winter, the large Fujian-style ship with a draft of 2,000 liang is not deep. It still carefully passed through the river and appeared on the surface of the Gan River west of Zhongling City.

Upon learning that gunboats could enter the Gan River, Geng Ming commanded five other gunboats to enter Poyang Lake and eventually stop on the Gan River, preparing to bombard Zhongling City from the ships when Chen Ying ordered the shelling.

On the 22nd, after the six gunboats were in position, Chen Ying ordered the army to cross the Gan River and set up camp on the east bank. At the same time, he transported twenty cannons from the camp to the front line and aimed them at the very fortified city of Zhongling.

As the laborers began constructing the camp, Chen Ying decisively ordered the artillery to bombard the walls of Zhongling City and used flag signals to signal the six large Fujian-style ships on the river to begin bombarding Zhongling City.

"Beep--"

"Boom!"

In an instant, more than fifty cannonballs launched an attack on Zhongling City, which was about a mile away.

Since the first round was for calibration, only two or three shells hit the city wall. However, after a short break, seven or eight shells hit the city wall in the second round, and more than ten shells hit it in the third round.

From the third round onwards, each round of shelling would hit the section of the city wall that Chen Ying had predicted.

During this time, Zhong Chuan also braved the gunfire to go forward and take a look. He was secretly amazed, but he still had full confidence in Zhongling City.

As expected, after three days of bombardment, although the bricks of Zhongling City were broken again and again, it was not easily breached, which gave Chen Ying a headache.

He began to divide his forces to attack the remaining weakly defended prefectures and counties, leaving the main force to continue the siege of Zhongling City.

Within a few days, Jizhou and Yuanzhou, west of the Gan River, were successively recovered by the Han army, and Chen Jingchong's attack on Hunan also went very smoothly.

With the help of the other six gunboats left by Geng Ming, Yuezhou quickly fell under the siege of 70,000 troops. Gao Jie led the remaining naval forces to Xiangyin and sank several severely damaged ships on the Xiang River to prevent the Han army's gunboats from entering the Xiang River.

With Gao Jie's methods, Xiangyin City, which was already similar to an island in the river, immediately had many more defensive measures.

Cao Mao led his army south from Langzhou and confronted Yu Gongchu on the west bank of the Xiang River, while Chen Jingchong led his army south and confronted him on the east bank of the Xiang River.

Kuang Shiqian led over ten thousand new soldiers, along with the people of Tanzhou and Hengzhou, southward, intending to use the complex terrain of southern Hunan to hinder the advance of the Han army.

Wang Jian of Qianzhong has recovered Bozhou, but the number of people left behind by Lu Ruyue is not large. He can only recruit laborers from Dongchuan and wait until mid-December to attack Juzhou.

With the help of fast messengers, Liu Jilong, who was stationed in Jiangling, quickly received news of the progress of the three armies marching south to recover Jiangnan.

"The situation in Jiangxi is not right."

Upon receiving the military report from Jiangxi, Liu Jilong immediately sensed that something was amiss.

Seeing his expression, Zhao Ying hurriedly asked with concern, "Your Highness, did Gao Pian use some kind of trick?"

“Hmm.” Liu Jilong walked to the sand table and pointed to Zhongling City in Jiangxi Province, saying, “Gao Pian is only a thousand miles away from Zhongling. If he had set off earlier, he should have already reached Hongzhou by now, but he has not shown up yet.”

"Furthermore, it is also strange that Zhang Ji's navy did not suffer heavy losses and did not continue to harass them after retreating to Chizhou."

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong carefully observed the situation on the map, and a strange expression appeared on his face.

Judging from the situation in Jiangxi alone, it was practically a replica of the Battle of Poyang Lake at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. The only difference was that Geng Ming and Chen Ying did not have as many troops, nor did they make the mistake of Chen Youliang exposing Hukou to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Even so, Liu Jilong couldn't help but ask, "How many warships does Geng Ming have on Poyang Lake now?"

"There were 26 large Fujian ships, six of which were gunboats, with more than 8,000 sailors."

Zhao Ying answered without hesitation. Liu Jilong frowned slightly upon hearing this, but quickly relaxed his brow.

"By moving our gunboats to Zhongling and dispersing our forces, it seems that Gao Pian has already led his troops to lie in wait in Hongzhou, preparing to first swallow up Chen Ying's army before dealing with Chen Jingchong."

Liu Jilong guessed Gao Pian's intention and immediately instructed Zhao Ying without hesitation:
"An imperial edict is issued to Li Yangchun: Gao Pian has already led his troops back to Jiangxi. He is ordered to immediately cross the river and attack Jiangdong, and recover the entire territory of Jiangdong and Liangzhe!"

"The imperial edict ordered Geng Ming to strictly guard the mouth of Poyang Lake and not to lose it, to guard against a surprise attack by the rebel navy, and to move the gunboats to the mouth of the lake."

"An imperial edict was issued to Chen Ying, instructing him to gather his troops and guard against Gao Pian's tactics of attacking our army from multiple directions."

"An imperial edict was issued to Cao Mao, ordering him to lead his army westward to recover the prefectures and counties in western Hunan and eastern Guizhou."

"An imperial edict was issued to Chen Jingchong, ordering him to leave troops to besiege Xiangyin, while the remaining troops were to launch a fierce attack on southern Hunan, and not to allow the rebels to linger in the Five Ridges (Nanling) for long."

Several imperial edicts were issued in succession, and all the troops except Wang Jian in the west received them.

Zhao Ying dared not delay and immediately sent out a fast horse to deliver the message, but Liu Jilong frowned, worried that something might be a step too late.

His opponent was Gao Pian, and Liu Jilong himself could sense his intentions, but his generals could not sense them so quickly, a fact he was well aware of.

While he was worrying, imperial edicts began to be sent to various armies, and Wang Shi, who was deep in Ezhou, gradually sensed something was wrong as he faced the sand table.

"Something's not right...something's not right..."

Wang Shi looked at the sand table, frowned, paced back and forth, staring intently at the sand table, and finally focused his gaze on the model of the boats at the mouth of Poyang Lake.

"Somebody come!"

He suddenly spoke, and a general outside the tent hurriedly lifted the curtain and entered: "My lord."

"Issue military orders to Geng Ming and Chen Ying, instructing them to strictly guard the mouth of Poyang Lake. Also, instruct Chen Ying to concentrate his troops and not to continue to divide his forces to recover the various prefectures and counties."

"Yes!"

Under Wang Shi's orders, the Ezhou military camp also dispatched fast horses to head straight for Jiangzhou and Hongzhou.

While the fast horses galloped at full speed, another group of fast horses also raced towards Chizhou under the cover of night.

As night fell, they sped to the water village in the northern part of Pengze County and showed their fish tally to prove their identities.

Half an hour later, as Zhang Ji, who was in charge of the navy, appeared at the gate of the water fortress, the messenger on horseback promptly presented the fish tally and Gao Pian's edict with both hands.

"King Gao has decreed that Commander Zhang should lead his navy in a surprise attack on the rebel navy at the mouth of Poyang Lake, and block the lake mouth with iron chains so that King Gao can inflict heavy losses on the rebel army on the eastern route!"

"What?" Zhang Ji thought he had misheard and frowned. "Although the rebels have fewer warships, they are all larger than ours, and besides, they also have..."

Zhang Ji wanted to talk about the cannons, but the fast horseman said, "King Gao has already ordered his men to restrain those warships that can fire iron balls. Please, Commander Zhang, send out your troops immediately."

"Good!" Upon hearing that the warships of the Han army capable of launching iron balls had been restrained, Zhang Ji stopped dawdling and looked directly at the generals who had urgently gathered inside the gate.

"Order the three armies to break camp, prepare to link warships with iron chains, and launch a surprise attack on the mouth of Poyang Lake!"

"Your subordinate obeys!!"

The naval commanders, upon hearing this, showed no fear and bowed in agreement.

Seeing this, Kuai Ma went to rest as arranged by Zhang Ji.

As they set out from their camp overnight to head towards the mouth of Poyang Lake, Li Yangchun, who had not yet received the imperial edict, sensed something was amiss through the rapid advances on various battlefields.

"Gao Pian has probably returned to reinforce the area. The false information they released earlier has now become true."

Standing before the sand table, Li Yangchun observed its contents by oil lamp, pointing to Hongzhou in Jiangxi and saying:

"If I'm not mistaken, Gao Pian's attack will be directed here."

Upon hearing Li Yangchun's words, Liu Song, Tan Kai, and the others, who had been woken up in the middle of the night, couldn't help but ask, "Do we need to provide support?"

“No!” Li Yangchun shook his head: “Our mission is to recover Jiangdong and Liangzhe, and Gao Pian has not shown up for a long time, so he must have gone to Hongzhou.”

"Now is the best time for our army to cross the river and recover Jiangdong and Liangzhe. Send a messenger to Wengshan Island to order Yang Xingmin and others to send troops to attack Mingzhou, so that the troops from Jiangdong and Liangzhe can be drawn to Mingzhou, thus facilitating our army's crossing of the river!"

"Yes!" Liu Song and Tan Kai responded one after another, but Deng Yan frowned and said, "Should we inform His Highness and wait for His Highness's order before sending troops?"

Faced with this question, Li Yangchun remained calm: "A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders. I can send a fast horse to Jiangling, but I cannot wait for Your Highness's decree to cross the river."

"The opportunity to fight is fleeting. If anything goes wrong, one person will be held responsible."

Before Deng Yan could persuade him, Li Yangchun, holding an oil lamp in one hand, raised his other hand and interrupted him.

"The governor has ordered that Yang Xingmin's troops in Wengshan be used as bait. Our army will cross the river in three days, and I intend to recover the two Zhejiang provinces before New Year's Eve!"

(End of this chapter)