Prince Li You of the Great Tang Dynasty begs the noble families to their deaths!

Jiangxia Ferry.

There are many boats and people here, and many shops nearby selling all kinds of things, making it a relatively bustling town.

Jiangxia has been a bustling place with numerous boats since ancient times, so this lively scene is not surprising.

After discussing with Yan Hongxin, Zan Junmo, and Wu Hong, Li You decided to disembark here, gather his troops, purchase a large ship, and then enter the Yangtze River to head west, passing through Ezhou, Huangzhou, and Qizhou before reaching Jiangzhou.

Jiangxia Ferry had a place for trading boats and hiring boatmen. After careful selection, Li You and his group finally bought eight large boats, each about ten feet long. Each boat could carry two hundred people, and there were also special cabins for storing the cargo.

These days of sailing on the water have made Li You fully realize the importance of boats in the southern region.

Regardless of whether the burning of the ships is successful, upon returning, we must seek out shipbuilding craftsmen, establish a shipbuilding base for Huang Chao's army, and train loyal sailors to help the soldiers row and paddle the ships.

After being delayed for two days at the Jiangxia ferry, Li You gathered all the soldiers together and assigned them to board the boats in batches before setting off again.

On the ship Li You was traveling on, in addition to the crew, there were more than 600 barrels of kerosene that had been painstakingly obtained, which played an important role in this voyage.

Upon entering the Yangtze River, one is greeted by a vast expanse of misty waters, stretching to the horizon.

Various boats sailed on the river, and occasionally a water bird would swoop down to the surface and snatch away a large fish that had surfaced.

There are also scenes of fishermen using nets to catch fish.

The soldiers from the north had never seen such a vast river before, and they were full of praise.

Li You himself wasn't particularly excited; he had seen the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers during his travels in his previous life.

However, the current environment does help improve the soldiers' swimming ability.

Li You gave the order, commanding the soldiers on each ship to jump into the water.

Let them experience the difference between swimming in a large river and swimming in a small stream.

This action was also a form of training for the soldiers, so that if they actually fell into the river, they wouldn't be unprepared and, in their panic, lose control of their limbs and end up losing their lives.

The soldiers jumped down one after another and practiced enthusiastically.

Li Youwang, itching to try his hand at swimming, also jumped into the river and swam for a while.

After swimming in the water for half an hour, everyone boarded the boat to rest.

After resting, jump back into the water and continue practicing your swimming skills.

After Li You boarded the ship, he did not go swimming again, but simply watched the soldiers train.

Some soldiers who were good swimmers and quick-witted could even catch fish swimming in the water and throw them onto the boat.

In the evening, we had stewed fish soup.

"Haha, I caught a big one!"

"Huh, what is this thing? It looks really weird!"

"Who cares what it is, as long as it's edible, let's just throw it up there!"

Li You stood on the deck, watching the soldiers catch and throw fish below.

"Bang!"

A big fish was thrown up from below.

Upon closer inspection, Li You realized that this was not a large fish at all, but clearly a cute little finless porpoise.

The Yangtze finless porpoise was very numerous in the ancient Yangtze River and Yunmengze, and was called "river pig" by the local people.

"Wow, there are even bigger ones out there!"

"Give us a hand, let's catch this one too!"

The soldiers worked together and caught another finless porpoise.

This one is mature and quite large, more than ten times the size of the small finless porpoise.

Li You shook his head and shouted down, "Release that finless porpoise!"

"My lord, this fish is so big, wouldn't it be a waste to release it..."

"That's not a fish, it's a protected animal, release it!"

As Li You shouted, he grabbed the tail of the small finless porpoise that had been thrown ashore and tossed it back into the water.

"We can catch other fish, but not these!"

Although the soldiers were reluctant, they obeyed the King of Qi's order and released the captured finless porpoise.

We encountered many more finless porpoises along the way.

They seemed to be highly intelligent creatures, circling around the ship and occasionally popping their heads out to observe the humans.

Li You looked at these beautiful creatures and felt happy.

Hopefully, they will bring some good luck to this operation.

……

After traveling up the Yangtze River for two days, Li You's ship-burning force finally arrived at their target location—Jiangzhou.

Jiangzhou, Raozhou, and Hongzhou were actually three prefectures surrounding Poyang Lake.

Jiangzhou, located at the confluence of Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River, is the most important prefecture among these three shipbuilding sites.

Hongzhou is located southwest of Poyang Lake, while Raozhou is located southeast of Poyang Lake.

Poyang Lake during the Tang Dynasty was much larger than it is today, reaching 6000 square kilometers (the modern Poyang Lake during the high-water season is 4000 square kilometers).

Shipbuilding in the Poyang Lake area can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty, when both official and civilian ships were built.

When Li You's boat entered the mouth of Poyang Lake, he could see the warships that the imperial court had already built in the distance.

These ships are indeed enormous and look quite impressive.

Moreover, they haven't driven away yet.

This means that the imperial court's order has not yet been issued, and there is still plenty of time for them to burn the ships.

After passing Hukou, we circled Poyang Lake and also took a look at the shipyards in Hongzhou and Raozhou.

Besides the construction of warships for the imperial court, civilian ships were also under construction, creating a lively scene.

As for the fishing boats and small boats shuttling back and forth on the lake, they are even more common.

It takes two full days to circle the lake.

Finally, Li You led his troops away from the mouth of Poyang Lake.

……

The fleet left the lake and continued downstream.

After traveling for about half a day, they docked at a place called Liusi Town.

Li You directed his soldiers to disembark and dock, where they also carried the kerosene stored under the deck ashore.

Huang Chao's soldiers, who had been in position beforehand, were waiting on the shore for a long time to provide support.

Compared to the bustling scenery of Jiangzhou, Liusi Town appears quite deserted, with only a few villages.

Li You met Yan Hongliang in a dilapidated house.

"Hongliang, where are your men hiding?"

"Reporting to my lord, two hundred men are hidden in Huikou Town on the opposite bank, fifty are here, and another fifty are lurking in Jiangzhou."

To monitor the imperial warships.

Li You nodded: "How many warships has the imperial court built so far?"

"The total number has reached more than 320 ships."

"They have many shipwrights here, and they're building ships incredibly fast. My lord, shouldn't we get started as soon as possible?"

"No rush. Yan Lide wants to build four hundred ships, but they're not finished yet. Let him build them slowly. Let the soldiers settle in and get used to their positions for a few days before we start. Also, how many suitable ships have you bought?"

"There are 432 ships, and as the lord instructed, they are all small boats."

"Alright, let the soldiers board the boats tomorrow to learn how to operate them and navigate the river."

"promise!"

How many troops did the Tang Dynasty deploy around Poyang Lake? Where were they stationed?

"About five hundred soldiers from the Zhechong Prefecture were stationed at the Jiangzhou Shipyard."

"What about the other two prefectures?"

"Both Raozhou and Hongzhou had few boats, and each had more than a hundred soldiers protecting them."

Li You called over Wang Sanwa, who then spread out an animal skin on the ground and placed a piece of paper on it.

This piece of paper contains the simple maps that Li You had drawn earlier.

Considering the common issues that might arise later, Li You drew many copies of this simplified diagram as a backup.

Using this map, Huang Chao's generals began to discuss specific action plans.

The next day, many small boats appeared on the river between Huikou Town and Liusi Town. The boatmen on these boats were all novices, often navigating the boats in circles.

Sometimes he gets dizzy and falls into the water, and his companions have to rescue him.

Therefore, many things look easy, but are extremely difficult to do.