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

While the soldiers were diligently training in ship handling, Li You and several of his generals, protected by elite guards, wandered around the Jiangzhou shipyard to verify the various situations they had previously discovered.

Sometimes, when encountering greedy and alcoholic boatmen, they would spend a lot of money to ask them about some details inside the shipyard.

The general situation was largely the same as what Yan Hongliang had previously discovered.

Of the three shipyards, the Jiangzhou Shipyard was the largest, with the most shipwrights and guards from the Zhechong Prefecture.

The master craftsman Yan Lide himself was also in charge of directing the work at the Jiangzhou Shipyard.

However, Li You did not find Yan Lide, indicating that the man was under extremely tight protection.

The situation at the other two shipyards was not as good as that at Jiangzhou Shipyard.

Considering the number of guards at these two shipyards, only two hundred men from each would be needed to easily burn all the warships.

The Jiangzhou Shipyard is still the most difficult.

While Li You was leading his soldiers to spy, the shipyard construction was still ongoing.

Li You discovered that shipbuilding in the Tang Dynasty had already begun to use simple pulleys, winches, and logs to move various heavy timbers, demonstrating the technological wisdom of the ancients.

As for the specific mortise and tenon joints, nail connections, structure, and design, Li You couldn't discern these technical details.

The secrets here lie in the minds of many shipbuilders, much of which is the wisdom passed down through generations.

After four or five days of careful reconnaissance and extracting information from the boatmen, Li You astutely discovered two points that could be exploited.

Firstly, there is the timber used in the shipyard.

These timbers had already undergone the air-drying process before entering the shipyard.

After being transported in, the beams must be cut and the boards removed to be made into wooden planks before being stacked in the warehouse.

There are more than a dozen warehouses throughout the shipyard, with all kinds of wooden planks piled up like mountains.

Li You couldn't help but think that it would be better if Yan Lide had just piled all the planks together in one place.

Unfortunately, Lao Yan wasn't that foolish to have risen to the position of chief shipbuilder of the Tang Dynasty.

If they are all piled up in one place, even the slightest spark could cause a catastrophic disaster.

However, there are also advantages to storing them separately.

If Li You could set fire to all the wooden warehouses, and the resulting fire would spread, the entire Jiangzhou shipyard would be ruined. Wouldn't that be even more exciting than burning down the warships moored in the lake?

Secondly, there is tung oil, a very important raw material used in shipbuilding.

Tung oil is a natural plant oil extracted from the seeds of the tung tree.

When tung oil is applied to the surface of a wooden boat, it reacts quickly with the air to form a hard, water-resistant, and semi-transparent film that penetrates deep into the wood fibers, providing deep protection while also acting as a lubricant.

The New Book of Tang records that the Yangzhou shipyard "coated the bottom of the ships with lacquer to speed up their journey." The "lacquer" referred to here is a tung oil-based coating, which can reduce water resistance and prevent corrosion.

At that time, tung oil was mainly produced in Lingnan. Because of the long distance, it was extremely difficult to obtain and the price was very high.

The tung oil at the Jiangzhou Shipyard was centrally managed in one place, but the security was very tight.

If the tung oil stored in the shipyard could be burned, it would be another major blow to Yan Lide's work.

Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste.

Before a major battle, careful planning is essential; the more you calculate, the more likely you are to win, and the less you calculate, the less likely you are to win.

Finally, after discussing with his generals and officers, Li You decided to adopt a two-pronged approach.

They not only had to burn the warships, but also two important materials used in the shipyard.

Although the decision was made to pursue a two-pronged approach, these two actions needed to be carried out sequentially.

Approaching the warships from a small boat on the lake was challenging, but less so than storming the shipyard from land.

If the warships succeed, the people in the shipyard will surely send people to rescue them.

At that time, Huang Chao's officers and soldiers who were lying in ambush nearby would have their chance.

Whether this amazing time difference can be achieved depends on the soldiers' final execution.

……

Jiangzhou Shipyard, late at night.

Yan Lide did not rest; he was reviewing the "Memorial to the Emperor on Entering the Imperial Academy" sent by the Ministry of War.

The so-called "memorial to the court" is the same as the "official gazette" of later generations, which was the main way for the imperial court to transmit government orders, military intelligence, and important political information to local officials.

From this internal document, Yan Lide learned that the imperial court had already assembled troops in the north, preparing to attack Goguryeo.

The main force of the army, totaling 60,000 men, was led by Li Shiji and assembled in Liucheng.

The main naval force of 40,000 men, commanded by Zhang Liang, assembled in Laizhou, Shandong.

In addition, there are more than 60,000 logistics and supply personnel who coordinate the transfer of grain and fodder in the rear.

Once the warships and supplies built by Yan Lide arrive, the navy's 40,000 troops can directly cross the sea to attack the city.

In this battle, the Tang Dynasty deployed all its elite troops.

According to rumors from other sources, the emperor also seems to have the idea of ​​personally leading the expedition.

Yan Lide privately believed that with such a large army mobilized, and with famous generals like Li Shiji as commanders, coupled with His Majesty's declining health, it seemed inappropriate for him to personally lead the expedition.

But Yan Lide was just a technocrat; some things were better left unsaid, only kept to himself.

Fortunately, the work on my side is progressing smoothly. Since construction began in July, we have supervised the completion of 80% of the total number of warships. It is estimated that in about 20 days, these 400 massive warships will be able to sail out of the mouth of Poyang Lake and head north.

The materials for this shipbuilding project were all fine, except for tung oil, which was always in short supply in Lingnan.

Relying on his official power, Yan Lide, together with the governor of Jiangzhou, went to a local private shipyard to "borrow" a batch of tung oil, which made up for the deficit.

Thinking of this, Yan Lide picked up his pen, preparing to write a letter to Li Daliang, the Minister of Works.

The letter proposed that the imperial court allocate funds to purchase more tung oil in preparation for unforeseen circumstances.

Li Daliang, the Minister of Works, was originally a general with outstanding military achievements. After being transferred to the Ministry of Works, he was efficient and decisive in his work. Yan Lide greatly admired his superior's abilities.

Yan Lide spread out the letter paper, and with swift, flowing strokes of his pen, he quickly finished writing the letter without adding any corrections.

As one of the most outstanding painters of our time, this person is also highly accomplished in calligraphy.

After finishing the letter, Yan Lide went to rest.

He rested at midnight.

Another hour passed, and at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Huang Chao's army's 432 small boats, under the cover of night, quietly sailed into the mouth of Poyang Lake, preparing to turn Yan Lide's months of work into a dazzling display of fireworks.

Li You couldn't help but sigh, it seemed like every time he commanded a major operation, it was done in the dead of night.

Just like the previous attack on Monk Yuanjue, Li You ordered his soldiers to suspend training during the day and get some rest.

He did the same thing himself.

The operation to burn the warships was personally led by Li You, with a total force of 600 men.

The ambush troops lying in wait near the Jiangzhou Shipyard numbered four hundred, led by Yan Hongxin and Yan Hongliang.

Once the fire starts in the lake and chaos erupts in the shipyard, Yan Hongxin can storm in and set the warehouse ablaze.

The Raozhou Shipyard and Hongzhou Shipyard were respectively handed over to Zan Junmo and Wu Hong, each leading three hundred men to burn them down.

The moonlight tonight is somewhat dim.

However, the silhouettes of the large ships built by the imperial court can still be seen.