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

Li You led the fleet, slowly approaching the large ships.

Huang Chao's soldiers, holding bamboo water guns, dipped them into wooden buckets and filled them with kerosene.

The number of soldiers on guard duty on the large ship was small, and more than half of them were already asleep.

By the time they noticed the small boats rushing towards them, black fuel had already sprayed onto the hull.

"What's that smell? It's so awful!"

"There are people down there!"

"What are you trying to do?!"

"This is a naval stronghold; all unauthorized personnel must leave immediately!"

No one answered the group of soldiers.

Torches were lit inside the small boats below.

An ominous premonition spread through the hearts of the soldiers.

Li You took a bow, which was made by Huang Chao's army. It was made of Chinese pistache wood and was not of very high quality.

But at such a close distance, firing a rocket would be more than enough.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The flames immediately ignited, burning from below the hull and seeping through the tung oil layer to gnaw at the inner layers of wood.

Huang Chao's soldiers then extended their bamboo water guns into the lake to draw water and spray it, making the fire even more intense.

"Enemy attack!"

"Fire!"

The guards on the large ship could no longer sit still. Some of them started banging gongs, others shouted, and they all began to make a fuss.

However, the fire caused by the kerosene was too fierce and quickly set the ship ablaze. Extinguishing it by manpower alone was an impossible task.

There were 180 warships anchored on the Jiangzhou side.

Huang Chao's officers and soldiers used two or three small boats to support one large boat as it sailed, which was enough.

With the help of the oil, all 180 warships were burned to the ground.

Li You rubbed his hands together. This oil is really useful. He must buy a lot when he gets back, and it would be best to get hundreds or thousands of tons to stockpile so he can feel at ease.

It's a pity that current technology is not advanced enough to explore other wonderful uses for oil.

The flames that started on the large ship were not initially noticed by the shipyard.

The boatmen were all asleep, fast asleep.

It wasn't until a boatman got up to urinate in the middle of the night that he discovered the flames.

He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.

"Oh no, oh no, there's a fire!"

The boatmen shouted, waking up more people.

"How did our big ship get on fire?"

"Quickly, go wake the master craftsman!"

A servant ran in from outside and shook Yan Lide awake.

"Brother, wake up! The warship is on fire!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Lide suddenly woke up and rushed out without even putting on his shoes.

Watching his warships, painstakingly built over several months, turn into a pile of torches, Yan Lide felt excruciating pain, mixed with a trace of fear.

This...this is a warship used to destroy Goguryeo!

If the war against Goguryeo were delayed, what would the emperor think? What would the court officials think? And what would the hundreds of thousands of Tang soldiers who were on the front lines, ready for battle, think?

Are the hundreds of heads of my Yan family enough to chop off?

"Quickly, quickly, get the boat over there and put out the fire!"

"promise!"

A commotion immediately broke out inside the shipyard.

Yan Hongxin and Yan Hongliang drew their long swords and led their troops in a charge.

Upon seeing the masked thugs, Yan Lide finally realized that the Jiangzhou Shipyard had been set up.

The soldiers of the Zhechong Prefecture rushed forward, attempting to stop Huang Chao's army.

However, the opposing side had many elite soldiers who had slept all day and were full of energy, so the soldiers were quickly defeated.

"Get the hell out of here if you don't want to die!"

"We're not here to kill anyone!"

Upon hearing this, the shipyard's largest number of boatmen abandoned their efforts to steer the boats and fight the fire, and fled in panic.

Those soldiers who were unwilling to die also dropped their weapons and fled with the boatmen.

At this point, the entire Jiangzhou Shipyard was exposed to the kerosene used by Huang Chao's officers and soldiers.

"Brother, let's run away quickly!"

"No, no!"

Yan Lide thought to himself that his future, and even the future of the entire Yan family, would be ruined tonight.

Rather than being escorted to Chang'an for trial and beheading, I'd rather be killed by these bandits in front of me.

But the servants didn't think that way; they still wanted to live.

So they forcibly dragged Yan Lide out of the shipyard.

"burn!"

At Yan Hongxin's command, flames roared up again in more than a dozen warehouses at the Jiangzhou Shipyard.

The wood and kerosene were burned to ashes in the kiln.

The shipbuilding equipment and tools inside the shipyard also caught fire.

It is not advisable to linger in a fire zone.

Yan Hongxin directed his soldiers to pick up the weapons that the guards had discarded on the ground, and then quickly retreated from the fire to avoid being roasted to a crisp by the raging flames.

……

The next day, Yan Lide looked at the white ground in front of him and seemed to have aged ten years.

Who did it?

"Master craftsman, master craftsman!"

Yan Lide turned his head and saw a clerk running over in a panic.

"What is it?"

"Hongzhou... Hongzhou caught fire last night, and only seven warships survived!"

Yan Lide was so shocked that he fainted.

"Master craftsman, master craftsman!"

The clerk who made the report was taken aback.

I haven't reported on the fire situation in Raozhou yet!

……

The news reached Chang'an on the evening of the seventh day later.

Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty was having a banquet with several important ministers, enjoying the newly choreographed Gaochang song and dance performance by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

During the Zhenguan era, the court music and dance system was known as the "Ten Music Departments".

Originally, there were "Nine Musical Instruments". After the fall of the Gaochang Kingdom two years ago, "Gaochang Music" was added, making it "Ten Musical Instruments". They are: Yan Music, Qing Shang Music, Xiliang Music, Tianzhu Music, Goryeo Music, Kucha Music, Anguo Music, Shule Music, Kangguo Music, and Gaochang Music.

The famous "Qin King's Battle Song" belongs to the highest level of "Yan Music".

Li Shimin has been in a good mood lately, so the Taichang Temple has become quite busy.

Judging from the information coming in from below, it is mainly that all the prefectures and states are paying great attention to their preparations for the war against Goguryeo.

Military supplies from Guanzhong, Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong were all being concentrated in the north.

Once this winter is over, Li Shimin will be able to personally lead his elite troops to destroy the hostile dynasty that is entrenched in Liaodong.

Li Shimin had a premonition that this might be the last time he would personally lead a military campaign.

Being an emperor is tiring, but being an emperor like Li Shimin is even more tiring.

Years of working tirelessly day and night, and engaging in open and covert struggles with various enemies, were taking a toll even on Li Er's strong body.

Fortunately, Prince Wei, Li Tai, was young and strong, and after becoming the crown prince, he shared some of the work with Li Shimin.

Compared to the former Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who was good at everything, Li Er increasingly felt that his decision to put the Prince of Wei on the horse was the right one.

Li Tai is not only capable, but he also has another advantage: he has a sweet tongue and knows how to make his father happy.

Don't underestimate the power of a sweet tongue. Between a child who frequently makes their parents angry and a child who knows how to please their parents, it's easy to see which parent they prefer.

These past few days, Li Tai had been overworked helping Li Er review memorials and had even fallen ill, so he was unable to attend this banquet.

As for the war against Goguryeo, many people in the court and the public actually did not really want to fight.

Ministers who opposed the idea included Fang Xuanling, Chu Suiliang, and Li Daliang.

Even the military general Yuchi Gong submitted a memorial, advising the emperor not to wage this war.

The main issue is the Goguryeo region. According to the people at that time, the climate was harsh and the land was barren (in fact, the land in Northeast China is not barren, but for various reasons, the ancients did not discover this).

Even if you manage to capture it with great effort, it won't be of much use.

Moreover, the Goguryeo army was not weak in combat, and with the emperor personally leading the expedition, if there were any mishaps, not only would it be difficult to win the battle, but it would also be uncertain whether it would cause domestic turmoil.

Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty personally led three campaigns against Goguryeo, leaving the country devastated. Yet, only thirty years have passed since then, and many people still remember it.

But in Li Shimin's view, Goguryeo had to be attacked, and not only attacked, but attacked to the death.

This was related to the border situation faced by the Tang Dynasty at that time, as well as the emperor's personality and administrative characteristics.

The northern border of the Tang Empire was never peaceful.

Besides Goguryeo, the Xueyantuo tribe has also been making moves recently, showing signs of challenging the Tang Dynasty.

After utterly defeating Goguryeo, it also served to intimidate the Xueyantuo, making them reconsider their own strength and whether they still wanted to confront the Tang army.