Emperor Sui Yang

Chapter 699 Digging out from the grave
The Xiangyang navy was stalling, and Yang Jian was eager to fight. He was worried that Yang Ming would come to Jiangdu to take over his military power, so on the advice of his staff, he planned to trick Yang Ming.

Wang Shichong led [-] infantrymen south from Jiangdu, crossed the Yangtze River, and stationed in Jurong County, the southernmost part of Jiangdu County. This county is only [-] miles away from Jiangning County, the capital of Danyang County.

If there is a fight between two places, one thing cannot be ignored, that is the waterway.

There is a river here that originates from the northern part of Jurong County, then flows through Jurong and turns westward, entering Jiangning County, and then merges into the Yangtze River, with a total length of 120 miles.

Judging from the length, this is a small river, but this river is quite famous. In the Sui Dynasty, it was called Huai River, it was called Longzangpu in ancient times, and later it was called Qinhuai River.

Smoke cages, cold water, moon cages and sand, mooring in the Qinhuai River at night, close to a restaurant, business girls not knowing the hatred of the country's subjugation, still singing the flowers in the backyard across the river, this is what I'm talking about.

Jurong was later known as Jurong City, Jiangsu Province, Jiangning County, the capital of Danyang, and Nanjing, the provincial capital.

If these two places fight, a water war is unavoidable. The northern part of Jurong County is the origin of the Qinhuai River, so boats cannot enter, but the north of Jiangning County is the entrance where the Qinhuai River merges into the Yangtze River. The navy is coming. That's where it comes from.

This entrance is only more than 100 miles away from Jiangyang Wharf where the Xiangyang Navy is located.

This time, Wang Shichong did not come to risk his life with Fugong Er stationed in Danyang. He came to give gifts to others.

what to give?Send Jurong.

Only a major defeat and the loss of Jiangdu County's strategic military base in the south can put pressure on the Xiangyang navy and the prince to take over the navy.

All parties are scheming, so fighting is not what you see on the surface. There are turbulent waves inside, but no one knows.

To the south of Jiangdu City is the Yangtze River. After crossing the Yangtze River, there are three counties: Yanling, Qu'a, and Jurong. If these three counties are lost, then Jiangdu's army will have no foothold on the other side of the Yangtze River.

This time, Yang Xian gave a little too much gift.

Yu Wenshu knew this well and watched with cold eyes as Yang Jian cursed Wang Shichong in the lobby for his failure to suppress thieves.

Wei Xuan can see this kind of cruel trick.

Wei Yunqi said with an ugly face: "It was not the time to send troops in the first place. Now we have lost thousands of soldiers and lost Jurong. We are too anxious. The capital has issued an order and Rong Gong is coming to Jiangdu. That's it." It’s been half a month, let Wang Shichong garrison Qu’a and avoid Fengrui for the time being.”

Yang Jian said angrily: "If there was a naval force to coordinate on the Yangtze River, Jiang Ning would have captured it long ago. You guys protected Shen and Zhou Zhou one by one, leading to a huge defeat. Now it's fine. You've lost morale. Haha, your majesty, yourselves." Explain it."

Wei Yunqi was also confused. He raised his eyebrows and said: "I am just a marching commander. It is not my turn to explain to His Majesty."

"The first one is you!" Yang Jian said: "Didn't you go to Jiangyang Wharf to be a peacemaker? What happened? You agreed to hand over the navy, but you still haven't. You didn't even bother to make up excuses for me. , the weather is too cold, we are going upstream, and the boat is too big for the navy to attack. I will report these words to Your Majesty exactly as they are."

Wei Yunqi rolled his eyes and remained silent. There was nothing he could do. Shen and Zhou were obviously uncooperative and were dragging them on. What can you do?
You are the general manager of Jiangnan Province and cannot control the troops under your command. Why are you angry with me?

Yu Wenshu sighed: "Lai Hu'er is good at water fighting, and he's from the prince. He must have given the prince's instructions. Let's wait until he comes."

"Aren't you good at water warfare?" Yang Xian asked: "In the battle to destroy Chen, you had more water troops under your command than those who came to protect your children."

Yu Wenshu bit the bullet and explained: "The leader of Yue Gong is the one who destroyed Chen Shui Zhan. Lai Hu'er and I are just pawns."

"Oh, you mean to dig Yang Su out of his grave and let him beat him?" Yang Jian said angrily.

The faces of everyone present immediately changed.

Is it appropriate for you to insult the founding heroes like this?In any case, Yang Su was buried with a two-word posthumous title. The final title of Duke of Chu also proved the court's praise of him. Are you digging his grave?try it yourself.

Seeing that something was wrong in the atmosphere, Qi Wang Changshi Liu Jianzhi hurriedly came to the rescue and said:

"Your Majesty's will is very clear. The affairs in the south of the Yangtze River are under the full authority of the King of Qi. But without the navy, this battle cannot be fought. The Xiangyang navy was built by the prince. I believe that Shen and Zhou are pure people. Even if he disobeys his superiors and does not obey his orders, it has absolutely nothing to do with the prince, and all the princes should still give him more help."

Wei Xuan nodded: "Wang Shichong's defeat further reflects the disadvantages of not having a navy. In the current situation, the Xiangyang navy cannot be moved. Xu Gong has high prestige. You, the old man, should come forward to negotiate."

Wei Xuan also knew very well that Yang Jian deliberately played tricks on the prince. If you are in Jiangdu and disobey the general's orders, you will be defeated. If you send a memorial, the emperor will definitely blame the prince and even directly deal with Shen and Tuesday. people.

But the Xiangyang Navy is just an army of young soldiers. If you take care of these two people, the framework will fall apart and the combat effectiveness will be reduced by half.

So Wei Xuan didn't want this to happen either.

Yu Wenshu said solemnly: "I will definitely negotiate with you, but in the end, I will still have to protect the children and take over."

Everyone can see that he is giving up his choice.

The conversation between Yang Yue and Cai Wang Yang Zhiji in the capital was actually discussing what Yu Wenshu and Lai Huer would do in Jiangnan.So now, it is clear that Yuwenshu chose the prince, and Laihuer chose to listen to the emperor.

Yang Jian sneered and said: "It is already the 25th of the twelfth lunar month. Laihu'er arrived in Jiangdu in the middle of the first lunar month. During this time, the Duke of Xu will kneel down and say good things to the two Xiangyang naval forces."

To speak of condescension as bending the knee is to mock Yu Wenshu.

Yu Wenhua didn't like it, but his two younger brothers didn't react at all. The two of them had a close relationship with Yang Jian. They had known each other since they were young. They knew that Yang Jian spoke so harshly because he was complaining about his father's failure to support him, not because he had any grudge. .

"Then I will kneel down and go to Jiangyang Pier," Yu Wenshu stood up and said expressionlessly.

"Thank you for your service, Mr. Wei," Wei Xuan said hurriedly.

Jiangyang Wharf is just twenty miles south of Jiangdu City. The wharf is on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It is the largest naval wharf in Sui Dynasty. It is not a trading wharf. The largest trading wharf in Jiangdu County is Shanyang Wharf in the north of the county. It is the intersection of the northern end of Hangou and the Huaihe River, and the southern end of Hangou merges into the Yangtze River. It is a very important section of the Grand Canal.

Originally, there was also a river fleet here, and it was the largest. However, some of the large ships were transformed into Comrade Yang Guang's cruise ships, and some were lost during the Jiangnan Chaos. Among them, Zhao Po, an early rebel in Hailing County, Formation, more than 20 warships of Jiangdu navy were burned.

This person has now surrendered to Du Fuwei.

After the arrival of Shen Lun and Zhou Zhongmo, the remaining warships were incorporated by the Xiangyang navy with the prince's instruction and Wei Xuan's tacit consent. There is no longer a Jiangdu navy.

In the barracks on the shore of the dock, Shen, Zhou and Er Zhao, who learned of Yu Wenshu's arrival, rushed out to greet him. Behind them were their respective generals.

"Xu Gong is here late at night. What orders do you have for your subordinates?" Shen Lun said respectfully.

Yu Wenshu first pushed the Zhao Yuanke brothers away, then slowly walked around the camp and said to Shen Lun:
"Prince, have you given any explanation recently?"

Shen Lun opened his eyes and lied: "No."

Yuwenshu smiled and said: "The memorial of King Qi's complaint against you has been sent to the capital. The defeat of Jurong is blamed on both of you. Lai Hu'er is already on his way to Jiangdu. I will try to protect him." You guys, but if there are any general orders from now on, you can’t make any excuses to evade them.”

Shen Lun and Zhou Zhongmo looked at each other, nodded and said, "Brothers Zhao still want to take over the navy. The men below don't recognize them."

"Throw the original Jiangdu navy to them," Yuwen Shu said, "for the rest, I will speak for you in front of King Qi."

Shen Lun nodded: "But Mr. Xu will make the decision."

How to say it and how to do it are two different things. Yang Ming told them that they would delay, no matter who came, they would delay, but they couldn't say that, it was a handle.

Besides, Shen Lun knew in his heart that they didn't have to wait too long. Laihu'er was coming soon, and something was going to happen in Jingzhou soon. The countdown to the Xiangyang Navy's departure from Jiangyang Pier had already begun.

Next, Yuwenshu went to find Er Zhao and the others.

"There are less than thirty ships in Jiangdu's navy. It's too late for His Majesty's patrol ships to be converted into warships. Besides, we don't dare to change," Zhao Yuanke said with a bitter look on his face.

Yang Guang's dragon boat boats, that is, when he accompanied him on his tour of Jiangdu, there were more than 100 dragon boats, including Xiang Chi, Fu Jing, rippling watercolor boats, and fifth-floor boats that could only be used by the harem and the third rank or above. More than 40 of them were in Luoyang, and the rest Half of them are in Shanyang, and the other half are in Jiangyang. These ships are already Yang Guang's private property. They are luxuriously decorated inside and are completely like palaces on the water. You can't change them back to warships for fighting.

In other words, the Jiangdu Navy, once the first navy of the Sui Dynasty, was wasted in the hands of Yang Guang himself.

Yuwen Shuyu said earnestly: "One thing is the other, the King of Qi asked you to take over the Navy. It is your problem if you can't take over, but you threw this problem to the King of Qi and let him have a headache. You should do this as a subordinate." , what do you want me to say about you?"

"This is the prince's private army. It is monolithic. We are low-ranking officials and it is really difficult to attack," the second eldest son, Zhao Yuankai, complained.

Yu Wenshu suddenly frowned and said, "What did you say? Say it again."

Zhao Yuanke, who knew his brother's slip of the tongue, hurriedly said: "Yuan Kai made a mistake. He didn't mean what he said. He meant that Shen and Zhou were relying on the prince and did not take us seriously. The takeover was hampered by many obstacles and it was difficult to progress."

"Didn't I come up with a plan for you?" Yu Wenshu said: "Thirty ships or one, which one do you choose?"

"Of course I listen to Mr. Xu. If they are willing to hand over the ships of the original Jiangdu Navy, we will definitely be happy to accept them," Zhao Yuanke said.

Yu Wenshu nodded: "Then let's do it. Remember, don't associate the prince with the navy on any occasion in the future."

"I understand, I understand, my subordinates understand," the brothers said in a cold sweat.

Some things are true, but you can't say them out, so what?Is the state-owned Xiangyang navy the prince's private army?
Are you slandering the prince?

(End of this chapter)