The Passionate Guns of Sui and Tang Dynasties

Chapter 521 Huai River War (1)

Kan Ling was a vanguard, and he wanted to kill Yang Yong and prove that he was stronger than Wang Xiong. At this time, he was no longer calm, because if Zhang Mai's navy snatched the prize, wouldn't he follow His Majesty the emperor in vain? one time?There is steel to be used on the blade, let the emperor watch, and he leads the long sword team to kill Yang Yong to the point of losing his armor and defeating the army, how glorious it must be!

So Kan Ling saluted Du Fuwei: "Father, when Yang Yong's warship is built before crossing the river, how long will it take to cross the river? If the flood season passes, the situation will be against us. Take their warship before it is built. Alright, and we have a huge navy, and the last general can lead a team across the Huaihe River in one fell swoop, and he will surely defeat the bandits and regain the lost ground."

Du Fuwei shook his head disapprovingly after hearing this, "Yang Yong is not someone who is waiting for nothing, and there are many capable people under his command. We should not act too hastily, and haste makes waste. Let the navy fight first and then talk about it."

Du Fuwei rejected Kan Ling, not because he didn't believe in Kan Ling's Long Sword Squad and Mo Dao Formation, but also because the world is too unpredictable, so powerful Wang Xiong failed, and the combat effectiveness of a dozen soldiers under him can be called an iron army , and almost the entire army was wiped out, Kan Ling was the only trump card left around him right now, and he didn't want to throw out the last trump card unless it was a last resort.

Du Fuwei was very shrewd. He seized the weakness of Yang Yongyi's army and asked Zhang Mai to practice the water army day and night, and built fortifications underwater, waiting for the opportunity.

The sight turned to Yang Yong's camp on the north bank of the Huaihe River. Of course, Yang Yong and Xu Maogong also knew about the news that Du Fuwei's imperial conquest and the 30 troops on the south bank of the Huaihe River.

The two also felt the seriousness of the situation. Although the Huaihe River is not as good as the Changhe and the Yellow River, it is undoubtedly a skyline, and it may be difficult to cross this skyline with only warships and no sailors.

Looking at the entire rebel army, Yang Yong has many generals who are used to fighting, and the total number of elite soldiers who can be called is more than 50, but the navy is empty. As the saying goes, there is a market for what is needed, just as Du Fuwei predicted. Over the years, Yang Yong's rebel army fought in the south and in the north, blocking the east and killing the west. The battlefields were not cities, but mountains or plains, basins, hills, etc. They did not go through water battles at all, so they are also called naval forces.

Now to pacify the south of the Yangtze River and conquer Wu and Daliang, the Huaihe River is nothing, but there is also the Yangtze River and many lakes. Large-scale water battles are inevitable. Without a strong navy, it is impossible.

But it might be too late to train the sailors now, so I hurried to discuss countermeasures with Xu Maogong.Xu Maogong thought for a moment and his eyes lit up: "My lord, we have a ready-made navy, why did you forget this person? It is Liao Yong!"

Yang Yong suddenly realized, and then he suddenly remembered this person.It turns out that when Li Mi and Zhai Rang were running Wagang Mountain, there was a water army guarding Guandu Town on the north bank of the Yellow River. Small, there were only 1 people at the time, and their equipment and combat effectiveness were not flattering. Strictly speaking, they could not even be called naval divisions, but after all they were all familiar with water warfare.

After Yang Yong regained the generals of Wagang, Liao Yong and the water army also joined the tent of the rebel army. Because they had been fighting on the dry bank for these years, the water army was useless, and Liao Yong and others were also used as ordinary soldiers. , so few people noticed their existence.

Coincidentally, Liao Yong happened to be fighting with Yang Yong this time, and now his official position in the army is still an inconspicuous ten thousand commander. He is a mid-level officer. head or teacher.

Yang Yong hurriedly sent an order to find Liao Yong. The young man was in his 20s, of medium height, wearing armor, and looked very energetic. He came in and knelt down to salute Yang Yong and Xu Maogong: "I don't know which side to use for the prince and the military commander?"

"General Liao, don't be too polite." Yang Yong asked him to get up, and ordered him to summon the old Navy Department.A few days later, it was really not bad. Sure enough, 500 people were called.

Why are there so few people?Because after Yang Yong took over the Wagang Rebel Army, he reorganized these armies and disrupted the original sequence, and the navy army was of course no exception.Of the 8000 sailors back then, excluding the casualties in the battle with Wang Shichong's men and horses on the Guandu battlefield, there were 10,000 to [-] people who survived and accepted Yang Yong's adaptation. These people have experienced so many battles for so many years, and some died in battle. Some old and weak retired from the battle formation, and some were scattered to other battle sequences. Among the [-]+ troops of Yang Yong, there are only so few that can be summoned.

Yang Yong saw that this was too few, so he discussed with Xu Maogong, based on the four or five hundred people, selected seedlings in the army, and recruited them on the spot to fill them up. A month later, the number reached five thousand, and a day was chosen. A grand ceremony was also held. Yang Yong's first navy was officially established. Liao Yong was the commander of the navy and was responsible for stepping up the training of the navy.

By mid-October, even with the collection of merchant ships for rebuilding and temporary rush-made ones, the rebel army already had [-] warships, large and small. The soldiers are fully armed and stand on the ship, very majestic.

After more than a month of day and night drills, the five thousand sailors had begun to take shape. Due to time constraints, Yang Yong did not give Liao Yong too much training time. On this day, Liao Yong assembled the navy and dispatched a hundred warships, Please Yang Yong and Xu Maogong watch the drill.

Yang Yong and Xu Maogong boarded the command ship and took a look at these warships. The large ones could accommodate more than three hundred soldiers and horses, and the small ones could accommodate three to fifty people. Liao Yong gave an order, and the flag bearer pulled up the sails, and the sailors on board gathered together. Swinging oars and sculls, hundreds of boats competing for the flow, lined up neatly, archers, spearmen, short swordsmen and shieldmen conducted simulated drills in the river, either attacking or defending, advancing or retreating, the shouts were loud, and the order was neat .

Yang Yong and Xu Maogong were overjoyed. It is not easy to train a navy of this size in such a short period of time.

Now that the flood season is almost over, the water level of the Huaihe River has dropped, the water flow has calmed down, and the river channel has narrowed a lot.Seeing that the time was ripe, Yang Yong had already delayed for more than two months, and could not wait any longer, so he had to pick a day with good wind to forcefully cross the Huaihe River.

A few days later, one morning, the weather was beautiful, and there was a mist. The river was shrouded in clouds and mist, the visibility was not high, and there was a slight northwest wind, which was suitable for a strong crossing.

With Yang Yong's order, the 10,000+ army is ready to go.Due to the limited number of boats, we can only cross the river in batches.

Not counting the water army, only 120 troop carriers can be drawn out of the 3 warships, and the remaining 10,000 are mainly small warships for the water army to cover the army to cross the river.Therefore, a maximum of [-] horses can only be transported across the river at one time. In this way, if Yang Yong’s [-]+ horses want to cross the river, they must score at least four turnovers, but undoubtedly the first batch of soldiers to cross the river is the most critical, and they must send elite troops. .

In the battle sequence, Yang Yong and the generals also had a dispute. The reason was that Yang Yong wanted to be the first to cross the river. Xu Maogong, Simei, Luo Song, Yu Chigong, and Liao Yong, the commander of Baobaoshui Army, all disagreed. , but the one who dares to speak and speaks most powerfully on this occasion is the military adviser, so they all frowned and looked at Xu Maogong.

Xu Maogong saluted and said: "My lord, you are the body of gold and jade, the head of the family of the rebel army, and the general has to be in the rear. What's more, this is fighting in the water, not on the shore? Therefore, it is not suitable for you to cross the river for the first time. There are so many soldiers. , it is best that you cross the river in the second or third batch."

Yang Yong laughed loudly after hearing this: "The military master's words are wrong. Why is the prince not a prince? How can he have a body of gold and jade? There is no rank in charge. Like the whole army, I never want to hide behind. You don't have to worry about it." Once I fall into the water, I will be submerged. I grew up on the edge of the Yellow River. Not to mention that I can step on the water, ride the wind and waves, and breathe underwater, but I can do all the tricks. This is not bragging. Swimming the Yellow River, what is the mere Huaihe River? Needless to say, I’m the first to cross the river, so that’s it!”

As soon as this remark came out, the generals were astonished.

(End of this chapter)