PFC Chapter 89 Tang Army Changes Commanders
Chapter 89 Tang Army Changes Commanders
Chapter 89 Tang Army Changes Commanders (8,000 words, seeking first subscription)
On the eleventh day of the tenth month of the first year of the Jianlong era, only half a day after the Battle of Jiangning ended, the surface of the Yangtze River became turbulent again.
The reinforcements that came to the emperor's aid were all heading towards Jiangning.
In addition to Zheng Yanhua's 50,000-strong navy, the 50,000-strong navy from Jiangrao is also rushing to Jiangning.
On the Yangtze River, warships with intertwined banners blocked the river, creating an atmosphere of imminent danger.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Tang army camp on the north bank of the Yangtze River, the atmosphere inside the commander's tent was oppressive and suffocating.
Lin Renzhao and Li Congjia had just received Li Jing's imperial edict to save them.
This news acted as a fuse, completely igniting Li Congjia's anger!
"Lin Renzhao! What is your crime?!"
Inside the command tent, the usually refined Li Congjia pointed directly at Lin Renzhao's nose and angrily rebuked him: "If you hadn't insisted on your own way and refused to pursue Zhao Dezhao with all your might, how could he have had the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the navy, rush to Jiangning, and disturb His Majesty's presence!"
"If we had followed my orders and pursued him with the entire army, we would have captured Zhao Dezhao long ago. How could we have allowed him to run rampant within our Tang territory, destroying our warships and disturbing our capital!"
He grew increasingly agitated, his voice filled with intense dissatisfaction and anger, his face flushed red: "You not only missed a crucial opportunity, losing Yangzhou, but also let Zhao Dezhao and Lin Renzhao escape! Tell me, what crime should you be charged with!"
Inside the tent, all was silent, except for the echoing roar of Li Congjia.
All the generals lowered their heads and remained silent, none of them wanting to invite trouble at this moment.
Lin Renzhao's face was ashen, his hands clenched into fists, clenching and unclenching repeatedly, but he eventually fell silent, letting Li Congjia reprimand him.
He was originally a surrendered general of the Min Kingdom. Fortunately, he was appreciated and given important positions by Li Jing, which is why he has his current status. Li Jing has done him a great service, so Li Congjia can be harsh on him, but he cannot betray the Southern Tang.
Moreover, to some extent, Li Congjia's words were not without merit; he did indeed bear some responsibility for the defeat in this battle.
"This battle should be commanded by me!"
Seeing Lin Renzhao bow his head in silence, Li Congjia's anger subsided slightly, and he immediately declared that he had regained the initiative.
He was furious!
This battle was truly chaotic and extremely frustrating. Originally, they had planned to join forces with Li Chongjin to cripple the Song Dynasty's Imperial Guards and then take advantage of the situation to conquer the Central Plains.
At the very least, we can recover the fourteen prefectures north of the Yangtze River.
The result was that they didn't get a penny and instead got themselves into a lot of trouble.
If word gets out, how will the world view him as the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty?
Li Congjia, still furious, immediately ordered: "Pass on my command to burn down the Yangtze River pontoon bridge at once, and order the Jiangrao navy to blockade the Yangtze River, preventing Zhao Dezhao from having any chance to cross north!"
He concluded that if Zhao Dezhao failed to capture Jiangning, he would take advantage of the moment when the defenses on the Yangtze River were relaxed to sneak back to the shore and escape back to Yangzhou.
We must stop Zhao Dezhao and capture him to reverse the defeat in this battle!
"Issue my order again!"
Li Congjia issued a loud order, his tone unusually firm: "Order Zheng Yanhua's 50,000-strong navy to land and encircle the area eastward from Jiangning Prefecture, searching the mountains and seas to find Zhao Dezhao's whereabouts!"
"Let Zhou Chengzhao lead 20,000 troops to accompany us and fight in coordination!"
He paused, glanced around at the generals in the tent, and continued, "Our army will dispatch three more scout teams to patrol the north bank of the Yangtze River day and night. If they discover any signs of Zhao Dezhao crossing the river, they must report immediately!"
"Remember, under no circumstances should Zhao Dezhao be allowed to cross the river to the north!"
Meanwhile, Zhao Dezhao, who had quietly evacuated from Jiangning, was traveling at high speed towards the northern part of Cuiping Mountain.
He narrowly missed Zhou Chengzhao's 20,000-strong army, a truly perilous encounter.
"Your Highness, once we cross the river to the north, this battle will be a great victory!"
At the northern foot of Cuiping Mountain, Li Chuyun held the reins, gazing at the shimmering surface of the Yangtze River in the distance, his expression filled with excitement.
Although this battle did not cause too many losses to the Southern Tang army, the destruction of the warships alone was a great achievement.
Moreover, there was the great achievement of "conquering Yangzhou in a single day" to look forward to.
Just imagining the shocked and bewildered looks on the faces of all the officials in Kaifeng when the news reached him made Li Chuyun feel a surge of satisfaction from head to toe.
Even Cao Bin's gaze towards Zhao Dezhao carried a subtle, different meaning.
From this battle between Yangzhou and Jiangning, he suddenly saw the prototype of a great general.
Feigning defeat to lure the enemy, using a diversionary tactic, escaping unprepared, or relieving the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao.
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Zhao Dezhao used every strategy perfectly, with precision and ruthlessness.
He asked himself if he could have done better than Zhao Dezhao if he had been in command, and he was far inferior in terms of the ingenuity and decisiveness of his strategy.
"Pass down the order: the entire army will take turns building the pontoon bridge, the rest will rest and recuperate!"
Zhao Dezhao smiled and issued the military order.
The soldiers were already exhausted, but upon hearing this, they immediately sprang into action.
About two hours later, just as darkness fell, dozens of warships were linked together with ropes to form a temporary pontoon bridge on the Yangtze River.
Meanwhile, on the north bank of the Yangtze River, scouts who were closely monitoring the river's movements had already discovered traces and quickly relayed the news back to Li Congjia's camp.
Upon hearing this, Li Congjia was not flustered at all; on the contrary, he was overjoyed and slapped the table, laughing, "Excellent! Just as I expected!"
He immediately ordered: "Urgent dispatch! Send the Jiangrao navy and Zheng Yanhua to proceed at full speed by both land and water to the northern foot of Cuiping Mountain and cut off the pontoon bridge."
"Order Zhou Chengzhao to encircle the Song army from the south of Cuiping Mountain, blocking their retreat and trapping Zhao Dezhao to death on the pontoon bridge!"
"Your Highness is a master strategist, just like Zhuge Liang in the modern era!" Zhou Nuying couldn't help but cast an admiring glance at Li Congjia.
Zhou Ehuang smiled, her eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Li Congjia.
"How dare I compare myself to Mr. Zhuge?" Li Congjia waved his hands repeatedly, but he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
He smiled, paused, and continued, "Send the order: the entire army shall set off and head first to the north bank of Cuiping Mountain!"
"This time, I will personally capture Zhao Dezhao alive!"
"Yes!" A thunderous roar erupted from the command tent.
Since the start of the war, every Tang soldier had been burning with pent-up anger. They first reached Yangzhou, only to find it had already fallen to the Song army, leaving them no choice but to watch helplessly. Then, Zhao Dezhao set fire to their rear camps, and then marched straight to Jiangning—
Since the start of the war, the Tang army has been in a passive position.
Now that the situation has finally reversed, how could these Tang generals not be excited?
When going to war, who would willingly endure such hardship if it weren't for the desire to earn merit and rewards?
What reward could be more valuable than that of Zhao Dezhao?
In an instant, the more than forty large camps on the north bank of the Yangtze River were bustling with noise, the neighing of warhorses, the crisscrossing of carriages and horses, and the shuttling of troops. Torches were everywhere, banners were fluttering, and the entire camp was ablaze!
Li Congjia immediately ordered the installation of a cloud-shaped banner to serve as the general command for the three armies, while he himself climbed to a high place and looked out into the distance, displaying an air of dominance over the world.
As night began to fall, a large banner bearing the character "Tang" fluttered like a flame on the north bank of the Yangtze River, heading straight for Cuiping Mountain on the north bank.