vrcanaries Chapter 778 The Last Main Force of the Chu Army
Chapter 778 The Last Main Force of the Chu Army
After thinking for a while, Shen Changgong said,
"We must immediately send a message to the navy, telling them to sail down the river to Jinling. They must seize all the ships there and absolutely not leave any for the King of Chu."
Yan Fuyao sighed and said,
"That's the only way we can do it, but the hope is slim. What we can think of, the King of Chu must have thought of as well. Chu has such a long coastline, and these weapons may have been hidden somewhere."
"Then go down the river and search along the coastline. Once you find them, destroy them."
"What about supplies?"
Hearing this, Shen Changgong also sighed and said,
"Tell them to bring more food. If they run out of food, they can stop their ships and go ashore to capture the counties along the way and steal the food.
By that time, we will probably have already captured the capital Yingdu, and we can issue a proclamation to the entire Chu State to take over.
But tell them not to go to the deep sea, our ships cannot withstand the wind and waves.
The King of Chu is gambling with his life, so he has to run away. Our navy has just been established, so we can't afford to gamble with them."
"Ah."
Then, Shen Changgong immediately sent someone to the Jingzhou Navy to convey his orders.
They looked at the map again and Shen Changgong murmured,
"If the Emperor of Chu can flee to the east, then you say that there is no way that the Emperor of Qian can flee to the south to the sea?
He probably won't go to the Nanyue Kingdom, which borders the Qian Kingdom to the southwest. It is connected to the land and we can still attack there.
Then the island in the south, Qiongzhou Island, is also unlikely because it is too close.
If you go to Luzon, Java, or Surat, you'll be chased."
Yan Fuyao thought for a moment and said,
"The King of Chu is afraid of death and has no sense of shame, so it's normal for him to run away.
Emperor Qian was a wise ruler, a man of great talent and ambition, possessing a strong sense of pride. Furthermore, he was old, so it was unlikely he would flee. He would commit suicide with a last shred of dignity."
Shen Changgong smiled and said,
"You have always been very accurate in judging people. When you said that Xiang Qu would die in battle and Gong Yang Ge would surrender, you were right.
Now, you say that the Emperor of Chu will flee and the Emperor of Qian will commit suicide. I hope you can still predict correctly."
Yan Fuyao sighed,
"It doesn't cost much to support two kings who have lost their country, but if they flee or die in battle, the local people will be more rebellious. The money and food spent on suppressing and appeasing them will be far more than the cost of supporting two kings who have lost their country."
"There's nothing we can do about it. Let's just do our best and leave the rest to fate."
Shen Changgong patted Yan Fuyao's hand, then called a Skynet staff member and said,
"Inform the spies in Yingdu to sneak into the homes of the princes and nobles at night to see if they are still at home.
If possible, go into the palace and see if the emperor is still there.
Be safe, just checking it out."
"As ordered!"
The Skynet spy immediately went out to report the news.
The army marched for another two days and finally arrived at the bank of the Yuan River and began to set up camp.
News also came back from Yingdu.
As expected, those princes and nobles were no longer at home, and the palace was deserted. No one knew when they had quietly left.
At the national treasury, the spy also bribed a person and learned that all the money in the national treasury had been taken away.
Three thousand Royal Guards had left, and the rest were still moving in batches.
Upon hearing the news, Shen Changgong sighed and said,
"If we can't confiscate the Chu treasury, this war will be a loss-making business."
Gongsun Wan'er shook her head and said,
“In fact, there is not much money left in the Chu treasury. Although the King of Chu is not too incompetent, he is content with pleasure and building palaces. In recent years, the treasury has been in deficit. The money saved by previous generations of monarchs has almost been squandered by him.
In addition, the Chu State was at war with us, and the 400,000-strong army consumed a large amount of money and food. Expanding the navy and covering the warships with iron also cost a lot of money.
There are only a few hundred thousand taels of silver left in their treasury at most.
It’s not even as much as our monthly military pay.”
"Okay, then I'll feel more balanced."
"Humph!"
Gongsun Wan'er pouted and said, "You're such a stingy person."
At night, the generals held a meeting.
Shen Changgong pointed at the map and said,
"Everyone has seen the current situation. Between us and the enemy lies the Yuan River. We will definitely not go to the widest part of the Yuan River.
In the most dangerous places, the water flows rapidly and it is difficult to build a bridge.
The most suitable place is still the northern section, which is also the section that the Chu people often traveled.
If we want to capture Yiyang, we have to fight against Li Lei's Chu army.
Now, they have built a complete defensive offensive on the riverside, dug many trenches and gullies, and 200,000 people are defending the riverside line.
Let's talk about how we should fight, and express our opinions."
Yu Huatian immediately said,
“Your Majesty, if our army attacks with force, bombards with artillery, and forces the enemy to retreat, and then forcibly builds a bridge, the number of people who can cross the bridge is limited.
When the two armies engage in close combat, our artillery can easily injure our own people by mistake.
The enemy only needs to block the bridge, push our troops into the water, and then destroy the pontoon bridge to stop our army's advance.
A pontoon bridge is more difficult to attack than a city gate.
If artillery bombardment is carried out continuously day and night, the enemy's defensive offensive and enemy forces along the coast can be completely eliminated.
But we have already come here south, and the supply line to Shengjing is too long. I think it is better to save more artillery shells for use against the Qian army."
Shen Changgong nodded and said,
"That makes sense. Our industrial base is weak, artillery shell production is slow, and the transportation lines are too long. Every time we transport artillery, we have to find a lot of people to pull it and send soldiers and horses to escort it, which consumes a lot of manpower and material resources.
Every time a shell is fired, a lot of money is lost.
Save what you can.
How about this? Tomorrow our main force will launch a feint attack to draw the enemy's attention. Then we'll send a large force to quietly advance westward, quickly build a bridge to cross the river, and then attack the enemy, seize the riverbank, and buy space for the main force to cross the river."
"Your Majesty is wise."
everyone said.
"Which legion is willing to volunteer to take on this surprise attack mission?"
Upon hearing this, everyone raised their hands.
Even Yu Ziling, who was having difficulty moving due to her big belly, raised her hand, her face full of longing.
Shen Changgong smiled and said,
"It can be seen that everyone is very confident. How about this, Marshal Gongyang is the latest to join the Yan army and has not yet made any achievements. This opportunity to show his ability will be given to the Zhige Army.
I also hope that General Gongyang can make our Dayan famous."
Hearing this, Gong Yang Ge immediately stood up and said,
"I obey your command. Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Gong Yang Ge, this is your first battle after joining the Yan army. Your father will be watching you from the shore. Perform well and show your father how powerful you are."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. If you can't take the beach, I'll bring you my head!"