Liao Yongzhong was the first to break through the blockade of the Yuan army's fleet, and pursued him for a while. It was not until the last ship carrying the Yuan army disappeared from sight that he took a breath, wiped the hot sweat from his forehead, and asked the sailors to turn around.
The bow of the ship returned to the east bank of Ruxukou.
When Liao Yongzhong came ashore, he found Zhang Ximeng already waiting here, with Lan Yu standing beside him. Li Wenzhong was also there, and the Yu family's father and son brothers also came over.
Everyone looked happy. Yu Tingyu was the first to greet Zhang Ximeng.
"Zhang Qingcheng, I've heard about it a long time ago. You are a confidant of the superiors, and you are unparalleled in resourcefulness. Now that I see you, you are even more of a heroic young man, which makes people admire you."
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Mr. Yu, you are too polite. You took the initiative to lead the Chaohu Navy to join you. You will be strong and strong, and you will have a wise eye for pearls. There is a saying that an old man in a family is like a treasure. I think all the children of Chaohu should be grateful to Mr. Yu.
Remember Mr. Yu’s great kindness.”
These few words made Yu Tingyu feel elated, and she couldn't help but smile on her old face.
He made the right move, so Yu Tingyu asked: "Zhang Qiancheng, you see we have also broken Ruxukou, and now we can enter and exit the Yangtze River at will... What does the superior mean, do you need to continue to hunt down the Tatars?
"
Liao Yongan and others are also looking forward to it and can't wait to know the next task.
Zhang Ximeng smiled, "Everyone, don't be too busy now. Ruxukou is an important place. We need to build a camp here and station troops to guard it. We can't fall into the hands of Yuan Tarzi. As for how to arrange the navy, what's next?
How to use troops has to wait for orders from superiors. The most important thing for a soldier and horse is that they work as one, like an arm and a finger. Military regulations must not be violated. So, let's build camps on the east and west sides first and let the soldiers settle down.
Come down. In this battle with the Yuan army, some soldiers were killed and injured. Please report them as soon as possible and I will provide appropriate compensation."
After watching the battle, Zhang Ximeng did not rate the Chaohu Navy too highly.
There is no doubt that they are brave and good at fighting, but in water warfare, bravery is not enough. First of all, the ships of the Chaohu Navy are not good. There is generally a lack of large ships, and the weapons equipped on the ships are also very poor.
Soldiers who rely solely on their bravery will suffer losses.
Secondly, the navy belongs to the Liao family and the Yu family. This time the Liao family takes the credit, and the Yu family is watching from behind. It is obvious that there is a lack of cooperation and they are still fighting on their own.
The Yuan soldiers did not deploy heavy troops here. They only arranged dozens of large ships and some small boats, and their fighting spirit was not high. If the Yuan army had been better prepared, it would not have been so easy to succeed.
Therefore, in Zhang Ximeng's view, what the Chaohu Navy needs more is a thorough reorganization to complete the transformation from water bandits to a regular army. Only after proper training can it be put into the battlefield.
But then again, what is the situation on Zhu Yuanzhang's side? Do we need to immediately invest in the navy... If Zhu Yuanzhang wants to fight, Zhang Ximeng has no power to stop him. He must obey the overall situation. Even if there is a loss, he must bear it.
This is the advantage of not having to be the head of the family. If the sky falls, there will be a tall man to hold it up, so he does not have to bear the consequences.
Therefore, Zhang Ximeng only visited the army, learned about the situation, talked with everyone, and counted the soldiers who died in the battle, and provided appropriate compensation.
Zhang Ximeng enjoys this state very much. He has something to do and is not under much pressure. It’s great!
But Zhang Ximeng's good days only lasted for two days. Zhu Yuanzhang sent an order, to be precise, a letter of appointment. He appointed Zhang Ximeng as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy.
The person in charge of delivering the letter was Guo Ying. He smiled playfully and said, "Congratulations to Zhang Qiancheng for your promotion to the Grand Governor!"
Zhang Ximeng, however, was not happy at all, and was even a little angry, "My Lord, what is going on? What is going on with this Navy Commander?"
Guo Ying smiled, "Didn't the superior originally serve as the commander-in-chief of the capital? But now that we have the navy, we can't be called the commander-in-chief of the navy and army, right? You are not with the superior. After thinking about it, the superior decided to upgrade it and change it.
For the Governor's Mansion."
Zhang Ximeng frowned. It stands to reason that having an extra 20,000 naval troops would indeed make the commander-in-chief less powerful, so it was reasonable to upgrade him to the governor-general.
But there is only one Grand Governor in the Grand Governor's Mansion, so why give him the title of Grand Governor of the Navy?
"That's right, the superior is the Commander-in-Chief, and you are the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. You must listen to the superior."
"Nonsense!" Zhang Ximeng rolled his eyes angrily, "No matter what you call me, I will listen to the superior. But there is only one person in the army who can be called the chief. No matter what, I can't call you the Grand Governor."
Guo Ying blinked. He couldn't quite understand Zhang Ximeng's insistence and asked, "Well, is that called a governor?"
Zhang Ximeng thought carefully for a while, shook his head and said: "No, let's call him Zuo Dudu, or the Dudu Tongzhi, and the Dudu signs things."
Guo Ying has a big head. How can he distinguish these official titles? In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang also knows a little about it. If someone is around, Lao Zhu can figure it out clearly, but without someone to help him as a staff, mistakes will inevitably occur, such as this
The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy made a joke.
But no matter what, Lao Zhu's intention was clear, he wanted to hand over the navy to Commander Zhang Ximeng.
Commander-in-Chief of the Navy!
Isn’t this Zhou Lang of the Three Kingdoms!
Is it possible that Lao Zhu wants to achieve a glorious victory in the Battle of Chibi?
You really think highly of yourself!
"Master, do you have anything else to say?"
"No." Guo Ying said honestly: "The superior said it, and after reading it, sir, he naturally understood it."
Zhang Ximeng immediately held Lao Zhu's letter of appointment in his hand and looked at it carefully. After appointing Zhang Ximeng as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, there were eight words: Rectify the troops and horses, and coordinate to face the enemy.
Zhang Ximeng instantly understood what Lao Zhu meant. Zhu Yuanzhang needed the navy to take effect immediately.
Chaohu Navy has 20,000 people, many of whom are old and weak. If we have time, we can disband and reorganize them, train thousands of elites, and choose good ships, the combat effectiveness will naturally be greatly improved.
But I'm sorry, Zhu Yuanzhang can't wait.
In this case, the establishment of 20,000 people cannot be reduced.
Historically, after Zhu Yuanzhang incorporated the Chaohu Navy, he appointed two Wanhu households, the Yu family and the Liao family, impartially. However, due to Zhang Ximeng's interference, there was no Wanhu group in the Zhu Jiajun. If he had to
If Ten Thousand Households of Navy are appointed, what will Xu Da and the others do?
When we are at war, can we just adjust the organization casually?
Obviously, this won't work.
In desperation, Lao Zhu gave Zhang Ximeng the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The so-called Commander-in-Chief meant that Zhang Ximeng was fully responsible.
There are at least three meanings in this. The first is that Zhang Ximeng takes over all power, the second is to find out the true strength of the Chaohu Navy and make appropriate arrangements, and the third is to find fighter opportunities to cooperate with Zhu Yuanzhang in the battle in Hezhou.
The responsibility is not small.
Zhang Ximeng also did not expect that under such special circumstances, he would gain the authority to take charge of his own affairs.
He did not care about the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, and Zhou Lang had nothing to envy. He was still a humble social servant. He would hand over the Navy honestly only after this battle was over.
But before handing over the navy, we still have to think about defeating the Yuan army.
Zhang Ximeng suddenly became nervous. He was obviously a supporting role, but he was suddenly pushed to the position of the protagonist. Isn't this difficult for me!
"Send the order, gather the generals!"
With the sound of drums, Yu Tingyu, Yu Tonghai, Liao Yongan, Liao Yongzhong, including Lan Yu and Li Wenzhong, all gathered together.
Zhang Ximeng explained the matter of appointing him as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. Surprisingly, even Yu Tingyu had no objections.
To be honest, today's group of people have no idea about the official system. If you have the ability to convince everyone, we will recognize you.
Zhang Ximeng single-handedly controlled the return of the Chaohu Navy and when they attacked Ruxukou, Zhang Ximeng proposed the arson strategy and burned a series of warships, successfully defeating the enemy.
Everyone in the Chaohu Navy admired Zhang Ximeng very much.
Therefore, he, as the Grand Governor, should be able to go smoothly.
But just because it went smoothly, Zhang Ximeng was even more stressed, and it was really impossible not to make some movement.
Zhang Ximeng said in a deep voice: "Know yourself and the enemy, and you will be invincible in a hundred battles. Now I want to ask you guys a question, if you fight head-on with the Yangtze River Navy of the Yuan Army, what are your chances of winning?"
Zhang Ximeng paused and added, "I want to listen to the truth."
This made several people frown.
Although they won the battle at Ruxukou and even captured several Yuan army ships that were not on fire, it is undeniable that the Yuan army's warships were much stronger than theirs. If Ruxukou had not been in a special situation and they had successfully set fire to it,
It’s really hard to say whether we will win or lose.
Let them fight head-on with the Yuan army, and their chances of winning are really slim.
Yu Tingyu was the oldest and most prestigious. He pondered for a while and then said: "When asked by the Governor, I can only say that there are no cowards in the Chaohu Navy. No matter how great the loss is, we can defeat the Yuan Tatars!"
Liao Yong'an also said: "Yes, we decided to join the lord and fight out of Chaohu because we want to make contributions and build a future. No matter how powerful the Tatars are, we are not afraid!"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, the Chaohu Navy was indeed courageous and capable of supporting people's hearts.
With this energy, there is indeed hope for success.
But Zhang Ximeng also knows that there are risks in doing so, and they are not small.
How to break the situation?
Zhang Ximeng thought about many various war cases at home and abroad, both ancient and modern... In summary, it is still the same sentence, you fight yours, I fight mine, whatever equipment you have, you fight what kind of battle.
Don't fight unless you have to.
Zhang Ximeng thought about it repeatedly, running through the map of the Yangtze River over and over in his mind. Suddenly, Zhang Ximeng thought of an idea, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
"Old General Yu, please help me with the details... The Yuan Tatars are attacking Hezhou. Can we attack Jiangnan and force the Yuan army to call back. In this way, the Yuan army's navy's ship capacity will be occupied and they will be mobilized.
Get up, our chance is here!"
Yu Tingyu didn't expect that Zhang Ximeng would come up with such an idea... He frowned and said, "Where are you going to attack, Governor?"
"Tongling!"
Zhang Ximeng said simply that Tongling is located upstream of Ruxukou, and the Yuan army is weakly defended and can be easily defeated. Moreover, once Tongling is captured, they can bypass Wuhu and the rear of Taiping, attack the navy station, and mess up the rear of the Yuan army.
.
Moreover, one hundred thousand Yuan troops were in Hezhou, and the south of the Yangtze River was empty. They thought they had the Yangtze River Navy as a barrier, but they did not expect that Zhu Yuanzhang had the Chaohu Navy on his side.
Although the Chaohu Navy is not necessarily the opponent of the Yangtze River Navy, it can easily send people to the other side!
"I think it works! The governor's move is really brilliant!" Yu Tingyu praised highly, and everyone else nodded in support, thinking that this method is good and can be tried.
Zhang Ximeng breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately realized something.
Cross the river!
This important event regarding Zhu Jiajun's future actually came true under such circumstances and by coincidence, Zhang Ximeng felt a hundred times more excited.
At the same time, Zhang Ximeng also knew that in order to cross the river and conquer the city, he must have soldiers who dare to fight, and he must have strong military discipline and not act randomly.
Zhang Ximeng immediately sent someone to send a secret letter to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Lao Zhu's reply was very fast, taking less than two days. Along with the reply, Zhu Yuanzhang also sent a fierce man, Chang Yuchun!