Zheng Rentai's expression was gloomy and uncertain, and he looked at Dugu Yanyun suspiciously.
The Dugu family is a descendant clan, and has a deep entanglement with the Li and Tang royal family. You are among me, and you are among me. We are all prosperous, and we are all hurt. Logically speaking, no matter who becomes the emperor, it is impossible to shake the status and power of the Dugu family.
However, as one of the backbone of the Guanlong lineage, under the current situation where Yuwenshi and Tongguan are fully supporting the Jin king, Duguyanyun came to his side to act as a lobbyist, which means that the Guanlong clan has exploded extremely seriously.
civil strife and even split.
This is not a trivial matter. It should be noted that even though the Shandong and Jiangnan clans began to enter the court in large numbers, the Guanlong clan, which has been entrenched in Guanzhong for hundreds of years, is still deeply rooted and powerful. Even after a disastrous defeat and suppression by the imperial court, its
The remaining power cannot be underestimated.
If the Guanlong clan is really divided, its strength will be greatly reduced. No matter who wins in the future, the prince or the king of Jin, he will be able to firmly control the situation of the court.
By then, the influence of the clans in Shandong and Jiangnan will be greatly reduced. Although they will still become the pillars of the court, compared with the sacrifices they have made now, they may not meet the expectations of the clans in the two places...
When Dugu Yanyun saw that Zheng Rentai's momentum had softened, he held a pot and poured tea for him, saying in a low voice: "The destruction of the private army in the south of the Yangtze River has caused a reversal of the situation. Moreover, the king of Jin had never had an advantage before, let alone now? The Shandong family has never had an advantage before.
The Sui Dynasty suffered a heavy setback and has never recovered. Since entering the Tang Dynasty, it has been repeatedly suppressed. After finally accumulating a little wealth, do you really want to spend all your money on the Yellow River? The gain outweighs the loss."
Zheng Rentai drank tea slowly and remained silent.
Dugu Yanyun frowned, this old guy is a bit intimidating...
Just as he was thinking about how to persuade Zheng Rentai to give up holding on to Banzhu and let the navy enter the Yellow River, Zheng Rentai suddenly said: "My dear brother, there is no need to say more about this matter. I am loyal to your majesty and my family. How can I abandon Banzhu and let the navy attack?"
King Jin's back has caused the Shandong family to fall into an irreversible situation? If Master Shui and his disciples can't attack the strongholds and break my Bazhu, then of course everything will stop. If Liu Rengui is really an unparalleled general, he can conquer my position in one battle.
, I will turn around, disarm and return to the fields, return to Xingyang, and never come back, how about that?"
Dugu Yanyun was overjoyed: "Is it settled in one word?"
Zheng Rentai's face looked clumsy: "It's hard to chase a horse!"
Dugu Yanyun added: "But there is no need to disband and return to the fields. My brother is now in his prime. He is proficient in bow and horse and has outstanding martial arts. Among Zhenguan's ministers, there are few who can surpass you. When His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he will definitely be entrusted with important tasks.
You can build a great career."
This is not flattery. Among the Zhenguan officials, except for Li Ji, Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong and a few others, who dares to say that Wu Yongjun is slightly better than Zheng Rentai? It’s just that Zheng Rentai has been in poor health these years, and Li
His Majesty suppressed the family members like never before, and Zheng Rentai had no choice but to withdraw from the court.
Zheng Rentai had no expression on his face and said calmly: "The situation is chaotic and the overall situation is uncertain. My brother, it is too early to say this."
Just as Dugu Yanyun was about to speak, a deputy general from outside quickly walked in and reported: "Commander, thirty miles to the south, a naval fleet is approaching at full speed. It is extremely fast and will arrive here in half an hour.
"
"Well done!"
Zheng Rentai shouted loudly, stood up, looked down at Dugu Yanyun who was still sitting on the stool, and said proudly to the sky: "Brother, please stay here to hold down the battle for me, until I defeat this group of arrogant, domineering, and rampant rebellious people."
My son, let’s have a drink with you again!”
Then he grabbed the horizontal knife at the door and strode out of the tent: "Beat the drum, gather the generals, and fight with me to drive back the enemy!"
"Here!"
Boom, boom, boom!
The sound of war drums went from slow to fast, and finally gathered together like a violent storm, turning into dense thunder that shook the heart, inspiring heroic spirit and making people's blood rush!
Under the command of drums and flags, more than 10,000 elite soldiers formed formations and gathered on both sides of the canal. Behind them, the turbid waves of the Yellow River surged, and the river wind blew with murderous intent. The scouts continued to send back the news, and the drums became more and more intensive.
, all eyes are fixed on the canal.
At the end where the river meets the sky, a piece of pure white sail suddenly jumps out and comes into view.
…
When the two armies are fighting, the first thing that starts is the confrontation between the scouts. The scouts from both sides are spying on the other side's true and false arrangements, and at the same time, they want to prevent their own secrets from being discovered by the other side. Therefore, in the area between the armies, the scouts fight each other.
Well-known, but even more cruel.
Liu Rengui's eyes were as bright as lightning as he watched the scouts who appeared from time to time in the woods on both sides of the canal fighting each other, his expression as iron as stone, motionless.
The deputy general came to the front and reported back: "The scouts sent back the news that Zheng Rentai was stationed in Banzhu, tightly holding the sluice gate, and his 10,000 elite troops were lined up on both sides of the canal. The array was ready, waiting for us to rush into it. General, do you want to
Order to slow down the speed and avoid its sharp edge?"
Liu Rengui asked curiously: "We have fought many battles overseas, and almost every time we defeated more with less. Is this how we responded to situations like this in the past?"
The lieutenant general was a little embarrassed and said hurriedly: "Of course not. Our navy is well-equipped and powerful. Even if the enemy in front of us is ten times or a hundred times more powerful than me, why should we be afraid? All we need is artillery to clear the way, heavy armor to accompany us, and we can just walk through it all the way...
…But the person in front of us now is Zheng Rentai, and his subordinates are the elites of his direct lineage who have experienced battles for a long time."
In the past few years, the Navy has been invincible in destroying cities and countries overseas. It has long developed the belief that the entire army must win. No matter how big the enemy is like the tide, there will never be the slightest fear.
The navy's tactics are not complicated. Long-range artillery bombardment, close range gunfire to resist the enemy. If the enemy still does not collapse after repeated attacks, they will send out a wave of armored cavalry to charge, or heavy-armored infantry to push forward...
With weapons and equipment far superior to the opponent's by one level, no enemy has ever been able to stop the navy soldiers from advancing.
But this is the Tang Dynasty after all, and in front of us are the elite troops who once followed His Majesty Li Er to fight in the north and south, sweeping across the four directions. The situation of being crushed in the past may not be possible, which makes everyone in the army inevitably have scruples...
Liu Ren track: "What about the elites who have experienced battles for a long time? In front of the artillery, the quality of the soldiers is not important anymore. What is important is whether the opponent has weapons that can suppress us equally. If so, it is not appropriate to attack the difficult position and adopt a roundabout approach.
The art of selecting the enemy's weak points to launch a surprise attack. If not...what else would there be to consider? Give the order, remove the artillery jackets, load the explosive shells, line up the muskets, and equip the cavalry as a reserve!"
"Here!"
The deputy general did not dare to say anything and quickly conveyed the order.
The war drums were beating on the ship, and the intensive sound of the drums spread on the river. The flag language was constantly changing, conveying military orders to the soldiers on the flag-language war ship.
Each artillery gun on the warship had its gun jacket torn off, exposing its thick barrel. The soldiers stuffed the propellant package into it, tamped it with a wooden pestle, and then loaded it with explosive shells.
The so-called blooming bomb is a hollow iron ball with gunpowder placed in it. There are cast lines on the ball. When it is launched, the delayed fuse detonates the built-in gunpowder, causing the iron ball to explode from it. The lines on the ball are the first to explode, forming
Hundreds of fragments, killing and injuring the enemy under the power of gunpowder...
The more than ten warships behind the palace opened their cabins, took out the war horses from the bilges, and put armor and protective gear on the horses on the deck. The tall and strong soldiers also wore armor, holding horse spears and spears, and pulled
The reins stand on the horse's side.
Dozens of warships took advantage of the wind and rushed towards Banzhu.
…
Zheng Rentai sat on horseback, looking at the naval ships approaching quickly in the distance, and said to the left and right: "It is extremely difficult to sail against the current, but watching the naval ships approaching with great force, we can see that they are building ships.
His skill in boating has become unparalleled in the world, and he has been invincible on the water for many years. It is not without reason."
This is an objective evaluation, and it also acknowledges the strength of the navy, but that is only on the water.
No matter how tyrannical you are on the water surface, if you want to capture Banzhu and enter the Yellow River, you must defeat the more than ten thousand elite soldiers under your command who have gathered on both sides of the canal. In this way, no matter how great the advantage on the water surface is, you must go ashore to fight.
When it comes to land warfare, who are you afraid of?
Even facing Li Ji, Yu Chigong, Cheng Yaojin and others, he is not afraid, let alone the little-known Liu Rengui...
He raised his hand and shouted: "Prepare the catapults! Prepare the crossbowmen! Prepare the river ropes!"
Arranged here to intercept the navy from heading north to prevent it from entering the Yellow River, we naturally conducted an in-depth study of the navy's fighting methods and tactics, and came to the conclusion that we should not engage in close combat with them. Jiangnan Shipyard's shipbuilding skills are unparalleled in the world, let alone sea-going ships.
, the newly built warship based on the drawings of the former Sui Dynasty's Wuya warship was extremely huge, with shooting poles on the front, rear, left and right. Enemy ships in front would be smashed into pieces before they could get close. The soldiers on the ship held firearms, which was more conducive to close combat.
Therefore, he brought the catapults used for siege and placed them on both sides of the canal. He only needed to slow down the speed of the navy ships to accurately throw huge rocks to kill them.
How can a strong ship be attacked by boulders falling from the sky?
"Quack, quack, quack," a heart-wrenching sound sounded, and the huge winches installed on both sides of the canal began to rotate. The arm-thick iron ropes that were originally sunk at the bottom of the river were slowly winched up. More than ten iron ropes were stretched three feet above the river.
The distance between them is more than ten feet, which can effectively buffer the momentum of enemy ships.
Iron locks block the river. As long as the enemy ships are blocked on the river, they become targets, allowing the defenders on both sides to launch attacks.
Drums were beating, war clouds were gathering, and naval ships on the river in the distance were galloping like runaway war horses.
Zheng Rentai's raised arm suddenly waved down: "Catapult, release!"
Bang bang bang! The ropes were cut off one after another, and the wooden bucket carrying the stones was lifted up quickly by the connecting rod pulled by the tendons. The stones in the wooden bucket were thrown high by inertia and fell into the canal.
Puff puff puff! The accuracy of the catapults was very poor, but dozens of catapults were launched at the same time to form a dense array. Therefore, although most of the stones fell into the river and caused a splash, there were still many stones that fell into the navy.
On top of the warship, sawdust flew everywhere for a while.
But how could such a strike delay the navy at all?
The ship was advancing rapidly, and the soldiers on the deck had already ignited the artillery fuses. The muzzles of countless artillery were turned to both sides and aimed at the defenders on the shore.