Xiangyang, the ninth day of May, sunny to cloudy.
Although the sun in the sky was hidden, it could not hide the hot air.
On the Han River, there are ships one after another, covering the entire river surface, flags fluttering, and a steady stream of soldiers boarding the ships. From a height, they look like ants.
"Your Highness, the navy now has thousands of ships, about half of which are from 100 to 500 ships, and about 30% of which are from 500 to 800 ships."
Prime Minister Hui Deng waved his feather fan and said in a polite manner: "In the past two years, more than ten large ships with thousands of materials have been built. The entire Yangtze River is almost unrivaled."
Speaking of this, he deliberately puffed up his chest and felt proud.
"Navy and infantry, can you understand?"
Zhu Yixi couldn't help but smile and asked when she saw his Zhang Fei holding an embroidery needle.
"Your Highness, this hard-working navy looks different from the infantry, but in fact they are the same."
Prime Minister Huiden was scratched and said impatiently: "It's nothing more than a big ship and a large number of people. If we meet head-on, we can win."
"Now we need to add more cannons. Our ship is equipped with French cannons and muskets. These are good things. No one on the Yangtze River is our opponent."
"The Manchus also have artillery!"
Zhu Yixi said coldly and poured a basin of cold water on him:
"If they have more ships, more people, and more guns than us, so what? Can we just wait to die?"
"Do you still want to borrow the east wind like Zhuge Kongming?"
Prime Minister Hui Deng instantly became sweaty on his forehead, his back was soaked, and the feather fan in his hand stopped.
Seeing the shame on his face, Zhu Yixi shook his head.
After all, it is still a matter of changing the situation. The thinking has been fixed and it is difficult to change.
However, today's naval generals are no different from infantrymen, and Prime Minister Whitten is considered qualified.
"lets go!"
King Yu said nothing and led everyone on board the ship.
Sichuan dialect, Shaanxi dialect, and Huguang dialect, all kinds of generals led their troops and filled all the ships.
All arrangements, such as food, drinking water, material supplies, doctors, etc., must be planned in detail without any mistakes.
The young staff officers of the Staff Department had been writing plans day and night, and finally selected the best ones to allow the entire fleet to sail smoothly.
In Wuchang, there were still 20,000 local garrison troops waiting to take the boat south.
The Han River is narrow and fast, while the Yangtze River has rolling waves. Before the soldiers could adapt to the Han River, they came to the Yangtze River and countless soldiers vomited.
In the late Ming Dynasty, the supply of army logistics determined the victory or defeat of the army.
In response, the Staff Division came up with a plan:
Using the water and land stations along the river, they recruited prisoners and continuously transported grain and grass to Jiujiang, then to Anqing, and then to Nanjing.
In the Ming Dynasty, the "Huguang Water Transport General" was established in Wuchang, with jurisdiction over 13 water transport health stations and four interchange offices in Hankou, Changsha, Qizhou and Chenglingji.
The station along the river that has been repaired over the past year has shown huge advantages by utilizing the original water transportation system.
"The journey from Xiangyang to Anqing is no more than eight hundred miles. The river is surging and you can reach it in six or seven days at most."
"It only takes ten days to get to Nanjing City."
Wang Ying had a heavy back, but his body was bent, and he followed King Yu step by step with an extremely respectful attitude.
Obviously, after Emperor Hongguang was captured, the Ming Dynasty lost the best heir to the patriarchal clan, and King Yu's ascension to the throne was just around the corner.
Hearing this, Zhu Yixi smiled faintly, looked at the frightened finless porpoise and couldn't help but said: "What Governor Wang said is true, how can we lose with such an advantage?"
You Shiwei, Liu Tingjie are in Shaanxi, Li Jingwu is in Xi'an, Chen Yongfu is in Luoyang, and Li Jizu is in Guizhou.
The people beside him now are just Prime Minister Hui Deng, Wang Guangen, Zhao Guangyuan, Qin Yiming and others.
Most of them are fierce generals with weak strategic vision. When they heard these words, they were all excited and high-spirited.
In the blink of an eye, in just five days, everyone arrived in Jiujiang City.
Here, King Yu did not stop and went straight to Anqing Mansion.
Compared with Jiujiang, Anqing, which is the choke point of the Yangtze River, is more suitable as a granary.
This fortified city, sandwiched between two mountains and with the Yangtze River running through it, is the most stable.
Historically, during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period, the Hunan Army fought with the Taiping Army several times here, and the city was stained with blood. They fought for several years and suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties in order to capture Anqing.
Finally, to celebrate, Nanjing is waiting to be surrounded, and the countdown to its demise has begun.
Later, Zeng Guofan even advocated moving the provincial capital of Anhui back to Anqing.
At this moment, Hong Chengchou finally received the news from Jiujiang - King Yu mobilized an army of 300,000 to cover the sky and the sun.
"absurd!"
Hong Chengchou could no longer hide the panic in his heart, and couldn't help but cursed: "How could he have 300,000? The common people who are holding him hostage?"
Although he said this, he was heartbroken.
Leaving aside the impact of the fall of Anqing on Nanjing, let’s talk about how the navy, with more than 10,000 people who came only to rely on Nanming’s portraits, could defend it?
"Anqing, navy!"
Hong Chengchou tugged at his beard, his face full of worry.
In the face of absolute strength, all strategies are nothing more than mantis trying to control the chariot.
After being anxious for a long time, Hong Chengchou had no other choice but to send people to appease Gao Jie, saying bluntly that as long as he went south to hold Zhu Yixi back, he would be granted a royal title.
Although it is empty talk, it has to be done.
At this moment, good news came from Hangzhou.
After the negotiation broke down, the Qing army marched hundreds of miles to Hangzhou, and King Lu surrendered after only a month in prison.
A large number of court officials went south to Fujian, seemingly hoping to establish the Ming Dynasty in Fuzhou.
"From Nanjing to Hangzhou, then to Fuzhou, just hanging on..."
Hong Chengchou showed a proud smile. If it hadn't been for Zhu Yixi, Jiangnan would have been settled long ago.
Unfortunately, things went counterproductive.
The next day, news came from the west that Chizhou Prefecture had fallen.
Hong Chengchou hurriedly asked the court for help.
On May 21st, Taiping Mansion fell.
On the 23rd, Hezhou fell.
After being anxious for a long time, Hong Chengchou had no other choice but to send people to appease Gao Jie, saying bluntly that as long as he went south to hold Zhu Yixi back, he would be granted a royal title.
Although it is empty talk, it has to be done.
At this moment, good news came from Hangzhou.
After the negotiation broke down, the Qing army marched hundreds of miles to Hangzhou, and King Lu surrendered after only a month in prison.
A large number of court officials went south to Fujian, seemingly hoping to establish the Ming Dynasty in Fuzhou.
"From Nanjing to Hangzhou, then to Fuzhou, just hanging on..."
Hong Chengchou showed a proud smile. If it hadn't been for Zhu Yixi, Jiangnan would have been settled long ago.
Unfortunately, things went counterproductive.
The next day, news came from the west that Chizhou Prefecture had fallen.
Hong Chengchou hurriedly asked the court for help.
On May 21st, Taiping Mansion fell.
On the 23rd, Hezhou fell.
Hong Chengchou showed a proud smile. If it hadn't been for Zhu Yixi, Jiangnan would have been settled long ago.
Unfortunately, things went counterproductive.
The next day, news came from the west that Chizhou Prefecture had fallen.
Hong Chengchou hurriedly asked the court for help.