Zhang Zhao, who stayed at the government office in Dongdu, Yangzhou, sneered while reading the information in the wax pill.

Although Li Jingjun and his ministers knew that Chuzhou would not go back, they still wanted to take Tianchang back.

As for Yangzhou and Taizhou, not to mention, they will naturally be taken back.

Comparing history, we can see that the confidence of the Southern Tang emperors and ministers at this time was much higher than that of the later Zhou Dynasty when they attacked the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Historically, Li Jing was willing to cede not only Chuzhou, but also Shouzhou, Haozhou, Sizhou, Guangzhou, etc., which was basically equivalent to giving up the entire Huainan.

Moreover, the army of the Later Zhou Dynasty had not captured Yangzhou yet.

The reason why there is such a huge gap between before and after is simply that Zhang Zhao's current situation is not as good as that of Later Zhou who had all the Central Plains.

At that time, there was only scabies in the Northern Han Dynasty in the Later Zhou Dynasty, but now Zhang Zhao has no land in Hebei, and is also facing the threat of Liu Zhiyuan.

Moreover, the Northern Han Dynasty in the Later Zhou Dynasty was not the same as Liu Zhiyuan today.

Daibei, the last essence of the Hedong warriors, was historically brought into the Central Plains by Liu Zhiyuan, and then almost completely lost at the turn of the Han and Zhou Dynasties.

By the time the Northern Han Dynasty was established and the Northern and Hedong warriors had withdrawn from the stage of history.

Historically, the pillars of the Northern Han Dynasty were actually the Tuyuhun soldiers and Linzhou Yang Jiye, but at this time, Liu Zhiyuan still had the final essence in his hands.

The people in the Southern Tang Dynasty were so sure that they could return to Yangzhou and Taizhou because they believed that Zhang Zhao must return to the Central Plains as soon as possible to prepare for the battle with Liu Zhiyuan.

As for the second piece of information, it is even more important. Zhang Zhao saw several familiar names in this list, including Lin Renzhao, He Jingzhu, Zhu Lingyun, and Chen Hui.

Among them, He Jingzhu used thousands of troops to defend Ezhou during the Later Zhou Dynasty's attack on the Southern Tang Dynasty, preventing the overall collapse of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

Zhu Lingyun was called the last hope of the Southern Tang Dynasty, but due to bad luck, the wind turned in the opposite direction and burned him to death.

Although his commanding ability is slightly lacking, he can still lead an army of tens of thousands and rely on his outstanding personal force and charm.

Chen Hui was a famous navy commander in the Five Dynasties. In history, if it were not for the fact that he was from Fujian and was not reused by the Southern Tang court, he would have greatly embarrassed the navy of the later Zhou Dynasty. He was as famous as Lin Renzhao and was a famous general in the late Southern Tang Dynasty.

Not to mention Lin Renzhao, who was loyal, courageous, brave and resourceful, and was the white jade pillar holding the sky in the late Southern Tang Dynasty.

No wonder Li Jing now feels a little conscious that he has the capital and feelings. It was his own coercion that forced out all the famous generals in the late Southern Tang Dynasty. It seems that more than 20,000 people are not easy to solve.

However, this also proves in fact that Zhang Zhao does not have the ability to destroy the Southern Tang Dynasty now.

If it really had this strength, when the army was attacking Yangzhou, a navy could be arranged upstream to move south from Kuizhou (Fengjie, Chongqing) or Jiangling, and attack from both sides. The Southern Tang Dynasty would have been destroyed.

However, although the strength of Southern Tang has not been destroyed at present, now that the information has been obtained, it will not make Li Jing feel too easy.

Zhang Zhao immediately summoned Zhao Yanjin, Hou Renbao, and Du Lunchixin, and told them that there were powerful navy generals coming from the Southern Tang Dynasty, and they should be careful not to attack the military port and the warships that had just been built in the Guabu area.

At the same time, he sent horses to kill Cai, and Gao Huaide led 10,000 troops to go west to support Li Cunhui.

You think I can’t cross the river before my navy is accomplished, right?

The water surface of Yanziji is wide, and all the naval forces of the Southern Tang Dynasty were here. It is indeed difficult to cross by force, but there are more than one ferry crossings on the Yangtze River.

On the second day, Zhang Zhao summoned the envoys of the Southern Tang Dynasty here and stated in public that he was leading his army southward not because he invaded the south for no reason, but because Li Jing was rude first.

The envoys of the Southern Tang Dynasty immediately understood that this statement meant that they could be discussed, so they all left and wanted to return to Jiangning as soon as possible to report the good news to Li Jing.

After Li Jing received Feng Yanlu's reward, he also learned that the officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty had received rewards from Zhou Zhangzhao and even gave them a special banquet. For some reason, Li Jing felt a little contemptuous in his heart.

Li Jing took Zhang Zhao's kindness to the envoys of the Southern Tang Dynasty as a signal that Zhang Zhao also wanted to end the war quickly and return to the north.

Li Jing hurriedly discussed the matter with his close courtiers. Chang Mengxi, Xiao Yan and other ministers with reputations for being upright and honest all agreed with Li Jing's guess.

Everyone thought that Liu Zhiyuan in Hedong must have made some changes. Xiao Yan even thought that Zhang Zhao would retreat voluntarily without having to cede territory and pay compensation.

Feng Yanji curled his lips, Chang Mengxi, Xiao Yan and others were just book traders and had no knowledge of military affairs at all.

Judging from the Zhou army in the north of the Yangtze River, they are brave and invincible. Liu Zhiyuan only has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. Even if he goes south, he can break Tokyo overnight?

On the other hand, if the Zhou army really wanted to forcefully cross the river, they could easily reach Jiangning overnight.

However, Li Jing was in high spirits right now. As a favorite, he would not go up and say something disheartening, so Feng Yanji decisively chose to shut up.

But seeing the comrades behind him talking about Kang's passion, Prime Minister Zuopushe Sun Cheng didn't think so.

This king was also from the Central Plains who fled to Nanben. He followed Li Cunxu's favorite Zhu Shouyin in his early years. After Zhu Shouyin failed in his rebellion and was killed when Xuanwu Jiedu was appointed envoy, Sun Chengcai chose to flee to Nannan.

Therefore, among a group of comrades composed mostly of scholars, he can be regarded as a knowledgeable soldier.

Hearing the people around him talking more and more outrageously, Sun Cheng, who originally didn't want to come out, could only frown and go out to play Li Jing.

"Sage, Jiangning is on the bank of the river, and Tokyo is on the bank of the river. The two places are fifteen hundred miles apart. We are waiting in the south, how can we know what is going on in the north?

Besides, the King of Peiping is far away in Hebei, but the Zhou army is close at Chi Chi. How can we save those who are far away?"

Han Xizai also came out and said: "It is true as Mr. Sun said, they are so far apart. If there was really a police force in Hebei and it was urgent, Master Zhou would have gone north long ago and would not be so safe.

I would like to serve as an envoy and go to the north of the Yangtze River to find out what is going on for Your Majesty. If Master Zhou is really eager to return north, we can discuss it again before it is too late. We still cannot offend Lord Zhou at this time."

As soon as Li Jing was in high spirits, he was hit twice by Sun Cheng and Han Xizai, and he suddenly felt very unhappy.

He saw that Feng Yanji remained silent, so he turned around and asked, "What does Feng Xianggong think of this matter? Will Liu Zhiyuan go south at this time?"

Feng Yanji knew what Li Jing wanted. He wanted to follow his words, at least not to make Li Jing's guesses wrong. How could he lose face like that?

Therefore, Feng Yanji could not say that Li Jing's words were wrong, but he could not agree with them. After all, Zhou Jun was on the other side of the river. He could only think carefully before speaking.

"Your Majesty has a long-term vision. Judging from the banquet hosted by Lord Zhou, he is indeed eager to return to the north. It cannot be said that Liu Zhiyuan went south.

But even so, the Lord of Zhou treated our envoys with courtesy. We, the Tang Dynasty, are a country of etiquette. We can never treat polite people with rudeness and start provocation again.

I think we can send more envoys and troops, and your Majesty can also write a letter to the Lord of Zhou in person. After a few days, we will naturally know the result.

If Liu Zhiyuan really goes south, Lord Zhou will definitely be impatient. If Lord Zhou sits quietly, he should treat him with courtesy."

Li Jing nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "Then let Han Qing serve as an envoy and cross the river to see Lord Zhou. If you can get back more of the key place in Huainan, then bring back more."

But what Li Jing didn't know was that the Southern Tang navy, which had just arrived in Xinlinpu and Yanziji areas, was planning a big one for him!

Chen Jue was a foolish and bold person, and he had just defeated Wang Min, so he was very proud of himself.

And none of the people under his command, such as He Jingzhu, Huangfu Hui, Chen Hui, Lin Renhan, Lin Renzhao, were fuel-efficient.

The only difference is that Chen Jue is stupid and bold, but He Jingzhu, Chen Hui, Lin Renzhao and others really think they can fight.

How to talk about water warfare at this time? Generally, there are two tactics. One is to go with the current and wind and set fire to the ship first, and then take advantage of the chaos of the enemy to join forces.

The second is for the two sides to directly approach the ships, put up wooden planks, and then board the ships to fight. During this period, there may be countless small boats passing by.

There were several people on the boat to operate the boat, and there were many crossbowmen on the boat to shoot at the enemy. By the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, it even evolved into a loach boat with wheel-assisted travel.

As for the five-toothed warships of the Tang Dynasty that were as tall as city walls and could drop bottles of kerosene from a high position, beat them with a big racket, and place Fuyuan crossbows, no one was able to rebuild them at this time.

So Chen Jie suggested to Chen Jue that he should take advantage of the darkness and let him lead a small boat to raid the Zhou army's water stronghold. After opening the water stronghold gate, he would set fire to the ship and burn all the Zhou army's warships.

Chen Jue, Privy Envoy Chen, was a very daring leader. Historically, he dared to correct the imperial edict and mobilize troops to attack Li Hongyi of Fuzhou who did not obey the imperial edict. Now, with the instigation of the generals, he suddenly felt that he had a high chance of success.

Lin Renzhao and Lin Huzi were only in their teens at this time. He was very impulsive and quite confident in his own skills, but he also didn't know what the world was up to.

He jumped out and shouted to Chen Jue: "Why should the Privy Council hesitate? Even if it cannot annihilate the Zhou Dynasty navy, with me waiting and arraying under Qingliang Mountain, can the enemy's cavalry cross the river safely?"

Qingliang Mountain was the area around Qingliang Temple in Gulou District, Nanjing in later generations. Jiangning in the Five Dynasties was much smaller than Jiankang City in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, with only the small area at the foot of Qingliang Mountain.

Strictly speaking, the ancient city of the Six Dynasties and the Qinhuai River are not within the current scope of Jiangning.

Chen Jue glanced at Lin Renzhao. He had tiger tattoos all over his body. He was tall and brave. On the other side, Zhu Lingyun, with his vertebrae and eagle eyes, was known as an invincible marksman.

Coupled with the elite members of the former Wang Min who were recruited by Pan Chengyou, they are all like tigers and wolves.

Chen Jue slapped his thigh and fucked him! Made, he won the young model in the club, but lost... Oh no! If he lost, he would move his head.

Therefore, Li Jing was still arranging for Han Xizai to cross the river. Before he could finish writing the autographed letter, Xinlinpu navy was dispatched.

Chen Jue appointed Chen Hui as the vanguard and led 150 warships. Taking advantage of the early morning fog, they sailed directly towards the Zhou navy in Guabu.

It has to be said that there are always many coincidences in this world, and sometimes they are so coincidental that people have to believe in destiny.

Because just the day before Chen Hui led the navy to dispatch, Zhang Zhao received a wax pill reminder from Feng Yanlu.

Just now, orders have been given to the Guabu navy establishment envoy Du Lunchixin, deputy envoys Zhao Yanjin and Hou Renbao, asking them to be on guard against a surprise attack by the Southern Tang navy.

The reason why Zhang Zhao immediately warned Du Lun Chixin and others to be careful when he saw Chen Hui's name was because Chen Hui was a stranger to ordinary people, but very familiar to Zhang Zhao.

Before traveling through time, Zhang Zhao met an elder, and it was this person who led Zhang Zhao into the Jiawei and Quanjia circles. This elder was from Jianzhou, and his surname was Chen. He claimed to be a descendant of Chen Decheng, the eldest son of Chen Jie.

Zhang Zhao went to Nanping, Fujian with him, and helped him compile a list of celebrities in Nanping.

Well, the so-called Who's Who in Nanping is actually the elder who wants to praise his ancestor Chen Hui, because the Who's Who includes Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty and Yang Rong, one of the Three Yangs of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhang Zhao really got to know this man deeply and knew that he was very good at water warfare. He and his son Chen Decheng were both strong men on the water, and he liked to use boats as cavalry to carry out long-distance raids and surprise attacks.

Chen Ji was only in his thirties at this time, and his son Chen Decheng was less than ten years old and had just come out of Jianzhou (Jianou, Fujian). It was completely unimaginable that he would be betrayed by his suspected descendant more than a thousand years later.

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The military discipline of the Zhou army goes without saying. After Zhang Zhao ordered to take strict precautions, Du Lunchi set up two water forts at the front and back, prepared fine sand and stones from the river as fire extinguishing materials, and long bamboo poles as support.

Twenty small boats were also arranged, cruising on the river every day since the end of Yin time to warn.

As a result, what Chen Hui thought was the arrogance and unpreparedness of the Zhou army immediately became a joke. The Southern Tang navy was discovered by a boat before they even got close, and the water village was notified with a gong warning.

Du Lunchi jumped out of bed in a hurry. He was sleeping in the front camp and came out to direct the defense when he heard the gong.
To be continued...