Blue waves rippled on the surface of the vast river.
Towering and huge warships were traveling quickly on the surface of the river. Every warship had the battle flag of Xia Country. The battle flags fluttered in the wind, making flapping sounds.
On the deck of the Jiaolong Warship, Du Qi held the side of the ship and looked at the clear river, his eyes full of expectation. Now that it was September, the river breeze was quite cool on people's bodies.
At this time, Shangguan Yi walked over. After standing still, he bowed to Du Qi and said, "Your Majesty, I just received news that the Tang Army has sent troops. The ones leading the troops are the brothers Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche. Xue Wanjun is the commander-in-chief, Xue Wanche is the vice-commander-in-chief, and Xu Jingzong is the military advisor. The number of Tang soldiers was about 100,000. All of them are on warships going north along the river, ready to resist us. "
Du Qi said, "It's a pity that Li Shimin didn't come personally. If Li Shimin came personally to supervise the battle, after defeating him on the river, it won't be easy for him to escape. "
Shangguan Yi said seriously, "Your Majesty, although Li Shimin didn't personally lead the troops. But at this point, whether Li Shimin is here or not doesn't matter much. If Li Shimin is here, after defeating Li Shimin's army, the destruction of Li Tang will be faster. If Li Shimin is not here, this wave of 100,000 Tang Army will be defeated, and Li Shimin will have no foundation and no chance. Even if Li Shimin is in Yangzhou and Jiangdu, he won't be able to reverse the situation. "
Du Qi said, "That's true."
The current Tang Dynasty only has the power to fight.
Once the Tang Army on the Jinghang Canal is defeated, Li Shimin will lose his troops and generals, and it will be impossible to reverse the situation.
Only defeat.
Shangguan Yi was looking forward to it, and his expression was relaxed as he continued, "According to the time, the Tang Dynasty's army will arrive soon. After all, it takes a lot of time to send news back and forth. Now, we can prepare for war. "
Du Qi said, "Arrange it."
"Yes!"
Shangguan Yi immediately went to pass the order.
In a short time, the order for the entire army to be on alert was passed down.
Du Qi was still standing on the deck, waiting quietly. After waiting for a while, the Tang Army did not appear. Du Qi was a little bored, so he called Shangguan Yi over to play chess. The two of them sat on the deck, basking in the sun, drinking tea and playing chess. Their days were rather leisurely.
After all, there was nothing to do on the ship.
Now that Du Qi and Shangguan Yi were playing chess, they could use this as a way to pass the time. The warship was very deep in the water. Although it continued to move forward, the warship did not shake or become unstable. It was as if it was on land. Time passed quietly. After noon, the sun disappeared and the sky became slightly gloomy.
However, it did not affect Du Qi and Shangguan Yi at all. The two of them continued to play chess. As for the weather, it didn't affect Du Qi's army that much. Even though the weather was gloomy, the cannons on the ship were still able to fire regardless of the weather.
"Reporting!"
Suddenly, a soldier on the mast of the warship shouted.
The soldiers on the mast of the warship were specially equipped with more sophisticated binoculars. Nowadays, the lenses of the binoculars had been changed and could see farther. It was enough to see the scene 800 steps away clearly, and even a thousand steps away could be vaguely seen.
As the soldiers shouted, the soldiers on the masts of the other warships also issued the warning.
At first, they couldn't see clearly. Because the two sides were moving toward each other at a very fast speed, the soldiers on the lookout could see clearly that it was the warship of the Tang Army. The warships of the Tang Dynasty crossed the river and were moving forward quickly. The distance between the two sides had been shortened to about 800 steps in a short time.
When Du Qi heard the soldier's report, a smile appeared on his face. He picked up a black chess piece and said with a smile, "Shangguan Yi, this game is over."
Shangguan Yi looked at him and said, "Your Majesty's chess skills are superb. This subject can only look up to your dust."
Du Qi's eyes turned and fell on Xue Rengui not far away. He ordered, "Xue Rengui!"
"Present!"
Xue Rengui immediately replied.
Du Qi said, "Pass down the order. All the warships change formation and line up in a row, forming a six-row formation. Anchor yourselves. All the cannoneers are to be in position and aim at the Tang Army's warships ahead. If it's on land, Li Shimin's men can dodge as soon as we open fire. But on the river, even if they move forward, they're still live targets. Just bombard them for a while. After their warships are destroyed, they'll be fish on the chopping board at our mercy. "
Xue Rengui said, "This subject obeys!"
For Xue Rengui, this was something he had rehearsed long ago, so Xue Rengui was not anxious at all. As his order was passed down, Jiaolong was at the very front, followed by two warships on each side.
The first row of five warships quickly got into position.
Immediately after, the five warships in the second row lined up, followed by the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth rows of warships. The thirty warships in the sixth row all docked together, as if they were in a formation on land.
"Six hundred steps!"
At this moment, the sentry on the Jiaolong shouted once more. He was able to estimate the distance. Only an experienced person like him could estimate the distance with just a pair of eyes.
The distance was reduced to six hundred steps. The warships did not move for the time being.
This was because it was not the optimal distance.
At the same time, the cannoneers were adjusting the angle and measuring the wind speed and direction. An experienced cannoneer would consider the wind speed and direction when firing. This way, they could accurately aim and fire.
Du Qi stood on the deck and looked into the distance, a smile in his eyes.
He could predict that since Li Shimin dared to make such arrangements, he had high hopes. Even the soldiers he sent were good at water battles. To achieve his goal, Li Shimin might even cause the warships to collide. On the Tang side, only when the warships got close could Li Shimin's navy display their strongest fighting strength.
Unfortunately, it was just wishful thinking.
They would lose without a doubt.
As the distance got closer, when it was less than four hundred steps, Xue Rengui heard the sentry report the distance and did not hesitate anymore, "Fire!"
The moment he said that, he gave the order to fire.
The messenger immediately waved the order flag. The moment the messengers on the warships saw it, they immediately gave the order. In a short time, all the cannoneers knew and immediately loaded the cannoneers.
'Hong! Hong! Hong!! '
Cannoneers sounded out one after another.
On each warship, there were mortars roaring. Along with the rising dust, one could see cannoneers flying into the air, heading straight for the Tang warships.
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