Chapter 89: Xiao Xie's Highlight Moment in the Battle of Linchuan + Xiao Xie's Battlefield Opening Screen...

It is not difficult to dispatch ships northward from Guangling, as Guangling itself also has its own navy.

Nearly a hundred ships of various sizes gathered.

The emperor's dragon boat was moored at Guangling, ready to join the expedition.

The boat entered the Fu River, a tributary of the waterways near Linchuan, which is nearly two miles wide.

On a rainy early summer day, the rainwater forms a misty veil, which is a golden opportunity to smuggle across the Fu River.

The fleet is divided into three decks.

The outermost layer consisted of flat, narrow assault boats carrying lightly armored soldiers.

The inner warships were larger, with arrow slits on their hulls, and were all fast ships. Xie Qianli's main ship was one of these fast ships, flying a huge dragon flag. On the deck stood men wearing silver armor and silver-white unicorn cloaks, their heavy weapons, the Youlong Blade, gleaming coldly.

The innermost layer was the emperor's dragon boat, which was used for spectating battles.

If there is no fighting on the water, the dragon boat will carry the emperor ashore to jointly encircle Linchuan.

If an enemy attack were to occur on the water, the dragon boat would be positioned at the very back, with a large force of the Dragon Martial Army stationed inside, ready to facilitate the emperor's retreat at any time.

Rain fell along the canopy, and Lian Qing stood beside the emperor, holding a sword.

Prince Yong sat next to the emperor, the dissolute Prince Yong peeling melon seeds, and he and Xie Qianli's hawk, each disliking the other.

"Coo coo coo, come here, I won't give you any. I'll just show you." Prince Yong said mischievously.

"Screech—" The eagle cried out in anger, urging Yingxi to demand justice.

Lian Qing was habitually trembling with fear.

"Lian Qing," the emperor spoke.

"Your subordinate is here!"

The emperor lowered his eyes slightly, raindrops glistening on his hair and eyelashes: "When I ordered Minister Xie to lead the fleet earlier, did you have something to say?"

Lian Qing touched his nose: "No."

The emperor was skeptical. Lian Qing quickly changed the subject, saying, "Your Majesty, let me tell you about Xu Youyi of the rebel army."

The emperor was obsessed with state affairs. He would even try to extract information from a female assassin, let alone information about the enemy generals.

"you say."

"When Li Yilong first started his uprising in the fields of Yangzhou, the man surnamed Xu was his fellow villager. When he was a child, his family was even poorer than Li Yilong's. He had received a meal from Li Yilong and has been working for him ever since."

"Once, when the government was besieging the bandit Li, Xu Youyi gave his horse to Li and stayed behind alone. He lost an eye, killed over a hundred people, and finally jumped into the river covered in blood but survived."

"This man is deeply trusted by Li Ze, and serves as Li Ze's personal bodyguard in Xindu. Li Ze values ​​him highly and has designated him as the head of the Twenty-Four Generals."

Ying Xi shook her head and said calmly, "It doesn't sound good. It's not as impressive as a proper official title, but this man is a righteous person. He is grateful for kindness and has a strong sense of justice. He is worthy of his name."

“His name wasn’t Xu Youyi before, it was Xu Youyi.”

“Li Yilong isn’t actually called Li Yilong; his real name is Li Yilong,” Lian Qing said vividly, trying to prevent the emperor from thinking anything of it, and added with a slight smile, “They changed their names later because they thought their original names were too rustic.”

Lian Qing treated this as a joke, hoping to amuse the emperor.

But the emperor remained silent, filled with emotion: "A single field provides food. A single garment keeps one warm. It is the Qin Dynasty that wronged its people first; no wonder they rose in rebellion."

Interpreting the joke in this way, Lian Qing felt a pang of sadness.

But Lian Qing then soberly said, "It is the former imperial court that has wronged them, not the current emperor! His Majesty has offered amnesty to these people many times, but they are ambitious and unwilling to settle down and produce goods."

"His Majesty lives frugally, yet the New Capital Palace houses dozens of concubines," Lian Qing said firmly. "This humble general does not pity them at present!"

Prince Yong glanced at Lian Qing.

The vicious dog is gone, but the little dog is left behind, eager for attention. How infuriating!

Ying Xi chuckled, raising her cool and aloof eyes, and said slowly, "You're becoming more and more like Xie Qing."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty!"

The Duke of England's prestige is renowned throughout Jiangbei; who wouldn't want to be like Xie Qianli?

Therefore, Lian Qing stood even straighter.

At that moment, through the rain, a faint red light shot from the distant water surface into the gray sky.

The arc of light was beautiful and eerie, like a long red line drawn out of thin air between heaven and earth. It was spectacular, yet inexplicable, resembling neither a natural phenomenon nor something else entirely.

Prince Yong stopped peeling melon seeds.

He was annoyed that Xie Qianli had confiscated his knife, and he looked around, intending to find a soldier to take a knife from.

The doubts of the Longwu Army on the ship vanished in an instant.

Then Lian Qing raised his head and suddenly shouted, "Prepare for battle!!!"

***

On the other side of the misty river, as far as the eye can see, the silhouettes of the enemy fleet, as large as mountains, are already faintly visible.

Bugles sounded all over the river.

The sword is drawn, the bow is nocked!

The best-case scenario previously estimated by the imperial court was to secretly cross the Fu River, land on the shore, and ambush Xu Youyi, but things did not go as planned.

Smuggling immediately turned into forced crossing!

The main ship signaled with flags, but the fog on the river obscured the enemy's strength, so the two vanguard ships ventured deeper to probe.

The two boats quickly rowed and hoisted their sails as they approached. They saw that the enemy ships were lined up in formation on the river.

The lead ship sends a signal to the main ship!

Before the vanguard ship could return, it encountered the enemy lookout ship. The two sides clashed, arrows raining down on the water, each realizing they had met a formidable opponent. And so the two groups began to fight.

The Longwu Army's crew members jumped onto the enemy ship first; they were formidable fighters, their sabers flying swiftly.

The soldiers rowing the lookout boat were slashed and thrown into the water. The southern soldiers were excellent swimmers; after being stabbed and falling into the water, those soldiers gritted their teeth and came to the edge of the boat, pulling the Longwu Army soldiers by the ankles before they died, dragging them into the water.

Water splashed around the two boats, and soon all the crew members on both sides perished. The water around the boats turned blood red, and was then scattered by the torrential rain.

On the other side of the rain curtain, Xu Youyi observed the battle with one eye. The boat swayed, and his rough thumb rubbed the hilt of his broadsword.

His team came from Xindu and was the most powerful army under his elder brother's command.

My elder brother has been running an uprising in Jiangnan for ten years, and he has been defeated by the imperial army before. They once crushed the navy sent by Emperor Yuantai and were having a great time in Jiangnan. But this time, the young Ying Xi has almost surrounded him at the gates of Xindu.

The eldest brother has already prepared a countermeasure.

Now that he had discovered the enemy's movements, he decided to go all out and fight this battle, hoping to take a big bite out of the young emperor!

Xu Youyi suddenly drew his sword and plunged the tip into the deck. For some reason, through the river mist, he saw himself as a child, suffering from cold and hunger, fainting and nearly dying in his elder brother's field.

Heavy taxes brought suffering to the people. When stomach pain became unbearable, people felt cold. The harvested grain was transported to the imperial court.

Xu Youyi's one eye twitched, and he pursed his lips tightly—

Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?

"General Xu," the adjutant reported loudly from behind, "the battle has broken out in Linchuan! Fighting has also broken out in Lujiang! The Jiangbei army knew they would encounter our army, and that Xie fellow wanted to hold you back!"

Xu Youyi laughed loudly.

Rain streamed down his cheeks as this man in his forties gazed at the array of ships in the distance and roared, "Brothers! Charge, warships!"

"Reform the land distribution system! Reform the land distribution system!"

The entire fleet of warships of the Jiangnan Army was mobilized, and thousands of soldiers shouted in unison.

Boats rushed toward the center of the Fu River.

The main ship of the Jiangbei army flew its battle flag high. The main ship had two decks. Standing on the second deck, one could have a panoramic view of the entire battle.

When the distance between the two fleets reached the range of arrows, the Jiangbei ships, which had been charging rapidly, seemed to suddenly brake and floated on the water.

The general, clad in silver armor and standing tall on the main ship's deck, gave a brief order: "Maintain distance, retreat slowly, and fire arrows."

"yes!"

Amidst the sound of rain, the signal flags, though silent, began to fly rapidly. The Longwu Army's warships revealed their arrow hilts, and arrows were fired in rapid succession. The sound on the river was like thunder, crackling and popping.

This is a passionate and completely different command style compared to Xie Meng's.

The Jiangbei army far surpasses the navy. The Longwu army is well-equipped with powerful bows and crossbows, whose range exceeds that of the rebels.

As they increased the distance, without making contact with the enemy ships, the enemy soldiers began to suffer casualties. The rebel vanguard was hit by arrows and fell into the river. In the process of flying the kite, nearly a thousand rebels were killed.

Rainwater washed over the armor plates of the Dragon Warrior Army, making the bright silver color even more dazzling.

Xu Youyi's one eye twitched wildly as he looked into the distance at the enemy's young but cunning general on the main ship, a cold-blooded grim reaper.

The Jiangnan region is rich in water, giving its soldiers a natural advantage in quality, yet he still lost many men without a fight.

Xu Youyi forced himself to calm down, and after thinking for a moment, stood on the deck and shouted loudly, "Full speed ahead, close the distance. Let's see how far they can retreat!"

The rebel navy rowed with all their might, their chants echoing, as white waves churned. Braving a hail of arrows, they pressed forward.

The Longwu Army's warships were about to retreat when they stopped in the middle of the water.

Originally, retreating to the rear, even if they landed, would have given them a greater advantage in land battles. However, dragon boats were moored on the riverbank behind the Longwu Army. The emperor's safety was crucial to the outcome of the battle.

The captain ordered: "Assemble the fleet and begin the battle in the middle of the river."

The outer layers of ships, shaped like swallow wings, converged into a dense herringbone pattern, resembling a heavy shield that heavily blocked enemy ships.

The ships were packed together like dumplings being dropped into a pot, their planks forming large tracts of land, like floating islands.

After boarding the ship, the Longwu Army engaged the enemy. Having fought many battles, the soldiers were already in perfect coordination. With crossbows providing cover, silver spears breaking through shields, and shield-wielding soldiers providing support, the enemy soldiers fell into the water one after another, and the river surface was suddenly filled with red waves.

Long Wujun's eyes were bloodshot from the fighting.

But right here on the Fu River, with each rebel killed, it seemed as if one could hear the rebel's dying cry:

"Revolutionize land distribution!"

"Revolutionize land distribution!"

On the main deck of the Jiangnan Army's ship, Xu Youyi brandished his sword and shouted, "Scatter! Row backwards, disperse and attack, each focusing on one enemy ship..."

In an instant, the Jiangnan naval fleet scattered like petals.

The floating island disappeared, and huge waves surged up on the river, bringing intense turbulence.

Longwu soldiers tried to stand on the deck to steady themselves, but the river tide seemed to be deliberately working against them, causing the boat to rock up and down. Many Longwu soldiers frowned, gripped their knives, and ordered the rebels to jump onto the boat, slash them over, and kick them into the water!

"Revolutionize land distribution!"

"Revolutionize land distribution!"

"..."

Ying Xi stood up, her face splashed with rain.

Prince Yong stood up, and Lian Qing stood behind the emperor.

What are they shouting?

Lian Qing: "I can't hear clearly, it's too far away!"

The ship formation dispersed, and apart from the two escort ships, the dragon boat was facing a fierce battle.

The water was wide open, and Ying Xi faced the enemy's main ship from afar. The vastness of the river made him somewhat uneasy.

A bad feeling rose within him, as if the other side would send ships to appear before him unexpectedly.

Ying Xi suppressed her fear.

On its shoulder, the eagle warily spread its wings.

Prince Yong brushed the sunflower seed shells off his clothes, his nonchalant attitude becoming more serious: "Little dog, give me a knife."

Even facing the naval battlefield, Lian Qing had long lost his mood for jokes and solemnly said, "—Fetch the battle sword for Your Highness!"

Prince Yong unfurled his longsword and unleashed a curtain of water.

Prince Yong stood in front of the emperor and said, "If you dare to come over here to be beheaded, I will cut off your head first."

As expected, the enemy warships were getting closer and closer!

The escort ships began firing arrows, and the shield-bearers surrounded the emperor. Lian Qing stood at the bow and shouted, "Protect the Emperor!"

A dense rain of arrows was unleashed!

However, the two or three fast boats that were approaching suddenly slowed down.

All the crew of the dragon boat watched as the distance between the enemy ships decreased and then stopped. Then, although the enemy ships were scattered across the water, they seemed to trigger some mechanism, all heading in opposite directions.

Where Ying Xi couldn't hear, shouts from the enemy ships were deafening.

The enemy forces then realized that the Jiangbei army had a large ship that had overturned several small boats that were entangled with it and was already navigating the waters directly into the waters where Xu Youyi was located.

All the crew members on the large ship removed their heavy armor, threw it into the water, brandished their swords, and abandoned all their belongings as they rowed with all their might.

A white wave rippled towards the enemy general.

Enemy escort ships blocked their way, and the rebels boarded the ships one after another.

The heavy dragon-shaped blade crashed down on two rows of soldiers, and Xu Youyi and Xie Qianli's eyes met at the bow of the ship.

The enemy soldiers were increasingly losing their voices:

"General Xu!"

"Save General Xu!!!"