Poyang Lake.

This was the location for the decisive battle that Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen had agreed on several months ago.

Here, the overlord of Jiangnan will be decided.

Chen Youliang probably never dreamed that the navy he was so proud of would bring him a devastating disaster.

Poyang Lake is the largest lake in the entire Jiangnan region.

Thousands of warships of all sizes under Chen Youliang's command were gathered here.

According to Chen Youliang's plan, he would go south by water at Poyang Lake and fight a decisive battle with Zhu Yuanzhang.

But what he didn't expect was that thousands of warships were surrounded by Zhu Yuanzhang's army as soon as they arrived here.

This was a premeditated war.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen had already calculated all this several months ago.

Trapped in Poyang Lake were not only Chen Youliang's thousands of warships, but also his hundreds of thousands of troops. If this continued, people would probably starve to death in a few days.

Chen Youliang miscalculated.

In order to fight a decisive battle with Zhu Yuanzhang, he mobilized all the troops he could.

Nearly 600,000 soldiers gathered here.

A full 600,000 people, if they were to deploy in formation, would be overwhelming.

Unfortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang did not give him this opportunity.

There are only two waterways leading into Poyang Lake.

Zhu Yuanzhang had sent heavy troops to guard the upstream and downstream areas, and the Poyang Lake was also surrounded by Zhu Yuanzhang's troops.

Every tree and grass looks like an enemy.

Not only was Chen Youliang confused, but even the generals under his command felt an unprecedented danger.

…

On a huge treasure ship.

Chen Youliang called all his generals to his side.

This Jiangnan hero no longer had the arrogance of the past. It was not until this moment that he realized that defeat and death were not very far away from him.

Chen Youliang pretended to be calm and said, "We are actually surrounded by Zhu Yuanzhang."

"A mere 200,000 men surnamed Zhu have surrounded my 600,000-man army. Now that things have come to this, let's talk about what we should do?"

Zhao Pusheng, the commander-in-chief of the navy, said to Chen Youliang: "Prince of Han, things have come to this point. It is impossible for the army to retreat unscathed."

"The food we carry on the ship can only last for three or four days at most. After three or four days, the soldiers will start to starve."

“So, while the soldiers still have strength, we must break out as soon as possible. Although the Huguang area is gone, we still have Suzhou and Longping Prefecture, which we seized from Zhang Shicheng.

"Zhang Shicheng has been operating these two places for many years, and the city defenses are quite strong. If we can safely retreat to any of these two places, we still have a chance to turn the tables."

Chen Youliang glared at Zhao Pusheng and said, "Break out? Zhu Yuanzhang has more than 200,000 troops surrounding Poyang Lake. It may not be that easy."

"As the admiral of the navy, in charge of thousands of warships, you are trapped in Poyang Lake. First of all, you cannot escape the blame. Now that things have come to this, you still want to break out. Don't we want to give up these thousands of warships?"

Zhao Pusheng said helplessly: "Your Majesty, I have reminded you more than once that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. We should not gather thousands of warships together. Even if we gather them together, we should not sail them all into Poyang Lake."

"I have told you this dozens of times, but you don't listen."

Chen Youliang immediately drew the long sword from his waist: "Zhao Pusheng, what do you mean? Now that things have come to this, are you blaming me?"

Zhang Dingbian, who was standing by, quickly came out to smooth things over: "Prince Han, calm down. Governor Zhao, you should also speak less."

After comforting Chen Youliang with a few words, Zhang Dingbian said to him: "Prince Han, now, all our belongings are in this Poyang Lake."

"The life and death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers depends on your thoughts."

"Just now, what Commander Zhao said also reflects the views of most generals. Now is the best time to break out while the soldiers below are still hungry."

"If you don't seize this opportunity, it will be too late in three days."

Chen Youliang was so angry that he slammed the table and said: "Break through, break through, you generals, do you have any other way except breaking through?"

"We have an army of nearly 600,000 and thousands of warships. How many of us can break out?"

Zhang Dingbian said: "Prince Han, victory and defeat are common in the military. You are the lord of Jiangnan. As long as you are still alive, there is still a possibility of a turnaround."

"Although we cannot break out all of our 600,000 soldiers, it is not a problem for at least tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of them to break out. As long as you can withdraw hundreds of thousands of troops back to Suzhou, you will still be a local hero."

Chen Youliang glared at Zhang Dingbian fiercely: "General Zhang, what you said just now, do you want me to throw away the lives of the other hundreds of thousands of soldiers in vain?"

Zhang Dingbian sighed helplessly: "Prince Han, this is your last chance. The rise and fall of the Chen Khan Dynasty, and your personal life and death as well as those of hundreds of generals, all depend on your thoughts. I hope Prince Han will think twice."

Zhang Dingbian has tried his best, Zhao Pusheng has tried his best, and all the generals under Chen Youliang have tried their best.

But at this moment, Chen Youliang had gotten into a dead end. First, he besieged Hongdu for three months but failed to capture that tiny place. Then, his army of nearly 600,000 was besieged in Poyang Lake.

He never imagined that he would suffer such a great loss at the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang.

At this moment, Chen Youliang was blinded by anger.

He wanted to cut Zhu Yuanzhang into pieces, but unfortunately, he had lost all his opportunities and advantages.

…

On the other side, in Zhu Yuanzhang’s camp, all his generals had gathered together.

Looking at each other, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After a long time, Liu Bowen said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "General, the matter has been accomplished. Now Chen Youliang can no longer escape even if he has wings."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Even if Chen Youliang really grew wings, I would not let him pick him off. People like Chen Youliang should either become emperor or die."

"But fortunately, he can no longer become emperor."

Chang Yuchun hurriedly said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Marshal, now, if it is up to me, shouldn't you prepare to ascend the throne and become emperor?"

"Chen Youliang has been surrounded and killed. He cannot escape even if he has wings. The land south of the Yangtze River will fall into your hands in a blink of an eye."

Zhu Yuanzhang quickly waved his hands and said: "General Chang, as for ascending the throne to become emperor, let's wait a little longer. Let's talk about it after Chen Youliang is eliminated. Don't be like me, who loves to be the emperor so much."

Liu Bowen hurriedly said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "General, I have told you before that to govern the world, one must have a legitimate reason. Now that things have come to this, the people want you to be the emperor. If you don't become the emperor, I am afraid that the soldiers under your command and the people all over the world will not agree."