Of course, Emperor Zhao had a low level of education and didn't know what the word 'sao' meant, but this didn't stop him from guessing the other party's meaning from his words and knowing where the Jin army's large number of ships were.
"It is indeed confidential military information. Are you saying that the Jin army will eventually launch a large-scale attack southward this time?" After a moment of thought, Emperor Zhao continued to ask without changing his expression.
Yu Yunwen was startled for a moment, but he seemed a little confused, and shook his head repeatedly: "That's not what I meant... Your Majesty, before the Jin army controlled both sides of the Yellow River, all the Yellow River boats were taken by the Jin army, there should have been so many ferries."
"Then what do you mean?" Zhao Jiu was also confused when he heard this... He still couldn't let go of the issue of the Jin people attacking.
"Your Majesty, what I mean is... why not take the initiative and burn little Wu Sha?" Yu Yunwen came back to his senses and continued his eager look.
Emperor Zhao also came back to his senses after hearing these words, and his heart was pounding... He was right, instead of guessing whether the Jin people would come and when they would come, why not burn the enemy's ships first and take the initiative to seize control of the middle reaches of the Yellow River?
As the saying goes, if the enemy doesn’t come, I can go!
With this thought, Zhao Jiu suddenly turned around and looked at Yang Yizhong: "I remember that Li Bao was born as a hero on the Yellow River?"
"Exactly."
"Call him."
Yang Yizhong left without saying a word. Only half an hour later, he returned with a bewildered Li Bao. Emperor Zhao also asked Yu Yunwen to recount the incident.
"How?" Zhao Jiu looked expectant.
"I won't hide it from you, Your Majesty. I think this is extremely difficult!" Li Bao hesitated for a moment, but still bowed.
"Why?" Zhao Jiu was puzzled. "The Jin people are not good at naval warfare, and I have stored many gunpowder bags in Tokyo, and there is no shortage of igniters..."
Li Bao still shook his head: "Your Majesty... I have been to rivers and seas. If you ask me, a battle on water is certainly a test of men's swimming ability and experience, but in the final analysis, it is still a battle of ships. A big ship is better than a small ship, and more ships are better than fewer ships... Gunpowder packs are good things, but how can we attack Xiaowusha without ships? And I know that Xiaowusha is a place. According to my current thinking, if we want to attack it, we must have a big ship, because only a big ship can be equipped with the small trebuchet that your Majesty has prepared in Nanyang, and the gunpowder packs can be fired into the harbor across the dike. Small boats must also rush into the harbor to fight to the death to prevent the enemy ships from dispersing and evading."
Zhao Jiu calmed down for a moment... He just remembered that Yu Yunwen had just said that after Jing Kang and at the beginning of Jian Yan, the Jin people gradually took control of the Yellow River, and most of the Yellow River ferries were controlled by the Jin people.
Since the Jin people controlled most of the ferries, the Song army did not have many boats.
"Besides, having boats is not enough, we also need good sailors... According to what this tall scholar said, there are hundreds or thousands of ferries of all sizes in Xiaowusha, but I only have one or two thousand good sailors here. Without boats and people, what can I use to launch a surprise attack on Xiaowusha?"
Zhao Jiu became calmer.
Just when the official was about to give up, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the 'tall scholar' who seemed eager to try again.
"Do you want to talk?" Emperor Zhao's expression remained unchanged, but he felt a little bit expectant again.
"Your Majesty, I know where there are ships and sailors..." Yu Yunwen was impatient. "Your Majesty currently has 20,000 imperial navy troops, and there are countless ships available in Liangshan Lake!"
Zhao Jiu didn't show his disappointment on his face, but Li Bao just laughed.
"You are such an ignorant scholar." Li Bao sneered. "I am Li San from Puzhou. I know the strength of Liangshan Lake better than you do... But even if the heroes of Liangshan come here, they can only have sailors, but still no boats..."
"There are ships in Liangshanbo," Yu Yunwen interrupted earnestly. "We have both large and small ships. Chief Zhang told me that there are hundreds of them."
"I know, but we can't get across. We can't drag hundreds of boats across the Yellow River, right?" Li Bao became increasingly annoyed. "Do you want to dig a river several dozen miles long, connecting the Yellow River to the Jishui River, and then to Liangshan Lake? If you do that, I'm afraid you'll have to change the river route again."
"We don't need to dig dozens of miles, just two miles will connect Liangshan Lake to the Yellow River!" Yu Yunwen didn't know what the Yihe Channel was, but he obviously had his own ideas. "And if we really start digging, we won't be short of manpower, and the Jin people won't find out!"
Li Bao was still smiling, but he was too lazy to pay attention to this tall young scholar who was only good at talking.
But at the same time, Emperor Zhao was suddenly stunned, because he realized Yu Yunwen's meaning almost instantly - you know, part of the flower and stone gang came from Liangshan Lake! It went through the Guangji River! That is, the Wuzhang River!
The Bian River, which leads directly to the Yellow River, also passes through the city of Dongjing...
Isn’t the nearest place only two miles away?
When he thought of this, Emperor Zhao's expression remained unchanged, but his chest began to pound.
"You've just heard what Commander Li said. We need big ships for battle. Can the big ships at Liangshan Lake also pass through there?" Zhao Jiu asked carefully without changing his expression.
Li Bao and Yang Yi Zhong were both confused for a moment, but that did not prevent them from getting some understanding from what Emperor Zhao said, so when these words came out, Yang Yi Zhong, who had been expressionless all the time, was slightly moved, and Li Bao also became completely serious.
"The newly widened river channel is definitely sufficient, but the sluice gate needs to be removed." Under the encouraging gaze of Emperor Zhao, Yu Yunwen tried to speak again.
Yang Yizhong, who was familiar with the structure of Dongjing City, immediately verified his guess after hearing the word "water gate", but he became a little uneasy: "Sir, it is easy to dismantle the water gate, but it may not be easy to rebuild it... If it fails, the Jin people will cross the river instead, and I am afraid that the city defense will be left with defects."
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