Upon hearing this, Gu Yuzhi's expression turned grim. He leaned on the table, puffed out his cheeks, and sighed.
He quickly straightened up, shook his head, and spat a few times to the side: "Granny Xu said that you can't sigh casually. Sighing too much will bring you bad luck."
This is a critical moment, and he doesn't want any bad luck!
Gu Yuzhi secretly guessed that no matter how many naval forces and private soldiers his brother, the King of Chu, had, the Duke of Qi was an old general and would definitely have a way to deal with his brother, who had never been on the battlefield.
He thought for a moment, then tilted his head and said, "We have far too few people. Even if we immediately chase after Brother Chu's men, it's still a waste of time..."
Gu Yuzhi stuck out his tongue, but ultimately swallowed back the words "looking for death."
Seeing that neither Judge Qin nor Chief Secretary Xie seemed to have noticed, he continued, "Did these people tell us how many men Brother Chu took with him when he left? If they took them all, could we try to take back the several prefectures in Jiangnan first?"
The Emperor's secret guards have already set off, using their special methods to communicate. Perhaps the Emperor has already obtained the evidence he submitted.
If my elder brother had acted faster and the army had marched faster, perhaps we could have surrounded the Chu king's navy together with the Duke of Qi.
But all of this depends on the fact that the Duke of Qi was able to lead the Lingnan army to maneuver until that time.
However, the next moment he heard Chief Secretary Xie say, "These people don't know about this matter either."
These are just ordinary soldiers whose daily routine consists of training.
They do whatever their superiors tell them to do.
Aside from not being a naval officer, they were no different from regular naval officers in every way.
Gu Yuzhi scratched his head and said, "Then should we try to find a way to investigate the naval camp first?"
Especially that island in the middle of the back lake that Prince Qi mentioned before, maybe the King of Chu is hiding someone in there.
Gu Yuzhi puffed out his cheeks and said, "Chief Secretary Xie, now that we have lifted the siege of Huizhou, should we send people north to ask the prefectures of Shengzhou and Yuzhou to send their city guards to support us?"
Chief Secretary Xie and Imperial Physician Qin exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke first.
They had actually discussed this plan before the young prince woke up, but the reason it wasn't unanimously approved was quite simple.
No one knows whether the King of Chu's influence has penetrated into the states beyond Jiangnan.
Seeing that the two were not speaking, Gu Yuzhi's curious gaze shifted back and forth between them.
However, Gu Yuzhi understood that Xie Changshi and the others must have their own reasons for not agreeing, so Gu Yuzhi didn't ask any further questions, and just pouted and said, "Then shall we go and explore the back lake first?"
He scratched his head and thought for a moment. If he were to go to Houhu, would he need to select people who could swim?
But it seems like none of them know how to do it!
The northern desert is arid, and sometimes it won't rain for a whole month in summer. Forget about floods like those in the Jiangnan region; even the water levels in reservoirs will drop significantly.
Therefore, almost none of the people in the northern desert can swim.
He muttered to himself, "I wonder if Guard Jiang and his elite troops can swim."
Upon hearing Gu Yuzhi's words, the young master Qi, who was just entering the room, couldn't help but chuckle: "Your Highness is considering whether they'll swim for any reason?"
Gu Yuzhi said matter-of-factly, "I was just thinking of going to Houhu to investigate. If Brother Chu has few people left there, we can take them down in one fell swoop."
No matter how many people there are, if you can subdue one of them, you'll have one less opponent, right?
The smile on Prince Qi's face was so bright that it wouldn't fade.
Good heavens, Prince Wen is just too adorable.
He laughed for a while before straightening his expression under Gu Yuzhi's disapproving gaze and said softly, "Your Highness doesn't think we need to swim if we go to the back lake, does he?"
Gu Yuzhi raised his chin, looking suspicious, and asked, "Isn't that right?"
How big can a lake be?
Seeing this, Chief Secretary Xie shook his head slightly, naturally understanding why His Highness thought this way.
He probably thought the lake was only the size of the palace's back garden, so he could just swim across.
He explained softly, "Your Highness, if we want to go to the back lake, we can take a boat."
Gu Yuzhi's eyes lit up when he heard the word "boat": "We can take a boat? Will it be a very big boat? Like on a canal or at sea?"
Although he had never been on a ship, he had seen it in the Book of Geography; the navy's ships were particularly large and could accommodate hundreds of people.
The thought of being able to ride on such a ship made Gu Yuzhi jump off his chair and tug at Qi Shizi's sleeve, saying, "Qi Shizi, can we go and see the ship now?"
Prince Qi explained softly, "The back lake isn't that big; we can just take a small boat."
Gu Yuzhi gave a disappointed "oh" and sat back down in his chair.
Chief Secretary Xie glanced at the sky outside and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, a whole day has passed since the rebels sent the message to the Prince of Chu, and our men have not yet detected any movement from the Prince of Chu's side. This confirms that the Prince of Chu is not in Jiangzhou."
If they're not in Jiangzhou, they must be out there besieging the Duke of Qi.
Gu Yuzhi snorted, "Since my brother, the Prince of Chu, isn't here, I should hurry to the back lake!"
If the King of Chu returns and joins up with the navy in Houhu, then they will be completely finished!
Gu Yuzhi glanced at Chief Secretary Xie, then at Prince Qi, and clenched his small fist, saying, "Let's head to the back lake while the moonlight is so beautiful tonight!"
Sneak attack! Sneak attack!
Gu Yuzhi felt that ambushing the enemy was the same as secretly putting a sack over someone's head.
Chief Secretary Xie smiled slightly: "That is exactly what I was thinking."
Under Gu Yuzhi's surprised gaze, Xie Changshi said in a low voice, "Mr. Huo has already seen the map of Houhu. There are no obstacles on the water leading to the central island. So as long as there are soldiers left on the island, it is absolutely impossible for our people to land on the island in broad daylight."
So it can only be at night.
They landed on the island under the moonlight, and when the other party was not on guard.
Even if the other party notices, it will be too late to react.
Xie Changshi continued, "Mr. Huo means that our men will go ashore in two groups. One group will consist of people who are good swimmers, just in case. If the other side discovers them, they can jump ship and swim ashore."
If they are not discovered, that would be the best outcome, as it would increase their chances of successfully landing on the island.
Gu Yuzhi nodded his little head: "Okay, okay! Give the order, our people should rest now and set off promptly at the end of Chou hour!"
Mr. Huo said that the end of the Chou hour and the beginning of the Yin hour are the most drowsy times of the day. Even soldiers who have been training for a long time will feel confused at this time.
Most battles are also launched during this time.
Therefore, there is absolutely no problem with them choosing to set off for the island at this time.
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