Chang'an [Rebirth]

Their merchant ship was parked in the later built dock, surrounded by warships dragged in one after another for repairs, and the smell of sulfur and burnt wood spread an uneasy atmosphere on the water.

This battle has just started, and everyone has noticed the gap in strength between the enemy and us. For so many years, the South China Sea Navy has not made any progress, but it has also made slow progress. After losing the battle, Mu Sang is now like a sharp sword. The confrontation in less than two days has shown a crushing trend.

"Xue Bo, if this kind of negative emotion that our army will lose is allowed to grow, Mu Sang doesn't have to fight. As long as it takes time, our hearts will be broken and we will lose without a fight."

Chai Zheng coughed twice, "Ask again, is there a high place? I want to stand on a high place and have a look."

Mobei defends the city, it is surrounded by rivers, and the fortifications are strong, but the South China Sea Navy is deployed outside the city wall. Unless the navy is completely defeated, there is no need to defend the city.

Chai Zheng usually climbs to a high place and can come and go on the city wall, but there is no such condition here... There are more than a dozen guard posts around the dock, and only these guard posts are three or four meters above the ground, barely able to look down. .

The hawk that grew up in a bitterly cold place hovered above Chai Zheng's head. It had killed five or six waterfowl these days, and was full of murderous aura. Even the old ravens that were kept on the same shelf were afraid of it.

The eagle screamed sharply and shortly, and the young soldiers who had just come down from the battlefield were like frightened birds, staring blankly at the eagle soaring in the south of the Yangtze River.

Chaizheng stood on the watchtower, and the wind was very strong at the high place, and it was still near the sea. Although the weather was getting hotter, the sea breeze was blowing into the bones with moisture. After a long time, even Kuanyuan couldn't bear it.

He was rubbing his hands behind him, the doctor was hard to explain, and Chai Zheng's temper was stubborn, the patient and the doctor squeezed Kuanyuan in the middle to make things difficult.

Fortunately, Chai Zheng still listened to Zhang Xingzhong's words, and did not stay on the sentry tower for too long in a big way, and the sentry tower was composed of wooden boards and iron sheets to prevent the impact of the enemy's strong bows and crossbows, and to protect the guards from drying out. A door that can be opened and closed. After closing, only the eyes and ears are exposed to the sea breeze.

Chai Zheng stood behind the wooden door, put on the hood again, and wrapped herself up tightly. Xue Yu looked at her almost suffering from heat stroke, but Chai Zheng didn't even shed a drop of sweat.

Looking out from the watchtower, the color of the sea is a bit dark, just after a tragic battle, the broken hull and mast are floating on the water, and of course there are also wounded and corpses.

Mu Sang’s cannons have not stopped yet, but the frequency of bombing has decreased a lot. From time to time, shells fall into the water, and the wreckage that was originally inhuman was blown to pieces. Blood spreads in the water, making the color of the sea water even more unclear. .

It is said that "the horse leather shroud is returned", and how many dead souls who could not return home were buried in this sea area.

There are not many iron mines in Dajing, and Musang mainly focuses on copper smelting, which is why it has not dared to harass Dajing for many years. Although copper has many uses, guns and weapons are more inclined to iron. In a few years, Mu Sang was able to arm himself with iron products to the teeth, and even the artillery equipped on ordinary ships far surpassed that of Dajing.

Xue Yudao, "I thought it was strange when we first fought. Iron ore is a gift from heaven. It doesn't happen that King Keqin made great efforts to rule it out suddenly. Dajing actually smuggled iron ore. There are really not many, only Beijue is left, and I suspect that Beijue and Mu Sang are colluding with each other."

Beijue is a big iron producer, and there are not many refined iron ores, but ordinary iron ore can even be compared with Dajing, and Beijue's land is less than one-fifth of Dajing.

"There is no doubt, there is indeed a collusion," Chai Zheng affirmed Xue Yu's thoughts, "It's just that it was not Tuoba Heng who colluded with Mu Sang, but the Xiao family who controlled the military power. When King Keqin was harassing our South China Sea, Beijue has also set his sights on Liangzhou."

"Wouldn't that be..." Xue Yu was a little shocked, "With the smoke of war rising from the north and the south, if there is any chaos in Chang'an City, it will be at stake."

"Dajing has been showing signs of decline since the late emperor. After Zhao Qian took over, he failed to make up for the cracks in time, leading to the current situation. However, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and Dajing has not reached the end of the day."

Chai Zheng tightened the cloak on his body, "Our Chai family is not dead yet, who can let Dajing die."

"Xue Bo," Chai Zheng finished stretching her pride, and was filled with the oncoming wind. She didn't dare to cough violently, which would easily tear the wound, and it took a long time for Chai Zheng to answer the second half of the sentence, "Take me to Let's meet Yaoyao and Xianyi."

This holding back made her tears come out. The guard on duty who was waiting on the second floor of the sentry tower was still blushing just now. When he turned around, the young man was crying with tears streaming down his face, so he muttered in his heart, "Young master, the harder you beat someone, the more you cry?"

Coming down from the sentry tower, he went straight to the commander's tent. Xianyi was injured and was bandaging up, while Yaoyao huddled in a chair, staring blankly at the front. The tent was set up on the muddy floor, and the ant nest was stared at by little Wuheng, making her feel a little guilty. It appears to be migrating.

Chai Zheng lifted the curtain and came in, Yaoyao seemed to know in advance that she was coming, her neck that had been motionless for a long time finally changed direction, the camp was very quiet, Xian Yi could clearly hear her neck squeak.

"How did you make it like this?"

"How did you get hurt?"

Chai Zheng and Xian Yi almost spoke in unison, and then the two wounded looked at each other and were silent for a while, Chai Zheng raised her finger and pointed at herself, "Let me say first...my injury is not particularly serious, and it has been taken care of." It's been seven or eight days, and it's scarring, what about yours?"

"I have a better understanding of the structure of Musang's warships, but I haven't been back for many years. The shape of this batch has changed slightly, so I hid in the cabin and wanted to take a closer look." Xian Yi said, "The ship that carried me The keel was hit by a shell, and the fragments hit me as it fell apart, so I was injured."

Both of them knew that each other's words were insincere.

After being injured for a hundred days, Chai Zheng's injury was not only broken, but also a hole was opened in his chest. Although Ruan Linshuang knew it well, he was a person who would not die on the spot, even if he had a scar, Chai Zheng's blood cannot be recovered in a day or two.

As for Xian Yi...he was hit, but the wooden plank hit his abdomen directly, pulling out several inches of flesh wounds.

Pei Niannian came in with a bowl of medicine, and the little girl's face wrinkled into a walnut, "Drink it while it's hot, this medicine is too difficult to cook, and it took more than an hour to boil it into a bowl."

Said, Pei Niannian blew with his mouth, then pinched Xianyi's nose, and poured it down for him directly.

Xianyi: "..."

Fortunately, the medicinal soup was poured, but it was hot but not too hot. It seemed that this was not the first time Xian Yi was poured, and he was prepared in advance, so he didn't choke.

At this moment, Kuanyuan wanted to abduct Pei Niannian and treat her like this when Chaizheng wanted to drink medicine in the future, Chaizheng warned him darkly, "Don't think about it".

When the bowl of medicine was finished, Pei Niannian realized that there were a few more people in the tent. She was a little surprised, "Little General, you are here too!" She stretched her head and looked behind Chai Zheng, "Why don't you see Xiao Ruan?" .”

"Xiao Ruan stays in Chang'an, and I have to separate from her temporarily." Chai Zheng smiled, "We can meet again when we finish our respective responsibilities."

"But now Chang'an is full of dangers, and the coast of the South China Sea may also fall. If you separate from her at this time, you may never see her again." Pei Niannian is more concerned about this matter than Chai Zheng, and she is anxious to get angry, " Is responsibility more important than love?"

Chai Zheng replied, "Xiao Ruan and I can have both."

"..." Pei Niannian didn't know for a while whether she was too conceited or had no brains.

After thinking about it, Pei Niannian really couldn't find anything to refute, and maybe she knew in her heart that what Chai Zheng insisted on was not wrong, so she muttered and didn't say anything else.

Xianyi rinsed his mouth with water, and was finally able to speak. He signaled Pei Niannian to step down first, and then said to Chai Zheng, "According to King Keqin's character, although we lost today, it's not a loss. It's ugly. He In order to gain the initiative, there will be another attack at night, in order to make the South China Sea Admiral panic, the spirit has been in a tense state, hanging for two or three days, when he is exhausted, he will close the net again."

"He's an experienced general, but he's not very smart." Chai Zheng said, "Go ahead and issue blindfolds and earplugs to all the wounded and survivors who participated in the battle during the day, and tell them not to leave the camp no matter what happens at night, and force them to I rest and get ready for backup."

"Xue Bo, how many young soldiers are there in the barracks?" Chai Zheng asked again.

"Twelve people make up a small team, and there are five small teams in total, more than [-] people." Xue Yu answered unambiguously, "These young soldiers are all collateral nephews of officials above the fifth rank in the capital or Liangjiang area. After many years, I wanted to use this as a springboard, and after three years, I could be transferred to another official position. But these young masters and soldiers are generally dandy, and for the sake of easy management, I grouped them all together."

"How is your character? How much is left after this battle?" Chai Zheng asked again.

"They are all young at heart, with excellent backgrounds, and have never suffered. Few eat, drink, whore and gamble, and sneak back to the city to steal chickens and dogs, and even use power to bully others. If the discipline is not good, the rest are at most It’s useless, and it’s not considered wicked. This battle was fought hard, and I didn’t dare to send them all up, leaving 51 people, more than 40 of whom have not yet experienced anything.”

Xue Yu remembered it all.

Chai Zheng is an eagle who has been in the desert for a long time, calm and sharp, looking at the overall situation, "Using power to bully others, punishing according to crime, no matter whose nephew he is, the one who should be detained, the one who should be killed, it doesn't matter whose Save face. More than 40 people who have not been involved will be sent out at night, and those who can come back alive can be promoted directly to the captain... These dudes come from aristocratic families, even if they are reluctant to read the books, the elders in the family will force them. After the incident, you will know that human life is precious, of course, the insane are not available."

"But they are inexperienced, so they will die if they go up?" Xue Yu was a little terrified.

"The tax of the common people has been raising trash for three years. Now it is a time of life and death. Is it possible to teach them one by one as children wearing crotch pants?" Drive all the ducks to the shelves for me, and let these pampered young masters take responsibility for me!"

Although Chai Zheng is not very old, Xue Yu is willing to obey her as an old general with a certain reputation. In addition, those who had friendship with her back then have become important figures in the army. Bin Chuangxia's reputation is not bad, and he can be banned by orders.

She was talking here, and Xue Yu was passing on the news. The young soldiers who were still trembling in their tents were suddenly dragged out, sorting out their armor, taking their weapons and distributing ships. Everyone is in a bad mood after losing a battle. The eyes of those who have experienced the battle are lethal. They glanced over calmly, and the pampered young people dared not speak.

Chai Zheng said again: "I saw Musang's fleet from the sentry tower was not unscathed. We sank one ship and seriously injured one. There are still two ships under repair in the dock, all of which are light, but Musang's A medium-sized ship broke its keel, do you know how?"

"Musang was also damaged by battleships?" Xue Yu was a little surprised, "When the battle started, Musang fired several cannonballs and rushed all the way to the coastal defense line. cause any effective damage."

After being shocked, Xue Yu asked again, "How did the young master find out?"

"A ship with a broken keel can no longer be used, but it may not necessarily sink on the spot." Chai Zheng gestured to him the situation on the sea surface. The movement was too big and the wound was pulled, and he made a "hiss", "but the keel is broken. The ship must reduce its load and return to the voyage as soon as possible. It is not unusual for Mu Sang to abandon many guns and shells when he has won a complete victory."

Xue Yu pondered, "But I'm sure light ships don't have such great lethality. At most, they can cause damage to Musang's hull. It's absolutely impossible to destroy the keel."

"That's because something went wrong inside Mu Sang." Chai Zheng stretched out his hand suddenly, Xian Yi was startled and also pulled his wound, and the two wounded in the tent groaned one after another for a long time.

Chai Zheng said, "Although Mu Sang is good at building ships, his artillery fire has always been insufficient. If the hull construction has not improved, but so many cannons are loaded at once, the recoil will easily cause damage to the hull, right?"

Xian Yi was injured because he was too close to the Musang ship. At that distance, he did find that Musang's shipbuilding technology was still the same as before, with changes, but it was all aimed at the hull, and the core performance changed. too low.

The fragile keel passed down from the era when firearms were scarce, plus dozens of cannons, the consequences can be imagined.

"In this way, we still have a chance of winning," Xue Yu finally saw some joy, "Hasn't Mu Sang thought about improving?"

"These ships are extremely lethal, and they are Musang's secret weapons against Dajing under his calm appearance. Even if they are tested, they will not be as fierce as on the battlefield," Chai Zheng said with a smile, "Dajing also said to strengthen the coastal defenses, Our boats are no more durable than Musang's."

"..." There was silence in the tent for a long time before Xue Yu sighed, "The current emperor and King Keqin should be locked together and let them scratch each other."

As long as the situation of cheating and corruption improves a bit when building a ship, so many young lives will not be lost at sea today... However, the imperial court never reflected on its own mistakes, and instead tried to give the sixteen prefectures of Mobei to Beijue, The euphemistic name is "less sacrifice".

"Is there a defense map?" Chai Zheng asked again.

As she spoke, she pulled out the deployment map from a few days ago from her sleeve. This piece of paper was just a copy, and it couldn't stand to be flipped through.

Xue Yu hurriedly said, "Yes." He personally took out a newly drawn defense map from under the desk case. This map has not come in time to hang up, but there are many places on it that have been modified. After the graffiti set off each other, they are almost the same.

"If I were King Keqin, and I knew that my ship wouldn't last long, then what happened tonight was not only a sneak attack, but also the key to victory. If he wins this battle, we will have to retreat to the city within ten days. But if he loses, he won't be able to make a comeback in a short time, as long as Xiao Ruan settles the Chang'an matter as soon as possible, King Keqin will have to retreat."

She withdrew her gaze from the defense map and turned to Xian Yi, "Taking this opportunity, I can change Mu Sang's emperor."

Xian Yi has endured it for more than ten years, and his heart has long been calm. He smiled lightly, "Don't be busy, let's think about how to win tonight's battle."

As soon as the words fell, Chai Zheng suddenly said "Huh?" Although the two defense maps were roughly the same, the docking position of the Musang fleet was about [-] meters behind the one marked by Chai Zheng.

The [-]-meter drawing is only an insignificant difference on the blueprint, but Chai Zheng asked, "Since Mu Sang wants to attack, why give up the [-]-meter advantage... On the battlefield, sometimes speed and slowness mean victory or defeat. When King Keqin has the upper hand, there is really no need to give up the [-] meters."

She muttered, then suddenly turned around and said, "Prepare the boat, go and have a look around! Xue Bo, you stay in the tent and take charge, I'll be back soon."

"Yes!" Xue Yu replied.

The surrounding area of ​​the coastal defense line is very dangerous, and it would be a lie to say that there is no worry, but the young man knows well, if she proposes to go, there must be a reason why she has to go, Xue Yu can only minimize the risk.

The boat prepared for Chai Zheng was very small, and it was insignificant among large ships. Originally, it only carried Chai Zheng and Kuan Yuan. Before departure, Gu Hensheng also stuffed Pei Niannian on the boat. I was so seasick again, I could only feel sorry for Niannian.

The weather is not good, approaching the rainy season, it can turn from sunny to dark in an hour.

Chai Zheng drank the medicine first, and Zhang Xingzhong asked her to re-bandage the wound, and then wrapped it in two layers of clothes to feel relieved.

Doctor Zhang didn't know Pei Niannian, but he told him carefully, "Bring him back properly."

The small boat did not walk in the middle of the sea openly. The draft of this boat was not deep, and it was more flexible than a light ship. It could also go on hidden reefs. Kuanyuan followed Chai Zheng's guidance and groped along the seaside cliffs.

The sea is far more dangerous than rivers and rivers. Although Pei Niannian is not seasick, she is also extremely nervous. She clenches the weapon in hand, like a cat about to go into the water, ready to blow up her hair at any time. Chai Zheng smiled, "Why, what are you going to do?" Do you fight to the death with the sea water?"

"It's not because of you." Although Pei Niannian was talking to Chai Zheng, his eyes were fixed on the water. "General Xue has been here for how many years. He doesn't know the terrain better than you, so he has to seek death by himself?"

"Because General Xue has stayed here for many years, many things have become accustomed to it, and we can't notice subtle changes... Do you know the Musang Priestly Academy?"

There is still some distance away from the coastal defense line where Chai Zheng wants to go, so I have nothing to say to Pei Niannian.

Pei Niannian has been protecting Yaoyao personally for so long, how many times she has heard of the Priestly Academy.

"The most powerful high priest in Musang's priesthood is called Wu Heng. Apart from Wu Heng, there are hundreds of other priests who hold various important positions, such as observing the stars, measuring water levels, studying the laws of earthquakes, and analyzing the composition of soil to ensure Year after year, the weather has been good, but I, Dajing, don’t even have anyone to count the auspicious times, and I have to invite them from the temples and Taoist temples in time for grand ceremonies.”

Chai Zheng sighed, "I don't really believe in the theory of destiny. Even though I have known Yaoyao for many years and saved a few lives because of it, I still don't believe it. But astrological water conservancy is a great knowledge about people's livelihood. In the future, we must have... ...Didn't you realize that Mu Sang chose the timing of his attack extremely cleverly? It was the time when the wind, water and current were all in their favor."

Pei Niannian had been in the army for a while, and it was only when Chai Zheng said this that she suddenly realized the connection, and then she withdrew her gaze from staring at the water, lingered on Chai Zheng for a moment, and let out an unconvincing "hum".

Although he knew that there was a gap between himself and Chai Zheng, when he was in the army, Pei Niannian suddenly realized how big the gap was, and it might take twenty years.

Seeing her frowning, Chaizheng said with a dejected expression about to give up, "If you don't want to be a general in the future, it's useless to learn how to look forward and backward like me. If you work hard in other directions, you might become a grandmaster. I have something to do." I have to come and ask you."

At the moment, Chai Zheng really wishes that all his friends could excel. No matter what kind of reforms Xiao Ruan wants to make, there will be people dragging them down, and he has nothing to do except lead troops to fight. When the world is peaceful, Also retired.

Thinking of Xiao Ruan, the longing for Ruan was uncontrollable. Gao Haikuo seemed to be surrounded by Ruan Linshuang's shadow everywhere. Chai Zheng felt a little regretful, knowing that the separation this time was as short as ten days or as long as two or three months. When he left Chang'an, he unexpectedly He didn't even bring a token, and now his whole body was up and down, only the hole in his chest was left for him by Xiao Ruan.

Chai Zheng stretched out his hand to poke his sore spot. At this moment, he felt that Xiao Ruan was like this hole. It was okay when he couldn't remember it, but once he remembered it, it became a chronic disease, painful and difficult to relieve.

"Little General, we're here." Kuan Yuan said with a suppressed voice.

Here is close to the coastal defense line, there is a protruding place under the jagged cliff, just enough to hide the ship, and a distance ahead is the Musang ship, and they are even within the shooting range of the main gun.

The waves were beating against the rocks, and although they knew that even screaming here would not disturb the ships on the opposite side, everyone, including Chai Zheng, couldn't help but sneak around.

Pei Niannian asked in a low voice, "What are you looking for?"

"This coastal defense line is very close to the Dajing camp. Since Mu Sang is determined to take advantage of the chaos in Chang'an to occupy the entire Jiangnan area, and King Keqin is good at attacking, he should press the ships directly to the coastal defense line, or even push in. The South China Sea Navy caused oppression and should not retreat a hundred meters."

Chai Zheng pondered, "I'm not sure, but there should be something strange in it."

Just as he was talking, he saw that all the ships of Mu Sang put up the sails that had been taken down during the day, and added side sails on both sides of the main sail. Although they were not opened, they seemed to be ready to take off... Chai Zheng has poor eyesight, and with a diorama in his hand, he can clearly see all the movements on the ship.

There were only a few people on the entire deck, and after the sails were hung, these people withdrew to the cabin one after another.