Chapter 1083

Hu Xiaotian's words were spoken with resounding vigor and passionate fervor; not only did Li Yongfu's blood boil, but even the listeners Yu Tianxing and Liang Da Zhuang felt their hearts stirred. Li Yongfu said: 'Sir, we will certainly not be cowards; after I return, I will unite the commanders and again request battle from the Commander.'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: 'Zhao Dengyun will not agree to your going into battle.'

Yu Tianxing beside him said: 'General Li, is the Commander asking you to strengthen the defenses on the south bank?'

Li Yongfu nodded.

Yu Tianxing said: 'Although he does not agree to your going into battle, once Da Yong soldiers land on the south bank, you will have a reason to deal with them.'

Li Yongfu frowned slightly, thinking: 'Tang Boxi's attack this time is supposed to be on Dongliang Jun; how could they land on the south bank? The south bank has over thirty thousand Dakang navy stationed; Tang Boxi would not want to fight on two fronts.'

Yu Tianxing said: 'After we defeat the Yong army, some of them will surely flee to the south bank; General Li only needs to set up an ambush on the opposite bank, and once we see the Yong army retreating, we will blockade the coast.'

Li Yongfu secretly thought, 'This scholar must be muddle-headed; facing ten times our number of Yong troops, he still dreams of victory.' He still nodded and said: 'If war breaks out, the south bank defense will certainly become the top priority of our army; we will absolutely not allow the Yong army to land on the south bank.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'There is another matter; recently refugees have been steadily withdrawing to the south bank. I hope General Li returns to help coordinate this, and can persuade Governor Zhao to allow the refugees into the city.'

Li Yongfu said: 'Good, I will do my utmost.'

Inside Kangdu City, dark clouds gathered densely; Qiqi hurriedly came to the Diligent Governance Hall, but was stopped outside by Wang Qian: 'Your Highness, the Emperor is currently discussing important matters with Mr. Hong; please wait a moment.'

Qiqi angrily said: 'Move aside! What could be more important than the situation in Bei Jiang?' She strode forward; Wang Qian dared not block her forcibly, and could only helplessly shout loudly: 'Your Highness, Your Highness!'

Long Xuan'en and Hong Beimo had already heard the commotion outside; Hong Beimo smiled and said: 'The princess has arrived!'

Long Xuan'en sighed and said: 'It must be about the Dongliang Jun matter.'

Hong Beimo nodded; at this moment Qiqi had already come before them, without bothering to pay respects to the old emperor, she hurriedly said: 'Your Majesty! Da Yong's Tang Boxi is raising troops and preparing to attack Dongliang Jun. Why has no reinforcements been sent from the Wuxiang Jun side?'

Long Xuan'en furrowed his brows and said: 'Where did you get this news? We and Da Yong are friendly states; how could they possibly send troops to attack Dongliang Jun?'

Qiqi angrily said: 'I have just received an urgent battle report; the commander of the Nanyang Water Fortress, Tang Boxi, has gathered his naval forces and is ready to launch an attack on Dongliang Jun at any moment; Dongliang Jun is in dire straits, yet the commander of the Wuxiang Jun navy, Zhao Dengyun, faced with a request for aid, actually refused to send troops.'

Long Xuan'en said: 'Is this really true?'

Qiqi said: 'Absolutely certain!'

Long Xuan'en said: 'Please step back; I will handle this matter myself.'

Qiqi, not believing he would have a plan, shouted loudly: 'I implore Your Majesty to issue an order immediately. Let Zhao Dengyun lead the navy to support Dongliang Jun and jointly resist the Da Yong invasion.'

Long Xuan'en sneered: 'Are you wanting to go to war with Da Yong?'

Qiqi said: 'Your Majesty, others have already fought their way to our doorstep; should we not resist?'

Long Xuan'en said: 'I have said before, I have my own plans for this matter; you need not worry.'

Qiqi said: 'But...'

Long Xuan'en's face turned stern: 'There is no "but"; from now on, without my permission, you must not barge in here arbitrarily, or I will punish you for disrespect.'

Qiqi bit her lip. Angry, she stamped her foot, knowing that saying more would be useless; she turned and stormed off.

Long Xuan'en watched Qiqi's retreating back, involuntarily shaking his head and saying: 'This girl truly has been spoiled by me.'

Hong Beimo said: 'Attacking Dongliang Jun is Tang Boxi's own idea; he intends to take Dongliang Jun and present it as a congratulatory gift for the new emperor Xue Daohong's ascension.'

Long Xuan'en said: 'Dongliang Jun was originally forced upon us by them; if they take it, let them take it.'

A sly smile crept onto Hong Beimo's lips: 'Only now do I understand why His Majesty sent Hu Xiaotian to Dongliang Jun; the emperor's wisdom is beyond my reach.'

A look of satisfaction appeared on Long Xuan'en's face as he chuckled: 'Qiqi must have taken a liking to that brat; if Hu Xiaotian abandons the city and flees, I will punish him for desertion in the face of the enemy; if he holds the city, he will surely meet his doom when the city falls.'

Hong Beimo said: 'I have heard that Hu Xiaotian has already burned his boats and is preparing to engage Tang Boxi's navy in a head‑on clash.'

Long Xuan'en scoffed: 'A mantis trying to stop a chariot—he is simply oblivious to death.'

Hong Beimo said: 'His luck has always been good; perhaps he might not lose this battle.'

Long Xuan'en burst out laughing: 'How could that be possible? Dongliang Jun doesn't even have a decent force, relying on him and those civilians to defeat the well‑trained Da Yong navy?' He shook his head: 'Impossible, absolutely impossible!'

Qiqi walked out of the palace gates and directly encountered Chancellor Zhou Ruizhen, who had come to pay his respects to the emperor; he hurriedly bowed and said: 'Your servant pays respects to the Princess, thousand years, thousand thousand years!' At first glance he noticed that Qiqi's eye sockets were somewhat reddened, and he secretly guessed that the princess must have just suffered a grievance at the emperor's side.

Qiqi said: 'Chancellor Zhou, your timing is perfect; please go persuade the emperor to issue an order immediately for the Yongjiang navy to dispatch troops to help Hu Xiaotian defend the city.'

Chancellor Zhou Ruizhen frowned tightly, sighed, and said: 'Your Highness, do you still not understand the true intention behind His Majesty sending General Hu to Dongliang Jun?'

Qiqi gritted her teeth and said: 'I know, I certainly know; I just didn't expect him to be so ruthless.'

Chancellor Zhou Ruizhen looked around, lowered his voice, and said: 'Your Highness, this is not a place for talk; let's change locations.'

Together they went to the Zilan Palace; Qiqi, worried about Hu Xiaotian's safety, anxiously said: 'Sir Zhou, this time you must definitely help me; Da Yong's Tang Boxi aims to take Dongliang Jun, and Hu Xiaotian's forces are short of troops and commanders—how can they stand against the Da Yong navy?'

Chancellor Zhou Ruizhen said: 'This battle cannot be avoided; if General Hu does not fight and abandons the city to flee, His Majesty will certainly punish him—desertion in the face of the enemy, abandonment of territory—either offense carries the death penalty.'

Qiqi said: 'But if he stays there to defend the city, that too is a dead end! How to fight? Is he supposed to go alone against tens of thousands of Da Yong navy?'

Chancellor Zhou Ruizhen said: 'Therefore General Hu has only one way to survive.'

Qiqi sighed and said: 'I would rather he surrender, at least then he could preserve his life.'

Chancellor Zhou Ruizhen said: 'General Hu has always been lucky; perhaps this time he can turn misfortune into fortune as well.'

Qiqi said: 'One person cannot always be lucky.'

Chancellor Zhou Ruizhen said: 'As an old official, I believe General Hu is certainly not the type to rely on mere bravado; since he has decided to hold the city, he may well have a plan to deal with the Yong army. The princess is now in Kangdu and cannot mobilize the Dakang army; even if she is anxious, it is of no use.'

Qiqi said: 'If anything happens to him, I will certainly not spare Zhao Dengyun.'

Under a full moon, moonlight bathed both banks of the Yongjiang River; the west wind howled. The Da Yong Nanyang Water Fortress had fifty warships arrayed in neat formation, sails raised, drifting downstream. Flags fluttered on the decks, and clearly armored soldiers stood on the decks. Tang Boxi personally commanded thirty thousand troops, intending to present a splendid victory as a gift to the new emperor.

Tang Boxi stood on the prow of the command warship; his dark bluish iron armor reflected a deep sheen in the moonlight, the west wind swept his crimson cloak about him like fire, his face slightly lifted as he gazed at the moon overhead, he raised his right hand, the scales on his armor rustled, his thick‑boned fingers lightly stroked his black beard, his heart brimming with heroic fervor, he waved his hand forcefully and said: 'Set out!'

Liu Yuncai came up beside Tang Boxi, clasped his fists, and said: 'General, we have just received the latest battle report: Hu Xiaotian has set up three pontoon bridges west of Xia Sha Harbor for the evacuation of refugees, the bridges made of linked fishing boats; it looks like they intend to withdraw.'

Tang Boxi sneered: 'Is withdrawing now perhaps too late?'

Liu Yuncai said: 'Those three pontoon bridges are chained together; they likely intend to use this method to impede our advance.'

Tang Boxi scoffed: 'A mantis trying to block a chariot?' His gaze fell on the three leading assault ships sailing abreast; these three assault ships are the Nanyang Water Fortress's invincible weapon, their bows bearing five‑zhang‑long giant blades that can easily shatter enemy hulls. Tang Boxi had trained for years at the Nanyang Water Fortress; bringing thirty thousand marines to attack Dongliang Jun feels like using a cleaver to kill a chicken. Nevertheless, even with victory in hand, he must not underestimate the enemy; he reminded himself that underestimating the foe is a grave mistake in battle, and this fight must be won handsomely.

The flags snapped in the wind; Tang Boxi looked up and saw that the wind direction had suddenly shifted, changing from west to northwest.

Liu Yuncai whispered: 'Has the wind changed?'

Tang Boxi nodded; his plan was already thorough, yet in actual combat unforeseen factors will still arise—such as the wind shift before us, which will affect the fleet's speed, making the hope of reaching Dongliang Jun before dawn possibly futile. However, faced with overwhelming absolute superiority, these minor conditions essentially have no effect.

Liu Yuncai said: 'General, you had better rest; your subordinates will wake you when we reach Dongliang Jun.'

This night was a sleepless one for Hu Xiaotian's side, as scouts had confirmed that Tang Boxi was leading fifty warships and over thirty thousand elite naval troops, rushing aggressively from the Nanyang Water Stockade; according to their progress, they would reach Dongliang Jun no later than tomorrow morning.

Yu Tianxing accompanied Hu Xiaotian as they stood on the high ridge; two catapults had already been set up beside them, with a total of ten catapults placed on the high ground along the Yong River banks, all operated by artisans dispatched by Hu Zhongyang, this wealthy merchant of Dongliang Jun having given Hu Xiaotian his full support in this siege defense.

At this moment, Xiong Tianba galloped his horse to the two men's side, dismounted, and said, "Third Uncle, everything is ready!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded, and together with Yu Tianxing came down to the commander's platform; Hu Xiaotian asked Yu Tianxian to take a seat on the commander's platform.

The crowd gazed at this young scholar, and from his position it was already clear that Hu Xiaotian had appointed him as military advisor; this great battle would be under his sole command. (To be continued~^~)