Chapter 335: The Jingchu Navy

The King of Shu is dead.

Liu Zheng had just set out on his journey when this news arrived.

Thinking back to the Battle of Hanzhong, this King of Shu had a volatile personality, but he was also a great talent at governing an army; the King of Yong in Hanzhong had been suppressed by him his entire life, unable to even lift his head...

However...

Only a few months have passed.

He just died like that...

At this moment, the world is shocked, and Chuan Shu is in great chaos. The King of Shu died before his third son, Xie Yang, could bring the Imperial Guard and impatiently seize power.

Therefore.

As soon as he died, Xie Yang took control of the entire Shuzhou City, and the fifty thousand Imperial Guards in the city all fell under his command. He immediately issued an order to begin arresting those old officials who advocated for seeking aid from the Liangzhou Army; it was fortunate that Yan Lin and Xie Zhen left early and were sent out of the city by a squad, otherwise, Yan Lin would certainly have been the first person to be beheaded.

After Xie Yang took control of Shuzhou, he declared himself the King of Shu and issued an edict, announcing that the Crown Prince, Xie Zhen, had colluded with the Southern Barbarians and committed a Great Evil, stripping him of his status as Crown Prince, while he himself would temporarily serve as the King of Shu to command the overall situation.

Liu Zheng sighed incessantly and shook his head with a smile: "The King of Shu was a hero for a lifetime; I never expected he would have such a tragic death."

Jiang Xuan said from the side: "Since ancient times, the struggle for royal power has always been like this. Young Master, that Xie Zhen is already rushing toward us, and I have already sent people to meet him."

"Good!"

This was an agreement between the King of Shu—or rather, Yan Lin—and Liu Zheng. As a pillar of the state, Yan Lin had long ago calculated that Xie Yang would surely bring disaster to the palace, so he had long since mapped out a route and informed Liu Zheng.

Because of this, Liu Zheng mobilized his troops to head south; the first reason was to meet Xie Zhen, and the second was to formally enter Shu.

At this time.

He had already been sailing on the Jiangshui for three days. Over these past three days, the Prince of Xiang in Jingchu had sent letters multiple times, rebuking Liu Zheng for taking the route through Yong'an. It seems this hegemon of the south was also getting a bit anxious at this time. The one he supported was the King of Shu's second son, Xie Chen; at this moment, Xie Chen was in Yong'an, planning to lead an army to conquer Jiangzhou. At the very least, if he could take Jiangzhou, he would have some advantage in the struggle for supreme power in Chuan Shu.

But...

Liu Zheng was coming!

Not only was he coming, but he was going to pass through your Yong'an in a grand and ostentatious manner; are you afraid or not?

For a long time, this land of Jingchu has been famous for its navy. Since the Three Kingdoms period, when Liubiao controlled Jingzhou, the navy could compete with the Jiangdong Navy. Since this Prince of Xiang took control of Jingzhou, he has vigorously developed the navy even more. The scale of the Jingchu Navy is unprecedentedly strong; it is said there is a large fleet with nearly a hundred large warships, almost running rampant throughout the entire south.

"Young Master, this Yong'an has a garrison of one hundred thousand, and recently fifty Treasure Ships were transferred there. This, this combat power..."

The general of the Liangzhou Navy was a great commander who had come from the land of Jiangdong by reputation, named Xiao Qi. This man was young but skilled in naval warfare, so Liu Zheng promoted him directly to Navy Commander.

Treasure Ships?

Treasure Ships are still quite famous in the history of Zhongguo. In the historical progression of later generations, Treasure Ships were the vessels used by Zheng He when he sailed to the Western Ocean; the ship hulls were quite large, and their combat power was extremely strong. One must know that the shipbuilding technology during the Ming Dynasty was very advanced; the scale and the completeness of the supporting facilities were unprecedented in history, reaching the highest level of ancient shipbuilding technology in our country.

The Treasure Ships of Zheng He's fleet, the largest being forty-four zhang long and eighteen zhang wide, belonged to the Fu ship type. Their stature was towering, giant and without equal; it would take two or three hundred people just to move the sails, anchors, and rudders.

It is not surprising at all that such Treasure Ships have appeared as the Longyan Dynasty has developed to this day.

Liu Zheng chuckled and said: "I have looked at the waters of Yong'an; although the water is deep, it is slightly narrow. Although the Treasure Ships are large, it is difficult for them to turn around. Therefore, this Prince of Xiang transferring Treasure Ships here is largely a show of force; if he were to fight, it would definitely still be with Tower Ships!"

Several people nodded at the same time.

This analysis was indeed reasonable; since ancient times, Tower Ships have been more suitable for large-scale combat. This is because the size of a Tower Ship belongs to the medium category. Moreover, ancient naval warfare mainly relied on archery duels and boarding for hand-to-hand combat. Furthermore, they generally traveled on the Jiangshui, so the Tower Ship, with its not-insignificant space, suitability for Jiangshui combat, and very considerable ramming power, has always been retained. A Tower Ship can accommodate two or three thousand soldiers. Therefore, the Tower Ship has always served as the main vessel in ancient naval warfare.

Jiang Xuan laughed and said: "Young Master, our Yinzhou ships do not put these Tower Ships in their eyes at all!"

"At this time, it depends on whether this Prince of Xiang is a smart man."

Jiang Xuan chuckled.

Hegemon of the south...

Thinking of this title, the people of the Liangzhou Army were actually still a bit excited.

When the King of Shu was alive, he would either go north to bully Hanzhong or have a naval battle with this Prince of Xiang.

Yet after struggling for a lifetime, he had no achievements in Hanzhong.

On the side of the Prince of Xiang, he was repeatedly made to suffer losses.

It instead cemented the status of this Prince of Xiang as the hegemon of the south.

Since Liu Zheng wanted to enter Shu, it was inevitable that he would have a contest with this Prince of Xiang, who was eyeing Chuan Shu covetously.

Therefore.

Qingyang Shuo said to take the route through Yong'an and incidentally have a Bitter Remonstrance with the Prince of Xiang!

"It is time to let these southerners know the power of our Liangzhou Navy!"

Liu Zheng laughed heartily.

The generals were also full of confidence.

Xiangyang.

Xiangwang Mansion.

A man in his early forties, with star-like eyes and thin lips, had a sharp gaze.

"Does this Prefect Liu want to play with my Jingchu Navy? Hmm?"

This person was the Prince of Xiang of Jingchu, Xie Han!

Since inheriting the great throne of the Prince of Xiang twenty years ago, he had displayed the appearance of a hegemon, and later he even used one of his younger sisters to trick his way into Yong'an, a key military thoroughfare, effectively strangling the route for Chuan Shu to move east, which left the King of Shu very distressed.

"Your Highness, after all, this Yong'an has been a city of Chuan Shu since ancient times... This Prefect Liu is flying the banner of expelling the Southern Barbarians, and there are actually quite a few scholars and literati in the world writing articles to support and praise him, this..."

A subordinate said.

The Prince of Xiang snorted coldly: "A bunch of sour scholars, what is there to fear! Since Yong'an has fallen into my hands, how could there be any reason to return it!"

"It's just that, Your Highness..."

This Liangzhou Army has a legitimate reason for their expedition.

Should they in Yong'an block them, or not block them?

A sharp glint flashed in the Prince of Xiang's eyes: "If you don't block him, will Prefect Liu not take it anyway!"

"Fight!"

"Beat them hard for this Mandarin!"

"Destroy as many as you can; do these northern barbarians really think we southerners fear them!"

"Yes!"

Prince Xiang gave the order.

Not only did the one hundred thousand Jingzhou Army troops already stationed there move, but this Prince Xiang also mustered another fifty thousand troops, showing every intention of having a head-on collision with the Liangzhou Army.

With this.

The entire Longyan Dynasty became lively once again.

The dozens of provinces of Longyan suddenly focused their gaze on Yongan Port.