Chapter 573: Refusing to Believe Until the Coffin Is in Sight

At the Eastern Capital garrison headquarters in Yangzhou, Zhang Zhao read the message from the wax pill, a cold sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

Although Li Jing and his ministers knew they could not get Chuzhou back, they still wanted to recover Tianchang.

As for Yangzhou and Taizhou, there was even less need to say it — naturally they wanted those back too.

Compared with what history shows, the confidence of the Southern Tang court at this moment was far higher than when the Later Zhou attacked the Southern Tang in history.

Historically, Li Jing had been willing to cede not just Chuzhou, but Shouzhou, Haozhou, Sizhou, Guangzhou, and the rest — essentially giving up the whole of Huainan.

And at that time, the Later Zhou army had not even taken Yangzhou yet.

The reason for such a huge difference was none other than that Zhang Zhao's present situation could not compare with the Later Zhou, which held the entire Central Plains.

Back then, the Later Zhou had only the Northern Han as a minor irritation, whereas Zhang Zhao now not only lacked the lands of Hebei, but also faced the threat of Liu Zhiyuan.

Moreover, the Northern Han of the Later Zhou period was not at all the same thing as Liu Zhiyuan now.

The last flower of the Daibei and Hedong warriors was, in history, led into the Central Plains by Liu Zhiyuan, and then almost entirely spent and lost during the Han-Zhou transition.

By the time the Northern Han was established, the Daibei and Hedong warriors had already withdrawn from the stage of history.

Historically, the pillars of the Northern Han regime were actually the Tuyuhun troops and men like Yang Jiye of Linzhou, but at this moment, Liu Zhiyuan still held the last flower of those warriors in his hands.

The reason the Southern Tang, high and low, was so certain it could recover Yangzhou and Taizhou was simply that it believed Zhang Zhao had to return to the Central Plains as soon as possible to prepare for a great war with Liu Zhiyuan.

As for the second piece of intelligence, it was even more important. In this list of names, Zhang Zhao saw several familiar ones: Lin Renzhao, He Jingzhu, Zhu Lingyun, Chen Hui.

Among them, He Jingzhu had held Ezhou with only a few thousand troops during the Later Zhou's attack on the Southern Tang, preventing the Southern Tang's total collapse.

Zhu Lingyun was called the Southern Tang's last hope, though because of bad luck, the wind reversed and he burned himself to death.

Although his command ability was somewhat lacking, leading ten thousand or so troops by relying on his outstanding personal martial prowess and charisma was still no problem.

Chen Hui was a famous naval commander of the Five Dynasties. Historically, had he not been a man of Min and denied important posts by the Southern Tang court, he would certainly have made the Later Zhou navy extremely embarrassed. He was equally renowned with Lin Renzhao and was a famous star general of the late Southern Tang.

Lin Renzhao needed even less introduction — loyal to the liver and gall, brave and resourceful, he was the jade pillar holding up the sky in the late Southern Tang.

No wonder Li Jing now felt he had some capital. It turned out that this pressure of his own had forced out all the famous generals of the late Southern Tang. It seemed these twenty-some thousand men would not be easy to deal with.

But this also proved in fact that Zhang Zhao truly did not have the ability to destroy the Southern Tang right now.

If he really had that strength, when the great army surged against Yangzhou, he could have sent a naval force upstream to sweep down in force from Kuizhou (Fengjie in Chongqing) or Jiangling, striking from both sides, and the Southern Tang would have been destroyed long ago.

However, although he currently lacked the strength to swallow the Southern Tang, since he had obtained this intelligence, he would not make things too easy for Li Jing.

Zhang Zhao immediately summoned Zhao Yanjin, Hou Renbao, and Du Lun Chixin, and instructed them that the Southern Tang had sent fierce naval commanders, and to be on guard against a surprise attack on the military harbor just established around Guabu and the warships being built there.

At the same time, he sent Ma Shacai and Gao Huaide with ten thousand troops westward to support Li Cunhui.

You think that just because my navy isn't finished, I can't cross the river, is that it?

The waters at Yanzi Jetty are broad, and the Southern Tang navy is all gathered there, so a forced crossing would indeed be very difficult. But the crossing points on the Yangtze are not limited to that one place.

The next day, Zhang Zhao received the Southern Tang envoys there and declared publicly that he had led his great army south not for unprovoked invasion, but because Li Jing had been discourteous first.

The Southern Tang envoys immediately understood — this statement meant there was room to talk. So they all took their leave, wanting to return to Jiangning as quickly as possible to report this good news to Li Jing.

And when Li Jing received Feng Yanlu's report, and learned that all the Southern Tang ministers had received gifts from the Zhou ruler Zhang Zhao, and had even been specially given a banquet, somehow a measure of contempt arose in his heart.

Li Jing took Zhang Zhao's generous treatment of the Southern Tang envoys as a signal that Zhang Zhao also wanted to end the war quickly and return north.

Li Jing hurriedly discussed the matter with his trusted court ministers. Chang Mengxi, Xiao Yan, and other ministers known for uprightness and incorruptibility all agreed with Li Jing's speculation.

One after another, they argued that Liu Zhiyuan of Hedong must already be making moves. Xiao Yan even felt there was no need to cede too much land or pay too much indemnity — Zhang Zhao would withdraw on his own.

Feng Yanji curled his lip. Chang Mengxi, Xiao Yan, and the rest were nothing but bookish hotheads who understood nothing of military affairs.

Judging by the Zhou army north of the river, it was fierce and invincible. Liu Zhiyuan had only a few tens of thousands of troops. Even if he marched south, could he break through the Eastern Capital in a day?

The Zhou army, on the other hand, if it truly got fierce and forced a crossing, could reach Jiangning in a single day.

But Li Jing was in high spirits right now, and as a favored minister, Feng Yanji naturally would not go up and say anything to spoil the mood at this moment, so he decisively chose to keep his mouth shut.

Yet seeing the impassioned fervor of his colleagues behind him, the Chief Minister of the Left, Sun Cheng, did not see it that way.

This gentleman was also a man of the Central Plains who had fled south. In his early years he had followed Zhu Shouyin, a favorite of Li Cunxu. After Zhu Shouyin's rebellion failed and he was killed while serving as Military Governor of Xuanwu, Sun Cheng chose to flee south.

Therefore, among a group of colleagues mostly composed of scholars, he could be considered one who understood military matters.

Hearing those around him speak more and more outrageously, Sun Cheng, who had not wanted to come forward, could only frown and step out of line to memorialize Li Jing.

"Your Majesty, Jiangning lies beside the great river, while the Eastern Capital lies beside the great Yellow River. The two places are fifteen hundred li apart. We are in the south — how can we know what is happening in the north?

Moreover, the Prince of Beiping is far away in Hebei, while the Zhou army is close at hand. How can the distant rescue the near?"

Han Xizai also came forward and said, "It is indeed as Minister Sun says. With such a great distance between them, if there truly were an alarm in Hebei, and an urgent one at that, the Zhou army would have gone north long ago and would not be so calm.

I am willing to serve as envoy and go north of the river once more to probe the truth for Your Majesty. If the Zhou army truly has an urgent intention to return north, then we can discuss it — it will not be too late. At this moment, we still must not provoke the Zhou ruler."

Li Jing had just been getting excited when Sun Cheng and Han Xizai struck him twice in succession, and his mood immediately soured.

He saw that Feng Yanji had not spoken the whole time, so he turned and asked, "How does Minister Feng see this matter? Will Liu Zhiyuan march south at this time?"

Feng Yanji knew what Li Jing wanted. He wanted him to go along with his words, or at least not make all of Li Jing's speculations look wrong — where would his face be then?

So Feng Yanji could not say Li Jing was wrong, but neither could he echo him. After all, the Zhou army was right across the river. He could only deliberate again and again before opening his mouth.

"Your Majesty's vision is far-reaching. Judging by the Zhou ruler's hosting of a banquet, he does indeed seem eager to return north. It may well be that Liu Zhiyuan has marched south.

But even so, the Zhou ruler has treated our envoys with courtesy. Our Great Tang is a land of propriety and righteousness — we cannot repay courtesy with discourtesy and provoke him again.

I believe we can send more envoys to present gifts to his army, and Your Majesty may also personally write to the Zhou ruler. If we delay for a few days, we will naturally learn the result.

If Liu Zhiyuan has indeed marched south, the Zhou ruler will surely be unable to contain his impatience. If the Zhou ruler sits calm and steady, then we should treat him with courtesy."

Li Jing nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Then let Minister Han serve as envoy once more and cross the river to see the Zhou ruler. As for the key lands of Huainan, the more we can get back, the more we should get back."

But what Li Jing did not know was that the Southern Tang navy, which had just arrived in the Xinlinpu and Yanzi Jetty area, was brewing up something big for him!

Chen Jue was a reckless fool, and having just conquered the Wang Min kingdom, he was at the height of pride and satisfaction.

And under his command, He Jingzhu, Huangfu Hui, Chen Hui, Lin Renhan, Lin Renzhao, and the rest were none of them easy to deal with.

The only difference was that Chen Jue was a reckless fool, while He Jingzhu, Chen Hui, Lin Renzhao, and the others genuinely believed they could fight.

How to describe naval warfare at this time? Generally there were two methods. One was to go with the current and the wind, first sending fire ships to burn the enemy, then boarding in the chaos while the enemy was in disarray.

The second was for both sides to bring their ships directly together, lay down planks, and board to fight it out, during which countless small boats might shuttle back and forth.

Several men worked the oars on the small boats, and the decks were lined with crossbowmen firing at the enemy in every direction. By the middle and late Northern Song, these had even evolved into sea-locust boats fitted with wheels to help them move.

But the Great Tang's five-banner warships, tall as city walls, capable of hurling fire-oil jars down from on high, battering with great swatting poles, and mounting long-range crossbows — by this time no one had the ability to build them anymore.

So Chen Hui suggested to Chen Jue that they take advantage of the darkness before dawn: he would first lead small boats in a surprise attack on the Zhou army's water stockade, and once the stockade gates were opened, send fire ships in to burn all the Zhou warships.

Chen Jue, the Commissioner of Military Affairs, was a man of monstrous daring. Historically, he had dared to forge an imperial edict to draw off troops and attack Li Hongyi of Fuzhou, who had refused to obey orders. Now, egged on by the various generals, he felt the chances of success were very high.

Lin Renzhao, "Lin Huzi," was still only in his teens — at an age of extreme impulsiveness, full of confidence in his own martial skill, yet still somewhat ignorant of the vastness of heaven and earth.

He leapt out and shouted to Chen Jue: "What is there left for the Commissioner of Military Affairs to hesitate about? Even if we cannot annihilate the Zhou navy entirely, with men like us drawn up in formation below Qingliang Mountain, how could enemy cavalry ever cross the river?"

Qingliang Mountain is the area around Qingliang Temple in the Gulou District of later Nanjing. Jiangning in the Five Dynasties was much smaller than Jiankang of the Southern and Northern Dynasties — just this one small patch below Qingliang Mountain.

The ancient city of the Six Dynasties and the Qinhuai River, strictly speaking, both lay outside the boundaries of Jiangning at this time.

Chen Jue glanced at Lin Renzhao. The young man's body was covered in tattoos of fierce tigers, and his tall, powerful frame had the strength of ten thousand. On the other side, Zhu Lingyun had a protruding forehead and hawk-like eyes, and was famed as a peerless archer.

Add to that a host of elite troops of the former Min kingdom recruited by Pan Chengyou, every one of them fierce as tigers and wolves.

Chen Jue slapped his thigh — do it! Damn, win and it's hostesses and swimsuit models; lose and... oh, never mind! Lose and it's your head rolling on the ground.

And so, while Li Jing was still arranging for Han Xizai to cross the river, and the personal letter was not yet finished, the navy at Xinlinpu moved out.

Chen Jue appointed Chen Hui as vanguard, leading one hundred and fifty warships. Under cover of the dawn river mist, they sailed straight for the Zhou navy at Guabu.

It must be said that coincidences abound in this world — sometimes so much so that one cannot help believing in the existence of a mandate of heaven.

For on the very day before Chen Hui led the navy out, Zhang Zhao had received a warning from Feng Yanlu via a wax pill.

He had just issued orders to Du Lun Chixin, Commissioner of the Guabu Navy, and his deputies Zhao Yanjin and Hou Renbao, telling them to guard against a surprise attack by the Southern Tang navy.

And the reason Zhang Zhao, the moment he saw Chen Hui's name, immediately warned Du Lun Chixin and the others to be careful, was that Chen Hui was a stranger to ordinary people, but very familiar to Zhang Zhao.

Before transmigrating, Zhang Zhao had known a big boss — it was this man who had brought Zhang Zhao into the armor and full-harness circle. This big boss was from Jianzhou, surnamed Chen, and claimed to be a descendant of Chen Hui's eldest son, Chen Decheng.

Zhang Zhao had gone with him to Nanping in Fujian and helped him compile the Nanping Who's Who.

Hmm, the so-called Nanping Who's Who was actually this big boss's way of puffing up his ancestor Chen Hui, because that who's who included Zhu Xi of the Song dynasty and Yang Rong, one of the Three Yangs of the Ming dynasty.

Thus Zhang Zhao had genuinely studied this man in depth. He knew Chen Hui was supremely skilled at naval warfare, that he and his son Chen Decheng were both fierce commanders on the water, and that he liked to use boats as cavalry, carrying out long-range raids and sudden strikes.

Chen Hui was only in his early thirties at this time, and his son Chen Decheng was not even ten. Having just come out of Jianzhou (Jian'ou, Fujian), he could never have imagined that he would be betrayed by a supposed descendant more than a thousand years later.

The discipline of the Zhou army went without saying. After Zhang Zhao ordered strict precautions, Du Lun Chixin set up two water stockades, front and rear, stocked fine sand and gravel by the riverbank as fire-extinguishing material, and prepared long bamboo poles for support.

He also arranged twenty small boats to patrol the river surface every day from the end of the yin hour, raising the alarm.

As a result, Chen Hui's assumption that the Zhou army was arrogant and unprepared immediately became a joke. The Southern Tang navy was spotted by the small boats before it even got close, and the copper gongs sounded to alert the water stockade.

Du Lun Chixin shot up from his bed — he slept right in the front stockade — and came out to direct the defense the moment he heard the gongs.

Meanwhile Zhao Yanjin, on duty that day, had risen at the start of the yin hour and had already rushed to the very front line.

When the Zhou fleet was spotted approaching, just as Chen Hui decisively released his fire ships downstream, Zhao Yanjin was already prepared.

Because the Southern Tang navy's fire ships were released with the current, and the soldiers steering the fire ships could not possibly carry out suicide attacks, this gave the defenders room to maneuver.

Zhao Yanjin stationed several hundred men on the stockade gate and on the large ships beside it, each holding a long bamboo pole. When a fire ship approached, they used the poles to hold it off.

At the same time, he sent out ships that had long been prepared and filled with fire oil, using fire to draw fire, so that the Southern Tang fire ships and the Zhou fire ships jammed together and burned.

This was equivalent to burning out a firebreak. Most of the Southern Tang fire ships were blocked outside the stockade gate and burned to nothing.

Although the Zhou army's large ships in the water stockade were still tucked in at the docks, Du Lun Chixin had already built dozens of small boats capable of carrying fifteen to twenty men.

Before the Southern Tang army even attacked, Du Lun Chixin released these small boats.

The Zhou army merely had few naval forces — not none.

The thousand-odd sailors under Du Lun Chixin were originally a navy from the Huangshui and the Lanzhou stretch of the Yellow River. After entering the Central Plains, they had recruited Yellow River fishermen to expand, and once they reached the Yangtze, sturdy fishermen from the great riverside clans such as the Han and Chen had also joined them.

Du Lun Chixin had local fishermen work the boats, while the Hexi sailors fired divine-arm crossbows and wooden single-shot crossbows at the Southern Tang soldiers on the large ships.

These small boats darted about nimbly, and their crews knew this stretch of river better than Chen Hui's boatmen. For a time, they actually kept the Southern Tang navy from advancing an inch.

Seeing this, Chen Hui ordered the Lin Renzhao brothers to charge straight ahead with large ships, while also releasing small boats to work with a few large ships in hunting down the Zhou small boats.

Lin Renzhao and the others charged fiercely into the Zhou water stockade, only to find the Zhou army had chained their ships together with iron cables and were bearing down like a moving mountain, the prows bristling with crossbowmen.

Moreover, because the Zhou army had chained their ships together, their crossbowmen could wear armor, while the Southern Tang crossbowmen were basically all in thin clothing.

Caught off guard, they could gain no advantage at all in the crossbow exchange. Lin Renzhao, trusting in his own ferocity and knowing they could not win the shooting match, shouted for his men to close in.

When the warships of both sides collided, Lin Renzhao and his elder brother Lin Renhan each led five hundred elite Jianzhou soldiers swarming aboard with a roar.

It must be said that such harsh, cold places truly do produce brave men. One thousand elite Jianzhou soldiers slammed into the newly formed Zhou navy, composed mainly of the Shanzhou Bao Yi Army, and drove them back step after step.

But very quickly, Lin Renzhao found he could no longer advance. A burst of warhorse neighing rang out — Zhang Zhao had personally led the Hanshan Du armored troops to reinforce them.

Naval troops normally did not wear much armor. In fact, even if they did, the Southern Tang court would not have given men like Lin Renzhao — former Min yabing — much armor at all.

Facing Lin Renzhao was a powerfully built man, a stout fellow holding a short spear in each hand. The spears thrust like the wind, and in just a few moves he had killed three or four men.

Lin Renzhao could see this was an extremely difficult opponent. He was about to lunge at him when a roar came from his left — another giant of a man, wielding a great axe, was charging at him.

Lin Renzhao quickly switched targets. With a sudden leap, he landed beside the giant and thrust his blade at him. The giant grinned, and without a care, swung his great axe down in a chop.

Lin Renzhao was overjoyed — he was confident he could pierce the giant's kidney before the giant's axe landed.

But though the thrust went out, there came a clang, and his long blade could advance no further.

Lin Renzhao immediately understood: the strange white thing the giant wore was inner armor. There was no time to think further, for the giant's axe was already chopping down. Lin Renzhao let out a explosive shout and took the blow head-on with the iron shield in his right hand.

But the giant's strength was immense. Even Lin Renzhao, who had always believed himself mighty, could not withstand the blow. He let out a miserable cry, opened his mouth wide, and shed some of the impact.

At the same time, he kicked hard against the giant's leg, and using the force of the impact, slid away with all his might, escaping the giant's attack range.

But before he could stand up, another officer arrived with a long spear. This man's spearwork was superb — the spearpoint followed like a shadow, never leaving Lin Renzhao's vital points, and Lin Renzhao could not shake him off.

At this moment, this Lin Huzi, so proud of his own ferocity, finally felt a trace of fear.

His elder brother Lin Renhan saw Lin Renzhao surrounded and was about to come to his rescue, when another man burst from the crowd — a short, stocky fellow wielding twin maces.

Lin Renhan's skill was far below Lin Renzhao's. After only a few exchanges, the twin-mace man had beaten him until he vomited blood.

Lin Renzhao's eyes went red. He fought desperately toward his brother, but the four officers arrived together. Lin Renzhao dodged left and leapt right, but in the end a mace struck him in the back, and he vomited blood and collapsed to the ground.

"Not bad — you took a blow from my axe and still act like nothing happened!" Man Xiong laughed, looking at the iron shield that was nearly hacked to pieces.

Dunzhu rushed forward and tore open Lin Renzhao's upper garment. Sure enough, there was a gaudy tiger tattoo, striking to look at, and he immediately grinned from ear to ear.

"It really is the Jianzhou Lin Huzi the Sage spoke of."

The seventeen-year-old Lin Renzhao had no idea what these men wanted. Overwhelmed with humiliation, pinned to the ground, he roared furiously.

"Kill me! Just kill me!"

This future famous general was still fresh and tender at this moment, a complete novice just starting out.

Over on the other side, Wang Tongxin had dragged over his elder brother Lin Renhan as well, and said with a chuckle, "Why are you shouting so loud?

To be defeated at the hands of us brothers is your honor."

Wang Tongxin was not wrong. As Sage Zhang's four personal fierce generals, Manxiong, Dunzhu, Wang Tongxin, and Qiong Reduojin had indeed not fought together in a long time.

With the Lin brothers captured, the Southern Tang navy immediately scattered in panic like birds and beasts.

Outside the water stockade, however, the Southern Tang navy's small boats began to gain the upper hand through sheer numbers. But they did not expect the Zhou army to fight while retreating, drawing them toward the shore.

It turned out Zhang Zhao had laid an ambush here with a large number of catapults — even over a hundred whirlwind trebuchets.

The moment the Southern Tang navy drew near the riverbank and slowed, they were bombarded by over a hundred catapults at once.

More than ten small boats were smashed on the spot, and dozens of sailors on the large ships were killed by the stones, forcing them to withdraw in panic.

The two sides fought until dawn. Chen Hui, seeing that the vanguard under Lin Renzhao and the others had been nearly annihilated, had no choice but to order a retreat.

Zhang Zhao also stopped Du Lun Chixin and the others from requesting pursuit, because although Chen Hui had withdrawn, his main force was still intact and in good order.

If it came to fighting on the open river, with the ability of his own navy, he feared they still could not match them.

In this battle, the Southern Tang navy lost over a dozen officers from the Lin Renhan and Lin Renzhao brothers on down, over a thousand elite sailors, and dozens of large and small warships.

The results only managed to burn a small part of the Zhou navy's outer stockade. For a surprise attack to turn out like this, it could be called a complete failure.

That morning, Li Jing, upon receiving the news, was terrified. He immediately ordered the arrest of the Commissioner of Military Affairs Chen Jue.

Chen Jue had been preparing to flee back to Fuzhou and other places by small boat. He was seized just as he left the command tent. Zhu Kuangye, the father and son Zhu Lingyun, Chen Hui, and the others were arrested as well.

Li Jing appointed the veteran minister Pan Chengyou as Pacification Commissioner to prevent the army from mutinying over the arrest of its commander, while summoning his ministers to discuss the matter.

Zhang Zhao, furious, expelled the Southern Tang officials left north of the river to maintain contact, and immediately began preparing to attack westward toward Hezhou and other places.

This battle had actually been extremely dangerous. Had Zhang Zhao not received Feng Yanlu's secret report, and had he not possessed the cheat that let him see through the mists of time, they would have succeeded.

The next day, Li Jing again sent Feng Yanlu as envoy across the river to apologize. In front of Feng Yanlu and the Southern Tang envoys, Zhang Zhao raged and roared that he would surely break through Jiangning.

Afterward he dispatched envoys ordering Gao Huaide, garrisoned at Songzhou, and Ma Yaozi, garrisoned at Xuzhou, to each draw two thousand elite troops and march south.

He also ordered Liu Zaisheng, garrisoned in Guanzhong, to draw three thousand elite troops from Guanzhong and come south in support.

Feng Yanlu still wanted to say something, but this time Zhang Zhao gave him no face. Instead he immediately ordered Zhao Pu to take up the imperial tally and go as envoy to Nanping.

Sage Zhang knew that among those who had come with Feng Yanlu there were certainly men disguised as Li Jing's trusted confidants, so he deliberately spoke in front of them.

"Your lord thinks my Great Zhou has no navy, does he? Zhao Pu, go to Jiangling and tell the King of Nanping, Gao Conghui: We pardon his offense of disrespect. Let him immediately raise the entire navy of Nanping and sail east, break through Wuchang, and We shall enfeoff him as King of E.

Wang Jiulang shall take up the tally and go to Changsha Prefecture, and order the King of Chu, Ma Xifan, to immediately raise the Chu navy and sail south."

Hearing Zhang Zhao's arrangements, the Southern Tang envoys were terrified. This was a strategy of mutual destruction!

It seemed the Son of Heaven of Zhou was truly enraged. Even Feng Yanlu dared not linger, and could only hurry back to Jiangning to report.

As soon as the Southern Tang envoys left, Zhang Zhao immediately had flags planted everywhere from Guabu to Yizheng to create the illusion of troops, while he himself led another ten thousand soldiers westward.

It seemed that unless Li Jing was driven to despair, he would not obediently play the role of a puppet emperor.

And the place Zhang Zhao was heading to was Caishiji in Hezhou!

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