On July 20, the second year of Shenwu, the Anqing section of the Yangtze River was densely packed with warships, including Zhu Chenggong's warships of the Ming Dynasty and the Yangtze River Navy warships.

In order to ensure that Emperor Shenwu could cross the river safely, martial law had already been imposed on the nearby river. Except for warships of the Ming Navy and Yangtze River Navy warships and merchant ships, no ships were allowed to approach the martial law area for three miles.

The Dragon Camp of the Shenwu Army was the first to cross the river under the leadership of Yan Yingyuan. After crossing the river, they must immediately form an array on the opposite side to protect the Shenwu Emperor from crossing the river.

The warships and merchant ships responsible for transporting the Shenwu Army's Longying soldiers were the Yangtze River Navy led by Zheng Hongkui. Ten thousand men and horses were safely transported to the opposite side within an hour.

As soon as they landed, Yan Yingyuan, the commander of Shenwu Army's Long Camp, gave an order:

"Expulse all nearby people, and those who disobey will be killed without mercy!"

"Here!"

Five thousand men and horses immediately formed an array on the opposite side of the river, and another five thousand were responsible for peripheral security...

Under normal circumstances, Emperor Shenwu would never travel like this, but the situation is different now. Many people want Emperor Shenwu's life. The Shenwu Army must ensure the safety of the emperor. After all, he just experienced an assassination not long ago.

"Come here, please pass on this command from the Commander-in-Chief. Twenty warships are on guard upstream and downstream. No ship is allowed to approach the navy for more than 200 meters..."

After Yan Yingyuan and others were ready, Zhu Chenggong immediately sent an order for twenty warships to be on guard up and down the Yangtze River. He personally led thirty naval warships to transport Emperor Shenwu across the river.

After getting ready, Zhu Chenggong's warship docked. Guo Xingye personally disembarked from the ship and bowed to Emperor Shenwu Zhu Cixiang:

"Your Majesty, I will help you get on board!"

Zhu Cixiang smiled slightly:

"No, I want to experience the boarding process myself!"

"Your Majesty, please!"

Zhu Chenggong hurriedly made a gesture of invitation, and Zhu Cixiang stepped onto the gangplank, and then walked to the deck of the warship.

Zhu Chenggong was worried that someone was playing dirty tricks, so he hurriedly said:

"Your Majesty, please enter the command cabin!"

Zhu Cihong looked at Zhu Chenggong, he smiled lightly and said:

"It's okay, I want to enjoy the scenery on the river..."

Seeing that Emperor Shenwu refused to enter the cabin, Zhu Chenggong certainly did not dare to force himself and hurriedly ordered a group of personal guards to stand behind Emperor Shenwu holding shields.

Once in danger, they would immediately surround Emperor Shenwu with shields.

In fact, Zhu Cixiang had his own ideas even if he did not enter the cabin. It was useless to shoot black guns from such a long distance, and it was even harder to bombard them with artillery. His only worry was that the ship would sink.

In the cabin, there will definitely be a large number of soldiers protecting you. Once the ship sinks, it will be difficult to rush out immediately. It is better to be safe on the deck.

Five warships opened the way in front, Zhu Cixiang's warship was in the middle, and there were more than a dozen warships behind. The fleet slowly left the north bank of the Yangtze River...

When the warship sailed to the center of the river, the river suddenly began to fog up, and soon the visibility was only about a few dozen meters. Zhu Cixiang was suddenly shocked:

"Nima, it was calm all the time when the Shenwu Army crossed the river. Why did it suddenly fog up when I was crossing the river? Is God going to be against me?"

After thinking about this, Zhu Cixiang immediately said to Shen Yunying and Hu Bao beside him:

"You two work together to remove my armor..."

Shen Yunying couldn't help being stunned:

"Your Majesty, you cannot remove your armor for the time being. Please remove it after it is safe to land ashore!"

Hu Bao hurriedly interfaced:

"Your Majesty, please be patient for a while longer and you will be ashore soon..."

After coming out of the capital, Zhu Cixiang had not put on his battle armor. After all, he was going south this time for inspection, not for fighting.

It was not until after an assassination in Chuzhou that Zhu Cixiang put on the battle armor at the request of Shen Yunying and Zhou Yuji, mainly to prevent assassinations on the road.

Therefore, when they heard that the emperor asked them to remove their armor, the two people hurriedly persuaded each other, but neither of them were willing to remove their armor for Emperor Shenwu. They were worried that someone would attack the emperor before and after crossing the river.

But Zhu Cixiang had different ideas from the two of them. He was worried about the shipwreck!

If someone took advantage of the heavy fog to blow up a warship from underwater, he would be the first to sink to the bottom wearing heavy iron armor.

Even though Zhu Chenggong’s men were all familiar with water properties, it was impossible for them to fish him out from the bottom of the water...

Seeing the two of them dilly-dallying, Zhu Cixiang was furious:

"Don't talk nonsense, take off my armor immediately."

"According to the order!"

The two of them did not dare to dissuade each other, and hurriedly began to remove Emperor Shenwu's armor.

Zhu Cixiang shouted again to Zhu Chenggong and Yue Yang who were standing aside in a daze:

"Quickly, send me an order. All armor-clad soldiers on the warship must immediately remove their armor. Anyone who resists the order will be killed without mercy!"

"ah……"

"According to the order!"

Yue Yang and Zhu Chenggong didn't know why the wise Emperor Shenwu suddenly went crazy and hurriedly issued an order for all the officers and men on the warships on the river to immediately remove their armor.

Due to the thick fog, the signal flag could no longer be seen, so they had to shout loudly to convey the order...

After the order was passed on, Zhu Chenggong hurriedly came to Emperor Shenwu and raised his hands and asked:

"Your Majesty, please explain clearly why the soldiers need to take off their armor. Going ashore to put on armor may delay the journey!"

Zhu Cixi shook his head:

"I have an ominous premonition and order the soldiers to pay attention to the water around the warship. If anyone is found, shoot and kill them immediately!"

"According to the order!"

Zhu Chenggong was immediately frightened and hurriedly accepted the order. Even the Shenwu Army behind who was removing their armor trembled when they heard the words.

Except for Zhu Chenggong's subordinates who are familiar with water, the other soldiers on the warship are all landlubbers. Once the warship is overturned, the consequences are unimaginable...

After taking off his armor, Cao Bianjiao hurriedly stepped forward and asked:

"Your Majesty, is your hunch accurate? Many soldiers don't know how to swim..."

Zhu Cixi shook his head:

"I don't know. I am doing this to be prepared. It is best if there is no danger..."

Cao Bianjiao nodded repeatedly when he heard this. Didn't he just take off his armor to avoid sinking into the water quickly? This won't waste much time...

"Rumble..."

Suddenly, a loud noise came from the upper reaches of the fleet, and everyone was shocked. It seemed that Emperor Shenwu had a good premonition. Sure enough, someone was tampering with the water.

"Quick, speed up crossing the river..."

Zhu Cixiang and Zhu Chenggong sent orders almost at the same time to speed up the battleship's advance.

Before they finished speaking, another explosion occurred not far from the left wing. Zhu Cixiang frowned tightly. He looked around with vigilant eyes. There was a white mist, making it difficult to see clearly what was going on.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Yue Yang quickly ran to Emperor Shenwu:

"Your Majesty, I asked you to guess correctly. There is indeed someone who is so brave. If I know who did it, I will definitely destroy all nine of his tribes!"

These people have guns in their hands and are not afraid of anyone on the shore, but they are really powerless in the water. They all watch the movement on the river nervously...

"Rumble..."

Suddenly two water pillars rose into the sky, and the warship Zhu Cixi was riding in was bombarded by bombs in the water. The warship suddenly shook violently, and many people lost their balance and fell to the ground.

Zhu Cixi also staggered and almost fell. Shen Yunying quickly got up and hugged Zhu Cixiang. Almost at the same time, the young eunuch Hu Bao lay on the ground and hugged the emperor's calf tightly to prevent him from falling into the river...

"Rumble..."

There were constant explosions and screams from the soldiers all around. Zhu Cixiang hurriedly urged again:

"Quick, order the warship to move forward rapidly. It must reach the other side as soon as possible..."

Before Zhu Cixiang finished speaking, his eyes suddenly turned sharp. He noticed that there were several burning warships vaguely floating down the river upstream.

But these fire ships are not Ming Dynasty warships, because they are all small boats, more like modified fishing boats used by fishermen...

Almost at the same time, Zhu Chenggong and the others also saw the approaching fire ship. Although it was obscured by thick fog, they could still see that it was a ship on fire. Everyone hurriedly shouted to warn nearby warships to pay attention.

"Get out of the way, there's a fire ship coming upstream..."

The warship Zhu Cixi was riding in had just been blasted with three big holes. It was taking in water, and the bow of the ship had begun to sink...

"Nima, I won't explain it here today, right?"

Although Zhu Cixi could swim, he had never swum in the Yangtze River.

At this time, the width of the river crossing was about five miles. He was very confident that his swimming skills would not be able to swim to the other side in the rolling Yangtze River...

Fortunately, the warships built by the Ming Dynasty all have grids. Even if the bow of the ship is flooded, as long as the grids are intact, the warship will not sink in a short time...

"Turn the helm quickly..."

Suddenly, a fire ship rushed down the river towards Zhu Cixiang's warship. The sailors hurriedly shouted and shook the oars to avoid the fire ship. In the end, the fire ship passed by the war ship and continued downward...

Immediately afterwards, four other fireships also came down the river. There was no fire on the warships for the time being, but there were many Yangtze River naval warships downstream. Zhu Cixiang knew that some warships would be set alight...
To be continued...