The temptation was so great that even Huang Li couldn't resist.

It’s not the nature of a gambler, but it’s just that you can’t do it without gambling. If you don’t launch desperate operations with a decisive battle mentality, you can’t completely break the Qing army’s three-province capital campaign.

Huang Li persuaded Yuan Zongdi and inquired about some details of the Battle of Wushan before he stood up and left. Yuan Zongdi wanted to send him to the dock, but he declined.

Arriving at the riverside dock again, Li Yue and others came forward to report on the shipping situation.

More than a dozen bronze cannons and a large amount of gunpowder have been loaded on the ship, as well as a batch of Qing soldier uniforms designated by Huang Li. What is even more strange is a large box of pigtails cut from the heads of Qing prisoners.

Huang Li did not explain the purpose, and Li Yue and others did not inquire in detail. After the Yiling battle, their admiration and admiration for Huang Li should have reached a high point.

"Then let's get on the ship and set off!" Huang Li didn't want to delay, so he ordered and took dozens of guards to board the ship.

Whether it is the navy of the Qing army or the Ming army, the ships that can sail in the Three Gorges are not very big. The largest ones do not exceed two hundred tons. Because of this, the number seems to be very large.

For example, when thirteen families joined forces to attack Wushan, they dispatched five to six hundred large and small ships. However, although there were many ships, there were only a few that could carry artillery and water warfare, and they basically belonged to the transport fleet.
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Huang Li estimated that the Qing navy's navy was about the same, so no water battle broke out. Everyone felt unsure and probably had little experience in water battles.

"Perhaps, after this battle, we should develop some weapons for water warfare and build more large ships. We can go down the river and smash all the Qing navy's navy to pieces. Only by being invincible across the Yangtze River can we completely get rid of passivity."<

/p>

More than a hundred ships slowly set sail, sailing upstream to the mouth of Xiangxi. From Xiangxikou to Yiling is a 150-mile waterway, which is also known as the dangerous Xiling Gorge.

Xiling Beach is as thick as bamboo knots, and the beach is full of ghosts. Over the long years, countless ships hit the rocks and sank here, and were buried under the water.

"Although Xiling Gorge is dangerous, the waterway has been clearly explored long ago, and the boat operators are all veterans, so there is no danger." Li Yue saw Huang Li standing on the bow of the boat with a calm expression, so he comforted him: "Don't worry, sir."
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Huang Li smiled and said: "Sail against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat. Do you think it's like our army's current situation? If we don't want to perish, we can only go against the current and make progress without retreating."

Li Yue thought for a while and said: "There are indeed some similarities. But after the victory at Yiling, the situation has improved, so you don't need to worry too much."

"I'm not worried, I'm just feeling something." Huang Lichang breathed a sigh of relief and patted the side of the boat, but his eyes were attracted by the trackers on the shore and he heard the rhythmic drumming.

Three Gorges Trackers, this group has already appeared in the Han Dynasty.

The trackers were almost naked, with only a thick piece of cloth on their backs, and their heads almost reaching the ground. They pulled the ropes in a semi-crawling posture, dragging the boats against the current, over dangerous shoals, and trudging forward.

Thousands of years of inheritance have caused deep grooves to be pulled out of the hard rocks on the cliffs by the ropes.

The trackers follow the footprints of their ancestors, which rock they grab and which stone nest they put their feet in.

To the beat of drums or chants, the trackers coordinated their efforts and cooperated with each other to move forward with heavy loads among the rugged rocks on the riverside.

Go forward with a heavy load and sail against the current.

Huang Li narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the ant-tracker on the shore from a distance, but from this group of people at the lowest level, he felt that man's indomitable will to conquer the sky.

God’s will, destiny?! Hey, if you believe it, just go with the flow and let nature take its fate; if you fight, you can change the world and turn things around.

The great river goes eastward, and all the waves are swept away, but a few of the romantic figures are still there today. Watch a mid-stream hit the water, and a single tree hold up the sky.

………………

Following the dog-planking champion Yu Dahai and the navy, they searched and rescued hundreds of remnant soldiers along the coast, and returned to Wuchang in one fell swoop, which immediately caused an earthquake in the Huguang government.

The gate of the Three Gorges suddenly opened, the throat of Sichuan and Hubei was pierced, and the Qing army in Huguang suffered heavy losses. If the Ming army went down the river, Jingzhou and Wuchang would face a direct threat.

Even if the Ming army could not reach this far, the Huguang area would still lose its city and land and be severely destroyed.

Zhang Changgeng, the governor of Huguang, hurriedly wrote about it, dispatched troops from all over Huguang, concentrated them first in Wuchang, and sent reinforcements to Jingzhou.

But according to the ancient communication, transportation and transportation conditions, people and horses from all over the country rushed here, and it was difficult to complete in less than ten days and a half.

With people in panic, Zhang Changgeng hurriedly reported to the Qing court, requesting the Eight Banners to change their route and go to Wuchang first to resist the Ming army's attack.

But this is also the case when water is far away and fire is near. Forbidden travel to the Eight Banners means traveling day and night. It is difficult to reach Wuchang or Jingzhou without more than a month.

"What should I do? What should I do?" Zhang Changgeng walked back and forth in the government office like an ant on a hot pot.

The latest news came, and it was another bad news. The Ming army conquered Dangyang, and their troops were directed at Jingmen. From Jingmen to Wuchang, there was no strong city to resist the attack.

Although they are still more than five hundred miles away, if the enemy travels day and night, they can arrive in seven or eight days. Based on the current garrison in Wuchang, it is obviously dangerous.

"Sir, the Changsha General Soldier has led 4,000 troops to the outside of the city." The hurried report from the staff made Zhang Changgeng stop grinding.

"Okay, okay!" The expression on Zhang Changgeng's face relaxed slightly and he asked: "Do you have a letter from the Yueyang General Soldier and the Dongting Navy?"

The staff member bowed and said: "Not yet, probably in the next day or two."

Yueyang's general army led 3,000 troops and the Dongting Navy, joined with the Huguang Navy, and headed for Jingzhou, trying to block the Ming army from going down the river, hold Jingzhou, and defend Wuchang.

Troops from other places are also mobilizing to Jingzhou, and they can gather almost 18,000 men in a short time. If they rely on strong defense, Zhang Changgeng feels that they can buy some time.

However, when the Ming army conquered Dangyang, they attempted to attack Wuchang from Jingmen and Zhongxiang. This was a bit difficult. Concentrating troops in Wuchang seemed to be the safest strategy.

If the Ming army marches straight in, the Qing army in Jingzhou can advance northward and take actions to cut off its retreat and prevent it from continuing to advance eastward.

"I'm afraid the governor of Sichuan, Li Guoying, hasn't received the news yet. The waterway is blocked, and the land route must be slower." Zhang Changgeng sat in the chair, thinking about it, and felt that it might be a little later for the Sichuan army to launch a containment operation.

"Dong Xueli, a loser, was defeated miserably in the land occupied by the bandits. However, he was able to be defeated in the strong city of Yiling."

Anger arose in Zhang Changgeng's heart. As a Manchu slave with a pure family background, he looked down upon this slave with three surnames who had taken refuge halfway.

"Rebel and surrender to the bandits, whether it is true or not, I will not let you go." Zhang Changgeng gritted his teeth, thinking of Dong Xueli's family property and Dong Xueli's wives and concubines, and couldn't help but sneered sinisterly.
Chapter completed!