In early sixth month, the Yangtze River basin had already entered flood season. Rivers, streams, lakes, and marshes grew more turbid and vast. The river surface between Tangyi City and Jinling also widened day by day.
Ao Mountain Island, located in the river’s heart directly north of Changchun Palace, served as the Right Dragon Martial Army’s naval main camp and could also be called the gateway to the capital region’s northeast.
When the Yangtze’s water level was low, Ao Mountain Island was fully exposed, extending over fourteen to fifteen li from east to west. However, when flood season arrived, shallow silted areas submerged beneath the river waters, shortening the east-west length to six li, with only three li width from north to south.
Ao Mountain Island was merely over twenty li from Tangyi City on the northern shore, while Yingluan Camp—the riverside military fortress at Yangzhou’s southwestern corner—was also only over twenty li in straight-line distance from Ao Mountain Island. This directly determined its military value.
On Ao Mountain Island’s easternmost side was a concave water area extending into the land about three to four hundred mu. When the Right Dragon Martial Army first landed and built on the island, they used long stone blocks to build walls extending from both flanks into the river waters, isolating this concave water area from the external river, forming an interior lake that could berth large numbers of warships.
The naval camp was built on the foundation of this ship-berthing interior lake through investment of massive resources and four to five years of continuous construction.
Ao Mountain Island had currently become one of the capital region’s outer perimeter’s most important military fortresses, fully equipped with military camps, naval facilities, ship repair yards, and sturdy city walls. Particularly the section of water-crossing wall on the easternmost side—its top was over five chi wide, allowing several hundred officers and soldiers to ascend the wall for combat. Watchtowers were built at both corners on land. Behind the middle section of the submerged wall, wooden stakes were driven down with four water platforms built several zhang square, equipped with whirlwind catapults, crossbows, and other siege weapons capable of attacking enemy ships attempting to approach the naval camp.
Since this crisis erupted, besides the Right Dragon Martial Army’s original forces, the court also conscripted provincial soldiers and village militia from various prefectures and counties, increasing troops stationed in Yangzhou to ten thousand infantry and three thousand naval forces, strengthening defenses east of Tangyi. Ao Mountain Island’s garrison was also increased to three thousand infantry and five thousand naval forces.
Entering the sixth month, Jinling’s weather was already extremely hot. In the afternoon, over ten warships from Ao Mountain Island routinely exited the naval camp for training. In the distance, over ten sail shadows could also be seen emerging from the Qingxiang River mouth west of Tangyi City on the northern shore—those were Tangyi’s naval warships.
Over the past three or four months, Tangyi naval forces would have warships enter the Yangtze for training every few days, even inspecting passing river vessels. However, they usually did not cross the centerline.
Even though the watchtower routinely sounded warning horns, everyone in the fortified camp had grown accustomed to this and paid no attention. Even the scouts in the watchtower blowing the horns did so weakly.
However, the scouts in the watchtower soon discovered that the warships the opposing shore deployed from Tangyi City’s western naval main camp, successively entering the Yangtze waterway from the Qingxiang River mouth, far exceeded past numbers. Additionally, over a hundred warships densely hugged the northern shore, sailing downstream under full sail from the upstream Donghu direction.
Seeing enemy patrol ships cross the centerline both sides tacitly acknowledged, the sentinel officer on watch in the watchtower leaped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouting, “Enemy attack! Quickly light the warning beacon fire!”
The watchtower’s horns and war drums could only alert officers and soldiers within the fortified camp. However, seeing the scale of naval forces the opposing shore deployed against Ao Mountain Island this time, any commander with slight experience knew this was definitely not a simple military threat.
The sentinel officer on watch in the watchtower, without time to request instructions from the commanding general, directly ordered the beacon tower lit to alert garrisons on the southern shore, at the eastern foot of Baohua Mountain, and at Yingluan Fortress southwest of Yangzhou.
“Son of a bitch, who told you to light the beacon fire?”
Hastily donning his armor, Ao Mountain Island’s commanding general—officially titled Inspector of Runyang River Patrol and Fourth Capital Vice Commander of the Right Dragon Martial Army—Zhou Dun climbed up the watchtower while gripping the handrail, glaring and rebuking the panicked sentinel officer Lu Jinhai who leaned against the railing looking down.
Over these past three or four months, the northern shore’s naval forces occasionally made threatening gestures. Inside Ao Mountain Island, internal alerts and preparations at most caused a flurry of panicked activity. However, at this critical juncture with alarming rumors everywhere, lighting beacon smoke would inevitably cause chaos throughout the capital region and palace.
If it ended up being another false alarm, Zhou Dun had no idea whether Prince Shou would directly summon him to Jinling City for a scolding.
However, when Zhou Dun climbed up the watchtower and saw the situation on the northwestern river surface, he immediately gasped, the hairs on his back standing erect.
They had several warships training and on alert on the river surface northwest of Ao Mountain Island. These warships’ field of vision was far less broad than the watchtower’s. Previously, they perhaps still thought the dozen-plus warships crossing the centerline from the northern shore were again coming to make threats. Before receiving clear directives transmitted from the island, under their subordinate officers’ leadership, they had already firmly advanced to meet them.
Their intention was to drive the approaching ships back north of the centerline.
When Zhou Dun climbed the watchtower, several oar-rowing warships at the front of Tangyi’s naval forces were dispersing to both flanks. Behind them, three large oar-rowing war sailing ships had not only adjusted their sail masts to proper angles—dozens of large wooden oars, like centipede legs, were all frantically rowing. The ship speed was swift as arrows from bowstrings, charging directly at their several warships.
In the distance, over two hundred large and medium warships had already formed combat formation, divided into two groups rushing directly at Ao Mountain Island.
Several five-masted warships in the center had decks densely packed with armored soldiers—clearly combat soldiers prepared for landing and assault on the island.
“That bastard Han Qian wants to attack Ao Mountain Island! Quickly transmit orders for all warships to return to camp!” Zhou Dun shouted to the deputy general who subsequently arrived before the watchtower.
He did not send people to transmit messages to the southern shore—not because he forgot this matter. In reality, Jinghai Gate outside Jinling City was only twenty li from Ao Mountain Island. The Yandang Promontory main camp garrisoned by Imperial Guards was even closer—only eleven or twelve li from Ao Mountain Island. They did not even need to light beacon fires here—garrisons at Jinghai Gate and Yandang Promontory had already noticed the disturbance here.
Although Ao Mountain Island had five thousand naval forces and over two hundred large and small warships—perhaps not fewer warships than Tangyi’s naval forces in numbers—Zhou Dun did not feel that hastily deploying all warships outside the naval camp in formation would have any chance of victory.
Zhou Dun wanted to recall all the dozen-plus warships on outer alert, utilizing the walls extending into the river waters on the naval camp’s eastern side along with defensive equipment to block Tangyi warships outside the naval camp, waiting until the court assembled sufficient naval warships from various locations before engaging Tangyi’s naval forces in decisive battle on the river surface.
As Zhou Dun frantically transmitted military orders, in almost the blink of an eye, he saw that three of their warships previously on alert to the northwest could not dodge in time and were fiercely rammed from the side-rear by enemy forces.
Inside Ao Mountain Island were eight large oar-rowing war sailing ships purchased from Xuzhou. Zhou Dun naturally understood clearly what consequences would result when ordinary oar-rowing ships and tower ships were struck at high speed by oar-rowing war sailing ships manufactured in Xuzhou.
He could almost imagine the sound of three warships’ keels or planks being rammed and split, watching helplessly as over a hundred officers and soldiers were knocked into the water—though Tangyi’s naval forces did not ruthlessly kill soldiers who fell in the water, they quickly adjusted course to pursue and ram other fleeing warships.
“…These bastards are serious!” Zhou Dun roared in resentful fury, having someone fetch his spear and bow as he strode toward the naval camp’s eastern wall.
The naval camp’s eastern wall was built with large bluestone blocks from both flanks extending into the river, isolating and blocking off the three to four hundred mu wide water area that curved into the eastern island from the outer river, with these waters deeply excavated to serve as the naval camp warships’ berthing area.
To ensure the wall extending into river waters was sturdy, after chiseling grooves and holes in the large bluestone blocks for wall construction, molten iron was poured in to connect them.
Now that Tangyi Army had torn off pretenses and begun fighting, Zhou Dun hastily dared not deploy all warships outside the naval camp in formation for combat. The naval camp’s eastern wall was destined to become the focal point both sides contested.
Watchtowers were built at both corners of the eastern wall, with two water platforms several zhang square on each side of the water gate. However, Zhou Dun did not feel this was sufficient.
The eastern wall was still primarily too narrow—its top was only five chi wide. Currently, besides over ten crossbows, there was no room for whirlwind catapults. The four water platforms also only had four medium-sized whirlwind catapults—fortunately after the Xichuan battle, whirlwind catapults spread throughout Jianghuai; otherwise, water platforms several zhang square would fundamentally have no operational space for traditional traction trebuchets—in Zhou Dun’s view, this was far from sufficient.
Besides having small and medium warships move as close as possible to the naval camp’s interior side, Zhou Dun also ordered the eight large oar-rowing war sailing ships to berth tightly against the inner side of the wall.
The top deck of oar-rowing war sailing ships was about as high as the crenelated wall—not only could more officers and soldiers stand up to participate in defense, the siege weapons on the warship decks could also directly attack enemy ships attempting to approach the wall.
Receiving reports that garrison forces had tightly closed the water gate and arrayed warships behind the wall for coordinated defense, Lin Zongjing—tall in stature with a cold and stern expression standing on his flagship’s deck—spat out the grass stem in his mouth, smiled indifferently, and said, “This battle is easier than imagined. Have Xu Mu close in and use fire attack…”
Du Chongtao and Yang Zhitang, surrounded by a group of cavalry, galloped into Yandang Promontory.
Ao Mountain Island was at Jinling City’s northeastern corner. Standing before Jinghai Gate’s tower, one could not see the naval combat situation on Ao Mountain Island’s eastern side. Only by exiting the Eastern Flower Gate and entering Yandang Promontory military fortress could one directly observe the warfare eleven or twelve li away.
Currently, there were no signs of northern shore forces landing southward for combat—even if northern shore forces landed southward, Yandang Promontory was also a key defensive point. Du Chongtao, Commander of the Imperial Guards, and Yang Zhitang, Privy Council Commissioner, entered Yandang Promontory accompanied by Guo Liang, just in time to see Tangyi naval forces’ eight oar-rowing war sailing ships pressing close to the naval camp’s eastern wall.
The three each picked up bronze telescopes to look there.
The bronze telescopes manufactured by Tangyi were difficult for various families to imitate. In earlier years, under strong demands from Yang Zhitang and others, Tangyi sold small quantities, but each bronze telescope sold for as much as one million coins. The Privy Council gritted its teeth and successively purchased some, but even high-ranking commanders at the Forbidden Army and Imperial Guards’ Commander level were not fully equipped.
“Han Qian indeed concealed a trick—Tangyi naval forces’ scorpion catapults can hurl over four hundred steps!” Du Chongtao was in such pain he nearly moaned, stamping his foot. “Zhou Dun bringing all warships into the naval camp has committed a grave error!”
Though Yang Zhitang’s military achievements were not as distinguished as Du Chongtao’s and Zhang Xiang’s, he was also a Great Chu veteran general.
All along, for military equipment Tangyi supplied externally, crossbows had effective ranges between one hundred fifty to two hundred steps. Scorpion catapults that could be placed on war sailing ship decks for hurling in combat had effective hurling distances around two hundred fifty steps.
Scorpion catapults used refined steel crossbow arms with bowstrings wound from numerous fine steel wire threads. Yang En once ordered craftsmen at the Bureau of Armaments to imitate them, but the tempering of refined steel crossbow arms never achieved the essence. Imitated scorpion catapults rarely achieved two hundred step hurling distances, so these years elite siege weapons were mainly purchased from Tangyi.
Although everyone anticipated Tangyi would keep secrets, no one imagined that scorpion catapults used by Tangyi’s naval forces themselves could have such a vast gap from scorpion catapults sold externally!
Yang Zhitang also understood clearly why Du Chongtao was so anxiously frantic!
If Zhou Dun had deployed all warships outside the naval camp, forming arrays relying on the naval camp’s eastern wall, though Tangyi naval forces’ scorpion catapults had longer hurling distances, as long as Tangyi naval forces pressed close, their warships would immediately advance to engage in boarding combat—they would not be at too much disadvantage.
Now, however, Zhou Dun had brought all warships into the naval camp. Unlike ordinary fortified camps, the naval camp could not simply open city gates to sally forth for counterattack. They might even be blocked after enemy ships pressed close—water gate locks could not be opened. The water platform whirlwind catapults behind the eastern wall were too small, with ranges not even as far as scorpion catapults on enemy ships. This meant the eastern wall and garrison forces on the wall, along with warships behind the wall, all became sitting targets.
“Quickly dispatch ships over to inquire what exactly they want to do!” Du Chongtao jumped frantically in anxiety. Yang Zhitang was even more anxious, his temples throbbing.
Ao Mountain Island’s garrison forces were all his years of painstaking efforts.
Seeing the even larger scale of warships stopped on the southwestern river surface of Ao Mountain Island, he surmised the commanding general directing Tangyi’s combat operations was there. In his panic, he wanted to dispatch people by ship to rush over for negotiations.
“Whoosh!”
Before Zhang Xian could summon Yandang Promontory’s garrison commander forward, at this moment among the enemy forces arrayed horizontally east of Ao Mountain Island’s naval camp, four war sailing ships had already launched their offensive. Dozens of lit oil jars were hurled precisely across four hundred steps toward the naval camp’s eastern wall extending into the river waters.
Soon clusters of flames ignited atop the naval camp’s eastern wall.
Though garrison forces also struggled to activate whirlwind catapults on water platforms, just as Du Chongtao estimated, they fell short by forty to fifty steps in attacking Tangyi naval forces’ warships. Stone projectiles fell one after another into river waters, splashing up patches of insignificant water spray.
Crossbows on the wall had less than half the range.
They could only take beatings without ability to strike back. As more and more oil jars were hurled onto the wall, officers and soldiers simply could not extinguish fires in time. They watched helplessly as flames on the wall burned fiercer and fiercer. Officers and soldiers could only retreat in miserable disarray toward land on both sides. Some officers and soldiers caught fire on their bodies and could only flee in panic into river waters.
Seeing this scene, Yang Zhitang’s face twitched. He waved his hand weakly.
Since Tangyi’s naval forces had already launched attack, dispatching people over would have no effect unless he sent people to meet Zhao Wuji commanding at Tangyi City—only then might he possibly stop Liang forces’ subsequent landing operations.
Otherwise, even if they dragged over Han Daoming or that old bastard Han Wenhuan, it would be useless.
During the Jinling rebellion, Han Qian did not hesitate to use Han Wenhuan, Han Daochang, and others as bait, luring Gu Zhilong and elite combat forces away from Langxi in a diversionary tiger-from-mountain strategy—people of this era still remembered this clearly. How could Yang Zhitang possibly forget?
“Has Han Qian truly gone mad? After scheming to obtain remnant Liang, he’s actually inflated to this extent—bitter warfare with the Mongols and Eastern Liang Army isn’t enough, he still wants to simultaneously slaughter with our Great Chu on the southern front?” Zhang Xian at this moment could not contain his inner shock and asked aloud.
Regardless of how shocked and bewildered Zhang Xian and the crowd atop Yandang Promontory military fortress’s watchtower felt in their hearts, the one-sided warfare on Ao Mountain Island’s eastern side continued proceeding methodically.
Garrison forces could not maintain footing on the eastern wall. Several oar-rowing war sailing ships retreated in panic toward the naval camp’s interior. However, water platforms behind the wall were soon set ablaze by fire. Several whirlwind catapults were also destroyed by great flames. They watched as Tangyi naval forces’ warships calmly and unhurriedly pressed close to the eastern wall—this scene made Yang Zhitang even more desperate.
In his heart, he understood very clearly that the interior lake of the naval camp west of the wall was only six to seven hundred steps wide, divided by several wooden dock walkways into different areas to berth more warships.
Over two hundred large and small warships crowded one side of the interior lake. Tangyi naval forces’ scorpion catapults had hurling distances far exceeding their imagination, meaning wooden dock walkways and outer warships were all within attack range of oil jars hurled by scorpion catapults.
Because a wall was built on earthen slopes on the naval camp’s southern side, they could not directly see the interior side of the naval camp. However, watching Tangyi naval forces’ warships continuously hurl oil jars, they understood clearly what fate awaited this Right Dragon Martial Army naval unit.
Not only would all warships berthed in the interior lake be burned to nothing—as flames extended westward, military barracks near the docks would soon also fall into a sea of fire, right?
Just as Du Chongtao and Yang Zhitang guessed, they soon saw flames ascending beyond what the naval camp’s southern wall could obstruct. They could confirm that over two hundred large and small warships berthed in the interior lake had all unavoidably fallen into a sea of flames.
Zhou Qinian, who had accompanied them to observe the battle at Yandang Promontory, was in such pain he could not help closing his eyes. Nearly forty percent of the Right Dragon Martial Army’s naval combat power, also the court’s most relied-upon elite naval forces—just gone like this?
Zhou Qinian had pointed out the flaws in Ao Mountain Island’s naval camp some time earlier. He had even had opportunity to observe naval main camp construction Han Qian undertook in earlier years at Chenzhong and Qianyang.
The water-crossing wall on the eastern side was too flimsy. Tangyi naval forces’ naval camps would at minimum build two water-crossing walls on the outer side of berthing waters, filling earth between them to form protective embankments three to fifty steps wide. Dock walkways in berthing waters would also not adopt purely wooden walkways—even if rudimentary, they would drive down two rows of dense wooden stakes, filling earth and stone between them and ramming solid to form walkways at least twenty steps wide to partition berthing waters. This was precisely to prevent accidental fires from spreading uncontrollably.
Very obviously, Yang Zhitang was still stingy, unwilling to spend great cost to additionally build another water-crossing wall on the outer side, or even make the interior lake’s mooring dock walkways less rudimentary.
However, what did this mad dog Han Qian want to do?
“…”
Inside Changxin Palace’s great hall, Qing Yang sat behind the imperial desk, staring at Lei Cheng kneeling before the desk. Her eyelids twitched in fury. Unable to control the rage in her breast, she raised her head and smashed another jade cup to pieces before Lei Cheng.
“Please allow this old slave to explain, Empress Dowager!”
“This Empress Dowager doesn’t want to hear it,” Qing Yang suppressed her voice in fury, staring at Lei Cheng and demanding, “This Empress Dowager nearly broke with those old bastards Shen Yang and Zheng Yu before forcing them to agree to release Qin Wen and others back to the northern shore. Is this how you repay this Empress Dowager? Does Han Qian truly not fear this Empress Dowager will issue an edict to have that old thing Han Wenhuan’s very bones dismantled to appease the fury of those old bastards like Shen Yang?”
When Feng Yi delivered Wang Chan’er and other criminals to Jinling, Shen Yang, Yang Zhitang, and others showed no intention of appreciating the gesture, all advocating continued detention of Qin Wen and others with connections to Tangyi. She persisted in every way, ultimately only detaining Han Wenhuan, Han Daoming, Feng Yi, and others, releasing Qin Wen along with large numbers of personnel with Tangyi connections—including families, totaling over a thousand people—back to the northern shore.
On this point alone, some officials had the audacity to submit memorials accusing her of cherishing thoughts of her former state, disregarding Great Chu’s fundamental interests. Some even secretly spread rumors that she had connections with Han Qian.
She originally thought after peace negotiations succeeded, these unfavorable statements about her would vanish like smoke. That cheap servant Huang E’s behind-the-scenes machinations would be useless. However, she never imagined that dragging things out until now, Tangyi would be first to launch offensive, dispatching troops to first destroy Ao Mountain Island’s naval camp, burning over two hundred warships the Right Dragon Martial Army had accumulated these years in one fire.
Thinking that tomorrow at court, that cheap servant Huang E along with Huang Huixiang, Zhou Qinian, and others would inevitably make a great fuss over this matter, Qing Yang felt waves of twisting pain in her chest.
“Though barbarian cavalry withdrew troops from Heluo in mid-fifth month, this was not because enemy forces suffered heavy casualties. Rather, the Yu River’s great flood season arrived, with waterlogging at the Yi-Luo River mouth causing harm, making it difficult for them to deploy forces. Speaking of casualties, Great Liang’s forces were still above enemy forces—one can only say they barely survived one calamity. However, the Yu River’s great flood season lasts only a short four months. If by the ninth month Liang and Chu still do not conclude peace agreement, the Mongols will inevitably again dispatch troops to attack Heluo. After the tenth month, both the Ying River and Yu River will freeze completely solid. Enemy cavalry will massively invade Cai, Ru, Xu, and Chen—our Great Liang will have nowhere to defend,” Lei Cheng knelt before the imperial desk, suppressing his voice. “Setting aside the Empress Dowager’s and His Majesty’s safety, this old slave dares ask: if Great Liang does not survive, where can Shu be? If Liang and Shu are both destroyed, how can Great Chu survive alone? However, without the sovereign using thunderous methods, will Yang Zhitang and Shen Yang agree to accept peace agreement before the ninth month?”
“Even if Yang Zhitang and Shen Yang refuse to accept peace agreement, what do you still plan to do—attack and capture Jinling City?” Qing Yang demanded, her small face pale white with fury.
“The capital region and vicinity have sixty thousand elite forces—not something anyone can capture at will. Our sovereign absolutely does not wish to see Jianghuai reignite warfare flames with countless lives lost. However, if circumstances force it, dragging until the seventh month without negotiating peace agreement, at that time Tangyi’s naval forces will fully mobilize, doing everything possible to destroy all naval camp facilities along the Yangtze and Han River banks. If dragging to the eighth month without negotiating peace agreement, the sovereign will dispatch troops to attack and occupy Huang, Sui, Fu, Ying, and other prefectures, leaving space for military and civilian populations from Cai, Xu, Chen, Ru, and other places to migrate south after mid to late tenth month. At this point, Liang and Chu will have no further possibility of peace agreement. After the sovereign endures autumn-winter offensives, the next step in coming years will be dispatching troops to attack and occupy Jing and Xiang prefectures east of the Han River, plus Langzhou and Chenzhou south of the Yangtze and west of Dongting Lake, connecting western Hunan, Jing-Xiang, Huaixi, and Hanzhong into one body, laying foundations for subsequent troop deployments to Guanzhong…” Lei Cheng said.
“Threatening this Empress Dowager with these things is useless. Go threaten those old bastards Shen Yang and Yang Zhitang, go threaten Yang Yuanyan!” Qing Yang said angrily.
“This old slave absolutely does not mean to threaten the Empress Dowager. This is truly and genuinely our sovereign’s military campaign plan. Only fearing mishaps might harm the Empress Dowager, we did not commit it to paper for presentation to the Empress Dowager’s imperial perusal,” Lei Cheng said.
“This Empress Dowager is not afraid—what is he afraid of?” Qing Yang said resentfully. “This Empress Dowager understands most clearly how you servants manipulate right and wrong in the middle. Henceforth for any matters, have Han Qian write letters to this Empress Dowager in his own hand! Don’t you have some carrier pigeon message transmission? Within three days, unless this Empress Dowager sees Han Qian’s personally written letter, don’t expect this Empress Dowager to cooperate with you in negotiating peace agreement!”
“This old slave obeys the decree, but three days is too urgent—perhaps ten days are needed to transmit messages,” Lei Cheng said.
“Don’t bargain with this Empress Dowager—five days at most!” Qing Yang rebuked with a cold face. “After five days, Yang Zhitang will certainly demand Han Wenhuan and Han Daoming’s heads in retaliation for Ao Mountain Island’s loss. Don’t blame this Empress Dowager for not preventing it!”