What the Great Emperor ship was, how could Zhang Liang not know? During training at sea, the Princess ship and Chengqian ship fought fiercely around the Great Emperor ship. Crossbow spears, battering rams, fire attacks, and explosive crossbow arrows all made their appearance. After a full day of fierce battle, they still couldn’t break through the Great Emperor ship’s defenses, let alone traditional five-toothed great warships.
During training, although they all used substitute items, every time a fire oil crossbow spear hit, or a substitute for an explosive crossbow arrow hit, the military司马 would judge according to the actual damage.
The Princess ship and Qing Que ship, which previously rampaged freely across the great sea, didn’t dare approach the Great Emperor ship at all. This was because the Great Emperor ship’s ram was made entirely of ironwood, and if the eight-ox crossbows on both sides of the ship’s hull opened fire together, the dense crossbow spears would fly over like locusts – even the Princess ship couldn’t withstand it and could only rely on its small size and nimble advantages to circle the Great Emperor ship and launch attacks.
The only time there was a close-range attack, the Princess ship’s sails were torn to shreds by chain shot fired from the Great Emperor ship’s crossbow cannons – those cannonballs with iron chains strung between two iron balls. If it weren’t for a series of powerful attacks from the Qing Que ship, the sailors on the Great Emperor ship would have already begun boarding attacks on the Princess ship. The Great Emperor ship could fully carry a thousand men. To fall into boarding combat would be extremely disadvantageous for the Princess ship with its fewer numbers.
The stone hammer at the Princess ship’s bow was its most powerful weapon. When it swung preparing to smash through the Great Emperor ship’s hull, countless iron balls with iron chains flew out from the Great Emperor ship, tangling around the iron chains holding the stone hammer, making it unable to move. With no other choice, the Princess ship had to order the stone hammer released, otherwise the entire ship would be firmly locked by the Great Emperor ship.
Thick-skinned and tough-fleshed was definitely the Great Emperor ship’s characteristic. The entire ship alone used a full eighty thousand jin of ironwood – this was already all the ironwood the Lingnan Navy had obtained from Goguryeo and Mohe over these years. The ship’s hull above the waterline all had ironwood armor. Crossbow spears were difficult to attach and simply couldn’t break through the Great Emperor ship’s defenses.
Although its tall sails were the most fatal flaw, this flaw was relative. Other ships also had tall sails. Because the entire ship’s volume was massive, its deck mounted four genuine eight-ox crossbows. Although the firing rate was slow, the range was increased by a full half. The mounted crossbow spears were even thicker and larger, with even more gunpowder. An ordinary wooden ship, as long as it was hit by one crossbow spear, would immediately shatter into wood chips. In this era, it was the true monarch of the seas.
Not counting the interior decorations, the Great Emperor ship alone cost a full two hundred thousand silver coins. If it could be threatened by a five-toothed great warship costing no more than five thousand silver coins, Yun Ye and the officers and soldiers of the Lingnan Navy should have long ago committed suicide in shame.
Yun Ye cleared his throat, helped Yan Lide up, and said seriously: “Grand Master, Yun Ye did not speak nonsense. Although I’m young in years, I’ve also rushed about on the seas for several years. Lord Zhang is even more a master of water combat. The judgments we’ve made are absolutely fair. The five-toothed great warship was indeed the overlord of the waters before, but now it’s definitely outdated, even vulnerable to a single blow.”
“The times are always progressing. Just like our Great Tang – ten years ago we were still struggling to fill our bellies. Now we’ve already become so powerful as to be invincible throughout the world. The navy is the same – all need to continuously progress. The three giant warships – the Princess ship, Chengqian ship, and Qing Que ship – can sweep away the pirates of the South China Sea. Not to mention that during this period there was also the Goguryeo Navy. The result of over a hundred ships battling three ships was that we won a great victory. They had no other method besides scattering and fleeing.”
“The Great Emperor ship is an even higher-grade existence than these three warships. Your five-toothed great warships might still have some use on inland rivers. On the great sea they would only become targets. The five-toothed great warship wouldn’t even have a chance to strike before the Great Emperor ship, because before you could attack it, the Great Emperor ship would have already blasted you to pieces.”
Although Yan Lide’s spirit was agitated, he did know Yun Ye’s battle record. The great South Sea battle, though only a private-natured voyage, daring to report such bizarre battle conditions meant it could definitely withstand scrutiny. To this day, no Great Tang general dared to fabricate like this. Cheng Yaojin was considered the most likely to fabricate – at most he would just inflate the number of enemies killed a bit. Things related to victory or defeat in war he would absolutely never treat carelessly.
Now it was also before the emperor. Yun Ye and Zhang Liang absolutely wouldn’t dare act presumptuously. This could only mean the Great Emperor ship was extremely formidable.
“Your Majesty, believe Yun Ye’s words. If you hesitate for another moment, he’ll use his old trick again to make wagers with everyone. The Yun family already has a lot of money – there’s no need to send his family more money.”
Zhangsun emerged from the cabin dragging Yun Shou. After greeting the assembled ministers, she advised the emperor not to be deceived.
When Yun Shou saw his father, he broke free from the Empress’s hand and pounced into Yun Ye’s embrace like a cannonball, crying loudly. Yun Ye held his son, begged pardon from the emperor, empress, and assembled ministers, then went to a quiet spot on the deck.
“Son, I missed you so much! Let father kiss you first. Oh my, your little face is covered in snot – so salty! Don’t cry, good boy. Father has brought back grandmother, mother, sister, and aunt. Once we finish here, we’ll go home. Tonight you’ll sleep with father and mother…”
“Lychees, bananas, giant crabs – you promised me…”
“Of course there are. Father dug up a lychee tree for you – right now is perfect for eating them. The banana tree is full of bananas – even hugging them to eat is fine. As for crabs, that’s nothing at all. Father even brought you lobsters. In a bit, after we board our family’s ship and you’ve seen grandmother and mother, father will personally steam lobster for you to eat. You can eat alone – won’t give any to anyone else.”
With great difficulty, Yun Ye coaxed his son to stop crying and wiped his little face clean. Only then did he lead his son forward. Who knows when, but a five-toothed great warship had already gone downstream, charging aggressively toward the Yangtze River mouth.
Not understanding what was happening, Yun Ye asked Zhang Liang: “Lord Zhang, everything was already made clear. Why is there still a ship running over there?”
Zhang Liang chuckled and said: “There are always those who don’t believe in bad luck. They urged His Majesty to dispatch a ship to try, thinking there wouldn’t be any problem – just to see the strengths and weaknesses of the two ships.”
Yun Ye’s legs immediately began shaking like plucking a lute. Zhang Liang said dismissively: “Even if the Great Emperor ship doesn’t fight back and just stands there, it’s enough for the five-toothed great warship to attack for a while. What are you worrying about?”
Yun Ye struggled to regain his composure and said bitterly to Zhang Liang: “Lord Zhang, do you still remember that the Great Emperor ship has a prohibition?”
After hearing Yun Ye’s words, Zhang Liang’s face also turned deathly pale. He turned and ran before the emperor, saying loudly: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Quickly stop the five-toothed great warship! Quickly stop the five-toothed great warship! Any ship with hostile intent that approaches within five hundred paces of the Great Emperor ship – the Great Emperor ship will immediately attack. This is the Great Emperor ship’s prohibition.”
Emperor Li looked at Yun Ye strangely and asked: “Why is there such a prohibition?”
“Your Majesty, the Great Emperor ship was originally Your Majesty’s vessel, the same as your imperial carriage. Therefore, the Wuli司马 established this prohibition according to regulations. On the water, the Great Emperor ship is Your Majesty’s traveling palace. Those harboring ill intentions will be immediately destroyed with absolutely no chance of luck. Even the Prince of Hejiang cannot stop the Great Emperor ship’s captain from executing this prohibition. The supervising officers on the ship are eunuchs – they only recognize Your Majesty.”
Emperor Li nodded and said to Yun Ye: “Indeed so. However, it’s too late now. Someone, order the ship to sail! We’ll go ahead and take a look.”
Under the repeated urgings of Yun Ye and Zhang Liang, the five-toothed great warship began going downstream. The ten-li waterway was reached in an instant. Yun Ye discovered that the cavalry on the shore had all halted their horses on the Yangtze riverbank, silent as crows and sparrows. On the river, only countless small boats shuttled back and forth rescuing people. The five-toothed great warship was nowhere to be seen. Associating this with the several loud booms he’d heard just now, Yun Ye reckoned that to find the five-toothed great warship, one would need to search the river bottom.
The Great Emperor ship, gleaming with a black luster in the sunlight, had half-sails raised and was cruising in the middle of the river. The crossbow arrow house on the ship was slowly descending, indicating it had just finished working and was now adjusting.
Li Xiaogong stood on a warship pointing at the Great Emperor ship and cursing loudly, but only dared to remain far away, not daring to approach. The scene just now had nearly shattered his liver and gallbladder. The five-toothed great warship went downstream and, without a word, prepared to challenge the Great Emperor ship stopped in the middle of the river. Li Xiaogong had also transmitted the testing order by flag signals to the Great Emperor ship, but the Great Emperor ship said: the previous order had not been rescinded, later orders would not be honored. It also ordered the five-toothed great warship not to enter within five hundred paces, otherwise it would be destroyed.
The arrogant tone was disgusting. They were all fierce generals – who could stand this? So the captain on the five-toothed great warship ordered to continue approaching – fight first, talk later. The Great Emperor ship continuously transmitted signals prohibiting forward movement. The five-toothed great warship completely ignored them and continued forward. When the distance to the Great Emperor ship reached eight hundred paces, the Great Emperor ship had already raised anchor. Sails were raised, and the crossbow arrow wooden house on the ship also rose up, firing three signal arrows to intimidate the five-toothed great warship to halt.
The six wooden masts of the five-toothed great warship had already risen. The diamond-shaped giant stones hanging from the wooden masts were suspended. The teeth-grinding creaking sounds of the eight-ox crossbows had already stopped, just waiting to trigger the crossbow arrows with wooden hammers. The five-toothed great warship also had gunpowder and fire oil – this was the captain’s source of confidence. During test firing at Fengjie, when crossbow arrows fired together, the earth shook and mountains trembled with extremely astonishing power. As long as they reached within three hundred paces, they could launch an attack. This was the farthest range for crossbow arrows with gunpowder and fire oil.
Just as they crossed the ranging arrow shot by the Great Emperor ship, four thick crossbow spears viciously nailed into the five-toothed great warship. After a series of tremendous booms, the pavilion on top of the five-toothed great warship had already collapsed. The masts on the ship fractured, slapping the water surface and splashing up large sheets of water spray. There were also countless figures thrown high by the explosion’s blast wave, falling into the Yangtze River.
Amid Li Xiaogong’s furious roars, the five-toothed great warship, pressed by the giant stones on one side, tilted. The Great Emperor ship silently charged over at high speed. The dark red ram viciously pierced into the five-toothed great warship’s side hull, completely capsizing the five-toothed great warship. Immediately following, the heavy hull rolled over it, mercilessly pressing the five-toothed great warship into the Yangtze River. The huge whirlpool formed by the sinking ship sucked many sailors who had jumped ship to escape along with it.
On the Great Emperor ship there was no cheering, no screaming, not even a ripple of emotion. It turned around and returned to its starting point. This time it didn’t drop anchor, cruising on the river surface with half-sails raised. The signal displayed on the ship still read: Do not approach…