Chapter 533 Battle of Jingkou
At the end of October in the first year of Zhenguan, Zhu Deyu arrived at Guazhou Ferry in Guangling and made an appointment with Li Yaoshi and Lu Qin to send troops to cross the river on the first day of November.

Even though winter is approaching and the water level has dropped a lot, the surface of the Yangtze River in the lower reaches is still wide, and the huge ships are riding the wind and waves.
Pharmacist Li was standing on the deck at the bow, legs apart, looking at the river. The cold wind blew on his face, which was a bit biting, and his cloak was blown wildly by the wind. Looking far ahead, behind, left and right, there were warships everywhere, hundreds of large ships and countless small ships, covering the entire river, and the scene was extremely spectacular.

"It's windy outside. Pharmacist, you've been standing outside for too long. The wind from the south may seem insignificant and not as cold as the wind from the north, but it's the coldest and most bone-chilling."

Lu Qin's voice sounded behind him.

Pharmacist Li said, "Thank you for your advice, Mr. Lu, but it seems like there's some headwind. Will it take time?"

Lu Qin smiled and said, "This place is close to the East China Sea, and there is often an easterly wind. Although it is headwind today, we are with the current, so it won't be a big deal. Moreover, we are headwind, but General Zhu has a tailwind."

The Tang army was divided into two routes. The Eastern Army was naturally the Luoyang Central Army and Qingzhou Navy led by Zhu Deyu, as well as more than 10,000 troops and thousands of large and small ships mobilized by General Pingdong Zhang Gonglie.

The Western Army consisted of the Chaohu and Poyang Lake naval forces led by Lu Qin, the Jiangzhou army, and the various troops that followed Li Yaoshi south.

The two armies, totaling more than 150,000 people, crossed the river from Caishi and Jingkou respectively.

Lu Qin planned to transport Li Yaoshi and other land combat forces to Jiangnan, Dajiang. After landing at Caishi, he led his troops downstream to assist the Eastern Army in the naval battle and capture Jingkou.

After landing, Pharmacist Li got off the boat and bowed to Lu Qin, saying, "Mr. Lu, I will go ahead and see you at the foot of Jianye City."

Lu Qin laughed and said, "General Li invited you. Let's meet in Jianye."

After Li Yaoshi led 40,000 troops to land, he first met up with Fu Weixue and others, and then headed straight for Dangtu.

At this time downstream, in the waters of Jingkou, on the Yangtze River, the sounds of various crossbows and bows and arrows fired by the Tang army were accompanied by the roar of the wind and shot towards the Wei navy. However, due to the headwind, the crossbows, bows and arrows and other projectile weapons of the Wei navy all lost their lethality. They could only watch as the catapults on the Tang army ships hurled many fireballs at them with a bang, and the rockets swarmed like locusts.

Miao Che, commander of the Eastern Wei navy and the general guarding Jingkou, could only order the entire army to charge against the wind, advancing forward despite the huge casualties caused by the enemy's long-range projectile weapons, and engaging in close combat.

Many ships from both sides started boarding battles. The fog on the river had long been dispelled, and the flames could be clearly reflected on the surface of the river. The tragic screams and angry cries of killing were heard one after another.

The navy of the Eastern Wei army was still very brave, but they were facing the elite Jianghuai army who had fought with Li Yuanhui in the north and south for more than ten years. They were experts in both naval and land battles.

The Huaishang boys got on the boat and were still fierce tigers on the water.

Zhu Deyu stood on the ship's tower wearing a well-made Ming Guang armor, a wind-wing helmet on his head, and a bright red cloak fluttering in the wind. His eyes were always focused on the battlefield on the river, and he constantly used flags to command the fleet to fight and distribute orders.

Zhang Jian, Zhang Zhen'e, Chang Yanheng and other brave generals all started the charge with their boats.

The battle intensified. Several main ships on the river were on fire, and debris and corpses appeared and disappeared in the river, creating a mess. More ships were fighting on the boarding board, and the ships of the two armies were intertwined on the river, creating a chaotic situation.

The two armies continued to fight in the front area. No side had much advantage. The navy of the Eastern Wei army was their last elite force. After the close combat, they also showed the resilience of the Jiangdong warriors. It was difficult to tell the winner for a while.

Old Zhu always looked ahead, but was not in a hurry to send the last of his troops into the battlefield.

In Jingkou, Wei's main general Miao Che was a little restless. He was still in the Jingkou water fort. There were boats on the river returning to the dock to report the battle situation ahead. Miao Che came to the dock in armor and was about to board the boat to supervise the battle at the front. Deputy General Liu Renshan hurriedly dissuaded him, saying, "The battle ahead is dangerous. The general must not take risks lightly."

Miao Che pushed him away and said, "It's too late. Once the Tang army crosses the Yangtze River, everything will be over. My father and I will share weal and woe with the Wei Dynasty. Now is the time to fight to the death. Don't stop us!"

Liu Renshan advised again: "The enemy warships at Guazhou Ferry on the other side have repeatedly tried to break through. I'm afraid they have discussed with the Tang army in the west and want to attack us from both sides. The general should stay in the water fort and take charge of the overall situation."

But Miao Che shook his head. He was eager to know the battle situation on the front line. He had heard the battle reports this morning, which were all tragic. All the troops said they had suffered heavy casualties, but they managed to maintain the situation. But when his ship left the Jingkou Water Fortress and sailed into the river, his vision immediately became extremely wide. Miao Che was shocked by the scene in front of him. Looking far away, it seemed that the ships of the Wei Navy were all burning, with thick smoke billowing.

Battle reports from the front kept coming in, the fighting became more and more intense, and then there was no news. Either a captain was killed in the battle, or the warships were captured by the enemy.

Miao Che felt as if his internal organs were burning with fear. After the fall of Cai Shi, the last of the Eastern Wei navy's forces were already in Jingkou.

If the naval battle at Jingkou fails and the Tang army lands, the Eastern Wei army will have no ability to fight back in the land battle.

Miao Che immediately sent someone back to mobilize the elite warships reserved in Jingkou for support. His deputy Liu Renshan advised: "General, please look carefully. Our front-line ships are entangled with the Tang army's ships. Although the Tang army is powerful, it has not gained any advantage. Otherwise, how can we hold on from morning to noon? Cai Shi in the west has been lost. The Tang army's navy will certainly come to the downstream for support. If we don't leave some room, how can we resist when the enemy reinforcements arrive?"

Miao Che frowned after hearing what Liu Renshan said. He knew that Liu Renshan was right. It was obviously risky to go all in now. But looking around, the battle situation was indeed dangerous. Although the defense line could still hold, it was obviously shaky.

The generals at the front kept urging for reinforcements. Even though they could barely hold on now, they still kept urging and asking for help when they knew there were reinforcements coming from behind.

In fact, the generals of the Eastern Wei army thought very clearly. It would be fine if they won the battle, but how would they bear the responsibility if they lost?

It would be better to describe the situation as serious in advance, so that we will have some excuses if we are really defeated after the war.

Of course, all of this is based on the assumption that the Wei Dynasty is still in existence and the court can still hold them accountable. Most of the generals of the Wei army are actually already very pessimistic.

If it weren't for the fact that Cao and his son had some popularity and treated the generals very well, these people would have wanted to stop fighting the Tang army long ago.

Now I am just thinking about repaying the late emperor and Your Majesty one last time, so I hold on a little longer.

When things are beyond their control, there is nothing they can do.

But Miao Che finally lost his patience. After all, he could not make an accurate assessment of the battlefield. After seeing that more than half of his fleet was emitting thick smoke, he finally ordered the last reserve troops in the water fort to attack.

Zhu Deyu, who was on a large ship in the Guazhou Ferry Canal, finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing the report from the front line.

"Send a signal to Lu Gong upstream, the time has come."

"Pass the order, all troops attack! Push forward!"

(End of this chapter)