Chapter 340 Dantu Water Village

It is the ugly time and the night is deep. The water village is dimly lit with lights. Then a sedan came from Dantu and soon arrived outside the Lumen of Shuizhai.

"I, Lord Dantu County, have something important to discuss with General Zheng."

Then I heard people cursing: "A dog got in, it's the egg thing in the middle of the night..."

Then the door opened, and Dantu County Master got back on the sedan with a dark face and entered the water village.

Question: "Please call General Zheng quickly to report something urgent in Jiangning."

"Wait."

Nearly a quarter of an hour later, the Honorable Dantu County saw Zheng Zhibao.

Zheng Zhibao was wearing a single shirt with his chest exposed and his sleepy and rude look, which made the county leader feel particularly unhappy and made him feel even more correct in his decision.

"Master Chen is here late at night. Could it be that he and I are discussing whose bird is bigger?" Zheng Zhibao said frivolously.

Chen Xianzun said with a dark face: "General Zheng, a general of a country, how can he be so frivolous? Stop talking nonsense. I came here overnight with urgent news from Jiangning."

Zheng Zhibao curled his lips: "Tell me, what's the urgent report? Even if it's a big deal, it's urgent to report it. There are so many urgent reports."

It's not that Zheng Zhibao is really that frivolous. It's just that there are too many urgent reports these days and it's commonplace. If there is any movement on the other side, Nanjing Jiangning will be in chaos, and trivial reports will be reported urgently, which makes Zheng Zhibao particularly unhappy.

Chen Xianzun said: "At this time, the Xia army on the other side of Jiangpu made a lot of noise. The Xia army has been stationed in Jiangpu for more than a month. If there is any change at this time, it may be suspected of crossing the river. The gentlemen of Nanjing Jiangning are afraid that Jiangning will be lost, so they rush to send a message. , order me to inform General Zheng to prepare for war. If the Xia army crosses the river, I will ask the general to move to Dantu County and choose an opportunity to return to Jiangning."

When Zheng Zhibao heard this, his thoughts suddenly changed and he said: "My general is stationed at Dantu, and my brother is stationed at Longtan. Dantu is far away and Longtan is close. Why do you choose the distance instead of the near?"

Chen Xianzun said: "It's not just the general here. There are also urgent reports from Governor Zheng Zhilong's office."

Zheng Zhibao sighed: "Since you have already reported it to my eldest brother, why do you need to report it to me? Dantu is a strategic location of the navy. If I abandon the water stronghold and station in the county town, I will give up my strengths and weaknesses, and I will no longer have the power to cross the Yangtze River!"

Chen Xianzun said: "How could I not know that Dantu is so important in the land? But no matter how important Dantu is, it can't be compared to Jiangning? What's more, there are no naval forces in the north of the Yangtze River, and they all ride on foot, so how can Dantu lose anything? Governor Zheng Zhilong is enough in Longtan. , could it be that General Zheng can only fight water battles, but cannot fight land battles?"

After hearing this, Zheng Zhibao felt unhappy and said, "Why can't I, General Lu Zhan, defeat me?" But he also believed what County Lord Chen said.

He knows a lot about Jiangbei. How long did it take for King Xia Ying to gain power? The navy is no better than the army. As long as the army has money and food, it can raise a large army in three or two months. But the navy wants warships!

The shipbuilding industry of the Ming Dynasty was almost concentrated on the southeast coast. The North simply doesn’t have that foundation. The Ming court had already abandoned martial arts.

The King of Xia, who swept across Jiangbei and inherited the legacy of the Ming Dynasty, naturally did not have the foundation to build a naval force that could compete with the Zheng family in less than a year.

However, when he was garrisoning Dantu, Zheng Zhilong had many instructions and ordered him to be nailed here to guard the way back for the main force and to keep watch with his horns. Without his eldest brother Zheng Zhilong, he would never break camp.

He said: "Although the words of the county magistrate are not bad, unless my eldest brother sends an order to move the army, I will never leave the camp easily."

Chen Xianzun frowned: "The general's words are wrong. It is enough to have Governor Zheng Zhilong's main naval force patrolling the river. Jiangning cannot be lost. If the Xia army crosses the river, what will happen to the navy masters and apprentices? Jiangning will be lost. , what’s the point of Dantu? It’s really useless for the general to be stationed here. It’s better to break up the camp and move the troops, which is more important.”

"This..." Zheng Zhibao hesitated for a moment and said, "Aren't there tens of thousands of troops on the ground in Jiangnan?"

Chen County Zun said: "The Xia army is powerful, but the soldiers in Jiangnan have rarely experienced wars. If the Xia army breaks through the blockade on the river and crosses the river, it will be difficult to resist. General Zheng and Governor Zheng both have strong troops, so the lords of Jiangning naturally rely on them. . Just in case."

"That's what I say, but..." Zheng Zhibao muttered: "The Xia Army has moved, but it may not cross the river to attack Jiangning. Maybe it is because of other things? Besides, my brother's main naval force is patrolling the water surface of Jiangning, and the Xia Army may not We can get through. It might as well be like this, Mr. Chen, wait a moment. If the Xia army does come to attack tonight and my brother fails to blockade, how about I, the general, send out troops again?"

Chen Xianzun thought for a while and said: "That's alright. Just listen to General Zheng's words. I will stay in Shuizhai for the time being. I also asked General Zheng to arrange a place for me to stay so that I can respond in time."

Zheng Zhibao nodded, called the soldiers, arranged a bamboo tower for Chen Xianzun alone, and went to rest again.

Dantu Water Village is not small, after all, tens of thousands of people are stationed there. All of them are made of bamboo and wood, which is simple and cool. County Master Chen and several of his entourage arrived at the bamboo building, closed the door, lit the lamp, and asked people to be on guard outside, and then they spoke.

"The envoy has also seen that Zheng Zhibao is not someone who can be fooled easily." Chen County Zun said: "Zheng Zhilong came for profit, and his subordinates only listen to his orders. Without Zheng Zhilong's words, Zheng Zhibao would never fall into the trap easily. Forged He didn’t even read Hongguang’s letter.”

The envoy was a young man who had previously pretended to be a follower of County Master Chen. He raised his head now with a handsome expression and said, "Zheng Zhibao is indeed difficult to fool. But that's not important. We still have many follow-up methods waiting for him. "

Chen County Zun said: "In that case, can the envoy reveal something? This county has already expressed its heart to King Xia, and since he is here, there is no possibility of leaking the news."

The envoy smiled and said: "Forget it. Now that the matter has come to this, it is not easy to deceive the county magistrate. Six thousand elite troops in the Jiangnan Theater under your command have quietly crossed the river, and the primary target is here. In addition, the Shandong Navy Theater has also dispatched troops Come, the fleet must be on the river outside Dantu by now."

County Honorable Chen said in shock: "This is so! How can Zheng Zhibao still survive?!"

The envoy smiled and said: "The Fujian Navy has rich experience in water warfare, and Dantu is in a strategic location. Just in case, we must go all out. If we can deceive Zheng Zhibao out of the water stronghold and turn his navy into an army, we only need to cross Jiang's 6,000 elite soldiers can defeat him. If he can't be deceived, don't he still have his own envoy? I think Zheng Zhibao's guard is lax. When the time comes, he will capture the thief and the king. If he is captured, Dantu Water Stronghold will naturally come down in an instant. .”

Chen Xianzun exhaled softly: "Is this really foolproof?"

"Of course it's foolproof." The messenger said confidently: "It's not difficult to capture Zheng Zhibao. It's just that when the war breaks out, Mr. Chen will find a place to hide first."

County Master Chen naturally knew the danger of war and chaos, so he immediately nodded: "Since you can't deceive Zheng Zhibao, it's better to leave immediately."

After all, he is also afraid of death.

The envoy said: "I just told Zheng Zhibao that I would wait here for news from Jiangning, and now you are leaving again. Do you think Zheng Zhibao has a wooden head?"

Chen Xianzun immediately stopped talking.

Time passes slowly, and the ugly moments fade away. But Dantu was completely silent, except for the watchers and wild cats, there was no life at all.

At this time, among the lush grass and woods on the river bank outside Dantu, an army was approaching quickly and silently.