Chapter 536 Before the War

After finishing the small talk, Yang Zhengshan walked into the hall, and An Yuxing also jumped down from the wall.

"When do you plan to go to war?"

"After a while!"

"How long is after a while?" An Yuxing said.

"Next month? What, you can't wait?" Yang Zhengshan said casually while washing.

An Yuxing looked at the clear sky outside and shook his head gently, "The wind and rain here are too strong, I can't get used to living here!"

"Haha~~"

Yang Zhengshan laughed.

The climate here in Zhaowuwei is very different from that in Kyoto. In November, Kyoto has already snowed, but it is still a bit stuffy here in Zhaowuwei.

"Everything in the world can enter the Tao, and the changing wind and clouds can also be enlightened!"

Yang Zhengshan said casually.

An Yuxing was stunned, "Can the changing wind and clouds also be enlightened?"

He looked at the dark clouds in the sky that gradually faded, "Can the rain and clouds also be enlightened?"

Yang Zhengshan saw that he was stunned, and ignored him, eating breakfast by himself.

The breakfast was prepared by his attendants. It was a big bowl of rice, with dried meat, green vegetables, pickles, etc. It was not rich, but it was good with meat and vegetables.

Just as he was eating, An Yuxing suddenly leaped out and landed on the wall again.

He threw the wine gourd in his hand, and the wine spilled in the air. Then he jumped up and grabbed the wine gourd and fell down.

At the same time, a rain of arrows fell on the ground, splashing mud and water on the already bumpy ground.

"Old man, don't ruin my yard!" Yang Zhengshan shouted dissatisfiedly.

An Yuxing laughed, "You are right, you can also understand the truth in the changing wind and clouds!"

"Uh, what did you understand?" Yang Zhengshan asked in astonishment.

He just said it casually. Although he thought this sentence was not wrong, he didn't think he could really understand anything from it.

"I didn't understand anything, just some new discoveries!" An Yuxing smiled.

"Really!"

Yang Zhengshan felt that the old man was a little different today, but he couldn't tell what was different.

"It's hard to explain, it's hard to figure out, but maybe this is an opportunity, anyway, I've gained something!" An Yuxing raised his head and took a sip of wine, saying it freely.

Yang Zhengshan ate all the rice in the bowl, and was too lazy to say more to the old man.

This old man always likes to be mysterious, and often says some nonsense.

In fact, it's not nonsense, because in the innate realm, some things are hard to explain, and it all depends on personal understanding.

Yang Zhengshan didn't want to pay attention to An Yuxing, but An Yuxing said: "Have you practiced walking on water?"

"No!"

"Then practice it, after all, you will fight on the sea next!" An Yuxing said.

Yang Zhengshan thought about it and it was right, "Then I'll find time to practice!"

Walking on water, as the name suggests, is walking on water, but it's not completely walking on water, but refers to some skills and methods of fighting in water.

How to move quickly in the water, how to walk on the water surface, how to fight in the water, etc.

The innate warriors have a long breath and can easily hold their breath underwater for half an hour, but there are many skills to fight underwater.

As for walking on the water, it is not as difficult as imagined. The acquired warriors can walk on the water, and the innate warriors can stand on the water surface for a long time.

This is nothing more than the use of the innate true qi.

As long as they reach the level of controlling qi, the innate warriors can stand on the water surface for a long time.

Yang Zhengshan had never fought in the water before, so he had not practiced this skill.

With An Yuxing's reminder, Yang Zhengshan came to the beach after breakfast and started practicing.

He did not practice how to walk on the water, after all, it was easy for him. What he needed to practice was how to walk on the water more labor-savingly.

On the sea, Yang Zhengshan kept running as if walking on flat ground, jumping up for a while, diving into the water for a while, and suddenly jumped out of the water after a moment.

In the first few days, he just jumped up and down in the sea. Later, he even wore the Flowing Golden Light Armor and held the Black Iron Spear, jumping up and down in the sea.

The Black Iron Spear weighed 138 pounds, and the Flowing Golden Light Armor weighed 143 pounds. The two together were almost twice Yang Zhengshan's weight.

Carrying such heavy armor, Yang Zhengshan had to work much harder to enter the water freely, mainly because the consumption of innate true energy would increase exponentially.

Fortunately, Yang Zhengshan's innate true energy is now very strong, so he can afford it.

Time passed slowly during Yang Zhengshan's practice, and it was mid-December before he knew it.

The basic training of the Jiujiang Navy has been completed, and the cooperation training of the Sihai Navy has also been carried out several times. Although there will be many loopholes, they can barely go out to sea for combat.

As the New Year is approaching, Yang Zhengshan does not plan to continue to waste time.

The twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Yang Zhengshan beat the drum in the Zhaowuwei Yamen to gather the generals.

Deputy Prime Minister Yu Tonghai, Bai Yuanxi, Camp Officer Xue Changan, Lieutenant General Qian Manyi, Zhang Man, Wu Kai and others gathered.

Except for Xue Ping who was still guarding Dongyang Island, all the generals of the Four Seas Navy gathered.

The government hall could not accommodate so many people, so Yang Zhengshan held a meeting in the yard.

Looking at the generals, Yang Zhengshan stood tall.

"It's almost time, we should go to war! If we delay any longer, I guess those officials in Kyoto will give us a hard time!"

Yang Zhengshan said with a smile.

Everyone laughed.

The four sea navies are now a giant beast that devours gold. In just three months, they have swallowed more than one million taels of silver and hundreds of thousands of stones of grain, as well as many weapons and warships.

If this continues, let alone the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, Emperor Yanping will probably be anxious.

"With the Marquis here, we are not afraid of them!"

"Yes, we have been living a very happy life these days!"

Several people laughed.

How can we not be happy?

Except for the Tenglong Guards, the other navies are all short of money. In the past, they had to ask for money from the court, and the key was that they might not be able to get much money and grain even if they had to work hard.

Now, they can easily get enough money and grain, as well as a complete set of weapons and warships.

They have never been so rich before.

"Okay, just joke around, we can't just think about getting benefits and not doing anything!" Yang Zhengshan pressed his hand and signaled everyone to be quiet.

"It's time to go to war!"

"My Lord, just give the order. We will march forward bravely and fearless of life and death!" Yu Tonghai said solemnly.

Yang Zhengshan nodded, "According to the information provided by the Secret Guard, Xingyuemen has gathered nearly 40,000 pirates around Xingyue Island!"

As he said that, he waved his hand, and his attendants immediately brought up the prepared sea chart.

Yang Zhengshan pointed to the Xingyue Island on the sea map and said: "Forty thousand pirates are distributed in the garrisons of the Four Flags Army, but once we go out, they will definitely fight a decisive battle with us!"

"I have decided to place the decisive battle a hundred miles west of Xingyue Island!"

"There are more than ten islands of different sizes here, and the largest island is the garrison of the Full Moon Flag Army!"

"So we have to divide this battle into four steps. The first step is to defeat the pirate army of Xingyuemen, the second step is to capture Full Moon Island, the third step is to land on Xingyue Island and destroy the headquarters of Xingyuemen in one fell swoop, and the fourth step is to clean up the remaining forces of Xingyuemen."

"The most difficult ones are the first and third steps. Xingyuemen may put all its strength on the pirate army, but it may also fight a desperate battle on Xingyue Island!"

"So we have to go all out in these two battles!"

Yang Zhengshan explained the general plan and began to give orders.

"Yu Tonghai!"

"I'm here!"

"You lead the Tenglong Navy to occupy this place first!"

Yang Zhengshan pointed to an uninhabited island in the north of Xingyue Island, "After the war begins, you will be responsible for inserting into the rear of the enemy and cutting off the enemy's retreat!"

"I obey your orders!" Yu Tonghai said.

"Bai Yuanxi!" Yang Zhengshan shouted again.

"I'm here!" Bai Yuanxi stepped out.

Yang Zhengshan pointed to the south of Manyue Island again, "After entering the Xingyue Sea, you lead the Jiujiang Central Guard to separate from the army and insert into the south of the enemy first. The army will try its best to drive the enemy to flee southward, and you will be responsible for intercepting them!"

"I obey your orders!" Bai Yuanxi replied.

Yang Zhengshan continued, "The rest of the generals will follow me to attack Man Yue Island. The specific tactical arrangements will be made at that time. I have only one request for you!"

"That is, as long as you receive the order, you must rush forward for me, even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire in front of you, you must rush forward for me!"

"If there is anyone who dares to be afraid of fighting, even if this victory is won, I will chop him down!"

It is extremely troublesome to command a naval battle. Once separated, it is difficult to issue orders in time. Therefore, after the division of troops, how to fight depends entirely on the commander's grasp of the opportunity.

Therefore, Yang Zhengshan did not dare to divide the troops too much, but only let Yu Tonghai and Bai Yuanxi each bring a guard to respond to the situation.

As for the other naval forces, Yang Zhengshan had only one request, that is, dare to rush forward.

In this battle, they have an advantage in manpower, and their warships are better than the enemy. As long as the soldiers dare to fight, it is difficult to lose this battle. At most, it is the difference between a great victory and a miserable victory.

"We will obey the order of the Marquis!" All the generals responded in unison.

Under the order, the soldiers began to prepare for the battle.

The weapons and armor were ready, and the food, fresh water, crossbows and arrows were all loaded onto the warships. Thousands of soldiers were busy for a day. The next morning, Yang Zhengshan boarded the ship of Jinhaiwei at the temporary port.

Jinhaiwei's ship was also the No. 1 Dafu ship, which was the same as the Dafu ship of Tenglong Vanguard, but the crossbows on its ship were not as good as those of Tenglong Vanguard, because the crossbows of Tenglong Vanguard were all modified by Tenglong Guard themselves, which was when Yang Zhengshan was in Tenglong Guard.

Yang Zhengshan chose the Dafu ship of Jinhaiwei as the flagship. In addition to his personal attendants and guards, he also had An Yuxing and his six people.

With the six innate warriors by his side, Yang Zhengshan felt that if he lost this battle, it would be unforgivable.

The army went out to sea, and thousands of warships rushed towards Xingyue Island. When passing Dongyang Island, Xue Ping also led two battalions of soldiers to follow Tenglong Vanguard.

On Dongyang Island, Zhu Ming stood respectfully behind an old man, looking at the mighty navy, his eyes full of shock.

"I only knew that Darong was powerful before, but I didn't know how powerful Darong was. Today, I know that Darong's strength is far beyond my imagination!"

Zhu Ming said with some sighs.

In terms of the number of warships, the warships owned by the four sea navies at present are actually not many, only more than a thousand warships.

Xingyuemen is said to have 3,000 warships.

But the number of warships does not represent strength. Ten small boats are not as good as a large ship, and a hundred small boats are not as good as a large ship.

The real strength of the Four Seas Navy lies in the twenty-eight big ships.

Of the twenty-eight big ships, ten were originally the flagships of Tenglong Vanguard, Jinhai Guard, Quanhai Guard, Leizhou Guard and Haizhou Left Guard, and the remaining eighteen were merchant ships that were transformed by the Ministry of Industry over the past three months.

Although they were transformed from merchant ships and look smaller than the No. 1 big ship, they are still huge.

Twenty-eight big ships together with more than two hundred medium-sized patrol ships and Haicang ships are definitely not comparable to Xingyuemen. Not only Xingyuemen, but any force in the southeastern sea area can't produce so many big ships, including the Lu Sheng Dynasty.

"For us, warships are just a small matter. I'm more curious about how many innate warriors there are on that ship!" The old man stroked his gray beard and said.

"Does the third master know the innate warriors of Darong?" Zhu Ming asked softly.

The old man in front of him is Zhu Changxing, one of the leaders of the Zhu family on Dihuo Island. Dihuo Island is a family-based power. Although there are tens of thousands of clansmen and many branches, the Zhu family still maintains a family-based ruling model.

Its leaders are all innate warriors. They do not respect seniority and age, but only respect strength. The leaders are ranked according to the time they broke through to the innate realm.

The third master in front of him is ranked third on Dihuo Island, which means that there are two clansmen who reached the innate realm earlier than him.

If one of the innate clansmen in front of him dies, his ranking will also move up one place.

Zhu Changxing took a deep breath, "There are a few acquaintances, but I haven't seen them for several years. It seems that I should visit my old friends!"

"The situation in the southeastern sea area may change in the future, and we should make some preparations in advance!"

Zhu Ming nodded in agreement, "What do you think of Mr. Xue Ping? Should we cooperate with them?"

Zhu Changxing smiled, "Even if we have to choose a partner, we will not choose him. He is just a commander in Darong."

"What does the third master mean?" Zhu Ming was a little disappointed. He was actually optimistic about the cooperation with Xue Ping.

Zhu Changxing said: "Xue Ping is the commander of the Tenglong Vanguard, and as far as I know, the Tenglong Guard was trained by Darong Jing'an Hou Yang Zhengshan. Well, Yang Zhengshan is the chief officer of the four sea fleets!"

"So our partner should be Darong Jing'an Hou Yang Zhengshan, not Xue Ping!"

Xue Ping is not qualified to cooperate with their Dihuo Island. It's not that he looks down on Xue Ping, but Xue Ping is really not qualified.

Whether it is identity and status, or strength, Xue Ping is far from qualified.

Zhu Ming suddenly realized, "The Third Master is still thoughtful!"

Zhu Changxing ordered: "Prepare a generous gift. After the Four Seas Navy returns victorious, I will personally visit this Jing'an Marquis!"

Zhu Ming hesitated, "What kind of generous gift is appropriate?"

This really made him feel a little embarrassed. As for silver and money, he naturally had no shortage of various commercial goods on Dongyang Island, but he felt that ordinary things would be difficult to catch the eyes of innate warriors.

No matter how good the things are, he doesn't have them here.

"You can prepare some ordinary things, and I will prepare the important gifts myself!" Zhu Changxing said.

During this period, their Dihuo Island was not idle. They had been asking about the internal news of Darong, including the Four Seas Navy, Yang Zhengshan, and the attitude of Darong's court towards the southeastern sea area.

So Zhu Changxing now understands Yang Zhengshan and knows some of Yang Zhengshan's preferences.

Of course, they also found out the attitude of Darong Dynasty towards the Southeast Sea, especially why Darong Dynasty targeted Xingyuemen this time.

Xingyuemen is asking for trouble, so they will not intervene. As long as Darong Dynasty does not want to swallow up the Southeast Sea, they do not mind cooperating with Darong.

Knowing that Darong has no desire for the Southeast Sea, they will choose to stand aside, otherwise they will definitely join forces with Xingyuemen to fight against Darong.

However, although Darong has no desire for the Southeast Sea, Darong's expedition to conquer Xingyuemen will still affect the situation in the Southeast Sea, so Dihuo Island unanimously decided to choose a partner within Darong.

Why not cooperate directly with Darong Dynasty?

Because they know they are not qualified!

They are not even qualified to become a subsidiary dynasty of Darong. In the entire Southeast Sea, only the Lvsheng Dynasty is qualified to be a subsidiary of Darong.