novelAbuy Chapter 289 Favorable Timing, Location, and Human Harmony
Chapter 289 Favorable Timing, Location, and Human Harmony
Chapter 289 Favorable Timing, Location, and Human Harmony (Part 1)
August 23rd, sunny.
Several boats were sailing on the Grand Canal. Although they were going downstream, they were not moving very fast, and they would even stop on their own every now and then.
At this time, the deck of the ship was always full of people, pointing and talking about both banks, muttering something in their own language.
The fleet stopped again in the afternoon, seemingly cooking, with wisps of smoke rising from the cooking fires.
A short while later, a small fishing boat rowed over.
Lin Caiyi, a cloth merchant from Wuxi, boarded the Pingjia shallow boat and bowed respectfully, saying, "Lord Cao, the bandits set off at the beginning of the morning, going upstream and heading straight for Wuxi."
Shao Shuyi stood at the bow of the boat, facing the wind. Hearing this, he nodded to him and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
"Of course, of course," Lin Caiyi said with a smile.
After laughing, he hesitated, as if he wanted to ask something but didn't dare.
"If Manager Lin has something to attend to, please go ahead and take care of it," Shao Shuyi said.
Lin Caiyi sighed inwardly, bowed, and took his leave.
The small fishing boat glided into a tributary and disappeared into the river bend.
Shao Shuyi pointed around and asked, "What do you think of this place?"
Yu Yuan had been observing the surrounding terrain for a long time and said, "There are harbors, river bends, forests, and reed beds, which are good for concealment."
Gao Daqiang chimed in, "That's right. If we hide on both sides, we can gain the upper hand when the enemy ships appear and we suddenly attack."
Li Fu looked around and said, "The river is wide, nearly thirty feet across, enough for my large ship to turn around. It is indeed a good place for a battle."
Bian Yuanheng didn't know much about naval warfare, but he didn't want to show weakness in front of everyone, so he had to say something. He said, "The bandits may be good on land, but when they're on a ship fighting a naval battle, they're lucky if they can even get half of their skills right. We have more soldiers, so we should be able to win."
Shao Shuyi looked at Bian Yuanheng with an approving and encouraging gaze.
Wu Song was right; naval warfare and land warfare are two different things.
Later, he traveled to various parts of Jiangnan and discovered that the Grand Canal in the south was completely different from that in the north. The northern canal was narrow and shallow, while the southern canal was wide and deep. In fact, he even saw quite large waves on the Ningbo section of the Grand Canal—can you believe it?
The section in front of us in Wuxi is also quite wide, with slight ripples on the water's surface; I wonder if it's caused by the wind.
In such an environment, those who cannot swim will not be able to exert much strength and will easily be overwhelmed by those skilled in naval warfare.
Furthermore, how can someone who is brave enough to charge on land charge on water? It's not you charging, it's the boat that's charging. That requires not only courage but also skill.
Finally, for many second-line troops who are not very tenacious in fighting and cannot withstand hand-to-hand combat, assigning them to naval warfare can greatly mitigate this disadvantage. This is because the time spent in non-contact combat in naval warfare is much longer than in land warfare. Often, it is a chaotic barrage of crossbows, cannons, trebuchets, catapults, and even various small projectile weapons before boarding operations begin. By then, both sides have often suffered many casualties and sunk many ships.
Simply put, some people are not good at hand-to-hand combat, but they can hold out for a while in a shooting contest.
Shao Shuyi then looked at Wu Shangyuan and Jiang Sanbao.
Wu Shangyuan's expression was resolute as he said, "The thieves have stolen a lot of valuables and are reluctant to abandon their boats and go ashore easily. Let's take this opportunity to make them suffer a great loss."
Jiang Sanbao didn't want to speak at first, but seeing Shao Shuyi staring at him, he forced himself to say, "We've been navigating boats for many years and are highly skilled. Perhaps we can outmaneuver them on the water and defeat them with bows and crossbows. By the way, our entire army has more than twenty bows. If we shoot them from a distance, we'll surely make those thieves unable to raise their heads."
"That's well said," Shao Shuyi laughed. "Sanbao, don't belittle yourself. While arrogance is bad, so is self-deprecation. Excessive self-deprecation makes you look down on, and how can you lead troops then?"
"I understand," Jiang Sanbao said, head bowed.
"Huh?" Shao Shuyi glared at him.
"Yes!" Jiang Sanbao raised his head and chest and answered loudly.
Shao Shuyi was finally satisfied, and then looked at Wang Xing and said, "Zhi Zhong, you speak too."
Wang Xing pondered for a moment and said, "Our army will surely win this battle."
"Why?" Shao Shuyi asked with great interest.
"The right time, the right place, and the right people." Wang Xing cupped his hands and said, "The weather is clear, so we can use bows and arrows and kerosene. This is the right time."
Our army is sailing downstream, and today there is a southeast wind. The enemy army is sailing against the wind and current, making it difficult to maneuver their boats. They have already fallen behind, which is an advantage of terrain.
Wherever the bandits went, they had messengers to report their location, while the bandits rarely knew where our army was. The bandits committed unjust acts, greatly alienating the people; our army acts on behalf of Heaven, and the hearts of the people are with us. The bandits rely entirely on plunder for provisions, while our army can replenish its supplies wherever it pleases, which is extremely convenient. This is harmony between the people and the army.
With such favorable timing, location, and popular support, what is there to wait for but victory?
"Listen, listen to everything." Shao Shuyi happily took Wang Xing's hand and laughed, "Although Zhizhong is not knowledgeable in military tactics and battles, he has explained things very well in general terms. If you ask me, this is the key. In the future, when you lead troops into battle, you must pay attention to these points."
"Favorable timing, advantageous location, and harmonious relationships—well said, well said indeed!"
Although the group of assassins didn't quite understand why Shao Shuyi praised Wang Xing so highly, they still had to give their boss face, so they all bowed and said, "Yes, sir."
"Alright, that's all. You all return to your respective ships and await further orders," Shao Shuyi commanded with a wave of his hand.
******
"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!" The shouts of boatmen echoed across the wide river.
More than ten oarsmen shouted slogans in unison and rowed the boat vigorously upstream.
The wind is blowing from the southeast today, which means that Bi Si's gang of three boats can't sail with the wind and have to row hard.
Of course, they didn't do the work themselves, but supervised the ten boatmen they had captured, driving them to work hard.
The boatmen were naturally unwilling, and even more worried about being killed to silence them afterward. They all had long faces, but under the threat of knives and guns, they had no choice but to muster their spirits and row with all their might.
"Splash!" A wave surged from the front, crashing against the bow of the boat and turning into tiny splashes.
As the autumn wind suddenly rises, the waves surge, and the weather is indeed refreshing.
Look at the wild ducks taking flight from the reeds; they exude a natural, untamed charm.
Look at those golden rice paddies on the bank, filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
Look again at those shops lined up one after another; they exude an air of abundance.
Wuxi is truly a wonderful place.
At this moment, Bi Si also wavered a bit. His original plan was to rob a large amount of goods, return to Huaixi, and then find a way to sell them for money and grain, so that he could live a wealthy life.
Now it seems there's something wrong with that idea.
But his mind was too simple; he couldn't understand anything too complicated. He just instinctively wanted to return to his hometown, to surprise his fellow villagers who used to look down on him, to make the women who didn't want to marry him regret their decision, to chat and laugh with the wealthy people in the village, and to be looked up to wherever he went. That was all.
Is there anything wrong with this? It doesn't seem like there is.
Bi Si, carrying a thick-backed machete, began a rare moment of reflection in his life.
"Brother, we're only about ten miles by water from Wuxi now," a subordinate reported as he approached.
Bi Si gathered his thoughts, looked up at the sky, and said, "Don't delay. Before nightfall, have some food and water outside Wuxi City, and then rush in."
"Yes, sir." The subordinate acknowledged the order and left.
Wuxi has city walls, but they are practically nonexistent. After the Yuan Dynasty conquered the Southern Song Dynasty, it prohibited the construction or repair of city walls in Han areas for a long time. Later, the ban was lifted, but it was not encouraged. Most of the city walls just stood there in a dilapidated state.
Those cities that weren't destroyed in the war are good; you still have intact cities to use.
Whatever was damaged in the war, so be it. It may be a little rotten, but it won't affect our lives.
The large-scale construction of the city wall did not begin until the fifteenth year of the Zhizheng era (1355), when the Yuan court issued an edict requiring all regions to repair their cities to prevent them from being easily captured by the rebel army. The repair and reinforcement (brick covering) of Wuxi City did not begin until the seventeenth year of the Zhizheng era (1357).
The.
Modern Wuxi has virtually no city defenses. Like Jiangyin and Taicang, there is no physical separation between the inner and outer city areas, except for common understanding, if you ignore the sections of half-collapsed city walls.
If Bi Si and his gang were to break into Wuxi City under cover of night, who knows what would happen? Chaos would be inevitable, and the government really doesn't have any good means of restraint, because Wuxi is not a prefecture-level city and has no garrison troops, making its defenses extremely weak.
With this in mind, Bi Si's gang of more than 30 people were filled with excitement and joy, looking forward to the upcoming feast.
The three boats sailed slowly.
The once bustling Grand Canal is now completely empty, almost becoming their exclusive passageway.
The thirty-odd bandits were in high spirits, exchanging knowing glances and already planning how they would burn, kill, plunder, and have a good time once they entered Wuxi City.
Haha, these days are truly the most carefree time for these heroes of the martial world.
Another flock of wild ducks took flight from the reeds, their panic causing them to shed a few feathers.
Just then, two boats suddenly sailed out from Ganghanzhong on the left front.
The first one is the sea loach I once saw in Lianhu Lake. It was usually used to transport grain, and it was often seen in Jiangning and Jingkou.
The second ship looked like an ordinary merchant ship, brand new, probably just a few days after it came out of the shipyard. Twenty men in blue robes were sitting on the ship—those were the archers from the patrol office.
Almost at the same time, two boats, one large and one small, emerged from behind the reeds to the right.
The ship's design was unclear, but it was known to be crowded with people and had heavy shields erected on it. A red flag fluttered high on the mast, and the large character "Cao" was clearly visible.
Behind the large ship were the Wind-Drilling Sea Loach, with more than ten people standing at the bow and stern. They were equipped with large shields, bows, spears, hook-and-sickle spears, and spiked clubs. They could be vaguely seen wearing leather armor as soldiers.
In an instant, everyone became serious.
The playful expression vanished, replaced by caution.
His relaxed body tensed up, and his weapon was drawn.
The leader began to move, heading in the direction where Bi Si was.
Some people even went to the stern and shouted to warn the boats behind them.
But they weren't too nervous. They'd seen plenty of officers and soldiers; it was nothing new. What harm was there in letting them see the spirit of the men of Huaixi?
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