Chapter 415: Fighting Hongze Lake (Central)

Zhao Haixing made a reckless attack last time, but he went to the wrong waterway, causing the warship to be stranded. Instead, he was besieged by a group of water thieves who surrendered to the Later Zhou Dynasty, which became a laughing stock. After being taught a lesson by Chen Chengzhao, he suddenly became extremely cautious and even a little timid, and never dared to take the initiative. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Zhou army's scout boats frequently dispatched, constantly drawing hydrological information of Hongze Lake for decision-making by the army.

The water depth of Hongze Lake is generally around four meters, and in some areas it can reach 5.5 meters. However, it is winter now, and the water level has dropped a lot. In the past, where heavy warships were able to pass smoothly, many reefs at the bottom of the lake have been exposed, which is also the reason why Zhao Haixing's warships were stranded. Originally, the Southern Tang warships had the advantage of geographical advantage familiar with hydrology, but with the unremitting efforts of the Zhou army's scout ships, the gap between the two armies is constantly narrowing, and the Zhou army naval forces, which seized a large number of Southern Tang army standard warships, are becoming stronger and stronger.

Dong Zunhui looked at the dense reed marsh on both sides of the waterway and couldn't help but sigh. Who could have thought that under this calm reed marsh, there was such a secret waterway that could pass through shallow water warships?!

Thanks to Zhu Hulong and his team's clearance of the waterway when they advanced westward, Dong Zunhui and their team are moving forward very quickly. As a pioneer, Zhu Hulong is also eager to make contributions and constantly orders his paddlers to speed up their paddlers.

Of course, Dong Zunhui did not place all his chips on Zhu Hulong's loyalty. To be on the safe side, he also installed more than ten guards beside Zhu Hulong. If Zhu Hulong had any abnormal movement, these more than ten soldiers could be beheaded Zhu Hulong as soon as possible. Zhu Hulong also understood this, so he worked harder in exchange for Dong Zunhui's trust in himself so that he could continue to be promoted and made a fortune in the future.

In fact, sailing in winter is a cold wind, which is really a chore. However, the soldiers all felt that they were able to win a big victory with Dong Zunhui. They were full of confidence and did not feel too tired. In addition, Dong Zunhui understood everyone's difficulties. Not only did they distribute a large amount of meat, but each of them also distributed a small gourd to remove the cold, which made many alcoholics very happy.

On this day, Dong Zunhui was fine now, and Zhu Hulong came to report in a small boat: "General, we will arrive at Hongze Lake tomorrow morning and meet the Chen Chengzhao's thief in the afternoon."

When Dong Zunhui heard this, he immediately ordered: "You send someone to send a letter to Chen Chengzhao, saying that you have captured the Tushan camp and set fire to a large number of food and supplies. The Zhou army is already short of food! Now you are leading the army to avoid the crazy counterattack of the Zhou army, hoping to get reinforcements from the main force!"

Zhu Hulong quickly agreed, but after hesitation, he still raised objections, "General, we are mostly transporting ships to transport troops, with few warships, and they are all light ships, so we cannot compete with the Tang army head-on. If Chen Chengzhao leads the army here, wouldn't we have to hit the stone with eggs? I hope the general will think twice!"

Dong Zunhui smiled slightly: "Chen Chengzhao won't come here. He is now a four-state support envoy who has lost consecutive battles and has urgently needed to make some achievements to relieve the pressure on his body. When he learned that your army had succeeded in the raid on Tushan, he would definitely plan a counterattack. How could he have time to take into account the survival of your army?"

Zhu Hulong nodded repeatedly, but he didn't agree. He was Chen Chengzhao's confidant general in the past, and Liao Weizhong was also Chen Chengzhao's chief adviser and had always been favored by Chen Chengzhao. In Zhu Hulong's view, although Chen Chengzhao was both civil and military, he was always caring for his subordinates. At that time, he would send troops to support Tushan first, and then consider expanding the results of the war!

Although he kept complaining, Zhu Hulong was very respectful on the surface. After all, he had just joined the Zhou army. If he had done anything against him, Dong Zunhui might have attacked him. Anyway, he was good at water. Once he encountered the Tang army fleet, he could jump ship to escape. Even if he was captured by the Zhou army, he could say that he was in Cao's camp and was in the Han Dynasty, and he was just a vain with the Zhou army in order to lead them into the Tang army's encirclement!

To avoid suspicion, Zhu Hulong wrote a letter on the spot. After reviewing Dong Zunhui, he immediately selected several personal soldiers and took a small boat to quickly row towards Hongze Lake. That night, the small boat arrived at Hongze Lake. Soon the boat met the patrol ship under Chen Chengzhao, and soon arrived near Chen Chengzhao's flagship.

When Chen Chengzhao saw Zhu Hulong's letter, he was overjoyed and immediately rewarded the messenger and asked them to leave and rest. An aide next to him looked at Chen Chengzhao's happy expression and couldn't help reminding him: "Master, this letter will not be deceitful, right?"

Chen Chengzhao shook his head repeatedly: "How is this possible? This is clearly Zhu Hulong's handwriting, and there is also his seal at the end of the letter. Moreover, I looked familiar with the soldiers who sent the letter. I should have seen them in Zhu Hulong's guard when I was reviewing the troops in the past. This letter will never be fake, this is a great opportunity!"

Chen Chengzhao took a few steps back and forth and immediately ordered: "Immediately inform the entire army of this news to boost morale. At the same time, he wrote hundreds of letters of persuasion to surrender and immediately shot into the Zhou army's formation."

The aide asked curiously: "Does the general want to persuade the Zhou army to surrender? I heard that the generals of the Zhou army commander were all Dong Zunhui's confidants, so they may not surrender!"

Chen Chengzhao shook his head gently and said with a smile: "Pussal to surrender is secondary. The main reason is that the Zhou army generals cannot hide the news of Tushan's defeat and attack the morale of the Zhou army. Moreover, after Tushan was conquered by Zhu Hulong and others, there will be major problems in the transfer of food and grass in the Zhou army. If the Zhou army generals want to protect their troops, they must withdraw their troops quickly, which gives us the opportunity to pursue the troops at the end!"

The staff member nodded repeatedly and couldn't help but say, "But in this way, Zhu Hulong and the others will face the fury attack of the Zhou army. Should we also send troops to reinforce one or two from the water?"

Chen Chengzhao frowned, why did this guy have so many problems? You have to clarify your identity and status. You are just an aide who gives advice. Why do you care about so much? Without Zhu Hulong and others to attract the main force of the enemy, how could I easily recover lost territory and make great contributions?!

Of course, Chen Chengzhao naturally would not say this dark thought. He just snorted coldly and stopped talking. The talkative aide suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He wanted to take advantage of the favorable opportunity of Chen Chengzhao's chief aide Liao Weizhong's absence to show his abilities and improve his position, but he didn't expect to be bad and commit a big taboo.

Both of them stopped talking, and as the lamp oil was exhausted, the lights in the cabin became dim and dim...
Chapter completed!