The windows in the King's Hall were high and small. The sun was blazing outside, drying the castle's bricks and stones; the sunlight through the windows and the flying dust were visible to the naked eye.
The envoy from Manchiga came in. He looked at Queen Isuwa, who was sitting on the upper throne, and then glanced at her brother, An, who was standing at the lower throne. The envoy showed a look of realization on his face.
"May God protect the noble king." After the envoy bowed, he immediately said in Zhenla, "The two strategies of war and peace prepared by your king and his ministers earlier, it seems that the strategy of peace negotiation is no longer possible." He then pretended to be calm and made a little joke, "Unless Your Majesty is willing, ask the Ming Kingdom to punish and publicly cede all the land north of Saigon to Champa."
King Benhaja calmly responded, "You know you can't."
The messenger said, "As for the war strategy, the current situat
The calendar used by the Zhenla people is relatively close to the solar calendar used by the Ming Dynasty. After entering November (the tenth month of the lunar calendar), the climate enters the cool season; this is the season with the lowest temperature subdivided from the dry season.Even the Zhenla people, who are accustomed to the hot and rainy climate, like the cool season.During this short period of three or four months, the temperature is mild and pleasant, neither too hot nor too cold, and the rainfall is relatively minimal. Although it often rains at this time, the rain is usually very short, the ground is wet and then evaporates quickly, and the roads are not muddy.However, the Ming army did not arrive at the beginning of the cool season. When the Ming army approached Saigon, it was already the end of November (the tenth month of the lunar calendar), wasting almost a month of good days. The Zhenla people and the Manchus speculated that it might b
The Ming fleet in the bay remained motionless. There were no sails on the bare masts, and it was lifeless . Countless huge ships were arranged in a relatively neat matrix, swaying gently in the waves. This scene looked like a huge tomb, and the magnificent water ruins were abandoned here.The Zhenla people found it very strange. The warship in front was gradually approaching the Ming army, and people could even see the copper deck cannon on the bow of the Ming army ship.Suddenly, the northeast wind blew in the face, and the sound of a zither string drifted in. Things became even stranger. Shouldn't the Ming army be panicking at this moment?More than one Zhenla general had sensed that something was not right.But the Ming army's giant ship was already in sight, so the Zhenla people took no practical action for a while. Even if they want to turn around immediately, the sailing ship cannot do it immediately. Countless ships are still drifting forward wi
The slow rhythm of drums beating in the sea breeze never stopped. The drumbeats were like the beating of the heart in the body. People could feel them everywhere, as if they were everywhere. That was the effect of the Ming army's multiple warships beating drums at the same time.The Zhenla general had already discovered the arrogance of the Ming army. The Ming army broke into the coalition's formation in two columns connected head to tail; such a long and thin column was very easy to be boarded and besieged by several warships of the coalition. But the Ming army seemed to be unconcerned.The sound of artillery fire in the distance mixed with the sound of the waves, forming a continuous and loud noise.The admiral's ship had already turned southwest, and he stood on the deck, watching the gradual changes in the situation coldly. He didn't have much to do at this time. The pace of naval warfare was relatively slow, but tactical arrangements and preparations we
The waters in the bay were very wide. The depth of the coalition army and the warships in the rear had turned southwest and retreated towards the exit of Saigon Bay.The Ming army's treasure ships and warships formed two columns, shuttling through the enemy's formation; the two armies maintained the same course, with little difference in speed. Two long dragons of white smoke clearly distinguished the Ming army's fleet.The sound of cannons on the water almost never stopped, and warships near and far were firing cannons one after another. The clear sea and sky seemed to be shrouded in thunder. The wind was mixed with the noise of drums and trumpets and the bustling voices of people.Most of the coalition warships were trying to avoid the Ming army's attacks; therefore, the Ming army was actively approaching the place where the bombardment occurred. Therefore, the Ming warships mostly chose to fire from the port side, which was roughly upwind of the enemy shi
In the early morning of the 28th, the dark grey sky was already beginning to lighten. The Qianjiang River was covered with fog and there was no wind.Several small boats were lined up with glazed lanterns on their masts, flickering orange and yellow lights in the mist, looking like will-o'-the-wisp fires from afar. The wooden oars paddled in the water, making a crisp sound.These small boats in front are leading the way because the vision is still unclear.Behind the boat, a ball of light shone in the air. Where the light was, a huge black shadow slowly swam forward through the fog. Its mountain-like size was daunting, like a dark monster, giving people a suffocating pressure at first glance. This was the outline of a treasure ship.The noise from the rear was also louder, and the ends of the long oars on both sides of the ship moved like propellers. Many soldiers were in the cabin, rowing hard.There were several more treasure ships, plus variou
There was a sandy mud flatland nearly 200 steps wide on the river bank. An En walked around the flatland himself. Sometimes his calves would sink into the mud. He had to use all his strength to pull his legs out of the sand and mud. If people walked on this flatland, it would obviously be very difficult and slow.This will surely be the burial place of the Ming army.An En had deployed a large number of archers to the front, close to the river beach. Once the Ming army landed by boat and got stuck on the beach, the archers led by An En would continue to shoot arrows, mercilessly shooting at the enemy troops who were as slow as lambs to be slaughtered.After the sun rose, the fog dissipated faster and the vision became clearer. An En clearly saw that many Ming soldiers on the other side were gathering on the flat-bottomed boats. He was a little excited and looked forward to it.As for the other Ming army fleet in the north, An En didn't want to bother w
The terrain here is flat, with occasional gentle slopes. However, there are many water networks, and there are also a lot of rice fields and shrubs nearby. For the army, the terrain is not conducive to large-scale marches.The Ming army's columns came one after another from a path between rice fields, and stopped advancing less than 200 steps away from the enemy's formation. The general ordered each team to form a square formation in horizontal rows. The soldiers kept lining up and gradually formed a flat square formation. Only when the horizontal surface was wide enough would they not be outflanked by the enemy's infantry.Flags fluttered among the teams, most of which had their numbers in Chinese characters. After a while, a blue flag with a yellow pattern of a sun, moon and a dragon moved over.Then a middle-aged general with a serious face and a lean figure walked to the front of the army with his hand on the hilt of his sword. The generals in the queue
In the east, sporadic battles were taking place in various places by the Ming army's pursuit of the enemy to the north; but in the Mekong River basin in the west, the situation was quite different.It had just rained on the vast green plains, but it soon stopped. The air was very fresh and clear, and the wind brought a pleasant breeze. On both sides of the Mekong River, the pastoral scenery was peaceful and primitive.The only thing that was out of place here was the large warship with huge hard sails on the river. It was obviously not something that belonged here, but an uninvited guest.Occasionally, farmers wearing straw hats were seen standing on the distant river bank, watching. A child riding on a buffalo, holding a branch in his hand and facing the river, must have been very curious.Many warships are sailing down the Mekong River, and judging from the direction of the current, the estuary is just ahead. They are heading back to the sea.H