Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

The next day.

The waves of the Cangjiang River smashed against the bow of the ironclad ship, and the sound of crisp horse hooves suddenly came from the morning mist.

Chu Ning reined in the divine horse under his crotch, and the red tassel hanging from the silver saddle brushed against the reeds on the river bank.

A thousand snow-white war horses stopped at the same time behind him, and the sound of their iron hooves hitting the ground was as steady as a guillotine cutting through the river waves.

"General Feng Anguo respectfully welcomes His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The sound of metal clashing came from below the river bank watchtower. The general wearing heavy black iron armor bowed and saluted. The eight hundred water soldiers behind him knelt down with a bang, and the fine steel knee pads hit the bluestone slabs, sparks flying.

The morning light penetrated the mist, reflecting the iron tower-like figures of these water soldiers.

Their naked upper bodies were knotted with muscles like the roots of an old tree, and their bronze skin was covered with salt frost, clearly the traces of daily battles with the fierce waves of the Cangjiang River.

Chu Ning dismounted from his horse and stepped onto the slippery stone steps on the river bank in his gilded combat boots.

"General, there is no need to be so polite. These must be newly recruited navy soldiers, right?"

"Your Highness, they are the most elite warriors of our army. They will be the key to the battle with the Jin navy this time."

"very good!"

Chu Ninglang smiled and said, "I admire your drive!"

Then he turned and looked at the scholar in blue robe beside Feng Anguo.

"Mr. Su, how is our newly built ship?"

Su Tingmei smiled and said, "When I received the message from His Highness three days ago, I was testing the boat with General Feng in the middle of the river. The newly built "Breaking Waves" has a load capacity of 800 dan, and its speed against the current is still comparable to that of a light boat with the wind."

Feng Anguo stood up suddenly, his scarlet cape blowing in the river breeze behind him: "Your Highness, please move to the dock!"

He pointed his copper-hammer-like finger at the river surface, and saw thirty ironwood warships breaking through the fog.

Ten shirtless strongmen stood at the bow of each ship, their bulging arms holding two-meter-long iron oars, and the oar blades made a sound like a dragon's roar when they hit the water.

"What a great "Cangjiang Iron Arm"!"

Chu Ning clapped his hands and laughed: "I heard in Yingdu that General Feng only recruits strong men who can lift a stone lock with one arm, and can also hold their breath for half an incense stick in a rapid current?"

"Exactly!"

Feng Anguo said in a thunderous voice: "These men have to drink three liters of fish blood and eat five catties of beef every day. When they were rehearsing the linked boat formation last month..."

He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Su Tingmei.

Su Tingmei understood and took over the topic, saying with a smile: "The linked ship formation requires twelve ships to row at the same frequency. At that time, a Jin spy ship sneaked into the middle of the river and was directly overturned by the wind from our oars."

At this moment, the sound of deafening drums suddenly came from the river.

Thirty warships turned at the same time, and the iron oars flew, stirring up three-foot-high white waves.

The strong men at the bow shouted in unison, and the sound was so loud that it overwhelmed the raging waves of the Cangjiang River.

Chu Ning saw a burly man with scars all over his face holding up an anchor with one hand on the nearest ship. The cold light at the tip of the anchor and the fierce light in his eyes were equally intimidating.

"With such a strong army, why should we worry about the ships of Jin?"

The prince held his sword and laughed: "Pass the order! Tonight, reward the three armies with tribute wine. I want to see you plant the battle flag on the east bank of the Cangjiang River with my own eyes!"

The eight hundred water soldiers responded with a roar, and the sound was so loud that even the old pines on the river bank were shaking.

Feng Anguo and Su Tingmei looked at each other and saw the same passion in each other's eyes - that was the sharpest anticipation for the upcoming bloody battle in Cangjiang.

"Your Highness, please move!"

Feng Anguo gestured with his hand, indicating that he wanted to take Chu Ning to inspect several other newly built ships.

Soon, under the leadership of Feng Anguo, everyone arrived at the middle of the dock.

Feng Anguo's copper-hammer-like fingers tapped the side of the boat, making a sound like thunder: "This is the 'Iron Plow Fu Ship', the backbone of the water fort."

Chu Ning looked up and saw that the twelve-meter-long ship was covered with fish-scale iron armor, the bow ram was shaped like a plowshare, and half of the Wu flag was embedded in the dark red rust.

"We robbed the Wu army's food supply team three days ago."

Su Tingmei's green shirt brushed past the secret compartment on the deck: "Your Highness, please take a look."

Amid the sound of mechanisms turning, twelve eagle-beak crossbows rose from the deck, and the cold iron arrowheads glowed blue in the sunlight.

"Each crossbow is equipped with thirty poisonous dragon gall arrows."

Feng Anguo pulled the capstan, and the crossbow turned with the wind: "It can shoot through double-layer cowhide at 300 steps!"

As he was talking, drums sounded from the stern, and twenty shirtless strong men carried an eight-foot-long iron anchor into the water. The ship did not move at all when the anchor chain was stretched straight.

Chu Ning stroked the cold ironwood steering wheel and asked, "How many soldiers can this ship carry?"

"Two hundred elite soldiers and one month's worth of food and fodder." Su Tingmei smiled and said, "If we have a favorable wind, we can reach the mouth of the Cangjiang River in three days."

Chu Ning nodded with satisfaction, and at Feng Anguo's signal, continued to walk down.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded on the river, and three long and narrow speedboats came close to the waves.

Feng Anguo grabbed the iron net bag on the bow and said, "This is the 'water spider' used to catch Wu's spies."

Chu Ning looked closely and saw that the boat was only about five meters long, but its hull was covered with honeycomb-like holes, and dozens of iron chains hung down into the water like spider legs.

Su Tingmei pulled the copper ring on the deck, and the iron net suddenly opened up in the belly of the ship: "The mesh is soaked in kerosene, and it will catch fire when it encounters an enemy."

This type of ship was used to prevent the Jin navy from launching underwater attacks.

Chu Ning nodded with satisfaction.

At this time, the sharp cry of an eagle cut through the river fog.

Chu Ning looked around and saw nine strange ships skimming the waves with their wings spread out. The iron wings on both sides of the ship were spread out to a full six feet, and the barbs on the wings glowed purple in the sunlight.

"The Thunder Eagle of Cangjiang River is specialized in destroying tower ships."

Feng Anguo swung the meteor hammer and smashed it at the wing bone. Sparks flew amid the sound of metal clashing.

"The black iron wings are coated with lightning powder, and they will catch fire as soon as they touch the enemy's sails."

"Each wing contains twelve Fire Crow arrows."

Feng Anguo pulled the wing bone mechanism, and poison-tipped spikes suddenly emerged from the arrow slot.

"During boarding battles, this is a moving mountain of swords!"

A look of satisfaction appeared on Chu Ning's face. This was used for active attack.

However, he is more looking forward to another type of ship.

A dull drumbeat was heard in the dusk, and a huge black object floated up in the middle of the river.

Chu Ning's pupils shrank slightly - the ship was covered with iron armor, and its turtle-back-shaped dome was covered with copper nails, with eighteen iron pipes sticking out from both sides.

"This is a ghost ship." Feng Anguo said excitedly.

The tortoise shell suddenly cracked into eight cracks, and shirtless strongmen appeared, pushing a burning oil tank. Their bronze bodies reflected the firelight, like Shuras crawling out of hell.

Su Tingmei tapped the tortoise shell lightly: "It is lined with three layers of water-soaked quilts, and it has not been worn for three days since the fire."

Before he finished speaking, the iron pipes all spewed fire dragons, and the reed marsh on the shore instantly turned into a sea of fire.

"The head of the turtle contains a poisonous cigarette cabinet, and the tail of the turtle contains ironwood corners."

Feng Anguo slapped the hot deck and said, "Even if it sinks, it's still a living coffin!"

Chu Ning smiled slightly: "With these ships, our army will definitely win this battle!"

"By the way, didn't I spread the word that I would fight them to decide the outcome? What's the Jin navy doing?"

Feng Anguo's face straightened and he said in a deep voice: "According to the news from the Jinyiwei, 50,000 naval forces from Jin State have been arriving here in the past few days."

"Looking at the situation, they have been fooled. Now it depends on whether our army can defeat them in one go."

Chu Ning sneered: "General Feng, send a declaration of war in my name, saying that the decisive battle will be held in three days, and the location of the decisive battle is up to them to choose!"

"Yes!" Feng Anguo responded and immediately went down to make arrangements.