The Battle of Poyang Lake was a strategic duel between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youlang for the waters of Poyang Lake at the end of Yuan Dynasty, and the duel ended with Zhu Yuanzhang's complete victory. This battle is regarded as the largest water battle in the world in the Middle Ages.
In this battle, Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of Chen Youliang's army's frustration in attacking the city for a long time, and divided his troops to guard the mouth of Poyang Lake, breaking its retreat first; then he concentrated his troops and skillfully used the fire attack to wipe out his main force; and then he intercepted Chen's army by land and sea and wiped out Chen's army in the time of breakout. Created the history of China's water war to win more than the famous battle, laid the foundation for the unification of Jiangnan.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the dynasty was in disarray, social unrest, peasant revolts were in full swing. In 1352 AD, Guo Zixing revolted and occupied Haozhou (now Fengyang, Anhui Province). After Guo Zixing's death, Zhu Yuanzhang became the leader of this army, collected talents, reorganized the army, and became more and more powerful. In 1360 AD, Chen Youliang killed Xu Shouhui and made himself king, with the state name Han, controlling the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
Zhu Yuanzhang adopted Liu Ji's and other people's suggestions, and formulated his own strategic plan: first seize Jinling (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province), as a base, pacify the south of the Yangtze River, and then finally destroy the Yuan Dynasty, capture the north, and unify the country. Zhu Yuanzhang to pacify Jiangnan, will inevitably with Chen Youliang fierce competition. Because Chen Youliang was located in the upper reaches of Jinling and controlled three strategic towns of Anqing, Jiujiang and Wuchang, he covered a vast area and was powerful, with only 10 times more naval forces than Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, the existence of Chen Youliang is the biggest obstacle for Zhu Yuanzhang to pacify the south of the Yangtze River, and the battle between them is not only related to the survival of each other, but also will be a strategic battle for the south of China.
Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was preparing to attack Chen Youliang, Chen Youliang was also actively planning to eliminate Zhu Yuanzhang. In 1360 A.D., Chen Youliang led a powerful naval force eastward along the river from Cai Shi to attack Yingtianfu, bent on annexing the territory occupied by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang rushed to gather his men to discuss ways to deal with the Han army. Some say, with the strength of the Han army is too big a difference, it is better to surrender before it is too late; some advocate fleeing to Zhongshan (in today's Nanjing) to die; there are also people advocating a fight to the death, and if the defeat, and then flee not too late. Everyone is talking, talking. Only the strategist Liu Ji stood on the side, did not say a word.
Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated, dispersed the meeting, Liu Ji stayed alone, asked him what idea. Liu Ji said: ? I think those who advocate surrender and escape should be killed!
Zhu Yuanzhang said: ? May I ask Mr. What is the way to defeat the enemy?
Liu Ji said: ? The enemy came from afar to invade, we wait for the labor, I am afraid that we can not win? If you reward the soldiers with more wealth, and then use a little ambush, to seize the weakness of the Han army to attack, to defeat Chen Youliang will be very hopeful.
Zhu Yuanzhang heard the words of Liu Ji, full of love. The two men discussed for a while more, and finalized the plan.
Zhu Yuanzhang's general Kang Maocai and Chen Youlang are old friends. Zhu Yuanzhang brought Kang Maocai to him and said: ? This time Chen Youlang came to attack, I want to lure him on the hook, without your help can not. Please write a letter to Chen Youlang, pretending to surrender, promised to do his inside; and then give him a little false information, to ask him to attack Yingtian in three ways, to distract his troops.
Kang Maocai said: ? This is not difficult. There is an old servant at my house who guards the door and has served as an errand boy for Chen Youliang. If you send him a letter, Chen Youlang won't suspect anything.
Kang Maocai returned home, wrote a letter according to Zhu Yuanzhang's instructions, and asked the old servant to rush to Cai Shi to see Chen Youlang. Chen Youlang saw the letter sent by the old servant, and really did not suspect, asked the old servant said: ? The old servant asked the old servant: "Where is Mr. Kang now?
The old servant replied: "Now he has brought a team of people with him.
The old servant replied: "Now he has brought a team of people, stationed at Jiangdong Bridge, waiting for the king to go.
Chen Youliang quickly asked again: "What does the Jiangdong Bridge look like? The first time I saw this, I was in the middle of the night, and I was in the middle of the night.
The old servant said: "It is a wooden bridge. It is a wooden bridge, easy to recognize.
Chen Youliang talked to the old servant for a while, and ordered the left and right to put on the wine and food, so that the old servant ate a full meal, before sending him back. When he was leaving, Chen Youliang said to the old servant: ? You go back and tell Mr. Kang that I will go to Jiangdong Bridge right away, and when I arrive at the bridge, I will call out a few times? Old Kang?
The old servant went back and reported all the words of Chen Youliang to Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang shouted, and that night sent people to tear down the wooden bridge in Jiangdong and replace it with a stone bridge.
Zhu Yuanzhang got the information from Chen Youlang's deserters, and figured out the route of their attack, so he let the general Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, etc., divided into several roads in several important passes along the river to ambush the people. Zhu Yuanzhang personally led the army guarded in LuLongShan (now Nanjing lion mountain), arrange soldiers ready red and yellow flags, the provisions of the signal: raise the red flag is to notify the enemy has arrived, raise the yellow flag is to order the ambush out of the attack. Everything is ready, just waiting for Chen Youliang to throw himself into the net.
Chen Youliang since the old servant left, immediately ordered all the sailors to leave, led by him personally, and sailed straight to Jiangdong Bridge. The idea is to arrive at the agreed location, but did not see the wooden bridge, only the stone bridge. Chen Youlang's generals are suspicious. Chen Youliang thought, do not care whether he is a stone bridge or a wooden bridge, as long as you find Kang Mocai is good. He went to the side of the stone bridge and shouted several times. Old Kang? He shouted several times, "Lao Kang", and no one answered. Chen Youliang then thought that he was fooled, and hurriedly ordered the fleet to retreat.
Zhu Yuanzhang realized that the enemy had been tricked, and immediately told his soldiers to raise the yellow flag and attack. In a blink of an eye, the war drums roared, the ambush troops on the shore killed out together, and the navy in the water harbor joined the battle.
Chen Youliang was suddenly attacked, tens of thousands of troops all of a sudden messed up, was killed and drowned in the water countless, 20,000 soldiers, more than a hundred ships were captured by Zhu Yuanzhang's generals. Chen Youliang, under the protection of his generals, grabbed a small boat and finally escaped.
This battle has wounded Chen Youliang. Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation is getting bigger and bigger. Chen Youliang how willing to be willing, he is saving energy, determined to avenge this revenge. After three years, he built a large number of warships, and led a 600,000-strong army, attacking Hongdu (present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi Province).
Zhu Yuanzhang personally led 200,000 troops to rescue Hongdu, before Chen Youliang withdrew the siege and withdrew all the navy to Poyang Lake. Zhu Yuanzhang blocked the outlet of Poyang Lake to block the enemy, and decided to have a duel with Chen Youlang in the lake.
The next day, when the sky was just dawning, the war drums rang out from Kanglang Mountain in Poyang Lake. Kanglang Mountain is the temporary command post of Chen Youliang, he ordered all the ships to cook at the third watch, and after the generals were full, he commanded the battleships to move towards the mouth of the lake. The challenge began. Chen Youliang joint giant warships for the drop, building yagura more than ten feet high, the fleet lined up, linked together with chains, actually more than ten miles long, like a great wall on the water. Zhu Yuanzhang's navy, on the other hand, is full of small boats, and some of the generals were so scared by Chen Youliang's momentum that their faces turned white. Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the command boat, calm, he looked around the generals, suddenly laughed, said to Liu Ji: ? I think Chen Youliang is really a dumb goose, he will be so many big ships head to tail, this is not conducive to advance and retreat, to break it is very easy. Liu Ji knew that Zhu Yuanzhang intentionally said this to boost his morale, so he smiled and said: ? I thought Chen Youliang had a lot of ability, and when the blades came to be exchanged, he joined the boats to protect himself. At this time, if there are warriors, wearing hardened and sharp, by small boats to limit his circle, his position immediately chaotic, big boat people one by one will fall into the lake to feed the fish! The two sang together and put some of the generals' fears to rest.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw all the generals have courage, then ordered Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Liao Yongzhong and other people to rate 20 teams of ships, to Chen Youliang attack. Chen Youlang where to put these small boats in the eye, order to link up with the big ships in unison, its momentum as a mountain, knocked over more than a hundred small boats. On the first day of the battle, Zhu Yuanzhang suffered a defeat. On the second day, Zhu Yuanzhang's command ship rushed ahead and organized the fleets of ships to fire arrows at the big ships.
Chen Youliang discovered Zhu Yuanzhang's command ship, and ordered the primus general Zhang Dingbian to surround Zhu Yuanzhang and capture him alive at all costs. Xu Da, who was fighting the enemy soundly, saw that the situation was not good and quickly turned his fleet to defend Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang was undaunted, sailing his boat and directing the battle flexibly. Just as the two armies were fighting in a white-hot state, Zhu Yuanzhang's command ship suddenly ran aground on a sandy beach, and the bottom of the ship could not move as if it was glued. Zhang Dingbian was overjoyed and shouted: ? Zhu Yuanzhang can't escape, brothers, capturing Zhu Yuanzhang alive is rewarded with a thousand taels of gold! Soldiers shouted in unison, shook the bow of the clouds gathered, Zhu Yuanzhang surrounded. Zhu Yuanzhang commanded the ship's generals Song Gui, Chen Zhaoxian and other people, give up their lives to resist, was shot dozens of times, has fallen dead in the bow of the ship. Seeing the whole ship to be captured, Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but be afraid, a cold sweat broke out from his back. In the nick of time, Han Cheng, a general who looks like Zhu Yuanzhang, said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Song Gui and Chen Zhaoshen are dead. Song Gui and Chen Zhaoxian are dead, in order to protect my lord from danger, I am willing to die in my place, please take off your robe and let me put it on. Zhu Yuanzhang pondered and did not answer. At this time, only to hear the enemy army want Zhu Yuanzhang to surrender a burst of shouts like a burst, stray vectors in the bow of the ship flying, Han Cheng anxiously said: ? Princess quickly listen to my words to take off the robe, otherwise, the whole ship generals are going to die together, we all die what good is it? Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to take off her robe and let Han Cheng change into it. Han Cheng put Zhu Yuanzhang's banner on his head, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang fondly and said: ? My lord, Han Cheng is going! Zhu Yuanzhang can not bear to Han Cheng to die on behalf of, but things in the burning, had to go by him.
Han Cheng rushed out of the cabin, stood on the bow, shouted:? Chen Youliang listen! I, Zhu Yuanzhang, lost in your hands today, only one death. Don't labor for you and me, let the world's living be killed and poked innocently? I today and let you wind, I admit defeat, you see you see said to see the word, flopping sound, actually put into the water to go.
Zhang Dingbian thought really Zhu Yuanzhang defeat suicide, and quickly ordered to salvage the body, so that to Chen Youliang credit, the attack slowed down a little. At this time, Xu Da, Chang Yu Chun and other people heard that Zhu Yuanzhang threw himself into the water, desperate to kill over to take revenge, Zhang Dingbian focus on attention to the soldiers to salvage the body, did not guard against Chang Yu Chun pulled the bow and arrow, whoosh, an arrow just hit his forehead. Zhang Dingbian screamed, fell down, the soldiers see the main general is injured, suddenly panicked, do not want to fight again, to protect Zhang Dingbian retreat, Xu Da and others take the opportunity to Zhu Yuanzhang leaning interference, see Zhu Yuanzhang did not die, overjoyed, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered soldiers to go into the water to dredge the sand, pushed the boat out of the shallows, finally spared, at this time, when it is sunset, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered to sound a gong to close the army.
After the Kanglangshan water war, Zhu Yuanzhang calmly considered the overall situation, in order to prevent the cut-off Suzhou Zhang Shicheng take advantage of the weakness of the attack on the base of Yingtianfu, he ordered general Xu Da back to Yingtianfu, in time to make a correct, proper strategic disposition. After the rear settled, he and the military adviser Liu Ji and the generals to discuss how to restore the defeat, to seize the victory. General Guo Xing said: ? In the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang broke Cao Cao's chain ship, using fire attack, why don't we use fire attack to break Chen Youliang's iron rope chain ship? Zhu Yuanzhang said: ? This is a good idea. However, the fire attack all depends on the wind, the wind is just right, in case the wind is against the wind, will not burn our own ship! Liu Ji smiled and said: "My lord, don't worry. My lord don't worry, I have been observing the sky for a long time, there will be a northeast wind at dusk today! Zhu Yuanzhang was delighted and said: ? The military counselor is really the reincarnation of Zhu Geliang, borrowing the east wind! He decided to use fire to break the enemy.
One day at dusk, the lake blew a northeast wind. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the navy general Liao Yongzhong, Yu Tonghai rate of sailors driving seven fishing boats to set off. The boat was filled with reeds and firewood, put gunpowder in the middle, and put a straw man on top, disguised as a navy general, while the real sailors hid behind the baffle under the straw man. And then in each boat on the top of the boat tied a small fast boat, ready to light the fire after the boat to withdraw. The seven fishing boats rowed towards Chen Youliang's big boat with a smooth wind and water. Chen Youliang's sentries stood on the bow of the tall ship, first nervous for a while, and then see only a few soldiers on the fishing boat holding a sword, but also relieved, did not put the small fishing boat in the eyes, they patiently wait for the fishing boat close to capture alive.
Some people report this matter to Chen Youliang, Chen Youyi rushed to the bow of the ship to observe, found that the fishing boat closer and closer, feel suspicious, busy order soldiers to shoot arrows. Who knows that the soldiers on the fishing boat stood straight up, one can not shoot. When Chen Youliang realized that the soldiers were all straw men wearing armor, the fishing boat had already been close to the ship. Dozens of iron hooks were thrown over from the fishing boat with a swish, firmly hitching onto the big boat. Liao Yongzhong and Yu Tonghai, who were hiding behind the fenders, ordered the soldiers to set fire to the reeds and gunpowder and sulfur in the boat that were soaked with oil, and then, they all jumped into the lightweight boat slightly behind the boat and withdrew as if they were in a puff of smoke. The reeds and gunpowder in the fishing boat burned up huge flames and soon set the big boat on fire as well. Chen Youliang busy order soldiers to extinguish the flames, but how can the wind and fire, burning on all sides, almost can not fight. Their ships are chained together, it is difficult to separate in a hurry, the fire spread, the whole army in chaos. At this time, Chang Chou Chun led the warships and from both sides of the encirclement, that ship mast with bamboo poles pick a monster, shaped like the people's grain big fence, with reeds and cloth wrapped, inside the storage of gunpowder and fire thistles, the name is ? There is nothing to be done. And so close to Chen Youliang ship, ignite the fire line, burn off the suspension, ? Nothing to do? Will fall into the enemy ship in the explosion, the ship will be blown up. Chen Youliang's ship burned on all sides, turning into a fire dragon. It was already dark, and the blazing fire reflected Poyang Lake in red, which was better than the sunset. Zhu Yuanzhang lost no time to lead the main force of warships to attack and defeated Chen Youliang, burned hundreds of giant warships and beheaded more than 2,000 people. Chen Youliang's two brothers and general Chen Puliu were all burned to death, and he himself was frightened and bereft.
Chen Youliang was so angry that he gritted his teeth, and that night he talked with his subordinates and said: "Zhu Yuanzhang is too cunning. Zhu Yuanzhang is too cunning, with fire attack folded my army countless, this revenge must be avenged. I see his boat, the mast is white, tomorrow out of the battle, see the white mast, the gang full siege, kill him to solve my heart hate. The men led the way. The next morning, another water battle broke out, and both sides fought for three or four hours without a win. Chen Youliang commanded the navy to attack the ship with white masts, who knew that the masts of the warships in front of Zhu Yuanzhang were all white, and he could not recognize the ship as the command ship of Zhu Yuanzhang. This was Liu Ji's ploy to confuse the enemy and protect the command ship. However, since it was a command ship, it would always show traces, Chen Youliang still found it, and ordered his soldiers to fire artillery at the command ship. This was discovered by Liu Ji, who was vigilantly watching the enemy's every move, and he jumped up and shouted: ? He jumped up and shouted: "No good, my lord quickly change the seat ship! Zhu Yuanzhang had no time to ask questions, and hurriedly jumped into another boat, but heard a loud noise, the original boat has been shattered. In order to save the situation, Liao Yongzhong, Yu Haitong two naval generals led six warships straight into the enemy, they climbed on board the enemy ship, kill everyone, see things on the burn, a moment to go around the fleet of Chen Youliang's army, and even the slightest damage. Their bravery, inspired Zhu Yuanzhang all the generals, so that they doubled the courage, desperately surrounded the big ship. Chen Youliang's ships were tall and slow, could not withstand Zhu Yuanzhang's generals to kill and burn them, and they collapsed, and the soldiers were either burned to death or drowned in the water. Chen Youliang to this point, the woes have been extreme, thanks to Zhang Dingbian desperately rescue, only to break out of the siege. He had to pack up the remnants of the warships retreat, do not dare to fight again.
Thereafter, the two armies began to face each other, who do not easily launch an attack. Soon after, two of Chen Youliang's generals surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang, and the internal instability made the force even weaker. Chen Youliang was so angry and annoyed that he ordered to kill all the prisoners taken in the war. When Zhu Yuanzhang heard about this, he did the opposite and returned all the captives and put good medicine on the wounded ones, thus winning the hearts of the people. The two men have been in the same situation for a long time.
The two armies confronted this January long, Chen Youliang fleet is trapped in the lake, the army food is exhausted, exhaustion, critical. Chen Youliang is trying to make a desperate attempt to break out from Hukou, turn into the Yangtze River, and then run to Wuhan base camp.
Zhu Yuanzhang has long been waiting, Chen Youliang left and right can not hit the road. Zhu Yuanzhang fear that Chen Youliang escape, personally commanded the pursuit. Chen Youliang retreated to Zhu Yuanzhang command boat intensive archery, an arrow hit Zhu Yuanzhang's seat, Zhu Yuanzhang subconsciously shrieked. When Chen Youliang thought he had hit Zhu Yuanzhang, he stuck his head out of the cabin to look around and was killed by Guo Ying, Zhu Yuanzhang's general, with an arrow. When Zhu Yuanzhang heard that Chen Youliang was killed by an arrow, he said happily: ? The goose is dead, the world is stabilized!
In February 1364, Zhu Yuanzhang captured Wuchang, Chen Youliang's son Chen Li surrendered, Zhu Yuanzhang's forces finally controlled the original Chen Youliang's region.