After the personal soldiers of the governor of Huguang Xingyuan took out the representatives sent by the Guangfu Army, Hu Linyi got up and said, "Lord Guanwen, since the battle is definitely going to be fought, I will go and prepare." ”

"Please also ask Governor Hu to win!" Huguang Governor Guan Wen replied immediately. Although the official text was not lightly angry, it was not to the point of losing his mind. As long as Wuchang is still in the hands of the official army, Guan Wen can continue to be his governor of Huguang, and if the Guangfu army wins, even if Guan Wen escapes with his life, he will not be forgiven by the emperor. If it falls into the hands of the Guangfu Army, even if it really won't be killed, what is the point of living as a prisoner under the ranks?

So not only did he ask Hu Linyi to hurry up and prepare for the war, but he also said seriously: "I'm here to greet Governor Hu's good news!" ”

Hu Linyi didn't like the official text, but he looked forward to the official document from the bottom of his heart, Hu Linyi nodded, "Borrow the auspicious words of the adult." ”

After arriving outside the city and giving the order to meet the sailors, Hu Linyi asked his subordinates, "Where did the Guangfu army that came out go just now?" ”

The subordinate said with a look of fear: "They have already crossed the river to go upstream. ”

"Crossed the river and went upstream?" Hu Linyi couldn't understand this at all. The time between him and the representatives of the Guangfu Army was less than an hour, and even if the representatives of the Guangfu Army were driven out of the city, it was impossible for them to really come and go freely, and under the supervision of the Qing army, it was impossible for them to get on the ship for more than half an hour at this time. It's okay to go downstream for half an hour, but how far can you go upstream? Hu Linyi couldn't see that there was still ...... upstream at all

When Hu Linyi looked upstream, he saw some strange smoke in the distance. didn't have time to ask again, Hu Linyi ordered: "Fight!" I watched the battle myself at the head of the city. ”

The Hunan navy anchored in Wuchang consisted of three large ships, ten medium ships, and more than 20 small ships. Large ships are docked in the depths of the river, medium ships are docked, and small boats form a cordon. Hearing Hu Linyi's order, the big ship raised its sails, and the medium ship put away the gangplank and began to advance in the middle of the river.

When Hu Linyi went up to the city to watch the battle, he saw that these ships had just been prepared. It took more than ten minutes to complete these preparations, which was the normal speed of the Hunan Army's naval divisions that had undergone strict training. But according to what the Hunan army said, the Guangfu Army only went upstream without a trace in half an hour, which is too nonsense. However, this is not the time to pursue this trivial matter, Hu Linyi watched the battle intently.

At this time, there were no other ships on the river except for the Guangfu Army and the Hunan Army, and the river surface in winter was much narrower than in summer, so it did not appear to be empty. The Hunan fleet went up the river with all its might, and forty ships occupied most of the river.

The sailors of the Upstream Liberation Army finally appeared. Hu Linyi originally thought that the official document was nonsense, but after seeing the warship of the Liberation Army with his own eyes, he realized that the official document was not alarmist. The ships of the Liberation Army were not particularly large, with pointed bows and no sails, let alone sailors who oared. In between, a smoke-emitting chimney stood in the center of the hull, and red flags were waving in the wind on the high mast.

It's just that the distance is relatively far, and Hu Linyi can't see it clearly. When the distance between the two fleets approached about a mile, the warships of the Liberation Army took the lead in firing their guns. Only large ships can install artillery, and the caliber of the guns cannot be too large, otherwise the recoil force can capsize the warship on its own. With such limitations, the range of artillery is a big problem. Gun emplacements were set up on the foredeck of each ship of the Liberation Army, and the two guns on the emplacements fired continuously. After each shot, the warships of the Liberation Army only trembled slightly. The Guangfu Army was four ships parallel to the river, and eight artillery pieces with a range of more than one mile swept the Hunan naval division downstream.

Hu Linyi was already dumbfounded, not only the ships of the Guangfu Army that could move in the river on their own, these ships were now just moving slowly, and they were not moving like the wind as rumored. But the heavy artillery fire on the ships had never been seen before. Hu Linyi was very familiar with the naval division, not to mention that the Hunan army's naval division could not shoot such a dense artillery fire with the strength of milk, and even the artillery imported from foreigners by the army could not hit such a speed.

Of course, what is even more terrifying is the accuracy of the artillery of the Liberation Army. The large ships of the sailors of the Hunan army went first, and there was a medium-sized military ship in front of the left. Large ships are more capable of attacking, and they are the main force in water battles. Then Hu Linyi watched as the shells of the Liberation Army concentrated on the medium-sized military ship in front of the big ship, and in the violent explosion, the military ship was torn apart and sank.

The artillery landing point of the Guangfu Army immediately continued to the rear, and the eight guns concentrated their firepower, and the shells slammed into the big ship of the Hunan army rushing to the front like rain. In just a few minutes, the Hunan army ship was hit by five or six shells, and in the violent internal explosion, the ship burned with flames and sank towards the river.

Hu Linyi was dumbfounded, what he heard was amazing enough, and what he saw in reality was even more unheard. Even with such a shock, Hu Linyi noticed the strangeness of the Liberation Army. Many heavy sacks were hoisted by ropes on the ship, protecting the side of the ship and protecting the hull. But there are no more doubts. The Hunan Army's Naval Division is worthy of being a unit established by Hu Linyi's own hands, and in the face of a strong enemy, the officers and men of the Naval Division are still fighting endlessly.

The Hunan army also has its own experience in dealing with ships with large tonnage and fierce firepower such as the Guangfu Army. The small boats were outflanked and flanked, and the sailors on board carried oil bottles and torches, and when they approached, they set fire to the enemy's large ships. The brave sailors on the small boats of the Hunan army rowed hard, trying to get close to the fleet of the Liberation Army.

Seeing the response of the Hunan army, many figures appeared on the ship of the Guangfu Army, and they hid behind the hull of the ship and raised their rifles and began to shoot at the Hunan army. The artillery of the Liberation Army opened heavy fire on the large and medium-sized ships of the Hunan army, and the sailors fired fiercely at the small boats of the Hunan army with rifles.

When the small boats of the Hunan army reached a distance of more than 100 meters from the Guangfu Army, people began to be shot, and when they reached a distance of more than 50 meters, no more than half of the people on these approaching ships were left. The small boat, which was sliding by man, was missing half of its crew, and its speed was even slower. The artillery on the ships of the Guangfu Army temporarily stopped bombarding the large and medium-sized ships of the Hunan army, and easily smashed the small boats of the Hunan army one by one with artillery at a distance of more than 50 meters.

In the face of such a desperate situation, the sailors on the small boats of the Hunan army were still loyal and brave, and they also tried to counterattack with rifles. But those sacks were filled with wet sand, and bullets had no effect on them. After exhausting all the skills they could use, they could not inflict any damage on the Guangfu Army, and the Hunan army had to choose to jump ship to escape.

Hu Linyi was eager to jump into the Yangtze River and bring the Hunan army back to the ship, which was only 50 meters away from the military ship of the Guangfu Army, and it was very likely that he could kill a Guangfu army sailor on the ship with a casual shot. The Guangfu army had fewer ships than the Hunan army, and there were fewer sailors than the Hunan army. If one life is exchanged for one life, it is only the Liberation Army that cannot withstand it.

However, the fact that it continued to happen made Hu Linyi extremely disappointed, and after about 20 or so small boats bravely attacked by the Hunan army were broken, the sailors on the remaining small boats jumped ship en masse to escape. And five of the ten medium-sized warships have already been sunk. The big ships of the Hunan army are still moving forward, and it seems that they probably want to use the guns on the big ships to solve the warships of the Guangfu Army after getting closer.

At this moment, the smoke from the chimneys of the military ships of the Liberation Army became thicker, and after a while, the military ships of the Liberation Army sailed faster, and during the voyage, the military ships that were originally lined up in a horizontal column became a column. The Hunan army unconsciously drove in the Yangtze River near Wuchang City, and the column of the Guangfu Army ships sailed in the Yangtze River away from the city wall of Wuchang City.

After the Guangfu Army's military ships accelerated, Hu Linyi estimated the speed of these ships, he thought that these ships could be a little faster than ordinary ships sailing along the river, but he didn't expect that the Guangfu Army's military ships did not stop after starting to accelerate, these four ships went down the river at a speed far faster than galloping horses, and in a blink of an eye, they crossed the Hunan army's fleet and arrived at the downstream of the Hunan army's naval division.

Then these ships quickly slowed down, and just when Hu Linyi thought that the military ships of the Guangfu Army might be so capable, the four ships had already fallen into the river and drew a big arc, turning their heads and heading towards the Hunan army upstream. At this time, in the upper reaches of the Hunan army, the other three military ships of the Guangfu Army had been pressed down in a row, and the four military ships of the Guangfu Army behind them also changed from a column to a horizontal formation, and pushed them upstream.

Under the attack from both sides, the remaining large and medium-sized ships of the Hunan army were finally sunk. From the beginning to the end, the battle lasted less than half an hour. From the firing of the first cannon to the silence of the last shot, the Hunan army on the small boat after the Hunan army's naval division hit the military ship of the Guangfu Army with the rifle in his hand. The guns and guns on the other ships were ineffective.

After annihilating the Hunan army, the ships of the Guangfu Army formed a column and sailed downstream. After they had run out for a while, the flotilla turned back. At this time, the traces left by the Hunan army sailors in the river were that a large ship that was sunk was not damaged strongly enough when it sank, and the wreckage sat at the bottom of the river after it was gone, only the top of a mast was exposed, and the surface of the water was exposed. It's just that at this time, under the impact of the river, the mast is getting more and more tilted. The column of the Liberation Army lightly bypassed the vicinity of the wreck and headed upstream.

With no sails, no oarsmen, and the fleet sailed at high speed in the middle of the river as if under a spell, towards Hankow.

Hu Linyi's mind was in chaos, in fact, he didn't understand this battle from beginning to end. All of them were beyond his imagination, the warships that could walk autonomously, the Guangfu Army that could build such warships in the Yangtze River, including the fall of Changsha and the loss of Yue Shou, the whole world seemed to have become completely different overnight. And Hu Linyi didn't even know what was going on with such a change.

However, Hu Linyi was now finally able to determine one thing, the Manchu Qing would definitely lose to Wei Ze. Last night, Hu Linyi thought that if the Manchu Qing were defeated, he Hu Linyi would become a real traitor. Faced with such a situation and thinking of the future, Hu Linyi only felt that his blood was surging, and his chest was stuffy.

"I'm not a traitor! I'm not a thief! I'm not a dog bone! I'm not a! Hu Linyi shouted in his heart.

As if he was not vomiting, the acting governor of Hubei opened his mouth, and a mouthful of blood gushed out, all of which sprayed on the masonry of Wuchang City. R1058