Chapter 106 Halberd White Tengjiang

After midnight on February 15, the twenty-seventh year of Orthodoxy, and before sunrise on February 16.

This period of time was the most difficult time in Wang Ying's life, and it was also the time when the Ming army suffered the greatest loss.

When the red sun rose behind Wang Ying, the morning sun illuminated the entire battlefield. Wang Ying's face was full of black ash, and a few tears clearly flowed.

This water division was created by Wang Ying for many years.

Each ship is Wang Ying's brainchild.

But now it's miserable.

Last night, the fireships of the Annam army rushed away, and when the Ming ships took refuge, they all broke away from the channel and became targets for fire. And the longer the two sides fought, the more ships lost the ability to move.

The reason is very simple, in the hearts of the people of Annam, there is still the concept that the main channel can be sailed, but the Ming army does not have it at all. Some people can see by virtue of their management that the middle section of the Baiteng River seems to be able to sail.

But the complex water environment, and even the experience, do not apply.

It is as if the British fleet dominated the world in the Age of Sail because the British army had the most control over the world's hydrology. It is also why it is said to be a century-old navy. It is not only the construction cycle of the ship, but also the accumulation of experience in hydrology and water conditions. This was important even in later generations of the Navy.

Almost in the second half of the night, the Ming army fell into a situation of fighting on its own.

The same is true for Wang Ying.

He went from being the chief officer of the Nanyang Naval Division to becoming a captain.

However, even in the most dangerous times, Wang Ying has never changed and evaded his responsibility.

Even if Wang Ying was recognized by the Annan people, he was the flagship of the Ming army and became the focus of the Annan people's attack, and he still fought to the end.

Even Wang Ying operated the cannon himself, so that now Wang Ying's face is full of ashes, and he looks embarrassed.

But what was more embarrassed than Wang Ying was the ships of the Ming army.

With a "----boom", the sound of an explosion at a distance smashed a nearby ship into the air, and several wooden bars hit the water like a crossbow. Causing waves one after another.

This is already the dozen or so voices Wang Ying has heard, and Wang Ying doesn't know the specific dozen sounds.

But he clearly knew that this was not the sound of cannons, nor the sound of 10,000 enemies, but the explosion of the powder magazine of the Ming army's ship.

I don't know who it started with.

A certain ship was attacked by the Annan army one after another, and finally could not support it, this ship at the last moment, detonated the gunpowder, and the explosion in a moment took away the Annan soldiers near the Ming army on the ship.

As a result, this became the last roar of every big ship of the Ming army.

Each represents the end of a ship, and represents the end of the lives of hundreds and dozens of soldiers on each ship. In addition, there are many ships that do not have time to do so.

Wang Ying did not bring in the main force of the Nanyang Naval Division, but brought a part of the Nanyang Naval Division and most of the Guangdong Naval Division, the reason is very simple, the Baiteng River cannot open so many big ships.

But even so, the loss is so much, it is enough for a fifth of the entire fleet.

When Wang Ying saw the dawn of the week, his eyes were even more bleak.

The reason is simple.

Night battles are not a good way for either side.

Even the Annamites lit torches and used some methods to light up. However, it was still not possible to give full play to the advantages of Annan's army.

And now, the sky is bright. The form is different.

"Uncle, there is also a small boat on the ship, you can take a boat and go, the Nanyang Sailor can't do without you." The pro-soldier next to him said.

Wang Ying smiled bitterly and said, "What are you going to go?" I can't take you away, what is the difference between me dying here and dying in the Dharma field? It's nothing more than a matter of face for the court. ”

Wang Ying was half reluctant in his heart, he was reluctant to take over the old department under his command. The other half, but also understands one thing, this battle is like this.

If he abandons the army and flees again, he will not be able to plan his fate, and he is likely to be like Gu Xingzu and eat a knife in the Beijing vegetable market. Because if the army is defeated, it may not die. But abandoning the army and fleeing is different in nature.

Instead of going back, being punished by the imperial court, and implicating his family, why not die here today, maybe the court will work hard for many years, and the crime will stop in one person.

can still keep his family small, and he still has some connections in the army. Even if they are deprived of some benefits, the family can survive.

Needless to say, how to choose.

Wang Ying is dead. But I don't want the ship to shake all of a sudden, and everyone is swaying.

Fortunately, they are all at sea all year round, and they are very familiar with this situation, and if they change to inexperienced people, they will probably fall to the ground.

"My lord, the ship is moving, the ship is moving." I don't know who shouted.

Wang Ying immediately went to the side of the ship, looked down, and counted the planks to make sure that the water level had risen by a foot or two.

It's just a two-foot height that's a completely different solution.

Of course, under the control of the Ming soldiers, the ship swayed and swung away.

For a time, the Ming army roared with joy.

Wang Ying immediately ordered the troops to withdraw from the Baiteng River.

But such an order cannot be carried out by everyone.

As soon as it came, the attack of the Annamite did not end, but carried a final madness. The Ming army fought fiercely all night, and its morale was declining, so it was really not the time to fight again.

Second, many ships have been badly damaged since last night.

Whether it was because of the grounding or because of the attack of Annam's army, in short, many ships were still unable to move after the tide rose back.

Wang Ying could only reluctantly abandon these ships and try his best to find a way to get the personnel over. But on the battlefield, it's hard to be perfect.

In this battle, Li Sicheng has been supervising the battle in the rear, although he has not been on the front line, but all the situation is under his control.

But seeing this solution, I just sighed lightly.

Although this ending, for Li Sicheng, it cannot be considered perfect, it can only be regarded as unsatisfactory. But Li Sicheng also knew that he had tried his best.

The ships of the Ming army were strong and the artillery was sharp, which made the Annan army suffer a lot.

The wise saying of water warfare is that a big ship is better than a small boat, and a big cannon is better than a small cannon.

The strength of the Ming army's naval division surpassed that of the Annan naval division, I don't know how many orders of magnitude. It is already commendable to be able to fight to this point, although the defeat of the army and the killing of the generals who did not do it are enough to deter Xiaoxiao.

Moreover, there are already signs of the shortage of troops in Annan, and even the shortage of troops, or even the depletion of troops.

Annam is a country, but a province of China, although densely populated, is only a few million people. However, the size of the Ming Dynasty was different, and even though the land was clear, the act of recompiling the Yellow Book was not over. But the total account of Daming, more than 10 million households, is already a sure fact.

What is owed is nothing more than a difference.

The total number of households is 10 million, and the minimum total number of people is around 60 million, which does not count the number of people controlled by Tusi in various places, and there are many families living together, and there are more than a few people in a household. There are also a large number of black households.

If you count them all, more than 100 million may not be impossible.

Such a large volume gap makes Li Sicheng very worried.

In fact, Annan can't afford to die now.

Li Sicheng ordered the Annan naval division not to pursue, as if he was worried that the Ming army would counterattack, but even so, the Annan people achieved an undoubted victory.

More than 20 large ships of the Ming army were destroyed, 17 large ships were captured, and more than 100 other small boats were beheaded, but because many of the corpses of the Ming army sank into the Baiteng River. There are not many decapitations.

However, Wang Ying later counted that about 15,000 people died in the battle. Let the Ming Army's Nanyang Naval Division and Guangdong Naval Division break their muscles and bones.

This is not Wang Ying's fault.

The biggest mistake was that a hundred guns were captured by the Annamites.

As long as they transported this artillery to the Lang Son front, the Ming army's firepower advantage over the Annam army in Lang Son would be able to offset a considerable part of it. Not to mention letting the Annamites bombard themselves with the artillery of the Ming army, which brought about fluctuations in morale.

For this alone, Wang Ying may not have a good end.

And Li Sicheng is even more powerful because of this battle, and the morale of the people, who was originally a little depressed because of the cruel war, has risen even higher.