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At this time, Du Pin also saw a sizable fleet coming from the north from a distance.

He had already guessed in his heart that this must be the Zhou warship. Although the size and size of the enemy ship shocked his heart. But thinking that he had an absolute advantage in the number of ships, he was relieved.

Moreover, Zhou Tao's flagship Invincible is also in the fleet. This huge and unique giant battleship immediately made him greedy, and he was ready to fight with the Zhou army here, and it was best to capture this giant battleship as his flagship. At that time, Du Yu did not hold the Jiangdu, but he defeated the Zhou army's water division. The father must have made up his mind and made himself a prince.

After making up his mind, Du Ping immediately ordered the naval fleet to take a battle posture and rush forward.

Zhou Tao also saw the Jianghuai warships rushing up at this time, he did not hesitate at all, and immediately ordered: "Herald the ships: This battle is a battle that will decide the fate of my Great Zhou Naval Division, and the brave will win!" The two armies were at war, advancing and retreating. This time, everyone showed their usual training level, as long as the naval fleet of the Jianghuai Army in front of us was eliminated, we would be able to land in Jiangnan smoothly! At that time, this Admiral will report to His Majesty and ask for credit for you! ”

When the captains of the ships of the Zhou Army Naval Division heard this, they were all overjoyed, so they held back their strength and prepared to do a big job.

At this time, the sailors of the Jianghuai Army, relying on their numerical superiority, put out a goose marching formation, and a large area of black pressure rushed over like a swordfish.

Although the enemy army was fierce and the battleships were densely packed, Zhou Tao did not panic.

He saw that the formation of the Jianghuai Army's naval division was a little scattered, and the distance between the ships was disorderly, and he immediately thought that he could divide them and annihilate them.

Therefore, Zhou Tao ordered the Zhou army's naval divisions to divide into a queue and attack the Jianghuai army's fleet from the left, center, and right directions.

Their tactic was to use catapults to bombard oil canisters filled with fire oil with catapults to ignite enemy ships.

When the ships are close to each other, the archers on the deck who are already waiting for them to shoot rockets.

In the event of an enemy boarding the ship, the infantry would be killed with broadswords and spears.

Under the cover of the projectile of a fire oil canister, Zhou Tao's flagship "Invincible" took the lead and rushed to the enemy ship first. The other Zhou warships behind him also followed closely, and once the enemy ships came into range, it was a fierce attack.

Most of the officers and men of the Jianghuai Army's naval division were from the Jianghuai and Jiangnan areas, and very few people had actually participated in the former Sui Yangtze River naval division. Although they are good in water, their will to fight and their fighting qualities are far behind. Not to mention the huge gap between the two armies in terms of warship equipment, speed and weapons. Therefore, the combat effectiveness of the Jianghuai Army Naval Division is simply incomparable with that of the Zhou Army's Naval Division.

In less than an hour, the Jianghuai naval division was destroyed more than 80 warships. Seven ships were also captured by the Zhou army's naval divisions. One of Zhou Tao's lieutenants, Xu Fang, who was responsible for breaking through it, was even more brave and took the lead.

Du Ping also saw that the Zhou army's naval fleet was the enemy that posed the greatest threat to the Jianghuai army. Therefore, he ordered his subordinates to concentrate on attacking Xu Fang's ship.

All of a sudden, rockets rained down and shouted repeatedly, and Xu Fang's ship was immediately hit by countless fire projectiles, and the bow of the ship was almost burned down.

The enemy ships took the opportunity to pounce and fired a large number of rockets from the sidelines. But Xu Fang was not afraid, while ordering his subordinates to put out the fire, while directing the officers and soldiers on the deck to shoot the enemy with bows and arrows, still forgetting to die to fight. The main force of the Jianghuai Army firmly pinned down the center.

Seeing this, the Zhou army's naval division detachment on the left and right took the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, and under the attack from both sides, the Jianghuai army's naval division finally lost its support and began to retreat and escape.

At this time, Xu Fang's ship had capsized and sunk to the bottom of the sea. He had to change ships and continue to command the battle.

Seeing that the Zhou army's sailors were so brave, surpassing the Jianghuai army's sailors in terms of attack power, defense, and speed, Du Ping realized that he had underestimated the enemy.

However, although he knew that he was invincible, he did not dare to order a retreat, after all, if he retreated, it would be the land south of the Yangtze River. Then his attempt to prevent the other party from landing will be frustrated.

But fortunately, it was too late and the Zhou army's naval division could no longer fight, so Du Ping immediately made a decision and ordered the Jianghuai army to temporarily retreat to the area of Chongming Island in the west.

At the same time, he sent a clipper to Jiankang to urgently mobilize sailors to come for reinforcements.

Zhou Tao saw that although his side had won a big victory, there were also many ships damaged, so he no longer pursued, but asked the medics to treat the wounded on the ship, and at the same time asked the carpenters to repair the damaged ships and prepare for another battle.

So, that night, the sea around the mouth of the Yangtze River calmed down.

……

In the early morning of the next day, the fleet of the Jianghuai army on the Jiankang River had already been reinforced, and the momentum was even greater, and on the sea east of Chongming Island, more than seven warships were densely moored, and the scene could be described as magnificent and immense.

At the same time, the Zhou army did not see any reinforcements coming up. This made Du Ping breathe a sigh of relief. You must know that the sea is not as good as the land, and there are blue waves at a glance, and it is impossible for a warship to ambush under the water.

In this way, this means that more than one Zhou warship will fight with more than seven Jianghuai warships.

"Listen to my orders: all warships are ready for battle, and they must avenge the shame of yesterday's defeat!" Du Ping drew his waist knife and stood on his ship and shouted. These reinforcements were already limited to the number of warships that Du Fuwei could mobilize, and with the exception of some warships patrolling the Yangtze River, almost all of the Jianghuai army's fleet had been transferred here.

This heralded an even more tragic sea battle to come.

On the "Invincible", in response to the arrival of a large number of enemy reinforcements, the generals of the Zhou Army's naval division did not panic, and this new situation was obviously expected by them.

After analyzing yesterday's battle situation and the characteristics of the Jianghuai Army's naval division, Zhou Tao announced a new battle plan.

Then, he shouted: "Everyone, the success or failure of our army's southern expedition is here!" Can the main force of the Jianghuai Army and the Naval Division be annihilated in one fell swoop. It's up to you to work hard to defeat the enemy! Now the army is waiting for our sailors to win a decisive victory for the southern expedition! ”

Xu Fang and other generals of the Dry Water Army said with confidence: "General Zhou, after today, whether it is the sea or the Yangtze River, the water will be at the mercy of my Great Zhou Water Division!" Our army will win! ”

When both sides were full of confidence and ready to win the battle, the morning sun rose, and the morning glow stained the eastern sky red, and on the blue sea that could not be seen at a glance, a crimson was reflected, as if to indicate that in this vast and boundless sea, it was not the clear blue water that flowed, but the boundless blood water. Everyone knows that today's naval battle will be even more tragic and cruel!

Zhou Tao gave an order at this time, and ordered his subordinate warships to set up a half-moon-shaped glaive array, and then slowly advanced forward. The warships of the Zhou army's naval division, with their sails connected and flags hoisted high, moved over like a mountain.

Around the huge capital warships, there were many small warships guarding them, ready to stop the enemy ships that rushed up to the white-knuckle battle.

Du Ping saw that after a night of rest, the momentum of the Zhou warship was even more magnificent, and he did not dare to be careless. After all, after suffering a loss, you have to be much more cautious. He then ordered his ships to disperse and launch multiple attacks.

I have to say that Du Pin's idea is good. But the warships of the Jianghuai army were small, and the Zhou army was repelled by fire bombs again and again. Although the warships of the Jianghuai Army were also equipped with catapults, they were inferior in range and power to the Zhou warships, not to mention the huge difference in shooting techniques between the soldiers of the two sides.

You must know that the fire projectile fired by the catapult needs to be carefully and accurately calculated to hit the target, to know the angle of the parabola, to calculate the distance between the two ships, and even the influence of wind and waves. Much more complicated than a pure rocket launcher.

Most of the operators of the Zhou army had undergone several years of special training, especially in chemical knowledge, while most of the officers and men of the Jianghuai army's sailors were blind, and it was almost impossible for them to calculate these distances and angles so that they could accurately hit the enemy ships. Their projectiles were completely subconsciously operated, and they were fighting indiscriminately. This is completely different from the Zhou Army's naval division in terms of efficiency.

On the sea surface of the mouth of the Yangtze River, the two sides launched a huge firebomb firebomb, and for a moment thick smoke billowed and the flames soared into the sky.

However, most of the warships of the Jianghuai Army were hit and caught fire. After the battle began the next day, less than two hours, Du Ping was sunk more than a number of warships, and the losses were even worse than yesterday, and the Jianghuai naval division can be said to have stained the East China Sea with blood, and the soldiers suffered heavy casualties.

The boat of Zheng Jian, another general of the Jianghuai Army Naval Division, who came to support, was also smashed by a stone bullet from the Zhou Army's naval division, and he could only stop in place and circle in circles. The warships of the Zhou Army's naval division took the opportunity to surround it and fired rockets at it.

They were also clever enough to see that the ship was not the flagship but must be the command ship of a certain fleet, so they poured several rockets on its deck. I saw that this battleship suddenly burst into flames, and thick smoke billowed out, and no matter how the officers and men of the Jianghuai Army Naval Division on board tried to put it out, it would be useless.

Zheng Jian saw that the situation was getting worse, and if he didn't escape, he would be turned into charcoal with the battleship, so he hurriedly jumped into the sea with the soldiers on board, preparing to swim to a Jianghuai warship next to him, wanting to change ships to continue commanding.

He can be regarded as a brave general who is not afraid of death, and he is still struggling to support in the face of such an unfavorable situation. The most regretful thing in his heart is that shooting is not his specialty, if he can jump into the enemy's ship to fight hand-to-hand combat, he will definitely be able to let the Zhou army sailor taste his own strength.

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