The water of the lake is full of lush reeds swaying gently in the breeze.

Several large merchant ships were moving against the current, and on the water behind them, dozens of officers and military boats were chasing closely hundreds of feet away.

Dou Mingwang stood on the stern of a huge ship, looked back for a long time, and then turned to see the grass swinging on all sides, and then ordered: "Wave the flag and trumpet, and the whole ship will anchor." The large merchant ships he led were all looted from the mouth of the Xiangjiang River into Dongting Lake and looted at the ports of nearby prefectures and counties. The ship was unarmed, but it was now stockpiled with all kinds of goods.

A net shuttle boat came rocking, and standing on the bow of the boat was Wang Ziyu, one of the generals of the Western Army's naval battalion. He shouted against the gusty lake wind: "Is the official ship coming?" ”

"Here we are." Dou Mingwang jumped off the deck and boarded Wang Ziyu's net shuttle boat from the cable, "Let's hide it first, don't let the officials and soldiers see the clues." Not only him, but the soldiers of the Western Army on the several large merchant ships at the moment withdrew one after another and moved to the various small ships that came to meet him.

Wang Ziyu squinted, frowned and said, "Looking at the shape of the official ship, it is all a mother boat. He added, "I thought that Yuezhou Mansion was rich, and the official and military warships should be mainly lucky ships, but it was not much bigger." "The sub-mother boat is a medium-sized ship, with a total length of three zhang and five feet, the first two zhang are combat ships, and the last one zhang and five feet are only equipped with two side plates, and a sub-boat is hidden in the hollow. The sub-boat can be separated from the mother ship at any time depending on the situation.

Dou Mingwang said: "Yuezhou is not a military important place such as Wuchang, and the warship may not be good. Although the sub-mother boat is smaller than the fortune boat, it is also much larger than our net shuttle boat and high-handle boat. When they enter the harbor and load their goods, the draft must be deep, and their movement will be restricted. "In this water battle, the idea of the Western army was to use merchant ships as bait to lure the official and military fleets into the shallow water, and take advantage of their inconvenience to launch hundreds of small boats ambushed in the reeds and annihilate them.

Wang Ziyu nodded and said, "Okay, let's withdraw first." "Another, "The brothers of the elite cavalry battalion have also arrived nearby, just waiting for us to control the water surface, advance by waterway, and break Yuezhou in one fell swoop!" ”

In the blink of an eye, the small ship receded, leaving only a few large merchant ships alone in the harbor. A few sand gulls chirped and flew by, and soon after, the officers and soldiers approached through the waves.

Dou Mingwang crouched on the bow of the boat, carefully observing his every move through the dense reeds. As he expected, after dozens of sub-mother boats approached the big merchant ship, the officers and men cheered and threw their iron hooks and climbed straight up. The officers and men of the large merchant ship began to throw the cargo of the ship downward, and the officers and men on the sub-mother boat placed them neatly in the cabin. In just a short time, the draught of those boats was noticeably deeper.

"The officers and soldiers have been tricked." Dou Mingwang heard Wang Ziyu muttering to himself, "These dozens of sub-mother boats have nearly a thousand officers and soldiers, and if they are destroyed, the officials and troops of Yuezhou will no longer be able to compete with our army on the water." ”

"The banner of the Chinese army has moved." Dou Mingwang looked back and saw a small soap-colored flag suddenly erected in the air not far away, turned around, and reminded Wang Ziyu in a low voice. The fourth battalion general of the water army camp, headed by Wang Fuchen, this person followed Zhang Xianzhong very early on, and belonged to the veteran of the army.

At this time, the officers and soldiers on the big merchant ship had begun to return to Zimuzhou one after another, Dou Mingwang and Wang Ziyu heard a sharp whistle from the direction of the Chinese army at the same time, and Wang Fuchen and Gao Wengui, who were ambushed on the other side, had already started, and immediately ordered the headquarters to attack. In an instant, countless flags were erected in the vast reeds, and hundreds of small boats of various colors, such as net shuttle boats, yachts, high-handle boats, and horn bluffing boats, rushed out from all directions, surrounding dozens of officers and soldiers on the water surface of the harbor.

At the same time, the officers and soldiers also began to sound their horns in unison. However, on the surface of the lake where the waves were first rising, dozens of sub-boats began to separate the mother boat from the sub-boat under the operation of officers and men. Dou Mingwang only said that his people panicked and wanted to run, so he immediately ordered the ships to approach immediately. In just a few blinks of an eye, the officers and soldiers all boarded the boat, and the speed of action was astonishing.

The speed was unbelievable, as if it had been prepared. Dou Mingwang suddenly felt that something was wrong, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that there seemed to be many small black spots on the edge of the misty Miaomiao Lake in the distance.

"It's not good, it's a fraud!" He was a stirring spirit and shouted loudly. But in the wind and waves, their own ships have been one after another, and it has long been difficult to contain, and on the opposite side, Wang Fuchen, Gao Wengui and other departments, many soldiers have already grabbed the mother boat abandoned by the official army. Everyone can see that the officers and soldiers have loaded all the goods unloaded from the big merchant ships in the hold of the mother ship, and whoever is one step faster will be able to take advantage of it.

The officers and soldiers began to break out of the encirclement by using the sub-boat that had been stripped from the mother ship. Although these boats were small, the Western Army's net shuttle boats and other light and small boats still did not have much upper hand, and the official and military boats were put together in one place, and after several plows, they smashed a big gap in the encirclement of the Western Army, which was not strictly encircled. On the other hand, those soldiers of the Western Army who had already reached the center began to desperately board the mother ship to compete for goods.

Dou Mingwang's heart beat like a drum, and when he looked at it again, he saw that countless rockets suddenly flew out from the boat of the officers and soldiers who suddenly appeared on the periphery, rowing over the lake, like locusts and ants falling to the mother ship.

"Damn ......" Dou Mingwang was dumbfounded, and before he could say a word of scolding, in an instant, dozens of mother ships shone like the sun cracked, and exploded one after another. The loud sound shook for more than ten miles, turning the entire lake within hundreds of feet of the vicinity upside down. The blazing waves swung violently in all directions with an earth-shattering loud bang, and scarlet flames intertwined with billowing smoke all the way to the sky. At the center of the explosion, the remnants of red blood splattered, and the fragmented pieces of wood and iron burst in, causing countless splashes. Dozens of mother ships, along with hundreds of Western ships and soldiers who had no time to dodge, were all blown into powder in an instant.

Officers and soldiers had long piled up countless amounts of gunpowder in the hold of the mother ship. Xijun wanted to lure people with bait, but in the end, he really became a meal.

Dou's fame was shocked, his boat swayed in the fierce waves that were shaken by the explosion, and a net shuttle boat on the left hand side was dilapidated and scattered, and the bloody corpse that fell on the deck was not Wang Ziyu, who was bent on moving forward.

"Withdraw, withdraw!" Realizing that the situation was out of control, Dou Mingwang panicked and hurriedly gave orders. However, his soldiers were also stunned by the tragic and shocking scene in front of them, and they were all stunned.

He looked around helplessly, trying to confirm the situation again, but everywhere he looked, he was even more distracted - the eight official Cangshan ships had already sailed to the lake only a few feet away from his own army at this time. He knew that this was the main force of the official army.

The ignorant Western Army and Navy had not yet come to their senses, and what followed was the fierce artillery fire of eight Cangshan ships. Shi Lang was in the middle of the ship, the commander was determined, and Liu Shijun, the commander of the Wuya Battalion, who was watching the battle beside him, was surprised by Dou's reputation.

"The burning of the Kou is not like fire, the smashing of the Kou is like a cannon, it is better to be extremely new and strong, it is good to be solid, it does not have to be too big, and it can be used with water masts." This is the point of view that Shi Lang adhered to when he started the adjustment of the Zhao Ying naval army, and vigorously advocated that the water war should take the lead in artillery. Under these requirements, Zhao Ying's selection of warships has changed compared with the past, for example, ships that are too small such as net shuttle boats and horn bluff boats are excluded from the regular battle sequence and are only used as sentinel ships. The Fu Ship, Canglang Ship, and Cangshan Ship, which can carry a certain number of medium and large artillery, were collected and restructured in a centralized manner.

The official and military warships in Wuchang, Hanyang and other prefectures were old, and Shi Lang used these medium and large ships as the basis, referring to the shape of the warships currently used by the Zhengjia in the southeast, and completely transformed these ships into ships that were completely used in water warfare. Medium-sized ships are mostly single-deck small gunboats, and medium-sized and large ships are double-deck gunboats. Considering that the size of the hull in the river is inferior to that of the sea ship due to various factors, it was finally proposed that the medium-sized and small Cangshan ship should be used as the standard single-deck gunboat, and the deck would be equipped with 14 large Buddha Lang machine guns made by Zhao Ying, and 6 No. 3 Hongyi guns specially used in water warfare adjusted on the basis of the No. 2 Hongyi gun; The lower deck is the same as that of the single-deck gunboat, and the upper deck is equipped with 30 small guns such as the Franc cannon and the Baizi gun.

Because the time was still short, under Shi Lang's planning, when Bai Wang led the army south to Yuezhou Mansion, Zhao Ying worked day and night, but it was only changed to eight Cangshan ships, and this time they were all on the battlefield. Before the start of the war, Shi Lang estimated that eight ships were too few, and it was inevitable that he would suffer losses in the face of the enemy and countless small ships, but as a decisive force, it was just right. Facts proved that his idea was not wrong, and after suffering heavy losses and shock from the explosion, the Western Navy that was then shelled by Cangshan ships was already crushed.

The cannon rang out continuously, and all around him was the sound of the hull breaking or the waves stirred up by the cannonballs, Dou Mingwang hooked his head and shouted back, and then he caught a glimpse of the noble ship hurriedly backwards, and shouted a few times.

Gao Wengui Zhang Huang was at a loss and did not get down to him, and said straightly: "Hurry up, there is news on land, the elite cavalry camp has also been ambushed on the outskirts of Yuezhou Mansion, and the king has already led the army to leave, and if you are slower, you really can't go!" ”

"What about Wang Fuchen? Wang Ziyu is dead! Dou Mingwang said as he looked at Wang Ziyu's corpse that was stored in his boat.

Unexpectedly, Gao Wengui also pointed to his feet and said, "It's also dead, and I snatched it back!" "There is the body of Wang Fuchen lying there.

Dou Mingming's heart suddenly moved, and he turned to look at Gao Wengui, who was also looking over, and his eyes seemed to reveal the same thoughts as himself.

The water battle at Bailuoji in the north of Yuezhou Prefecture ended in half a day.

In this battle, the Western Army and the Navy were completely annihilated, more than 1,000 soldiers of the Western Army were killed, wounded and captured, more than 200 small boats of various types were captured, and a lot of materials were rescued that were used as bait by the Western Army, while the Zhao Battalion itself suffered very few losses.

When Liu Shijun and Shi Lang returned to the city triumphantly with the Wuya Battalion Naval Army, Zhang Xianbi and Wu Mingfeng, who were in charge of the land war, also reported the victory.

Earlier, Shi Lang believed that Zhang Xianzhong was a bluff in Changsha Mansion and a suspicious plan, and if he wanted to attack the city, he would inevitably advance by land and water. Sure enough, Zhang Xianzhong left in the infantry camp in Changsha Mansion was a suspicious soldier, and the main elite cavalry battalion and the water battalion rushed to the Yuezhou capital city day and night, and the water military camp was supposed to win when the city was pinched, but at the same time as the water military camp failed, Zhang Xianzhong's elite cavalry battalion was also ambushed by Zhang Xianbi and others. After hearing that the navy was destroyed, Zhang Xianzhong made a decision and led the army to flee, but the Wuqi battalion led by Zhang Xianbi did not pursue.

"At present, the north bear and Chang Ershao of Fucheng are arranging troops to block the main road and prevent the thieves from returning." Zhang Xianbi said to Bai Wang.

Bai Wang nodded, and listened to Liu Shijun again: "There are four thieves in the water army of the thief department, Wang Fuchen and Wang Ziyu were all killed by our army, and the corpses are outside. In addition, Dou Mingming and Gao Wengui surrendered. ”

"Oh? Bring them up. Bai Wang said, turned around and sat down in his seat.

Dou Mingming and Gao Wengui were not the backbone of the Western Army, and at that time, seeing that the general trend had gone and Zhang Xianzhong had also left, he decided to sacrifice the corpses of Wang Fuchen and Wang Ziyu to beg for surrender. When he saw Bai Wang, he naturally kowtowed like pounding garlic and begged for mercy.

Bai Wang didn't say anything else, only said: "If you want to live, answer my question, and if you answer well, you two will be spared." ”

"What do you want to ask, the villain knows everything!" Dou's fame flowed together.

"Let me ask you, did Zhang Xianzhong ever say where he went next?" Bai Wang asked. He knew that Zhang Xianzhong divided the whole army into three battalions, and those who could serve as battalion generals would not have a low status in the Western Army, and he must know Zhang Xianzhong's short-term march plan.

When Gao Wengui heard this, he immediately replied: "The villain only hears the king...... No, the thief is going to Sichuan. ”

Dou Mingwang added: "Yes, the thief said, if you take down Yuezhou Mansion, you have to go to Sichuan, and if you can't beat Yuezhou Mansion, you have to go to Sichuan." In short, this Sichuan is decided! ”

"Go to Sichuan ......" Bai Wang heard this, and a smile appeared on his face, which seemed to be more relieved than hearing the good news of the victory in the battle.