In the sea off Dengzhou, the white sails are like clouds, and the sails are like forests. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Zhang Xiaohu's navy left flank fleet, with more than 100 ships of all kinds and sizes, covering the entire sea to the brim.

As the core of the entire fleet, Zhang Xiaohu's flagship was tightly surrounded by gunboats and transport ships. The iconic tiger head made of gold and silver on the bow of the ship was polished by the sailors. Under the winter sea sun, it flashes with a dazzling light.

On the bucket of the mast, a huge "Zhang" handsome flag was blown by the strong sea breeze, and the whole flag was spread out.

Zhang Xiaohu, the owner of the flag, was in his flagship chart room at this time.

In the spacious chart room, dozens of glass lanterns are lit on the four walls, turning the originally dim cabin into an unusually bright one. Almost all the officers and captains of the fleet, who did not have a combat mission, arrived.

According to the direction and speed of the wind, and the direction of movement of the fleet, several staff officers measured it with a sextant and marked the location on the chart.

The voyage over the past few days has not only made these sea men not feel tired, but on the contrary, they are like sharks smelling blood, and they are extremely excited.

"It's been a few days since we came out of Tamna. In the past, although this route to Dengzhou and Heilongjiang is not a popular waterway, you can always encounter a few boats after walking for a day and a half. However, we haven't encountered a boat in the past few days. Don't you think it's weird? ”

Zhang's suspicions are not unfounded. The Dengzhou route, going north around the Liaodong Peninsula and going to Heilongjiang, exchanged grain, cloth, iron pots, shochu, weapons and other things for the skins of the Sauron people, ginseng, raw gold, beeswax, tiger bones, bear's paws and other valuable local products. To the south, it is to transfer the wheat and cotton produced in various places in Denglai Qingdao to the south. At the same time, ships from the south to the north will also come laden with rice and oil. Supply the garrisons and the soldiers of the Grange here. However, for several days, not a single boat was encountered on the sea, which couldn't help but make Zhang Xiaohu suspicious.

Zhang Xiaohu has been begging for a living at sea all his life, and what he is best at is blocking the road and robbing, taking advantage of the wind to set fire, and the tricks on the sea are actually similar to those on land, all of which are to dig pits and traps for the opponent, and at the same time prevent them from falling into the traps designed by the enemy.

"Although it is said that there is no sailor in Liaodong Tartar, the sea is our world. But who can guarantee that these Tartars will not suddenly capture a certain port. Give us a hand to rule the sea with land? If that's the case, let's be reckless and lead these more than 100 boats, and tens of thousands of people crash headlong into the trap set by others, aren't we dying?! ”

A captain was a little unimpressed by Zhang Xiaohu's words.

"Junmen, we have been going north for the past few days, and we have indeed not seen any ships coming from the sea from the sea of Dengzhou. However, judging from the mark, the north wind has been strong these days, and our big ships have some difficulties, not to mention those merchant ships and sand ships? According to the label, it is impossible to say, in order to ensure the precious fur on their ship, these money fans may find a place to anchor and shelter from the wind. ”

His opinion was nodded in agreement by many officers. Although it is said that businessmen are greedy for profit, they cannot risk losing their entire wealth in the ocean to pursue profits. Where to hide and avoid strong winds for the time being is also a reasonable reason.

"Humph! I hope so! Although Zhang Xiaohu is still full of suspicions in his heart, he has no reason to refute it. Strengthen the patrol vessels. As soon as there is an abnormality, the whole fleet is on alert! Beware of the ship of ten thousand years! ”

"Good! Subordinates obey orders! ”

"Damn! If the direction of Dengzhou is fine, Lao Tzu must knock him well when he sees Xu Yuansong! The shrimp cooking section of Huiquanlou, the rice wine of Liuquanju, Lao Tzu wants to eat it all at once! ”

"That's right! That's what the military gate said! We'll have to ask him to fill our supply ship with green onions, turnips, yellow buds and white cabbage! lest the brothers eat sprouted beans at sea! This guy's subordinates don't always boast about what's 'Yantai apples, Laiyang's pears, the most beautiful Weifang radish peels!' 'Let's just eat his turnips!' ”

The quartermaster of the fleet learned the folk songs of Jiaodong in a half-baked Jiaodong dialect, which caused laughter in the chart room.

"That's right! Free up the cabin! Stuff in green onions, radish, and cabbage! Get dozens of baskets of Laiyang pears! ”

No one is more hungry for fresh vegetables and fruits than the officers and men of the naval division who have lived at sea for a long time. In the era when there was no refrigeration equipment, radishes, cabbage and green onions, which were easy to store for a long time, became the best choice for sailors to supplement vitamins, and as for the sweet and juicy Laiyang pear, it was simply a luxury.

Just when the officers were looking forward to being able to eat famous Lu dishes such as roasted sea cucumber with green onions and boiled shrimp after arriving in Dengzhou, bad news came from a brig gunboat that served as a sentinel ship at the front of the fleet.

"There are no ships in the sea of Dengzhou, and it seems that the port is closed. The temptation can be seen that there are smoke pillars and flames in Yantai Mountain and other places, and there should be a war going on! ”

"Sure enough, something!"

Zhang Xiaohu shook the leather-collar navy on his body and threw it aside, "Order!" The whole fleet is on alert! Pull out the battle formation and go to Dengzhou! ”

Something must have happened in Dengzhou, otherwise it wouldn't have been. Combined with all the previous signs, the officers and men of the left flank fleet immediately went into combat mode. The gunners inspect the artillery emplacements, and the ammunition crews carry the shells from the bottom compartment to the gun emplacements. The gun jackets were carefully folded and set aside. The officers and men of the naval battalion were in their own cabins carefully checking their swords, guns, and guns, and were ready to plunge into the upcoming landing operation at any time.

On the helm tower of the flagship, Zhang Xiaohu looked at Dengzhou City, which was faintly visible not far away.

The docks outside the city were a place he was all too familiar with. The nearby Zhifu and Penglai, as well as the wolf smoke pier platform on Yantai Mountain, where the battle was still going on at this time, were all places where he could enter and exit with his eyes closed. Nowadays, it is a matter of fact.

He saw acquaintances on the docks. Xu Yuansong, who originally planned to knock him on a bamboo pole after arriving in Yantai. It's just that at this time, Xu Yuansong is no longer the person with a smile on his face, but a corpse full of arrows and hanging on a high pole for public display.

At the head of the city, several flags of the Qing army fluttered in the northwest wind.

Along the road from the pier to the city, thousands of soldiers and horses are waiting in formation. Dozens of artillery pieces of various colors opened their black holes, like a pack of hungry wolves, ready to meet Zhang Xiaohu.

On the docks, the original busy, noisy and unusual scene is gone, replaced by a deathly silence. Originally, it was an area where sea ships docked to unload and load, and there were a piece of corpses lying upside down.

"These dog thieves! Dare to turn against the water and drop the Tartars! ”

Zhang Xiaohu's eyes widened.

"Nanban traitor! We are waiting for the heavens to respond to the people, and we have returned to the Qing Dynasty! Now, Rao Yu Baylor of the Qing Dynasty has led a large army to come, and Fan Xiaozeng and other members of the party will be hanged in the public like this Xu Yuansong in the near future! ”

The Qing troops arrayed outside the city shouted loudly, and the wind sent it to Zhang Xiaohu's ears, and he could hear it clearly.

"Junmen, it's going to snow." A staff officer beside him reminded him in a low voice. Sure enough, a few snowflakes fell on Zhang Xiaohu's body and face, and he could feel the coolness slightly.

Dengzhou is affected by the geographical environment, and every winter is often waist-deep snow. It is also famous for its snow nest.

"These dog thieves have also calculated that this heavy snow will help them! Not good for us! Herald! The brigs went up on the gunboats, opened artillery bombardment, and covered the landing of the land battalion for battle! If Dengzhou City cannot be captured before the heavy snow falls, then whether it is Zhang Xiaohu's left wing fleet of the naval division, or Fan Xiaozeng's Shandong soldiers and horses, they will face a bad situation of strong cities in front and chasing soldiers in the back, and unfavorable weather.

Although several ports along the coast of Dengzhou are ice-free, so there is no need to be careful about ships being frozen in ice, the wind and snow weather also has a huge impact on the fleet's operations.

Six brigs lined up on the sea and began to pour fire on the Qing soldiers and horses lined up on the dock road.

The artillery of the Qing army also began to fight back in a hurry, and the artillery fire of the two families went back and forth.

"Humph! It is said that the Southern Barbarian Sailor is fierce, and he almost took the life of the regent in Liaodong back then, but in the eyes of this official, it is nothing more than that! Seeing that the Nanyue army was only bombarded with artillery fire, the officials hiding behind the soldiers and horses began to feel relieved.

"Lao Tzu has a hard fight with you, taking the lives of his brothers to fill the shells and block the cannons, then Lao Tzu is a fool!" Seeing that the artillery fire was fighting for a while, and the attention of the Qing army was on the dock, Zhang Xiaohu ordered: "The land camp can be dispatched!" ”

Zhang Xiaohu is much more familiar with the coastal situation in this area of Dengzhou than Xu Yuansong's father-in-law, who is a local gentry. How do they know that the coast along the coast of Dengzhou is divided into two types: sandy shore and rocky shore. From Laizhou Hutou Cliff in the west, to the north head of Muping Dongshan in the east, it is a tortuous rock shore, the sea erosion landform is significant, and the rest is mostly a sand bank. Everywhere can be used as a landing site.

Dozens of sampans spread their sails, and oarsmen paddled hard, carrying the officers and men of the two battalions of sailors and land battalions to the beach. When they reached the shoal, the sampan was moored, and the officers and men of the Marine Division and the Army Battalion jumped into the water and ran to the shore.

Although it is the middle of winter, the sea water is cold and biting, but compared to the previous beach landing, jumping gang fighting, no need to face artillery bullets, there is no sharp knife and gun on the opposite side to greet you, what is the cold sea water? No less than heaven!

People lined up on the beach with their bodies covered in seawater, "Check the people, check the knives and guns, check the firearms!" ”

"Line up, run! Don't stop! Stop, it's time to freeze! ”

The team officers and sentinels kept shouting in the ranks, organizing their brothers to line up and march in the direction of Dengzhou.

After walking less than a mile, there is a hill in front, and from the geographical indication, beyond this hill, there are village people.

That's when the change happened.

When people were still more than 100 steps away from the hillock, a bitter and spicy smell that had just burned rushed to the throat, mixed with the salty, wet and cold sea breeze. This sudden abnormality immediately made the officers and men of the naval division and the ground battalion raise their vigilance and grope forward.

Barking! …… Suddenly, a few barks of dogs sounded on the northwest side of the hill, followed by the beating of dogs, which could be heard very clearly on the edge of the dead beach.

People walked up the hill quickly, looked in the direction of the smell and the barking of the dogs, and immediately saw the scene. It was originally a seaside village, completely burned to the ground, and all the roofs were burned down, leaving only the smoky black walls and frames. Not a single person in the village could be found, to be exact, except for the sound of dog bites outside the tun, not even a single living thing could be found.

From this terrible scene, the officers and men of the Marine Division and the Army Battalion had already guessed that something unfortunate had happened here. They clutched their guns tightly in their hands, their hearts beating nervously. Their hearts and bodies were enveloped in an air of bleak and eerie horror.

"Go, find a way to find a common man and find out what's going on here!"

The battalion officer gave the order, and several scouts left. But after searching the village, he found nothing, so he ran to the sound of dogs fighting. The howling and fighting were getting closer and closer, the smell of fishy smell was getting stronger and stronger, and the dark clouds in the northwest sky were rushing one by one, like heavy pieces of lead pressing on people's hearts.

"What the fuck are you...... What the fuck are you ......" was followed by the sound of several bricks and stones falling to the ground, and with the sound of the bricks and stones falling to the ground, it was the sound of a dog being hit in the hind leg or in the front leg of the screaming in pain.

In the midst of the dog's screaming and biting, I heard crying and angry scolding: "You beasts, you don't know human nature, you still eat!" You still eat! That's the master who feeds you, hey! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! …… What kind of life do the sin! ”

The scouts hurried over when they heard the sound, and one of the scouts stepped on something soft, and when he looked down, he saw that it was a corpse, the corpse of a woman, which had been burned in the lower half of it, and a child who had been roasted alive in his arms.

In front of him, there is a Shura field.

Dozens of wild dogs were in the field, biting at the corpses. These beasts first tore apart the clothes of the corpse with their fangs and claws, and bit the belly of the corpse from the softest belly to tear out the internal organs and intestines.

An old man, lame on one leg, with a cane in his hand and a brick and tile that he picked up from time to time, drove away these wild dogs, trying to protect the dignity of these dead.

"Up!"

No matter what happens, this is the minimum moral bottom line as a human being. Several scouts rushed up, guns and bayonets together, and the projectiles stabbed and stabbed, driving the wild dogs with red eyes that ate human flesh far away, barking hundreds of paces away, and even the sound of grinding teeth could be heard.

"My lord! This village was originally made up of fishermen and working for us on the docks. Now, slaughtered by the rebels in the city! This old man is left. The scout brought the surviving lame old man to the battalion officer.

Looking at the group of soldiers in front of him with neat swords and guns, and their armor was full of ice under the sea, the lame old man was so frightened that he couldn't speak, and he hid behind a few scouts.

"Forget it! The old man must have been frightened! Leave some dry food for the old man, let's go to Dengzhou City! ”

Ten miles outside Dengzhou City, the two armies encountered.

The Qing army did not expect that an army would be able to rush to the shore from the sea in the wind and snow in this cold winter wax moon!

The Qing soldiers rubbed each other, pushing and shoving each other, trying to line up to meet the enemy. However, they originally thought that even if the Nanyue Army wanted to attack Dengzhou City, it could only land from the pier, and they didn't think of guarding the flanks at all. In the panic, he was not prepared to meet the enemy at all. Looking at the Nanyue army in front of him, whose bodies were covered with ice slag, whose faces were red from the cold, whose mouths kept spitting out white steam, and whose faces were full of murderous anger, these Qing troops who were only private soldiers of the militia not long ago, couldn't help but start to turn their legs and stomachs.

The sailor Lu Ying, who rushed from the right flank all the way, saw at least five or six villages being killed along the way, and some survivors told them that in order to rob the land of several tuntian farms, the cotton and wheat stored in the farms, the Qing army in Dengzhou City even wiped out all the men, women, and children in the granges. This aroused the hatred of the officers and men of the army battalion.

Everyone knows what the situation is like in the Tuntian Grange in the Denglai area. It was set up by the lord to house the brothers of Paoze who were injured and disabled in the previous battles of King Qin, or could no longer serve in the army. Placing them here is also a place for them to have support, and it is where the grace of the lord lies. Now, he has been plotted by this group of guys!

The so-called enemies are very red when they meet. When departing from Tamna Island, there were still some dissatisfied whispers in the fleet: "Shandong is in chaos, it is in chaos." It's a big deal, let's just hold the coast, keep Liangguang and Jiangnan to live. What do you care about Shandong and Gyeonggi?! However, this scene in front of him quickly corrected the internal thinking of the "Nanzhong faction" for the Nanyue Army, and unified everyone's thinking with this most simple sense of "revenge".

After many years of fighting, the generals can make a general judgment on the quality of the enemy in front of them, and they can generally make a judgment at a glance, from the flag, to the formation, to the tactical movements, from the quality and maintenance of the swords and guns in the hands of the soldiers in the distance, to the clothing and armor, and the mental temperament, they can all analyze the combat effectiveness of this army.

The Qing army in front of them, unfortunately, in the eyes of the naval division and Lu Ying, they are not even oil residue.

The battalion officers of the two naval divisions and land battalions discussed briefly and quickly made arrangements.

The two battalions of firecrackers were concentrated, and a wide front about a hundred steps long was opened, and the four columns of firecrackers slowly pressed towards the Qing army. Behind the musketeers, two battalions of grenadiers were assembled, followed by the baggage soldiers with heavy bamboo baskets full of horsetail grenades. The guards of the two naval divisions and land battalions, and the officers of each sentry and team, each held the double-barreled short firearm filled with the medicine in their hands, ready to enter hand-to-hand combat at any time to check and fill in the gaps for those firecracker brothers.

Look at the two teams that are getting closer and closer, and in the ranks of the Qing army, the noise is getting louder and louder. There were those who could not hold their breath and the musketeers began to firing their guns and arrows in a chaotic manner.

"Firecrackers, go up and teach them how to behave! Let them learn to be human beings in the next life! ”

A dense row of firearms rang out.