The Song saber boat was extremely nimble, shuttling back and forth between several falcon boats like a swimming snake. Relying on the vastness of the river and always maintaining a distance of fifty or sixty paces from the enemy ships, Zhang Qing and others fired arrows one after another, shooting the Liao soldiers down the river from time to time. Not long after, the Liao soldiers on those falcon boats were killed and wounded, and the rest cowered and did not dare to approach! Zhang Qing did not give up, ordered the sailors to shake the oars, and continued to meet the enemy ships that rushed to the iron cable. The Liao army originally came to set fire to the iron chains, dozens of boats were full of firewood, firewood and grass, and there were fewer soldiers on the boats who could fight than ordinary warships.

Zhang Qing stood on the bow of the boat, holding a bow and arrow, this knife boat was blocked on the waterway in the center of the river, and dozens of falcon boats gathered together like a flock of sheep, but they did not dare to come forward to challenge.

"What a fierce general!" Wanyan Zongbi was shocked and angry, and said with a deep face, "Add another big boat and use a strong crossbow to release arrows from afar!" ”

The flag waved on the five-tooth warship, and eight warships sailed forward. The two fighting ships were tall and looked from afar, pressing down like two small hills. The enemy ship was getting closer and closer, and Yan Jin saw the enemy archers hiding behind the wooden wall on the side of the ship, and the iron barrel cannon on the bow of the ship reflected the golden light. The shadow of death hung over the hearts of every Song soldier on the knife ship.

"Zhang Tongzhi," the soldiers behind him said, "whether to fight, or to withdraw!" ”

Zhang Qing's pupils shrank slightly, and he asked rhetorically, "Where to retreat?" He looked back at the iron ropes across the river, pointed his bow at the hedgehog-grouped boats, and shouted, "It's better to rush to the middle of the enemy ships!" Yan Jin said loudly: "Draw quickly!" "Okay!" The sailors obeyed the order and rocked the oars with all their might. The Jurchen sailors on the falcon boat had just breathed a sigh of relief, and when they saw the Song saber boat rushing like a knife boat like an arrow from the string, they were all shocked, and they actually stopped on the water for a while and had no time to react, and when the Song saber boat rowed closer than ten zhang, they rowed backwards in a panic, trying to widen the distance between them and the Song saber boat.

"Ridiculous, ridiculous!" An Chun, the commander of the fighting ship, slapped the side of the ship and said loudly: "Why don't you catch up!" Catch up! ”

The Song saber boat rushed up, and the falcon boat rushed up and rushed forward to fight with the Song people, but the sailors who operated the falcon boat and set fire actually retreated to dodge, which made people see that it was a chilling courage, which made An Chun very angry. The former army led the military order to break the iron cable, thinking that it was an easy errand, but he didn't expect to lose face so completely, An Chun's face was gloomy, he pulled out his scimitar, and ordered the arson boat not to dodge, but to entangle the Song boat with all his might. Although the Liao army sailors practiced in the upper reaches of the Han River for a long time, the waves of the great river were much more turbulent than the upstream, and they were panicked by the arrows of the Song army on the knife boat. The warship was divided into two teams, the front and the rear, as if they were hunting, to make a large circle, and then to close the net in the center, blocking the Song saber ship in the middle. At this time, he had completely put away his contempt for Song Jun.

"Lord Zhang, the big ship of the Liao thieves is here!" Yan Jin said loudly. If you don't leave, it's too late.

"So what?" Zhang Qing bent his bow and arrows, and an arrow shot out like a meteor, and the Liao soldiers on the falcon boat not far away fell in response, "Happy!" Zhang Qing wiped his sweat, took out another arrow and put it on the bow, drew a falcon boat that was desperately rowing away, and shot an arrow - "Happy!" "The river breeze blows, the military robe agitates, and it is like a water god patrolling the river!

On the periphery of this sword ship are dozens of falcon boats, and on the periphery are warships led by two bucket ships faintly forming a circle. Although the battle was short, the sailors on the knife ship were already sweating profusely. After a while, the falcon boat was far away from the warship, and the tall enemy ships were approaching like a hill, and a thick female wall was planted around the warship, and the enemy soldiers hid behind the wall and blocked it

Zhang Qing simply put down his bow and arrows, turned around and smiled: "See if the Liao thief doesn't give us a good time?" He drew his sword. The sword boat had been surrounded by enemy ships, and the sailors stopped their oars, stood on the boat, and drew their blades one after another, preparing to make a final fight with the Liao army. On both sides of the river, the Song army, who was still shouting and cheering for Zhang Qing and the others just now, all fell silent, and the drums at the head of Hanyang City had also stopped.

The sword boat was surrounded by regiments, the Liao army did not give Zhang Qing and others a chance to meet each other, under the confrontation between the tall fighting ships and ships, ten thousand arrows were fired together, and the unsheltered Song army was killed by arrows one by one, and Zhang Qing was planted in the river with seventeen arrows. After there was no more living person on the knife boat, there were still people on the Liao army boat, and soon after, several Jurchen soldiers jumped into the river, as if they wanted to pick up the corpse and show off.

Zhao Xingde put down the clairvoyant mirror, his face was pale.

After Zhang Qing's desperate blockade just now, the Han gunboats and the Song army's naval division warships of the brigade were able to gather in the downstream direction of the Hengjiang Iron Cable. The Han army's naval division went to aid Ezhou, blocked the river with three gunboats, and prevented the Song Guoshui division from attacking Ezhou from the west. Liaodong is a land of the jungle, and the Han army has a kind of contempt for the soldiers and horses of the Southern Dynasty who are greedy for life and afraid of death, and even the people of the Southern Dynasty. In addition to Zhao Xingde, Tong Yunjie also paid little attention to the Ezhou government. However, on the way from downstream, after witnessing the desperate fight of the despised Southern Dynasty sailors, the mentality of the Han army changed slightly.

With a "snap", Tong Yunjie lined up on the railing with one palm and shouted loudly: "Fire the cannon in turn!" "He didn't want the Liao soldiers to get the corpses of those strong men just now." Be! The commander of the artillery crew agreed loudly.

"Fire—" The gunners gave the order in a long voice, and the gunners loaded their ammunition in silence and solemnity, as if it were a solemn funeral.

"Boom-" A cannonball rushed out of the chamber and landed near the dense Liao warships, causing a large splash.

The place where Zhang Qing and others were surrounded was not far from the Hengjiang Iron Cable, and the Han gunboats were parked downstream of the Iron Cable, and the range of the artillery could hit the Liao warships, and the iron barrel guns placed on the two fighting ships of the Liao Army could not compete with the Han army's artillery in terms of power or quantity. The bed crossbows and stone throwers on other Liao warships could not shoot at the gunboats of the Han army.

"Boom-" "Boom-" The ship's gunsoft windows spewed flames in turn.

The heavy iron bullet drew an arc, from far to near, and landed near Zhang Qing and others falling into the water just now, the knife boat fell apart after eating a cannonball, and the sawdust and water splashed sideways, like a group of vultures that were frightened, and the large and small warships of the Liao army scattered in all directions to avoid the cannonballs that broke through the air. The waves were undulating, and it didn't take long for the wreckage of the sword ship and the corpses of the Song army killed in battle to be swallowed up by the whirlpool.

"It's a pity-" Deng Su shook his head, a little regretful, "It's ...... like that"

The Liao Army's naval division was menacing, and it did not give up its attempt to smash the Hengjiang iron cable because of a temporary setback. The various flags on the ship of Wanyan Zongbi kept shaking, and more falcon boats loaded with firewood, grass and fire oil swarmed forward, and under the cover of the big ship, they headed towards the iron cable hanging in the center of the river. The Liao army had suffered losses from gunboats in the north, so when the southern invasion division was established, even if the captured craftsmen could not build warships with guns below the deck like the Han army's sailors, the northern courtyard also ordered the shipyard to place as many barrel gun emplacements on the deck of the fighting ships as possible.

At this moment, these bucket ships loaded with iron barrel cannons were lined up in the back, although the number of guns on each one was not as high as that of the Han gunboats, but it added up to an astonishing number. The gunboats of the Xiangyang and Ezhou naval divisions, which reacted, also joined the artillery battle on the river, bombarding each other with the Liao warships across the Hengjiang iron cable. The artillery on both sides continued to bombard the opposite side, and the open river was filled with thick smoke and roaring explosions, sharp and whistling shells bursting through the air, splashing water, rolling turbid waves, and the horrible cracking of wood and screams of the occasional shell hitting the ship.

The barrel gunboat became the king of the battlefield in a way that caught people off guard. The sheer power and range of the artillery drove all other ships out of the battlefield. In order to withstand the huge recoil of the barrel cannon when fired, both the Han, Song and Liao armies tried every means to strengthen the hull. As a result, with the exception of the cannonballs fired by another barrel gunboat, other things such as trebuchets, bed crossbows, bows and arrows, etc., were completely unable to penetrate or destroy the gunboat's hull. And the cannonballs swept through everything, and they could destroy other warships like decay. The commanders of the naval divisions of the Liao and Song armies were aware of this at the same time, and as long as they destroyed the enemy's iron barrel gunboats, they won the water battle. Warships full of soldiers and boats full of firewood rushed to the opposite side like moths to a fire, however, some were sunk by cannonballs halfway, some were overturned by the waves stirred up by cannonballs, and some were blocked by the opposite warships. The cannon roared incessantly, and from time to time a heart-palpitating red rose from the whirlpool.

The heavy artillery at the head of Hanyang City also opened fire and bombarded the Liao warships. Hanyang Castle had fought fiercely with Han gunboats for many days, and the gunners also had a lot of experience in bombarding river boats. Most of the soldiers hid behind the city walls, and on the city heads and roads, there was an endless stream of gunners sweating profusely carrying ammunition, and on the enemy platform, gunners shouted trumpets to push the guns that had just been fired back into place. The officers and artillery commanders shouted in hoarse voices.

"Quick, fire!"

"Ammunition? Hurry, hurry! ”

Deng Su waited anxiously for the outcome of this artillery battle. This sudden battle made the river an extremely dangerous place. Moreover, it is likely that the Liao cavalry had already broken through to the vicinity of Hanyang City, and if he could not cross back to Ezhou from Hanyang, Deng Su would rather stay in Hanyang City than risk being captured by the Liao cavalry and make a detour to cross the river at another wharf.

As the sun set, the glow dyed the clouds and the river a blood-red color, and the gunboats on both sides bombarded each other before they stopped. The iron rope still swayed and drifted under the water, and on the wide river, the river was rippling, floating countless broken wooden boards, sundries, corpses and foam, and the water of the river seemed much more turbid than usual, and the wind on the river carried a thick smell of gunpowder smoke and blood.