Under the bright sky again, the clear and warm sunshine of early spring is like the delicate hands of the two eight delicate girls who gently brush people's faces, and the clouds that flow away are smudged and printed with amber-like shades of tint to the fine pieces.

And a neat and strict lineup of military horses, in the melodious flute and drumbeat that slowly blow, with an orderly and orderly beat, slowly marching towards the direction of Xunyang City. Looking from afar, I saw that these horses were arranged in many unequal arrays in the fields by the river according to their different belongings.

Among them, the horse army, dressed in coarse scale armor and blue-gray battle robes, and wearing white feathers and flat round helmets, is in a loose horizontal formation like a wall and slowly gallops in front; The billowing smoke and dust brought up by going hand in hand were like a looming yellow dragon.

There was also a phalanx of archers carrying a strong crossbow with thick string arms and a thick arrow box crossbow, carrying a small square regiment card, wearing leather armor and hats, and cowhide sheaths, and followed closely in unison; It's as awe-inspiring as the silent and continuous mountains.

On the left and right wings that stretched out a little behind, there were large columns wearing gray cloth coats and knee-length strips of armor, wearing large round helmets with ribbons hanging their heads, holding shiny spears or holding long knives like forests; The staggered sequence of high and low in front and back swayed and reflected the sunlight, like one after another crystal undulating grating.

And the guards were in the center, except for many who carried large shields, medals, and short bows, and wore wide armor and iron nets to cover their knees, and wore iron-inlaid helmets with the same number of ribbons hanging their heads, and gray clothes and gray crotches stretched out in a long line of knife rowmen; There are also a number of long carriages and horses of different shapes that are slowly propelled in between;

In the farther back position, there are more carriages and horses marching in the period; Numerous oxen, horses, donkeys and mules carrying and dragging carts full of loaded flatbed carts walked slowly, driven by unarmored auxiliaries and stick-wielding servants with wooden spears in a uniform gray and blue tone. There were also small groups of light horses galloping back and forth, covering and guarding the gaps and joints between them.

I saw them coming one after the other, like a wave of rushing waves in front of them, drowning over the sparse green and the remnants of white mottled in the field.

It's just that the grand occasion of the joint camp on the riverside for more than ten miles no longer exists, and along the way through these soldiers and horses, there is already a mess of camps and flags and baggage discarded all over the ground. Occasionally, a faint figure poked its head out of the withered reeds and grass by the riverside, or from the bushes in the distance, cautiously surveying this unusual team.

Under the blue banner of the red embroidered word "Taiping", surrounded by the guards with helmets and armor, Zhou Huai'an, who was riding on the "Pipi Shrimp III", was also a little helpless to retract his gaze, and some headaches to think about the next step.

Because, the effect of this declaration of force is too good, or it happens to happen in an unexpected period of time. As a result, although they have already made contact with the people sent by the General's Palace, it is obvious that those other rebels who are stationed outside do not know whether the order was not conveyed smoothly or was delayed, and they did not get the corresponding news or react accordingly.

The final effect was to rush overnight with torches and lanterns, and the main formation, which wanted to join the naval army, directly caused the rebels outside the city, who had become frightened birds, to bomb the camp under unknown circumstances; However, in the chaos of the night, it hit the camps of other departments, and then turned into a continuous chain reaction for several miles, directly impacting the large-scale camp under Xunyang City.

Therefore, just Zhou Huai'an's observation along the way, at least a dozen rebel teams of all sizes have dispersed; Among them, the casualties of fighting and trampling on each other in panic cast a shadow on this trip to the alliance. Even the joy and encouragement of the previous victory in the water battle on the river were diluted a little.

As for the cause and effect of this battle on the river, it is much simpler, but it is an inevitable process of expulsion and elimination when the enemy is found in the way. Only this time, in order to demonstrate the need for force, the sailors were additionally equipped with fire throwing teams that had been trained in cooperative operations; and installed positions on a small number of large ships to defeat the enemy as reinforcements;

But I didn't expect that the water warfare tactics of the officers and armies, which are mainly based on traditional cold weapons, would be so easy to use, and under the doubling bonus, they would exert a one-sided suddenness and crushing effect. In other words, those officers and sailors have not encountered and seen, and do not intend to carry out melee preparations for gang jumping and receiving gangs at all, but purely use firearms to carry out the psychological preparation and experience of fighting;

Therefore, once the Taiping Navy approached and encountered the throwing of explosives and incendiary canisters, it was easy for the official warship to collapse and chaos; Even if a small number of large ships encountered relatively stubborn resistance and bombarded the place where there were many people with scattered enemy cannons, they would have suffered heavy casualties on the spot.

In the cabin where the remnants of the officers and soldiers want to continue to resist stubbornly, explosives made of black powder or special poisonous smoke balls can also have a better cleaning effect; And it greatly avoids the unnecessary damage and sacrifice caused by the continuous refueling of bloody battles in narrow places. Therefore, it can be said that this is a battle under the asymmetric advantage of knowing oneself and knowing one's opponent.

Therefore, in the end, the losses of the Taiping Navy were only 17 ships, large and small, most of which were injured or smashed by the projectile stones of the officers and soldiers, or were ignited by the concentrated rockets and the superstructure, and had to rush to the nearest stall and run aground to save themselves;

After all, Jingzhou is one of the birthplaces of sailors with a long history of shipbuilding since ancient times, and there are large wood and good timber in the mountains of central Hunan as raw materials, so the ships built are also known for their solidity and durability; Therefore, even if it is a stranded ship, there is a probability and possibility that it will be repaired again, or dismantled and used to continue shipbuilding. In this case, the specific loss indicator can continue to be lowered.

The specific casualties caused by this in the water battle were about five or six hundred, accounting for almost one-tenth of the overall strength of the naval division; Among them, there were less than 100 direct casualties, and most of them were caused in the process of firing close to the official warships. Mainly because of the use of firearms, the losses in the subsequent melee and fighting process are almost negligible.

In the end, it is roughly estimated that more than 100 official ships were directly burned, destroyed and sunk, while the number of official ships that were wounded, damaged, and demoralized and fled was about twice or slightly more; In the end, at least seventy or eighty officers and soldiers with varying degrees of damage were captured, and all of them were large ships and fighting ships that were inconvenient to turn and did not have time to run away and get out.

Originally, there would have been a little more. It's just that in the process of taking over and manipulating one by one, because of the lack of manpower and the mistakes of the Taiping Navy and the lack of corresponding experience, more than a dozen ships have been capsized and drifted away out of control one after another; Only then did he control the rest of the captives and drove up, staggering slowly to the shore to anchor.

Then there were more than 1,000 officers and men who had fallen into the water one after another from the river, and all of them were placed on the shore to be guarded. Although there are many unrepeatable unexpected factors in the upper reaches, at least for the newly established Taiping Navy led by Wang Chongba, it can be regarded as a relatively satisfactory answer.

It can be regarded as an unexpected surprise outside of the original power display plan.

。。。。。。。。

At the head of Xunyang City, which was looking far away, many officials and generals from the Cupola General's Mansion were also looking at the distance with subtle expressions and complicated eyes, and the Taiping army formation was slowly advancing, and from time to time they let out a sigh of cold air and a low exclamation.

In contrast to them, the rebels who had gathered under the city and were barely gathered up, and who were still a little frightened, were simply shabby and shabby, like beggars and flower children who had just picked up a little tatters and happily draped them on their bodies to show off.

And unlike most ordinary soldiers who can only see superficial things, and show surprise, nervousness, panic, and even complaining and scolding; They were obviously able to see the deeper meaning behind it, and they couldn't help but talk about it on the spot.

And what is more permeated in it is undoubtedly full of envy, jealousy, and jealousy, mixed with faint fear and jealousy, and even a voice of fascination.

"I haven't seen it for two or three years, and Wang Zimian and Monk Xu's operation outside the mountain already have this scale and atmosphere."

"Obediently, this is really an amazing ability and opportunity. It must be learned that after the battle of Da Yuling, they were left with a ruined battalion leader. And these are just one of them. ”

"Even if it's one of them, I'm afraid there aren't tens of thousands of horses here, and it looks much more majestic and decent than all the officers and soldiers I've seen, no wonder those newcomers who have no eyesight will be scared a lot last night. After all, it's rare to be really powerful. ”

"If I have these well-armed men and horses, where can I not go away in this great land north and south, why bother to condescend to others and obey orders."

"Even if you recruit the imperial court, you have to be more decent and imposing than most officials and soldiers. No wonder people don't have to worry about it anymore. ”

"Since they really have the capital and confidence in hand, and it seems that they can hold on to the foundation, then the long-term business may be able to continue."

After all, for the majority of the rebels who originated in the local area, in addition to the common expectations and goals of desperately seeking survival and fighting for wealth and nobility, they still basically judged the success or failure and the amount of speech power based on their respective strengths.

After yesterday's performance in the battle on the river and what they saw with their own eyes today, it was easy for them to reverse their previous verbal contempt and disdain, and quickly change their course and accept the corresponding reality.

"Lao Meng took this step at the beginning, and it looks like a big loss. If you can get along well and maintain it, I'm afraid it's not all him. ”

After some discussion, some people inevitably gathered some kind of sympathy, pity, and regret expressions to Meng Wei, the left military envoy.

After all, compared to the huge benefits that can be taken and used as a left-behind envoy outside the ridge when he was in charge of several soldiers and horses and a large area of ready-made territory. But under the geographical advantage and harmony of the superior men and horses, the Sanjiang army that merged with Lin Yan's men and horses and ambushed the false monk failed; As a result, he could only lose everything and barely escaped alone.

Although he is still the right military envoy, in fact, the men and horses raised by his subordinates are killed by just an unformed military order; Its root foot is a battalion leader specially allocated by the Yellow King, among which there are very few experienced veterans who are good at fighting, and even most of the military masters are inferior.

"I think that the Qizhou meeting of the Northland Rebels back then was just like this...

"When General Wang was still there, King Huang wasn't...

There are also some older qualifications that can be traced back to the beginning, the only remaining general of the Righteous Army who raised troops in the hometown of Changheng in Henan, but they remembered the time when General Wang, who was the head of the Righteous Army, met with the Yellow King who had just become a party; It seems to be a similar scene with déjà vu.

Although the men and horses brought by the Yellow King were still poorly armed and the lineup was strictly organized, it was simply a clear stream of envy and admiration among the various tattered rebels; As a result, General Wang was faintly jealous and had to rely on him for everything. Only then did there gradually arise disagreements and centrifugation, and finally because of the court's recruitment and reward, they turned their faces into enemies, and each of them left one side of the continuous incident.

Looking back now, it is far from being comparable to the current pattern and scene in terms of lineup; And immediately gave birth to some vicissitudes of the world, things are wrong and people are not and there are people from generation to generation corresponding sighs.

At this time, Zhao Zhang, the right envoy of the Great General's Mansion who led the honor guard with many flags and displays, also came to Zhou Huai'an, who was in the midst of ten thousand troops, and shouted loudly with a happy and relieved expression

"Zhao was ordered by the Yellow King to add as a welcome envoy and came to greet the virtual army and his party. And thank you Jiangshang for helping the enemy, may the sky make up for the average, clean the world, and work together to achieve the great cause of the righteous army. ”

"Since your ministry has come from afar, I am afraid that the journey is tiring, and please follow me to settle in the city to rest, so as to enjoy the friendship of the landlord. I'll do that later. ”

And in the messy Xunyang Building, a general named Li Tangbin came and gave way to Shang, the chief manager who had a hangover for some freedom

"Chief, King Huang has ordered you to go outside the door to greet that one."

At this moment, Shang Rang couldn't help but get up, and kicked the case aside along with the cold wine and food.

"Why, why is he...

(End of chapter)