The next day, that is, on the morning of the 20th of the lunar month, Zhu Pingjin led Shu Guoping, Dong Kezhi and others to board two small boats from the Qujiang trestle bridge at the foot of Shunliang Village, and after ferrying, they changed to a large boat that anchored in the Qujiang River.

This is the boat of the sailors who fought on the river.

Yu Dajiang's ship is a 500-stone sloop, which is mainly propelled by sails, and can also be rocked forward when there is no wind, so the stern and sides of this ship extend out four long poles, which serve as both propellers and rudders. The ship was very dilapidated, the sails were full of holes, it had been in the water for about a short time, and the funds for repairs had not been paid. Several small iron cannons were placed on the deck of the ship, and the soldiers had guns, rockets, and other weapons. Because the big ship is bulky and heavy and it is a war zone, it is impossible to pull the fiber on the shore, so two large sampans are arranged in front of the ship to tow it.

Yu Dajiang is a sturdy man about thirty years old, not too tall, and a pair of shrewd eyes are very bright. The face and the back of the hands are tanned and shiny, and at first glance, you can tell that you have been begging for a living on the water all year round. He was still very respectful to Zhu Pingjin and his staff, but a young nobleman from the Heavenly Family suddenly got on his boat, and he couldn't help but be a little curious, and his eyes were always glancing at the Yishan crown on Zhu Pingjian's head and the patches on the gray cloth cotton robe on his body.

Yu Dajiang's deployment was led by small boats. The boats moved forward by rocking, bracing and paddling, and there was no strict formation, but they scattered haphazardly from side to side in front of them. The boat was followed by two centipede warships advancing side by side. After the centipede warship, there was the main fleet marching in columns. Each large ship is towed by two small boats. After the big ship, there was a small boat that served as a guard.

On the platform in front of the stern cabin, Zhu Pingjin sat in a high chair and searched the surrounding river with a telescope.

There was no fog this morning, but it didn't look like the sun was going to come out, one of the most common standard cloudy days in Sichuan. The telescope was dusty, and I couldn't really see it. On both sides of the canal are long stretches of low hills, with occasional peaks jutting out of the skyline. The surface of the river is only about 100 zhang. After the river receded, large black-brown mud beaches were exposed on both banks. Everywhere the boat passes, you can see a few thatched dwellings on the shore, but there is no sign of human activity.

Zhu Pingjin handed the binoculars to He Huan and asked him to continue the search, and then asked Yu Dajiang behind him: "General Yu, how many troops do you have in the water battalion?" ”

"Ten large ships, fifty-six small boats, and about one thousand and five soldiers."

"To capture Luodu today, we must ask the general to be the vanguard."

"The last will understand! The last general will listen to the orders of the prince. ”

"General Yu is right, but it's simple! Don't you want this son to reward you with something? ”

"Killing thieves for the country is the duty of the last general! Whether the prince is rewarded or not, the last general will bravely kill the enemy and live up to the high expectations of the court! ”

A big old man is also so good at speaking official language, officialdom changes people! Zhu Pingjin nodded to Yu Dajiang with satisfaction: "The sailor of the Protector Army also wanted to go ashore to participate in the war, but was refuted by this son." They only had fifteen firecrackers on one boat, and they also had to take charge of four tiger squatting cannons, and half of them were drawn out to land on the shore. Ben Shizi thought that it would be better for them to support your landing with inshore firepower. As long as General Yu's soldiers go ashore, then this battle will be easy to fight. ”

"Son, the last general has assigned thirty small boats to rush to the shore in the first wave, each carrying twelve people, and the number of people is about three hundred and fifty-six. The rest of the small boats protect the big ships from the sneak attack of the enemy sailors. When the first wave came ashore, the small boat came back to help the big boat, and carried 300 more people ashore. Now that the canal river is dry, the silt on the bank of the river is deep, and the last general is worried that the big ship will hit the bottom and run aground if it rushes to the shore. ”

"General Yu, there is no silt at Luodu Wharf. Students have been with the big boat several times, and even in winter, they can directly rely on the barge. ”

Oh? Yu Dajiang glanced at Dong Kezhi, who was eager to try. He pondered for a moment, and replied to Zhu Pingjin: "Even if what this gentleman said is true, the intention of the last general is to use a small boat to dock first!" ”

Zhu Pingjin used his eyes to stop Dong Kezhi, who was about to argue: "General Yu is an expert in water warfare, but this son is a layman, and this battle is all under the command of General Yu!" It's just that the two centipedes have cannons on board, you don't let them be idle. Approaching the fierce bombardment, the iron is not as precious as the life of a soldier! ”

……

Zeng Ying sent Yu Dajiang to Shizi and Liao Fu to listen to the errand, instead of Li Zhanchun, who was more brave and known as Li Harrier's son, because Yu Dajiang was clever and could speak.

Why didn't Yu Dajiang want to ask for some silver from Zhu Pingjian? It's just that he looked at Zhu Pingjin, the prince of the mansion who is known as the richest feudal lord in the world, wearing an old cotton robe and stepping on his boat with a pair of old leather boots covered with yellow mud, thinking that everything the prince thinks and says is in his dress, so it's best not to be bored. However, he didn't want to miss the opportunity. You must know that the boat of the Heavenly Domain King Shangqiu Ba watched a water fight, which is a rare thing. If you don't get anything out of it, won't you lose money?

His mind turned, and he immediately fixed his attention on the centipede ship in front of him.

As soon as Zhu Pingjin gave the order, he used the music to probe the bottom of the centipede boat: "This centipede boat built by the prince is amazing!" The last general once asked his father-in-law for the method of water warfare on the Yangtze River. Father-in-law Road, Kuimen to Causeway Gorge river flow turbulent, and many reefs and dangerous shoals, encounter a strong enemy, must occupy the upstream. Attack them first with fireboats to disrupt the enemy's formation, and then attack them with small boats. After the blow, they were immediately assigned to the riverbank, and then the boat was pulled back to the camp with the slender man who was ambushed by the river. Rush back and forth a few times like this, and the enemy's water division will be defeated! The last general thought, since this centipede boat rowed quickly, maybe it could go back to camp against the current without the shore slender man? ”

"It's hard to say," Zhu Pingjin shook his head, "manpower is always limited. High-speed rowing can only last for a short time. Whether you can return to the camp on your own cannot be guessed alone. There is a way to test it. Mr. Shu, can you tell me? ”

"Measure the speed of the ship and the speed of the river with penny and driftwood, and subtract the two, and the one with the greater speed can go backwards; Not the other way around. Shu Guoping was standing beside Zhu Pingjian, and when he heard Shizi's question, he immediately answered. Presumably, he was taught a few math lessons by the little palace maid in the evenings during this time, and he still gained something.

"Lord Shizi, Mr. Shu, the last general is a rough man from a Xiangcheng sergeant, where can you understand this?"

"The general is humble." Zhu Pingjin shook his head and expressed disbelief, "People who make a living on the water every day, these things are common sense. General Yu, you can also talk about it. In your opinion, what are the disadvantages of this centipede ship? ”

"The prince asked the last general to say, and the last general did not dare not say it. FIRST, THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE IN THIS ZHUO. Two men, plus gunners, helmsmen, trumpeters, and conductors, made a ship of about seventy men. This is not much worse than employing people on the big ship of the last general. There are many people on the boat, so this person can't eat, drink, and sleep on the boat, and he has to find a place to dock every night, which is inconvenient in peacetime and not at ease in wartime. Second, as the jargon goes, 'one pampering and three oars', rowing is laborious, not as easy as rocking. Look at our ship, with the rudder saved, there are only sixteen people in four people to shake against each other. The third is that the pole is too long, and it is inconvenient on the narrow river. In battle, once you rely on the help of close combat, the pole can easily be broken. Once it is broken, the boat will cross the water, and the boat will go wherever the water rushes; Fourth, there is no sail ,......"

Yu Dajiang's words are actually saying two things: one is that there is no self-sustaining power; The second is that the paddle (棹) propulsion method is not good. As for the type of ship, firepower, naval tactics, etc., he did not comment.

Zhu Pingjin has watched dragon boat rowing on the spot, watched the Olympic rowing competition on TV, and sat on a rocking boat with his wife in a commercial scenic spot. All his knowledge of human-propelled wooden boats came from these. When he came up with the design of the centipede boat, He Gui proposed to change it to a rocking boat, or simply make it into a car boat, but he did not accept it. The car and boat are too complicated, and the rocking boat is too impressive.

"Zi said, if you are a threesome, you must have my teacher." Zhu Pingjin said with a smile, "General Yu's opinion is very good, this is the level of the generals of the Daming Water Division." General Yu is willing to serve in the Protector Army, and there will be many new ships built in this world, and General Yu went to give some pointers. ”

"The last general thanks the prince for his kindness, the last general is still willing to fight thieves for the court on the river!"

One hit missed, and this result was expected by Zhu Pingjin. He said with a smile: "There are Fubiao middle battalions in the Protector Army, Tianquan and Dong Bu Tusi battalions, and the reinforcement battalions are included in the command of the Protector Army, and the future will not be worse than in the official army." ”

The guerrilla is a guerrilla battalion, and the general is the reinforcement battalion, and the prince is wooing himself, so why don't you talk about the guerrilla battalion and say the reinforcement battalion? Could it be that my father-in-law voted for the Protectorate? Otherwise, if you vote for it, you will be promoted to the next level? Yu Dajiang's heart churned.

The backbone of the three sailor battalions are all Zeng Ying, Li Zhanchun and his own family, and Li Zhanchun and himself are Zeng Ying's righteous sons. So Zeng Ying said the same thing in the third battalion, and there was no one who could replace him. Shizi recruited him alone, and he immediately refused, and this is the reason. But if Zeng Ying decides to join the National Protector Army, whether he and Li Zhanchun want it or not, it will be an ironclad matter.

"The two and three divisions can't afford to pay the silver and grain, they think that the son of the world is not bad for money, so they all push it to the son of the world and the gentry of the province." Seeing Yu Dajiang's hesitation, Zhu Pingjin smiled and explained to him, "When this battle is over, Liao Fu will invite Lord Zeng and Master Li to discuss this matter." However, although the Protector Army is a righteous army, the generals who lead the troops in it still retain their original identities. I used to be a court official, and I will still be a court official in the future, and I should get no less, only more. The Second Taiwan and Third Divisions will send supervisors to each battalion of the National Protector Army. The officers of each battalion will also rotate and learn from each other. ”

Retained the identity of the official Yu Dajiang understood; Yu Dajiang, who was stationed in the prison army, didn't care. However, when the prince talked about rotation, he was a little weak-hearted. When a fish leaves the water, it is a dead fish, he understands this. Without a family, the command of this army ......

Of course, Zhu Pingjin couldn't hear the muttering in Yu Dajiang's stomach, and he was still talking to himself: "In the future, this son will open a shipbuilding bureau and build many new warships." At that time, the son of this world will ask your stepfather to command, how about it? ”

"My father-in-law is in command, so don't I have a chance? Don't be afraid to take turns anymore! Yu Dajiang was suddenly overjoyed. But before he could kneel down and thank him, there was a conch horn sound in front of him.

The sound of the conch horn, which is a signal of an enemy ahead. Zeng Ying was born as a Fujian sailor, and this kind of horn sound was only used in his camp.

Zhu Pingjin also stood up and pointed ahead: "The twists and turns of the river are blocked by hills and trees, and you can't see anything!" ”

"Lookout on the mast!" Yu Dajiang shouted behind him, "Raise the flag and give the order, the fleet accelerates!" ”

The thick mast is made of several large bamboos tied together with thick hemp ropes. When a young sailor with several loops of rope on his shoulders heard the command, he hurriedly stuffed the hem of his clothes into the cloth belt around his waist, tightened the belt a little, and then spit twice into his palm, hugged the mast and was about to climb up.

"Wait!" Zhu Pingjin shouted. He jumped off the platform and ran over, pinned the binoculars into the sailor's belt, and then patted the sailor on the shoulder and said, "Stay safe, don't fall!" There must be someone at home waiting for you to go back! ”

"Small...... The little one got it! A stream of heat welled up in the sailor's eyes. He pressed the telescope in his belt, put his hands on the mast, kicked his feet together, and went up to the top of the mast like a monkey. Without first tying himself up, the sailor immediately grabbed the telescope with one of his free hands and observed.

"Enemy ships!"

The sailors on the top of the mast shouted: "One enemy ship, about three hundred stones; Five small boats, at war with one of my small boats! ”

"Look for death!"

The muscles on Yu Dajiang's body suddenly tightened. He was about to give the order, but saw Zhu Pingjin smiling at him and said, "General Yu, can you let the centipede ship try the cannon?" ”

Hearing the low whining of the conch, He Gui, who was in command of the two centipede ships, knew that the opportunity had come. The prince is on the boat of the great river, and he will definitely let himself attack.

Sure enough, the big ship sounded the brass trumpet of the Protectors against them.

Offensive!

Note 1: There is a fulcrum for 棹; No fulcrum for the oar.