Chapter 206: Challenging Li Zicheng's Water Army

The weather has gradually warmed, and several giants of Yaogang got together and held another meeting, and the main topic was when to go south.

Yan Boju said: "We have bought a lot of land, and now we have to start preparing for farming immediately, otherwise it will be delayed." I think the two waterwheels are quite effective, and they can carry a lot of water every day. ”

Lu Bingyi said: "We built a lot of terraced fields last year, and this year we have to water them well before we can cultivate them, otherwise there will be uneven settlement in the fields." ”

These things are easy to solve, and they will be arranged quickly. Now it's a question of when to go south.

Zhang Zhimu actually knew in his heart, he knew that there were currently two steam ships and several other warships in Yaogang, plus the newly equipped mortars, it should be no big problem to deal with Li Zicheng's navy. The question is how to get around.

Zhang Zhimu made an opinion, and drove the horses all the way from the Qinshui Ancient Road to the confluence of the Qinhe River and the Yellow River, where he waited. The other way starts from Lingshui Wharf, enters the Yellow River along the Fen River, passes through the Xinkai River and crosses Sanmenxia, and at the confluence of the Luo River and the Yellow River, the water army of the king is looking for the king. At the very least, it is to cover the smooth passage of their own fleet, and if possible, to find and destroy the king's navy, and solve the safety problem of water access once and for all. Then he joined up with the horse team on the eastern front and helped the horse team cross the Yellow River and continue south. In this way, the eastern front needs to go a little earlier.

Zhang Zhimu's proposal was basically accepted by everyone. In the past, it was really troublesome to transport horses when they went south, that is, they occupied ships and had to pay manpower to follow and breed them. This time, if you can pass through the Qinshui road, you can save the boat and use the horse to transport the goods. In this case, the southbound journey will be divided into east and west.

Lu Chengxiang said: "This is a good way, this time our goods are several times more than last time, if it weren't for Li Mao has already transported some, it will be more." ”

Yan Boju is inseparable from his horse, he said: "I am following the east road, I can follow and take care of the horses." ”

Lu Chengxiang wanted to inspect the construction of branches on both sides of Qinshui by the way, and said: "Yang Jing and I will go together with East Road, because on the way, we will take care of our branches." ”

Yan Boju felt that such a statement would affect the speed of the entire horse team, and said: "If you have to do other things, you should walk for a few days first, otherwise tens of thousands of horses will be waiting for you on the road." ”

Zhang Zhimu asked Yan Boju: "This road is not short, can you ride a horse?" ”

Yan Boju smiled and said, "Don't talk about this little road, as long as you are with the horse, you Yan Bo will be fine if you are farther away." Hey! ”

Chen Yufeng said: "This method is a good way, but Lu Chengxiang has to arrange all the goods to be unloaded in Tongguan, and we can't stop too long when we arrive in Tongguan." ”

Lu Chengxiang said: "You can rest assured about Tongguan, most of the goods to be transported to Tongguan have already been transported, and you can bring some supplements with you." ”

In the end, the result of the discussion was that after Lu Chengxiang arranged the goods that needed to be transported by ship, he and Yang Jing took a hundred cavalry to take the first step, and then Yan Boju and Liu Chenghuang took a thousand cavalry to escort 10,000 horses and 500 cattle, and then followed the Benqin River Ancient Road ten days later. Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng, and Ouyang He took Liu Yun, Li Wei, and Li Jing to follow Fan Chengkun's fleet. Forty men from Princess Anping's entourage followed Yan Boju's brigade back to Kaifeng by land, and she took ten female soldiers to follow Yang Yulin on the big boat. This time, Yang Yulin also went with ten female soldiers she trained.

Zhang Zhimu: The time of their departure depends on the trial conditions of the small steamship, and they must wait for it to be foolproof.

Huang Yukun, Lu Bingyi, and Li Yunhe were specifically responsible for the affairs of the family, and took back some of the army soldiers assigned to various construction sites, left 500 people to guard the kiln post, and brought 500 sailors to cooperate with Fan Chengkun to ensure the safety of the fleet, and they could go ashore to fight when necessary.

After deciding on it, a large number of goods from Yaogang began to be transported to Lingshui Wharf, but fortunately, Fan Chengkun and the two compounds they seized could put a lot of goods. Some of the goods were not landed at all and were directly loaded onto the ship. Those boatmen who have been looking forward to it for a long time are like a holiday, because the price given by the kiln people is fair and they don't have to worry about the safety of the ship. The main thing is long-distance transportation, which is the job that shipwrights are most willing to pull.

Before the flotilla of Yaogang began to act, the underground intelligence war had already begun. The information that Li Zhi got was that pigeons flew out of Li Zicheng's intelligence station for two days in a row.

After listening to Li Zhi's report, Zhang Zhimu said: "It seems that Li Zicheng will definitely arrange for someone to wait for us on the Yellow River." Okay, let's show them how powerful the steamship is. ”

Before leaving, Fan Chengkun suddenly made a suggestion to reinforce the bows of the two gas booster ships with steel plates, because if necessary, we could use the speed advantage of our steamships to sink the other ship.

Zhang Zhimu felt that this was a good idea, because now the ships on both sides were all wooden boats, as long as our ships were stronger in the front, it was completely possible to use the speed to sink the other party.

After the task of reinforcing the ship was handed over to Li Yunhe, it was completed in only one day. Not only is the head of the ship welded into a blade shape with a steel plate, but the bow is also wrapped with steel plates, so that if it hits the opponent's ship, the entire front of the ship is evenly stressed, so that the ship will not be injured while damaging the opponent's ship.

Now Fan Chengkun's fleet has a total of four warships and three small boats, this time a warship and a small boat are all modified in the dock, and the ones that can go are a steam warship, two ordinary warships, a steam boat and an ordinary boat.

According to the situation, the fleet was organized into two groups, one was the steam warship, towing two warships, and some flat-bottomed boats in tow; The steam punt was also towing a string of punts behind it. When the sails are not working, the advantages of the steamship will be revealed.

Fan Chengkun's command ship was on the steamboat, and the command ship of Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng and others was dragged behind the steamship, ranking third, because if the war was needed, Fan Chengkun's warship could drag a warship to meet the battle, and put down the command ship that Zhang Zhimu was riding in a place far away from the war zone.

Fan Chengkun's command ship was loaded with twenty mortars, the other two warships were equipped with ten mortars, and the steam flat-bottomed ship was also equipped with ten mortars. Coupled with the bow and crossbow mines that were previously equipped, and each warship was equipped with more than one redcoat cannon, it should be said that the firepower was still very strong.

Of course, Li Wei was sitting on Fan Chengkun's warship, and he also wanted the mortar to show its might again.

Li Wei said: "It is a pity that most of the warheads of the shells are black, and there are very few smokeless. Fortunately, there were a lot of fire oil bombs brought this time, and most of the crossbow mines and bow mines brought were triggered by fuses. ”

The people of Yaogang are busy here with great fanfare, and King Chuang's camp has been paying attention to them. The "Yaogang Weekly," which published a report on the launch of a steamship, had already attracted the attention of Li Zicheng's battalion, and in particular, the information sent back by the intelligence officers at the Lingshui wharf had also confirmed this situation.

Although they got this information, Li Zicheng and the others still couldn't understand what it meant. Li Zicheng and his generals and military advisors could not tell what the use of this steamship was, because it was far beyond their comprehension. But for the new things made by the kiln gang people, Li Zicheng faintly felt a trace of fear from the bottom of his heart, the musket that Li Guo sent back last time, until now the craftsmen in his military camp only made a few according to the cats and tigers, and they still can't be used at all.

The new things that the kiln people are doing so vigorously will definitely be of great use.

Li Zicheng's generals unanimously agreed that Niu Jinxing's clever plan had worked. Because of the blockade of the Yellow River, the waterways for Shanxi and Shaanxi to transport grain from the south were cut off. Until now, the Yellow River has been civilized for a long time, and the boats going south and north from Yaogang should have been opened a long time ago, but there has been no movement until now, and the grain from Shaanxi cannot be transported in. All this shows that Niu Venus is indeed superior and accurate. Shoot straight to the opponent's vital place.

During this time, what made Li Zicheng even happier was that the navy army had become stronger and stronger after several battles with the official army. It turned out that during the Battle of Kaifeng, some of the injured sailors captured a few more warships, and many officers and soldiers surrendered. Now there are 12 large warships and dozens of small and medium-sized warships. In this section of the Yellow River at the confluence of the Yellow River and the Luo River, the officers and troops did not dare to come over, and Li Zicheng's navy did not go too far, because they were also afraid of the artillery strikes of the Ming army and the navy on the riverbank. But in this way, Li Zicheng's goal was achieved, and the Ming army had lost the ability to escort the caravan. In fact, the Ming army and the navy have been defeated.

During this time, Li Zicheng also strengthened the forts on both sides of the Luohe River, because the Luohe River was the gateway to Luoyang, and they also had to prevent the Ming army from attacking and threatening Luoyang's safety from here. Of course, they haven't taken the sailors of Yaogang with only a few ships seriously, and the ships in Yaogang are not enough to worry about. Although the Yaogang people had defeated their own warships, Li Zicheng's generals believed that the Yaogang people took advantage of their carelessness and gave full play to the advantages of muskets to sneak attack. That's not even a water war.

However, Li Zicheng reminded his generals that the steamships in Yaogang were probably prepared to deal with our naval army, and everyone had to have a way to deal with them. That's what they said, but none of them had ever seen a steamship look like, and what could they do.

Song Xiance said: "I don't think King Chuang needs to worry too much, I think their steam ship is still a ship, no matter what the ship, the water battle must be far away with artillery, close with bows and arrows, and then close with fire bricks and fireballs to attack each other." However, they changed to steam ships, and they did not hear of any increase in firepower, and the number of our warships far exceeded that of Yaogang, and most of the officers and soldiers of the navy were veterans who had returned from the Ming army, and their experience in water warfare was unmatched. So they may have no choice, so they are playing tricks. Otherwise, they wouldn't have written it in the newspaper with great fanfare for everyone to know. I hope that the Yaogang people will be forced to come out and break into the Yellow River, and then we will sink their warships, whether they are steam ships or not, and show our evil spirit. ”

Liu Zongmin said: "Don't don't, don't sink it." I'd rather die than surround the steamship, and I must take the steamship, and I want to see what the steamship looks like. ”

It should be said that until now, Li Zicheng and the others still don't know what kind of disaster the steamship will bring to them. They had been urging the intelligence station in Yaogang to keep the information about the steamship at any time. Of course, the information that the people of Yaogang were transporting goods to Lingshui Wharf with great fanfare had already reached Li Zicheng's camp. In the big camp, it was spread to the sailors of the Luo River. This news made the officers and soldiers of Li Zichengshui in Luohe boiling, and they had already held back their strength, waiting to teach these kiln people a good lesson.

The kiln people are still preparing steadily according to their own plans. When the flat-bottomed steamship was almost tested and just needed to be tested, Lu Chengxiang and Yang Jing set off first.

Ten days later, Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng and others sent away the caravan of Yan Boju and Liu Chenghuang, Yan Boju and Liu Chenghuang led 10,000 horses and 500 cattle.

Zhang Zhimu and the others made a little preparation and went straight to Lingshui Wharf together. The people who saw off Zhang Zhimu and his party from the kiln gang kept watching Zhang Zhimu and his party far away before turning back.

What Zhang Zhimu couldn't bear to see was this scene.

Last night, Zhang Zhimu stroked Huang Yukun's increasingly bulging belly and said, "I'll leave tomorrow, you won't send it tomorrow, I'm most afraid of the scene of farewell." ”

Huang Yukun smiled and said, "Do you think it's possible?" In order to send you off, the school has to skip one class. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "In the future, there will often be people coming in and out, and it won't be bad like this." ”

Huang Yukun said: "As long as you leave, everyone will send it." If you are not in the kiln, the kiln will be like a soulless. If you don't send it, you can't do anything else, so it's better to let everyone send it. ”

Zhang Zhimu felt that it would be better for him to go out as little as possible in the future, he said: "I must go south this time, and I will try to go out as little as possible in the future." Lest everyone worry. ”

Huang Yukun said: "When you come back this time, you will marry Yang Yulin, a big girl's family follows you like this without explanation, and you have to think about it for others." This time I went out and brought her some more silver, so that she could buy some things for herself. ”

Zhang Zhimu sighed and said, "Your own body is inconvenient, don't be tired." Li Yunhe is young but very scheming, so leave it to him if you have something. ”

Before leaving, Li Zhi found Zhang Zhimu and said: "I will leave Sun Yujiao and them in Tongguan when I go to Tongguan this time, and you can see how to bring them over." ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "This is easy to do, let them follow Li Jing's special forces together, and just change into their clothes." It's just that I have to wronged Sun Yujiao to dress up as a man. ”

It turned out that when he led him north to Zhangjiakou this time, he brought Sun Yujiao and his family back. The work of Zhangjiakou was handed over to the people they went with to take care of it. Sun Yujiao said that after this period of training, these people are already qualified for this job. Li Zhi wanted to send Sun Yujiao and his wife to Tongguan and let them find a way to infiltrate Henan, because Henan was the next target of Yaogang. This time, Sun Yujiao was also equipped with a group, in addition to her husband, there were two men and a woman.

Since his whereabouts could not be exposed, he arranged for them to be brought to Li Jing's team. Li Jing knew that it was Li Zhi's person, so she didn't ask too much.

Zhang Zhimu's ship, because of the addition of Yang Yulin's female soldiers and Princess Anping's female entourage, it seemed much more lively.

On this ship, they were specially divided into two cabins, Yang Yulin and Princess Anping lived in a small warehouse, and other female soldiers lived in a warehouse.

In the small warehouse, Princess Anping was very happy to lie on her bed and said, "Hey, what do you think Xiao Hongyu can do now?" When I left the kiln, I didn't dare to look her eyes, for fear of tears coming out. ”

Yang Yulin said: "Didn't we all say that no one is allowed to cry when we break up!" ”

Princess Anping said: "I said that I was good, but I am afraid that I can't help it for a while." ”

The ship had not yet started, because it was due to leave early tomorrow morning, and all those who had been assigned cabins boarded the day early and stayed on board at night. If it's okay, don't get off the ship anymore, this is also for the convenience of management.

In the evening, Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng and others had another meeting, in fact, there was nothing to study, just to study whether there were any things that they hadn't thought of. Fan Chengkun said: "Although Mr. Zhang can rest assured that all threatening people and things have been cleared up a long time ago. We left the captain of the modified ship to take care of the docks. ”

Zhang Zhimu knew that Fan Chengkun was now a strong soldier, and with Mu Yi's joining and a group of naval officers transferred from the smelting plant, the combat effectiveness of the naval army was greatly improved. Not only is the combat effectiveness of the navy strong, but the sailors have been rigorously trained, and many musketeers have been trained in the kiln. They really need a battle to prove themselves.

After the meeting, Zhang Zhimu asked Mu Yi: "How is it?" Have you been contacted at home? ”

Mu Yi said: "The Xuzhou branch has sent a letter, and they have already notified our family and told them the news that we are alive. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "After waiting for a while, when the conditions are good, I will find a way to bring my family to the kiln, so that I don't have to always worry about it." ”

Mu Yi's eyes were a little moist and said, "I've been dreaming of that day." When the conditions are good, I will also take my family to the kiln to enjoy the blessings. ”

Zhang Zhimu comforted: "Don't worry that it won't be too long, and there will be a big change in our kiln this year." ”

The land of Sanjin in April is already the season of spring flowers, and the banks of the Fen River are even more lush. The first steamship of the Ming Dynasty set sail with a long whistle. Ships going down the river towed a long line of ships large and small. The flat-bottomed steamship was also trailing behind with a long line of flat-bottomed boats.

The people on board all came to the deck and enjoyed the scenery on both sides of the river.

Due to the need to avoid passing ships along the way, the steamer also dragged a string of ships full of goods behind it, and it was not very convenient to dodge by himself, and the captain did not dare to drive the ship too fast, but now there is an advantage that the ship can sail at night without stopping halfway. At night, there are basically no other boats on the Fen River, and it is more convenient to sail.

As soon as it was dark, the steamship in front turned on its searchlights, which startled many of the birds along the way, for they had never seen such a bright light except the sun. Especially when passing through several docks, the boaters who were docked at the docks were stunned by the steamships and the searchlights on board. This brightness can be described by the eyes of the devil, which they could not have imagined. It was passed in front of my eyes today. It was destined to be a sleepless night in the Fen River. It was supposed to be stipulated that the captain and the deputy should take turns to sleep, but those who went back to sleep in this shift this night were also doomed to not be able to sleep. Because the responsibility of the long fleet behind was too great, in the past, for the sake of safety, there was no long night voyage during the test voyage. This was the first overnight night flight.

On these ships, Zhang Zhimu should sleep the best, because he is very at ease about sailing.

Yang Yulin and Princess Anping, who didn't sleep well, kept saying this, and the two of them were not worried about the safety of the boat, but excited. Because it was the first time for them to make such a trip, there were steamships in front of them, and a large number of cargo ships behind them, which made me excited to think about it.

Princess Anping invited Yang Yulin to live in the palace for a few days when she arrived in Kaifeng, but Yang Yulin said: "Mr. Zhang has too many things, how can I leave." ”

Princess Anping said a little angrily: "I know that you can't leave the Zhang Dong family for a moment, what is my little princess, and people don't look down on me." ”

Yang Yulin had no choice but to say: "Okay, okay, when I get to Kaifeng, I'll ask for leave to go to your palace to accompany you, okay now?" ”

Princess Anping smiled and said, "That's about the same." The thought of being separated from you makes my heart ache. Alas! How nice you are. I'm going to go back and do something bad. ”

When the flotilla was just dawning, it arrived at Hejin and entered the Yellow River, and then dragged a long fleet along the Yellow River through the big bend of the Yellow River and docked at Tongguan Wharf. The roar of the steamship soon attracted many people to the pier to watch the excitement.

Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng, and Ouyang He took Yang Yulin directly to meet the garrison Ningde. Since Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He met Ningde a few years ago, they are also very familiar with Ningde. Ningde had to report a long time ago that Yaogang's fleet had arrived. He's been waiting for someone from the kiln.

As soon as Zhang Zhimu and the others arrived at the garrison yamen, the gate army immediately led Zhang Zhimu and them in. Seeing the garrison, Zhang Zhimu and the others hurriedly saluted. Zhang Zhimu said: "I've seen the garrison, how are you doing?" ”

Ning De hurriedly said: "Mian Li, please take a seat." ”

When Zhang Zhimu asked what the situation was in Tongguan, Ning De said: "My feeling is not good. The thieves have already taken root in Henan, and they are about to take Shaanxi, and Tongguan is in danger. The thieves have cut off the canal from Tongguan to Shaanxi, and our transportation with Shaanxi has also been cut off. Recently they again

The Luo River has cut off the waterway of the Yellow River, cutting off our grain routes, and a lot of grain cannot be transported in. The situation is not good. ”

When Ning De heard that Zhang Zhimu was going to lead someone to challenge Li Zicheng's army, he hurriedly shook his head and said, "No, absolutely not." Dozens of ships in the imperial court have never fought the thief army, and it is a joke that you want to deal with Li Zicheng's sailor army just by relying on you. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Don't worry, my lord, we are prepared. If you don't open up this waterway, not to mention that Shaanxi can't supply grain, even your Tongguan grain can't be supplied, and you don't need thieves to call, and you will be hungry and hungry. ”

"My dignified Ming Navy once shocked the world, and when they breathe a sigh of relief, they will definitely defeat the thief army." Ning De said that he was obviously lacking in confidence.

Zhang Zhimu said: "By that time, will our Tongguan still be able to hold it?" ”

Ning De stopped talking, he knew that Zhang Zhimu was prepared, and Zhang Zhimu was definitely not a reckless person. His worries may be a little redundant, and he sighed and said, "Since Zhang Yishi has made up his mind. The old man wishes you success. Zhang Yishi always helped the court when it was in trouble, and made me and other soldiers embarrassed. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "My lord, you can defend Tongguan for the imperial court, and you will make a great contribution." He is the pillar of the court, and he is the blessing of our people. ”

After being polite, Ningde gave Chen Yufeng a map of the vicinity of Luoyang, which showed in detail the topography and river conditions at the confluence of the Luo River and the Yellow River. This map is too important to Zhang Zhimu and them. Ningde also briefed Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He on the Yellow River and the Luohe River. I was told again and again not to take too many risks.

Leaving the garrison yamen, Zhang Zhimu and the others returned to the ship, brought Fan Chengkun and others over, combined with Ning De's introduction, and formulated a plan for attacking.

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