Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Mughal Fleet Attacks and Wins the Bloody Battle of the River and the Sea

At present, after the officers and men have fought day and night, the military port has become a large port on the Dajinsha River that has a certain scale for both military and civilian use.

After receiving Fan Chengkun's notice, Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong also rushed to the military port headquarters one after another.

As soon as he entered the door, Zheng Zhilong shouted, "Fuck! Is there something wrong with the brains of the Mughal Empire! We just packed up the British, and they still dare to come over? ”

Fan Chengkun smiled and said, "Come on, Lao Zheng!" The Mughal Empire was different from the British, and this time they came with hundreds of ships. However, the Canton has not yet been finalized to determine whether this is true. We need to be serious! ”

The steady Mu Yi came to the map and said, "If it's true, then it's great!" It's much easier to fight with us than if we go to chase them boat by boat! ”

Fan Chengkun also came over and said: "I think it's best for us to invite the Mughals to the Dajinsha River to fight!" ”

Mu Yi nodded and said, "It's a pity that our heavy artillery was taken away by Qin Peng and them!" Otherwise, it would be easier to beat their wooden boats along the Dajinsha River than to beat ducks. ”

Zheng Zhilong also came over and said: "We still have a good thing, that is, the 20,000-ton Taihu big ship and the 5,000-ton Hongzehu and Gaoyouhu have all left Hong Kong. The rest of our ships are ready to fight! ”

"Hmmm! What Lao Zheng said was," Fan Chengkun said, "It is said that the combat effectiveness of these three ships is very strong, but although they have dry boards on their decks. But after all, it was a wooden boat. It's a pity to get a few shells and cause losses! If the general naval battle is covered by our warships, it is fine, but if they want to fight with hundreds of warships of the Mughal Empire, they better go far! ”

The 20,000-ton Taihu Lake, the 5,000-ton Hongze Lake, and the Gaoyou Lake could not stop here, they were filled with Burmese teak oak, as well as rice, jade and other Burmese specialties, and left Hong Kong to return to China.

Zheng Zhilong said: "The wind direction is very good today, it is very likely that the Mughal Empire will be able to enter the Dajinsha River today, let's arrange it first!" ”

Mu Yi pointed to the map and said: "Our infantry still has dozens of infantry guns and many mortars, I look at the mortars and forget it, save some shells." We placed infantry artillery on our downstream banks. When their fleet came in and pulled out, the infantry guns could fire at the warships on the river. And our speedboats and barges, which also have to go upstream to our port first. As soon as the war began, the speedboats and barges rushed down the river and opened holes in their big ships with 12.7 mm heavy machine guns. ”

Zheng Zhilong added: "Infantry guns can also be erected on barges. They could get close to the big ships of the Mughals and open fire! ”

Mu Yi said: "Also, while the Mughals have not yet come, we will send out a few more warships to cooperate with the Guangzhou to intercept those who have escaped at sea, or attack the Mughal imperial warships that have not entered the Dajinsha River." It is very likely that all the ships of the Mughal Empire will not be able to come in! ”

Seeing that Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong quickly formulated a battle strategy, Fan Chengkun was very happy and admired them from the bottom of his heart.

Fan Chengkun said: "The three of us divide the labor, I will sit here, one of you will follow the boat to the sea, and the other will follow the boat on the river." Let's split up! ”

Zheng Zhilong said to Mu Yi: "Old Mu, leave the affairs of the sea to me, and the affairs on the river will be handed over to you!" ”

"Good! Let's split up immediately," he said to Fan Chengkun, "but we must inform the Canton and let them make contact with the Mughal Empire's warships and retreat immediately, so as not to scare the Mughal Empire's fleet away!" ”

Just as the Canton and the Mughal Imperial ships were gradually approaching, the wind was blowing on the sea, and the fog gradually dissipated, the observers on the Canton could clearly see that the sea was densely packed with many ships without viewing equipment.

In fact, there is no need for the observer to report, the captain has already seen that the fleet in front is from the Mughal Empire. At the same time, the black smoke rising from the Canton was also spotted by the Mughal imperial fleet.

The captain of the Canton thought that the order issued by the base was not to scare away the Mughal fleet, but to lead them into the Dajinsha River, and knew that the family was ready. So, he ordered, 130 cannons on the foredeck, to fire on the warships of the Mughal Empire opposite, and then turn around and leave.

The shells fell at a great distance from the Mughal imperial warships.

The captains of the Mughal Empire originally thought that the British had sunk many ships by the Ming army, and they were a little nervous when they received the order to attack the Ming army, but they had to come. The fog suddenly lifted, and they suddenly noticed that they saw a large ship emitting black smoke very close in the fog, and they became even more nervous. But when they saw that the ship on the opposite side had fired two shots and turned to run, their confidence grew. They believed that it was the adversary who fled in fright at the sight of the huge imperial fleet.

The general under the command of the Imperial fleet raised the flag and ordered the fleet to speed up. Because he was worried that the fleeing warships would return to report to the Ming army, the suddenness of their actions was discounted.

But what they didn't expect was that the opponent's ship had no sail but ran much faster than them, and no matter how they chased it, they could only watch the opponent go away.

The Canton kept in touch with the family on the radio at all times, and at the mouth of the Dajinsha River, the Canton and the fleet led by Zheng Zhilong converged and hid out to the open sea.

The general in command of the Mughal Imperial fleet was a veteran seafarer, and he knew very well about the hydrology and meteorology of the area, and knew that it was a southerly wind, which was suitable for the fleet to sail against the current and enter the Dajinsha River.

Directly entering the Dajinsha River to attack the dock built by the Ming army was a plan they had made.

When we came to the mouth of the Dajinsha River, several clippers took the lead, and the fleet headed towards the Dajinsha River. All Mughal ships were muzzled with their guns held high.

The port built by the Yaogang people in the Dajinsha River is not very far from Haikou, and is built by a lake fork on the bank of the Dajinsha River. It's very sheltered from the wind, not as stormy as the Western Ocean (Indian Ocean).

Now the Yaogang people are not far from Haikou, and they have ambushed an artillery with more than 20 infantry guns. There was also a company of infantry to guard them.

The large-scale operations of the Mughal imperial army were not blind, they also did a lot of reconnaissance work beforehand, and also developed a detailed plan of action. Their fleet advanced along the Dajinsha River towards the port of the Yaogang people, and the fleet formed a long line, just in front of the muzzle of the Yaogang people's ambush, but the Yaogang artillerymen, who had not received the order to fire, remained in ambush in the woods and did not move. This is good on the Myanmar side, the trees are luxuriant, and the trees cut down today will be able to shade the sky in a few days.

However, just when the artillerymen were anxious when they saw that the Mughal Empire's warships could not fire, an accident appeared. Several warships of the Mughal Empire, suddenly in front of them, rushed to the beach. The ship then descended the gangway, down which many Mughal soldiers armed with muskets and scimitars rushed down. They were experienced and quickly set up a defensive line on the shore, less than fifty meters from the concealment of the artillery of the kiln gang.

The commander of the Yaogang artillery battalion immediately hid in the grass and covered the microphone with his hand to report the situation to the military port base.

Fan Chengkun heard this report and knew that he had to act immediately, if the artillerymen were discovered by the Mughal Empire first, they would be passive.

Fan Chengkun decisively ordered the artillery positions to open fire on the enemy, and at the same time asked the infantry to destroy all the Mughal soldiers who landed on the shore.

The artillery battalion commander couldn't say how grateful he was to Fan Chengkun for this wise and great order. Immediately, the infantry company commander quietly called over and assigned the task.

The infantry company commander went back to set up, and the artillery battalion commander suddenly shouted "Fire!" ”

The soldiers of the Mughal Empire were so close to them that they were startled when they suddenly heard the shouts. But with the shouting, a company of infantry's light and heavy firearms opened fire at the same time. The Mughal soldiers, who were the first to land on guard, were immediately knocked down. The officers and men who were disembarking from the gangways of several shore ships were even more frightened, and one by one they rolled and climbed and rolled onto the shore. By the time the infantry's fire came at them, the infantry guns, which had already been disguished and cranked their muzzles, began to fire at the ships.

Twenty infantry guns, pointing at the head and firing at close range, blew these warships apart at once. The soldiers on board were also blown to pieces, flying everywhere with the ship's debris. Fortunately, they rushed to the shore and docked, otherwise the wreckage of the two boats would have drifted away along the water.

The Yaogang people and the Mughal Empire naval army, neither side expected that the battle would start here.

It turned out that the plan of the Mughal Empire's naval forces was that the ships in front would attack the military port of the Ming army, and they would send their most elite infantry to land here and attack the military port of the Ming army from behind. However, several warships packed with infantry were destroyed by the kiln men before they could land many people. The landing infantry was also killed and wounded. Enraged, the Mughal naval forces began to fire at the artillery positions on the shore from the artillery of the ships of the close quarters.

But where are they the opponents of infantry artillery, with cannon sights, the Mughal imperial warships on the water are like fixed targets. Soon more than a dozen warships were hit on the river and drifted down the river.

At this time, the battle on the side of the military port was more intense. There were only five 130 cannons on the shore of the military port, and they were all placed on the dock and fired directly at the warships of the Mughal Empire.

130 heavy artillery against wooden ships, it is like a big knife cutting tofu, those majestic Mughal Empire warships, as long as one hit, will solve the problem. One by one, the warships of the Mughal Empire were blown to pieces and drifted down the river. However, the Mughal Empire's naval forces also discovered that although the cannons on the military port were very powerful, there were very few cannons, especially since they did not find the Yaogang warships. Therefore, they decided to take advantage of their numerical superiority and attack the port of the army. After fighting for a while, the Mughals found that the artillery on the dock of the Ming army had run away and no longer fired.

Seeing that victory was in sight, the Mughal navy ordered the paddlers to row desperately and rush into the harbor. But just as they were concentrating all their attention on the military port, the fleet commanded by Mu Yi rushed down from upstream. Four flat-bottomed warships, with 130 heavy guns on the foredeck, spewed fury and smashed the Mughal Empire warships one after another. When the Mughal Empire warships realized that the situation was not good and counterattacked the Yaogang warships, they fired cannonballs like tickles elephants. In fact, the warships commanded by Mu Yi still controlled the speed in order to destroy the Mughal Empire warships one by one. Small speedboats and tugboats did not care about this, and they took advantage of the small size and agility of their boats to move between the Mughal fleet. But they weren't just walking around, and every time a Mughal ship passed by, they would shoot at them with a 12.7mm machine gun at the waterline, punching them a series of fist-sized holes.

By the time the big ships found out that the situation was not good, it would be too late. There are too many loopholes to plug at all. To say that the heavy machine guns on the speedboats were gentle on the Mughal Imperial warships, those tugboats were not polite, they approached the big ships and fired directly at them with infantry guns at close range, and the infantry guns against the wooden boats, hit the vital point, and one shot could take out a ship. However, they often make a hole in the waterline of the big ship. Let them sink slowly.

There is no shortage of masters in the naval forces of the Mughal Empire, and there is no shortage of people who dare to fight hard, but they generally feel that they cannot use their strength, and this is a battle that they do not understand at all. The opponent's style of play, weapons, is completely different from theirs. Inevitably, there were many Mughal Empire captains who wanted to scold the Ming army for not following the rules in the war, and they did not fight like this. Now they understand why the British can't defeat the Ming army. However, they misunderstood, they were not only inferior in weapons, but also in tactics and tactics.

Fragments of the Mughal Empire's warships almost covered the river. Fortunately, the Dajinsha River is turbulent, so it will not leave them to block the river, but will send them all into the sea.

Although the Mughal Empire did not have a means of communication such as telegraphs, the commander of the imperial fleet at the mouth of the river could only know from the distant sound of artillery that a fierce battle was going on in front of him, but could not understand what the battle was going on. But the water finger that commanded the ship showed him the debris floating out of the Dajinsha River, and he understood that many imperial warships had become these floating debris.

A hint of failure came to mind, but he quickly dismissed the idea, how could such a majestic fleet fail. According to intelligence, there were only a dozen warships in the Ming army, but we had more than 300 warships. It is impossible to fail.

But the frightened shouts of the lookout pulled him back from his thoughts. It turned out that the lookout was also frightened by the many fragments of warships floating out, and when he looked up and saw several pillars of smoke emitting black smoke in the distance, he knew that it was a Ming warship, so he screamed in fright, and his voice changed tone: "Ming warship, Ming warship!" ”

The commander of the Mughal Empire calmed down and ordered: "Go and pull this coward down!" ”

Then he ordered: "Hang the flag and inform the ships to fight!" ”

Almost half of the Mughal Empire's warships remained at sea. The Dajinsha River could not open so many warships at once. With these ships, the commander-in-chief of the imperial fleet was still very confident in himself.

The imperial fleet was also well-trained, and soon formed several horizontal lines to meet the Ming fleet.

The fleet brought out by Zheng Zhilong included two of the most powerful 1,800-ton warships in Yaogang, two 1,500-ton warships, and six steam-powered ships.

They received the news that a war had started in the Dajinsha River, and organized a fleet to sail in the direction of the mouth of the Dajinsha River. Much earlier than the Mughal fleet, they discovered the large number of Mughal ships anchored at the mouth of the river.

They saw that the Mughal fleet was already arrayed to meet them. Zheng Zhilong on the Fuzhou smiled and said to the captain: "You see, the one who flies the command flag is the one who commands the ship. You shoot him first! ”

"Yes! The captain of the Fuzhou went out.

In such a naval battle, the Yaogang naval army was very experienced, especially against an opponent like the Mughal Empire who did not know itself, and it was even more convenient to deal with.

The captain of the Fuzhou ordered 203 main guns and 130 guns on the foredeck to simultaneously aim at the command ship of the Mughal imperial fleet. When the flotilla got closer, it was time to suddenly open fire, as a result of which two shells hit the command ship of the Mughal Empire, and the ship immediately turned into a pile of garbage floating on the sea.

The Mughal imperial fleet was shocked, they didn't expect that the warships of the Ming army would fire their guns so far away, such a distance was far from the distance of naval battles. However, the Ming army opened fire, not only did it fire, but also directly hit the command ship, which made them chaotic for a while. Fortunately, these warships were strictly trained, and immediately one of them was hoisted with a command flag to replace the command ship.

All the ships of the kiln on the sea heard the cannon fire and opened fire together. One after another, the warships of the Mughal Empire were blown up, and the sailors of the Mughal Empire were also beaten. They desperately tried to get close to their opponent's ship so that they could fire at their opponents. However, the warship of the Yaogang people reversed backwards, always keeping a distance from them. At this distance, the cannons of the Yaogang people could easily hit the warships of the Mughal Empire, but they were far from the firing distance of the Mughal Empire's naval forces. The warships of the Mughal Empire were so blind that they opened fire. Their cannons were originally not very accurate in shooting, and now they were fighting like this, except for boiling the seawater, and posing no threat to the Yaogang warships at all. Soon, more than sixty Mughal warships were sunk at sea. At this time, the sailors of the Mughal Empire understood that if they continued to fight like this, they would be completely wiped out, and not a single ship would be able to go back.

The Mughal fleet stopped the pursuit and wanted to return to the mouth of the Great Jinsha River to wait for the fleet to attack the inside of the Great Jinsha River.

But the warships they wanted to retreat from the kiln chased after them, kept a certain distance from them, and fired at them. Soon more than two dozen warships were hit and turned into sea junk.

Just when they could not advance or retreat, an even greater danger appeared, and from the direction of the mouth of the Dajinsha River, another line of warships emitting black smoke rushed over.