In the first battle of Xiangyuankou, with epoch-making advanced explosives and appropriate tactics, the officers and men of the Wu army, who were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of surface strength, won more with less, and broke the strong with weakness, and joined forces by land and water to sink nine Russian steam gunboats, seriously wound one, and captured five Russian steam gunboats, including iron-hulled ships, which severely damaged the main force of the Tsarist Russian steam fleet in one fell swoop, and completely reversed the contrast between the strength and weakness of the Wu army and the Russian army on the steam warships. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

In addition, the officers and men of the Wu army also sank five Russian sail battleships, seriously wounded two, sank 35 red single ships of the Qing army, captured and sank more than 80 small boats of the Qing and Russian coalition forces, killed countless enemies, captured 398 Russian soldiers, and won a decisive victory.

After the war, the officers and men of the Wu army were of course thunderous with joy, singing and dancing, and the war correspondents sent by the media of Britain and France to the front line for interviews were also like crazy, rushing to interview the generals and soldiers of the Wu army, collecting news materials, writing news editorials, reporting on the great victory of the Wu army in thick ink and color, and praising Wu Chaoyue's command ability and the bravery and fearlessness of the officers and men of the Wu army in unison. He also said that the victory of the Wu army was the re-emergence of ancient China under the influence of Western civilization, and he did not blush and attributed this victory in part to the help of the Western powers such as Britain, France, and the United States in the military, science and technology, and institutions. - But then again, it's a fact.

Even more crazy were the ministers and consuls of the Western countries in Hubei, who had just sent military observers to report the situation of Wu's secret weapons to the Hubei provincial capital by telegram, and Western diplomats such as Pruss, Burbulon, and Ahuawei immediately rushed to Daye like crazy, rushing to meet with Wu Chaoyue in order to learn the details of Wu's secret weapons.

But it's a pity that Pruth and Bourblon and others all pounced, and in the early morning of the second day of the victory at Xiangyuankou, before the battlefield could be cleaned up, Wu Chaoyue had already led his direct corps to board the troop carrier, and under the protection of the Wu army's sailing fleet, he marched east along the river, and rushed downstream at full speed to assist the steam fleet of the self-army naval division to chase down the defeated troops of the Qing and Russian coalition forces.

Faster than Wu Chaoyue was the Wu army Cao Yanzhong's corps, when the battle of Xiangyuankou had just been established, Wu Chaoyue had already sent people to send orders from both land and water, so that Cao Yanzhong immediately led the army back to Tianjia Town, rebuilt the defense line of the river in Tianjia Town, and cut off the enemy's defeated retreat.

At the same time, Wu's steamship fleet also took advantage of the weakness of the uneven power of the enemy's ships, adopted tail-following tactics to bite the tail of the defeated brigade of the Qing and Russian coalition forces, delayed the enemy's retreat, and won time for the land division to intercept.

In the heyday of the Taiping Army's eastward expedition to Nanjing, it created the myth that the land division was faster than the water division, and under the premise that the Wu Army's naval division successfully limited the maneuverability advantage of the Russian steam gunboats, the Wu Army's Cao Yanzhong Corps copied this myth, and received the order to send troops during the second watch, and only prepared for less than an hour, Cao Yanzhong's corps was dispatched from the nest, and miraculously marched for more than 50 miles in five hours to return to Tianjia Town, with the help of the local militia who stayed in the position, relying on the materials hoarded in advance, It took only two hours to rebuild a chain defense line between Banbi Mountain and Wuwang Temple.

Originally, Cao Yanzhong's corps still had enough materials to build another iron cable defense line, but unfortunately, the second iron cable defense line had just begun to be erected, and the defeated brigade of the Qing Russian combined fleet had already been killed near Tianjia Town.

At this time, the commander of the Tsarist Russian fleet had been replaced by Novosilsky's deputy Menchekov, after learning that the front channel had been intercepted by the Wu army, Menchekov, who was also a rear admiral of the Tsarist Russian navy, immediately made a decision, and immediately commanded the Qing army's red single ship to shell the Wu army batteries on both sides of the strait, and he led four intact steam gunboats and sail battleships to intercept the Wu army's pursuers. At the same time, some seriously damaged wooden warships were abandoned, and after being lit, they were allowed to go down the river on their own, and set fire to the Wu army's iron cable defense line, helping the small boats of the Qing and Russian coalition forces to speed up the way to escape eastward.

The reason why Menchekov, who was also a rear admiral and former commander of the Tsarist Black Sea Fleet, failed to become the commander of the Tsarist Russian Expeditionary Fleet was that he had too many ideas in the Crimean War, and he directly ran into the most perverted British Navy in the world navy today without winning a single battle, and was killed alive, so he was forced to succumb to Novosilsky, who had made meritorious contributions in the Sinop naval battle. However, in terms of battlefield experience and command ability, Menchekov was by no means inferior to Novosilsky.

Menchekov's immediate decision saved the life of the Qing and Russian coalition forces, and after Wang Fu led the Wu army steam fleet to the battlefield of Tianjiazhen, although he had the advantage of the number of ships, he was destined to be unable to quickly defeat the experienced enemy, and was forced to engage in a water artillery battle with the Russian steam gunboats, unable to directly threaten the enemy's main force. In addition, because there were five Russian sail battleships to help in the battle, the Wu army's naval division also fought quite hard, and the steam gunboat was damaged by bullets many times.

At the same time, the Qing army's Red Single Fleet, which was eager to escape by way, also resolutely carried out Menchekov's tactical command, frantically shelling the Wu army batteries on both sides of the strait at any cost, suppressing the Wu army's artillery fire to cover the boat's action. The soldiers of the Qing Russian coalition army in front of the small boat were also all willing to die, and they were indomitable against the Wu army shells that fell from time to time, rushing to the Wu army's iron cable defense line to destroy the rope boat raft first, and then using the furnace giant axe to melt and cut the belt, desperately smashing the Wu army's iron cable defense line, the Wu army soldiers desperately fired artillery at the area of the iron cable defense line, but they still could not kill the Qing Russian soldiers who broke the iron cable.

After all, it was a battle of trapped beasts, knowing that if they could not rush through Tianjia Town, they would definitely die, the soldiers of the Qing and Russian coalition forces broke out a crazy energy that made the Wu soldiers couldn't help but marvel, and it only took more than an hour to destroy most of the iron cable defense line that the Wu army soldiers had worked hard to erect, and at the same time, the abandoned warships of the Qing and Russian coalition forces also burned many Wu army barrage iron cables with fire, and the channel was quickly dredged in many places.

At the critical moment, luck finally stood on the side of the Wu army, and the Qing army sailors who were eager to flee for their lives fled downstream as soon as possible, and did not wait for the channel to be completely dredged, and some of the Qing army's sailors could not wait to rush downstream, shaking the army's morale and causing the remaining red sailors to follow suit, causing the formation of the Qing army's sailors to be chaotic, and it was no longer possible to cover the Tsarist Russian transport ships through Tianjia Town in an orderly manner.

Such a good opportunity was placed in front of him, and the officers and men of the Wu army did not know how to seize it, it was simply a crime, and without anyone giving an order, the officers and men of the Wu army took out the fastest speed to open fire and open artillery, desperately bombarding the chaotic formation of the Qing army's naval fleet, and still achieved a lot of results when the number of artillery in the fort was far less than before, and damaged and sank many Qing warships.

It was also thanks to Menchekov, the acting commander of the Tsarist fleet, that is, he did not rush to lead the Russian fleet to flee for his life, nor did he blame Wu Quanmei's ineffective commander, but just patiently continued to negotiate with the Wu army's steam fleet, and at the same time sent someone to contact Wu Quanmei, asking Wu Quanmei to continue to dredge the channel, and at the same time let the Qing warships that had crossed the iron cable defense line continue to suppress the Wu army's batteries with firepower and cover the rear team to break through. At the same time, Menchekov also sent someone to clearly inform Wu Quanmei that the steam cannon ship led by him would always serve as the queen of the palace.

Menchekov's and Novosilsky's very different tolerant attitudes had a miraculous effect, as he was moved by Menchekov's magnanimity and knew that without the help of the Tsarist fleet, even if he passed Tianjiazhen, he might not be able to rush past the layers of interception by the Taiping army. Wu Quanmei did his best to carry out Menchekov's order, and while allowing the ships of the Qing Army Naval Division to continue to dredge the channel, he ordered the Red Single Boat, which had crossed the iron cable, to continue shelling the Wu Army Battery to reduce the pressure on navigation.

In the end, with the concerted efforts of many Qing and Russian soldiers, the Qing and Russian coalition forces finally completely dredged the channel and fled downstream hand in hand.

In this regard, Cao Yanzhong, who was ordered to intercept the enemy's fleet, was of course very depressed, but no matter how depressed Cao Yanzhong was, Wu surpassed the depression - when he personally led the sailing fleet to Tianjia Town, the Qing-Russian combined fleet had just left for an hour. What made Wu Chaoyue even more depressed was that except for Tianjiazhen, Wu's army no longer had any section of the river downstream suitable for erecting iron cables to intercept enemy ships, and if he wanted to completely annihilate the Qing Russian combined fleet, he had to count on his letters to be delivered to Hukou first, and he had to count on the Hukou Taiping Army led by Lin Qirong and Hu Dingwen to fully assist.

"One can only hope for a miracle." Wu Chaoyue muttered sullenly, because Wu Chaoyue knew very well how much Lin Qirong, the commander of the Taiping Army in Hukou, hated himself.

…………

Although the Tianjiazhen blockade failed, it still played a very important role in delaying, and bought precious time for the messenger sent by Wu Chaoyue to Hukou, and when the Qing-Russian combined fleet had just escaped from Hubei and entered the surface of Jiangxi, the Wu army messenger had already sent the letter to Hukou and presented it to Lin Qirong in person. But......

"Surpassing the little demon can defeat the Rakshasa people's sailor? Really? ”

But it's a pity that Lin Qirong and Hu Dingwen, who commanded the Hukou Water Division of the Taiping Army, didn't believe that the Wu army could create a miracle and defeat the Qing-Russian combined fleet, which was so powerful that they were once stunned. At the end, Lin Qirong also asked in a very unkind tone: "Okay, for the time being, I believe that the fleet of the Rakshasa and the Qing Demon is about to escape to the mouth of the lake, and it is not without discussion that the little demon wants us to help send troops to intercept it, but let me ask you first, how many red single boats are left of the Qing Demon?" How many steamers and cannon ships did the Rakshasas have left? ”

"This ......, the little one doesn't know." The envoy of Wu Jun replied truthfully: "Last night, we just beat the steamer fleet of the Rakshasa people, and Wu Dashuai immediately asked the small one to take a boat to send a message to General Lin, so I don't know how many ships the Rakshasa people and the chaotic party fleet still have. ”

"You don't know, you dare to ask us to send troops to intercept?" Hu Dingwen next to him scolded: "Beyond the little demon, is it the idea of making us lose with the Qing demon and the Rakshasa people again?" ”

"The general misunderstood, misunderstood." The envoy of Wu Jun smiled bitterly and said, "Can our marshal have such a mind? We just think that the fighter plane is rare, and we want to ask you to help us with this, and try our best to annihilate the Rebel Party Sailors and the Rakshasa fleet, and after the matter is completed, we will definitely have a good reward. ”

"I'm not fooled!" Lin Qirong scolded and roared: "Go back and tell the little demon beyond you, don't think that he is a smart person in the world, the skinny camel is bigger than the horse, and Lao Tzu understands better than him!" Even if the fleet of the Rakshasa and the Qing Demon suffered defeat, the strength is still above our Hukou Water Division, so we are told to stop him with all our lives, so that he can hide behind and pick up the bargain, dreaming! ”

"Get out! Give Lao Tzu a clear and tell the Transcendence Demon that if his sailor dares to violate the covenant and enter my defense area without our consent, Lao Tzu will immediately open fire! All the consequences are borne by him! ”

The envoy of the Wu army went with a disgraced face, but Hu Dingwen next to him was a little shaken, and said to Lin Qirong: "Zhentianhou, isn't it too direct?" If there is really such an opportunity, we will only use the fort to help intercept it, and let the sailors who surpass the little demon fight a decisive battle on the water, and surpass the little demon's proposal, we can't consider it? ”

Lin Qirong didn't answer, gritted his teeth, and the light flashed in his eyes.

…………

The Qing-Russian combined fleet fled all the way to escape quickly, broke through Tianjia Town at noon, and had fled to the Jiujiang area in the evening, the batteries on both sides of the Wu army fired frantically, but there was no water force to stop it, and the river surface in this area of Jiujiang was too wide, Liu Ming's traditional and handsome Jiujiang Wu army only sank an enemy ship to let the Qing-Russian combined fleet break through the Jiujiang defense line, and the Wu army steam fleet behind was also entangled in the Tsarist Russian steam fleet, and failed to achieve much success under the cover of shore artillery.

After another moment, the Qing army sailors who were walking in front saw Zhangjiazhou Jiangxin Island and gradually approached the Taiping army defense area, and Wu Quanmei, who commanded the Qing army sailors, gradually raised his heart to his throat - because Wu Quanmei knew very well that if the Hukou Taiping army ran out to take advantage of the fire at this time, then the Qing-Russian combined fleet would not be afraid of the Taiping Army's Hukou water division with only two small steam gunboats, and would have to be greatly injured by the Wu army and the Taiping army.

Woo——! Woo——!

The more scared you are, the more hellish you see, but at this time, there were suddenly two whistles roaring in front, and then, two steam gunboats and a large number of sampan boats of the Taiping Army suddenly came from the downstream and rushed to the entrance of the south channel of Zhangjiazhou to line up. Wu Quanmei was shocked when she saw it, and blurted out: "Long Mao really wants to take advantage of the fire to rob?" ”

The worried cannon did not sound, on the contrary, a Taiping army boat came forward with a white flag, shouting loudly to meet Wen Xiang, Wu Quanmei did not dare to slack off, and quickly sent someone to invite the Taiping army envoy to the flagship, and sent someone to call Wen Xiang over. As a result, after Wen Xiang went up to the deck, the Taiping army envoy immediately saluted him and said respectfully: "Little Zhou Yun, I have seen Wen Zhongtang. Nakado-sama, we meet again. ”

"Do you know the old man?" Taking a closer look at the light of the torch, Wen Xiang immediately recognized the person who came, and said happily: "I remember, when I passed by the lake a few days ago, it was you who contacted the old man on behalf of General Lin Qirong Lin. ”

"Lord Zhongtang is so careful, you also rewarded a small fifty taels of silver at that time, and the small one has not been forgotten to this day." The envoy of the Taiping Army praised with a smile, and hurriedly said: "Lord Zhongtang, don't worry, we are not here to stop you, we are to stop the fleet that surpasses the little demon." ”

"Really?" Wen Xiang asked in surprise.

"Absolutely." The envoy of the Taiping Army nodded, and said: "Lord Zhongtang, I won't tell you, in fact, this afternoon, the little demon has already sent someone to contact our Zhentian Marquis General Lin, to borrow a way from us to hunt you down, and also ask us to send troops to help intercept you, but our General Lin did not agree. ”

Saying that, Zhou Yun also presented a letter written by Wu Chaoyue to Lin Qirong, explaining: "There are two reasons why our Zhentianhou refuses to surpass the little demon, the first is that the East King has a decree, and you must not be prevented from passing through our defense area, and we must temporarily suspend the army with you, and Zhen Tianhou cannot disobey the holy decree of the East King. ”

"The second reason must be that you also know in the middle of the text, it was our Prime Minister Luo Cheng who sacrificed his life to let us Zhentianhou get rid of the pursuit of the transcendent demon, but Prime Minister Luo himself died tragically in the hands of the transcendence demon, and now our Zhentianhou can't avenge Prime Minister Luo Cheng with his own hands, but he will definitely not help the transcendence demon!"

After listening to the introduction of the Taiping envoy, Wen Xiang and Wu Quanmei were of course overjoyed, and hurriedly thanked the Taiping envoy again and again. The envoy of the Taiping army replied: "Lord Zhongtang, if you want to thank us, Zhentianhou, he has asked someone to prepare coal and food for you at the mouth of the lake, you can rest there for a while before leaving, our sailor will stop the sailor who surpasses the little demon for you, so that you can rest assured that you can replenish and rest." ”

Wen Xiang was even more overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly thanked him again, and hurriedly sent someone to prepare a valuable gift, ready to give it to Lin Qirong as a thank you.