Wu Chaoyue wants to fight in Tianjia Town, and he also has to control the Hubei Navy Division under the command of Duxing A; Du Xing'a wanted to fight a decisive battle with the Taiping army at the mouth of Jiujiang Lake, and Hua Shana, as the governor, ordered that Wu Chaoyue's life-root steam gunboat be sent to Jiujiang to participate in the battle and handed over to Du Xing'a to command. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Two completely different demands were sent one after another, and it was immediately difficult for Hua Shana, who was fighting wits and courage between Hunan and local officials and the Taiping army, and promised Wu Chaoyue to offend Du Xing'a, and to hand over more military power to Wu Chaoyue, who was extremely wary of the Manchu court; promised Du Xing, Wu Chaoyue was definitely unhappy, and he might not agree. The front wolf and the back of the tiger, the palms and backs of the hands are full of meat, and under the dilemma, Hua Shana, who has always had a smooth wrist, also has a rare headache.

At the critical moment, Dai Wenjie, a staff member and literary friend who was very trusted by Hua Shana, put forward an important suggestion in a timely manner, saying: "Yu Zhong, I think you can't think about personnel at this time, you can only give priority to the military. Changmao marched westward in a big way, and also drove all the steamers to the western front, the situation was critical, and once the sailors made any mistakes, the gateway to the hinterland of Hubei would be immediately opened. So I think that at this time you can't think about who to offend and who is upset, you should give priority to who is most sure of handing over the army. ”

Dai Wenjie's words made Hua Shana finally make up his mind, and Hua Shana immediately wrote two official documents, one to Du Xing'a, ordering Du Xing'a to lead the army out of Hubei Province to accept Wu Chaoyue's order; One gave Wu Chaoyue and ordered Wu Chaoyue to command this decisive battle. However, while using a fast horse to send these two official documents, Hua Shana inevitably had some worries, and said secretly: "I don't know if it's too late, and I don't know if Du Xing'a will give the old man a general to the old man?" If it is, then it's a big problem. ”

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Fortunately, there was still time, because the Taiping army needed to adapt to the replacement of warships and upgrade equipment, and when Huashana ordered Wu Chaoyue to command this decisive battle and sent it to the capital of Hubei Province, the main force of the Taiping Army's naval division had not yet left Pengze, and Wu Chaoyue had just boarded the Daode and was ready to lead the Wu army's naval division to set off.

Seeing that Hua Shana agreed to let him command this decisive battle, Wu Chaoyue hurriedly sent an order to Du Xing'a by clipper, ordering Du Xing'a to lead the Hubei Navy Division to immediately return to Tianjia Town, and ordered Wang Guocai to continue to help defend Jiujiang, so as not to deliberately refuse to chase Tianjia Town and choose to attack Jiujiang to send reinforcements.

Coincidentally, when Hua Shana and Wu Chaoyue's orders were sent to Du Xing'a, the scout clipper happened to send the news that the Taiping Army's naval division had set off from Pengze, and in the face of these two changes, Du Xing'a, who had just been deprived of the command of the front, had a very ugly face, and several Qing army generals believed by Du Xing'a were also gloomy, and they were all extremely dissatisfied with Hua Shana's decision.

Depressed, Liu Liansheng, the deputy general who was very trusted by Duxinga, also openly vented: "Flower system is eccentric!" Although we didn't win any big battles in Jiujiang, we used the strength of a provincial water division to resist the soldiers of the long-haired water division alone, and we still fought on a par with the long-haired sailors, and we still had some advantages. Could it be that Wu Futai is the only one in the whole of Hubei who can fight, and we are all wine bags and rice bags?! ”

Liu Liansheng took the lead, and the generals of the water division such as Wuguo, Qishou and Zhan Qilun also echoed it, all of them thought that Hua Shana despised Du Xing'a too much, and looked down on the Hubei Navy Master too much! - Speaking from the heart, the Hubei Naval Division of Duxing Asuo's Department is indeed good, even if there is no experience in water warfare up and down, and the main force of the Taiping Army's Naval Division has not suffered any big losses so far, and it is definitely standing out among the Manchu regular army full of straw bales.

Only Bao Chao, who had learned a lesson, raised an objection and persuaded him: "Dujunmen, let's listen to the orders of Huazhitai and Wu Futai, they are also for your good, we don't have a steamer with long hair, and the terrain fortifications over there in Tianjia Town are also beneficial to us. ”

Bao Chao didn't persuade it, but after listening to Bao Chao's persuasion, Du Xing'a, who was already harboring a fire in his belly, immediately broke out, smashed the table and roared: "What about the long-haired steamer?" Am I afraid? With just three steamers, can they scare the official so much that he will quickly flee back to Tianjia Town to find the fort there for protection? There is a fort in Tianjia Town, but there is no one here in Balijiang? ”

Bao Chao, who had stood in the wrong line several times, kept his mouth shut, not daring to persuade him any further, while Wuguo and Qishou and others over there shouted even more violently, all of whom thought that there was no need to be too afraid of the steam gunboats of the Taiping Army. At the end, the wing commander Wuguo also agitated: "Dujunmen, otherwise, we will reply to Wu Futai that the long-haired naval division is suddenly approaching, and we have no time to retreat calmly, and there is no way to carry the soldiers of the land division of the Balijiang Fort across the river, so we can only continue to hold the Balijiang camp and cannot retreat." ”

"Great idea!" Liu Liansheng shouted: "Insist on not retreating first, with the cover of the shore fort of the Bali River and the long hair to fight a few battles, of course it is best to win the battle, even if the long hair is strong, it is difficult to win for a while, as long as we hold the Bali River, we can prove that the Bali River is also suitable for a decisive battle with the long hair!" When the time comes, see if he Wu Chaoyue still insists on fighting with Changmao in Tianjia Town? ”

"Good idea, that's how it should be."

Several henchmen and generals echoed one after another, and all of them tried their best to encourage Du Xing'a to resist the order and not to withdraw, and Du Xing'a was to remove the front-line coach for no reason, and secondly, he really couldn't swallow this breath, and wanted Hua Shana and Wu Chaoyue to see if they were people they could underestimate, gritted his teeth and made up his mind, slapped the table and shouted: "That's it!" Don't withdraw! ”

"Dujunmen, this ......."

As soon as he shouted out with a trembling voice, Bao Chao was immediately surrounded by the fierce eyes of Liu Liansheng, Wuguo and others, and was forced to swallow back the unfinished persuasive words, and complained bitterly in his heart, and said secretly: "It's over, this time it's a big trouble, could it be that we really have to destroy the ship and escape for our lives in the future?" ”

In the afternoon of the same day, Wang Fu sent people to urge Du Xing'a to retreat, but Du Xing'a really used the excuse that the Taiping army had been killed from Pengze and could not retreat in a hurry, so he insisted on stationing in Balijiang. Wang Fu was devastated when he heard the report, but he had no choice but to prepare for retreat while sending a clipper to report to Wu Chaoyue. Yang Wending, Wang Guocai and others were also distressed when they heard the news, but they also had no way to take Du Xing'a.

After a day's delay, the next morning, the main force of the Taiping Army's naval division returned to the Hukou battlefield in a big way. Different from before departure, the small boat that was once the main warship of the Taiping Army but the firepower was weak, there was almost no trace in the Taiping Army's naval division, and it was replaced by a huge number of military sampans, which could transport ten troops, equipped with sails, sailed in the wind and rowed without wind, light and flexible not under the small boat, and the bow gun firepower of the equipment was far better than the gunwald earth cannon of the small boat, and it was an auxiliary warship that had been proven to be effective in the Yangtze River water battle after actual combat, not only the Hunan Army Naval Division, but even the Wu Army Naval Division was equipped with a large number of such warships, It was used to protect the inshore side of the main warship.

By the way, almost all of the iron used in the bow guns of these sampan ships of the Taiping Army came from Wu Chaoyue's Daye Iron Works, and the technology used in casting cannons was also the iron mold casting method that Hong Renji learned in Daye with Wu Chaoyue's acquiescence. Otherwise, the Taiping army really couldn't find so many qualified wrought iron in a short period of time, and cast so many bow cannons.

In addition to military sampans, a large number of tugboats appeared in the main force of the Taiping Army's naval divisions, which, although somewhat bulky, could be equipped with four medium guns and were the main firepower output force in water warfare. As for the ships such as the Long Dragon Fast Crab that the Taiping Army once imitated, because they exposed the Achilles' heel of being too heavy and weak in firepower in actual combat, they were also eliminated in the Taiping Army Naval Division after the Hunan Army Naval Division and the Wu Army Naval Division.

The most striking thing is, of course, the three steam paddle gunboats purchased by the Taiping Army with a lot of money, although the displacement of 600 tons is not large, and it is not even as good as the Loyalty and Renyi of the Wu Army's naval division, but the three steam gunboats still steal the attention of everyone on both sides of the Yangtze River with their long whistles and billowing smoke on the water. In this regard, the Taiping soldiers on the south bank were of course cheering and excited, while the Qing soldiers on the north bank were in awe, not daring to imagine how to deal with such a huge monster during the battle.

Looking at the steam gunboat of the Taiping Army in the binoculars, although the generals of the Qing army such as Du Xing'a and Liu Liansheng were eager to look through the lenses, they were also extremely envious and resentful of Wu Chaoyue's refusal to drive the steam gunboat to Jiujiang to participate in the battle, but they still kept cheering up the Qing soldiers, "Don't be afraid, the steamer ship will smoke, and it won't really breathe fire!" It's also a wooden ship, and as long as our cannon can hit, it can still sink with one shot! ”

In addition to encouragement, Du Xing'a also considered whether he should send troops to intercept it, but considering that the main force of the Taiping Army's sailors was dispatched, the morale was high after the new ships were replaced, and there were daunting steam gunboats in the ranks, Du Xing'a still dispelled the idea of launching a decisive battle - the grasp was too small, and the danger was too great.

Of course, he couldn't just watch the Taiping Army Navy Division swagger past the edge of the military defense area, and under the condition of being quite cautious, Du Xing'a sent twenty sampans to attack to harass the flank of the Taiping Army Naval Division that was crossing the Bali River, and the purpose was not to expect the twenty sampans to achieve any results, but to lure the Taiping Navy Division to send a brigade to meet the battle, lure the Taiping Army Naval Division into the range of the Qing army's shore artillery, and use the shore artillery to suddenly hit the Taiping Army Naval Division.

Of course, if the steam gunboats of the Taiping Army can be lured, Du Xing'a will definitely laugh so much that his mouth can't close together.

It is a pity that the Taiping army was not fooled, seeing the Qing army's sampan attack, the Taiping army only divided 30 sampans to meet the attack, some of the sampans were on alert, and the main brigade continued to cross the Bali River position from outside the range of the Qing army's shore artillery in an orderly manner. At the same time, during the sampan fight, the greedy Qing army's shore artillery couldn't wait to open fire and bombard, but the light and flexible enemy's sampan did not hit one, but on the contrary, it also exposed the number of Qing army's shore guns, so that Wei Jun, who was proficient in water warfare, probably had a bottom in his heart.

After successfully crossing the Bali River, the main force of the Taiping Army's naval division soon returned to the camp of the self-army in Poyang Lake, Lin Qirong personally went to the dock to welcome Wei Jun's return, and couldn't wait to board the steam gunboat to visit, looking at this and that curiously, the excitement and joy were overflowing. As a result, after Lin Qirong had seen enough of the strangeness, Wei Juncai smiled and asked Lin Qirong about the latest changes in the enemy situation.

"Wuchang news, beyond the little demon has personally led the steamer to set off east." Lin Qirong replied truthfully: "With the departure, in addition to the two battalions of the Wu Demon Water Division, there are also four battalions of Transcendent Demon Soldiers. Calculate the distance, if it is fast, it will be tonight, and if it is late, you will be able to arrive in Tianjia Town tomorrow. ”

In addition, the Qing Demon on the side of Tianjia Town is also actively preparing for war, and the Hengjiang Iron Cable has been re-raised, there are as many as ten, and a large number of water fortifications have been established on the Iron Cable, and countless mines have been placed. In addition, the Qing Demon also built two new deep-water docks in the Makou area upstream of Tianjia Town, as well as a large number of ordinary docks, if the general guessed correctly, the two deep-water docks should be prepared for Wu Demon's steamer. ”

Wei Jun laughed when he heard this, and said with a smile: "As expected, I really want to fight with us in Tianjia Town, but it's a pity, I just don't want you to get your wish, so I must pull you to Jiujiang to fight." ”

After laughing, Wei Jun hurriedly asked: "The main force of the Qing Demon Water Division, Du Xing'a, has the reason for being stationed in Balijiang clear?" How could the Transcendence Little Demon put on such a strange formation, while preparing for a full battle in Tianjia Town, while deploying the main force of the demon to Balijiang? ”

"The exact reason for this has not yet been clarified." Lin Qirong replied: "But I heard the rumors that it was the old demon Yang of Jiujiang, and they seemed to be very opposed to the demon doing this, but the demon just didn't listen." In addition, there is another strange thing, the three battalions of the Wu Demon Water Division stationed in Shanjiazhou had already loaded all the grain, grass and military supplies on the ship yesterday, as if they were ready to set off at any time. ”

"What about the Qing Demon of Balijiang?" Wei Jun hurriedly pointed to the north, "Are you ready to retreat?" ”

"Nope." Lin Qirong replied: "Not only that, but yesterday evening, the Qing Demon also transported a batch of grain, grass and ammunition from Jiujiang to Balijiang, as if he was preparing to garrison it for a long time. ”

"Beyond the little demon is frantically preparing for war in Tianjia Town, the Wu Demon Water Division is ready to retreat, but the Du Demon Water Master is preparing to be stationed for a long time, there are rumors on Yang Lao Demon's side, it seems that he is very dissatisfied with the Du Demon stationed in Balijiang, how can this be? How's that ......? ”

After pondering and analyzing for a long time, a great possibility suddenly jumped out of Wei Jun's mind, so that Wei Jun couldn't help but blurt out: "Could it be that there is a contradiction between the demon and the transcendence demon, and he refuses to listen to the command of the transcendence demon, and plans to do it alone?" ”

De Wei Jun reminded that Lin Qirong, who had also been doubting the strange deployment method of the Qing army's sailors, also immediately woke up and said happily: "There is this possibility!" This may still be very big, otherwise, the Demon Water Division should have abandoned the Bali River and withdrawn to Tianjia Town, and it would be impossible to transport grain and ammunition to the Bali River! ”

"It seems that Heavenly Father has blessed us, and our luck has come." Wei Junxi couldn't help but say: "Even if this is a trick to surpass the little demon, I am not afraid, his forces are too scattered, and it is inconvenient to communicate and rescue each other, we have loopholes to exploit." ”

"Prime Minister Wei, what should we do then?" Lin Qirong hurriedly asked: "Is it to storm Balijiang, encircle the point to send reinforcements, and force Wu Demon Water Division to leave Tianjia Town and come to Jiujiang to fight a decisive battle with us?" ”

"You can't do that!" Wei Jun flatly refused, "Not to mention that it is too cunning to surpass the little demon, it will definitely see through our attempt to surround the point and send reinforcements, and Balijiang alone is not so easy to fight." ”

"I have just noticed that the number of shore artillery of the Qing Demon in the Bali River is very large, and the water flow in the Bali River is also very unfavorable to us. If we want to clean up the demon water master, the best way for us is to get him out and fight him on the river, so that we can grasp it to the fullest. ”

Lin Qirong nodded, and when he asked Wei Jun what he should do specifically, Wei Jun no longer answered, but a mysterious smile appeared on the corner of his mouth............

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At the same time, Wang Fu, the commander of the Wu Army's naval division, once again sent people to Du Xing'a, almost in a pleading tone, imploring Du Xing'a to abandon the camp and retreat, and return to Tianjia Town with him to prepare for war. However, Du Xing'a still categorically refused, saying: "You can't withdraw!" The main force of the long-haired sailor has returned to the mouth of the lake, I withdraw at this time, what should I do if the long-haired sailor takes the opportunity to launch a surprise attack? ”

"I don't understand, why do you have to withdraw to Tianjia Town to fight?" Wing Commander Wuguo also took the opportunity to say: "Today's situation, didn't your scout clipper see it?" The long-haired sailors did not dare to approach our Balijiang position at all, what is the difference between fighting here in Balijiang and fighting a decisive battle in Tianjia Town? ”

"yes." Liu Liansheng also shouted: "Withdraw to Tianjia Town to fight, the brothers in Jiujiang will still face the danger of being isolated, we are gone, what should we do if Changmao does not go to Tianjia Town, turn around and fight Jiujiang?" How could Jiujiang's grain, grass, military supplies and ammunition be sent to the city? ”

Wang Fu's messenger left helplessly, Wuguo and Liu Liansheng and other Du Xing'a henchmen laughed, Du Xing'a was silent on the surface, but he was very proud in his heart, and said to himself: "Weiting, since you look down on me so much, then I must let you see this time, we are not only heroes on land, but also heroes on the water!" ”

Du Xing'a's insistence on disobedience put Wang Fu, the commander of the Wu Army's water division, in a dilemma, and he couldn't bear to leave Du Xing'a's department to retreat alone, and he was even more uneasy; If he didn't retreat, he would be violating Wu Chaoyue's order, and Wang Fu, who was personally promoted to this position by Wu Chaoyue from a small sentry, certainly didn't dare to do so. In a dilemma, Wang Fu had no choice but to wait patiently, waiting for Wu Chaoyue's reply to Duxing's anti-order, and was forced to waste another night of precious time in Shanjiazhou when he was already ready to retreat.

As a result, in the early morning of the next day, when Du Xing'a was having breakfast with the soldiers, the scout speedboat on the other side of the lake came to report that the Taiping Army sailors had been dispatched in a big way and were heading for the mouth of Poyang Lake. Du Xing'a smiled when he heard this, and hurriedly greeted the soldiers under his command: "Hurry, hurry up and eat, and then immediately take your place and prepare to entertain Changmao!" ”

The soldiers of the Xiangyang Naval Division, who had gradually been trained, cheered and agreed, and they all accelerated their meals, put down their jobs and returned directly to the team to prepare for the battle, calmly preparing for the battle. As a result, when the officers and men of the Xiangyang Naval Division were completely in place, the main force of the Taiping Army's Naval Division had just sailed out of the lake.

While extremely satisfied with the performance of the soldiers of the army, Du Xing'a couldn't wait to start thinking about how to meet the Taiping army with heavy artillery fire for a while, but it didn't take long for another scout to rush to Du Xing'a and loudly report the latest movements of the Taiping army's naval division. As a result, as soon as he heard the whereabouts of the Taiping Army's sailors, Du Xing'a's face suddenly turned as pale as paper, and he screamed loudly......

"How is that possible? Didn't the long-haired sailor come to fight the Bali River?! (To be continued.) )