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Gangzhen, Banziji, the Yangtze River turned a corner here,.

Zheng Cai had nearly 100 large and small warships and 5,000 officers and men. The officers and soldiers of the Zheng clan wrapped their heads in red cloth, and looked from a distance, like red flames.

Farther away, the sails of the Zuozhen Sailors are like stacked snow, like a bush of reeds. Going down the river, he rushed straight to the Ming army's military formation, and the momentum was compelling.

After the warships of Zuozhen approached, they looked closely with binoculars, and the size of the ships was disorderly, and the flags were relatively chaotic. The long, narrow clippers were mixed with the stubby transports, and the formation was dense.

The ships at the front were clearly refitted, with a war shed and a sloping plate added to the roof of the shed at the bow and stern as an additional protective measure.

Harris put down his binoculars, "Mr. Rosickly, would you be interested in making a bet with me?" ”

Captain Rossili of the Melville smiled, "Mr. Chief of Staff, what are you going to bet on?" ”

"Mr. Rosilly, how long do you think it will take for the Ming army to destroy the enemy's fleet?"

Rosili pondered slightly, and the long flag fluttering in the wind on the top of the mast showed that the wind was southwest and south.

"Although the Ming army had an advantage in numbers and warships, the enemy had a smooth flow and sufficient attack momentum. I think it will take a whole day for the Ming army to defeat the enemy," Rossili paused for a moment and added, "It's still because of our powerful naval guns. ”

Harris smiled confidently, "Mr. Rosilly, I think that the Ming army will completely annihilate the enemy army within three hours. ”

"Mr. Chief of Staff, are you kidding?"

"We can set a bet on that."

"Bets?"

"I've got ten bottles of good whiskey."

"At the Peace Fort, I have a set of fine Clark porcelain tableware."

"Deal, Mr. Rossiley."

"Your Excellency the Admiral is to bear witness for us."

"All right, Captain Rossiley," Orderly shook his head, "I warn you that you may have been fooled. Over the past year or so, Harris has been studying river wars for a long time. ”

"Huh?" Rossili is a little blind.

Harris patted the captain on the shoulder, "Jacques, river battles, tailwind is the worst position. ”

After fighting the inland water war in Ma Chen the year before last, Shou Xu assigned the Naval Academy the subject of studying inland water warfare. The captains of the Taiwanese detachment, such as Rosily, were not involved and did not know about it.

In naval battles, the enemy ship rushing downwind from the upwind is a good advantageous position, because the upwind will lower the muzzle of the gunners on the side facing the enemy ship, improve the gun's hit rate, and have more chances to penetrate the broadside deck and severely damage the enemy ship.

But in the river, the result is different. Whether it is the operation on the map of the military command department, or the simulated exercises in the Jincheng River and the Houjiang River, it shows that the best position for inland water warfare is against the wind and water, just like the current Ming army. It is followed by the wind and the wind, and the wind and the water, with the wind and the water being the worst. The results of the research of the naval academy are basically the same as the experience of inland river operations in the memory of the order. In later generations, the Hunan army sailors began to know the disadvantages of smooth sailing, and fought two heavy losses in Jinggang and Chenglingji, so that Zeng Guofan later strictly ordered Shunfeng to prohibit fighting, and if there were those who violated the prohibition, they would be severely punished.

"Your Excellency, I don't understand." Rossili was surprised.

Harris had a confident expression, "Jacques, there are two problems with good sailing. First, the speed of the ship was too fast, and the hit rate of the ship's guns decreased. Second, they were completely at the mercy of the wind and the currents, and they rushed quickly, but they could not retreat, and the fleet lacked the ability to adjust itself. ”

Orderly looked away from the telescope and tilted his head slightly, "Harris, we've only done drills, and we haven't been tested in real combat. Today's battle is a good reference for us, and you have the staff officers take a detailed record. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Observing the changes in the battle situation, Shou Zhi thought of a question, "Harris, Jacques, have you noticed?" The formation of the enemy warships was very dense, but the formation of the Ming army was very sparse in comparison. ”

Captain Rosilly hurriedly raised his binoculars, "Your Excellency, you're right, this is really strange. ”

Harris put away his jokes, "Although the artillery of the Ming Army's naval division is not as many as ours, their firepower is undoubtedly superior to the other side. Normally, he should be in a dense formation of battleships, which is convenient for command and development of firepower. ”

Rossiley: "It's like an Army line to shoot." ”

Order: "The Ming army has more combat experience in the inland river than us, and it must make sense for them to arrange the formation in this way, let us wait and see." ”

It is impossible for the homework and exercises on the map to reflect the whole of the actual battle, and the navy of Jincheng is still a student compared to the Ming army.

Zheng Cai left most of the big war ships behind, and selected more than 3,000 elites to ride on the sampan to rely on the cover of the Shicheng forts and the harbor river on both sides. The sampan boat is small, maneuverable, sails in the wind, paddles without wind, is light and flexible, moves freely, and because of its shallow draft, it can search for enemy ambushes hidden in the river.

Later, the Hunan Army Naval Division was mainly equipped with three kinds of warships: Changlong, Fast Crab and Sampan. Soon after, according to the actual combat feedback, Zeng Guofan eliminated the fast crab ship in the naval division, and only retained the Changlong as the command ship, and provided accommodation and storage supplies for the sampan operation. The long dragon does not participate in the battle, at most it is only used to defend the camp. The Hunan army can clear the southeast and dominate the world, and the sampan is the most powerful. With the technical conditions at the end of the Ming Dynasty, in the Yangtze River water battle, the large sampan will be the decisive type of ship.

After Huang Fei strengthened Zheng Cai's boats, Zheng Bu had more than 100 large sampans, many of which were equipped with one or two roundabout Furang cannons. The overall layout of the Ming army was small boats and large ships. Around the sparsely arranged large ships, there are also large sampans that travel back and forth to provide protection.

The water divisions of Zuozhen were densely lined up and rushed down the river and downwind. The warships arranged by Huang Fei at the forefront were defeated and fled, and the left army rushed all the way through the Ming batteries on both sides. Part of the left army landed and tried to seize the Ming position, but it was difficult to move an inch in the dense spraying of firearms. Soon the smoke of gunpowder filled the two banks, and the field of vision was white, and only the muzzle flames flashing between the riverside batteries and the water columns stirred up by the shells falling on the river could be seen.

A shell hit a Zuozhen warship, piercing the deck, crossing the cabin, and possibly breaking through the side under the waterline, and the ship quickly tilted and spread out on the river. The Ming army did not have many long-range artillery, but the warships of the left army had no power to fight back against the forts, and each ship was in a state of fear when passing through the fort array, and in order to avoid artillery fire, many ships unconsciously deviated to the center of the river. The central formation of the left flotilla was much denser.

The main force of the Ming army was commanded by Huang Fei, crossing the river, and the bow faced the enemy.

"It's our turn, let the gunners slow down."

"Yes, Your Excellency." After the captain Rossili saluted, he personally went to direct the artillery battle.

The Melville was grounded in the wind, the foremast and mainmast sails were spread out in a figure-of-eight, and the bow was facing northwest and west, and it was tilted across the river. The four galleries folded most of their sails and met the enemy with their bow cannons. With the Melville as the center, the fleet was biased to the left bank of the Yangtze River channel.

Since the order was not intended to be close to the battle, the role played by the Yangtze River Squadron was somewhat similar to that of a floating battery. The scorching naval artillery fire is like an erupting volcano, and the output is greater than that of the Ming army's ground batteries. Naturally, the Zuozhen Water Division subconsciously yawed towards the channel on the right bank of the Yangtze River and collided with the main force of Huang Fei.

The left army was so fast that even the Francos could only fire two or three shots, and the two sides quickly entered into a broadside battle. A round of firearms was fired, and the soldiers, armed with swords and daggers, jumped onto the deck of the enemy ship.

Jumping gang battle, this is the main theme of sword fighting. Perhaps the sailors of the Ming army would not be the opponents of the veterans of Zuozhen on land, but Huang Fei's 20,000 veteran seamen were obviously more accustomed to the shaky deck and ubiquitous deck obstacles than the soldiers of Zuozhen. One after another, the Zuozhen warships caught fire and drifted uncontrollably through the Ming army ship column and drifted downstream.

The Melville, the port side guns fired continuously for nearly half an hour, and the order was ordered to change downwind, and the bow of the ship turned from northwest to northeast to northeast east, and continued to fire with starboard ship guns. Under the guns of the detachment fleet, dozens of warships of the left army flew sawdust, sinking or burning, and it was unbearable to see. The Ming army's sampan cruised in front of and behind the battleship, and the crew of Zuozhen who fell into the water either made up for it or pulled it up and tied it up.

The fleet of Zuozhen was downwind and downstream, top-heavy, fast and slow were crowded in front, and the follow-up sail shadow was slightly sparse. Seeing that the follow-up enemy ships and warships were avoiding him, he ordered to stop firing and cool down the ship's guns.

Captain Rosilly returned to the stern deck and frowned, "What is Zheng Cai doing?" ”

Harris: "Soon we'll find out. ”

The follow-up warships of Zuozhen became more and more sparse, and Zheng Fan's sampans and small rows rushed out from both banks, scattered all over the river, and after approaching the ships of Zuozhen, they either threw fireballs, swirling cannons fired indiscriminately, or caught the gang. Several small rowboats collided with a large ship of the Left Army, and the sailors of Zheng Fan immediately jumped into the river after lighting the ignition, and the fire quickly spread to the warships of the Left Army, igniting black smoke that soared into the sky.

Exposed to the sea all year round, the officers and soldiers of the Zheng Fan Naval Division were called the ** walking in the waves by the people of Jiangnan. Zheng Jun jumped onto the left deck with a knife in his hand, and silently chopped and harvested. may be compared with Liu Xiang and Li Kuiqi, who are sea thieves, the deck hand-to-hand combat ability of the Zuo Zhen Navy Division is even worse, and it is very intuitive to see the battle flag of Zheng Fan raised on the ships of the Left Army. More often than not, they are burning on fire, or lowering their sails and surrendering.

The left army was in great confusion, and the front could not rush through the array of yellow dragonflies, and some warships turned around. The dense formation caused many warships to collide. The attack was smooth, and if you want to retreat, it is against the wind and current, and under the wind and waves, the position of the left army is even more chaotic, and more and more ships collide together, and the plates crack and leak.

Zheng Fan's sampan was like a wolf roaming around the flock, and from time to time it went up to bite it, which further aggravated the collapse of the enemy army.

Harris stared at the ship's hourglass, and after half an hour, he reminded Captain Rossili, "Jacques, don't forget your Clark porcelain. ”

"It's not fair, I'm not involved in your drills!"

"Mr. Rosilly, it is not a gentleman's act to pay his debts." Harris's eyes narrowed, "A naval major, it should be a gentleman." ”

"Harris, it took me a lot of effort to get that set of Clark porcelain cutlery."

"Well, maybe next year, there will be a legend of a captain in the sailors' club of the whole Golden City......"

"Harris, give Jacques a bottle of your wine." Shou Xuan put down the binoculars a little helplessly, "Mr. Captain, it's just porcelain, I'll get you a better set another day." ”

……

On the river, hundreds of warships were burning, and the corpses of tens of thousands of soldiers were floating down the river. A few Chinese alligators ignored the human warships cruising back and forth and joined in the feast.

In an hour and a half, the advance of the Zuo Zhen Water Division was almost completely annihilated, faster than Harris had estimated, and most of the results belonged to Zheng Cai's sampan.

Harris: "Your Excellency, I think I understand why the Ming army is sparsely deployed and the battle line is lengthened. ”

"Huh?"

"Avoid collisions caused by formation changes or wind and wave crashes, dodge the burning ships floating down the river, and leave plenty of room for the sampans to fight."

Shou Xiang smiled, "Harris, today's battle has taught us a good lesson. ”

……

The Ming army had a short rest and had lunch on the ship. Huang Binqing and Zheng Cai pursued upstream.

There were still some fleets in the follow-up of the Left Army's naval division, this time it was Huang Binqing who took the lead, went upstream, and fought more than 20 battles in Tongling, burning hundreds of ships of the Left Army, and drowning 9,000 enemy officers and soldiers.

The enemy fled in despair.

At night, Tongling Xiguan.

The skyrocketing fire ignited in the city, and the battle flags of the officers and soldiers were clearly visible in the flames, and Zheng Cai was dumbfounded.

Someone starts faster.

After dawn, Zheng Fan figured out the number of friendly forces. Chi Tai's general soldier, Fang Guoan, who hung the seal of General Zhennan. After the Battle of Hong Kong, Huang Degong's troops did not arrive at the same time, and he was tired from fighting, so the speed of the pursuit slowed down. Fang Guoan surpassed Huang Degong and the sailors who went against the current and rushed to Tongling City. When passing through Nanling County, the Fang Department also plundered the troops.

Then Mu Wenshou, the chief soldier of the Beijing camp, replaced Fang Guoan and plundered Jiande and Dongliu counties. The left army withdrew quickly, the Ming army did not fight, and Fang Guoan and Mu Wenshou received countless children and jade silks.

Zheng Cai was stunned, "I remember that this guy is the chief soldier of Mrs. Chi, d, I have been fighting for more than 20 years, and I have never seen such a shameless person." ”

"Zongzhen, Fang Guoan robbed Tongling, what should we do with Jincheng's business?"

"What else can I do, find Fang Guoan to buy someone! I'll go personally. ”

…………

Ruan Dacheng went to Nanjing Lubu Feijie.

On 15 April, Ma Shiying ordered the Ming army that the land and water armies must reach the mouth of the lake and communicate with Jiujiang and Anqing, and there should be no delay. Shou Xuan felt that Ma Shiying was crazy, and he would pursue Jiujiang at this time. Who will fight the 40,000 or 50,000 soldiers of Jin Shenghuan and Li Guoying on the shore of the left army? Huang Degong can't be an opponent. But the mercenaries had to act according to the orders of their employers, and together with Zheng Cai and Huang Binqing, the Yangtze River detachment pursued them all the way to Dongliu County. Two ships and a squadron of Galie ships cruised on the Yangtze River with the Ming army.

On April 17, the Nanjing Commendation came. Huang Fei and Zheng Cai, who were the first to make the most contributions, were promoted three levels in a row, and the rest of the generals were promoted to one level and were rewarded with silver coins. Shou Zhi obtained three thousand taels of silver and 25 captured ships of Zuozhen. Guarding the order assigned some of the soldiers on the battleship to 40 river boats to escort the captured sailors of Zuozhen. Most of these sailors were people who had been taken captive by Zuozhen in Wuchang and other cities, and some were released in an orderly manner, employing those who were homeless.

…………

On the same day, the vanguard cavalry composed of the first-class Mele Ezhen Han Dai with the white flag, the first-class Mele Ezhen Ilde of the Zhenghuang Banner, the first-class Mele Ezhen Aziznikan with the Zhengbai Flag, and the commander of the Acting Escort Army, Durd, led the forward cavalry composed of the Bayala Protector of the various leaders to arrive in the north of Yangzhou.

Note: 1. In the matter, Wu Shi soothed Fang Guoan and Mu Wenshou, and said: 'Wenshou has no merit, and he is suddenly handsome; It is illegal to revert to the plunder, resulting in the destruction of Jiande and Dongliu. Guoan was favored by the country, and it was attacked by troops outside Tongling Xiguan and Nanling City; How innocent is the child, who has been devastated, and benefited from deep heat, how is it different from rebellion? "Ming Ji Nanluo"

2. Huang Binqing annihilated 100 warships of the Left Army in the Tongling area, with more than 9,000 people. Qian Haiyue, History of the Southern Ming Dynasty. Biography of Huang Binqing

3, Zeng Guofan: "The wind is smooth, and when you enter the war, you will drive like flying, and if you retreat, you will be unable to save an inch." ”

In the Battle of Hukou, the battalion officers Qin Guolu and Wu Guest went down the wind, and Zeng Guofan removed the two from their posts. "Overview of the History of the Taiping Heavenly Affairs" r

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