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Before arriving in Anqing, Qi Xianzong, Li Yunhao, and all the soldiers had already spent seven full days on the ship. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info [Dancing eBook]. For more up-to-date chapters, visit: ЩЩ. After receiving the edict, the fleet set sail from Dengzhou and took advantage of the strong north wind to complete the 1,600-mile sea route and enter the mouth of the Yangtze River in only one and a half days.

The waterway from the mouth of the Yangtze River to Nanjing is 600 miles long, and it was originally both against the water and the wind, and the sea ships in the past could not go up the river unless they were towed by slender men. However, all the warships of the North Sea Fleet have been refitted, and in addition to the sails on the mainmast, they are also equipped with foremast, backmast, and upper masts, and the sails of these masts are all sails parallel to the hull, and when the wind is upwind, as long as it is slightly deviated from the angle, it can be sailed against the wind. Lee Yun-ho ordered the sailors to lower all the sails and sail only with schooner power, and although the speed of the ship was greatly reduced, it could still swim against the current. After three and a half days, we finally arrived in Nanjing.

Qi Xianzong made almost no stop in Nanjing, only went ashore to meet Wang Zaijin in a hurry, and continued westward in less than five minutes. The supply of ammunition and 'medicine' has been fully prepared in Dengzhou, and although Wang Zaijin learned the news in advance from the flying pigeon biography, he could not give Qi Xianzong any practical help. Temporarily prepared 50,000 taels of military salaries, but was also politely declined by Qi Xianzong: "The soldiers are very fast, and carrying the salary and silver is only afraid of delaying time." What's more, if you don't have any merit, and after the victory in the first battle, it's not too late to ask Lord Shangshu to work hard! ”

Further upstream from Nanjing, you can use the sail again, because the direction of the river is from southwest to northeast, and it is just right to sail by the north wind in the middle of winter. Li Yunhao ordered all the warships to hang up their sails, and the speed of the ships increased sharply, although they could not catch up with the speed in the sea, but they arrived at Anqing in only two days. If the speed of the boat is maintained, it will take less than three days to reach the mouth of the lake, which is more than three times faster than Zhu Yuanzhang more than 200 years ago.

Qi Xianzong looked at Anqing with a telescope and then discussed with Li Yunhao: "The banner of the White Lotus Sect has appeared at the head of Anqing City, and it is obvious that the city has fallen into the hands of the rebels. It seems that the rebels are advancing along the Yangtze River very quickly, and we originally planned to reach the mouth of the lake, but now we need to adjust a little and recover Anqing first. Because the geographical location of Anqing is very important, if the Yangtze River is compared to a giant dragon, Nanjing is the dragon's head, Wuchang is the dragon's tail, Anqing is located in the middle of the dragon's body. If the rebels are here, they can attack Nanjing, and they can defend Wuchang, Hukou, which is extremely unfavorable to the imperial court. Huang Degong's flying pigeon biography was sent a few days ago, when Anqing had not yet fallen, and while the rebels were not firmly established here, we could catch them off guard with a thunderous momentum. Captain Li, you are the commander of the fleet, how do you say this battle should be fought? ”

Li Yunhao immediately paused and said, "But by the orders of the general!" According to the last general's opinion, Anqing City is close to the Yangtze River, and there are several large ships anchored by the river, thinking that they are enemy warships. The last general wanted to destroy the enemy ships with artillery first, and then bombard the city walls instead, and then the general sent troops to land and attack the city, but I don't know if it was appropriate. ”

"Well said, just hit like this!" Qi Xianzong said with a smile, "Judging from the previous battle reports, most of the rebels are rabble, and the ones they rely on are nothing more than warships. General Chuan Ben will order: Led by Weihai, line up in a line formation, and move forward at full speed! ”

At the sound of the order, all the battleships immediately raised their full sails, and the speed of the ships increased sharply. At this time, it was almost dusk, the twilight on the riverside was hazy, and the vision was not very good, because the officers and soldiers were able to see the movements of the rebels in advance because of the telescope, and the rebels did not find out until the North Sea Fleet turned a river bend and was only five miles away from Anqing City, and hurriedly sounded the gong to give the alarm. The sailors on several battleships were already having dinner, but at this time they rushed to their posts in a 'haphazard' manner, which inevitably delayed a little time.

And the fighters on the battlefield are fleeting, how could Qi Xianzong, who has been on the battlefield for a long time, and Li Yunhao, a new talent in naval warfare, miss such a good opportunity. Seeing that the distance between the enemy and us was rapidly shortening, and the enemy ship had just untied the cable and slowly left the riverbank, Qi Xianzong nodded to Li Yunhao, and Li Yunhao immediately shouted: "The main gun in the bow of the ship, aim at the nearest enemy ship, fire!" ”

The bow gun on the Weihai was a long-range gun imported from Portugal. According to the habits of Europeans, the specifications of artillery are divided by the weight of the shells, and this "door" cannon belongs to the eighteen-pounder gun, with a maximum "firing" range of up to three miles, and an effective "firing" range of 600 paces, that is, about two miles. The gunners on the Weihai had just been trained in actual combat in the Battle of Phi Dao, and their artillery skills were quite skilled, and in addition to the fact that the range of movement in the river battle was much smaller and easier to aim than in the naval battle, the first shot hit the deck of the first enemy ship in the front.

Listening to a loud "boom", although the size of the rebel warship was not small, how could the wooden hull withstand the huge kinetic energy brought by the eighteen-pound naval gun, and immediately blasted a big 'hole' in the deck, and the momentum of the cannonball did not decrease, directly penetrating the lower cabin. There were many sailors in this cabin, some of them were smashed to pieces by the red-hot shells in an instant, and the others were also injured by the flying sawdust, and the screams were stacked for a while.

But before they could come to their senses, the stern main gun of the Weihai also spoke. This cannon was more accurate than the first shot, directly hitting the enemy ship's ship, destroying the entire shipbuilding, and the rebel captain inside was killed instantly.

These two guns were only a prelude to the artillery battle, and the North Sea Fleet maintained a neat formation on the river, and the ships fired their main guns in turn. Although the main guns of other battleships were not as powerful as the main guns of the Weihai because of their tonnage, they were only twelve-pounder guns, but they were also very accurate, and from time to time shells hit the enemy ships. There were five enemy ships in total, and all but one was closer to the west, and the other four were hit, especially the easternmost two, one with six shots and one with four shots. The battleship, which had been hit with six shots, had its bottom pierced and soon began to sink.

Compared with naval battles, river battles are easier to engage in short-handed combat. The warships of the two sides quickly staggered by, and this section of the Yangtze River was only one mile wide, and when the Weihai ships were parallel to the enemy ships, the distance between the two sides was only 100 paces. However, the rebel ships had no artillery on board, only bows and arrows and a small number of shoddy birds. The enemy had to use these things to 'indiscriminately' and 'shoot' at the Weihai ship, but how could they reach it?

Seeing this, Li Yunhao sneered: "The right side gun, 'shoot' in one volley!" ”

"Boom, boom, boom!"

The starboard side of the Weihai let out an earth-shattering roar, and the six 'doors' side guns opened fire almost simultaneously. These side guns are smaller in caliber, all eight-pounder guns, which are commonly known as "Franc machine guns", and their 'firing' range is much closer than that of the main guns, and the effective 'firing' range is about 200 paces. However, the broadside guns are characterized by dense and fast reloading, and when close to the side of the gun, they can often inflict devastating 'sex' blows on enemy ships.

Looking at the enemy ship on the opposite side, it had already eaten four shells, and this round of salvo 'shots' hit all of them. I only heard a loud "click", and the unbearable hull was actually split in half! >