In February, the cold wind is steep, and on the surface of Honghu Lake in Hubei, a large number of river boats are being set sail in an endless stream, and the number is afraid of no more than one or two hundred. A middle-aged man with a calm face was about to board the pedal surrounded by a large group of generals, and a group of civil and military officials on the dock all knelt down and shouted in unison: "Think twice, big handsome!" ”

The middle-aged man turned around and said resolutely: "Don't persuade again!" This battle has been planned for a long time, and success or failure is here! As the commander-in-chief, how can you watch the battle from hundreds of miles away!? ”

He looked at the north from afar and arched his hand: "My Yue Zhongqi has received the grace of the mighty emperor, and it is unprecedented for me to worship the general as a Han person, and only by fighting to the death can I live up to the emperor's expectations!" ”

The awe-inspiring bearing calmed his subordinates, and Yue Zhongqi stepped on the boat under the admiring gaze of his subordinates.

"Dashuai, is it straight hair Xiangyin?"

Delin, the chief soldier of the Wuchang Town Water Division, went up to the boat to ask for instructions, as a man with three banners, he was so respectful to Yue Zhongqi, the Han handsome, and his posture had been put to the lowest point, and it didn't look like he was pretending.

Yue Zhongqi said lightly: "Straight to Wuling!" ”

Delin was taken aback, Wuling!?

This is a huge turning point...... Wuling is the direction of Changde, but what I said before was to attack Xiangyin in the south of Yuezhou and north of Changsha.

Yue Zhongqi glanced at him and said with a smile: "If you don't hide from you, how can you coax Nanban to think that my goal is to cut off Yuezhou's back road, not to capture Changde?" ”

Recalling the pile arrangements in the past few days, Delin woke up, gave a thumbs up, and praised sincerely: "Handsome and wise!" ”

Ming repaired the plank road and secretly crossed Chen Cang, but it was not something that anyone could do by hiding it. The arrangement of the sentinel spy report, the arrangement of the grain and straw, and the deployment of the marching army, this whole set of things must be explained on both the light and dark sides, and Yue Zhongqi's ability to lead the army can be seen from this.

What made Delin even more admired was that Yue Zhongqi had led the Wuchang camp for only two or three months, and he actively dispatched men and horses to cross Dongting to attack urgently, which was so bold that the generals of the Wuchang camp in the past could have.

Yue Zhongqi smiled and shook his head: "It was the emperor's wisdom and wisdom that created the situation between the north and the south, which made me wait for such a good opportunity." ”

Tian Wenjing tried it in Jiangxi, but he actually occupied a county, and almost occupied a prefecture. Yue Zhongqi thinks that he is far better at military affairs than Tian Wenjing, although the soldiers of the Wuchang battalion are not the Shaanxi-Gansu green battalion that he has been familiar with for many years, but they are still strong and combatable, and he found that Hunan is only gathering in the countryside, and the red-clothed army has not returned to defense on a large scale, Yue Zhongqi is no longer willing to give up the opportunity, hoping to open up a good situation before the Xishan battalion launches a full-scale attack.

This time, he gathered elite soldiers and came to attack the west, not only 13,000 people from the Wuchang battalion, but also more than 200 warships and more than 5,000 horses from the Hubei Naval Division, and more than 30 cannons of more than 3,000 catties.

Looking at the south, Yue Zhongqi twisted his beard and sneered: "The Hunan coach of the Nanban, but a mediocre person, was actually confused by my tricks. ”

In Changsha, in the back hall of the Yamen of Huguang Economic Envoy, Fang Youxin hugged his head and groaned: "Militarily, I am a fool, and it is really not my forte to fight wits with Yue Zhongqi." ”

Next to him sat the veteran Meng Kui, who was appointed as the newly established Huguang recruitment envoy and was Fang Youxin's deputy, and he was also sighing: "We are one less handsome......"

For Hunan military and political officials, the situation in Hunan was already critical, and after Yue Zhongqi was transferred to the Wuchang battalion, there was even more of a sense of turmoil. The reason is that the commander-in-chief and deputy have no experience in military affairs, and the pressure is too great, and in the face of an enemy with superiority, they already feel that there are loopholes everywhere in defense. And the other party's coach was replaced by Yue Zhongqi, who is familiar with the Anglo-Chinese military system and has been on the battlefield for a long time, Fang Youxin is only in his thirties, and his hair has turned half white in the past two months.

What's worse is that the Hunan generals are frequently mobilized, and no one can give Fang Youxin and Meng Kui decision support. In the second half of last year, in order to appease the Tusi of Upper Burma, Pan Shiyu led the Tielin Army south. Then, due to the serious shortage of gunners in Hunan and Jiangxi, Zhao Hanxiang, who was originally the governor of Hubei, went to Hengzhou to form a new division of the Red Thunder Army. …,

When the news of the southward movement of the Yongzheng army was confirmed, the general headquarters also strengthened Hunan in terms of generals, transferred another vacant governor Meng Kui to Fang Youxin as a deputy, and also transferred Zhan Wenda, the deputy governor of Burma who was familiar with Huguang, back to Hunan to serve as the defense envoy of Xiangdong, responsible for the defense of Yuezhou, and He Mengfeng, who led the Shenwu army, also transferred to Hunan.

This time comings and goings, no one has a full grasp of the situation in Hunan, and the fundamental reason is that Fang Youxin, who is the strategic envoy of Huguang, is not a martial artist after all, as Meng Kui said, Hunan and Jiangxi, lack a commander who oversees the overall situation.

It's just a rigid defense, and the problem is not serious, but Yue Zhongqi holds the Wuchang camp in one hand, the waterway in the other, and the shores of Dongting Lake, he can fight wherever he wants, which makes Hunan very headache.

Recently, the front-line outpost found out that Yue Zhongqi was gathering troops and preparing to attack Xiangyin, which not only wanted to cut off the back road of Yuezhou, but also directly threatened Changsha. If Yue Zhongqi is allowed to gain a firm foothold in Xiangyin, the Qing troops in the direction of Jingzhou will definitely make a big move, and the situation in Hunan will be turned upside down at that time.

At present, only Meng Kui, He Mengfeng, Zhan Wenda and Yue Chaolong can counsel the military aircraft, but the four of them have major differences in the research and judgment of Yue Zhongqi's movements. Meng Hezhan and the others thought that this news should be true, and the Tiger Ben army should be stationed in Xiangyin immediately. But Yue Chaolong thought that his nephew was bullying the enemy, and the actual target might be in his Changde direction.

The two opinions are at odds, Fang Youxin feels that Yue Chaolong's judgment is more selfish, Yue Zhongqi does not take Yuezhou and Changsha does not threaten, so he has to go to Changde to trouble his family?

In the end, Fang Youxin decided to guard Xiangyin and put the Tiger Ben Army in Xiangyin. However, it is also necessary to take precautions in the direction of Changde, and the two divisions of the newly formed and trained Volunteer Army are placed in Yiyang and Longyang counties respectively to ensure the rear road in the direction of Changde. The Shenwu Army had only one division and had to stay in Changsha.

Although the Tiger Ben Army is a regular army, it lacks boats, boats, vehicles and horses, so it can only be nailed to Xiangyin. If Yue Zhongqi is contained with part of his troops, and the army continues to move south along the Xiangjiang River, it is of little significance to defend Xiangyin, but it will not work if he does not defend it. And if Yue Zhongqi attacked Changde, although the morale of the new volunteers was high, they were poorly trained and had no artillery. If it is to be attacked by a large army, most of them will not be able to withstand it.

This is also a helpless strategy, who let the Qing soldiers hold the waterway? Hunan boats were busy with the transfer of commercial goods, and they could not spare the strength to form an inland water division.

Although they made a decision, Fang Youxin and Meng Kui still had no bottom in their hearts, and the two sighed bitterly to each other, "Our navy dominates the four oceans, but the inland river has no combat power, it's really ironic......"

In Wuling, Changde Prefecture, on the shore of Dongting Lake, a group of people are busy carrying supplies onto a big ship. The ship was odd, unmasted and unarmed, with huge wheels on the left and right of the hull, with a gray-black iron cover on the top, and a thick chimney rising in the middle of the hull.

"We are Hunan sailors! I'm afraid I've forgotten our ......."

On the deck, an old boatman in a volunteer uniform muttered.

"The sailor of a boat doesn't know when it will run apart...... Don't think about fighting, I invite you to come here to find out the movement of Dongting Lake, if I am right, my nephew will definitely come to deal with me. ”

Xiangxi defense envoy, brigadier general Yue Chaolong disagreed. After his opinion was rejected, he was still not at ease, and asked Fang Youxin for boat support, at least to ensure that the situation of the Dongting waterway could be detected.

Hunan is not without warships, but the ships are not only few, but also small, it is very good to be able to hold the Xiangjiang River, and it is impossible to enter Dongting to compete with the Qing soldiers and sailors. Fang Youxin felt that ordinary boats could not meet Yue Chaolong's requirements, so they asked for such a ship from Hengzhou Shipyard. Like the "Ningtai" that ran in Guangdong, which left an unforgettable impression on passengers, this "Lei Gong" was also a steam-powered vehicle and ship, and is now called a steamship.

Both the Lei Gong and the Ning Tai were experimental specimens of the steamship project jointly promoted by the Privy Council, the Privy Council, and the Hong Kong Shipping Company, and because the Privy Council had investment, they were incorporated into the army during the war. After the Ningtai was requisitioned to transport troops, it became notorious, and no one wanted to use this ship in Hengzhou Shipyard, which happened to be cheaper than Yue Chaolong. …,

The Lei Gong has three or four hundred materials, and it is a new ship type designed by Hengzhou Shipyard on the basis of sand ships, and the ship is equipped with a lot of guns and can carry a lot of soldiers. Although he can't run the fast sentry ship, he doesn't need any sailors, and he also has the power of self-protection, which is just right for the sentry to do the work of the sentry survey.

The first mate of the Lei Gong, the old boatman Xu Gui said unwillingly: "Don't look at us, we just have one boat, the entire Dongting Lake can be contained!" As many ships as the Tartars come, they will sink as many as they come! ”

Ambitious...... But after all, it was just a boat, not only Yue Chaolong smiled, but also the officers and soldiers who were carrying supplies.

A group of red-clothed officers and soldiers lined up to get on the boat, this was a sentry selected by Yue Chaolong. Looking at Yue Shenglin, the captain of the school, Yue Chaolong said to his son in a deep voice: "Keep in mind your mission!" ”

Yue Shenglin stepped forward and raised his arms to salute, and said loudly, Yue Chaolong looked at a group of people in civilian clothes on the boat, and said in a low voice: "Remember, Master Mi, their safety is more important than the task." ”

This ship is still experimental in nature, not only the technicians of the Hengzhou Shipyard, but also the technicians who will be the supervisors, and even the master craftsman of the Foshan Manufacturing Bureau, Mi Anping, is on board. When Fang and Xin were investigating the ship, Yue Chaolong didn't want to take it, he didn't dare to risk the safety of these nobles, but Mi Anping and the others were eager to have the opportunity to experiment, so they directly drove the boat to Changde and delivered it to the door.

The steam engine roared, thick black smoke erupted from the chimney, the whistle whistled for a long time, and the Lei Gong slowly left the shore under Yue Chaolong's gaze.

"Xiaoyue, is your cousin really going to come to Changde?"

The boat was in Dongting Lake, and the shock was much smaller than that of the Ningtai, Mi Anping asked Yue Shenglin.

"My dad said...... Yue Zhongqi will definitely come, in order to prove his loyalty to Yongzheng and Manchurian, he will definitely find my father! ”

Thinking of his cousin, who was the only Han general in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Yue Shenglin's tone was quite complicated, with both resentment and incomprehension.

"Great, our cannon can finally show its skills!"

Mi Anping was relieved, which made Yue Shenglin very surprised, could it be that this ship is not only a trump card?

Yue Shenglin is also from Huangpu, and he knows the advantages of this ship, he doesn't need sails and oars, and it doesn't consume manpower, but when he uses it for combat, he doesn't seem to have any special advantages. But listening to Mi Anping say this, isn't the cannon on this ship ordinary?

The boat was converted from a flat-bottomed sand boat, with a shallow draft, a narrower hull than a sand boat, and a higher freeboard. The front and rear of the hull, one tall and one short, each had two places that were tightly covered by canvas, and they were not even uncovered when they docked in Wuling.

"Wait and see, this ship is full of treasures, and it is really a fight, and your task is not to let the Tartars board the ship, and leave the rest to us."

Mi Anping said mysteriously, Yue Shenglin was still confused.

"What kind of ship is that?"

On the third day, at both ends of the lake in Dongting Hubei, a boat shadow spitting black smoke and a fleet of ships sailing forward head-on.

In the fleet, on the boat with the flag hoisted, Delin, the chief soldier of the Wuchang Town Water Division, held a telescope and observed the strange ship, confused.

"The Nanban newspaper said that it seems to be some kind of machine ship, equipped with some kind of gas machine, which can run on its own without wind, and burn coal."

The more than 20 clippers led by Delin are the vanguard of the ship group, responsible for clearing the road and opening the way, but whenever they encounter Yinghua ships, they must be killed to prevent leakage of news. Hearing his subordinates say this, Delin's face was full of disdain.

"Fighting for air? What about, you can walk without sails, no oars? Stop dreaming, wake up......"

He pointed to the vague shadow of the ship in the distance, and his posture was very determined.

"It's just a big fast boat, and there must be dozens of people in the boat stepping on the oars."

The next words are more like announcing a fact, a fact that will be fulfilled.

"Take that ship down! This lake, this river, but our territory! ”

At Delin's command, the four sentinels broke away from the fleet and hurried forward, heading towards the strange ship.

"Business is coming to the door! Let's get started! ”

On the Lei Gong, although he had expected it, seeing this fleet, Yue Shenglin was still very nervous, Yue Zhongqi really came to Changde!

He was about to discuss with Mi Anping, and now that the movement of the Qing troops had been confirmed, Lei Gong should immediately retreat and report back to Yue Chaolong.

didn't expect Mi Anping to say hello, and the technicians on the ship responded with a bang and got busy on their own.

The canvas was lifted, and four equally strange-looking guns appeared, one at the bow and one at the stern, and one on the raised deck to the left and right of the chimney. The barrel is long, and there is an extra short and thick tube at the end of the gun. There was also an iron shield that covered the left and right sides of the guns, covering the bodies of the gunners.

"What a goal......

Looking at the shadow of the approaching ship, Mi Anping smiled so happily that even Yue Shenglin couldn't help but shudder.

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