Dominate the Country

The first shot of the Second Jiangnan War was not fired on land, but on water. The Qing army in Danyang retreated to Changzhou. But the Qing army in Jiangyin did not retreat, and a large number of Qing warships seemed to be competing with the Fu Han Army Navy, and gathered on the Jiangyin River.

After Chen Dai joined the navy and land forces of the front army in Hukou, he encountered the Qing navy warships when he led his team across the Zhenjiang Mountain Fort to the east after the navy and the third division arrived in Zhenjiang. At that time, the warships had just bypassed the Xinba Town of Taipingzhou, which was the northwest corner of Yangzhong City in later generations. At that time, Leigong Island had not yet emerged from the water.

The sound of bells suddenly rang above my head.

"Enemy ships! Enemy ships spotted, about three miles to the south, flying the flag of the Green Camp Navy! Number, six!" As the Fu Han Army turned the corner, the lookout saw a small Qing fleet moving along the northern shoreline of Taiping Island.

The lookout banged the small bell at hand and shouted loudly with a tin horn.

Chen Dai, who was slightly fumigated by the spring breeze from the south of the Yangtze River, was shocked. Three miles was too close. But then a smile appeared on his face. Because there were only six enemy ships! Six! He had sixteen large and small warships with him. Even if two small sampans with no combat power were deducted, there were still fourteen warships.

"Chase them, chase them——" There was absolutely no reason to give up. As for reporting to the rear, just let a small sampan go back.

At the same time, the jingling alarm sounded on the big ship where the adjutant general of the Susong Town Navy, Chai Daji, was riding - their lookouts also discovered the fleet of the Fu Han Army that suddenly jumped out at the corner three miles away.

The red battle flag flying on the rear mast was so dazzling in the eyes of the Qing soldiers.

"Report to the adjutant general, there are more than ten ships of the Chen Ni, just three miles away... They are accelerating, they are chasing us!" It was also the trees and tall buildings in this ghost place of Xinba Town that blocked his sight, otherwise he would have discovered such a large area of ​​red.

Chai Daji raised the monocular telescope with both hands and clenched it tightly, and the blue veins on the back of his hands were all bulging. What you fear will come true!

"Retreat, turn around and retreat. Send a small boat to report to General Huang!" Chai Daji made a decision on the spot. No fighting, no fighting, retreat! Send someone to tell Huang Zhenggang in Wuguidun [more than ten miles below Taipingzhou], whether Huang Zhenggang sent someone to pick him up or wanted him to be used as bait, Chai Daji just took the order.

The enemy had more than a dozen warships, but he only had six, and only one Dazhong Ganseng ship each, and the rest were all small watercraft. How could he fight? Huang Zhenggang had 20 to 30 ships, most of which were main warships such as shuttle ships and Dazhong Ganseng ships.

In this battle in Jiangnan, both land and water were of utmost importance. Huang Zhenggang, the Jiangnan admiral who had been rolling in the military circles of Jiangsu and Zhejiang for decades, was directly transferred back to Jiangnan from Anhui by Qianlong after more than a year of PK with Gaopingshan on the battlefield in Anhui. After all, Huang Zhenggang, who was as senior as him, was not only good at land warfare, but also a good general at commanding on water. He was one of the few people Qianlong could rest assured about.

"Sir, we haven't found Chen Ni's follow-up fleet!" The lookout on the mast shouted down again. This is good news.

This time when Chen Dai explored eastward, he was indeed not followed by the main fleet of the Fu Han Army, which was busy setting up a water camp in Zhenjiang. The previous water camp was too small. While this report made Chai Daji feel a little relieved, it also strengthened his idea of ​​'escaping' to the east. Maybe Chen Ni's fleet didn't dare to chase too quickly.

The shadow of that shot always shrouded Chai Daji's heart. Every time he woke up from a nightmare, he felt like he had escaped from death. No one knew that Chai Daji's courage was melting in these nightmares. Anyway, Chai Daji didn't want to fight anymore.

As a military general, Chai Daji, who had such thoughts in his heart, was no longer a real soldier.

However, the large sampans, long dragon boats and fast crab boats of the Fu Han Army were faster than the large Gan Zeng boats. Even the Ting boats, which were as large as the large Gan Zeng boats, were more flexible than the large Gan Zeng boats. In this kind of chase on the water, it is not about which ship of the pursued party runs the fastest, but which ship of the pursued party runs the slowest. In Chen Dai's telescope, the silhouette of Chai Daji's boat became clearer and clearer.

After half an hour of chasing, the fastest large sampan of the Fu Han Army was only five or six hundred meters away from Chai Daji's large Gan Zeng boat. The seventy or eighty green camp sailors on the large Gan Zeng boat, everyone's breathing became heavy.

"Shanrong, the big ship is too slow..., it is difficult for us to escape. We must be prepared for battle!"

Shi Xinxiong said standing next to Chai Daji. Chai Daji glanced at his subordinate, the sentry officer who was famous for his courage and drew his sword when he lost money in gambling. He was really courageous. There was no fear on his face, only endless ferocity.

Chai Daji's eyes swept across the faces of the sailors again. Some of them were pale and stiff, but some of them were murderous and eager to try, without any fear of death.

"Continue to move closer to Wuguidun. If Chen Ni catches up, then fight!" Chai Daji looked at the distance on both sides. There was no sign of reinforcements in front of him. He knew in his heart that there would be a battle. Chai Daji's face trembled, but his reason told him that he had to be ready for battle at this time. "Pass down the military order, all officers and soldiers, be ready for battle."

"Yes!"

...

In Chen Dai's boat, he was nervously looking at the water map. It's okay to chase the enemy, but you can't go past Taiping Island. If you dive into the enemy's nest, there's no need. You should know that Wuguidun, more than ten miles below Taiping Island, is a stronghold of the Qing Navy. The Qing Navy warships that patrolled to Taiping Island all settled in Wuguidun.

Today is just an appetizer. Chen Dai wants to eat meat but doesn't want to take risks. The big meal will have to wait until the water camp in Zhenjiang is repaired. At most, the day after tomorrow, more than a hundred warships will come in with drums, and then it will be a real showdown.

Chen Dai can see the faces of the sailors on the big silk boat with his naked eyes. The distance between the two sides is less than 150 feet, and the fastest large sampan may be only 300 meters away from the Qing warship. The lookout in the mast of the Ting ship looked at the front of the Qing army. Because it was facing the sun, the line of sight was shortened by a long distance, but no ships appeared within a range of five miles.

No one on either side fired a cannon at this time!

However, Chen Dai soon saw that the Qing warship in front suddenly changed direction. It did not run straight, but turned its bow to the north, which meant it was going to turn sideways. The Qing army was about to start fighting, after all, the side of the ship was where the firepower of the warship was most concentrated.

"Boom--" A five-jin cannon on the bow of Chen Dai's ship fired first. But it missed, and the shell fell on the side of the Daganzeng ship, the largest of the six Qing warships. But it didn't matter, Chen Dai's left and right ships still had the second and third cannons to follow up. There were also the fourth and fifth cannons in the entire Fu Han army array...

"Charge, charge quickly..."

Standing on the bow and shouting, Chen Dai led the team to charge without hesitation. The size of the Ting ship under his feet was not only not weaker than the Daganzeng ship, but also stronger than the Daganzeng ship in agility. The fourteen warships of the Fu Han army took advantage of the Qing army's sideways stall and rushed towards the Qing army.

One thunder ship, one bird ship, two fast crab ships, two long dragon ships, and the rest were all large sampans.

Chai Daji taught Shi Xinxiong the command of the big ganzang ship, and he himself said that he was going to coordinate the entire fleet. The cannon of the big ganzang ship, which had been silent all the time, finally spewed out hot sparks. The cannon exploded, and the flames from the muzzle were a foot long, and thick smoke rose like a column.

But this shell, like the shells fired by the Fu Han Army, did not hit at all.

In the European naval battles in the 18th century, the fleets on both sides had close to 100 or 200 meters to bombard each other. The wind and waves on the Yangtze River are certainly not comparable to the sea, but the two sides are 400 meters apart, which is more of a waste of shells. In addition, you have to consider the quality of the gunners in the East and the West.

The booming sound of the cannons rang violently in the Yangtze River, and Chen Dai kept urging the warships to get close to the Qing army. Fourteen warships versus six warships. Although the six warships of the Qing army were gunboats, and although eight of the fourteen warships of the Fu Han army were large sampans with two guns, he still firmly believed that the cannons on his ship were more numerous and more powerful than those on the Qing army. At least, the Thunder ship under Chen Dai's buttocks and the other bird ship were equipped with mortars.

"Charge, charge--" Chen Dai roared, with a burst of fighting spirit. Let the flag signal soldiers give orders to other warships one after another, speed up, and fight in close combat.

The sound of cannons rumbled, the smoke rose, and the fire and white and black smoke quickly filled the entire river.

The spherical shells hit the side string of Chai Daji's ship. The wooden planks could not stop the penetration of the shells at all. Like a piece of thin paper, they penetrated into it at the touch, and the broken wood flew everywhere, and the screams of the sailors came.

The distance between the two sides was shortened to 200 meters. The big Ganzeng ship was hit by shells again. Shi Xinxiong was hit by a shrapnel shell fired by the mortar on the Ting ship. The whole person was directly swept up by the shock wave and thrown onto the wall of the ship. Shi Xinxiong, who fell heavily on the deck, felt like he was crushed by an elephant. He was in so much pain that he didn't even have the strength to groan. Shi Xinxiong closed his eyes, but opened them again in an instant because the big Ganzeng ship was hit again.

There were four warships besieging this big Ganzeng ship. The shells fired at it seemed to have never stopped. Another medium-sized Ganzeng ship and four watercraft under Chai Daji were cut apart by the bird boats of the Fu Han Army, led by two fast crab boats and seven large sampans. Each Qing army warship was stuck by the Fu Han Army warships with superior numbers.

The artillery battle between the two sides unfolded in the process of "you stick close and I hide", with shells flying and gunpowder filling the air. The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, and they quickly entered into a "close combat"!

Whether it was Chinese civilian ships or warships, because they were spliced, they were not very strong, and the lateral support was insufficient. The lethality of shells of the same power to Chinese ships was obviously stronger than that of Western ships of the same tonnage.

Therefore, if the two sides engaged in a close-range "hand-to-hand combat", the damage to each other's warships would be great. Chen Dai made such a choice just to get rid of the Qing army warships in front of him as soon as possible. He was worried that there was a large force of the Qing army navy behind the Qing army fleet in front of him.

"Fire, fire immediately..." There was a faint shouting from the opposite side. In addition to the smoke and gunfire on the river, the screams of the sailors were heard from time to time.

Chen Dai stood straight at the bow of the ship, his eyes wide open, and veins on his forehead popped out. The two sides exchanged fire for only two quarters of an hour, but the appearance of both warships changed drastically. Gun smoke blackened the battle flags, and shells tore through the hard sails. The Thunder ship under Chen Dai's feet had several large holes on the left and right sides of the ship and the cabin. There were bloodstains on the deck and the screams of the sailors...

But its opponent, Chai Daji's ship, the Qing army's Daganzeng ship, looked even worse. Its main mast was broken by chain bullets. The lookout on the mast plate screamed as the main mast collapsed and fell into the water. In addition, the Fu Han army fired not only iron bullets, but also shrapnel shells [mortars] and hot incendiary bombs. The Daganzeng ship has caught fire twice!

"Fire, fire..."

"Deputy commander, the Qing warships on the downstream surface are accelerating..." There are indeed large forces behind the Qing fleet. Just now, the lookout reported that Qing warships were found five or six miles downstream, and there are as many as 20 or 30 warships. But Chen Dai didn't want to give up this piece of fat meat that was already at his fingertips. He wanted to have a beautiful start before the decisive battle on the water, so he had to fight and get closer.

"Boom..." Huge explosions rang out one after another!

Almost the next second after the lookout's shout, an iron bullet landed on the deck of the Ting ship, breaking the broken planks and splashing wood, turning the two gunners on the side into blood gourds, and the iron bullet rolled into the cabin, and two screams were heard in the cabin. Chen Dai's face turned green, and a wooden thorn like a flying arrow flew past his right hand. The speed made him wonder if this wooden thorn would kill him if it pierced his neck!

"Boom boom boom..."

Two consecutive iron bullets hit the big Ganzang ship, and one of the hot incendiary bombs set the big Ganzang ship on fire again. Immediately, there were Qing soldiers rushing to put out the fire.

The Fu Han Army Navy was not doing a one-on-one contest! Fourteen warships surrounded and attacked six of the opponents, and the big Ganzang ship attracted the continuous bombardment of four warships including the Ting ship, even though a large sampan inside had only two cannons. The twenty warships on the battlefield, firing their cannons back and forth, were enough to turn the narrow surface of the Yangtze River into a pot of porridge. The twenty warships were entangled with each other, and the fierce exchange of fire meant that shells could fly overhead at any time.

A Qing army watercraft had already caught fire, and the sails were on fire. The remaining sailors jumped into the river one after another.

Shi Xinxiong fainted in the chain explosion of gunpowder caused by a shrapnel shell that hit the Daganzeng ship. His whole body was lifted up by the powerful shock wave, and he fell backwards and hit the bulkhead, leaving a trace of red on the bulkhead, and then fell into a corner, his head drooping, and it was unknown whether he was alive or dead. The deck of the ship near him was also covered in blood. A gunner's hand was cut off and thrown less than three feet away from his body. Another sailor's chest was bloody and bloody, and he was no longer breathing...

Chai Daji's hands were shaking, his legs were shaking, and his heart was shaking even more... Fear had completely dominated his heart, but he knew he couldn't retreat. If he retreated, he would be ruined, because Huang Zhenggang had already led the fleet to arrive.

"Boom..." The big Ganzeng ship shook violently, and the towering secondary mast was also broken by the chain bullet. The waist-thick fir mast was wrapped with iron hoops inch by inch, but the chain bullet was lightly wrapped, and the iron chain sank into the mast at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even if the iron hoop was wrapped inch by inch, the hero was actually broken. The entire secondary sail hit the water, and the speed of the big Ganzeng ship was reduced to the extreme, and it could hardly move anymore.

The secondary sail that Chai Daji had thrown down on his head was completely pressed down, and he fainted...

"Retreat, retreat..." Chen Dai's unwilling voice sounded on the Ting ship.

The six Qing warships had already burned two watercrafts, and the big Ganzeng ship had its masts broken, leaving only the fate of waiting for death. The middle Ganzeng ship was beaten into a mess. Victory was in sight and within reach. As long as he was given another quarter of an hour, he could burn the big Ganzeng ship in front of him into an empty shell, but the reinforcements behind him did not arrive, and the Qing warships rushed over aggressively. Then he had no choice but to retreat.

"Deputy commander, it's a pity for the big Ganzeng ship..."