The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 293: Attack him unprepared and hit him with one shot

Jia Huan gave the order, and Feng Ziying and Zuo Dashou each led a hundred elite troops and quickly rowed toward the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in a light speedboat.

Since it was a moonlit night, the moon was bright and white. Although it was convenient for sailing, it was also easy to be discovered by thieves on the island. Therefore, all the elite soldiers involved in the sneak attack put on black night uniforms and rowed the boat upstream first. , and then go down the river, so as not to alert the thieves on the island with the sound of water when paddling.

Soon, dozens of light boats with bows arrived at a place two miles upstream of Chongming Sand. Then everyone stopped paddling and just let the boats drift down the current.

At this time, the bright moon has already set in the west, and the outline of Chongming Sand downstream is vaguely visible. Zuo Dashou took the lead, standing on the bow of the leading boat, with his waist slightly bowed and his eyes bright, like a beast lurking in the darkness, ready to hunt. The soldiers on the same boat held their breaths one by one. There was no sound around except the surging river water. .

Another fleet led by Feng Ziying was about half a mile away, following closely behind Zuo Dashou and others. At this moment, Feng Ziying was also standing on the bow of the lead boat, paying close attention to the movements on the river ahead.

Jia Huan's original plan was for Feng Ziying and Zuo Dashou to land on the island from the north and south directions of Chongming Sand respectively. However, after careful consideration, he found that there was a big problem in the operation, because the southern end of Chongming Sand was located downstream, and if he wanted to sneak attack the southern end, he would have to go against the current. Paddling was both laborious and easy to detect, so they decisively changed their strategy and asked Feng Ziying and Zuo Dashou to join forces and land on the island from the northern end of Chongming Sand.

Back to the subject, the two fleets of Zuo Dashou and Feng Ziying soon drifted near the northern end of Chongming Sands. On the river in the distance, the Jinling Navy led by General Zhang Guizhang was engaged in a fierce battle with the pirate ship led by Kang Dayong. There were sounds one after another, shouts of killing one after another, and ships were burning. The battle was very fierce.

Fortunately, the northern end of Chongming Sand was completely covered with swamp reeds. The thieves on the island were not even fortified. They probably didn’t even bother to send sentries. In addition, the thieves’ attention was attracted by the fierce fighting on the river to the east, so no thieves paid attention to the situation at all. Zuo Dashou, Feng Ziying and others approached quietly from upstream.

"Hey, the tide is really coming in. Sanye Huan is really good at predicting things!" Zuo Dashou stood on the front boat and took the lead. Seeing that Chongming Sand was right in front of him, he looked through the moonlight setting in the west and found that the surface of the river was really real. The tide is rising.

Originally, the northern end of Chongming Sand was a large swamp, nearly 200 meters wide. Now it has been almost covered by the tide, leaving only 30 to 40 meters wide above the water, which undoubtedly greatly reduces the difficulty of landing on the island.

Zuo Dashou was both surprised and impressed. He immediately gestured to prepare for landing. Orders were passed to the back one after another, and all the soldiers were ready.

Since everyone was riding a light flat-bottomed speed boat, it was not easy to run aground. They rode the strong tide directly to the edge of the swamp. There was only a distance of thirty or forty meters, which naturally saved a lot of energy.

As soon as the ship stopped, Zuo Dashou picked up two bamboo baskets and threw them on the swamp, and then moved quickly in alternation. At the same time, other soldiers were doing the same action. Although they were not as skilled as Zuo Dashou, they passed by After a day of practice yesterday, everyone mastered the skills, so soon, hundreds of people successfully passed through the swamp and dived into the reeds.

After entering the reed field, Zuo Dashou immediately ordered everyone to hide and rest to regain their strength while waiting for Feng Ziying's second echelon.

About half an hour later, Feng Ziying also led the second echelon to successfully arrive at the reed bushes. When Zuo and Feng met, they could not hide their excitement.

"Lao Zuo, thanks to your good idea, it worked this time!" Feng Ziying patted Zuo Dashou's shoulder and whispered.

Zuo Dashou said: "Feng Qianhu has won the prize, but it still depends on Mr. Huan's clever calculation and strategizing, otherwise my idea will be useless no matter how good it is."

Feng Ziying nodded and said: "It's true. Horses with thousands of miles of horses often exist, but Bo Le does not always exist. Brother Huan has always had a keen eye and can accomplish anything. The most admirable thing is that he is very knowledgeable at a young age. He said that today's dawn When the tide rises, it really does, and it saves us a lot of time.”

Zuo Dashou nodded sympathetically.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lao Zuo. I will take the lead later, please help me later!" Feng Ziying patted Bai Zuo Dashou's shoulder again and said sincerely.

Zuo Dashou smiled and said: "No problem!"

At that moment, Feng Ziying led the people to clear the way and headed towards the island. Since there were thick reeds everywhere and there was no way to get through, everyone hid in the reeds for a long time. When they saw that the white fish belly was exposed on the horizon, they finally got out of the reeds.

However, at this moment, seeing the thief's barracks right in front of them, all the soldiers' adrenaline surged. Instead of feeling tired, they were all in high spirits. Even the wounds cut by reed leaves on their bodies seemed to feel no pain. .

Seeing the fighting spirit and murderous spirit of all the brothers, Feng Ziying couldn't help but licked her tongue and said with a sinister smile: "Master Huan said, a head is worth two taels of silver. Those who don't need the silver can save it and exchange it for military merit. Let's do it, brothers." ,kill!"

As soon as Feng Ziying said the word "kill", these young and strong young men immediately rushed towards the rows of barracks on the island like tigers descending a mountain.

These barracks were originally dormitories for the garrison at Chongsha Mingqianhu Residence. Now they have naturally become the residence of thieves and warehouses for storing supplies.

Since most of the thieves were guarding the docks on the east and west sides of the island at the moment, the barracks were very empty, with only twenty or thirty people left behind. So Feng Ziying led a hundred elite men and charged in. It was like entering an uninhabited land, chopping up melons and vegetables. He put down all the thieves inside, and then set a fire to set the barracks on fire, and the flames instantly shot into the sky.

At this time, the golden-toothed dog was leading people to defend the east pier of the island, while the Zhu brothers were defending the west pier. Suddenly, they saw flames shooting into the sky in the direction of the barracks and loud shouts of killing. They were both a little confused. What happened?
"Master Jin, something bad has happened. The officers and soldiers have attacked the island!" A minion rolled and crawled towards the golden-toothed dog.

The golden-toothed dog couldn't help but change his expression, and blurted out: "Where did the officers and soldiers come from?"

The gangster said in horror: "You don't even know that the officers and soldiers suddenly rushed in, slashed everyone they saw, and set fire to the house. Many of our brothers were hacked to death before they could react."

"Trash!" The gold-toothed dog was shocked and angry. He slapped the gangster to the ground and shouted, "The officers and soldiers must have sneaked onto the island from the swamp. There won't be many of them. Brothers, don’t be afraid, follow me and kill them all.”

The golden-toothed dog left the dock with hundreds of brothers, roaring and rushing towards the island. It turned out that there was a warehouse in the barracks, which contained all the supplies, as well as the property looted during this period. If it was burned down, the boss might kill him, so the gold-toothed dog was so impatient.

However, the golden-toothed dog had only reached the halfway point when he encountered a hundred elite men led by Zuo Dashou. These elites are all young and strong men with strong combat power. They are also equipped with thirty matchlock guns. From twenty to thirty meters away, the musketeers pulled the trigger...

bang bang bang...

The sound of gunfire was like exploding beans, a wave of intensive shooting, and the thief on the opposite side fell down on the spot. The gold-toothed dog running at the front was even more unlucky. He was shot three times, and half of his nose was broken. Dead ball on the ground!

The pirates were originally a mob. When they bullied the unarmed people with their fierceness, they were as fierce as tigers. When they encountered the well-equipped regular army, they turned into mice on the spot. After a wave of gunshots, in the blink of an eye, Then they became birds and beasts and dispersed.

Zuo Dashou roared, swung his knife and charged towards them. He raised the knife and brought it down with a bang, then chopped the two of them down, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

The thieves ran away crying, and Zuo Dashou led his brothers in pursuit until they reached the dock.

A large number of fortifications and forts were built near the dock, but since they were all facing the outside world, they could not defend the rear at all. Therefore, Zuo Dashou and others easily occupied these fortifications and forts, and the remaining thieves could only scramble to get there. Escape aboard a ship.

At the same time, Feng Ziying also led her brothers to rush to the dock in the west of the island, where they fought fiercely with the thieves led by brothers Zhu Jinfu and Zhu Jinyue.

At this time, the entire Chongming Beach was on fire, and there was a killing sound at the east pier. It was unknown how many officers and soldiers touched the island. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Zhu brothers did not dare to fight at the moment, so they boarded a boat docked at the pier and fled quickly. .

Bang bang bang... whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Lead bullets and sharp arrows rained down like raindrops. Many thieves who escaped on the boat were furious on the spot. Some even capsized the boat with them. The Zhu brothers escaped because they saw the opportunity quickly.

"It's strange, how did the officers and soldiers land on the island?" Zhu Jinxu stood on the boat and looked back at the Chongming Sands, which was blazing into the sky, and he was puzzled.

Zhu Jinyue said with lingering fear: "I guess they came from the north or south of the island. There are no defenses in these two directions. We were careless. I just don't know what method they used to get through the large swamp."

Zhu Jin said unwillingly: "Cunning Han people!" At this time, the entire Chongming Sands had basically fallen into the control of Feng Ziying and Zuo Dashou, while on the vast river to the east, Kang Dayong was still fighting fiercely with the Jinling Navy.

"Master, it's bad, there's a fire on the island!" Someone suddenly shouted on the boat.

Kang Dayong suddenly looked back, and sure enough he saw a huge fire on the island. Not only the barracks and warehouses were on fire, but also the dock was on fire.

Kang Dayong couldn't help but feel shocked. There was a large amount of supplies stored on Chongming Sand, as well as some of the property looted during this period. If they were all burned, the losses would be huge, and he would be very passive in the future.

"What did the gold-toothed dog do for his grandma?" Kang Dayong roared angrily and ordered people back to the ship to find out.

Soon, the thieves who went to inquire came back in panic and reported: "Master, something bad has happened. Officers and soldiers secretly attacked the island and killed many of our brothers. Lord Jin was also killed by them. Master Ninth and Ten were also killed." The heads (Zhu brothers) have all escaped!”

Kang Dayong almost spit out a mouthful of old blood, his eyes were red, like a wounded beast, and he cursed sternly: "Trash, they are all trash, go back to the ship and take the island back to me!"

Kang Dayong roared and was about to order to return to the ship to recapture Chongming Sand. Li Hongji hurriedly said: "Master, please don't act out of anger. Now the island has been controlled by officers and soldiers, and those defenses will definitely fall into the hands of officers and soldiers. We can't go back now." It will not help the situation and will only end up being attacked from both sides.”

Kang Dayong's expression changed when he heard this, and he said solemnly: "What's the second master's opinion?"

Li Hongji said calmly: "If we keep the green hills, we won't have to worry about running out of firewood. Besides, our losses are not huge at the moment. Let's withdraw to the sea first and then think about the long term."

Kang Dayong stared fiercely into the distance and said coldly: "Okay, retreat first!"

At that moment, Kang Dayong ordered the sails to be adjusted and led the fleet to evacuate towards the sea.

At this time, the bright moon has completely set, and the sky in the east is getting brighter and brighter. When Navy Commander Zhang Guizhang saw the fire on the island, he knew that Feng Ziying and Zuo Dashou had succeeded. He couldn't help but get excited and secretly said: "Good guy, Jia Huan really has two brushes, he succeeded!"

General Zhang originally had doubts about Jia Huan's ability, but now he only admires him. He had lost many brothers and ships in the past two days, and then he barely managed to break through the first line of defense on the island. As a result, Jia Huan took over full power. After taking command, only two hundred elite troops were sent to easily occupy the island.

"Sir, the pirate ship is about to escape!" A soldier watching on the mast suddenly shouted a warning.

Zhang Shenjiang quickly raised his telescope and took a look. Sure enough, he saw that the pirate ships were turning around and adjusting their direction, obviously trying to escape into the sea. He no longer hesitated and hurriedly ordered a hot pursuit. At the same time, he sent a light speedboat to bite the tail and cause nuisance. .

In this way, the two fleets chased each other to the sea, sank two bows of the pirate ship, captured three bows, and won a great victory.

Since most of the Jinling navy used flat-bottomed boats, seeing the remaining pirate boats escaping into the sea, the surrounding wind and waves became stronger. If they pursued forcefully, the boats would be in danger of capsizing, so General Zhang Shen could only order to stop the pursuit.

However, as soon as General Zhang's order to withdraw his troops was given, the Western armed merchant ship that Jia Huan was riding on filled up its sails and sailed towards the pirate ship that had fled into the sea.

Seeing this, General Zhang Shen had no choice but to lead the five-prow large ship to follow, while the remaining smaller warships turned around and returned to Chongming Sand to rest.

Moreover, the Western-style armed merchant ship that Jia Huan was riding was large in size, had a deep draft, and could easily hit the bottom in the river. It had to be driven with caution, so it was of no use. Now that it is out at sea, it can show off its skills.

I saw the Western armed merchant ships pumping up their sails and chasing the pirate ships of Kang Dayong and others like arrows.

At this time, a rising sun just jumped out from the sea level in the east, and thousands of red lights dyed the sea water orange.

Kang Dayong looked back and saw that a Western armed merchant ship was chasing him menacingly. The black holes on the ship's gun muzzles were so scary that he couldn't help but feel a sudden shock in his heart. He quickly took out a monocular and observed it carefully. His face slowly became gloomy. , handed the binoculars to Li Hongji next to him and said: "Second Master, take a look, is that kid Jia Huan?"

Li Hongji hurriedly took the monocular telescope and slowly adjusted the focus. Sure enough, he saw a young man standing on the bow-armed loft behind him. I saw this young man standing in the wind, his jade-colored scholar's robe and the square scarf on his head fluttering in the wind, his sword-shaped eyebrows and bright eyes, red lips and white teeth. Who else could he be if he wasn't Jia Huan?
"It's him!" Li Hongji said two words through gritted teeth.

Kang Dayong's face was as gloomy as the sky before a thunderstorm, and he said ferociously: "It's Jia Huan again. It seems that my fate, Kang Dayong, is really at odds with this boy!"

Li Hongji felt a little bitter in his heart, so why not himself? After pondering for a moment, he said bitterly: "This kid is very cunning. The officers and soldiers who sneaked to the island must be his idea again."

Kang Dayong squeezed his fist and said fiercely: "We must kill him at all costs, otherwise we will never have a good life."

boom……

As soon as Kang Dayong finished speaking, a plume of thick smoke suddenly rose from the Western armed merchant ship behind him, followed by a thunderous explosion.

Kang Dayong and Li Hongji were slightly shocked, and the next second, a huge column of water rose into the sky from the side of the ship, pouring their heads and faces.

It was obvious that the Western armed merchant ship had fired its cannon, but unfortunately it did not hit the target directly. The shells landed on the sea several meters away from the side of the ship.

Despite this, Kang Dayong and Li Hongji were still scared. At this time, the two ships were at least four miles apart, and the enemy's artillery range was too scary.

At this time, on the bow of the Western armed merchant ship, Mandarin was directing several artillerymen to adjust the angle of the heavy guns and reload ammunition.

Jia Huan shook his head and joked in English: "General Mandarin, this cannon is not accurate. Can you do it? If you can't hit it again, I will have no choice but to remove you."

Mandarin ignored Jia Huan and accurately calibrated the angle herself. Then she stood upright next to the heavy cannon with a torch in hand, staring intently at the sea ahead, as if feeling the law of the waves.

After a long cup of tea, just as the artillerymen looked at each other in confusion, Mandarin finally lit the fuse - boom!

The heavy artillery roared, smoke rose into the sky, and a hot shell roared out, like a ball of fire across the sky.

Pong...

The shell was impartial and landed directly on the stern of the boat where Kang Dayong and others were riding. It flattened the raised corner of the stern like a tornado, and then smashed the deck into pieces of wood. The terrifying shock wave shook the thieves on the boat to stagger. Finally, a mast and sail slowly fell.

"Hit!" The officers and soldiers on the Western armed merchant ship cheered loudly.

Mandarin raised her chin and glanced at Jia Huan, her pride was palpable. Jia Huan couldn't help but give a thumbs up, awesome, two shots hit the target. This hit rate is a bit unbelievable. It is difficult to do without rich experience and keen eyesight. It seems that he guessed well. This girl is definitely famous. A soldier may be a professional artillery person, so no wonder he likes to draw three-dimensional drawings of artillery so much.

The corners of Mandarin's mouth curled up slightly, and she couldn't help but reveal a charming smile, and secretly said: "You arrogant guy, do you know how powerful I am now?"

At this time, Kang Dayong's boat had become a mess. In addition to screams and wails, there were also screams one after another, because the bottom of the boat was blasted through, seawater was pouring in, and it was about to capsize.

(End of this chapter)