I

  Chapter 164 162【Bailuozhou Water Battle】

   "Boom!"

  Lightning and thunder, the rain covered the fields, and the sky and the earth became dark.

  All activities of both sides in the battle were suspended due to the heavy rain.

  Including the soldiers brought by Huang Yao to the enemy's rear, they also lived in the homes of fellow villagers one after another. No one could bear the pouring rain.

   "It's finally raining."

  Zhao Han stood in the commander's tent, watched the rain fall on the ground, and muttered to himself: "Governor Li, I'm waiting for rain, so what are you waiting for?"

  War in Jiangxi, as long as the strength of both sides is large, the water battle is what really determines the outcome.

  The decisive battle between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang was like this, and the same is true for Wang Yangming's suppression of King Ning's rebellion.

  Which side of the navy can win, it can occupy the food road and the route of advancing troops. If the navy is not destroyed, as long as it can still defend the city, the infantry can start over no matter how many battles they lose.

   This is due to the special terrain of Jiangxi. The whole province is full of mountains, and the main cities are distributed in intermountain basins and connected by rivers and lakes extending in all directions.

  Zhao Han's naval force, although there are more than ten warships less than the official army, but the number of large ships is far less than that of the officers and soldiers. However, he had the advantage of terrain and occupied the confluence of the two rivers first, while still in the upper reaches of the Ganjiang River.

  Originally, he wanted to lure the navy to pass through the estuary, and then surrounded and strangled according to the terrain, so that the opponent's advantage of having a large number of ships could not be brought into play.

  Who knew that Wang Siren was not fooled, and never allowed the navy to cross the estuary, which led to a confrontation between the two sides for more than a month.

   Then we can only wait for the rain and wait for the Ganjiang River to enter the flood season!

  But the weather at the end of the Ming Dynasty became more and more strange. Not only was the spring drought severe this year, but it didn’t rain even in early summer, and it still didn’t rain after the summer grain harvest.

  Finally, the first heavy rain of this year came, and it continued for two days and two nights.

   What Zhao Han thought about was not fighting, but whether officials at the county and township levels and mission groups actively organized farmers' associations to fight floods and rescue emergencies.

  …

  The officers and soldiers had successfully crossed the river before it rained, and were waiting to launch an attack the next day, but they were given a blow by God that night.

   Li Maofang looked at the cannons in front of him and asked, "Can you still fire the cannons?"

  The gunner replied: "It can ring, the gunpowder is well stored, and it hasn't been damp."

   "Okay, there will be rewards." Li Maofang praised.

  The army has artillery, and there are nine of them.

  Six of the cannons were dismantled from Nanchang City and belonged to the old antiques of Zhu Yuanzhang's period. Very primitive copper mortar, thick caliber, short barrel, powerful, short range.

  The other three are Flang cannons, a product of King Ning's rebellion era. The two doors were built by craftsmen hired by King Ning. One was made by Wang Yangming's friend Lin Jun, who became an official at home and had his slaves brought it over from Fujian.

  The nine cannons can’t be described in a single word. The six mortars belong to the city defense artillery. They are thick and heavy and have a short range. They can only achieve unexpected results when the rebels attack by themselves. Although the three Franco cannons are light and have a long range, their power is actually very small, and the number of sub-cannons is insufficient.

   "The officers and soldiers have moved!"

   "Let them attack slowly."

  More than 10,000 officers and soldiers were dispatched, but Zhao Han stayed in the camp.

  Three trenches were dug outside the battalion, and the passage left by each trench could only allow three infantrymen to pass in parallel.

  In the camp, there are also two trenches.

   If you can't hold on, you are just delaying time, dragging to Gujian Mountain to lead the navy to dispatch.

   "Look at the general town!"

  Zhao Han immediately climbed up to the high platform, but because the distance was too far, he could not see clearly what the enemy was lifting. It wasn't until more than ten steps away from the first trench that the officers and soldiers began to assemble the Franco cannon, and he finally understood what it was.

   "The whole army retreats into the trenches, the rattan shields are held up to protect the top of the head, and those without shields look for things." Zhao Han immediately ordered.

  Three Franco cannons quickly entered the predetermined location.

  But the six mortars moved extremely slowly. After the rain, the ground was muddy and potholed, dragged forward by mules and horses, and sank into the mud before walking far. In the end, it could only be lifted by manpower, and after a long time of tossing, it was finally lifted.

   "Fire!"

  Nine cannons fired in salvo, iron bullets, lead bullets, and stone bullets flew together.

  Two fell into Zhao Han's camp, hit the muddy ground, and stopped after a few bounces. The muddy ground absorbed the kinetic energy of the shells.

  Four of them fell outside the camp, and there was no fart effect.

  But there were still three shells, which accurately hit the wall of the village and blasted a big hole in the wooden wall of the village.

   Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Ruolian sent civilian men to fill up the trenches outside the camp with soil, and let the artillery continue to aim at the gate of the camp.

   It took the officers and soldiers half a day to finally fill the first trench.

  The nine cannons also fired several rounds, and there were various misfires during the period. After all, the gunpowder was a little damp.

  The camp was in the north, and the walls of the camp were knocked down in several places.

  Especially those old antique mortars, once they hit the target, they can immediately blow up the whole area. This thing itself was used by Zhu Yuanzhang to attack the city.

"what!"

   Half a day later, a shell happened to fall into the trench in the camp, and the first unlucky guy in Zhao Han's army appeared.

  It was a stone bullet fired from a mortar, which smashed the wooden shield directly, and then smashed his head, and the soldiers next to him were so frightened that they went limp.

   For a whole day, the results of the officers and soldiers were as follows: fill up two trenches outside the rebel camp, and kill one rebel.

  That night, Zhao Han did not lead his troops out to attack at night, because the officers and soldiers must have taken strict precautions.

   Continue the next day.

   "Boom!"

  A mortar finally exploded. It was a gadget left over from the early Ming Dynasty. It can be used for more than two hundred years and is considered to be of excellent quality.

   And it is very possible that it was caused by the gunner's improper operation. It is estimated that the gunpowder was accidentally loaded too much.

  Li Maofang quickly reprimanded: "Don't overfill it!"

   "Doo-doo-da-da-doo..."

   Suddenly the suona sounded, not from Zhao Han's side, but the Ming army navy was using the suona to warn.

  Qi Jiguang's "Ji Xiao New Book" contains: "Whoever plays the flute is playing the suona."

  Wang Siren is on his own ship at the moment. His task is to guard against the rebel navy. At the same time, if the official army is defeated, he will immediately sail to the river to meet him.

  Gu Jianshan led more than 30 large and small warships, coming along the torrential water after the flood. Due to the lack of large warships, fighting with the officers and soldiers will definitely fail, but now it is different. There are more than a dozen small fishing boats next to each warship.

  It was a small sampan that could only take two or three people, but at the moment it was only being operated by one person, and the boat was full of dry firewood drenched in grease.

   "The whole army retreats!"

  Wang Siren stared wide-eyed, he knew what the rebels were going to do. But he is in the downstream, even if he uses the fireboat to attack, it is the exclusive power of the upstream rebels.

  When Wang Yangming defeated the Ningwang Navy, one of the key factors was that Wang Yangming occupied the upper reaches!

   Just like that, the official navy, which had an absolute advantage in warships and troops, was chased by the anti-thief navy led by Gu Jianshan. Both sides followed the rapids down to Bailuozhou on the Huangyaodu River, which is the narrowest point of the nearby Ganjiang River.

  The river here is divided into two by Jiangxinzhou.

  After flooding, the river channel in the west is more than 100 meters wide, and the river channel in the east is more than 200 meters wide. However, the place where large warships can pass is only 40 to 50 meters away, and other areas are easily stranded.

  Wang Siren was on a warship near the ship. After receiving the military order, he slowed down and concentrated on passing through the deep water area.

   But the official warships that were too far away only cared about driving fast. The small warships passed easily, but four large warships ran aground in a row, blocking the friendly troops behind them in an instant.

   "Fire!"

  The rebel sailor on the small sampan first lit the torch, then pulled the rope, and threw the torch into the firewood pile.

  When the torch touches the fat, it quickly burns into a raging fire.

  The sailor drew a knife and cut off the rope that bound the sampan, and then climbed onto the big ship along the rope. More than two hundred burning small sampans rushed towards the navy of the official army along the rushing water of the river.

   This is also the reason why Zhao Han waited for the rain. Only after a heavy rainstorm can the water flow speed meet the requirements of the fireboat attack. Otherwise, the navy of the army can easily push away the slow-moving fireboat with only a long pole.

  In the narrow part of the river, the large warships of the government and army are slowing down and gathering to pass through the deep water area.

  The difference in speed was enough for the fire boat to catch up, and soon several official warships were ignited, and the sailors of the official army quickly jumped off the ship and left. However, the water speed is too fast, even a man with excellent water quality is not easy to swim ashore, most likely he will be drowned by the river.

  The army and navy were in complete chaos, and Wang Siren couldn't hold it back at all.

  The warship that had already sailed through the narrow river, regardless of the safety of its teammates, fled towards Fengcheng County on its own. The same is true for small warships, fleeing in a swarm, forgetting where the commander's ship is.

"kill!"

  Gu Jianshan let his own large warships anchor to stop, and personally led the small warships that were not afraid of running aground, and followed the fire boats to kill the enemy.

  More than 200 fire boats, many of which hit the shore and capsized, most of them drifted through the shallow water area, and only dozens of them ignited the six large ships of officers and soldiers.

   To be honest, as long as the officers and soldiers are not in chaos, only six ships will be ignited, and they still have an absolute advantage.

  How can there be no chaos?

   Half of these officers and sailors are recruited Poyang Lake water bandits!

  Gu Jianshan carried the two-handed sword on his back, stepped on the bow of the small warship, and quickly caught up with a slow enemy ship.

   "Flying hook!"

  Dozens of flying claws with ropes were thrown towards the side of the big ship.

  Gu Jianshan was about to climb to seize the ship, when suddenly someone from the enemy ship shouted: "Is it Old Gu?"

   "Fan Er?" Gu Jianshan asked.

   "I am Fan Er," the other party shouted, "You go elsewhere to seize the ship, I will kill the captain and surrender!"

   As he spoke, the guy lifted his knife and shouted: "Brothers from Poyang Lake, follow me to kill the officers and soldiers!"

  For a while, the water bandits recruited turned around to kill the real officers and soldiers, and soon beheaded a sailor.

  Gu Jianshan quickly looked for the next target. The small warship he was on was very flexible, and the large ship with 400 materials of officers and soldiers completely became the prey.

   "Lime!"

   When Gu Jianshan led his troops to climb, the enemy ship threw limestone from it.

  Fortunately, Gu Jianshan was on guard, all the sailors were covered with gauze, even their eyes were covered with gauze. Although the line of sight is not very good, it can minimize the impact of lime.

   "Rockfall!"

  The head-sized stone was thrown down by the officers and soldiers from the big ship, and several rebels fell in an instant.

   "Cut the rope!"

  Flying Claw's ropes were cut off more than 30 times one after another, and the rebel sailors fell one after another.

  However, six small warships besieged this large warship, and the officers and soldiers on board lost sight of one another.

  Gu Jianshan climbed up quickly with only the strength of his arms, and stabbed a long spear head-on. Gu Jianshan dodged in the air, grabbed the barrel of the gun, and pulled the officers and soldiers down.

   This guy turned over quickly on the side of the ship, and before he stepped on the deck, he drew his sword and killed an officer and soldier in the air.

  Due to the charge of Gu Jianshan, more and more anti-thief sailors climbed up, and officers and soldiers knelt down and surrendered one after another.

   "Sail at full speed!"

  After seizing the ship, Gu Jianshan drove the big ship and rushed towards the official navy in front.

  The other side of the camp.

   During the surprise attack on Ancient Sword Mountain, Zhao Han laughed. If it hadn't been for the fact that it hadn't been raining, this water war would have already broken out.

  The officers and soldiers were just the opposite. Seeing that their navy was retreating, Li Maofang and Li Ruolian quickly ordered the withdrawal.

"kill!"

  Zhao Han climbed out of the trench and directly ordered the charge horn to be sounded.

  If he didn't want to defeat the officers, soldiers and navy, Zhao Han would have gone out to fight a long time ago!

  (end of this chapter)