Liu Yuanmei used to run boats in Taihu Lake, and later became a boatman in a shipyard under the introduction of her family elders. The income of a boatman is stable, and she can go home every day, which is a good job.

But they encountered the Fengrui Army, who were unreasonable and used the boatmen as livestock.

Finally, after the most difficult three months, her daughter-in-law gave birth to a second child. However, because her daughter-in-law was malnourished and had no milk, Liu Yuanmei watched helplessly as her child died of hunger. There was no way to cook rice soup at home.

Not even rice.

Liu Yuanmei hated Fengruijun with all her heart.

The boatmen were afraid of being killed by the sharp army. They didn't dare to carry weapons if they were asked to do so. But they would definitely be careful if they were asked to lead the way.

This bunch of damned clean dogs will not die a good death.

After Liu Yuanmei boarded the gunboat, she felt that the end of these sharp troops was coming.

This was the first time he had seen a warship made of steel.

He couldn't help but stamp on the deck with his foot, and there was a bang, and it turned out to be steel.

"Don't touch it, it's really an iron plate." A gunner on the gunboat said to him with a smile.

An awkward smile appeared on Liu Yuanmei's face: "Master Jun, how long does it take to hammer such a large iron plate?"

"Hahaha... If you use a hammer, how many years will it take to build a ship? These iron plates are forged with tens of thousands of kilograms of stamping machines." The gunner said with a smile.

"Ten thousand kilograms? Then it would take a dozen cows to pull it, right?" Liu Yuanmei murmured to herself.

He glanced at the towering gun barrel on the front deck again. The gun was also wrapped in steel, with only one barrel exposed.

It's like it's embedded in a tomb, ah, bah, bah, bah... it's so unlucky, like a small house.

Liu Yuanmei's eyes were opened today, and she felt that she would be able to boast for the rest of her life after she went back.

At this moment, a young officer who was not tall but had a tough appearance came over.

When Liu Yuanmei saw other military masters, they all saluted him, knowing that the person coming must be a high official.

He also remembered that someone had said before that he was not allowed to kneel down, so he also followed their example and saluted, but his movements were a bit irregular and looked very funny.

"Liu Yuanmei, what you have to do is to find the fastest waterway for us to catch up with Fengrui Army." The officer came over with a smile on his face and patted Liu Yuanmei on the shoulder.

At the same time, he picked up his hand and placed ten brand new silver coins in Liu Yuanmei's hand.

Ten silver dollars were stacked neatly and heavily.

"General, this is what the common people should do. The common people have a blood feud with those Qing dogs." Although she liked these silver coins very much, Liu Yuanmei still wanted to return them.

"This is the reward you deserve. We in the Guards value getting paid for your work. If you go out with us, you will not only waste time, but also bear risks. We cannot let you do it in vain."

In the past, Zeng Tai would not have talked like this to an ordinary citizen. He still had some pirate habits.

But after joining the Guards, he received more than a year of political education, and his way of thinking about problems had already changed.

According to the political education of the Chinese people, the common people are simple, and they use labor to promote the development of society, which is the foundation of a country and a nation.

The fundamental purpose of the Guards is to protect the Chinese and the Chinese people.

Oppressing the people is a very serious crime among the Chinese. Dong Liang adopted a zero-tolerance attitude towards officials' bullying of the people.

"General, the water in our Taihu Lake is generally not deep, and there are many islands and crisscrossed waterways. The small one has been running boats in Taihu Lake for more than ten years and knows all the big and small waterways. It's just that our boat looks too big and we don't know the draft.

?”

Taihu Lake is a typical shallow water throughput lake. The surrounding river water is accumulated in Taihu Lake and then poured into the Yangtze River through dozens of drainage channels. Its average water depth is only 1.9 meters, which is indeed a bit shallow.

The waterways explored by merchant ships are all deep, and gunboats should be able to pass through them.

"The draft of our ship is about eight feet," Zeng Tai said.

The mosquito gunboat is positioned as an offshore shallow water combat vessel, because it is a small boat carrying a cannon. In order to enhance stability, the bottom structure of the Chinese sand ship is borrowed, and the part below the waterline is relatively gentle.

"Ah, then most of the waterways can be used." Liu Yuanmei did not expect that such a large warship would have such a shallow draft. Could it be that this warship was originally designed to fight in Taihu Lake?

This Chinese family must have been well prepared.

"Okay, let's set off."

The fleet had already left the dock at this time.

Liu Yuanmei could feel the vibration coming from under the iron plate under her feet. It seemed like a huge heart was beating hard in the body of this armored monster.

Xishan Island is the largest island in Taihu Lake. At this time, on the waterway on the west side of Xishan Island, a fleet so huge that it can't be seen at a glance is heading south.

The wind was blowing from the southeast at this time, and the speed of the fleet was not very fast.

During the alternation of spring and summer, the wind direction in Jiangnan often changes.

At this time, the southeast wind blows, and there is a high probability of rainfall.

Zhong Zilu was standing on the bow of a large ship wearing a flowing light blue gown.

Looking at the endless lake, my eyes were quite melancholy.

He was originally just a poor scholar in the countryside of Hunan.

Because my sister was occupied by a landlord in the same village, she went to the county government to complain, but was falsely accused of being a rapist.

He knew that the woman who suddenly ran up to him and started grabbing at him was actually a brothel girl.

The county magistrate had long been bribed by the landlord in the same village, and based on this woman's one-sided words, Zhong Zilu was going to be prosecuted.

Also imprisoned with Zhong Zilu in the county prison were some gangsters.

As a result, someone came to rob the prison that night, and Zhong Zilu took the opportunity to escape.

Later, by chance, Zhong Zilu defected to Lu Jianfeng's sharp camp.

Relying on his own talent and local understanding of Hunan.

Zhong Zilu was appreciated by Lu Jianfeng, who also helped him eliminate the landlords in the same village.

From then on, he decided to follow Lu Jianfeng, on the one hand to repay his kindness, and on the other hand to gain greater power.

Because he discovered from his own experience that when you have power, you can do whatever you want.

It is better to do whatever they want to others than to do whatever they want to you.

Another reason why he followed Lu Jianfeng was because Lu Jianfeng was willing to follow his advice on everything.

Lu Jianfeng is self-aware, and his abilities are indeed average.

Being able to build a team is all about hard work.

From Hunan to Jiangnan Daying, and then to the Suhu area.

Fengruijun has grown step by step since childhood, and Zhong Zilu has devoted countless efforts.

Now we are watching all these achievements disappear.

How could Zhong Zilu be willing to do so?

Lu Jianfeng is gone, but the cause is still there, and the Fengrui Army is still there. The Suhu area is gone, but the main force of the Fengrui Army is still there.

Wu Guangjin's navy, plus the 10,000 army troops on board, is a considerable military force wherever it is placed.

Now there are two roads before Zhong Zilu, one is to return to the Jiangnan camp of his old employer, and the other is to go to Zhejiang and seek refuge with Huang Zonghan, the governor of Zhejiang.

Huang Zonghan has no generals under his command, so if he chooses to vote for him, he will surely be reused.

However, Zhejiang's position is too awkward. It is flanked by the north and the south and has basically been cut off from the central government.

After much thought, Zhong Zilu decided to return to Jiangnan Camp.

At this moment, four smoke pillars suddenly appeared on the east side of the lake.

Because it was a southeasterly wind, the smoke column was blowing right towards them.

The Taihu Navy fleet has not yet discovered the danger.

The well-informed Zhong Zilu suddenly thought of steamships.

"Lao Si, Jiangyin Fortress was breached by the enemy's steamship, right?" Zhong Zilu asked Wu Guangjin, while squinting his eyes and looking toward the southeast.

"It's indeed a steamship. It's said to be so powerful that it can't even be broken down by its armor and cannons."

"Look at those plumes of smoke." He asked, pointing to the black smoke plumes floating from the southeast.

Wu Guangjin frowned.

"Impossible, impossible, how could they be so fast? We set off last night." Wu Guangjin shook his head repeatedly. He understood what Zhong Zilu meant, but he still couldn't believe it.

"We haven't sent a boat over to check yet." Zhong Zilu was a little unhappy. Ever since Wu Guangjin found out about Lu Jianfeng's death, he didn't agree with him.

"Yes..." Wu Guangjin also felt that he had been a little negligent.

However, there was no need to send anyone to check at this time, because the surrounding ships had already discovered four armored warships rushing towards them.

"Second brother, there is no need to worry. There are only four battleships. I will send twenty rocket boats to deal with them first." Wu Guangjin felt relieved when he saw that there were not many of them.

He now has more than a hundred rocket boats on hand, which is his confidence.

On the lake, a battle is about to begin.

The Taihu Navy fleet has hundreds of warships, while the escort side has only four gunboats.
To be continued...