The left navy at the front was commanded by Chang Deng, but the battle plan was submitted to Zuo Liangyu and Zuo Mengeng after he discussed it with Xu Ensheng.

They are not prepared to use arson ships on a large scale, or carrier ships (a special warship that carries explosives to attack enemy ships).

The main reason is that the left naval division of this water battle is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the wind blowing in the past few days is not from the west, but even from the east wind occasionally. The arson ship and the mother ship lack objective conditions for use.

The secondary reason is that the number of warships on both sides is almost the same. In terms of warships, battleships and other warships with more than 200 materials, the ones on the left are slightly more.

Finally, Chang Deng was convinced in front of Zuo Menggeng that he wanted to capture the strange iron ship and present it to him. Naturally, he would not think about destroying the enemy ship from the beginning.

In addition, overall, the inland river naval warships of the late Ming Dynasty were actually not as good as those of the mid-Ming Dynasty. In the early period - because there was little room for the navy to use them, the naval warships were not only few but monotonous in type, many types of warships only existed.

On paper.

Not only the left navy was like this, but the types of warships used by Zhu Yushuo's Yangtze River navy were also very monotonous.

Today's inland water warfare generally involves firing arrows, firing muskets, setting fire, using trebuchets, and cannons when they are close to each other, all of which are inferior to the more advanced inland water division tactics.

In the end, the outcome is often determined by the side battle.

Therefore, whether it is the current Zuo Navy or the former Zhang Xianzhong Navy, they are actually horse soldiers and infantry, and they are both "amphibious troops."

Of course, Zhu Yurao's Yangtze River Navy is actually now considered an "amphibious force."

However, today Zhu Yuluo's Yangtze River Navy will tell the left navy that times have changed.

···

Chang Deng stood on the deck of his ship and said loudly: "All officers and men, please listen carefully. The enemy blames the iron ship for its fast speed and strong hull.

Therefore, our dozens of battleships and battleships must swarm up later to tie it up.

Then we can seize the ship according to our previous tactics. Do you understand?"

"I understand!"

"Okay!" Chang Deng looked around at the clouds of warships. He was full of energy and said with a wave of his hand: "Send my general's order! Beat the drum to meet the enemy!"

Dongdongdong···

The cowhide war drum on Chang Wei's boat was beaten vigorously by a tall, fat man with no upper body.

The command flags on the warships on the left were waving, and countless oars and oars were immediately thrust out, paddling the river water, and going against the river flow to meet the Yangtze River Navy warships in the west!

Zuo Menggeng used his telescope to see clearly on the Liubai Liao Shuai that when the Yangtze River Navy warship appeared, the two sides were about four or five miles away.

Now hundreds of warships led by Chang Deng took the initiative to meet them, and the distance between the two sides quickly shortened, and after a while, they were only more than two miles apart.

The Yangtze River Navy was still led by three strange iron ships, but soon these three strange iron ships made a tactical maneuver that made Zuo Mengeng very strange.

"Strange, why did those three strange iron ships stop?"

Stopped?

Xu Ensheng couldn't help frowning when he heard this.

"Little Marquis, can you let the general have a look?"

"Look, not only those three strange iron ships stopped, but also the dozen or so war ships behind them."

Zuo Mengeng said this, but he still held the telescope and had no intention of giving it to Xu Ensheng.

This left Xu Ensheng speechless.

So I could only speak out again for the telescope.

Only then did Zuo Mengeng hand over the telescope.

When Xu Ensheng looked through the telescope, he saw three strange iron ships of the Yangtze River Navy in a row, followed by more than a dozen warships and patrol ships in two rows. They had indeed stowed their sails, oars and sculls, and just moved along.

Drifting on the river.

Looking at the left navy led by Chang Deng, the distance between them was already more than a mile away.

Then a scene that Xu Ensheng will never forget happened.

I saw nearly twenty warships of the Yangtze River Navy, including the strange iron ship, emitting many streaks of white smoke almost at the same time, and then there was a series of gunshots that sounded like firecrackers!

Boom boom boom...

At one time, hundreds of artillery shells were fired at the naval warship on the left that was more than a mile away!

Although these shells were all live ammunition, they were powerful and relatively accurate. More than twenty naval warships on the left were hit by just talking.

Some only had a big hole in the deck, while others were shot below the waterline of the hull, which immediately started to fill with water and topple over.

Others hit the crowd on the warship, immediately leading out a bloody passage, leaving behind countless howling soldiers.

"Why do they have so many cannons on their warships?" Zuo Mengeng next to him said with a trembling voice.

At the same time, he snatched the telescope from Xu Ensheng's hand and looked towards the river.

Xu Ensheng said: "The general doesn't know that either... They chased and captured our sentry ship before, but they never used cannons, no, they never showed cannons."

Zuo Menggeng and Xu Ensheng, who were watching the battle from behind, were shocked. Chang Deng, who had just experienced a round of shelling and was safe and sound, was stunned.

He also didn't expect that the opponent's warship had so many cannons and could fire so far and so hard.

But he was also a veteran who had been on the battlefield for ten or twenty years. When he came to his senses, he immediately shouted: "Send my order! Let the ships spread out and move forward at full speed! Since their ships are equipped with cannons, we can only win by approaching as soon as possible!"

"

Chang Deng's combat idea was correct, and the left naval officers on other warships also knew it.

So the order was given, and the oarsmen rowed the oars with all their might.

For a moment, the naval warship on the left accelerated again.

Fortunately, it is not yet the flood season, and the current of the Yangtze River in Wuchang Prefecture is relatively slow. With the force of the oarsmen of the Navy on the left, the warships quickly approached the warships of the Yangtze River Navy.

It was also at this time that the second round of bombardment from the Yangtze River Navy came.

This time, more warships from behind followed suit and fired, and a total of one or two hundred shells fell.

Although the navy on the left dispersed and no longer hit as hard as before, twenty or thirty warships were still hit. Several of them lost their navigation and combat capabilities on the spot, and even began to sink. They were forced to

I had to row towards the river.

Zuo Mengeng and Xu Ensheng were shocked again as they watched the battle.

Zuo Mengeng asked: "How come their cannons can fire so fast? Could it be that there was a batch of cannons that were not fired before?"

Xu Ensheng shook his head, "Impossible. The general can see clearly that there were only nearly twenty warships firing cannons before, but hundreds of cannonballs were fired.

It means that each enemy ship is equipped with at least five cannons, which is already a lot.

Moreover, the power of these cannons is comparable to that of red cannons. They must be huge and heavy, and even a warship with 400 materials cannot install a few of them."

Just when Xu Ensheng said this, the navy on the left suffered a third round of bombardment. Once again, seven or eight warships lost their combat capabilities and rowed to the river.

Fortunately, after enduring this round of shelling, the distance between the two sides was reduced to within a hundred steps.

At this time, the few firearms such as French guns, squatting tiger cannons, and raised guns in the left navy finally came into use.

It is a pity that the number of such firearms is very small. The total number of large firearms on dozens of warships and patrol ships is estimated to be only more than a hundred.

Moreover, the accuracy of these large firearms in the fast sailing warships is extremely impressive. Even if they are lucky enough to hit the strange iron ship at the front, they will at most leave a shallow mark on its hull.

Immediately, the Yangtze River Navy launched its fourth round of bombardment against the generals, but fired many loose shells that emitted thick smoke.

I saw these shotguns carrying thick smoke with a strange color, falling on many warships of the navy on the left like witches scattering flowers. Suddenly, blown by the slight east wind, it spread to the warships behind.

Chang Deng only took a whiff, then quickly covered his mouth and nose and narrowed his eyes.

Then they were not allowed to show their mouths and shouted: "It's a poisonous smoke bomb. Please use a wet cloth to cover your mouth and cough..."

As he spoke, Chang Deng started coughing violently. He felt a pungent feeling rush straight into his throat, nostrils, and eye membranes, making his nose and tears flow down.

"Damn it, it's all mixed with chili peppers!"

Saying that, Chang Deng didn't have time to wait for the soldiers, so he dipped the cloth he carried with him in water and covered his mouth and nose.

But there was nothing I could do about my eyes, so I had to squint first.

In fact, poisonous smoke is a common method of warfare in water warfare. It was just like the Yangtze River Navy, which relied on cannons to blast out a large amount of poisonous smoke. But this was the first time for the Navy on the left to encounter it, and it was instantly affected.
Chapter completed!