One general is incompetent and the three armies will be exhausted! This is true at all. Yu Min took more than a dozen warships and thousands of soldiers and sailed southward like a drowned dog in a panic. As for the tens of thousands of infantry and several tens of thousands of infantrymen he brought from Shandong
Ten thousand stones of military rations were all packed up and taken away by the Peiping Army.
With the loss of Dagu Port, the Ming Navy had no landing point, let alone besieging Shuntian Mansion. Yu Min's only hope now is to defeat the pirate army and rescue Wang Consort and others, so that the merits can be redeemed.
, otherwise the crime of trapping tens of thousands of troops would be enough to make him lose his head.
It is said that one careless move will lead to the whole game being lost. The Ming Navy made several consecutive bets. The main force was defeated and the army supplies were seized. The whole plan to besiege Peiping was ruined long ago. Now that we have gathered together, there is still one person left.
More than 120 warships and more than 10,000 soldiers.
Although this seems to be a lot, there is a fatal weakness, that is, the lack of military rations. The two groups of troops that went to sea first to besiege the pirate army were better. They brought two months of military rations before going to sea, which was enough to last until the end of the naval battle.
Yu Min's troops fled in a panic, and there was not much rations on the ship. In addition, there were more than 5,000 soldiers crowded on the ship. With so many people asking for food, Yu Min had to order the fleet to rush south, first to the coast of Dengzhou, Shandong.
Replenish military supplies and then go to sea to join the main force of the navy.
Due to poor communication at sea, the two fleets that went out to battle did not receive the news that Dagu Military Port had been captured in time, so they still headed east quickly to carry out the mission of annihilating the pirate army.
The two fleets are one behind the other, about thirty miles apart. The former fleet is commanded by a commander named Wang Jinggong. There are about 4,000 sailors on the seventy warships, most of whom are hiding in the cabins. The latter fleet is commanded by a commander named Wang Jinggong.
The fleet was commanded by a commander named Li Gao. Although there were only 40 ships, he brought nearly 7,000 sailors and many small net-shaped ships. It was obvious at a glance that they were planning to use ant attack tactics.
However, the weather in the Bohai Sea is really bad for the Mingshui Division, because the southerly wind has been blowing for several days, the sea is very moist, the fog is always lingering, and the visibility is too low. In order not to fall into an ambush,
, both fleets slowed down and moved forward cautiously and expectantly.
Stargazing is impossible in foggy weather. The Ming Shui Master is like a blind man. He has no idea where he is. He can only rely on the compass's direction to keep heading east. The Ming Shui Master has sailed on the foggy sea for three days and has already entered the deep sea.
In this area, the fog here was heavier and the visibility was only a few hundred meters. In addition, it was almost dusk, so the leading general ordered the fleet to stop advancing and spend the night on the spot.
In order to avoid being attacked at night, the Mingshui Division set up a ring formation, that is, the warships formed a large circle, and the flagship stayed in the middle of the large circle. This formation was not bad, at least the warships spread out more widely, even if
If you encounter a sneak attack by the pirate army, you can quickly disperse and surround the pirate army, which can be regarded as gaining wisdom.
However, in this dangerous sea, being cautious alone is not enough. If you want to be a leader on the sea, you must be bold and careful, and you must be quick and fearless of death. These qualities are what the Ming army lacks.
In the evening, the sea was still deathly quiet. Seventy warships of the Ming Navy Wang Jinggong were parked on the sea. Many crew members could not bear the wet and cold weather and hid in the cabin to keep warm. The sentry in charge of the lookout also
Half squatting by the small stove, warming his hands that were almost frozen.
Suddenly, more than a dozen blessing ships appeared in the thick fog. These blessing ships were floating on the sea like ghosts. Behind the blessing ships, there were four warships, two large and two small. These four warships were moving slowly on the sea.
After a while, it stopped within a thousand meters of the Ming Shui Division. The danger was so close that the Ming Shui Division sentries didn't notice it at all.
The incoming ship was the navy fleet of the Peking Army. On the Zhenyuan No. 1, the captain said to Liu Wenxiu: "Commander, the fog is so heavy that it is not conducive to artillery aiming."
"It doesn't matter. Let's put the medium shot put below and shoot from the bottom. Our goal is to damage the enemy ship, not sink it." Liu Wenxiu said with a smile. The so-called medium shot put is the kind that weighs one kilogram. Each shot can
Load twenty of them and shoot them upward at a high angle. These lead balls will hit the enemy ship's position like raindrops. Although they are not as lethal as the solid lead balls, they can still damage enemy ships.
The artillery on the four warships was quickly equipped. Liu Wenxiu waved his hand, and there was a loud rumble, and the artillery attack officially began. After a round of artillery bombardment, the Ming Navy was immediately alert, and the warships scattered in all directions, and
Many small boats were dispatched to rush in the direction of the bombardment.
"Stay calm in times of crisis. This general's psychological quality is not bad." Liu Wenxiu looked at the Ming Navy Division who was not messing up. He immediately switched to the second plan and ordered: "Left full rudder, rotate ninety degrees, use the bow cannon
attack."
Both the Dingyuan and the Zhenyuan are equipped with one hundred artillery pieces, including forty on each side of the ship and ten on the bow and stern. The cannons can be used to carry out uninterrupted bombardment by rotating the warship.
, but this process requires the artillerymen and sailors to work together to achieve accuracy.
Since the warship has a U-shaped bottom, the depth of entering the water is not too great, and the steering is not too difficult. In less than two minutes, the warship completed the turn, and the cannon on the bow had already been loaded, and it was aimed at the approaching people.
The formation of ships fired randomly. Hundreds of lead balls fell on the enemy ships, like duckweeds beaten by heavy rain, making those lucky ships crackle.
The cannon on the bow of the ship was used up, and Liu Wenxiu continued to give orders. The warship made another 90-degree rotation, moved to the other side of the ship's side, and fired another salvo at the incoming ship. After three rounds of salvos, Liu Wenxiu saw the light.
The military boat was already approaching, and he no longer wanted to fight. He ordered the ship to raise its sails and evacuate quickly.
The main warship ran away, and the Ming Navy naturally wanted to pursue it. However, their sails were tall and big, and they could pick up the breeze from high places, so they sailed very fast. The Ming Navy used hard sails, which were difficult to raise and lower.
Before the sail was even raised, he ran over a thousand meters away, and he couldn't catch up even if he wanted to.
Seeing these four warships moving freely on the sea like sharks, Wang Jinggong was furious. Fortunately, there were still more than a dozen lucky ships on the sea that had not escaped. He immediately ordered the sailors to surround those ships.
, take a look at what loot is on the ship, it would be best to capture some artillery pieces, so that you don’t have to be bombarded and unable to fight back.
However, after the sailors boarded these lucky ships, they discovered what it was like to be disappointed. These ships were almost empty. Not only had the sails been removed, but even the rudders were missing. Without these two things, these ships would undoubtedly be floating.
Targets at sea are of no use at all.
The disappointed sailors opened the cabin, hoping to find something useful, but if they didn't enter the cabin, their disappointment turned into despair, because there were many people walking around in the cabin, and they looked like they were about to die.
of prisoners of war.
There were fifteen broken ships and about two thousand half-dead Ming army prisoners of war. When Wang Jinggong saw this list of "trophies", he was so angry that his face turned green. What kind of trophies was this? It was obviously a heavy burden, and the pirates
This move by the army was obviously to shift the burden onto the Ming army.
What made Wang Jinggong so angry that his nose was crooked was that the pirate army had fired a round of fire just now, and about 20 of his 70 warships were damaged to varying degrees, eight of which were seriously damaged and required major repairs before they could go to sea for combat.
If the ship is damaged, it must be repaired. Although the prisoners of war are half-dead from illness, they are only one of their own and cannot ignore death. Although Wang Jin is weak, he still separates some warships and takes these damaged warships back to the military port for repairs.
, and brought these sick prisoners back for treatment, hoping to regain their fighting strength as soon as possible.
The Mingshui Division was busy dividing its troops, but the Peking Navy fleet that was ambushing not far away did not come to cause trouble again. Instead, it turned south and disappeared into the vast mist, as if it had never appeared.
Ming Shui Shi rested for a night and reorganized the ship formation. The original seventy warships became fifty-two. The battle formation became smaller and the military strength also decreased. Therefore, they were more cautious when sailing for fear of being ambushed by the pirate army again.
Li Gao, who was behind, heard about the attack on the former army and brought troops to join him. The distance between the two armies was shorter and they could respond quickly and coordinate operations when attacked.
More than ninety warships sailed fearfully on the sea for two days without being attacked again, and successfully arrived at the waters of Penglai Islands. At this time, there was nothing in this sea area. If it were not for an island built on an island,
At the military base of 7788, they really doubted whether the pirate army had really appeared here.
Since there was no trace of the pirate army, running around was useless, so Wang Jinggong and Li Gaoyi decided to rest on the spot and sent someone to ask the headquarters for instructions on the next action plan. After a few days, they still didn't know what was going on.
The headquarters has been taken away, and we are still stupidly waiting for approval from our superiors.
Huwei Island has been managed by the Peking Army and now has a castle and a wall. People stay inside, which is safe and warm. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers scrambled to squeeze in. In the end, Wang Jinggong and Li Gao had to follow the crowd's wishes.
Let the officers and soldiers stay in the castle in turns. In this way, people will be safe, but there will be fewer crew members on duty on the warship.
On September 11, the north wind picked up again, and the heavy fog that had been hanging around for several days was blown away, but the weather became even colder. With no trace of enemy ships for several days, the defense around Huwei Island gradually relaxed, and patrols were launched out to sea.
The number of warships was decreasing day by day, and at night, all warships returned to Huwei Harbor to take shelter from the wind, and no one patrolled at all.
It was on this dark and windy night that four warships appeared silently not far from Huwei Island, approaching the hundreds of warships concentrated in Huwei Port like ghosts.
"Hey, why don't these guys have long memories?" Liu Wenxiu stood on the ship's deck of Zhenyuan No. 1, looking at the densely packed warships not far away, shaking his head and laughing.
Of course, this is not to blame for Ming Shui's lack of long memory. After all, the terrain of Huwei Island is strange. Three sides are shoals, and only one side can be used as a harbor. And the area on this side is not large, and it can't be moved if twenty or thirty boats are squeezed in.
Body, now the Ming army actually
If more than ninety warships are lined up at the Shanghai port, they will definitely be crowded together. Once they are bombarded, those warships will be unable to move and will only be slaughtered. The Ming Navy is afraid of being attacked by a sneak attack and does not dare to divide its troops.
That's why we came up with this.
The Ming Navy had made such a fatal mistake. Of course Liu Wenxiu would not let go of this rare opportunity. With a wave of his hand, four warships formed a crescent formation and began to attack. While the dazzling firelight illuminated the sea, there was a rumbling sound.
The sound of cannons also resounded in the sky, and a ship-slaughter battle began.
Ship Slaughter, yes, this is Ship Slaughter. The four warships fired their cannons at the Mingshui Division's ship formation without having to aim at all. And these large projectiles weighing dozens of kilograms hit the Fu ship, one at a time.
With such a big hole, even if it doesn't sink on the spot, it will still turn into a crooked ship.
The rumbling cannons certainly woke up the Ming troops resting in the castle. Wang Jinggong and Li Gao saw that the situation was not good and ordered their soldiers to return to the ship immediately to join the battle. However, these Ming troops were scared and most of them stayed in the castle.
They refused to come out, and by the time Wang Jinggong and others gave the death order to rush these death-fearing guys to the warships, the sound of cannons had stopped, and the four enemy ships raised their sails and started running away.
Being beaten in the dark again, Wang Jinggong and Li Gao were both depressed to death. They immediately sent people to count the battle losses and found that five warships were sunk, 15 were seriously damaged beyond repair, and 17 were in varying degrees of severity.
Damaged, although they can go to sea and fight, they are not very flexible. There are only about fifty ships that are intact.
There are only sixty ships at most that can fight. When Wang Jinggong heard the news, he suddenly felt that he was in big trouble. He knew that when he went to sea, he brought seventy warships, plus Li Gao's forty, that is
One hundred and ten, but after being tossed twice by the pirate army, there were only fifty warships missing. If this continues, how many more times can the sixty warships that can still be used be used for combat?!
The reduction of warships is only a minor problem, but what is more serious is the sharp drop in morale. The pirates were attacked twice, and there were not many casualties among the soldiers. However, each time, the pirates ran away as soon as they counterattacked, and even the pirates'
Mao was not injured, let alone annihilated the rebel army. If this continues, it will be a matter of time before the army's morale collapses.
In order to avoid being attacked again, Wang Jinggong and Li Gao sent ships to patrol the sea overnight and discussed what to do next. In Wang Jinggong's view, the fleet could no longer stay on Huwei Island and be passively attacked, but had to take the initiative. And Li Gao
Gao Que objected to the attack, and the reason was very good, because they didn't even know the whereabouts of the pirate army, and if they went out, they would only die.
The two sides continued to argue, and finally reached a compromise: stationed at Huwei Island for a few days, and while waiting for orders from the headquarters, they sent out small boats to look for traces of the pirate army. However, they did not wait a few days, and someone came the next day.
.
However, the person who came was not the Ming Navy headquarters who came to deliver the order, but an official from Qianhu. He took a few soldiers and took a small boat to Huwei Island and came with a letter. The content was simple and clear: Surrender immediately, otherwise
Do it at your own risk!
It turned out that he was here to persuade him to surrender, and his attitude was very arrogant. Wang Jinggong was furious after reading this letter. He knew that the pirate army only had four ships going back and forth. Although the artillery was sharp, he still had
There are sixty ships, fifteen to one. They don't need to be beaten, but they are squeezed. This pirate army actually comes so arrogantly to persuade them to surrender. It is really arrogant.
Qi returned to Qi. After being angry, Wang Jinggong still couldn't do anything. However, Li Gao was smart and immediately asked the visitor where the enemy ship was. The visitor simply said that the rebel army was about seventeen miles east of Huwei Island.
And there are only four warships.
As soon as he heard the news, Li Gao suddenly became excited and immediately ordered the boat to go to sea, preparing to surround the enemy. Although Wang Jinggong was angry, he was not blinded by anger. He advised Li Gao to be careful and not to join the pirate army.
That's right, after all, the pirate army has always been elusive, so there must be some fraud involved.
Hearing what Wang Jingong said, Li Gao became cautious. He first sent a few small boats to explore the way, and soon got accurate information: four canvas warships were parked there, and they were motionless. Li Gao first
After hearing the news, his doubts disappeared and he immediately set off with more than 30 warships belonging to him. However, Wang Jinggong felt that things were not that simple, so he chose to stay at the harbor.
The Ming Navy divided its forces again, and the few warships were separated again. Little did Wang Jinggong and Li Gao know that they had been plotted against.
There are indeed four large sailing ships parked there on the sea about seventeen miles away from Huwei Island. However, if one takes a closer look, one will find that they are not gunboats at all, but slightly modified Fuchuan ships. However, the Ming army
Not many people have seen the true appearance of a gunboat, and they all take it for granted that a cloth sailing ship is a gunboat.
Li Gao took more than 30 warships and set off in the strong northwest wind. Soon after traveling for more than ten miles, he also saw the "gun boats" parked on the sea. He was overjoyed and immediately ordered the entire army to attack
, seize these gunboats.
However, when hundreds of sailors boarded these so-called "gun ships", they found that there was no one on board, let alone the artillery that Li Gao had dreamed of. However, there were many sick prisoners in the cabin, ranging from a thousand to eight.
Hundred.
"I've been fooled!" When Li Gao heard the news, he immediately understood what was going on. He immediately ordered his men to sail away and leave the people on the ship alone. But by this time, it was too late.
, bursts of violent gunfire came from the west, Li Gao followed the sound and saw flames rising into the sky in the direction of Huwei Port.
"Tune the tiger away from the mountain, what a trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain!" Li Gao slapped the fence and shouted: "Turn the rudder and sail the ship, return to Huwei Port immediately to aid!"
"General, the wind is in the wrong direction, we are against the wind!" the sailors said anxiously.
"We must go back in a zigzag pattern. If the military port is lost, we will be doomed!" Li Gao said loudly, but he knew that once the pirate army eliminated Wang Jinggong's troops in the port, he would be the next target to attack, and in
On this vast sea, he couldn't run away even if he wanted to. It was like his lips were dying and his teeth were cold.
Logically speaking, it was right to return to aid the friendly forces. However, Li Gao was still devastated because he met someone who did not play by the rules at all. What Li Gao never expected was that the force that sneaked into Huwei Port
The fleet did not attack Huwei Port, but after several volleys destroyed more than a dozen ships in the port, it pulled up its giant sail and suddenly charged towards Li Gao's department.
"Haha, you are a bunch of idiots. They don't understand what we are going to do after all this time. We want to reduce the number of ships, not seize the port!" On the Zhenyuan No. 1, Liu Wenxiu laughed wildly as he looked at the Ming Shuimen who were being fooled by him.
, "But even if you know it, it's useless, you will still be played without any discussion!"