Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, rain shrouded the surrounding areas, and everything between heaven and earth became dark.
All activities on both sides of the war were suspended due to the heavy rain.
Including the soldiers Huang Yao brought behind enemy lines, they also moved into the homes of fellow villagers. No one could withstand the pouring rain.
"It finally rained."
Zhao Han stood in the handsome tent, watching the rain falling on the ground, and murmured to himself: "Governor Li, I am waiting for rain, what are you waiting for?"
When fighting in Jiangxi, as long as both sides have sufficient military strength, the real decisive factor in victory or defeat is the water battle.
The decisive battle between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang was like this, and it was also like this when Wang Yangming put down Prince Ning's rebellion.
Whichever side's navy can win will be able to occupy the food route and the troop advance route. 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 it loses.
This is due to the special terrain of Jiangxi. There are mountains everywhere in the province, and the main cities are distributed in mountain basins and connected by rivers and lakes extending in all directions.
Although Zhao Han's naval force had more than ten warships less than the official army, the number of large ships was far less than that of the officers and soldiers. However, he had the advantage of terrain and occupied the intersection of the two rivers first, and was still in the upper reaches of the Gan River.
Originally, he wanted to lure the navy to pass the river mouth, and then encircle and strangle them according to the terrain, so that the opponent's advantage of having more ships could not be used.
Unexpectedly, Wang Siren was not fooled and refused to let the navy cross the river mouth. This led to a standoff between the two sides for more than a month.
Then we can only wait for rain and wait for the Ganjiang River to enter the flood period!
But the weather in the late Ming Dynasty became increasingly weird. Not only was there a serious spring drought this year, it didn't rain in early summer, and it didn't rain even after the summer grain harvest.
Finally, the first heavy rain of the year came, and it rained continuously for two days and two nights.
What Zhao Han was thinking about was not fighting, but whether officials at the county and town levels and the missionary groups had actively organized farmers' associations to fight floods and rescue operations.
…
The officers and soldiers had successfully crossed the river before it started to rain, and were waiting to launch an attack on the next day. That night, God gave them a warning.
Li Maofang looked at the cannons in front of her and asked, "Can we still fire?"
The gunner replied: "It can go off. The gunpowder is stored well and it is not affected by moisture."
"Okay, you will be rewarded." Li Maofang praised.
The army has artillery, nine in total.
Six of the artillery pieces were dismantled from Nanchang City and are antiques from the Zhu Yuanzhang period. They are very primitive copper mortars with thick caliber, short barrel, high power and short range.
The other three are Fo Lang cannons, a product of King Ning's rebellion. Two were built by craftsmen hired by King Ning. One was cast by Wang Yangming's old friend Lin Jun, Zhishi, at home and had his slaves transport it from Fujian.
These nine artillery pieces are hard to describe. The six mortar cannons are city defense guns. They are thick and heavy and have a short range. They can only wait for the rebels to attack on their own to achieve unexpected results. The three Fran cannons are light and have a long range.
, but the power is actually very small, and the number of sub-guns is also insufficient.
"The officers and soldiers are moving!"
"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 camp, and the passage left by each trench could only allow three infantrymen to pass parallelly.
Inside the camp, there are also two trenches.
If you can't hold on, you'll be stalling for time until Gujian Mountain leads the navy to dispatch.
"Look, headquarter!"
Zhao Han immediately climbed up to the high platform. Because the distance was too far, he could not clearly see what the enemy was carrying. It was not until more than ten steps away from the first trench that the officers and soldiers began to assemble the Fran cannon, and he finally understood what it was.
"The whole army retreats into the trenches, with Tengpai holding a shield to protect his head. Those who don't have a shield can find whatever they want." Zhao Han immediately ordered.
Three Fran cannons quickly entered the predetermined location.
But the six mortars moved extremely slowly. After the rain, the ground was muddy and pitted. They were dragged forward by mules and horses, and they sank into the mud before they went very far. In the end, they had to be lifted and tossed by manpower.
It took a long time to finally carry it over.
"fire!"
The nine cannons fired a salvo, with iron bullets, lead bullets, and stone bullets flying.
Two of them fell into Zhao Han's camp and hit the muddy ground. They bounced for a few times before stopping. The muddy ground absorbed the kinetic energy of the cannonballs.
Four of them fell outside the camp and had no effect at all.
But there were still three cannonballs, which accurately hit the village wall, blowing a big hole in the wooden wall.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Ruolian sent civilian men to fill the ditch outside the camp with earth, and continued to aim the artillery at the gate of the camp.
It took the officers and soldiers half a day to finally fill in the first trench.
The nine cannons also fired several rounds, with various misfires during the period. The gunpowder was finally a little damp.
Directly north of the camp, the walls of the camp were blown down in several places.
Especially those old antique mortars, once they hit the target, they can directly destroy it. This thing itself was used by Zhu Yuanzhang to attack the city.
"ah!"
Half a day later, a shell happened to fall into the trench in the camp, and the first unlucky man in Zhao Han's army appeared.
It was a stone bullet fired from a mortar, which directly smashed the wooden shield and smashed his head. The soldiers nearby were so frightened that they became weak.
Throughout the day, the officers and soldiers achieved the following results: they filled up two trenches outside the rebel camp and killed one rebel.
That night, Zhao Han did not lead his troops out for a night attack because the officers and soldiers must be on tight guard.
Continue the next day.
"boom!"
A mortar finally exploded. It was a thing left over from the early Ming Dynasty. It was considered to be of high quality after being used for more than two hundred years.
It is very possible that it was caused by improper operation by the gunner, who probably accidentally loaded too much gunpowder.
Li Maofang hurriedly scolded: "Don't overfill the medicine!"
"Dudu da da du da..."
Suddenly the sound of a suona sounded, not from Zhao Han's side, but from the Ming Navy navy who was using the suona to warn.
Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Jixiao" contains: "Anyone who holds the flute is playing the suona."
Wang Siren is on his ship at the moment. His mission is to guard against the rebel navy. At the same time, if the army is defeated, he will immediately sail to the river to respond.
Gu Jianshan led more than thirty large and small warships, following the turbulent water after the water rose. Due to the shortage of large warships, a head-on battle with the officers and soldiers would definitely result in defeat, but it was different now. There were several warships beside each warship.
A small fishing boat.
It was a small sampan that could only carry two or three people, but at this moment, only one person was sitting on it. The boat was filled with dry firewood soaked in grease.
"The whole army retreats!"
Wang Siren's eyes widened. He knew what the rebels were going to do. But he was at the lower reaches. Even if he used a fire ship to attack, it was the exclusive power of the rebels upstream.
When Wang Yangming defeated Ning Wang Navy, one of the key factors was that Wang Yangming occupied the upper reaches!
In this way, the government navy, which had an absolute advantage in warships and troops, was fiercely pursued by the rebel navy led by Gu Jianshan. Both sides followed the rapid water down the river and pursued them to Bailuozhou, where Huang Yao crossed the river, which is nearby
The narrowest point of the Ganjiang River.
The river here is divided into two parts by Jiangxinzhou.
After the water rose, the river in the west was more than 100 meters wide, and the river in the east was more than 200 meters wide. However, the area where large warships can pass is only 40 to 50 meters, and other areas are easily stranded.
Wang Siren was sitting on a warship nearby. After receiving the military order, he slowed down and concentrated on passing through the deep water area.
However, the official and military warships that were too far away only focused on driving quickly. The small warships passed by easily, but four large warships ran aground in a row, instantly blocking the friendly forces behind them.
"ignition!"
The rebel sailors on the small sampan first lit the torch, then pulled the rope and threw the torch into the pile of firewood.
When the torch touches the grease, it quickly burns into a blazing fire.
The sailors drew their knives and cut off the ropes tied to the sampans, and then climbed onto the ship along the ropes. More than two hundred burning sampans rushed towards the navy along the fast-flowing river.
This is also the reason why Zhao Han waits for the rain. Only after a heavy rainstorm can the water speed meet the requirements for a fire ship attack. Otherwise, the navy of the army can easily push away the slowly advancing fire ships with only long poles.
.
In the narrow part of the river, the large warships of the army were slowing down and gathering in the deep water to pass.
This difference in speed was enough for the fireships to catch up. Soon several official warships were set on fire, and the official sailors quickly jumped ship and fled. However, the water speed was too fast, even for a man with excellent water skills,
It is not easy to swim ashore, and you will probably drown in the river.
The army and navy were in complete chaos, and Wang Siren could not suppress them at all.
The warships that had sailed through the narrow river did not care about the safety of their teammates and fled towards Fengcheng County. The same was true for the small warships. They fled in a swarm and had long forgotten where the commander's ship was.
"kill!"
Gu Jianshan ordered his large warships to anchor and stopped, and personally led the small warships that were not afraid of running aground, following the fire ships to attack the enemy.
Of the more than two hundred fire boats, many hit the shore and capsized, most drifted through the shallow water, and only a few dozen ignited the six large ships of the officers and soldiers.
To be honest, as long as the officers and soldiers did not mess up, they only ignited six ships, and they still had an absolute advantage.
But where can there be no chaos?
Half of these officers and soldiers in the navy are Poyang Lake bandits who have been recruited!
Gu Jianshan carried the two-handed war 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 ran towards the side of the ship.
When Gujian Mountain was about to climb up and seize the ship, someone on the enemy ship suddenly shouted: "But Lao Gu?"
"Fan Er?" Gu Jianshan asked.
"I am Fan Er," the other party shouted, "You go and seize the ship elsewhere, I will kill the captain and surrender!"
As he said this, the guy raised his knife and shouted: "Brothers from Poyang Lake, follow me to kill the officers and soldiers!"
Suddenly, the water bandits who had been recruited turned around and killed the real officers and soldiers, and soon beheaded a navy commander.
Gu Jianshan quickly looked for the next target. The small battleship he was riding was very agile, and the 400-ton warship of the officers and soldiers completely became the prey.
"Lime!"
Just as Gujianshan was climbing up with his troops, the enemy's warship dropped lime from above.
Fortunately, Gujianshan had already taken precautions. All the sailors were covered with gauze, even their eyes were covered with gauze. Although the vision was not very good, the impact of the lime could be reduced as much as possible.
"Rockfall!"
Stones as big as heads were thrown down from the ship by officers and soldiers, instantly knocking down several rebels.
"Cut the rope!"
More than 30 ropes of the Flying Claw were cut off 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 were distracted by one thing and not the other.
With only the strength of his arms, Gu Jianshan climbed up quickly and stabbed a spear in the face. Gu Jianshan dodged in the air, grabbed the barrel of the gun, and directly pulled the officers and soldiers down.
The man quickly rolled over the side of the ship. Before he even stepped on the deck, he drew his sword and killed an officer and soldier in the air.
Due to the charge at Gujian Mountain, more and more rebel sailors climbed up, and officers and soldiers knelt down and surrendered one after another.
"Full sail!"
After seizing the ship, Gu Jianshan drove the big ship and rushed towards the navy in front.
Over there at the camp.
During the raid on Gujian Mountain, Zhao Han laughed. If God hadn't kept raining, this water war would have broken out long ago.
The opposite was true for the officers and soldiers. Seeing their navy 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 blown.
If he didn't want to defeat the officers and soldiers, Zhao Han would have gone out to fight long ago!
