Cossack river boats look a bit like Viking ships, but their structures are simpler than Viking ships.
First use wicker or other rattan to form a whole bottom, and then use wooden planks as the lining. There is a rudder on the left and right sides of the stern, and more than a dozen oars on each side. Then rough-processed logs are used as masts and equipped with
Square sail or double sail.
There were no decks or anything like that, and they needed to be bundled with reed poles and laid out on a plank-lined surface for the crew to walk on.
Although this kind of boat is simple and crude, it can row very fast.
The Cossacks drove such ships and could even cross the Black Sea or advance along the coast to plunder the Ottoman and its affiliated ports. They often raided at night, taking advantage of the Ottoman navy's inattention, burning the ships in the port and escaping. When encountering the Ottoman navy
, immediately rowed a boat and fled into the inland river, while the large Ottoman warships could only watch dumbly.
Khabarov's fleet has nearly thirty ships, and if they are all full, they can carry more than a thousand people.
There were only more than two hundred Cossacks, and they brought so many ships out mainly to load trophies. At this moment, the ships were carrying a lot of food, goods and women.
Three of them are larger, each equipped with a cannon.
More than a dozen Cossack cavalry were the first to escape back to the ship with their horses. Immediately afterwards, Khabarov and his musketeers also boarded the ship in a panic.
By the time the Cossacks armed with cold weapons boarded the ship, Khabarov had already given the order to shoot.
More than twenty Cossack musketeers and more than a dozen Cossack cavalry squatted on the boat and shot at the charging Datong cavalry.
Although these guys like sneak attacks and escape, they are definitely wolves and dare to fight when faced with tough battles. Decades ago, more than 400 Cossacks held back more than 10,000 Ottoman troops for two days.
“Bang bang bang bang!”
As the Cossacks' guns rang out, six Datong cavalry fell from their horses one after another.
But the damage they can cause is limited to this.
The Datong cavalry had already rushed to the shore, killing the native hunters who had no time to board the ship. There were also some Datong cavalry who threw arrows at the Cossack ships.
"Boom boom boom!"
Three Cossack cannons fired their second round of shells at this time.
At the same time that several Datong cavalry were hit, three Cossack ships were driven back by the power of the artillery. More than a dozen Cossacks who were boarding the ship,
Suddenly it fell into the water together with the board.
"Blow the trumpet, retreat!"
Seeing that everyone who could board the ship had boarded the ship, Khabarov ordered the evacuation.
Some Cossack bandits immediately put down their weapons and sat on the sides of the boat to paddle. The only musketeers slowly opened their arms and reloaded their ammunition, preparing to continue shooting at the Datong cavalry.
The Cossack boats rowed very fast, and the Datong cavalry could only pursue them along the river bank.
Khabarov was so angry that his heart was bleeding. He had a total of 28 ships, each of which was loaded with loot. At this moment, 11 ships could not be taken away and were docked quietly at the Heilongjiang River. The Cossack musketeers lost 1 person; the Cossack warriors lost 1 person.
15 people; more than half of the native hunters were lost, and only a few twenty people escaped back to the ship.
The real encirclement and annihilation battle has just begun!
Hundreds of local indigenous people carrying canoes have rushed into the river from the forest upstream.
"Rush over!"
Khabarov ordered.
Although the Cossack boat can run fast, its hull is very fragile. Even a canoe cannot easily hit it when paddling at high speed.
This section of the river is relatively narrow and the water flow is not fast.
The sediment brought down by the Heilongjiang River has washed away large and small islands. Some large islands even stretch for four or five miles, dividing the Heilongjiang river into two or three fine channels.
The water network situation is extremely complex!
The Cossacks rowed with all their strength, and the musketeers and archers shot at the natives in the canoes.
Because they had the backing of the Datong Army, the natives became brave. They paddled canoes and rushed towards the Cossack fleet. There were two people in each canoe, one was responsible for rowing and the other was responsible for archery.
"Bang!"
There were crashing sounds from time to time, but the Cossack ship did not fall apart. After all, its hull was strong enough to mount small artillery fire.
The canoes of the local indigenous people were knocked over one after another.
Just when Khabarov thought he had escaped, dozens of ships suddenly appeared from behind the island in the northwest. These ships were grain transport ships that Wang Fuchen collected from tribes along the way during his march. They were only slightly smaller than Cossack ships.
Some.
Rafts filled with dry firewood were tied to the left and right sides of each boat, and each raft was controlled by a native.
The dry firewood on the raft burned more and more fiercely. After approaching the Cossack ship, the natives cut off the ropes, climbed onto the ship themselves, and allowed the burning raft to hit the enemy.
Of course, even if this section of the river is relatively narrow, it is difficult for such a sparse fire ship attack to be effective. There will still be huge air attacks for the Cossack ships to avoid.
The Cossacks shot at the natives, crashed into the canoes, and dodged the burning bamboo rafts.
It turned out to be in good order and no further losses were suffered.
However, their rowing speed also slowed down. However, the Datong military grain transport ship, which was more numerous, went down the river and rowed quickly towards the Cossack ship.
"boom!"
In the first collision, the bow of the smaller grain transport ship was shattered. However, the larger Cossack ship was hit and half of it fell apart.
It is sinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Although the hull made of wicker is also tough, it really cannot withstand collisions.
The grain transport ships of the Datong Army had already unloaded their supplies and were all empty and sailing along the current. However, the Cossack ships, all loaded with loot, were still heading upstream, and were interfered by fire ships and canoes.
One after another, the Cossack boats were knocked to pieces by grain ships and sank.
And the natives paddling canoes, and even the natives whose canoes were knocked over, finally began to show off their talents. They are all what the Tatars call "animal hunters". In the spring, the river has not completely thawed, so they have to jump into the cold river water.
Among them, he risked his life to get Dongzhu for the Tatars.
If nothing else, water-based is absolutely awesome.
One after another, the natives dived and charged with short spears, and stabbed the Cossacks who fell into the water.
The resistance in the water was great, and the Cossacks were wearing leather armor. In order to facilitate the attack, the natives subconsciously stabbed the Cossacks in the crotch, which was a fatal part and difficult to be protected by the leather armor.
Countless Cossacks who fell into the water quickly became "lonely warriors".
Khabarov was so anxious that he became the helmsman himself, and the dangerous mountain wall was threatened by various attacks. With a "boom", his ship was also hit, but it only moved sideways and retreated, and did not appear to fall apart. On the contrary, it was moving
The grain ship was smashed.
Khabarov's ship has been reinforced layer by layer. While it is very tough, the hull is also very strong.
"Hiss Jin Jin!"
The four war horses on the ship were suddenly frightened and neighed due to the violent rocking of the ship. The Cossack cavalry quickly comforted them, held down the horses, and knelt down to maintain balance.
"boom!"
Another impact.
Two of the horses couldn't stand it any longer, and they threw off their masters and staggered into a run. They knocked over several Cossack bandits, jumped into the river, and swam to the shore.
Khabarov was almost hit by a horse. When he stabilized his body, he found that his boat was already lying across the river, with several Cossacks paddling,
He was knocked over and fell into the river.
There were dozens of grain-carrying ships of the Datong Army, but there were only a few Cossack ships, and nearly one-third of them were left on the riverside.
The ratio of ships on both sides was almost four to one.
Many Datong military grain transport ships, after ramming the Cossack ships, continued to row towards other Cossack ships, although they themselves were on the verge of sinking.
Khabarov's "ship" alone was hit repeatedly three times in a short period of time.
It was impossible to maintain any control. The hull was knocked and kept spinning. No matter how Khabarov steered it, it was of no avail. The Cossack musketeers, let alone reloading and shooting, could not even sit still, so they could only lie down to maintain balance.
Seeing that there were fewer enemy ships in the east, Khabarov quickly grabbed the rudder and gave the order with full right rudder: "Paddle with all your strength and break out!"
The Cossacks had just started paddling, but the two remaining horses finally couldn't hold on anymore and knocked over several Cossacks and jumped into the river.
"Bang!"
The fourth impact was achieved when the ship that struck the third time came close and hit it again. The speed was not fast and the impact was not strong, but it successfully prevented Khabarov from turning to break through.
Another grain transport ship collided with it. Khabarov's ship was obviously the target of fire because it was the largest and had been unable to be rammed and sunk.
By this time, Khabarov was unable to sail normally at all.
His "ship" was close to two grain transport ships, pressing the hulls and being forced to move closer to the river. After a little rowing to get some distance, he was pressed against them again. Both sides were knocked to and fro, and the weapons in their hands were completely useless.
Not on.
Khabarov fell into despair, and the river surface continued to surge red, full of blood stabbed by the natives.
These natives had no fighting ability on the shore, but when they got to the water, they were like divine help, and the Cossacks who fell into the water were only left to be beaten.
Khabarov's "ship" was already on the verge of falling apart, but it was still able to hold on and not sink. In the end, it was forced to dock on the riverside.
There, the Datong cavalry had been waiting for a long time.
Facing countless bows, arrows and muskets, Khabarov raised his hands in surrender.
There were more than 200 Cossack bandits in this group, and only 37 were captured alive. They were either killed by Datong cavalry when they boarded the ship, or were stabbed to death by diving natives after falling into the water.
Khabarov was brought to Wang Fuchen. His knees softened and he knelt down. He knew that his judgment was completely wrong.
Wang Fuchen took a group of civilians and stayed in the village disguised as businessmen. He was afraid of being attacked by the natives. At this time, he was already on the boat with cotton armor, w.; and it was a specially made multi-layer cotton armor. There were patches sandwiched in the middle of the cotton armor, and there was a layer of cotton armor on the surface.
The layered patch not only has good defensive properties, but also looks very intimidating.
The helmet is also an improved model, not the bamboo helmet with patches embedded in it.
This kind of helmet has been around since the Song Dynasty. When not fighting, it can be retracted upward, just like a worker's safety helmet. When fighting, it can be pulled down, and the wearer's neck is completely protected by the armor.
The equipment of the Datong Army is constantly improving!
Wang Fuchen wore a pair of leather boots on his feet. The heels of the leather boots were equipped with spurs, and the toes of the boots were also inlaid with iron plates. In addition to the carbine and saber, Wang Fuchen also had a telescope hanging from his waist.
How can any tribe have this top-notch equipment?
This person must be a great lord of a certain country!
The ferocious Cossack leader Khabarov had a natural admiration and fear for the nobles in his heart. He knelt on the ground and trembled, and said in a trembling voice: "My noble and great lord, Khabarov is willing to serve you!"
This is a sincere allegiance and definitely not a casual comment.
With such gorgeous body equipment, he must be rich and powerful. Khabarov is willing to follow such a lord and fight for him with his life.
If he could be given a fief, he would even sacrifice his life. Of course, the premise is that he has a wife and son, otherwise the title and fief cannot be passed down.
Wang Fuchen didn't know what he was thinking, so he asked: "I heard from your men that you are the leader of the Rakshasa ghosts?"