The navy of the Song Army controlled the Yangtze River. Most of their warships were three-thousand-stone ships. Some were old warships and some were new ships built in the past two years. They were originally anchored in Runzhou to prevent Jin soldiers from crossing the river.
.
However, Song Army scouts found that there were no signs of Jin soldiers crossing the Yangtze River to the south. At Li Gang's repeated requests, Zhao Gou agreed to transfer the fleet to the Dongting Lake area to first control the Yangtze River waterway.
Yang Yao's warships are all about Qianshi. Although they are small in size, they are characterized by flexibility and speed. They can be like a fish in water in the Dongting Lake that they are familiar with.
But in the Yangtze River, facing the huge Song Army warships, and the Yangtze River waterway is not as wide as Dongting Lake, there is not much room for maneuvering, Yang Yao's navy does not have an advantage in the Yangtze River, and for this reason, Yang Yao's navy retreats
Arrive at Dongting Lake and wait for the Song army to enter the lake and fight.
At Balingshui near the mouth of the Yangtze River, there are fifty huge warships moored in a row. These are the fifty three-thousand-stone warships assigned to Chen Qing by Li Gang. Behind the warships there are more than a hundred small warships.
Warship.
In addition to the fifty warships, there were also five thousand elite naval forces. One of the five thousand stone warships was selected by Chen Qing as the handsome ship.
At this time, Xie Changzhi was directing dozens of craftsmen to install small trebuchets on the sides and bows of several warships. This crossbow-type trebuchet was very small and did not require throwing a rod. It was ejected like a crossbow and could lift ten kilograms.
The kerosene ball, which weighed about the size of a volleyball, was projected fifty steps away.
The kerosene ball is actually a spherical clay pot filled with gunpowder and sulfur, and the outside is coated with kerosene. It is thrown out while burning. Once it hits the ship, the pottery body will shatter and a large amount of gunpowder will pour out, causing a large area of rapid fire.
combustion.
There is also a kind of kerosene ball as big as a basketball, with a kerosene can inside. When broken, the kerosene will spill out. Chen Qing believes that this kind of kerosene ball with kerosene inside is more practical for dealing with warships than gunpowder.
In addition, soldiers also had a large number of gunpowder arrows to use against sails. In the age of firearms, various firearms and kerosene were used in large quantities in water warfare, playing a huge role.
This was also a contest of national strength. Only the Song Dynasty could produce such a large amount of gunpowder and kerosene. Although Yang Yao had a sharp warship, he could not produce a single firearm or a barrel of kerosene, or even a variety of resources.
Poverty is a sign of weakness.
In addition to trebuchets, Chen Qing also installed a thousand crossbows brought from the northwest on more than a dozen warships. Jackdaw arrows can also effectively destroy the wooden wheels of ships and can even easily shoot through the walls of ships, killing people.
The soldiers riding boats inside were also one of Xie Changzhi's ten ways to deal with cars and boats.
The five thousand navy originally had a commander, but Li Gang thought more carefully. In order to let Chen Qing better command the navy, he did not send a commander. Instead, he had three commanders to lead the five thousand navy and fifty warships.
, Chen Qing personally served as commander of the navy.
"When will the commander-in-chief prepare to send troops? The brothers are gearing up and can't wait any longer!" a commander named Li Feng asked with a smile.
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry. Starting tomorrow, everyone will have to practice on the Yangtze River a few more times. We can only go to war after we are at least seventy percent sure."
"It will take more than ten days before we can go to war!" Li Feng had a look of disappointment on his face.
Seeing that the three commanders were a little impatient, Chen Qing simply stopped and said solemnly to the three of them: "You have to understand that the water thieves we are facing are not a mob. They are indeed nothing on the shore, but in the water, they are a bandit."
Jiaolong, if we underestimate the enemy, we will be defeated!"
All three of them had a look of shame on their faces, and they bowed together and said, "I understand my humble position!"
Chen Qing smiled and comforted them again, "Don't worry! I will send people to watch their every move. When the time comes, we will send troops immediately!"
At this time, Xie Changzhi dragged his lame leg over and said with a smile: "Du Tong, I actually found a good thing."
"What good stuff?" Chen Qing asked with interest.
"Commander, please come with me!"
Chen Qing and several generals followed Xie Changzhi into the cabin. Xie Changzhi pointed to a long and thick wooden pole on the corner and said: "That's it!"
"Is this... a mast?" Chen Qing was stunned for a moment.
"At first I thought it was a mast, but then I looked closer and realized it was wrong. This is called a smashing stick, a water warfare weapon in the Sui and Tang Dynasties."
Chen Qing looked back at the three commanders, and Li Feng said in surprise: "This was moved from an old ship. We always thought it was a mast, but we felt it was a bit soft and could not be used for much purpose, so we left it here.
In my memory, it has been at least five or six years."
Xie Changzhi smiled and said: "This is much more expensive than the mast. It is the same thing as the throwing pole of the Thousand-Step Cannon, but it is much thicker. It costs thousands of dollars to make such a pole, and it takes more than ten years to soak in light."
It needs to be soaked in oil ten times, soaked for more than half a year each time, then dried in the sun, and soaked in oil again. It is really tough to the extreme. If you don't believe me, just cut it a few times to make sure there are no traces."
Chen Qing stepped forward and took a closer look for a moment. It was indeed the same as the super trebuchet throwing rod in Ganquan Fort. It should be extremely tough and had a round hole at the bottom, which should be used to install the shaft.
"How does it work?"
"It is installed on the side of the ship, with a hammer head on the front end. When the enemy ship approaches, pull it down suddenly. This hammer can directly smash a big hole in the thousand-stone ship."
"It's just a saber?"
"Yes! A weapon for close defense."
Chen Qing nodded, "Find a way to install it on the handsome ship, and use it as the handsome ship's portable sword!"
"Don't worry, Commander. This is not difficult. I will go to the warehouse to find a hammer and it can be installed at night."
...........
After installing weapons, the Song army immediately conducted tactical drills in the Yangtze River. They conducted seven drills in fifteen days. The cooperation between the armies became more and more proficient, and the time to start a war with Yang Yao gradually matured.
Early that morning, Chen Qing received an eagle letter from Changde Mansion. When he opened the letter, there was only one sentence on it, "The first dog returned to his nest last night!"
Chen Qing immediately ordered: "Send my order and the whole army sets off!"
............
Half an hour later, twenty warships and more than a hundred small boats sailed into Dongting Lake from the mouth of the Yangtze River.
Junshan was not far from Hukou. Yang Yao received the report. He was shocked. Why did Chen Qing choose to attack at this moment?
Is it a coincidence or premeditated?
Yang Yao had no way of knowing, but he had no choice, so he immediately led more than a hundred warships to fight.
Since the other party insists on dying, I will help him!
The warships of Yang Yao's army were not big. There were more than thirty chariots and ships, each with a thousand-stone warship, and then there were ships of about two hundred and five hundred stone. There were more than three thousand bandit troops in total.
Yang Yao admitted that he was no match for the Song army on land, but he had strong confidence in the water. This confidence came from his repeated victories. He had defeated the Song army three times, and the Song army suffered heavy casualties.
His vehicles and ships were fast and very agile, just like a pack of wild dogs on the grassland. After destroying the power of the Song army's ship, he sent water ghosts to sink the ship, so that the entire Song army fed the fish in Dongting Lake.
shrimp.
On the vast lake, Chen Qing stood on the handsome boat and saw the black dots in the distance. He turned back and smiled at Yang Zaixing: "Just like last time, let them learn your archery skills!"
Yang Zaixing nodded, "I'll deal with the water ghosts, unless they don't show their heads for air!"
Zhao Ping, the commander next to him, said quickly: "The water ghosts of the bandit army do not show their heads. They usually carry a half-foot-long bamboo tube. They will ventilate through this bamboo tube, so it is not easy to find them on the water."
Chen Qing smiled slightly, "Don't worry, our General Yang's eyes are sharper than an eagle, no one can escape."
"Capital, they are coming!" shouted the soldiers overhead.
Chen Qing opened his hand curtain and looked towards the lake. Under the sun, more than thirty thousand-stone warships were lined up in a row, rumbling towards this side at a very fast speed. Their tactics were exactly the opposite of those of the Song army. Their big ships were in
in front, and the small boat full of soldiers in the back.
After cars and boats destroy the power of big ships, the lake will be dominated by small boats.
There are two sources of power for a large ship, one is the sail, and the other is the stern rudder. On the one hand, the stern rudder is used to control the course, and on the other hand, it can also be used to propel the ship forward. It has the same function as the oar.
Cars and ships use their flexibility to destroy these two places.
The Song army met thirty canopy boats. This kind of canopy was not the canopy of ordinary civilian ships. It was a military canopy. Its function was a shield. When the situation was critical, Song soldiers could enter the canopy to avoid the enemy's arrows.
arrow.
The thirty tented boats were very fast and quickly approached the enemy vehicles and boats. The fishing nets were hidden in the boat canopies. The rebels did not notice anything unusual. The rebels on the boats began to unfurl their bows and nock arrows at the small boats. More than a dozen vehicles and boats
They even aimed at small boats and rammed them head-on.