Zuo Jingui was a general from Huainan and belonged to the Xiang Army system. He had been assigned to the Gang Army for several years and was responsible for transporting Hua Shi Gang.
When the imperial court wanted to go to war, an order came immediately and they were allowed to ride on a warship renovated from a cauldron.
Can that thing be used in war?
Zuo Jingui knew how fragile it was, and the wood used for the boat's hull was only a little better than his cabinets.
As for watertight cabins, Zuo Jingui doesn't have any idea about it. You can't ask for too much from inland river flat-bottomed boats.
A boat next door started rowing, and Zuo Jingui shouted: "Are you going out again?"
The captain of the ship said: "Those of us from the Lianghuai River are born to work hard. We have to patrol while others are sleeping."
Zuo Jingui said with a smile: "The navy of thieves has long been frightened to death. Just go out and take a look."
"Let's go, let's go!" the general waved his hand.
At present, the resources of this navy are as complex as a big platter.
The group with the highest status are naturally the Tiger Wing Marines from Tokyo. Decades ago, their grandfathers were also from Jianghuai, but now they have become natives of Tokyo. Although they were bullied in various ways in Tokyo, they can be bullied after leaving Beijing.
people.
Next are the people from Zhejiang and Jiangdong. Some of their generals have Zhu Meng's lackeys as their backers and are the partisans of Zhu Meng's partisans.
Then there are the people from Nanyang and Xiangyang. They have local advantages and are supported by local civil servants.
The worst offenders are the Lianghuai people. Their fathers do not love their mothers and they are at the bottom of the contempt chain. They are asked to do all the hard work, and they are the first ones to fight in water fights.
"Ah...ouch!"
There were cries and cries from the warship in the distance, Zuo Jingui looked around curiously, and soon news came from the ship next to the ship.
The Tiger Wing navy violated military orders and drank. When He Guan inspected the warship, he discovered that more than 30 people in total were fined with military sticks. However, He Guan did not dare to punish the commander who took the lead in drinking because he was a count.
Countless sailors gloated over this military stick attack. They had long been dissatisfied with the military master from the capital.
They are all stinky soldiers, why are they so arrogant?
Not long after the punishment of the military sticks over there, a herald arrived and said to Zuo Jingui: "Du Yuhou has an order, and you must be vigilant at all times at night."
"Yes!" Zuo Jingui quickly straightened his back.
When the herald left, Zuo Jingui immediately ignored it and gave the soldiers a few words before going to sleep.
The thieves had already been scared out of their wits by just a few small boats. How could they dare to make a sneak attack?
What's more, there are warships patrolling back and forth outside the artillery range every night. Even if bandits are coming to kill, the patrol ships will give warning in advance.
Night falls and everything is silent.
Two hundred meters away from Zuo Jingui's warship, another warship was drinking.
Tao Desheng, a local general in Xiangyang, held a lamp in the cabin and laughed and scolded: "You are not allowed to drink on top. We come here to inspect every day. You are not afraid of getting beaten?"
Sun Jing said: "He checks his, and I drink mine. He is not allowed to drink, and I don't want to fight yet. Even if Zhu Xianggong became a rebel leader, he still abided by the rules in his business, and used real money every time he bought grain.
We brothers, finally have enough money to fish for. We eat meat in turbans and we all drink soup. How happy will that be? If we insist on rushing to fight, I haven't fished enough yet."
Tao Desheng poured a bowl for himself and ate it with wine: "War is nothing, it's just the partiality of the soldiers. Those people from the capital don't do anything but have the best food. They treat us Xiangyang people like little sons of bitches."
Yes. In my opinion, it is best for the bandits to attack at night and kill all the old soldiers in the capital. By then, we will know how to rely on our local people."
Sun Jing smiled and said: "If the bandits really come, they will kill us first."
"Don't you know how to sail and run away?" Tao Desheng said, "If we run away, the two Huai soldiers will definitely run away as well, and then the Tokyo soldiers and the Jiangnan soldiers will be killed."
"That's right," Sun Jing said, "It's important to save your life. This warship is good and very big. Maybe it can be returned to us after the war."
Tao Desheng added: "Actually, He Guan is a pretty good man, and it's obvious that he has some abilities. But Gao Guanying is annoying. He is a leader of the navy with tiger wings. Why should he care about our Xiangyang navy? He also withholds our food and wages, and his guts are turned out.
They’re all black!”
Sun Jing said: "The five princes of other people's ancestors are also earls themselves. If you are not convinced, let your ancestors live and be crowned kings."
"What's wrong with the count? One shot pierced two holes, and it's the same on the battlefield." Tao Desheng sneered.
The two of them got drunk and went back to their cabins to rest.
About five o'clock in the morning.
Qu Fangping led the rebel navy and sailed down the river under the moonlight.
He knew that the officers and soldiers of the navy had boats patrolling every night. But since he was upstream, he could use his speed to rush over quickly and rush to the nearby place to set fire before the enemy could react.
After more than half a month of testing, both Zhang Guangdao and Qu Fangping figured out the details of the enemy.
The opponent's naval commander is very good at fighting.
However, the officers and soldiers under his command were slow to receive military orders. Moreover, there was no cooperation between the various departments, and they even interfered with each other and delayed their progress.
A large number of bamboo rafts and small boats were loaded with oiled firewood, and sailors rowed downstream with long poles.
Behind these bamboo rafts and small boats are the rebel warships.
"Dang-dang-dang!"
The sound of the gong broke the silence of the night, and the patrol ship had discovered the rebel navy.
"Drumming!"
Qu Fangping shouted, since they have been discovered, let's beat the drum to cheer up the soldiers.
At the same time, the rebel warships lit braziers one after another for soldiers to quickly light rockets. The small catapults on the ship were also ready to throw incendiary bombs at enemy ships.
Several patrol boats of officers and soldiers were so frightened that they quickly turned around and fled.
After escaping back to his own waters, his speed did not slow down, but ran faster and faster, clearly wanting to stay away from the battlefield.
The closest warships of the officers and soldiers were more than a mile away. The rebels on the bamboo rafts and small boats began to light the firewood around them. The oil-soaked firewood burned quickly, and when they got close to the target, they would almost reach their peak.
The sound of the trumpet spread throughout the naval base, and countless sailors woke up from their sleep and rushed to their respective posts in a panic.
Zuo Jingui came to the deck and saw countless fire boats on the river. He was so frightened that he shouted in horror: "Hurry up and go downstream!"
"Dong dong dong dong!"
The war drums of the officers and soldiers were beating. He Guan was afraid that the soldiers would not obey the military orders, so he specially sent a boat to shout along the way: "Meet the enemy, meet the enemy, no retreat!"
It is right to engage in a head-on attack. As long as the warships of the officers and soldiers do not stop stupidly on the shore, no matter how many fireships the rebels have, it will be difficult to ignite the moving warships.
By that time, the navy had large ships, many ships, and many soldiers, so there was basically no possibility of defeat.
but!
The Tiger Wing Marines from the capital took the lead in running away, not obeying military orders at all.
They have been doing business for half their lives. The generals used warships to transport goods privately, and the soldiers became caravan companions, and they performed for the emperor every Dragon Boat Festival.
They were now sitting on the largest warship, and they could still charge with their might during the day. But when they saw so many fireships coming at night, they were so frightened that they just wanted to flee the battlefield.
The Lianghuai Navy, which was the most bullied, was extremely dissatisfied. When they saw the old soldiers in the capital running away, they ran away without obeying military orders.
Under the moonlight, Tao Desheng shouted: "Why are you still standing there? The Forbidden Navy and the Huaihe Navy have all run away. You are waiting to rush forward and die!"
At the same time as Tao Desheng gave the order, the Jiangnan navy also began to flee.
A large number of warships fled downstream in a swarm without any formation or organization. In order to compete for the waterway, warships constantly collided with each other, or more than a dozen ships were crowded into a pile, dragging each other. Slowed down the escape speed.
As the firewood burned more and more, the rebels on the bamboo rafts and small boats jumped into the river and swam to the shore one after another. The fire boats drifted along the current and crashed into the enemy ships.
The bright moonlight allowed Qu Fangping to vaguely observe the enemy's situation.
His first reaction was that he couldn't believe that the navy, which was several times his own strength, was so defeated that it collapsed into chaos before even engaging in battle.
"Dong dong dong dong!"
Qu Fangping was so excited that he went to beat the drum himself.
"Go beat the drum!" He Guan said to his son.
He Ji immediately ran to the war drum, waved the drum stick and beat the sound.
Historically, He Ji also died miserably. He was shot through the arm by a Jin soldier's bow and arrow. He pulled out the arrow and continued fighting. He was seriously injured and died outside the moat of Tokyo.
He Guan tore off his shirt, raised his knife with his bare chest, and shouted: "My sons, follow me to kill the thieves, and charge forward in the boat!"
"boom!"
The hull of the ship shook violently, but it was an officer's warship. When escaping, the helmsman was too panicked and directly hit his own captain's ship.
He Guan was hit so hard that he almost fell over. After he regained his balance, He Guan was furious: "Steady direction and charge forward!"
It can't move. There are warships running around all around, blocking the river.
The officers and soldiers who were escaping at the rear were all blocked by their own people and could not run fast. They were obviously taller and larger than most of the rebel warships, but they simply gave up resistance. The rebels threw out hooks and climbed onto the ship to join the gang, and the officers and soldiers were thrown into the water. The troops laid down their weapons and surrendered.
"Sir, let's go quickly, go downstream to collect the broken troops and fight again!" He Ji stopped playing the drum and came to his father to persuade him.
He Guan abandoned the sword with tears in his eyes and said to his son: "You take command."
When He Guan was young, he was a brave champion of the three armies. The arrows he shot with his strong bow once penetrated the armor of the Xixia cavalry, penetrated through the chest, and then came out from the back.
Because it was so outrageous, it scared off the Xixia pursuers, and He Guan was summoned by the emperor.
He sat on the imperial couch of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, used a wat tablet to draw a map of the northwest border, and pointed at the patterns on his dragon robe to analyze the situation between the enemy and ourselves.
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty thought this man was so awesome that he immediately promoted him to the post of Hedong Tiexing.
He Guan looked at the chaotic and escaping warships. He Guan had all his abilities, but he couldn't use them at all. He had ways to defend himself against the enemy, but his officers and men did not obey orders.
He had already said that this navy would have to train for at least a month, but Tong Guan and Xin Xingzong did not listen to the advice at all, thinking that they would definitely win with more troops and ships.
"kill!"
Two miles in front of Xin Xingzong's military camp, countless torches suddenly lit up in the mountains, and the shouts of killing were so loud that they even reached the riverside.
The rebel navy took action here, and Zhang Guangdao also personally led the infantry to cooperate with the attack on the camp.
He Guan's mouth was dry and his tongue was dry. Based on his understanding of Xin Xingzong, he was afraid that the officers and soldiers would suffer a big loss this time.
(Thanks to Silver Moon in the Void, the leader of Vertebrate Comparative Anatomy for the reward, O(∩_∩)O~)
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