Just when the pirates didn't know what was going on, a series of roars continued to sound, and the cannonballs exploded in the water one after another. The blast of water columns shocked Mo Guanfu.
Based on his knowledge, in these days, whether it was the Xishan Army, Yi Chuan or the Shuiying camp with Qing Dynasty, the artillery shells used were solid iron bullets or chain bullets. When they hit the water, they were like a fleeting spray, and they could
He had never even heard of exploding shells.
Mo Guan walked to the port side of the bow, raised his telescope and took a look. He saw that the barbarian ship a few miles away was moving diagonally from northwest to southeast, and puffs of white smoke were faintly visible on the starboard side of the ship.
.What followed closely was the roaring sound of cannons and the continuous explosion of water jets in his own fleet.
"Take your mother! When did the Zheng family hook up with Yang Yi?" Mo Guan yelled in anger.
As soon as he finished speaking, the pirates on each ship only heard a loud "boom". Under the eyes of everyone searching around, they saw a ball of fire suddenly rising from the bow of the cannon's belly and flying in all directions.
The sawdust turned into a deadly weapon, and there were seven or eight more corpses on the front deck.
"What kind of cannon is this? It can actually shoot so far!" All the pirates were stunned at each other. The foreign ship was clearly more than four miles away from their own side.
Guo Xuexian had no intention of making fun of these pirates. They were just dozens of stern ships, not Manchu sailing battleships. Although Beihai No. 2 was currently downwind, there was still half a tank of oil on board, which was enough for the time being.
So he decided to take the zigzag line, penetrate diagonally, and use several rounds of artillery fire to completely overwhelm his opponent and quickly resolve the battle. As for whether he wanted to fight to Mo Guanfu's lair, we'll talk about the rest later.
When the Beihai No. 2 was less than two kilometers away from the pirates, the gun positions on the starboard side fired in turn. The 75mm gun of the Beihai Navy fired extremely fast. Even the D30 could not compare with it in this time and space. Fifteen guns fired in the blink of an eye.
Just three rounds.
At this time, the ocean surface where the pirate fleet was located seemed to be boiling. Several ships, large and small, were hit by bombs. The most serious explosion directly blew a large gap under the bow of a black boat, and seawater poured in instantly.
The watertight compartment under the bow of the ship.
"Send a signal, this battle is unwinnable, retreat quickly!" Mo Guanfu had already seen that the opponent's cannons were firing fast and densely, and they were all "explosives". If the more than 30 ships of our own party continued to pursue
If we go down, I'm afraid I'll have to explain everything.
The minions on the boat were frightened and were already prepared, just waiting for him to speak. When the foresail and mizzen sail of the black boat were halfway down, the helmsman and mate who heard the order immediately went out to nurse.
With all his strength, he turned the tiller. The 800-stone wooden boat began to slowly turn around on the sea.
However, the biggest shortcoming of the Chinese-style hard sailboat is that it is not very fast. Although the thin hull makes it easy to turn around, the square bow greatly affects the speed. Although the separate watertight compartment has good anti-sinkability, it does not have dense ribs and thickened
Hull plating is far less resistant to damage than sailing ships.
Mo Guanfu wanted to run away now, but it was actually too late.
As the Beihai No. 2 moved toward the southeast, it passed by the tail of Zheng Wenxian's Guangzhou fleet. Zheng Lianchang, who was standing on the deck with an anxious face, held up the telescope given by Guo Xuexian in his hand, and went back and forth on Wutiao.
Searching for his son on board the boat.
Zheng Wenxian and Lin Daosheng, who had survived the disaster, had seen through the telescope the flying flag of the Northern Navy and the whale statue on the bow of the sailing ship. The big stone in their hearts finally fell to the ground. It was so suspenseful! In half a day at most, they would be sure
Will be caught up by Mo Guanfu.
"Ah Yi! Ah Yi!" Zheng Lianchang suddenly saw his son and Lin Daosheng waving their arms on the side of the ship from his field of vision, so he also waved his arms and shouted. However, at this time, the sound of cannons was booming, and even if he shouted at the top of his lungs, the other side could not hear it.
not see.
Guo Xuexian also saw Zheng Wenxian through the telescope, and then smiled and stepped forward to Zheng Lianchang and said loudly: "Uncle, you should feel relieved now, right?"
Zheng Lianchang put down the telescope and said loudly with a smile on his face: "Thank you, my mother-in-law!"
"Uncle, hold on tight, the boat is about to turn around!"
After Guo Po took instructions to Zheng Lianchang, she immediately issued an order, the motor slowed down, the white sails of the main mast and mizzen mast were quickly furled upwards under the drive of the winch, the huge hull suddenly stopped, the helmsman slammed the steering wheel, and the stern motor pushed slowly
The ship began to turn.
At this time, half of the ships in the pirate fleet had just completed the turn, and Mo Guanfu heard his men shout: "Boss, look!"
Hearing the sound, he looked to the north and saw the "barbarian ship" turning so fast that Mo Guanfu felt bad. He shouted to raise the sails and speed up, only regretting that he didn't have two wings on the ship.
It's too late.
When Beihai No. 2 got closer and closer to the pirates, the fleeing pirates finally saw the four Chinese characters written on the bow of "Yi Chuan".
"Boss, look quickly, there are words on it!"
Hearing the shouts of his men, Cannon used his hands to build a tent, squinted for a moment, and then cursed: "Push to the street! I only know the word 'two'!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the pirates saw that the gun doors on the port side of the opponent's side were opened one after another, and more than a dozen black gun barrels were exposed. At this time, the faces of the pirates on each ship changed drastically, and they no longer cared about the distance.
, shouting in panic and firing.
However, the range of the front-loaded iron cannons of several hundred kilograms installed on the stern and sides of the ship is really impressive. Even if the muzzle is raised, it can only shoot for more than a mile at most. If an iron ball as big as an egg falls into the sea, it will disappear in the blink of an eye.
Traces.
When the Beihai-2 was still one kilometer away from the pirate fleet, Guo Xuexian immediately ordered to open fire.
In an instant, the sea water boiled and gunpowder smoke filled the air. Beihai No. 2 was like a sea monster that kept spitting out tongues of fire, throwing fireballs into the Xishan pirate fleet. There were explosions and screams. The pirates suffered heavy casualties and abandoned the ship.
Boat divers are like dumplings cooked out of the pot.
Mo Guan Fu, who was escaping to the south, lay on the side of the boat, looking at the horrific scene behind him. He was so frightened that he couldn't figure out why the terrifying "barbarian boat" helped the Zheng family.
For more than half a year, back before liberation, more than 30 ships and 2,000 people were all gone!
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In this battle, the Beihai No. 2 sank a total of 27 large and small crow boats, killed and wounded thousands of pirates, and captured more than 300 people.
The pirate leader was shot dead with a cannon, and Liang Wengeng was seriously injured and fell into the water, his whereabouts unknown; Mo Guanfu escaped hastily because he was the fastest to escape, and there was a boat behind him to support him. The boat he was on was only slightly injured and he escaped in a hurry.
The luckiest ones were the two brothers, Wushi Da and Wushi Er. They had previously blocked the two boats of the Red Flag Gang and ended up lagging behind. So when they saw Mo Guanfu’s buttocks leaking urine from a distance, they were
, immediately turned around and ran away.
The Xishan pirates were greatly weakened after this battle. After the group returned to Jiangping seaport in Annan, Chen Tianbao was so angry that he almost started a fight with Mo Guanfu after learning the inside story. Ruan Hui was also furious after learning about it and sent people to kill him.
Chen Tianbao was severely reprimanded.
As for Guo Xuexian, if Beihai No. 2 had not run out of diesel, he would have dared to pursue it all the way to Annan. Afterwards, Beihai No. 2 escorted the Kujo Guangzhou ship back north, preparing to send it to the Macau Shipyard for repairs.
After this disaster, the Zheng family was in a life-and-death situation with the Xishan pirates. Zheng Lianchang finally realized that he had no choice but to leave.
...
In Yangzhou in April, the spring scenery is bright, the peach trees are red and the willows are green, and the Slender West Lake outside the city is also a time when willow catkins are like smoke and flowers are blooming. Whether you are a scholar or a salt merchant, you will come to a painted boat at this time to go boating on the lake.
Those who pay attention to elegance usually just post to invite friends, recite poems and articles, and go on a leisurely trip. Those who are more secular will make an appointment with a few friends and go to Xiao Qinhuai to book a boat ride to enjoy the scenery and watch the wind and moon. As the saying goes, "
In shame, I invited my friends to visit a brothel and went on a boat on the lake together."
However, in the hustle and bustle of this spring day, an anonymous report letter was suddenly received at the Yangzhou Mansion Yamen on the east side of Tongsi Bridge, which shocked Ma Huiyu, the prefect who had just been transferred here. Once the things in the report letter were confirmed,
Not only would countless people be killed in Yangzhou City, but the entire Jiangnan literary world would also change. He himself might also be implicated, affecting his career.
Magistrate Ma was from the Zhenghuang Banner of the Han Army. He was a Jinshi in the 36th year of Qianlong's reign. He stayed in the capital for more than ten years and was finally released the year before last. He first served as the magistrate of Zhenjiang for two years, and this year he was entrusted with money and money, and then he was changed to
Become the prefect of Yangzhou.
As an aside, in the history of another time and space, Liu Zhixie, the leader of the Sanyang Sect, was captured by Ma Huiyu, the then Chief Envoy of Henan, in the fifth year of Jiaqing.
The report letter was found on the ground in the backyard of the government office. Because there was nothing written on the envelope, the housekeeper asked around first, but no one knew where the letter came from. However, when he curiously opened the thick envelope, he saw
I was shocked when I saw the contents inside, and hurriedly reported it to Ma Huiyu.
Magistrate Ma was shocked when he saw the contents of the letter. Although he had just arrived in Yangzhou not long ago, everyone mentioned in the letter was a famous scholar. Among them, the scholar named Jiao Xun, his wife was a member of the Xinke Hanlin
Ruan Yuan's cousin.
In this letter of report, the complainant claimed that Jiangdu scholars Jiao Xun, Jiang Fan, Huang Chengji, Zhong Huai and others colluded with the imperial court to rebel against the Beihai pirates and intended to commit rebellion.
"What should we do?" Ma Huiyu did not immediately send a report to the governor's office, nor did he find the general judge in charge of the lawsuit, because the location of the crime involved his family's back house, so he first consulted with his staff.
The staff member's name was Fang Jingzhai, who was over fifty and was a successful candidate in Suzhou. He and Ma Huiyu had known each other in the capital and had been friends for more than ten years. After Ma Huiyu was released, he invited him to come to Xiangmu.
, the work is very reliable.
Fang Jingzhai was shocked after reading the report letter carefully, and then suggested to Ma Huiyu not to alert outsiders first, but to quietly find the person who submitted the letter and check his thoughts to determine the authenticity. If it is false, then severely punish the person who submitted the letter.
It's a crime; if it's true, it won't be too late to report it to the governor.
So Magistrate Ma set a two-day deadline and ordered Fang Jingzhai to be responsible for finding the anonymous whistleblower.
This kind of thing is actually not difficult to check. Just ask for the entry and exit records of the back door of the government office, and then call people to interrogate them one by one. In the evening, a porter responsible for delivering food every day showed his flaws during the interrogation, and finally admitted that it was him
He secretly threw the letter into the backyard while the servants in the kitchen were not prepared.
"What a good dog!" Fang Jingzhai sneered: "Which bastard asked you to bring the letter into the government office? Get it right now! If you dare to grab it randomly, I'll let you try the power of a stick!"
"Master, please forgive me! I will attack all the villains! I will attack all the villains! Master Jiao asked the villain to do it!"
Fang Jingzhai said: "Who is Mr. Jiao? Tell me your name!"
"It seems that his name is Jiao Yingyuan. We call him Mr. Jiao on weekdays. He is a prison student and lives outside Guangchu Gate."
At this time, the clerk in charge of recording couldn't help but was stunned. Fang Jingzhai ignored it after seeing it and continued to ask: "How much benefit did he give you to do such a bastard thing?"
The porter said quietly: "Five, fifty money."
Then Fang Jingzhai asked where Jiao Yingyuan's family lived, how the money was given, how it was explained, what time, etc., before ordering someone to take the porter into custody.
It was getting late at this time, and Ma Huiyu had gone back to the back house to rest. If anything happened, he could only report it tomorrow. The clerk in charge of recording showed the confession to Fang Jingzhai, and was about to leave when he heard the other party ask: "Your Excellency, just now
There is something wrong, maybe you know that Jiao Yingyuan?"
The clerk held up his hands and said: "Mr. Fang, the matter in Jiao Jiansheng's family has been raging from the year before last to the year before last. Many people in Jiangdu know about it. You and Mr. Fu Zun have just arrived, so naturally they don't know about it."
"Oh? Just tell me."
In these days, no matter whether they are county magistrates or prefects, they don't pay much attention to local trivial matters when they arrive in any place, unless there is a major treason or a heinous case. Although the staff must make preparations in advance so that their superiors can provide information when needed.
Suggestions, but they are more concerned about the official gentry and wealthy businessmen, as well as the relationship network behind officials at all levels, which is the so-called "only the top, not the bottom".
"This Jiao Jiansheng, I really can't say anything about him." The clerk recalled it for a while, and then told Fang Jingzhai from the beginning.
Jiao Yingyuan, a native of Jiangdu County, lived outside Guangchumen. The most famous of his relatives was the scholar Jiao Xun, who was Jiao Yingyuan's cousin by seniority.
There are four direct brothers in the Jiao family, and they have already divided the family and property, each living his own life. The other brothers can provide for themselves, but only Jiao Yingyuan spends his days doing nothing, and likes gambling. In a few years, he has completely exhausted the production and sales of all the land he has divided.
Then he repeatedly borrowed money from his brothers and cousins, and often made angry remarks when he couldn't borrow money.
In the fifty-third year of Qianlong's reign, several creditors jointly pressed Jiao Yingyuan for a total of 2,300 taels of silver. Jiao Yingyuan could not repay the money, so after a public consultation by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, his family's rural grain house was valued at 1,500 taels of silver.
It was handed over to several creditors to sell off to pay off debts.
Unexpectedly, Jiao Yingyuan was resentful, so he discussed with his friend Huang Neng, who was the secretary of the Jiangdu County government office, and Huang Neng wrote the complaint on his behalf. In October of the same year, he filed a complaint with Jiangdu County in the name of Jiao Yingyuan's mother, Wang.
The government accused several creditors of "inducing gambling to seize property" - that is, setting up a trap to lure Jiao Yingyuan into gambling, and then cheating together, causing him to lose everything.
It is said that the reason why Jiao Yingyuan did not file a complaint in his own name was because prison students who participated in gambling would be punished by the local academic administration.
Unexpectedly, when Jiao's mother, Wang, found out about this, she sent her second son to the county government office with a document, saying that he did not write the complaint but that it was a false accusation. The county government then gave Jiao Yingyuan a heavy lecture and dropped the case.
At the beginning of the 54th year of Qianlong's reign, Jiao Yingyuan borrowed 300 taels of silver from his cousin Jiao Xun for gambling. When Jiao Xun found out about it, he angrily reprimanded him. As a result, Jiao Yingyuan went to Huang Neng again to discuss, planning to
He accused Jiao Xun of embezzling money and food from the clan.
Unexpectedly, this time it was his mother Wang who stood up again, told the yamen the whole story, and dismissed the case. The yamen also ruled that Jiao Yingyuan must immediately find a way to repay the money he owed Jiao Xun.
Unexpectedly, Jiao Yingyuan's fourth brother supported Jiao Xun in the conflict. In April last year, Jiao Yingyuan sued his fourth brother to Yangzhou Tongzhi Yamen. The reason was that the adopted son brought by the fourth brother from outside was not qualified to inherit the Jiao family's property.
, they should be deported back to their place of origin.
Then, his mother Wang took action again, first scolding Jiao Yingyuan for threatening revenge, and then asked her fourth son and the clan leader to go to the Yamen to testify. As expected, Jiao Yingyuan lost the lawsuit again and was "disciplined" again.
Later, Jiao Xun went to the north for several months and did not come back until the year before. And his wife, Ruan, was a well-educated, courteous and kind-hearted person. She only served her mother-in-law at home and never paid attention to other things outside, so she did not urge Jiao Yingyuan to pay back the money.
.
The clerk finally sighed: "Huang Jue's Jiao family has been a scholarly family for generations. Jiao Litang is famous for his talent and learning, and he is extremely filial to his mother. How could he have such a relative!"
After hearing this, Fang Jingzhai nodded and asked the clerk to go back and have a rest. Early the next morning, he reported the situation to Ma Huiyu, and Magistrate Ma was angry when he heard it. At this time, he also estimated that Jiao Yingyuan was probably a false accusation.
.However, the matter involved rebellion and treason, so it was impossible to dismiss the case so hastily.
"Master, please give me two more days for this matter. I would like to ask some of the neighbors around Jiao Yingyuan's house."
Magistrate Ma thought about it for a while and agreed to Fang Jingzhai's request.