Shang Yi, Alexandra, and Cheng Gang were sitting in a "pin" shape. Opposite the three of them were Huang Zhen, the commander-in-chief of the Yangtze River Fleet, and He Bin, the commander of the three squadrons, and Yi Ji.
Xuan and South Asia Tiger sat side by side, and in the middle of the two sides, there was a long table with a simple map of the Yangtze River and some ship models. However, the atmosphere in the whole room was quite solemn.
It turned out that after Shang Yi received the news of the Yangtze River Fleet's defeat in Hangzhou, he couldn't help but be shocked. If it was a land battle defeat, Shang Yi could understand it, but water battles were the weakest link of the Qing army, and the merchant army was weak.
Although the navy has not been established for a long time, it is much stronger than the Qing army in terms of tonnage of warships, firepower, tactics, and experience. I did not expect that this battle would be defeated so miserably.
Therefore, after receiving the battle report, Shang Yi's first reaction was: Huang Zhen must be arrogant and underestimated the enemy. He couldn't help but feel very angry. He had repeatedly warned the armies that they must not underestimate the enemy against the Qing army. In the end, he still underestimated the enemy and made mistakes.
It is really inappropriate to suffer such a big loss.
However, Shang Yi calmed down and took a look. From the battle report, he only knew that the Qing army used fire ships to attack and win. However, after all, he did not know the detailed process of this battle. Therefore, he could not easily conclude that Huang Zhen made a mistake by underestimating the enemy. He must listen to Huang Zhen.
Only after Zhen Zhen and other commanders of the Yangtze Fleet reported the battle in detail could the reasons for the defeat of the battle be finally determined.
But now the Yangtze River fleet suffered a disastrous defeat. To prevent the Qing navy from taking the opportunity to launch an attack, Huang Zhen could not be sent back to Hangzhou to inquire. Fortunately, the merchant army won the victory in attacking Guangzhou, which also diluted the disadvantage of the failure of the naval battle.
Therefore, Shang Yi also decided to go to Changzhou in person to listen to Huang Zhen and the three squadron commanders of the Yangtze Fleet. This was actually a hearing. And Shang Yi was accompanied by Ya Li.
Sandra and Navy's orthodox collar into steel.
At the same time, Shang Yi also ordered the navy's fourth and fifth fleets to enter the Yangtze River and station in the Changzhou area to prevent the Qing army from launching another attack. Cheng Jin temporarily stationed in Guangdezhou, preparing to find fighters and continue to launch new attacks against the Qing army.
attack.
After Shang Yi and his party arrived in Changzhou, Huang Zhen also brought He Bin, Yi Jixuan, and Nan Yahu to apologize to Shang Yi in person. But at this time Shang Yi also returned to his normal mentality. After all, these people had spent their own efforts.
The backbone of the newly cultivated force should still be given priority to teaching and help. The Navy has only been established for three years, and it is inevitable to make some mistakes. Therefore, Shang Yi also comforted them with a few words, and then immediately held a hearing.
.
First of all, of course, Huang Zhen and four other people were asked to introduce in detail the course of the battle at Jiujiangkou. Shang Yi also asked him to seek truth from facts, state the facts of the battle, and try to describe the process in as much detail as possible.
The four people immediately got up and came to the long table. They used map models and ship models to tell the story of the water battle. With the help of the models, the four people complemented each other, so the whole process was explained in great detail, including
He Bin commanded the Tianwei and was alone
The process of the ship entering the Qing army's ship array and then fighting back was also described. In some places, several mid-level officers and soldiers were called in to provide additional explanations. Shang Yi and others also responded to the situation on the battlefield.
Some questions were asked and all four people answered them one by one.
Shang Yi, Alexandra, and Cheng Gang are all people with experience in water warfare, and I can tell that their statements are basically true. Although it cannot be said that there are no falsehoods, it does not affect the overall situation.
After talking for more than an hour, he finally finished telling the story of the battle. Shang Yi was basically able to confirm that the failure of this water battle had little to do with pride and underestimation of the enemy. The main reason was that the tactics of the Qing army were too harsh. Surprisingly. In addition, the merchant army’s naval forces also suffered from a lack of experience.
Fireship attacks are nothing new in water battles, but they usually occur in the later stages of the battle. When the enemy's energy and ammunition are almost exhausted, a small number of fireships are used to attack the enemy's main warships. It is indeed very rare for the Qing army to bring out nearly two hundred ships to launch a fire attack at the beginning of the battle. Moreover, the merchant army did lack experience in dealing with fire attacks, so this time it was defeated. It's not an injustice.
Although the Qing army won this battle, it does not mean that the Qing navy can compete with the merchant army. The fact that the ship Tianwei can fight in and out of the Qing army shows that the Qing army The actual water warfare ability of the Qing army is still very poor. Therefore, this time the Qing army actually won by luck, and it was a tragic victory. After all, the Qing army did not have that many ships, so it was impossible for the Qing army to be so crazy in every battle. Play the ship-burning tactic, and the merchant army will also formulate corresponding tactics. In fact, in this battle, there were still many warships that were able to break out of the fire ship's attack. This also shows that there is definitely no way to deal with it.
So Shang Yi said again: "He Bin, you overcame the fire ship. If this battle were to happen again, how confident do you think you would be in overcoming the fire ship's attack?"
In fact, after the battle, He Bin has been thinking about this issue. Therefore, judging from the battle process, as long as it can pass through the fire ship, the Merchant Army is still very sure of winning. If it were not just his own ship at the time, The ship rushed through the fire boat formation, but instead there were seven or eight ships, which all rushed into the Qing army's rear column. It was really hard to tell the outcome of this battle.
So after thinking about it carefully, He Bin said: "Reporting to your lord, I am about 50 to 60% sure. To be honest, this time it was more or less lucky. The last general just passed the fireship formation. Therefore, the cruiser is still a bit bigger, so it is not as good as Destroyers are flexible. If they are destroyers, they will be 70 or 80 sure to arrive. In fact, now the general has also thought that as long as he is not hit by a fire ship from the middle and entangled with iron chains, it doesn't matter, because if it is with the fire ships on both sides, It will take some time for the fire to reach your own ship. If you put some wet mud on the side of the ship, you can hold on for a while. As long as you don't panic at the time, you have a chance to escape from the fire ship. Once you get into contact with the fire, After the ship is separated, even if it is on fire on your own ship, as long as the fire is not big, you can put it out." As he spoke, he played with the ship model on the long table and listed various arrangements after the collision with the fire ship. Take off method.
Shang Yi smiled and said: "Then the frigate is smaller and more flexible, wouldn't it be better?"
He Bin said: "Reporting to your lord, it does not mean that the smaller the ship, the better, because sometimes it has to collide with the enemy's ship. It would also be more advantageous if the ship was larger. Moreover, there are too few cannons on the frigate, and there are no Heavy artillery, even if it breaks out of the fireship formation, will not be of much use against the main fleet of the Qing Army behind. Therefore, the general believes that only destroyers are the most suitable ship type. If there can be Ten destroyers rushing through the fire ship formation are enough to defeat the fleet behind the Qing army."
The South Asian Tiger also added: "This time we really didn't expect the Tatars to use fire boats, so we let them rush to a place very close to us, and at that time everyone was lining up diagonally and preparing to use artillery. After bombarding them, the fire arose on the boat, and it was too late to turn around. Looking back now, the Tatars used small boats to attack from the beginning, and there were no cannons and few people on the boat. It was obviously a fire boat. We will definitely be prepared in advance next time. We will be much more certain of escaping the fire ship."
Yi Jixuan also said: "Actually, the Tatar fireboats are in groups of three, connected with iron ropes. Although the control area is large, it is also very difficult to change direction and turn, and there are still some gaps between each group of fireboats. There was quite a gap, so as long as we didn’t panic and were prepared in advance, it was entirely possible to get through. But the Tatar boat was too close to us at that time, and as soon as we saw the fire ignited, we all panicked, and as a result, we I messed up my hands and feet first. With the lessons learned from this battle, I will know how to deal with it next time."
Listening to their speeches, Shang Yi was also very satisfied. Although he turned the hearing into a summary meeting, his main purpose was not to hold anyone accountable, but to see a positive attitude in the face of failure. is the most important, so Shang Yi also nodded and said: "You all said very well just now. We have indeed defeated this battle. But defeating the battle is not terrible. Victory and defeat are common things for military strategists. But we must We know why we failed. It was because the enemy was too strong, we underestimated the enemy, the enemy used new tactics, there was a problem with our command, etc. We must lose clearly. Only in this way can we learn enough from the failure. Learn the lessons and be fully prepared for victory in the next battle."
Shang Yi's words also made the four of them excited. Huang Zhen immediately stood up and said: "Please don't worry, sir. Next time we will definitely retaliate to the Qin army for this defeat."
Shang Yi also showed a smile and said: "Very good, you have such ambition, this is what our merchant army should be like. The warship is destroyed, we can rebuild it, as long as our people are still there, as long as our ambition is If we are still there, then the final victory must belong to us."
Huang Zhen, He Bin, Yi Jixuan, and South Asia Tiger also stood up and saluted, and said in unison: "Yes."
Shang Yi said: "Although the Qing army won this battle, I don't think they dare to attack us from the waterway. Therefore, we still have enough time to prepare and restore the combat effectiveness of the Yangtze River Fleet. I will destroy the Yangtze River Fleet as soon as possible." The lost warships have all been replenished, and you must also strengthen targeted training during this period. When we start the battle to regain Nanjing, you will have a chance to take revenge."
Later, Shang Yi discussed with Cheng Gang and Huang Zhen how to replenish the lost warships of the Yangtze River Fleet, as well as training and other matters.