Chapter 5: Bloody Battle of the Yangtze River (VI)

In the telescope, although Hong Chengchou could not see the expressions on the faces of the pirates on the opposite side of the "Tiger Shark", from the situation where they raised their weapons and kept shouting, it can be seen that the pirates' fighting spirit was successfully mobilized by Zheng Zhibao.

"Master, you have already entered the range of my artillery fire." A Shandong man named Cheng Tiesheng reminded Hong Chengchou that this was the first battle of the artillery brigade going south. Although it was on the river, it was not only necessary to win, but also to fight well. You must know that they were from the Beijing camp and the most elite army in the country. If you can't win, you will lose not only your own face, but also the emperor's face.

In Zhu Yinglong's eyes, the new army carried things not only to win the battle of the Southern Expedition, but its political significance may be far greater than its military significance. If the new army wins, it means that his new army reform is right. At the beginning, he focused on the huge pressure inside and outside the court to promote the new army reform. What are the consequences of the failure? He is very clear that the complete denial of the new army will not only bring a huge shadow on his future political reform. Without a strong army as a backing, political reform is just a castle in the air. The success of the new army is equivalent to adding a strong guarantee of force to himself. With this, no matter how strong the aristocratic family is, it is useless. In front of the army made of steel, it will be crushed into a pile of powder.

The first shot in the true sense of Nanzheng was fired!

The loud noise caused a wave of more than ten meters. Since the gunners were the first time to truly face the enemy's artillery, and they were army artillerymen, and they could hit every single shot, but the floating target was different, and there were various unthinkable problems on land. Therefore, although the first shell was aimed at Zheng Zhibao's flagship "Tiger Shark", it failed to hit and landed on the water about twenty meters ahead of the marching "Tiger Shark".

The violent explosion shocked Zheng Zhibao, who was standing on the "Tiger Shark", and the splashing waves bloomed in dazzling colors under the rising sun and fell on the deck. Following this, there were noble guests. After being frightened, the river fish that fell on the deck were taken to the sky by the air waves, jumping around and struggling on the deck, telling the dissatisfaction of being disturbed.

"Retreat!" Zheng Zhibao is worthy of being an experienced naval warfare expert. He quickly realized that this was not a even-match battle, but a massacre that was slaughtered. It was himself who was slaughtered, because the range of the cannon on the enemy ship was far beyond his own imagination and the power was far stronger than himself. If the shell just now hit his flagship, it would probably be over. Thinking of this, Zheng Zhibao's scalp felt numb. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration in his head. He discovered the fatal mistake of his number one brother. He didn't know his enemy at all. In history, he regarded Hong Chengchou's navy as the same level as the Yangtze River navy, at most a little higher, but from

I didn't expect that the opponent would have such powerful artillery. It's no wonder that the artillery developed by Wang Gongchang was basically imitated. Although the power was a little stronger than the Portuguese Red Barbarian cannon, it was used to recover Huguang and some of the Jinzhou-Ningyuan-Shanhaiguan front lines, and it gradually stopped production. Now, the production of artillery has been made in terms of materials, new steel, and the manufacturing process has also made great progress. The shells should be made of new black gunpowder developed by new types, and the power is several times greater. With strict confidentiality measures, the officers and soldiers of the artillery brigade were strictly selected to ensure that there would be no leaks. Therefore, Zheng Zhibao could not know about this at all. From the beginning, he lost this battle.

It was impossible to retreat. Immediately after dozens of dull guns, the shells slid across the sky with perfect curves in the sky facing the fiery red sunrise, and landed in Zheng Zhibao's dense fleet.

Zheng Zhibao felt that he had never been so cowardly. He had his fifty ships and only two thousand troops, and dispersing to meet the enemy was self-destructive, so he chose to concentrate, hoping to learn from General Zhao Zilong on Changbanpo, killing him seven in and seven out. Unexpectedly, the artillery was sharp and he would take action far beyond his range. It was completely undisputed to hit you, and he didn't even have the strength to fight back.

The first wave of artillery attacks basically did not cause much damage to Zheng Zhibao's fleet. Apart from the accidental collision, Zheng Zhibao lost several ships, he almost did not suffer much loss. This is due to the feeling of the officers and soldiers of the artillery brigade, and the water combat is different from the influence of wind and water mist on the river. Therefore, the first wave of attack can only be regarded as a gorgeous opening ceremony.

"Order, turn the bow of the ship, pull the distance, and retreat!" Zheng Zhibao watched the boats under his command being hit, and almost no one on the ship could survive. His eyes were red, and he stared at Hong Chengchou's flagship opposite.

"Fourth Master, we should stick it up. Within 500 meters, their cannons will not work!" A personal guard next to Zheng Zhibao suggested.

"No, our troops are too small and we are divided too scattered. That is to send them up to kill people, not to disperse. The opponent's artillery is too powerful, so we can only retreat. As long as we can retreat to Xiaguan or to the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, they will not be able to withstand me!" Zheng Zhibao said gritting his teeth.

"It's not that easy to escape!" Hong Chengchou sneered at the telescope three times. The first wave of artillery bombardment just now also shocked him, the navy commander. Then he began to be excited. The court had such sharp firearms, so why worry about the invincibility of the Southern Expedition!

"Order the two wings to quickly detour to both sides of Zheng Zhibao and surround Zheng Zhibao." Hong Chengchou issued a combat order.

The navy's wings, which received the order, suddenly accelerated its speed and rushed towards the back of Zheng Zhibao's wings.

"No, Fourth Master, Hong Butcher wants to surround us!" Zheng Zhibao's personal guard discovered the post-test trend of the two wings of the navy army led by Hong Chengchou from the Qianlijing, and reported it urgently.

"Send a flag and order ten boats to separate each side to stop the butcher's wings at all costs." Zheng Zhibao's face was ashen and his bronze skin was a little white.

"Master General Zheng sent a flag-speaking message saying that Zheng Zhibao was willing to divide his troops to block the attack and delay the siege between our wings." The flag-speaking soldier reported.

"Can our shells hit behind Zheng Zhibao's butt?" Hong Chengchou asked the cannon brigade on his side with a serious expression.

Cheng Tiesheng looked inside the telescope, calculated the distance in his mind, and said, "Master, in theory, it's OK, but the wind and waves on the river surface may be discounted."

"Just tell me, if you can fight!"

"Report to the general, you can!"

"Okay, the emperor said that I want me to capture Zheng Zhibao alive, so I can't kill anyone. I order you to shoot artillery behind Zheng Zhibao's fleet. I want to persuade me to surrender." Hong Chengchou ordered.

In terms of military use, Hong Chengchou is indeed more flexible than Yuan Chonghuan and more aggressive. Calling Yuan Chonghuan command, he must order the artillery to attack Zheng Zhibao's flagship "Tiger Shark". As long as he can sink the Tiger Shark, he will win this battle. Hong Chengchou is more ambitious and wants to force Zheng Zhibao to surrender, so he must block Zheng Zhibao's way, relying on the advantage of the cannon range, block Zheng Zhibao's way with artillery fire. This is definitely a milestone in the history of hot weapon wars.

Zheng Zhibao, who was standing on the Tiger Shark, felt that he was dizzy. He had never seen anyone fighting like this. The shells all fell on the waterway he wanted to retreat. The dense shells were like water leaking, completely blocking his retreat, and suddenly he was stunned. So many shells were thrown into the water directly, and only the half-baked naval commander Hong Chengchou could come out in the world. You must know that the shells were all silver, and they were all thrown into the Yangtze River directly.

"Fourth Master, Hong Tuhuo used artillery to block our retreat, let's fight!" Zheng Zhibao's personal guard said with red eyes.

"Work, how to fight?" Zheng Zhibao roared like a wounded leopard. He never dreamed that he would lose so badly, and he was defeated. Until now, he didn't even know what Hong Chengchou looked like, and even if he stood still in the scabbard, he was already defeated.

"Fourth Master, Hong Butcher sent a banner saying, asking us to surrender, otherwise we would bombard us!" The flag-speaking soldier ran to his side and reported nervously.

"Surrender, this is impossible. My Zheng family's son has only died in battle, but no one surrenders!" Zheng Zhibao pulled out his sword and shouted loudly.

"Brothers, what are we?" Zheng Zhibao gathered everyone on the Tiger Shark on the deck and asked loudly.

"Fourth Master, we are pirates!" a voice shouted.

"Yes, we are pirates, what do pirates do?"

"Kill people, rob, and blackmail!"

"Yes, we do all evil things. Do you think the court will forgive our sins if someone like us?"

The crowd suddenly became chaotic, some hesitated, some didn't know what to say, and some didn't even know what they were living for and who they were living in a daze.

"Brothers, the emperor in the north is known as a benevolent king, who loves the people as his sons, and we kill people as much as his own. Do you think he will forgive us? This is impossible. Now that we are at the time of life and death, surrender is death, and not surrender is death. It is better to kill a bloody way!" Zheng Zhibao knew that Emperor Chongzhen would not let him go, so he would not surrender at all costs. It is better to die in battle than surrender. If he died in battle, the eldest brother might take care of his family because of his brother's friendship. If he surrendered, the ruthless eldest brother would never forgive his family.

"Master, Zheng Zhibao's flagship Tiger Shark is advancing at full speed towards our army, and the target seems to be the flagship where the Master is." The guards on the deck observation position reported.

"It seems that Zheng Zhibao is trying his best. Is he looking for death when rushing over here desperately?" Cheng Tiesheng said.

Hong Chengchou's face also changed slightly. He had already guessed what Zheng Zhibao wanted to do. He jumped over the wall when he was anxious, let alone pirates. Facing a pirate like Zheng Zhibao, he must not be measured by routine.
Chapter completed!