The water battle in Nidun Lake lasted from early morning until nightfall, and the enemy troops retreated.
Looking at the burning warships on the lake and the corpses floating on the lake, Gao Chengyuan felt like crying without tears.
The twenty-six main warships of the Left Five Ya Army all carry a load of more than a thousand stones. The hull adopts a watertight cabin structure with twelve to sixteen compartments inside. The hull also uses a large number of fine iron components, which can be said to be extremely strong.
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Several boats were completely burned by the fire, but they still managed to float on the surface of the lake and did not sink to the bottom of the lake.
There are multiple scorpion cannons installed on the cabin roof, which can throw 30-pound standard kerosene cans and stone projectiles 200 paces away. The bed crossbow can even hurl two-inch thick ship planks within 100 paces.
Shooting through, not to mention the main warships with one to two hundred soldiers, the configuration ratio of strong bows and arm-length crossbows is also much higher than that of the horse infantry.
Only in open waters can these warships maximize their combat effectiveness.
However, trapped in the deeper waters within three to four miles of the center of Nidun Lake, and surrounded by a dense concentration of small and medium-sized warships of our own, the main warship of the Left Five Ya Army was more like a clumsy target at this time and became an enemy.
The army continued to launch fire attacks from all directions.
The enemy navy has hundreds or thousands of flat-bottomed warships suitable for quickly entering and exiting shallow waters. At this time, they attack their ship formations distributed on the periphery like a pack of wolves. Looking for gaps to attack is one thing, but what gives Gao Chengyuan an even bigger headache is
Any enemy ship filled with hay and soaked in kerosene, lit and drifting downwind, can cause them to form a terrifyingly dense array of ships in the center of the lake.
It was also at this time that Gao Chengyuan realized how stupid the plan proposed by Li Pu, Duke of Zhaochang, was to concentrate the main force of a navy and approach Zhongli City from the lake area in the east to capture it by force.
Even if he could stick to his point of view, divide the left and right five-ya army navy into five parts of the left and right, and control the surrounding waters according to the most traditional battle, and control the surrounding waters, instead of being so self-righteous that all those who try to succeed with one blow will enter the mud east of Zhongli City.
In Dunhu Lake, he would never end up in such an embarrassing and tragic end.
After a day-long water battle, almost 60% of the original guard ships and liaison ships with a load of less than 400 stone were still preserved, but only eight main warships with a load of more than 1,000 stone were left that were not completely burned by the fire.
Even if all those who fell into the water were rescued as much as possible, more than 13,000 navy soldiers, boatmen, and sailors would have their bodies floating on the lake or trapped in the warships until they were burned to the point of leaving more than four bodies.
Thousands of people.
Da Chu's most elite naval force suffered more than 30% casualties in one day's battle.
The reason why the fighting spirit of the remaining people did not collapse is that they were trapped in the Mudun Lake. The water level in the reed swamps on all sides was shallower. Only smaller fishing boats could pass through, not to mention the reed swamps after winter, which were lit by the wind.
It can burn a large area and give them no chance to escape.
Gao Chengyuan himself also changed two command ships with the desperate cover of his guards.
Although the enemy troops retreated before nightfall, Gao Chengyuan knew that it was not that the enemy troops were exhausted, but that he just did not want them to find an opportunity to turn defeat into victory in the night.
No matter how stupid Gao Chengyuan was, he understood at this time that everything in front of him was a trap. The remnants of the Lou Chuan Army were extremely well prepared, mainly using various igniters to attack the dense ship formation where they were unable to advance or retreat. They suffered heavy casualties, but the remnants of the Lou Chuan Army suffered heavy casualties.
But it's extremely limited.
Their smallest sentry boat also had a load of two hundred stones. Compared with the large number of light boats and stern boats used by the remnants of the Lou Chuan Army in this battle, it was also inconvenient to move forward and retreat in the shallow lake. For a whole day, they were not able to organize a decent operation.
The counterattack has always been passive and being beaten.
Gao Chengyuan stared at the dark lake in the distance with some numbness, thinking that the enemy troops would retreat before nightfall, or maybe thinking that when they broke out at night, the fleet formation would be chaotic and the fighting spirit of the generals would be low. He only thought about escaping, which would be more convenient.
They attack from the flank, right?
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Feng Liao stood in the woods on the south bank of Hongzepo. Even with a special long-tube telescope, the distance was too far and he could only judge the situation of the Zuo Wu Ya Army Navy after a day of fighting through the smoke pillars at dusk and the little bits of residual fire after nightfall.
, although it was not annihilated, it was obviously still trapped in the Nidun Lake.
"Is it possible for Gao Chengyuan to lead the remaining troops to break out of the siege?" Han Donghu couldn't help but ask, standing behind Feng Liao.
Gao Chengyuan was said to be a direct confidant of Emperor Yanyou, but he, Guo Liang and others did not have a bad relationship with Xuzhou. After all, they had fought side by side many times in the past.
As for the Five Tooth Army Navy, a considerable number of generals were drawn from the Longque Army and Zuo Guangde Army.
Seeing Zuo Wuya's army in dire straits, not only were they unable to rescue them, but they were also unable to even warn them. This was extremely painful for people like Han Donghu.
After hearing Han Donghu's words, Feng Liao just smiled in his heart, thinking that if Gao Chengyuan could survive after the war, after knowing many details, he didn't know how resentful he would be towards Xuzhou for not reporting the knowledge. But since Han Qian
To be a traitor, one must have the consciousness and ruthlessness to be willing to betray the world, rather than have the world betray him.
"Liang Jun's plan is very big. If Gao Chengyuan can lead his troops to break out of the siege on the west bank and abandon the ship and land in Zhongli County, can he save some firepower for the Dachu Navy?" Su Lie said at this time.
Feng Liao turned his head and glanced at Su Lie, thinking that this Su Lie might not be as brave as Han Donghu, but his overall situation and vision were really good, and he said: "The news that the main force of the Dachu Navy was eliminated will soon reach Yangzhou.
, we have gone back, it is time to be prepared to withdraw from Baiti Gang at any time."
"We still don't know the situation of the navy of the Right Five Tooth Army. Should we send someone to go around from Zhongli County?" Han Donghu asked.
Now that the water war in Hongzepu has completely started, it will be much easier to penetrate through Zhongli County.
"There's nothing good to see," Feng Liao said. "The original plan of the Left Five Ya Army Navy was to cover the flanks of Gao Chengyuan's headquarters and keep an eye on Liang Jun's movements in Xuzhou. Naturally, Liang Jun had already deployed in the waters north of Hongzepu.
The dragnet is waiting for them to get into it. This navy army may die worse than Gao Chengyuan and others, and in the end they may be able to escape partially, so let’s take advantage of it, King Xin!”
Although Feng Liao is not as good as Han Qian, Li Yu, and Zhu Yu, he is still confident in confirming how the situation will evolve in the future after the situation has developed to this point.
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Gao Chengyuan was ambushed, and it was impossible to pass through Hongzepu's complex lake area in a short period of time. He sent people to break out of the siege and rushed to Zhuyu Bay where Chang Guogong Li Pu led three thousand cavalry of the Shenwu Army to report for help.
Even Huaidong's soldiers and horses stationed on the west bank of Hongzepo were delayed until the dusk of the next day. They saw a large number of Dachu Navy soldiers floating corpses from the upper reaches of the Huaihe River (west of Hongzepo) before they realized that something was wrong, but they didn't realize that something was wrong.
Knowing the details, we can only strengthen the defense of the coastal walled city.
At about this time, Li Chong met Gao Chengyuan's messenger who broke out from the west bank to ask for help in the wilderness west of Zhongli County.
Li Chong intercepted two thousand rebel infantry heading east out of Haozhou City yesterday afternoon. He only had one thousand cavalry at his disposal and did not dare to attack directly. Instead, he forced the two thousand rebel infantry to the west side of Zhongli City.
It is impossible to advance or retreat at the foot of Jianxiling Mountain.
Before noon today, Li Chong joined forces with Gao Long, the commander-in-chief of the You Shenwu Army who arrived first with 4,000 horse infantry, and launched a siege against the rebels.
After a fierce battle that lasted for half a day, they finally annihilated the two thousand rebels.
After gathering the generals, Li Chong had just counted the results of the battle. He was about to send someone to inform Chen Mingsheng, urging Chen Mingsheng to lead the 7,000 horse infantry of the Shenwu Army on the right to speed up the march so that they could rush to attack the enemy before tomorrow.
With less than a thousand defenders left, Zhongli City launched a direct attack.
He never expected that he would encounter a message from Gao Chengyuan at this time, saying that the main force of the Dachu Navy fell into the ambush set by the rebels in Hongzepu, and suffered heavy casualties?
"How is that possible?" Li Chong asked in a low voice as he slashed a poplar tree as thick as a bowl with his knife.
If it weren't for the fact that the person who came was Gao Chengyuan's direct bodyguard, Li Chong had seen this person before, and this person also carried Gao Chengyuan's seal, he would never have believed that the rebels had already laid a dragnet in Hongzepu to wait for the main force of the Dachu Navy
Adequate.
"The rebels probably noticed the change of the main force of the navy and sent out the remnants of the Louchuan Army to fight this battle with all their might..." At this time, Gao Long arranged for the scouts to rush to the west coast of Hongzepu to reconnoiter the enemy's situation and walk around.
He came over and said with a frown.
There were only a thousand remaining soldiers in Zhongli City, and there was no movement in Haozhou City, which was more than seventy miles away.
There is a cavalry unit in the southwest of Haozhou in the direction of Shouzhou, but it is closer to Chaozhou City. They probably want to take advantage of the Chaozhou garrison to retreat north from the west side of the Wujian Mountains.
What's more, it is a full two hundred and twenty to thirty miles away from Jianxi Ridge, and it is always under the surveillance of scouts from the Zifang Division.
On the north bank of the Huaihe River, there are no signs of a large gathering of Liang troops. The current situation is more likely to be what Gao Long judged. Everything should be the rebels' desperate attempt to take the remnants of the Lou Chuan Army up and take advantage of the water conditions in Hongzepu.
After getting familiar with it, they fought head-on with the main force of the Dachu Navy, and then withdrew into the Huaihe River.
This can more or less change the disadvantageous situation where the rebels have been passively beaten for a long time.
"In any case, we should try to attack Zhongli City tonight, and Gao Chengyuan's troops also need our support to abandon the ship and land on the east side of Zhongli City to break out of the siege. If something goes wrong, we can go southeast through Shiliang County
It’s too late to meet the Duke!” Xu Jing advocated.
Li Chong also knew that from beginning to end, Duke Changguo's government had insisted on using the navy as a partial force to attack Hongzepu. If he had been timid and had fled back like this, the main force of the navy would have suffered heavy losses in the end, and the saliva sprayed by the government and the public could kill his father.
Drown to death.
According to Xu Jing and Gao Long's suggestion, they had nearly 5,000 active combat troops. It was the right choice to storm Zhongli City, which had only a thousand defenders, and to support the remnants of the navy to abandon ship and disembark from the west bank of Hongzepo to break out of the encirclement...
