: Fighting for the Yangtze River Natural Disaster

(0954)

In the afternoon, the estuary of the Yangtze River is calm.

Occasionally, fish jumped out of the water, and a flash of inspiration on the water surface, and then dived into the water, leaving a string of crystal waves on the water surface. It seemed that I felt something, more and more fish jumped out of the water surface, and the strings of water splashes on the water surface were like intermittent fountains, which were so beautiful.

A black dot suddenly appeared on the sea in the southeast. The black dots gradually turned into black lines, and the black lines split into more black dots. As the black dots gradually expanded, towering masts gradually appeared. Under the masts, large warships gradually emerged. Finally, they evolved into a huge fleet, slowly entering from the estuary of the Yangtze River.

This huge fleet has more than 20 three-masted gunships, more than 50 armed merchant ships, and there are a large number of ordinary merchant ships behind it. The total number of ships is at least one hundred. So many large warships are slowly entering from the estuary of the Yangtze River. The scene is indeed too spectacular.

After entering the estuary of the Yangtze River, the three-masted gunships were obviously slowing down. After all, this place is on the river surface, not the sea surface. The three-masted gunship has a deep draft and must sail slowly to avoid touching the reefs at the bottom of the water. In order to smoothly enter the Yangtze River, these huge three-masted gunships completely occupied the main channel.

At this time, there were still a lot of ships entering and leaving the Yangtze River Estuary. These ships were mainly engaged in maritime trade. Many people looked at the flags flying on the warships in surprise, quietly stuck out their tongues, and then did not dare to say anything, and obediently avoided the side, for fear of causing the unhappiness of this huge fleet.

"Whose fleet is this?"

Someone who doesn’t know the details quietly asks his companions around him.

"It's Zheng Zhilong's warship!"

Someone whispered, with a look of awe.

Anyone who has been running maritime trade for many years knows that the Zheng family fleet is definitely not easy to mess with on the southeast coast. At least 80% of the profits of maritime trade in the southeast coast are entered the Zheng family's pocket. Of course, they are very clear about the strength of the Zheng family fleet. Even if the Zheng family fleet has been defeated by Zhang Zhun's Hu Ben Navy in a row, in the minds of ordinary people, the Zheng family fleet cannot be offended.

When they saw the Zheng family fleet entering the estuary of the Yangtze River, they knew that the Hu Ben Army naval warships in the Yangtze River were in trouble. All fools knew that the Zheng family fleet appeared at the estuary of the Yangtze River must have come to cause trouble for the Hu Ben Army Navy. The grievances between the Zheng family fleet and the Hu Ben Army Navy have long been circulated. It is a well-known fact that the Zheng family fleet, which has been defeated continuously, is determined to avenge the revenge.

Some people couldn't help but feel worried about the Hu Ben Army Navy. These people were mainly those who were ready to accept the Hu Ben Army going south. Originally, they were ready to welcome the Hu Ben Army, but unexpectedly, the Zheng family fleet would suddenly arrive and use such a move.

The Hu Ben Navy and the warships cruising on the Yangtze River are all very small, and compared with the large warships of the Zheng family fleet in front of them, they are indeed too weak. For bystanders, the Hu Ben Navy has almost no chance of winning. And it is probably not easy for the main force of the Hu Ben Navy to arrive quickly. In other words, the Hu Ben Army warships in the Yangtze River are probably going to be wiped out.

This is definitely not a good thing for the Hu Ben Army. In the north, the Hu Ben Army has defeated the Tartars and its momentum is at its peak. If it is defeated on the surface of the Yangtze River, the Hu Ben Army will definitely take revenge. In this way, I am afraid that the Yangtze River and the two sides of the Yangtze River will be in peace.

Of course, there are also many people who can't help but gloat. These people are all people who are unwilling to accept the rule of the Hu Ben Army. The emergence of the Zheng family fleet gave them an opportunity to change their destiny. They all eagerly hope that the Zheng family fleet can defeat the Hu Ben Army, and Zheng Zhilong would better defeat Zhang Zhun and rule the entire Jiangnan.

Some people also reject the Hu Ben Navy and the Zheng Fleet. In their opinion, it is best not to appear in Jiangnan whether it is the Hu Ben Navy or the Zheng Fleet. If the two die together, that would be even better. Liu Zongzhou, the Minister of War of Nanjing, is such a person.

"Zhang Zhun, you're dead this time!"

On the flagship of the Zheng family's Fifth Fleet, Zheng Chenggong secretly swore.

After being jailed for several months, Zheng Chenggong was finally released and replaced others and became the commander of the Zheng family's Fifth Fleet. This appointment marked that Zheng Chenggong had truly grown up and entered the core circle of the Zheng family. He would lead a regular fleet to perform combat missions, rather than temporarily piece together the fleet as before.

The Zheng family fleet has a total of five huge fleets, with numbers ranging from the first to the fifth. Among them, the first fleet is the strongest, and the other four fleets are comparable. The commanders of each fleet are Zheng Zhilong's absolute confidants, including Zheng Zhihu, Zheng Zhibao and others. Zheng Chenggong, as the eldest son of the Zheng family, successfully stood on par with Zheng Zhihu, Zheng Zhibao and others.

After taking over the Fifth Fleet of the Zheng family, Zheng Chenggong's first mission was to use the natural danger of the Yangtze River to block the Hu Ben Army's southward journey. This mission came suddenly. The most fundamental reason was that one day, Zheng Zhilong suddenly discovered that the biggest threat to him by the Hu Ben Army was not from the sea, but from the land. In order to survive the Zheng family fleet, he had to control the natural danger of the Yangtze River.

With the Hu Ben Army conquering Liaoyang and Huang Taiji's surrender, the power of the Hu Ben Army has shocked the entire Jiangnan. In the eyes of many people, the Hu Ben Army can obtain the entire Jiangnan without any effort. On the land south of the Yangtze River, there is no army at all, it is an opponent of the Hu Ben Army.

If the Hu Ben Army peacefully captured Jiangnan, it would inevitably march into Fujian quickly and attack Zheng Zhilong's lair from land. The military strength of the Zheng family fleet is mainly reflected in the sea, and there are really no troops on land. The Hu Ben Army can even kill the Tartars, which made Zheng Zhilong clearly realize that the army he hastily formed is definitely not a rival to the Hu Ben Army.

In other words, if the Hu Ben Army came from the land, the Zheng family fleet had no possibility of resistance. The only result was to give up the coast of Fujian and migrate to Dongfan Island. Of course, Zheng Zhilong didn't want to see this. On Dongfan Island, there were Dutch people. The strength of the Dutch people was stronger than Zhang Zhu! Even if you compete with Zhang Zhu, you can't win, let alone compete with the Dutch people.

Zheng Zhilong firmly believes in this truth. He decided to control the Yangtze River before Zhang Zhun's main naval force reaches the Yangtze River. As long as the Zheng family fleet occupied the Yangtze River, it would not be so easy for the Hu Ben Army to cross the Yangtze River to move south. Before overcoming the natural danger of the Yangtze River, the Hu Ben Army could not reach Fujian. This could more or less give the Zheng family more time.

This great task was handed over to Zheng Chenggong.

If you lead the army from Fujian to Nanjing, it is indeed not far away. Zheng Chenggong led the Fifth Fleet and headed north quietly without disturbing anyone. Within the Zheng family, there were only no more than ten people who knew Zheng Chenggong’s real movements.

Unlike the optimistic mood of Zhang Zhun last sneak attack, Zheng Chenggong was quite nervous. After the last battle, he had already felt that the Hu Ben Army Navy was quite powerful. Once he faced the main force of the Hu Ben Army Navy head-on, his Fifth Fleet might not be an opponent of the Hu Ben Army Navy.

He was very worried that the main fleet of the Hu Ben Army would appear on the surface of the Yangtze River. If that were the case, Zheng Zhilong's plan might be in trouble. The Hu Ben Army would go south and also control the natural danger of the Yangtze River. It was really not that easy for the Zheng family fleet to snatch the Yangtze River.

If this mission cannot be completed smoothly, Zheng Chenggong knew very well that he would really have no chance to speak in front of his father. It would be better for him to serve as the commander of the Fifth Fleet than his father's trust in him. If he could not seize this opportunity, it would not be his turn to inherit the Zheng family's family business.

Fortunately, the initial stage of this mission was relatively easy to complete. The Fifth Fleet's initial mission was to clear the water surface of the Yangtze River, control Nanjing, and establish a stable support point here to inspire people, hoard supplies, and wait for the arrival of the Zheng family's subsequent troops.

While the Fifth Fleet was heading north, the Zheng family also had a 5,000-man musket team, set out from Fujian and rushed to Nanjing. This was the musket team that Zheng Zhilong had just formed recently. Most of the officers in it were his black slave guards. Most of the soldiers were natives from Southeast Asia. The weapons used by the musket team were all the most advanced muskets provided by the Spanish.

Information shows that the warships of the Hu Ben Army on the Yangtze River are all Cangshan ships the size of sparrows. With so many warships from the Fifth Fleet, the Cangshan ships of the Hu Ben Army are indeed Thunder God fighting tofu without any effort. If they are defeated in such a battle, Zheng Chenggong himself would commit suicide in shame.

As long as the power of the Hu Ben Army Navy is perfectly driven out of the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River will be the world of the Zheng family fleet in the future. As long as the Jiangyin Fortress is locked and the red-clothed cannons of the three-masted gunship cannons to block the main fleet of the Hu Ben Army Navy from entering the Yangtze River, it will be more difficult for the Hu Ben Army to go south from the land.

Before Zheng Chenggong set off, Zheng Zhilong talked to him and said some of his own ideas. Zheng Zhilong felt that it was still possible to integrate wealthy families in Fujian and Zhejiang to fight against Zhang Zhun together. The gentry and wealthy families in Jiangnan believed that they were heartfelt resistance to the Hu Ben Army's Juntian Order. Who would be willing to give up the benefits they got? As long as there was a front-line opportunity, they would not let it go.

Before, the reason why the gentry and wealthy families in Jiangnan did not have the courage to fight against Zhang Zhun and the Hu Ben Army was mainly because they did not have enough armed forces. Compared with the Hu Ben Army, the Ming army in Jiangnan was simply not worth mentioning. However, now, it is still quite possible to have the Zheng family fleet and the Zheng family's musket team as the core to pull up a righteous army in Jiangnan and rely on the Yangtze River natural barrier to fight against the Hu Ben Army.

"Young Master, Taixing is ahead."

Zheng Shouyuan whispered in Zheng Chenggong's ear.

Taixing is the easternmost patrol of the Hu Ben Navy warships. According to information, the Cangshan ships of the Hu Ben Navy that were going downstream will turn around and go upstream after they arrive here. In the Yangtze River, there are a large number of Cangshan ships of the Hu Ben Army. Every half an hour, Cangshan ships will appear near Taixing.

In other words, in Taixing, the Zheng family fleet was about to be discovered by the Hu Ben Navy. What kind of results will happen after the warships of the two armies meet? This can be imagined with the heels. Unless one side takes the initiative to retreat, fierce fighting is definitely inevitable.

“Speed ​​up!”

Zheng Chenggong said with a cold expression.

He wanted to fight quickly and defeat all the Cangshan ships of the Hu Ben Navy and completely control the Yangtze River.

Under Zheng Chenggong's order, the warships of the Zheng family fleet immediately accelerated.

Unfortunately, at this time, the northwest wind was blowing, and the huge three-massed gunship was quite slow when blowing in the northwest. Although Zheng Chenggong was a little anxious and wanted to reach the sea near Nanjing early, there was no way to move forward quickly. He had to pray silently that the number of warships of the Hu Ben Army Navy he encountered should not be too large. Otherwise, with the madness of the Hu Ben Army Navy, he might have launched an attack on his own initiative.

Coincidentally, Hu Xiaobin, the one who led the patrol in the Hu Ben Army Navy was responsible for leading the team. Originally, Hu Xiaobin could have become the captain of the Jianya Ship and served in the three major fleets. However, due to his excellent skills, he became a new teacher at the Hu Ben Army Naval Officer School and had to teach the new teacher to fly the Cangshan ship.

At this time, what place is most suitable for training the captain of Cangshan boats is the surface of the Yangtze River. First, take a walk on the surface of the Yangtze River, and then go to the Bohai Bay to take a walk. A captain of Cangshan boats can basically go to work. Today, Hu Xiaobin took three Cangshan boats to patrol the water near Taixing routinely, and explain driving knowledge.

There are at least eight reserve captains above these three Cangshan boats. Their learning spirit is very high, especially after Huang Taiji announced his surrender, their spirit was greatly inspired. They all urgently hope that they can become real captains and gallop on the sea as soon as possible.

"Dududu!"

Suddenly, the rapid conch roar rang.

"There are enemies!"

Hu Xiaobin was shocked and hurriedly climbed to the middle of the mast, slammed the mast with his legs, then leaned back, hung upside down on the mast, and raised a thousand-mile mirror to observe the southeast direction. There was the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The enemy must have appeared from there. I just don’t know which enemy it was from.

Sure enough, a moment later, a large number of enemy warships appeared on the water surface in the southeast. Hu Xiaobin recognized it at a glance. It was the warship of the Zheng family fleet. Damn, it was them! They were really a group of ghosts!

"Zheng Zhilong!"

Hu Xiaobin cursed anger.

Damn, the Zheng family fleet came here with fierce attacks this time, and the Hu Ben Navy is indeed a bit troublesome!

The Hu Ben Army warships parading on the Yangtze River are indeed small Cangshan ships, and there are not many. It is completely impossible to intercept the Zheng family fleet. If you are not careful, they will all be ruined here. Obviously, such a strategy does not conform to the combat strategy of the Hu Ben Army Navy. Thirty-six strategies are the best!

"Appoint Luo Mengguo to report the news immediately to Yangzhou City, and said that the Zheng family fleet had entered the Yangtze River!"

"Order Liu Dashan to retreat to the canal and hide it! No order is allowed to appear!"

"Order Zhang Fengwu to rush upstream immediately and inform all warships that there is a Zheng family fleet downstream, so don't come down rashly!"

Hu Xiaobin made a quick decision and ordered his subordinates to quickly send out flag words.

Under his command, there were only three Cangshan ships the size of a sparrow. The Zheng family fleet could destroy them by just one or two three-masted gunships. In such a situation, they naturally would not consider fighting against the enemy. At this time, the best policy was to give in and then wait for the opportunity to counterattack.

The water of the canal is shallow, and the three-masted gunships of the Zheng family fleet are absolutely inaccessible. The Cangshan ships can retreat along the canal to the vicinity of Yangzhou City. There are Hu Ben Army troops stationed in Yangzhou City, and the Zheng family fleet will definitely not dare to enter easily. Hu Xiaobin estimated that after learning that the Zheng family fleet appeared in the Yangtze River, the Hu Ben Navy would definitely have corresponding actions.

Hu Xiaobin estimated that the number of warships dispatched by the Zheng family fleet this time will definitely not be small. If they can be eaten, the strength of the Zheng family fleet will inevitably be further weakened. This will be very beneficial for future attacks on the coast of Fujian. Therefore, the main fleet of the Hu Ben Navy will inevitably be dispatched.

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

The four Cangshan boats, relying on their lightness and flexibility, quickly turned around on the water surface and then quickly left.

While Hu Xiaobin discovered the Zheng family fleet, the Zheng family fleet also discovered the existence of those Cangshan ships. If the Hu Ben Navy ran a little slower, the Zheng family fleet would have to fire the cannon. The red cannons of the three-masted gunship were installed on the bow and could fire the cannons while they were moving.

Zheng Chenggong suddenly realized that he had made a small mistake, which was to use a three-masted gunship to take the lead in front. Although the red-clothed cannon of the three-masted gunship was very powerful and could shoot the enemy at a long distance, its movement was indeed too slow, especially in the Yangtze River, the maneuverability of the three-masted gunship was reduced by more than half.

When the four Cangshan ships of the Hu Ben Army's Navy turned around, if the Clippers of the Fifth Fleet of the Zheng family were in front, they would definitely give the other party a little color. Even if they did not hit the target, they could at least fire a few cannons to shock the other party. Unfortunately, the Clippers were all behind the three-masted gunship and could not be used with force.

"Hmph! You guys are sensible!"

Zheng Chenggong had no choice but to say in disappointment.
Chapter completed!