Chapter 836 Battle over the River

The west wind was blowing, and Zhu Chenhao's warship raised its sails and quickly moved eastward like an arrow from the string in the dark night.

Less than half an hour after the departure of the first warship, a dense rebel fleet appeared on the Yangtze River west of Meizizhou.

The lights on all the warships have been extinguished. On the dark flagship deck, Zhu Chenhao stood in full armor in the bow, scanning the river in front of him like lightning. Looking at the momentum of his army riding the wind and waves, his heart was full of pride and **. He believes that in a few hours, the Nanjing city in front of him will become his bag. There is a palace. Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne and sat in the world in that palace. Now it's his turn Zhu Chenhao to step into that palace and sit on that throne. Soon, he can incorporate all the land in the south of the Yangtze River and send a large army across the river after stabilizing the situation. The sick and incompetent Zhengde on the Dragon Throne in Beijing is by no means his opponent.

At this moment, Zhu Chenhao suddenly realized how small his previous move to help Nanchang was. What can he do to stick to a corner of Jiangxi? The precious time was delayed in the middle, so that Song Nan led the army to arrive here early. Will this become a variable?

"Your Majesty, in front is the heart of the river outside Nanjing. This continent is called Meizizhou. Five miles past Meizizhou is the mouth of the Qinhuai River. According to the intelligence, Song Nan's soldiers and horses gathered there to fight." Liu Yang was standing on the deck behind Zhu Chenhao and saying these words gently.

Zhu Chenhao snorted, "Wang Lun, are you ready for the battle?"

Wang Lun, the minister of the Ministry of War, stepped forward and said, "All things are ready. The army is ready to attack Song Nan. The emperor can rest assured."

Zhu Chenhao nodded and said, "Okay, after taking Nanjing, I will tell the world to ascend the throne, and make a great honor. In terms of meritorious deeds, you and others will be my meritorious officials, and I will reward you well. Order, follow the plan."

Liu Yangzheng, Li Shishi, Wang Lun and others shouted long live and knelt down on the deck behind them. Their hearts were also extremely excited.

"Palm lamp." Wang Lun ordered loudly.

A string of red lanterns slowly rose to the main mast, which was extremely dazzling in the night. At the same time, the wind lights on the flagship were all lit up, as brilliant as the lights of the Shangyuan Festival. With the lighting of the flagship lights, thousands of warships around them were like the night sky after the dark clouds, and the lights lit up on the river for a moment. It has become a starry night sky.

"Explore the waterway."

"The waterway is sound."

"The team passes through the waterways on both sides and quickly reaches the wide river behind through Meizizhou. The iron-headed boat closes the lights and prepares."

"Ready."

In a short period of time, the orders on the flagship were issued, and the surrounding warships quickly responded and adjusted. The warships quickly divided into two teams on the river above Meizizhou and rushed straight down the waterways on both sides along the water that became increasingly rapidly divided into two by Jiangxinzhou. The soldiers and horses on the ship were ready, and the Folang machine artillery on both sides of the bow and the ship also raised their heads high.

The first batch of boats rushed down along both sides were more than 40 double-masted ships. The bow was reinforced with iron, such as dozens of monsters. The bow split layers of huge waves and plowed the surface of the water into deep ditches, full of more than 200 soldiers and equipped with four cannons, which can be said to be armed to the teeth. The water depth of the iron-headed ship is more than six feet. They open the lane not only because of their strong firepower, but also because wherever they can sail, the ships behind them don't have to worry about the depth of the channel.

However, after crossing the waterway of more than three miles on the side of Jiangxinzhou, the three iron-headed ships suddenly shook violently. The soldiers on the ship were shocked and tilted, and the speed of the ship suddenly became slow. Then, in a panic, the ship was overwhelmed by irresistible water. The flow path slowly hit horizontally.

"What's going on?" The officer on the ship shouted.

"It seems to have hit a reef, and there seems to be a reef under the boat." The soldier at the helm answered sweaty, and dozens of torches stretched out to check the situation.

How is it possible? This is the deepest waterway, where did the reef come from? The officer scolded and probed to look under the side of the ship. Under the torch shone, the brand-new scratches under the side of the ship were in sight.

"Mom, it's really on the rocks. Immediately turn the rudder and push the starboard oar north. You can't run aground here. The ships behind will arrive.

More than 30 oars protrude from dozens of holes under the starboard of the right ship, struggling to resist things in the water and push the hull away to the north. This method is really effective. After a moment, the ship roared and seemed to be out of the barrier of the reef. The officers and soldiers on the ship felt that the ship had a huge earthquake again, and several soldiers He was thrown off the deck by the reverse force and screamed and fell into the rolling Yangtze River.

"What the mother's wrong with you?" The officer shouted and got up from the deck. The next moment, he was dumbfounded. The tall bow of the other warship in the left head was facing the port of his ship. Just as his ship escaped and slid north, another iron-headed ship, which was more than ten feet away, hit his port uncontrollably and directly, solid. The iron head had smashed the port side, and the soldiers and horses on the ship were also exclaiming. The stern was slowly sliding down, and the whole ship was on the edge of overturning.

"Wan Laoliu, are you crazy?" The officer stood on the deck and shouted to the opposite side.

"The ship hit the reef and can't control it at all. What can I do if I rush to your boat directly by the current belt?" Wan Laoliu lay in the bow and responded, while sternly ordering to anchor and stabilize the hull that was about to capsize.

"You can't anchor. Isn't it to stop the fleet behind? Wan Laoliu, are you a pig brain?

Before the officer's words fell, he was interrupted by an exclamation and looked in the direction of the soldiers' panic. A wooden boat behind him appeared in the light range and was crashing at an incredible speed. The soldiers on the ship obviously saw two iron-headed boats in front of them, in a hurry. I want to turn the rudder and deviate from the direction, but there is no time.

With the stunned witness of nearly 600 soldiers of the three ships, the wooden boat crashed with a great fearlessness, like a wooden plug, wedged into the corner between the two iron-headed ships. The sound of wood chips was shocking, and the soldiers on the three ships could not dodge. Hundreds of soldiers flew into the air like fleas. Fortunately, they fell back to the deck heavily. Unluckily, they fell directly into the river and disappeared with the cold and rapid river all the way.

The iron-headed ship "rumbling" Wan Laoliu was completely out of control after this violent impact. The hull that had already crossed and was about to capsize was like a lazy elephant, making a strange creaking sound. The next moment, the whole ship patted on the river and dumping all the soldiers' supplies and cannons on the deck into the river. Li.

Another iron-headed ship was blocked by the detached reef that was suddenly hit, and the hull suddenly fell down the stream, replacing them with the wooden warship that hit behind them. But they didn't have time to be lucky, because they suddenly found that half of the warehouse of water had been filled, the whole port and the stern of the ship had been broken, and the river was pouring into the warehouse, which was a torrent that could not be blocked at all. After the tea, the iron-headed ship finally sank in the cold torrent with a whirlpool and became another artificial reef.

These three ships are just a microcosm. Nearly 20 ships hit and capsized on the river passage on both sides of Meizizhou. In a short time, more than 10 boats were unable to move across the water and overturned three.

And hundreds of warships in the rear have entered this narrow death passage. The narrow terrain of Meizizhou is like a canyon in the mountains. The place of shipwreck obstacles set up by Song Nan is also strange. It is in the middle part of Meizizhou, three miles away from the entrance. At such a long distance, it is impossible for the ships behind to not follow up, and it is impossible to wait for the warships in front of them to pass through before entering the death channel, because if the distance is too far away, the whole fleet will lose their echo and unable to fight together. But once they enter the channel, there is no chance to turn back. The narrower the river, the more rapid the water will be. It is impossible to turn around and go backwards.

The rocks on Meizizhou were high. Song Nan looked coldly at the bumper boat on the surface of the river, and there was no smile on his face. However, more than a dozen generals standing beside them smiled happily, and the local officials in Nanjing who were ordered not to leave on Meizizhou were also stunned and surprised. This is the way the famous prince fights. They also have the deepest fear in their hearts. How unfortunate it is to fight against such an opponent. What happened on the river in front of them is the most tragic scene they have never seen in their lives.

However, what frightened them was still behind. Seeing that all the ships gathered on the surface of the square circle, although the ships behind them found something strange, they could only lower their sails and row desperately to keep a chaotic distance from the front, Song Nansen ordered: "Cannons, rockets, bombard me. Don't be stingy with ammunition! Don't have any compassion! Sink them all here!"

Zhang Ning, the commander of the artillery battalion, responded. After the order was conveyed, the forts disguised by branches on both sides of Meizizhou appeared one after another. The gunners quickly loaded with ammunition. After Zhang Ning made a sharp roar, the roar of the ear drums resounded through the night sky, and the gun mouth of the tongue of fire poured a cannonball into the river mercilessly. The violent explosion and firelight resounded and lit up this cruel and cold night.

......

In Nanjing, the people stood on the streets one after another, quietly listening to the sound of cannons in the distance. The whole Nanjing city quieted down at this moment and could hear the heartbeat of the people of the whole city.

In the Yunxiao Pavilion on the banks of the Qinhuai River, Shen Yunyan stood at the window, looked palely at the direction of the flashing fire in the west, clenched his hands and prayed silently.