After leaving Jiading Fucheng, the escort ship Ouyang Xuan and Huang Dagen took caught up with the fleet on the second day. The fleet did not stop along the way, but went straight down the river to Xuzhou. After leaving Jiading's jurisdiction, the banks along the river began to become deserted, and the closer they got to Xuzhou City, the more desolate they became. When I saw Xuzhou City from a distance, I saw a smoky and broken scenery. The river bends were filled with shipwrecks and driftwood. From time to time, bones gnawed by wild dogs could be seen on the shore. The Mongolian troops of Niulin Department passed through the border like locusts, looting and burning the villages and towns near the city, and also destroyed the docks outside the city.
Huang Dagen wanted to park the fleet near the dock and then send people to negotiate with Xuzhou City. Unexpectedly, before the ship had stopped, flying stone crossbow arrows were fired from the top of the city. Fortunately, the arrows were not accurate enough and only slightly injured the last person. A escort ship in front. Seeing this, Huang Dagen had no choice but to order the fleet to retreat, and asked his soldiers to shout in unison, announcing the names of the Chongqing Mansion and the Yongkang County Perak Army, and requesting to enter the city to discuss official business, but there was no reply from the city head. Huang Dagen sent a small boat to venture to the state capital for negotiation, but was still shot by a trebuchet. After repeated calls and negotiations to no avail, Ouyang Xuan had no choice but to order the fleet to continue sailing downstream.
Although Xuzhou City is not the destination of Ouyang Xuan's trip, he is still very eager to go ashore to visit the officials in this gateway city in southwest Sichuan. In addition to replenishing the fleet with water, they also wanted to develop commercial cooperation in the future. More importantly, they wanted to establish mutual assistance in the anti-Mongolian cause. If the Pili Army located in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River joins forces with Xuzhou in the lower reaches of the Minjiang River, plus Jiading Prefecture in the middle reaches of the Minjiang River, the Mongolian army will definitely be able to stop the Minjiang River. This time Xuzhou was defeated by the Mongolian army. In addition to the strength of the Niulin tribe, it was also related to Yu Xing's sitting back and doing nothing. The reason why Ouyang Xuan did not send reinforcements was because Yu Xing deliberately blocked information from the Perak Army and knew the situation of the battle too late. On the other hand, because the journey is far away and there are few soldiers and few generals, even sending reinforcements cannot change the situation of the war. You must know that the Xuzhou Navy under Zhang Shi had more than 500 warships. Their strength was not inferior to that of Yu Xing, and they were also defeated by Niulin. Although the Perak Army's gunboats were powerful, they could not withstand the Mongolian navy's wolf-pack tactics. Once they were joined by the light boats, they would be massacred unilaterally.
The fleet left Xuzhou and continued to Chongqing. Although the water surface is wide and the river is flowing downstream, the journey is not smooth - there are so many water bandits along the way. The Chuanjiang River from Xuzhou to Chongqing is a golden waterway, which naturally attracts the peeps of many young people. Although the Mongols have plundered Sichuan for many years, their navy had been weak before the Battle of Syria and did not pose a threat to this waterway. Therefore, although the commercial activities of this golden waterway were depressed, they were not cut off. Water bandits Activities are always present. After the Mongols defeated the Xuzhou Navy, they completely suppressed the Luzhou Navy, and the water bandits began to become rampant again. Although the Pili Army had less than ten ships on this trip, they were more than enough to deal with regular water bandits, and they also taught a few groups of blind water bandits a lesson. But after passing through Xuzhou, the fleet encountered the real test of the trip - a group of water bandits with more than 500 people and more than 100 large and small ships.
At this time, Ouyang Xuan and others understood why the city gates of Xuzhou were closed. It was not only because they were frightened after the defeat, but also because they could no longer suppress the water bandits after their strength was greatly reduced. The origins of these water bandits are complex. They include not only rogues, but also the defeated troops of the original Xuzhou navy, and even nearby Bo people and barbarians from the Mahu tribe. Xuzhou is close to Luoshi Ghost Kingdom, Mahu and other tribal areas. The Shimen Pass within its territory is an important transportation route to Dali Kingdom. There are many Yi people coming and going here, and there are even many Bo and Yi people in the army.
The water bandits who attacked the Perak Army had long been lying dormant at the river branch, and were now attacking from behind the fleet. The water bandits' boats were small and light, moving down the water very quickly. The Perak fleet had just adjusted their formation and had already rushed close. The two light artillery boats had to start shelling in a hurry. Just after firing one round and waiting to turn to fire the other side cannon, the water bandits had already rushed to the front, and the accompanying escort ships had to catch up. These water bandits were very fierce. Although the first few boats were filled with holes by artillery, and the water bandits on board suffered heavy casualties, the ones behind them still came one after another, trying to fight close to the side. Just as they approached the Perak Army ship, they were hit head-on by a dense hail of muskets and bullets, and then bombarded by grenades.
The leader of the water bandits was not a coward. When he saw that the attack was frustrated, he signaled for a change of formation. For a time, these hundreds of water bandit boats separated into two groups of fast boats on the left and right, surrounding the Perak fleet on three sides. Seeing this, Huang Dagen was forced to divide the escort force into three parts, which greatly reduced the firepower density of muskets and grenades. In addition, the water bandits sent water ghosts to dive into the water to dig boats. For a while, the Perak Army was in a hurry and was pushed against the side of the water bandits' ships. Some of the water bandits used bows and crossbows to shoot, while others jumped into the gang with knives in hand, and the sound of fighting broke out for a while.
Ouyang Xuan's boat was the largest, so it naturally became the top priority target of the water bandits. After cutting down several sailors, they forced everyone into the cockpit. Ouyang Xuan and his guards guarded the cabin door, stabbing those who rushed in, and occasionally throwing grenades out. The hatch was narrow, and even though there were many water bandits, they couldn't get in during the rush. It turned into a hatchet attack and defense battle. However, most of the casualties were water bandits, and the Perak troops in the cabin only injured a few people. Ouyang Xuan was also injured. His arm was scratched by a knife when he threw the grenade outside the cabin, and he was stabbed again in the back when he turned around. Fortunately, the arm injury was only a skin injury, and his back was not injured because it was protected by mail. This chain armor was bought by Mr. Qian from a peasant when he was doing business in Dajianlu. The ancestor of this Tibetan people was originally a Tubo general, but he had to sell this ancestral armor because of his family's financial difficulties. The reason why Tubo was able to compete with Arabia and the Tang Dynasty for hegemony was because they only had good horses, sharp soldiers and good armor. In particular, the cold-forged armor was extremely sophisticated and could not be penetrated by swords and arrows. Of course, this armor is also very heavy and inconvenient to wear. When Dong Hu asked Ouyang Xuan to wear this armor, he thought about it and agreed. Since the Perak Army officially formed, Ouyang Xuan has encountered several attempted assassinations, but they were all thwarted in the bud and were not so dangerous.
During the battle, another cannon shot was heard outside the cabin. Seeing that the water bandits were about to encircle the fleet, Huang Dagen hurriedly ordered the escort ship to meet them, and also ordered the sailors of the two light gunboats to row desperately out of the encirclement. At this moment, the two gunboats were far away from the bandits' boats, and they were aiming to fire at the bandits' leader ship, which was constantly waving flags. After several rounds of concentrated fire and shelling, the bandit's leader ship became riddled with holes. The water bandits on board were beaten to death, and the flagpole was also knocked crooked in the water. The water bandits who joined the gang to fight had suffered heavy casualties. Seeing that the command ship was attacked and the bandit leader's casualties were unknown, they all jumped into the water to escape. The emotion of failure is like a flu virus, it spreads very quickly, and soon the water bandits will escape.
Since this battle was fought on a vast river, most of the dead and injured of the water bandits were carried away by the rapids, and it is impossible to count them. It is estimated that there were dozens of people. The shelled water bandit command ship was riddled with holes and was captured by the Perak Army because it was unmanned. Most of the corpses on the boat were mutilated with blood and flesh, and their faces were unrecognizable. It was not confirmed whether there was a bandit leader. The boat was already leaking and could not be used, so it had to be abandoned. On the Perak Army side, seven people were killed and twenty-two were injured, most of whom were slightly injured. This was mainly because the personnel on this trip were all equipped with armor - the special forces personnel were equipped with iron armor, while the navy soldiers were equipped with leather armor. Li Kaipeng's team Personnel are also equipped with leather or rattan armor.
