"Soldiers are expensive and quick". After capturing Pengshan City, the Pili fleet did not stop, but continued to Meizhou. Pengshan is less than fifty miles away from Meizhou by waterway. It can be reached in one day by going down the river. Twenty miles away from Meizhou City, the fleet suddenly split into two parts, and most of the warships headed back upstream under the leadership of Le Quan'an. Ouyang Xuan continued to Meizhou with his staff, accompanied by ten heavy artillery ships, five light artillery ships, ten escort ships, and a large number of transport ships carrying infantry.
The fleet changed its plan because reinforcements from the Mongolian army arrived. First, a large group of Mongolian cavalry appeared on the other side of the river in Pengshan City. They crossed the river without a boat, and when they saw the two characters "Thunderbolt" on the flag on the city head, they rode their horses along the river bank toward Meizhou. Soon after, most of the new auxiliary infantry arrived on the other side of Pengshan City. Their reaction was similar to that of the Mongolian cavalry, and they also moved downstream along the river bank. If it were just these Mongolian reinforcements, Ouyang Xuan wouldn't care at all. It was the Mongolian navy that sailed down the Jinjiang River from Chengdu that allowed most of the Pili Army's ships to return.
Liu Heima, who was in Chengdu, knew very well that in order to take root in this dense river network in Western Sichuan, infantry and cavalry alone were obviously not enough. Therefore, he attached great importance to the navy. Not only did he reuse the surrendered Song Army's navy, but he also spent huge sums of money to build Many ships greatly expanded the strength of the Mongolian navy in Sichuan and performed well in the Battle of Jiading. Pengshan City is extremely important to the Mongolian navy. If it falls into the hands of the Perak Army, not only will the south channel to the Minjiang River be blocked, but the city of Chengdu will be under the threat of the Perak Army's heavy artillery ships. Therefore, after receiving the warning that Pengshan City was attacked, Liu Heima mobilized elite infantry and cavalry to come for reinforcements on the one hand, and on the other hand, he used all the warships available to the navy to prepare to compete with the Perak Army for water control. His plan was to ensure that the infantry and cavalry could cross the river without interference even if they could not defeat the Perak Army and Navy.
Liu Heima's confidence comes from the current strength of the Mongolian army and navy. This time he sent a total of more than 300 ships of various sizes. Although many of these ships were converted civilian ships and were only used for gang fighting, there were also more than fifty newly built warships. These new warships are not only light and flexible, but also equipped with ballistae, trebuchets, and even more than ten fire warships and several warships equipped with artillery. The navy is a very expensive branch, and the cost of shipbuilding alone is a huge expense. Of course, compared to the cost of ships, the cost of weapons is the largest part. Even if the Pili Army is mainly engaged in the industrial and commercial economy and has a large amount of salt, iron and other minerals in its territory, it is extremely difficult to raise a naval army. This is why the artillery configuration of the Pili Army's warships has never reached full strength. It is not easy for Liu Heima to accumulate so many warships in the past few months.
Ouyang Xuan was a little surprised when he learned that the Mongolian navy coming from Chengdu to aid had so many ships. Immediately, they discussed countermeasures with Le Quan'an, Huang Dagen and others - Cao Ergou and Yu Zhu who were accompanying them were speechless because they were not good at fighting. Everyone formed a unanimous opinion on the significance and tactical arrangements of this battle. Everyone agreed that this duel between the two naval forces was not only related to the ownership of Pengshan and Meizhou, but also related to the future situation in western Sichuan, and even affected the life and death of the Perak Army, so they could only win but not lose.
In terms of tactical arrangements, the Perak Army and Navy will use their elite combat capabilities to fight lightly. Troop transports, heavy artillery ships, ammunition and grain and other baggage ships will continue to Meizhou under the protection of a small number of escort ships, while the remaining warships rush upstream at full speed to seize favorable terrain where the Jinjiang River merges into the Minjiang River. The reason why Le Quan'an did not enter the Jinjiang River and chose the battlefield at the intersection of the two rivers was because the Pili warships were large but few, while the Mongolian warships were small but numerous. The water here is wide, which is more conducive to taking advantage of larger ships.
There is some controversy over whether Ouyang Xuan participated in the water battle. Ouyang Xuan believed that this was a crucial battle and he should take the lead instead of being with the troop transports and baggage ships. Even if you don’t intervene in command, you should still be on the front line to boost morale. Yu Zhu, Huang Dagen and others expressed different views on this. They believed that Ouyang Xuan should not put himself in danger. He was on the battlefield and would instead have Le Quan'an send heavy troops to protect his ship, thus tying up his command. Le Quan'an and Huang Dagen were silent to what the two said, and Ouyang Xuan knew that they were actually opposed to his participation in the war, so he had no choice but to agree to continue to Meizhou City.
Because they were going upstream, the Pili Army warships took half a day to return to the waters of Pengshan City, and it was already getting late. Le Quan'an also ordered people to sail at night with lights on. They sailed straight to the place where the Jinjiang River merged into the Minjiang River three miles upstream, and then ordered the fleet to dock and anchor. At this time, the Mongolian fleet had also docked, still more than ten miles away from the intersection of the two rivers. To say that the Mongolian army went down the river, they should have arrived at the Pengshan waters before the Perak army sailed against the current. However, the Pili army's clippers harassed them all the way. In addition, there were many boats and the Jinjiang waterway was narrow. The commander of the Mongolian navy was unusual. He was cautious, so he didn't move very fast, but he was robbed of favorable terrain by Le Quan'an.
At three o'clock in the morning the next day, the leading fleet of the Mongolian navy entered the waters of the Minjiang River. Prior to this, the reconnaissance clippers of both sides had clashed dozens of times. Judging from the results of the battle, the Perak Army lost three small boats, while the Mongolian Army lost eleven. The Pili army ships were sunk by trebuchets and ballistae, while the Mongolian army was lost to grenades. However, as it gets closer to the intersection of the two rivers, the water surface of the Jinjiang River becomes wider and wider. The forward array of the Mongolian fleet becomes wider and its firepower becomes stronger. This makes it difficult for the Perak Army's reconnaissance speedboats to approach.
Taking advantage of the speed of the water flow, the Mongolian army's leading fleet of about thirty ships appeared on the water at the river mouth, forming a dispersed formation and quickly pounced on the Perak ships one mile upstream. These ships not only have sails, but also have oarsmen rowing desperately, so they move very fast. However, the Perak Army had been waiting here for a long time. They saw a salvo of light artillery boats, and these Mongolian ships were enveloped in artillery fire. When the smoke cleared, there were still more than twenty Mongolian ships advancing, which puzzled Le Quan'an. According to past experience, these light ships will be covered by artillery fire, and even if they do not sink, they will lose their mobility due to personnel damage.
Seeing the Mongolian ships getting closer and closer, Le Quan'an waved his flag and ordered the escort ship to meet them. The fleet of the Perak Army has light gunboats in the center, escort ships lined up on the front and sides, and special ships at the rear. The bows of the escort ships lined up in the front were all equipped with ramming angles, and they directly rammed into the ships rushing towards the Mongolian army. The Mongolian ships disintegrated one after another wherever they plowed. Seeing the Mongolian ships sinking rapidly, Le Quan'an realized this time why the light gunboats were so ineffective against these ships. It turns out that in order to prevent cannon boats from shotgun fire, the Mongols not only increased the thickness of wooden boards at key parts, but even used thin iron plates as armor at all costs. It seems that the Mongolian army's ability to learn warfare in war is indeed well-deserved.
Dealing with this kind of armored clipper is the shortcoming of the Pili Army's artillery warships. It cannot be penetrated with shotgun shells, and the hit rate with solid bullets is too low, and it will be close to the body quickly. At this time, the role of the escort ship comes into play. Under the impact, the first wave of assaulting Mongolian warships basically disintegrated. The remaining ships rushed forward and were also blocked by other escort ships. The Mongolian troops on board were also eliminated in gang-hopping operations. It is said that grenades and muskets can be used as weapons in gang fighting.
