If the Pili gunboats were like peeling an onion when bombarding the Mongolian fleet, then the blasting ships were like cutting the onions with a sharp knife when dealing with the Mongolian army. After three rounds of blasting ships, the front half of the Mongolian fleet - now the second half - has been completely lost. The command ship, which was originally surrounded by layers of people in the center, is now located at the very back of the escape route. In addition to the heavy and slow movement of the Mongolian army's command ship, the Mongolian army's ships were scurrying around in all directions, and the wide river was blocked with water. There was no waterway in front of them.
The last round of gunpowder smoke has not cleared yet, and a new wave of blasting ships from the Perak Army rushed in again, targeting the Mongolian command ship. Before that, Le Quan'an ventured to the highest point of the ship's mast, discovered this largest and most luxurious ship through a telescope, and concluded that this was the Mongolian army command ship. Under the first three waves of blasting ship attacks, all Mongolian ships blocking the command ship were destroyed. At that moment, he ordered the fourth wave of ten blasting ships to conduct a concentrated assault. They must destroy the ship in one fell swoop to destroy the Mongolian army's command system.
Seeing the blasting ship rushing towards them, the Mongolian fleet screamed again. Some people tried their best to shoot rockets at the boat, while others controlled the crossbow at the stern of the boat to shoot. However, the rockets had no effect, and the crossbow could not hit the target at all. Seeing the blasting ship getting closer and closer, some people on the Mongolian army command ship began to jump into the water, while some brave and fearless men drove boats to meet it, and some people closed their eyes in despair.
After another earth-shattering explosion, one third of the ships at the rear of the Mongolian fleet turned into wood flying everywhere. Le Quan'an saw that moment clearly through the telescope: first, the flowing river water suddenly stagnated, and then the river water around the explosion point suddenly rushed into the air, even exposing the stones at the bottom of the river. The next moment, the river water fell, and the river course surged. , the river water surged violently in all directions with huge impact, even stopping the forward momentum of the Pili army fleet, and pushing the remaining Mongolian army ships downstream.
This wave of blasting ships basically exploded around the Mongolian army's command ship. Although the number of ships destroyed was not comparable to that of several times, it achieved Le Quan'an's goal of completely destroying the Mongolian army's command system. Under the huge explosion shock wave, not only the Mongolian army's command ship disappeared, but also the ships on which its soldiers were riding were all destroyed. However, this concentrated blasting inadvertently cleared the blocked waterway and accelerated the escape of the remaining Mongolian ships. Before the smoke cleared, Le Quan'an commanded the Perak troops to chase downstream.
There are still more than fifty ships in the remaining Mongolian fleet. Except for more than ten of these ships, which hurriedly headed downstream toward Meizhou, most of them entered the Jinjiang waterway and headed for Chengdu. Since the Jinjiang waterway is much narrower than the Minjiang waterway, it is conducive to the escape of the Mongolian troops in small boats, but not conducive to the pursuit of the Perak troops in larger boats. Therefore, Le Quan'an only sent a light boat to follow and pursue. Because there is a Pili Army fleet in the direction of Meizhou. Although it is mainly heavy artillery ships and baggage ships, there are five light artillery ships and ten escort ships. There is no need to worry about the escape of the more than ten Mongolian warships. Therefore, Lequan'an only sent five escort ships to pursue. As for the main fleet, it stayed to treat the wounded, urgently repair the damaged hull and clean the battlefield.
During the fierce battle on the water surface of Pengshan, Ouyang Xuan and his party also approached Meizhou City. The damage to Meizhou City in the flood was not serious. Except for half of the navy's ships capsized, the rest of the Mongolian army was still intact. There were 1,500 new auxiliary troops and 500 cavalry in the city. Together with the 500 cavalry who had escaped from Pengshan City, it was a strong force. The special brigade that followed did not dare to approach Meishan City, and was still stationed on the mountain five miles outside the city. Although the individual soldiers of the special brigade were powerful and equipped with firearms, Dong Hu did not dare to be careless and asked his men to dig several trenches, build two earth walls, and lay many mines on the way up the mountain. Ouyang Xuan's order to him was to contain the enemy outside the city, not to attack. As for the main force in attacking Meizhou, it is naturally assumed by the navy brigade.
After Ouyang Xuan arrived in Meizhou with his fleet, he asked Yu Laodou, who was accompanying him, to conduct a test attack. Unexpectedly, the Mongolian navy in Meizhou was extremely fierce. As soon as the Pili Army's heavy artillery ships bombarded the target at the top of the city, they rushed directly towards the heavy artillery ships, without fear of the firepower of the escort ships and light artillery ships. When the heavy artillery ship retreated out of range, they retreated and hid under the protection of the city's artillery. It is said that the Mongolian Navy stationed in Meizhou did not fall behind in the confrontation with the Jiading Navy, but they showed confidence, so they were not passively beaten. Although half of the ships were capsized due to floods, there are still more than 70 ships after salvage and repairs. These Mongolian ships are light and fast, and if they swarm up, they may rush to the side of the heavy artillery ship.
Heavy artillery ships are extremely expensive to build, and one of them is worth more than the more than 70 small boats of the Mongolian army. With the current insufficient firepower density of the escort ships and light gun ships, Ouyang Xuan was definitely not willing to take the risk and forcefully attack the city. Immediately, he ordered the fleet to anchor and wait for Le Quan'an to lead the main force of the navy. As long as the firepower density is sufficient, the small boats of the Mongolian army will be destroyed midway no matter how fast they are. As long as the enemy navy is eliminated, the heavy artillery ships will show their power. They only need to concentrate their fire to destroy the city defenses, leaving the remaining can be easily solved by the field brigade and teaching battalion infantry.
While waiting, a lot of wreckage and corpses floated down from the upper reaches, most of which belonged to the Mongolian army, and very few belonged to the Perak army. Ouyang Xuan deduced from this situation that the navy brigade had won, and it was a big victory. After waiting for a day, Le Quan'an led the main force of the naval brigade to the waters of Meizhou City. Ouyang Xuan did not rush to order the siege, but first listened to Le Quan'an's report on the battle situation, and then the staff formulated a battle plan. Le Quan'an judged based on the situation of cleaning the battlefield that the Mongolian army destroyed at least 260 ships and captured 33 ships in this battle. Twenty-one of these ships ran aground, and the other twelve were abandoned on the way to Meizhou. The Mongolian army lost about 2,000 soldiers, most of whom were killed by bombings and drownings, and only a few who were burned to death. The Perak Army only captured more than 600 prisoners.
Compared with the losses of the Mongolian army, the losses of the Perak army can be considered minor, with less than 60 ships destroyed or damaged. Among them, three escort ships were burned, eight were damaged, forty demolition ships, and six light boats were sunk. In terms of personnel losses, there were a total of more than 220 casualties, including more than 80 fatalities and more than 140 minor or serious injuries. Most of the casualties were caused by Mongolian warships and artillery guns, followed by close combat, and then by sailors from blasting ships.
Although the blasting ship was not a suicide attack, the casualty rate was extremely high. These demolitionists were all volunteers who harbored hatred for their families and their country. Although they knew they were close to death, they still rushed towards the enemy lines without hesitation. Of the forty sailors who controlled the blasting ship in this battle, eleven were killed and twenty-six were slightly or seriously injured. Only three were safe and sound, and the casualty rate was as high as 90%. But the effect was also extremely significant. It is estimated that at least half of the ships lost by the Mongolian army were sunk by blasting ships.
Although this battle was a complete victory, after hearing Le Quan'an's battle report, Ouyang Xuan looked solemn and ordered the fleet to lower the flag at half-mast to mourn the victims of the Perak Army. Those soldiers who sacrificed their lives heroically will always be remembered.
