Since there were no Mongolian naval forces on the Chuanjiang River, and most of the water bandits had been wiped out, Zan Wanshou went to Jiading to take office. He was accompanied by less than a hundred people, including about fifty escorts, divided into five large ships. According to common sense, this escort force is enough, because the water bandits will not rob the official fleet. On the one hand, the official fleet is powerful. Take Zan Wanshou's guard as an example. These fifty people are all elite soldiers, whether they are individual soldiers or not. The fighting ability is also very strong in team combat. Not to mention that ordinary water bandits dare not provoke them, they are still capable of fighting even when facing the Mongolian army. On the other hand, official ships don't have much oil and water at all. Those official documents, official seals, and travel rituals are nothing compared to the food, cloth, salt and other goods of merchant ships in the eyes of water bandits. What's more important is that robbing an official ship will inevitably lead to retaliation and even catastrophe. The water bandits' business of licking blood depends on the cost-effectiveness of robbery. Official ships with high risks and low returns are obviously not their targets.
After the enemy gunboat opened fire, more than ten small boats behind it also passed by the five large ships of the official ship. However, these ships did not get close to the official ship for boarding and gang fighting. Instead, they threw sparking iron balls at the official ship. These iron balls fell into the cabin and rolled around. Just when everyone was panicking, those iron balls also made a huge explosion, and in an instant, the guards and followers fell to the ground. After the dozen or so small boats filed past, the five official boats were already filled with cries and shouts, their hulls were also scarred, and two of them started to catch fire.
Zan Wanshou's ship suffered the least damage and suffered the fewest casualties. This was because it not only avoided artillery bombardment, but also because the towering wooden planks of the cockpit blocked many incoming iron balls. Hou Xing, who was guarding him, also took the risk and threw back the two sparkling iron balls. Three official ships were able to sail normally even though their crews were knocked about by the bombing. The most severely damaged was the ship that was hit by artillery fire. Not only were all the people on board killed or injured, but the cabin also began to flood and turned into a huge fire floating on the river. The bright fire illuminated the entire river. .
After the first round of attacks by the enemy gunboats and those small boats, they were turning around and preparing to catch up with them for the second round of attacks. Although the official ship was large, it was slow. At this time, it fled upstream in the direction of Jiading, and would soon be overtaken by the enemy's light boat. Moreover, Hou Xing and his sailors were not familiar with the waterways of the Minjiang River at all, and their ships were likely to run aground on dangerous shoals when sailing at night. Therefore, Zan Wanshou ordered the remaining four official ships to adjust their bows and prepare for a decisive battle with the enemy. After this short encounter, Hou Xing has discovered the enemy's weakness. Although the gunboat is powerful, the ship has poor stability and requires a long preparation time. The iron balls thrown by the boat are fast and dense, but those iron balls can If blocked by a shield, you can even throw it back.
Hou Xing is indeed an excellent general, and his judgment is very accurate. At this moment, the gunboat was busy reloading, trying to replicate the results of the first round of shelling, and the small boats were following behind, preparing to attack upstream. At this moment, the official ship is tall and occupies the upper reaches. If it is a traditional water battle with gang jumping and close combat, they will not be at a disadvantage, but the enemy will be as Hou Xing wishes. First, the gunboats fired horizontally, aimed at the official ship on the side of the ship, and then quickly shelled. The small boat blocked the pursuing official ship and threw iron balls violently. Although this round of shelling did not injure many people, it still caused another official ship to lose its combat effectiveness. As for the iron balls thrown over, although most of them were blocked by shields and fell into the water, several sergeants were still killed and injured.
Hou Xing raised his eyes and looked around. There were only three official ships left, and there were only more than 30 capable personnel. Among them, there were only more than ten sergeants. The rest were all accompanying scribes, scribes and other accompanying personnel. At this moment, they also took the He took up his dagger and shield and stood guard on the side of the ship. The enemy did not lose a single ship, and only a few people were killed or injured. These people were all shot and wounded by the sergeants on the official ship with crossbows. In order to prevent crossbows, shield walls have been erected on the sides of the enemy's boats. Fortunately, the gunboat hiding behind the boat was sinking slowly at the moment. It seemed that the two rounds of guns were too powerful, cracking the hull structure and causing water to enter the cabin.
Although Zan Wanshou came from a literary background, he was not a person who was greedy for life and afraid of death. He understood that today was a day of danger and was determined to fight the enemy to the death. At that moment, he held a sword in his right hand and a shield in his left hand. He pushed away Hou Xing who was blocking him, walked to the side of the ship, and said loudly, "Today is the time to serve the country. Those who retreat will be killed. If I retreat, everyone can be killed." I". The raging fire on the burning ship made his face red, making him even more heroic. The people on the official ship were inspired by his generous words and vowed to be benevolent. Even the wounded lying on the deck were infected by the atmosphere and shouted loudly to enhance their reputation.
The common hatred of everyone on the official ship and the damage of the gunboat made the enemies on the small boat appear hesitant. At this moment, they still have nearly a hundred people. It is not difficult to kill the official ship, but they will suffer huge casualties despite the stubborn resistance. After hesitating for a moment, a loud voice on the boat rang out: "Brothers on the official boat, we are the Pili Army and the Navy. Today, we are here to take Zan Wanshou's head under the orders of Lord Ouyang Xuan. All the brothers need to do is take Zan Wanshou's head. With a head on your neck, not only can you survive, but you can also get promoted and make a fortune."
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of intensive artillery fire rang out again, as if to cheer for this call to surrender. After the cannon fired, Zan Wanshou found that no one on the boat on his side was hit. Instead, there were wailing and shouting from the opposite boat, and a large number of enemies standing with shields fell down. The enemy gunboat behind the boat also seemed to be bombarded, and flames broke out on the hull. At this time, Zan Wanshou and Hou Xing realized that the shelling did not come from the enemy's gunboat, but from the water behind it.
After the smoke passed, the sharp-eyed Hou Xing cheered. Zan Wanshou looked in the direction of his finger and saw three merchant ships slowly appearing on the water behind the enemy ships. It is said that it is night now, and the burning ships clearly illuminate the battlefield, but there is darkness outside the battlefield, and people within the firelight cannot see the situation outside the battlefield. This is the so-called "darkness under the lamp." Coupled with the sound of cannons, shouts of killing, and wails, neither warring party noticed several merchant ships coming downstream. I saw these merchant ships slowly turning the other side of the ship and pointing the black muzzle at the enemy who still looked confused. Someone screamed and jumped into the river first, and then the enemies in the boats also jumped into the river. Only a few enemies who were still confused were torn to pieces by the ensuing artillery fire.
After the second round of artillery, the noisy and chaotic battlefield suddenly became quiet, with only the gentle flow of the river and the crackling of the ships burning. Hou Xing could see clearly that although the firepower of the three subsequent merchant ships was not very powerful against the ships, the firepower was wide and dense. It hit the human body like a giant scythe cutting wheat seedlings, covering a large area at once. Except for the lucky ones who jumped into the water and escaped, most of the enemies were wiped out in those two rounds of shelling. At present, the corpses of more than a dozen enemy ships are lying on the ground. Compared with those who were killed on the spot, the situation of those who were shot and injured is more unlucky. At this moment, they are constantly wailing and struggling in pain.
