Actually defeated?
The Great Zhou Navy was actually defeated?
This is a huge naval fleet with dozens of tower ships plus two to three hundred bluff ships and sentinel ships! Moreover, going down the river with the current and the wind and fighting against a group of old lock boats that don't even have oars and can't maneuver themselves in the headwind or countercurrent, how could they possibly lose? How can you lose?
With this loss, not only will Jiangxi's situation collapse, but it will also be doubtful whether Wuchang and Hanyang can hold on!
Just when Wu Sangui thought of this, Wu Shifan suddenly shouted loudly: "It's dangerous here, protect the emperor and leave here!"
As soon as he shouted, Wu Sangui's guards also discovered that their emperor was too close to the bank of the Yangtze River. If there were a few red cannons on those ships facing the Zhongshan Fort, it would be dangerous!
So a group of guards rushed forward, picked up Wu Sangui without any explanation and ran up and down Zhongshan Mountain. At the same time, the twelve red cannons on the Lower Zhongshan Fort fired. When Wu Sangui heard the roar of the cannon, he subconsciously turned around and looked around, just in time to see the black smoke ejected from the muzzle of a red cannon being blown by the wind and quickly drifting to the west!
The smoke of gunpowder goes to the west, that is the east wind!
Wu Sangui suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, pushed away the two guards who were holding him away, and then stood near the fort near the stairs going down the mountain, watching intently as the gunpowder smoke constantly sprayed from the muzzle quickly dispersed to the west.
That’s right, it’s Dongfeng!
The southwesterly wind that had been blowing for several days has now turned into a deadly easterly wind, and the wind is quite strong!
This wind came at the perfect time! If this wind had come a few days earlier, Wu Sangui would not have sent out the main force of his navy at all, but would have hidden them in Hanpokou and to the west of the Jiujiang-Xiaochikou blockade. Let naval warships rely on pontoons, iron chains locking the river, and coastal forts for defense.
If the westerly wind had arrived a few days later, Wu Sangui, who had learned of the navy's tragic defeat, would have been able to organize the army to evacuate Jiangxi in time. Although losses are inevitable, the main force can still safely retreat to the Huguang area.
As long as Wu Zhoujun can hold on to the Wuchang Mansion, the three-point world can still be stable for many years.
But now, Wu Sangui's navy has been defeated, and the southeast wind on the Yangtze River has risen. Looking at this wind force, it seems that it can push Li Zhongshan's old lock ships and building ships quickly to Hubei! The pontoons and iron cables in Jiujiang Fucheng and Xiaochikou could not withstand the impact of dozens or hundreds of large ships moving in with the wind. Even worse, Li Zhongshan discarded a few captured building boats and converted them into large fire boats. He burned all the pontoons and iron cables along the way.
Without the obstruction of pontoons and iron cables, the artillery deployed by Wu Sangui on the shore was simply not enough to resist the advance of the Ming fleet - it was nothing more than a few shellings. As long as the fleet could pass quickly, three or five ships would sink to the sky. .
This loss is nothing compared to the gains from seizing Wuchang and Hanyang in one fell swoop!
Once Wuchang and Hanyang are lost, where can Wu Sangui's army in Jiangxi retreat?
Thinking of this, Wu Sangui felt a sharp pain in his heart, and then his vision went dark and he lost consciousness!
"East wind! The east wind has risen! General, the east wind has risen!"
"General, now the navy can rush through the mouth of the lake and Xiaochikou in one go, and maybe even reach the territory of Hubei!"
"General, this is God helping the Ming Dynasty!"
"General, this is really a blessing that brings together the strength of heaven and earth!"
When the east wind blew, Li Zhongshan was leading more than 100,000 horsemen on the official road from Xiaogushan to Bali River - Bali River is an important place on the other side of Hukou (the north bank of the Yangtze River). Together with Hukou, we guard the Yangtze River waterway. More importantly, there is a large sandbar to the west of Balijiang River, which divides the Yangtze River waterway into two. To enter the waterway to the north of the sandbar, you have to pass near the Balijiang River. Therefore, as long as the Bali River is captured, Li Zhongshan's navy can enter the relatively safe waterway north of the sandbank. Then use this waterway as a base to compete for the entrance of Xiaochi in order to cover the main force of the Navy from further westward.
Li Zhongshan also reined in his horse and looked up at a red flag dancing in the east wind, feeling bursts of joy in his heart. Although it is not uncommon for southeasterly winds to blow on the Yangtze River in summer, isn't this wind a coincidence?
Wu Sangui's hundreds of thousands of troops are still trapped in Jiangxi! If the Yangtze River waterway is lost, how will he go back? Go to Mubu Mountain and attack Li Zicheng's anti-Wu base area? Didn’t Jiugong Mountain become the place where Wu Sangui was buried? Or take the Ganjiang River into the Yuanjiang River and finally retreat into Hunan? How many days does this journey take? If the Ming army chases them all the way, Wu Sangui will be lucky if one-third of them return to Huguang in the end!
It seems that this time the world is divided into three parts, it will not last for many years!
Thinking of this, Li Zhongshan immediately raised his voice, opened his throat, and shouted loudly: "Send the order. The whole army marches urgently. We must reach the Bali River before dark!"
"yes!"
The messengers who followed Li Zhongshan all answered loudly, and then some of them separated and received the order of arrows from the general Zhou Chang who was marching to join the army. Then they galloped on their horses to convey the order to the commander-in-chief of each town below. went.
"Boom boom boom"
Wu Sangui vaguely heard the rumbling "thunder" in his ears, and then asked: "Where. Where is the thunder?"
Then he heard the voices of his son Wu Yingxiong and grandson Wu Shifan.
"Father, are you awake? You are finally awake."
"Grandpa Huang, are you awake? My father and grandson are both anxious to death!"
Wu Sangui opened his tired eyes, took a look at Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shifan who were standing nearby and shed tears, and sighed softly - usually when the old emperor is about to die, the crown prince will be sad on the outside but happy on the inside. But Wu Yingxiong seemed to be really sad and crying. But his sadness was probably not because of filial piety, but because of the critical situation!
"Boom boom boom"
There was another burst of thunder.
"This is..." Wu Sangui thought for a moment, "The fort outside the city is firing? By the way, where am I?"
"Grandpa, you are in Jiujiang." Wu Shifan nodded. "The Ming army captured the Bali River the day before yesterday. In the early morning of this morning, they took advantage of the east wind and dispatched dozens of old lock boats and flat boats to attack the Jiujiang-Xiaochikou line. ! This sound of artillery is the fort outside the city firing at the Ming warships that are rushing towards the iron cables and pontoon bridge."
It turned out that Wu Sangui had been in coma for two days, probably because of some heart problem, and it was probably because of Li Zhongshan and Li Zicheng's cooperation that he was angry. However, he still had some time left, so he managed to survive.
"They, they rushed over?" Wu Sangui struggled to get up from the couch. Although he struggled, his whole body was weak, accompanied by waves of dizziness, and he almost collapsed again.
"Father, don't worry." Wu Yingxiong didn't dare to tell the truth to his father, so he had to persuade Wu Sangui not to worry.
"That means rushing over." Wu Sangui understood immediately, and almost blacked out again, but in the end he managed to hold on - Wu Sangui could still bear this little blow!
And he doesn’t dare to fall down now!
If he falls, the Great Zhou will most likely collapse soon.
Wu Sangui took a deep breath and said to Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shifan: "How many people in the army know about my illness?"
"some people"
"Grandpa, my father ordered the news to be blocked yesterday, but..."
Wu Sangui nodded: "Okay, hurry up, get someone to change my clothes and bring me my armor. I want to go to Jiujiang Fort in person to supervise the battle!"
"Father, your body"
"Grandpa, you must take care of yourself!"
Wu Sangui waved his hand and said to his son and grandson: "Now is not the time for me to take care of myself, I have to give it another try!"
"You still want to fight?" Wu Yingxiong looked at his father who seemed to be defeated, "Father, how can we fight again? Our navy suffered heavy losses, almost all the ships were lost, and Xia Guoxiang and Hu Guozhu didn't come back!"
When Wu Sangui heard that his two sons-in-law had not come back, his face turned a little pale, but he could still withstand it.
"It doesn't matter!" Wu Sangui gritted his teeth and said, "The naval division is gone, and we still have land divisions. In Jiangxi alone, I still have more than 200,000 land divisions!"
"But..." Wu Shifan shook his head, "Grandpa, if something goes wrong in Wuchang, our army in Jiangxi will not even have a way to retreat."
"Retreat? Why retreat?" Wu Sangui said with red eyes, "Is it possible that such a large territory in Jiangxi was handed over to someone named Li for free? Besides, the waterway leading out of Jiangxi has been blocked by the Ming army. It's better if we don't retreat. Once the Ming army retreats in large numbers, the Ming army will They will pursue fiercely, and when the more than 200,000 land divisions can withdraw, 30,000 to 50,000 will be considered too much!"
Wu Sangui is right. Since ancient times, the main passage in and out of Jiangxi has been the Yangtze River entering Poyang Lake, and then Poyang Lake entering waterways such as Ganjiang, Jinjiang, Wuyang, and Pojiang. There are many tributaries below these waterways, and all of them can Form a water system.
Therefore, the opening where the Yangtze River enters Poyang Lake is the main gateway in and out of Jiangxi. Now that the gate has been closed, Wu Sangui's army must retreat through the back door, climb through the window, and drill into dog holes. If he is not careful, the entire army will collapse and be completely finished!
More importantly, these troops abandoned in Jiangxi were mainly from Guan Ning, either the troops led by Wu Sangui personally, or the troops led by Prince Wu Yingxiong Liu!
If these two armies suffer heavy losses, the balance within the Great Zhou Dynasty will be broken!
Wu Yingqi's northwest army will overwhelm Guan Ning's army and become the backbone of Wu and Zhou's military force.
When the time comes, will Wu Yingqi still be willing to be the King of Qin and "serve the bear in the north" in the future? Even if Wu Yingqi is willing, what about Wu Shicong? Where are the Gansu and Shaanxi military leaders under Wu Yingqi?
If there is a split within Wu Zhou, then Wu Zhou's three-point world will really come to an end.
"But..." Wu Yingxiong looked at the old man with a bitter look on his face, "But if we don't withdraw, can Jiangxi be defended? If Li Zhongshan's navy goes westward with the wind and advances all the way to Wuchang, can we still go back?"
Wu Sangui said to his son with red eyes: "Ying Xiong, don't worry yet. We have one last chance!"
"What other opportunities are there?" Wu Yingxiong asked.
"Take Guangdong!" Wu Sangui said, "Ying Xiong, have you forgotten what Guogui is planning?"
"Ah, Father, I have remembered it." Wu Yingxiong nodded, "But can the third child's plan to seize Guangdong be accomplished now? The people of Guangdong must know that Li Zhongshan has..."
No matter how Wu Guogui tried to deceive Xiaotu, he had to have the support of the general trend of the world that was beneficial to the Wu family. After all, the strength of the Guangdong people was not weak. If they all protected the Ming Dynasty, Wu Guogui would not be able to defeat Guangzhou.
In the current situation, it is of little significance for Wu Guogui to seize Shaozhou, Nanxiong, Guiyang, and Chenzhou. It would be more beneficial for him to maintain his relationship with Li Zhongshan and Wu Xiaotuo.
Wu Sangui waved his hand: "Jiangxi still can't lose all the Yingxiong. As long as you sit in Jiujiang under my banner, the people of Jiangxi will be able to stabilize their hearts for a while. And Li Zhongshan will not be able to capture Wuchang soon. In this way, we The situation seems to be okay, then Guangdong still has a chance. My father and Shifan can fly to Hunan with 30,000 to 40,000 elite troops, join forces with the nobles, and then send 100,000 elite troops to attack Guangfu!"
Wu Yingxiong's heart skipped a beat: I'm fighting a thunderbolt in Jiangxi, you and Shifan lead the troops and run away first? Your old man is said to have millions of soldiers fighting in Jiangxi, but in fact there are only more than 200,000 capable of fighting. In fact, the tens of thousands are still naval troops, and now most of them have been lost. The remaining Dingtian is 200,000, and after deducting the tens of thousands brought by Jie Shu, the real elite land division of the Great Zhou Dynasty is only 150,000 or 60,000. You took away 40,000, and left me 11,200,000, and asked me to support the situation in Jiangxi and resist the hundreds of thousands of troops of Li Fuchen and Li Zhongshan.
"Father," Wu Yingxiong said, "can your old body and bones withstand such torture? How about I lead the troops to Guangdong for you?"
"What are you going to do?" Wu Sangui shook his head and said, "You are not Xiaotu's father. Just go to Guangdong and let the nobles take the lead. As long as I stay in Hengyang, I can inspire the people of Hunan and scare the powerful of Guangdong!"
"But..." Wu Yingxiong still looked confused, "Father, how can I be Li Zhongshan's opponent? If he doesn't attack Wuchang and instead attacks Jiujiang, what can I do?"
Wu Sangui waved his hand: "What are you afraid of? As long as I take Guangdong, the world's situation will be reversed. And Jiujiang Fort can definitely be defended for a while! Even if there is any eventuality, Li Zhongshan looked at Xiao Xian's face, I won’t embarrass you!”
In fact, Wu Sangui’s calculations were very accurate! It can be said that it is well-intentioned!
He must now be based in Hengyang to force Wu Guogui to go to Guangdong to gamble with Wu Xiaotuo. If they win, the Great Zhou Dynasty will lose to Jiangxi and Hubei, but gain to Guangdong. Guangdong is much stronger than Jiangxi and Hubei, and the country is not at a loss.
And the prince Wu Yingxiong will be fine. Li Zhongshan is not stupid. How about letting Wu Yingxiong go and let him have a "Xiong Qi fight" with Wu Yingqi?
If Wu Sangui and Wu Guogui fail to win the bet, then Wu Yingxiong should not go back and just surrender to Li Zhongshan. When he returns to the Zhou Dynasty, he will either encounter the Xuanwu Sect or the Jingnan War! Wu Yingqi will definitely kill him!
And once Wu Yingqi kills Wu Yingxiong, who will Wu Guogui hang out with? Does he dare to talk to Wu Yingqi? Wouldn't it be nice for him to take refuge with his daughter and son-in-law and be a Ming Dynasty prince who eats, drinks and has fun?
When Wu Yingxiong dies and Wu Guogui rebels, what will be left of the Zhou Dynasty?
But Wu Yingxiong didn't quite understand his father's intentions. He just felt that his father was going to "abandon" him again, just like when he left him as a hostage in Beijing!
Maybe his real favorite heir is still the second child, right?
At this time, Wu Sangui had no time to think about his son's little thoughts. Instead, with the help of Wu Shifan, he stood up reluctantly. While changing clothes with the help of the eunuchs and maids serving him, he explained to Wu Yingxiong: "Boss, Don't worry, your father will arrange it for you. When the time comes, you will defend Jiujiang, and then divide your troops to defend Xingzi County and Hukou County, and block Hanpokou! Let Jieshu take the surrendered troops to guard Nanchang, let them fight with Li Fuchen for a while. In this way, the situation in Jiangxi can last at least two or three months, and in two or three months, there will be a result in Guangdong!"
After Wu Yingxiong heard Wu Sangui's words, his heart felt cool. There were results in Guangdong. If Guangdong didn't win, then he would be finished in Jiujiang!
If Guangdong is captured, Li Zhongshan will become so angry that he will definitely break Jiujiang, and he will still be finished by then!
It would be a death to co-write him!
"Long live! Long live! Long live."
On the north bank of the Yangtze River, Xiaochikou.
When Wu Sangui supported the fort outside Jiujiang City, Xiaochikou, Wu Zhoujun's stronghold on the north bank of the Yangtze River, had already fallen under the attack from two sides by the Ming army! As a red flag was planted on the top of the city of Xiaochikou by the death squads of the Ming Army's Model No. 1 Town, the Ming Navy Navy on the Yangtze River and the officers and soldiers of the Army Division coming overland were all jubilant.
And a Yangtze River floating bridge connecting Xiaochikou and Jiujiang Fucheng also turned into a fire dragon at this time and was burning!
Wu Zhoujun's Xiaochikou-Jiujiang defense line has fallen under the fierce attack of the Ming army. The gate to Wuchang has been opened, and Wu Sangui has not much time left.
(End of chapter)
