It is actually not easy for the North Navy to attack Hue. Although after days of shelling, Hue has almost become an empty city, but it is more difficult to enter Hue from the outside sea.
This is a city surrounded by mountains, rivers, lakes and seas. It is surrounded by Changshan Mountains in the west and sixteen miles away from the sea in the east. Si Xun and Sixian Xun are the two waterways that enter the Xiangjiang waters; Xiangjiang passes through the south of the city and Puze Sanyuan. To the left and right, Sanjiangtan, Qinglantan and Hezhongtan are the three passes on the Xiangjiang River respectively.
The Beihai No. 1 and No. 2 captured from Tsarist Russia were both British-style second-class sailing ships. Although they did not need to be equipped with so many artillery after modification, they were covered with a layer of copper from the lower edge of the main waist plate to the bottom of the ship. A diesel motor was installed; and because the 75mm cannon fired quickly, more shells were prepared. Coupled with the Marine Battalion personnel and other supplies, the draft is not much less than before, almost six meters.
According to the results of the reconnaissance and survey results of the North Korean Navy sent out small boats a few days ago, even in the deepest waterway in Sihun, the water depth is only eight feet five inches at high tide and only seven feet at low tide. With the size of Beihai No. 1 and No. 2, it is impossible to get in.
If an assault boat is sent in, it will not be able to carry too much equipment and ammunition. There is a total of thirty miles of waterway from the estuary of the Xiangjiang River to Hue City. The Taishan Army is bound to intercept them layer by layer on both sides of the Xiangjiang River, and the fight will be very difficult.
"Oh, if I had known, I would have left two black dinghy boats to bring over. Even a flat-bottomed boat with a few hundred stones will do!" After Deng Fei asked Ye Chengxiang to learn about the situation of the Xiangjiang waterway in detail, he couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.
After hearing the words of the leader of the Northern Navy, Ye Chengxiang said: "General Deng, there are ships in Hoi An, but the wind is blowing from the northeast, and it may be difficult to go north against the current."
"It doesn't matter. Our boat is not affected by the monsoon. There is no problem in sailing against the current. We can drag the boat back." After Deng Fei explained, he quickly asked: "If we set off to Hoi An now, when can you prepare the boat?"
When Ye Chengxiang heard this, he was overjoyed and said hurriedly: "The ships are all ready-made and parked in the port. My Ye family's Lian Chang Ji alone has two black stern ships with three hundred materials under my name."
"How deep is the draft?"
Ye Chengxiang said with great certainty: "If it is fully loaded, it will be eight feet."
"Are there any with a shallower draft?"
"That's a big open-tail fishing boat with a draft of three feet and six inches."
Deng Fei asked curiously: "Big open stern? What kind of ship is this and what is its size?"
Ye Chengxiang thought for a while and said: "It is eighty-four feet long and fifteen feet wide. It can hold more than two hundred materials."
After hearing this, Deng Fei hurriedly converted it with a pen on paper. According to Ye Chengxiang, the wide open tail is 28 meters long and 5 meters wide, with a load capacity of about 80 tons and a draft of no more than 2 meters.
There is actually a formula for the draft of ancient Chinese sailing ships. Taking Guangzhou Shipbuilding as an example, the hull width of small ships is generally about 0.2 times the length of the ship, and the maximum is no more than 0.3 times. The draft is generally 0.38 times the ship width; while for large ships, the hull width is generally 0.47~0.5 times the hull width, and the mainmast is The height does not exceed 75% of the length of the ship. The foremast is 70% of the height of the mainmast, and the sternmast is 70% of the height of the foremast.
"How many troops does the Tay Son Army have in Hoi An?"
"Only one of the troops from Hui'an Camp is stationed fifteen miles west of the city. There are more than 40 large and small ships in the water camp, and the strength is about 2,000 people."
Deng Fei nodded and said: "Mr. Ye, the Thunder God will sail soon. Let's go to Hoi'an together. We need the big open tail, at least twenty. I don't have enough sailors here, so I need your help."
"Please rest assured, sir. Although there are not many merchants in Datang Street today, there are plenty of fishing boats and people who know how to operate boats. Within two days, I will be able to gather the boats and sailors that you need!"
Taking the sea route from Hue to Hoi An, if you follow the coast, the distance is only 120 kilometers, which is less than 65 nautical miles. At the speed of the Thor, it takes more than 4 hours.
Deng Fei left immediately. He immediately notified the two motor and sailboats and asked them to stay here to handle the entrance to the sea and monitor the movements of the Xishan Army. Then the Thunder God weighed anchor and set off.
Ye Chengxiang was so shocked by everything on the Thor that he couldn't describe it in words. He thought that his father was really right to let him come on this trip. If we can rely on the big ship of the Northern Navy, the Ye family will be prosperous in the future.
Not long after Deng Fei and the others left, a fleet of more than 20 crow boats under the banner of Jiu Ruan suddenly appeared on the ocean ten miles north of Hue.
"Sir, there is a sail ten miles away! It is a Western-style sailing ship!"
On a stern ship with a large flag that read "Sea Patrol Capital Camp Ho", the sailor in the top of the mast observed with a telescope for a long time, then pointed to the southwest and loudly reported to an official waiting under the mast.
After the official heard this, he turned around, walked a few steps quickly, and said to another official sitting on a chair in front of the poop: "Master Qi..."
"Shouting so loudly, I would have heard you!"
The official said sarcastically: "Isn't this what your Excellency has ordered? If something happens, you must report it to every level. You are not allowed to go beyond the level."
Under the red umbrella, there is an official in his thirties with five long beards, a futou on his head, silver ornaments on his forehead, a purple robe, and a cowhide belt inlaid with tortoiseshell hanging from his waist. The way he is dressed is not the official uniform of the Xishan Dynasty, but the clothing of Jiu Ruan who followed Li Zheng. Judging from the Bai Zebuzi on this man's chest, he is at least a third-grade military attache.
"Yeah." The military attaché curled his lips and turned to a military general in his twenties beside him and said, "Zhongtong, you are brave and careful, and you do things safely. Brother, I, uh, I am most at ease sending you."
The young general's name was Huang Zhongtong, and his official position was "Feiqiwei", the fifth rank. I saw him cupping his hands and saying: "Brother, we have gathered a lot of people from Mo Guanfu along the way. If they get into trouble because of this..."
"Hey, you and I are under the command of King Ruan, which is different from those rebels in Xishan."
"Yes. Just follow your brother's orders."
The general stroked his beard and said with a smile on his face: "Since they have been attacking Hue City for days, they must be friendly forces. If they can help King Jialong capture Hue City, hehe, this is the only credit he deserves. It's no big deal! That bitch Chen Tianbao can be a Marquis of Baode. Why can't you and I help King Ruan become a Marquis in times of crisis? Take my invitation and remember, you must not do anything to the Northern Navy. It’s disrespectful.”
After saying that, the person next to me handed over a red name card. Huang Zhongtong quickly took it and saw three big characters "He Xiwen" written in calligraphy in the middle of the greeting card, and on the left side in small characters "Guangnan Kingdom Patrol Sea Patrol Camp in front of King Ruan's Palace, Zhengsanpin".
This general was He Xiwen, the founding hero of the Nguyen Dynasty who was famous in the history of another time and space. He was also the number one navy general under Nguyen Phuc Anh. After his death, he was enshrined in the Xianzhong Temple in Jiading and presented to General Chao Ngai, commander of the navy, and the Shanghu Army.
The historical records about He Xiwen's early years are very vague. The Annan historical materials about his life experience are all provided by later generations, which is quite watery.
According to the official historical data of the Ruan Dynasty, this person was from Sichuan, and his original name was He Xianwen. In his early years, he had joined the Hunyuan Sect, a variant of the White Lotus Sect. It is said that he also raised flags and rebelled in Sichuan. Later, he changed his identity and became the leader of Tiandihui. So some people said that this man was the early leader of Tiandihui in Vietnam.
Haha, the originator of the Vietnamese secret society is the "Bao Xiang Sect", which was only founded in 1848. What was the early world of heaven and earth? The deceitful robber Roadhog, oh yes, there must also be a pirate.
In fact, according to the timetable of He Xiwen's appearance in Annan, it can be concluded that at least when Lin Shuangwen was wreaking havoc in Taiwan, he had already taken his men to Kunlun Island in the south of Annan and settled there. Therefore, he was probably just a junior member of the Tiandihui in the Chaoshan area before, not even a leader. Because after the Lin Shuangwen Rebellion, the Tiandihui appeared in the Qing court's sight. Sun Shiyi once strictly investigated the Tiandihui members in Guangdong and Guangxi, and all the big and small leaders were included in the roster.
Furthermore, before the fifty-first year of Qianlong's reign, there had never been any White Lotus Sect uprisings in Sichuan, but there were quite a few Zoruzi rebellions, while the Hunyuan Sect's tentacles at most only extended to the fringes of Xiangyang and Nanba Laolin. It is estimated that He Xiwen either had difficulty in defrauding money after joining the religion, or was defrauded of a lot of money, so he fled to Guangdong.
At that time, you could join the "Heaven and Earth Mutual Aid Association" by paying a hundred cents. If you could recruit some people, it would be a way to make money. Yan Yan and others relied on this to make money. However, after He Xiwen arrived in Guangdong, he quickly became a pirate. After he had some capital, he led his men from the Beibu Gulf to the Conlun Island area to rob passing merchant ships, and then met Ruan Fuying.
Speaking of his encounter with Ruan Fu Anh, it is quite interesting.
According to the records of "Gia Dinh Tongzhi", in the spring of 1786, well, this is another spring story... At that time, Nguyen Phuc Anh's army was defeated by the Tay Son Army again, and he took a few of his men to escape from Ha Tien. When passing Conlun Island, he was suddenly surrounded by more than a hundred Chinese pirate ships. The opponent's flagship is a large three-masted sailboat with a black hull and red deck, with the word "He" on the flag.
Needless to say, this is He Xiwen's fleet.
Nguyen Phuc Anh was only 25 years old at the time, but he had already fought against the Tay Son Dynasty for ten years with the remnant forces of the old Nguyen, and he had rich political experience. After being surrounded by He Xiwen's fleet, the lonely Ruan Phuc felt relieved, straightened his clothes, walked to the bow of the ship alone, and told the surrounding pirates that he was a troubled king whose country had been "annihilated" and that there was nothing on the ship. If all of you can help me defeat the enemy, I would like to unite the country and divide it and rule it when it is accomplished.
Look at how clear these words are, just follow me, and from now on you will be king!
It is said that no one who has some emotional intelligence will take it seriously. The so-called phoenix in distress is not as good as a chicken. Ruan Phuc Anh is just playing the erhu in the grave. What nonsense!
But He Xiwen and his pirates believed it, and they "cut off the chicken head and burned the yellow paper" and swore an oath on the spot, calling themselves brother... Bah! It's the king.
You must know that He Xiwen is proficient in writing and is deeply influenced by the traditional folk chivalrous culture (he has read many dramas, listened to many storytellings, and has never read a single serious book). He has traveled around the sea all year round, so he is quite convinced by Ruan Fu Anh's rhetoric. of. Moreover, Nguyen Phuc Anh had been at odds with the Tay Son Army in the Jiading area for many years, calling himself the "Nguyen Lord of Dai Viet", so a group of pirates who had no future at all felt that an opportunity had come.
After that, He Xiwen sent his men to escort Nguyen Phuc Anh to Bangkok, Siam, to defect to Rama I. The next year, there was internal strife in the Tay Son Army and Jiading's troops were empty, so Nguyen Phuc Anh seized the opportunity and returned to Ha Tien. This time, He Xiwen personally led a fleet to greet him, and Ruan Fuying named him a third-rank patrol commander on the spot.
The year before last, in 1788, Ruan Phuc Anh reoccupied Jiading and gave He Xiwen 100 guan of money, 20 pieces of silk cloth and a large amount of rice as a reward. He Xiwen was also asked to return to Guangdong to recruit more pirates to come and fight against the Xishan Dynasty.
As a result, Fujian and Guangdong pirates became popular in Annan; Daiqing was busy dealing with Beihai Town and had no time to deal with them, so the new Ruan and the old Ruan rushed to recruit them. However, Ruan Fuying was quite sensible and knew that in order to unify Annan, he must be recognized by the Qing Dynasty and must not be provoked, so he did not let He Xiwen plunder the Guangdong coast, otherwise he would also be on Zhao Xin's "blacklist".
Last summer, He Xiwen took four crow boats northward, first to scout the movements of the Xishan Army, and then to Lianzhou, Guangdong, to recruit various pirates there.
Unexpectedly, in June of this year, He Xiwen encountered the Qing navy chasing a group of pirates off the coast of Hutou Mountain in Guangdong. Out of loyalty to his colleagues, he came to help, defeated the Qing navy, killed an officer, and captured He took off his yellow mandarin jacket and waist knife. Master He didn't know it yet, but his name had reached Tianting, and even Qianlong knew it.
Compared to Mo Guanfu, who recruited pirates by giving them officers, ships, and guns, He Xiwen had nothing to offer except official positions, and could only rely on his loyalty and his own small amount of money to recruit pirates. After wandering around for a year, it seemed that the time was almost up, so he returned south more than ten days ago with the nineteen crow boats and more than a thousand pirates he had recruited.
Unexpectedly, when they were walking back from the north, they encountered many pirates in small groups and small boats. They all looked lost. When they caught them and asked them, they found out that there was a group of pirates called "Guanqing". The forces of the "Northern Navy", relying on three giant boats and "hundreds of fast cannons" on board, wiped out all the pirates in Jiangping Town and even burned the boats.
He Xiwen was of course very happy when he heard this. This is a friendly army! He had heard of the name of the Beihai Navy in Lianzhou. It was said that they had attacked Guangzhou City a few years ago and had used more than a dozen people to kill seven in and seven out, which really impressed him. If the two sides can unite, fighting the Xishan Army will not be like chopping melons and vegetables.
However, when he arrived at Jiangping with his fleet, he discovered that the Beihai Navy had not raided the place. This made him feel bad. So he not only plundered Jiangping Town, but also recruited many pirates who escaped to surrounding villages. In addition, those copper cannons blown up by the Northern Navy are also good things. They can be taken back and melted down to be remade.
There is no way, King Ruan is really too poor. Jiading and Ha Tien towns have been repeatedly plundered by wars, and the people are so poor that they can't even pay taxes. Without the assistance of the French, King Nguyen would probably be squatting on Phu Quoc Island now, chewing taro, and would not even be able to fight back Ha Tien Town.
So the Beihai Navy fought and burned all the way in front, and He Xiwen followed and took advantage all the way, which really made him and his men happy. Sure enough, with this crazy "picking up foreigners" attitude behind them, there is definitely no chance of catching up with the Northern Navy fleet.
Unexpectedly, just when he arrived at Dong Hoi Camp and stayed, news of the North Korean Navy's bombardment of Hue also came. When he heard that the cannons on the ships of the Northern Navy could hit the Royal Palace in Hue and blow up the Hall of Supreme Harmony, He Xiwen was surprised and happy.
He was surprised that he had never heard of anyone's cannon being so powerful. No wonder Beihai Town in the north was able to keep the Qing court in check. Fortunately, since the Northern Navy has begun to attack Hue, I have to catch up quickly to establish a relationship. When the two sides join forces to conquer Hue, they will not only be promoted, but also make a fortune.
When Huang Zhongtong finally got in touch with Beihai No. 2, he was delighted to find that there were people from the Red Flag Gang on board. Now the communication between the two parties was much easier.
When captain Guo Xuexian saw Huang Zhongtong's respectful attitude and learned that the other party was Jiu Ruan's men, he became interested. After contacting Deng Fei, he asked Huang Zhongtong to tell He Xiwen that the Northern Navy would attack Hue City in three days, and then the two sides could act together.
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Set a small goal first, such as remembering in 1 second: Shukeju
