It's not that Kunpeng's Tenth Army doesn't know how to grasp the offensive rhythm on the battlefield, it's really because of its lack of troops.
At present, the main fleet is ambushing the rebel Ninth Banner in Daxingzhou upstream. Nie Xianzang only has 200 warships in his hands, which is far inferior to Guo Qifeng's strength. If it weren't for the thick fog on the river and unclear vision, the rebels might have discovered the clues and came back.
The order Nie Xianzeng received was to try to hold back the main force of the rebels in the waterway from the Upper Eight Branches to the Lower Eight Branches, preventing them from easily retreating to Jiuzi Fortress. After Luo Yuan collected the Ninth Banner, he led his army back quickly, and then Destroy the enemies together.
Therefore, Nie Xianzang launched a tentative attack before to prevent Guo Qifeng from running away, but now he must come up with a new way to keep the opponent here while avoiding a desperate fight with disparity in strength.
This difficulty far exceeds the ambush battle in the Daxingzhou Waterway, so Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang appointed Nie Xianzang to take charge.
As the commander-in-chief of Kunpeng's Tenth Army, Nie Xianzang did not disappoint Daduhu and the others.
Seeing that the enemy on the opposite side was already doubtful, Nie Xianzeng issued an order for the fleet to get into position. However, that formation was not the Xuanxiang Formation or the Yanxiang Formation used for an all-out attack, but the Sharp Point Formation for assault and penetration.
The biggest feature of Guo Qifeng's internal and external double ring formation is that it has a complete system and a wide area. Because there is enough distance between the ships, once the Zhenjiang Army launches a multi-point all-out attack, they can make adjustments at any time and supplement each other's positions. From an overall defense perspective, it is a wiser strategy.
More importantly, the inner and outer double ring formations can alternately cover the retreat. If the situation is unfavorable, Guo Qifeng can immediately let his men lift anchor and sail the ship to withdraw from the battlefield.
However, the inner and outer double ring formation also has a shortcoming, that is, its ship forces are mainly deployed in a ring, and the middle area surrounded by the large circle is very empty.
Nie Xianzang saw the reality of the rebel formation and decided to send seventy flywheel battleships to form a peak, directly penetrate Guo Qifeng's internal and external rings, and run behind the enemy. Flying wheel battleships are the secret weapon of the Tenth Army. All the soldiers on board are carefully selected outstanding sailors. As soon as they receive the order from the commander, they immediately take action. The sails are full and the wheels are spinning. A huge peak is crossing and a fierce battle is taking place. On the river surface, it rushes towards the double ring formation inside and outside.
At this time, the rebel lookout post had also clearly seen the approaching flywheel ship, and quickly reported to Guo Qifeng: Dozens of enemy ships were approaching rapidly, ready to penetrate our formation!
Guo Qifeng was greatly puzzled when he heard this. The Zhenjiang Army clearly has the advantage in strength, so why not press the entire line and instead let the lone army take the risk and charge into the formation? Could it be that they want to disrupt our formation first and then launch a general attack?
With this doubt in mind, he ordered the warships at the front to gather immediately, and the front and rear arrays should be as dense as possible to withstand the opponent's impact. At the same time, the twenty warships on each side moved forward appropriately, ready to flank the invading enemy ships at any time. .
In a word, we cannot let those dozens of fighting ships break into the core area of the double ring, let alone break through the formation and rush to the downstream position behind them!
The fierce confrontation between the fleets of both sides broke out in an instant.
The flywheel battleship was as fast as a silver shuttle on the river, and its flexibility far exceeded the rebels' expectations. Usually, warships often sacrifice part of their maneuverability during high-speed impact, because if they want the ship to be fast and powerful, they cannot be flexible and light.
However, the Zhenjiang Army warship with the help of a huge flywheel not only relies on the sails and rudder to change direction, but the blades on both sides of the hull also have a steering function due to the difference in rotation speed.
Therefore, facing the formation changes of the rebels, the seventy flywheel ships quickly adjusted, nimbly avoiding the densely populated areas of the enemy, and stabbed diagonally at the weak points next to them.
With several loud bangs, the three rebel warships were knocked around and severely damaged by the Xinjiang Army. The other flywheel battleships braved the dense arrows, sailed past them at high speed, and rushed towards the middle of the double ring formation. .
Guo Qifeng's flagship sent out a signal again, instructing the warships located in the middle of the ring formation to move quickly to intercept. At the same time, the other ships concentrated their long-range forces and fired wildly at the Zhenjiang navy.
Countless rockets flew instantly from the rebel ships in all directions, streaking across the sky and falling towards the flying wheel battleships that were entering the formation. The scale of the bows and arrows of hundreds of warships is no exaggeration to describe as covering the sky. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty Zhenjiang warships caught fire and completely lost their combat effectiveness.
However, the enemy's ferocious blows did not scare the Zhenjiang naval forces. Nearly forty warships still charged furiously and rushed downstream.
At this time, the enemy ship responsible for intercepting the middle section was gradually approaching. Without saying a word, the giant crossbows located on the bow and sides of the ship immediately fired arrows, sending debris flying across the enemy ship.
When it comes to speed, the rebels are no faster than the Zhenjiang navy; when it comes to courage, there is a huge gap between the two. Although the flywheel battleship suffered considerable losses in the inner and outer double ring formation, it still continued to approach the end of the entire formation.
Until this moment, Guo Qifeng still couldn't figure out the other party's intention. Just when he was confused, Nie Xianzang commanded the remaining nearly a hundred warships and began to move forward.
Trombones sounded, war drums beat, and loud shouts of death came from the thick fog, with astonishing momentum.
Guo Qifeng was taken aback and quickly ordered the warships at the front of the ring formation to prepare for the enemy.
He still holds a hope in his heart: as long as the fleet that can hold on to the ninth flag arrives to help in the battle, it will be victory!
Most of the rebels' attention was attracted to the front by Nie Xianzeng, and the dozens of flying wheel battleships rushing forward arrived at the end of the inner and outer double ring formation. There are probably nearly a hundred rebel warships here, divided into two layers and surrounding the flywheel ship.
The flywheel fleet did not panic, and while engaging in fierce battles with the enemy on the spot, they kept lowering the flowing fire boat invented by Wang Wenlie on the side of the ship. The warships of both sides were chasing each other on the river, fighting inextricably. Large groups of fireballs would burst out from time to time, making the scene even more chaotic.
Guo Qifeng finally understood at this time that the opponent had not intended to break through the formation and cut off his retreat from the beginning. To be honest, a mere sixty or seventy flywheel ships cannot stop several times the number of enemies on the wide river. Nie Xianzang's purpose was to start fighting one after another at the same time, so that Guo Qifeng could not look at each other.
Only in this way can the rebels be truly held back, preventing them from being able to mobilize calmly, fight when they want, and withdraw when they want.
Seeing that the flywheel fleet had successfully meleeed with the enemy ships in the rear, Nie Xianzang felt more confident. He ordered his warships not to charge in a hurry, but to keep a proper distance, and then use giant crossbows and bows to kill the enemy with all their strength.
Similarly, the rebels were unwilling to engage in close combat with the Zhenjiang Army, so they fought back across the river with bows and arrows.
Suddenly, dense rain of arrows rose up on the river again, completely covering the fleets on both sides.
The long-distance battle lasted for more than half an hour. Both sides suffered injuries, but Guo Qifeng felt increasingly uneasy. First of all, the Zhenjiang navy obviously did not have as many warships as imagined. On the contrary, the combat power on the opposite side was not even as good as our own, so it has not launched any offensive charge. Secondly, the Ninth Flagship Team that set out from Chizhou should have almost arrived at the battlefield no matter how long it took, but in fact not even a ghost was seen.
Could it be that... they were blocked upstream by the Zhenjiang Army?
Guo Qifeng feels that this is very possible. After all, when sailing in the river, no matter how hidden it is, there are always traces to follow. Once the Zhenjiang Army detects a threat behind them in time, it will of course mobilize troops to intercept it.
And this means that the attack from both sides will turn into a two-front battle.
Guo Qifeng carefully calculated: Zhenjiang's Tenth Army had about 600 warships, while he had 500 and the Ninth Banner had nearly 300. The total number was still more advantageous. Even if the two-sided attack becomes a two-front battle, there is still a high chance of victory.
The key issue is to seize the opportunity!
At present, the enemy on the front is obviously lacking in strength, and there is a high probability that they will divide their forces to deal with the Ninth Banner. Why not take advantage of the situation and attack Nie Xian with a backhand to catch Nie Xian off guard? If we can advance upstream and join the Ninth Banner in time, we can still defeat the main naval force of the Zhenjiang Army!
Guo Qifeng's idea was correct, but he finally realized it too late.
Just when he was about to give the order to change the defensive formation into an offensive formation and attack the main formation of the Zhenjiang navy against the current, countless huge sails appeared in the distance on the river upstream.
Kunpeng's main force led by Luo Yuan arrived in time!
Nie Xianzeng, who was directing the battle, saw the reinforcements appearing, and secretly let out a sigh of relief: Finally, the Protector's plan was not delayed, and Jiuzi's enemies were let go.
He first ordered someone to send a signal to Luo Yuan in the rear, and then issued the final attack order: all warships charged at full speed, divided into left and right groups, outflanking the middle of the inner and outer double ring formation, and blocking the enemy. At the same time, the line of action on the frontal battlefield was given up so that the main fleet coming from behind could launch a general attack.
Although Kunpeng's Tenth Army has not been established for a long time, they have a large number of water warfare commanders with professional backgrounds. The soldiers usually train extremely hard and have high morale, which makes them look noble on the battlefield.
Especially at the critical moment of the war, it is the most fortunate thing for the general that the entire army can use its arms and fingers and act decisively.
At this moment, Nie Xianzang felt like this.
Nearly a hundred warships moved upon hearing the order and quickly divided into two teams. Regardless of the enemy's intensive arrow attacks, they quickly advanced along the north and south shores of the river.
Guo Qifeng also understood Nie Xianzang's intention, and hurriedly asked people to ring the golden gong and notify the ships to change their formation and retreat. While intercepting the Zhenjiang Army warships, they moved closer and moved downstream.
"The Ninth Banner is probably doomed!" Guo Qifeng shouted angrily: "The main force of the Zhenjiang Army did not appear until now. Most of them went to deal with them before coming back. Hurry back to Jiuzi and rely on the water stronghold to hold on, otherwise we will Trouble!"
