On the Qi army's gunboat, the soldiers fired a cannon, immediately reloaded, and then continued to fire at the charging Song army.
On the river, artillery roared and gunpowder smoke filled the air. The Qi army passed through the smoke and continued to sail forward. As the distance shortened, the hit rate of the artillery gradually increased, and shells continued to hit the Song army's warships.
The ships of the Song Dynasty were large and their targets were also large. Their hulls could protect against crossbows, but they could not protect against artillery bombardment.
The Qi army's artillery shells were fired. Once they hit an enemy ship, they entered from the bow and flew out from the stern. The shells directly penetrated the hull.
At this time, a cannonball smashed a hole in the bow of a warship, and the wood chips stirred up immediately injured the civilians in the cabin.
The civilians in the cabin had no armor, and were all shirtless and stepping on the wheels. The sawdust flew directly into their bodies, and the civilians immediately gushed out with blood and screamed in agony.
The shell crashed into the cabin and hit the civilians inside, tearing them into pieces in an instant.
The Qi Army's only one cannon shell almost paralyzed the wheel set in the Song Army's cabin. The Song Army's warship at the front immediately slowed down.
At this time, Yuan Jie was dragged to the stern by the guards, but the warship entered the range of the Qi army's artillery. The wooden hull was like a paper lake in front of the artillery. He was actually not safe at the stern.
"Officials in charge, Qi thieves have new firearms, what should we do?" The officer's face was full of fear.
Yuan Jie finally came to his senses during the questioning of his subordinates, and at this moment, another cannonball hit his boat.
Thankfully, this time it didn't hit the top floor where he was, but instead swept across the deck on the second floor.
Yuan Jie couldn't help but feel excited when he saw this, and found that nothing could block the artillery bombardment. The warships and the bodies of Song's soldiers would become vulnerable to the artillery bombardment.
The appearance of artillery suddenly broke Yuan Jie's understanding of weapons.
In the past, on the battlefield, whether it was a bow, arrow, or long-range crossbow, his personal guards could block him with their shields and bodies to ensure his safety. But in front of artillery, no matter how many people were there, it would be useless.
This discovery made Yuan Jie feel frightened in his heart. Seeing that the Qi army's artillery could shoot far and the rate of fire was not slow, he quickly ordered, "Slow down the ship, and the other warships will rush up and destroy the enemy's firearms!"
Now the Song warships are jammed on the Huaihe River. The distance between the two armies is less than one mile. It is difficult for the Song warships to turn around. Yuan Jie can only slow down the flagship and let other warships move forward to hit the shells.
At this time, the Qi army's gunboats kept firing, and the shells hit the Song army's warships, slowing down many warships. However, the Qi army's artillery shells were all solid bullets.
The artillery shells hitting the Song Army's warships could only cause damage to the parts of the warships exposed on the water, but could not destroy the hull below the waterline.
Therefore, shelling could only damage the Song warships, but it was difficult to sink them.
At this time, the distance between the two armies' fleets was shortened to 200 steps. The soldiers on the Song Army's warships began to operate the crossbow beds and launched an attack on the Qi Army. A large number of crossbowmen were preparing to counterattack.
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"Whoosh!" A huge crossbow arrow was fired at the Qi army's warship, and the arrow missed and penetrated the parapet of the warship.
At this time, the flagship of the Song Army reduced its speed and was already two positions behind other warships.
The warships in front charged against the bombardment. Yuan Jie, the commander of the Song army, regained his composure and said, "Keep charging forward! Our warships are big. As long as they collide with each other, the Song Dynasty will win!"
As the distance approached, the Song army launched a counterattack, shooting arrows at the Qi army's warships like rain.
Lu Wenhuan stood on the ship's deck, not wanting to avoid missing the arrow. When the gunboat fired another shot from the bow, he immediately ordered, "Set the rudder!"
When the twenty Qi Army gunboats heard the sound of drums and trumpets, the helmsmen around the ship immediately pushed the rudder, and the Qi Army gunboats immediately turned to the shore.
As the ships advanced, they divided into two teams and turned in the north and south directions respectively. As they advanced, the warships tilted to one side and made a creaking sound.
On the Song Army's flagship, Yuan Jie saw that the Song Army warship was about to ram into those hateful Qi Army warships, but found that the Qi Army warship suddenly separated from the front and sailed towards the two wings, and his heart immediately tightened.
"Not good!" Yuan Jie couldn't help but exclaimed.
The Qi army's artillery attack really stunned him.
But after all, he is the commander-in-chief of the Song Army Navy, and he still has some abilities.
After ensuring his own safety, he was given time to think. The Qi army's new firearms were indeed terrifying, but as long as the Song army got close to them, they could still take advantage of the size of the ship to ram and sink the Qi army, and kill the Qi army from a high position.
The key to this battle is to capture the Qi army's warships and not allow them to distance themselves, otherwise the Song army will only be bombarded by new firearms.
At this time, they were about to get close to each other, and the Qi army's gunboats headed towards his two wings, which immediately made him feel that something was wrong.
Generally speaking, rivers are deep in the middle and shallow on both sides. However, Song military ships were large and could only move in the middle. They would easily run aground when they reached the shore.
The Qi army's warships were small and had a relatively shallow draft and could move on the shore. The Song warships would run aground if they followed them.
If there were water battles in the past, the Song Army did not need to worry about this, because the enemy ships could not attack the Song Army warships even if they ran to the shore, and nothing could hit the Song Army ships.
It was different at this time. The Qi army's warships had artillery, and they could attack the Song army's warships from a long distance.
Once the Qi army's warships reach both wings, the Song army will only be passively beaten.
For a moment, Yuan Jie's scalp went numb, and at this time, the Qi army's gunboats sailing to both sides formed an inverted geese formation, like an inverted figure of eight, pocketing the Song army's warships.
"Blank gun! Fire!" Lu Wenhuan roared loudly and energetically.
The artillery of the Qi army appeared for the first time. The generals of the Qi army were unsure at first, but now the more they fight, the more relaxed and confident they become.
The bow of the Qi Army's gunboat was equipped with only one artillery piece. Now the bow pointed diagonally toward the shore, and the bow artillery could not be used. It was the side cannon's turn to show off its power.
"Boom, boom, boom!" The artillery roared ferociously from the sides of each Qi army's gunboats, and the firepower instantly increased tenfold.
In an instant, the entire upper layer of the Song Army warship that rushed forward was directly smashed to pieces by artillery, and it basically lost its combat effectiveness.
The Song Navy, who was already frightened on the warship, saw that the bombardment became more fierce, and their morale instantly fell to the bottom.
"Commander, there is no way to fight this, retreat the troops!" Seeing that the situation was not good, the officer hurriedly stepped forward to persuade.
Yuan Jie's eyes were red, "Retreat? How to retreat!"
It was difficult for the Song warship to turn around. During the U-turn, it could only be passively beaten, and even if it turned around, it could not escape the Qi army's bombardment.
Yuan Jie stared at the battlefield and saw that the Song army's warship was smashed by the Qi army's artillery shells like a roll call. He immediately gritted his teeth and stamped his feet and said: "Go forward at full speed and protrude from the front."
For a time, the Song army's warships were able to brave the Qi army's cannonballs from both sides, and now they continued to charge forward. At this time, Lu Wende and Wang Xiu pulled out their swords and shouted orders, leading the Qi army's warships to attack them directly, and broke out with the Song army. A fierce boarding battle ensued.
