The Qi army's bombardment of the Song army's warships destroyed the Song army's warships. The cabins were penetrated by cannonballs, and most of the civilians and soldiers inside who were riding the wheels were killed or injured.
No one in the cabin stepped on the wheels, so the Song Army's warships could only sail with the help of currents. The warships at the forefront gradually slowed down and lost their ability to collide.
"Surround us!" Wang Xiu shouted loudly.
The Qi army's small boat rushed up to the Song army's ship, which had lost speed. The Qi army's soldiers immediately threw out the hook lock, grabbed the hull of the Song army's warship, and then began to climb upward.
The soldiers on the Song army's warships quickly fired with bows and arrows, threw fire pots at the Qi army's ships, and stabbed the climbing Qi army with their spears.
At this time, the soldiers of the Qi army risked their lives to climb onto the Song army's ship, holding on to the missing arrows and the kerosene cans dropped by the Song army.
In the boarding battle, the Song army's ships did have an advantage. They fired from a high position, and Qi troops kept falling into the water.
When the soldiers of Qi saw that it was difficult to climb onto the ship, many of them kicked directly into the holes made by the shells, then got into the cabin and attacked the deck from inside.
The fleet of the Song Army was huge. If they were not eliminated as much as possible and outnumbered, the Song Army would be able to continue to struggle with the Qi Army on the Huaihe River after breaking through the obstruction. The Qi Army Navy would not be able to control the Huaihe River and could not complete the interception and attack on the Song Dynasty. The target of the army's retreat.
"Kill!" Wang Xiu roared loudly and ordered his subordinates to fight.
A "swish" arrow was shot from the ship of the Song Army, hitting Wang Xiu's shoulder. The guards around him were shocked when they saw it, and quickly used their shields to protect the general.
Wang Xiu was furious and pointed his sword angrily, "Attack him and kill him!"
The soldiers of the Qi army grabbed the flying hook and climbed up. One of the soldiers lit a thunderbolt and threw it directly onto the building ship. With a loud "boom", the Song army shooting arrows above was blown away.
At this time, the medium-sized warships of the Qi army were blocking the warships of the Song army head-on. The two sides collided fiercely and engaged in a brutal boarding battle.
Lu Wenhuan led the Qi army's gunboats to the bank of the Huaihe River. The artillery fired continuously, strangling the Song army's warships in the middle.
When the battle was fierce, the Qi army's artillery fired until the barrel of the gun turned red, and the shells were shot out one after another, piercing the side of the Song army's warship and creating holes in the hull.
A Song Army ship saw the Qi Army gunboats bombarding the fleet unscrupulously, and wanted to get close to the gunboats for a close fight. However, it ran aground when it sailed fifty steps, and was immediately smashed by the cannonballs.
At the same time, a Qi army gunboat also ran aground on the river because it was too close to the shore. The gunners on the boat could only use the warship as a fort to continue fighting against the Song army.
Although the Qi army's warships were small and their drafts were not as deep as those of the Song army's warships, they were equipped with artillery and the draft of the gunships was actually not much less than that of the Song army's warships.
Yuan Jie did not notice this, and directly gave up the attack on the Qi army's warships, and attacked the blocking Qi army fleet with all his strength.
At this time, on the Huaihe River, a group of Qi Army boats blocked and besieged the Song Army ships, while Qi Army gunboats kept bombarding the Song Army fleet on both sides. The longer the Song Army stayed in the river, the more heavy the losses.
The battle was fierce on the river. The Song army's ship was large and it was going down the river. The Qi army's warship collided with the Song army's ship. They wanted to prevent the Song army's ship from breaking out, but the small ship was still pushed back by the big ship.
For a time, the Qi army fleet responsible for blocking was like a big net across the river, catching the big fish of the Song army fleet.
However, as the Song army's warships rammed forward desperately, the Qi army's fleet was pushed into a half-moon shape, which was a bit out of control.
Lu Wenhuan saw that the Song fleet had crashed into the Qi fleet and the gunboats were unable to bombard them from the side, so he led the artillery team to sail to the rear of the Song fleet and bombarded the Song troops from behind.
】
This time, the Song Army was intercepted in front and shelled from behind. The Song Army's warships could only rush forward in panic when they heard the sound of cannons behind them.
With this rush, Qi Jun's big net could no longer hold it.
A large ship of the Song Army rammed into the small boats blocking the road one after another, and finally broke through the obstruction.
Seeing this, Lu Wende quickly shouted, "Block the gap, don't let them escape!"
The Qi army's warships immediately rammed from both sides and hit the side of the Song army's ship, trying to prevent the Song army's ship from escaping.
But the Song army's warship was like a buffalo with skin and meat. Even though the wolves jumped on it and bit it, it continued to rush forward with the Qi army's boat, and finally got rid of the Qi army's boat.
The fierce water battle lasted for an hour. After a hard battle by the Song Navy, most of the warships whose hulls were not damaged emerged. However, the Song ships that were damaged and lost speed were besieged by the Qi Army's small boats. Instead, they were attacked by the Qi Army's boats. If the army seizes it, it will set off a raging fire and overturn it in the river.
At this time, Yuan Jie had already escaped. He stood at the stern of the boat, looking at the fire on the river and the warships that had not protruded. He felt that the situation was over and there was no way to recover.
He wanted to send ships back to respond, but he found that warships capable of firing new firearms were passing by the edge of the battlefield close to the river bank and were chasing them.
"This is God's will! I have tried my best, and I am worthy of the officials and the prime minister." Yuan Jie sighed, feeling despair, and could only lead the fleet down the river and quickly escape from the battlefield.
Lu Wenhuan relied on the speed of the boat to pursue it all the way to the estuary. The Song army's fleet moved offshore, and the Qi army's boat retreated due to strong waves.
At dusk, the water battle that took place near Lianshui had ended. The Qi army's small ships could not stop the Song army's large ships, allowing more than half of the Song army's warships to successfully escape the battlefield.
Near Lianshui, the warships stopped by the Qi army were either damaged and sunk, or captured by the Song army. More than ten thousand Song army soldiers died, and the river was full of corpses. The casualties of the Qi and Song armies were extremely high. heavy.
Although the Qi army lost many soldiers and warships, this battle was undoubtedly a victory for the Qi army.
After the battle, Lu Wenhuan led the gunboats down the river to pursue the Song Navy and drove the Song Navy out of the Huaihe River. Wang Xiu and Lu Wende, after clearing the battlefield and rescuing the wounded who fell into the water, immediately advanced towards Chuzhou.
When the navies of the two armies were fighting fiercely on the Huaihe River, the Song army officers and soldiers who witnessed the water battle on the shore were all dumbfounded.
The soldiers of the Song Army never dreamed that the Song Navy would be defeated by the Qi Army's small boats.
They originally thought that the Song Army's navy had an absolute advantage, but they did not expect that the Qi Army used new firearms. The Song Army fell into passivity at the beginning of the battle, and the entire battle showed a one-sided situation.
The Song armies on both sides of the Taiwan Strait saw the Qi army's victory and the Song army's navy fleeing. They were horrified, thought of the seriousness of the matter, and immediately reported to their superiors on flying horses.
Chuzhou City was an important stronghold for the Song Army to attack Shandong. The 300,000 military rations and materials needed by the Song Army were transported to Chuzhou along the Grand Canal, and then transported from Chuzhou to the north bank of the Huaihe River.
At this time, the Song Army in Chuzhou had learned about the news that the Qi Army's navy had re-entered the Huaihe River, but the Song Army did not cause it.
In their eyes, the Qi Navy was a younger brother to the Song Navy. The Song Navy had already gone to meet the enemy, so they did not have to worry about the Qi Navy threatening Chuzhou.
In the early morning at Chuzhou Wharf, Song soldiers and dock coolies were carrying grain as usual, preparing to transport it to the north bank.
Suddenly, alarm bells blared at the top of the city, and the Qi navy came from the Huaihe River to block the river...
