The next day, the river was still covered with fog, and the visibility was only one kilometer, which was not suitable for the mobilization of troops. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Zhou Shixiang was also worried, so he asked Zhang Huangyan for his opinion. Zhang Huangyan groaned slightly, and said that although the fog is not conducive to his own actions, it is also not conducive to the Qing army. Under the cover of heavy fog, the Qing army could not detect the movement on the river in time, as long as the boat was careful, it would be fine.

Gan Hui and Yu Xin and others also thought that the fog did not affect the operation, and perhaps helped, so Zhou Shixiang relieved his mind and ordered all units of the Taiping Army involved in the operation to immediately obey the unified command of Shangshu Zhang Huangyan.

Zhou Shixiang was still waiting for news in Beigushan, and generals such as Zhang Huangyan, Gan Hui, Yu Xin, Guo Faguang, and Wei Dalong led their troops to act according to the prior deployment. After Zhang Huangyan and Gan Hui and others got on the boat, they ordered all the big ships to be connected with iron locks to avoid collisions due to unclear vision during the boat. And he made the small boats follow the big ships, and the boats were connected either by chains or ropes, so that they might not be separated by the sight of the other. The ships also ordered that the sound of their horns was strictly forbidden, and the officers and men were silenced.

In the fog, the Ming army's sailors quietly touched the Qing army's barrage chain "Rolling River Dragon". The sailors of more than a dozen ships on the sea are all Zheng Jun and veteran sailors of the Zhejiang Army, and the officers at the helm are all officers of the Zhejiang Army who have entered the Yangtze River several times. Due to the limited line of sight, the Ming army sailors did not dare to speed up, and it took more than half an hour to travel several miles. At this time, the fog has lightened, and the sky above the river has a hidden sunlight, and it will not be long before the fog will dissipate.

The Qing army in the North Xinzhou Fort did not notice the Ming army in the fog, and the Guazhou Water Camp on the north bank also knew nothing. When there was still a lot of land left for the Qing army's "Rolling River Dragon", Zhang Huangyan instructed Gan Hui: "The front is the Rolling River Dragon, and the big boat should not be approached, General Gan, you take someone to row a small boat over." ”

"Obey the order of Lord Shangshu!"

Gan Hui ordered more than 300 soldiers from two teams, divided into more than 20 small boats, and everyone rowed together and struggled forward.

Zhang Huangyan also ordered the sea ships to be in front and the civilian ships to be behind, and the artillery of the large and small ships bombarded the Qing army's Beixinzhou fort in front.

"Bang! Bang! ”

The silence on the river was broken by the sound of artillery, and the Qing army on Beixinzhou heard the sound of artillery and immediately knew that the Ming army was coming. At this time, the fog had dissipated a lot, and the Qing army found the small boat of the Ming army sailing towards the "Rolling River Dragon", and immediately roared and opened fire to block the attack.

The artillery of the Ming army fell on Beixinzhou, and the shells of the Qing army sprayed columns of water on the surface of the river. Gan Hui was not afraid on the boat, and kept shouting to command his subordinates to move forward bravely. Suddenly, a small boat not far from the right side of the boat where Gan Hui was located was hit by a cannon, and wood chips flew one after another, and the warriors on it fell into the water in an instant. Zhang Huangyan's face tightened when he saw it, and Luo Lun behind him let out an exclamation.

Gan Hui didn't care about the subordinates who fell into the water, the more than 300 soldiers he brought were water ghosts who specialized in diving in the Yanping Domain, and they were responsible for inspecting ships on weekdays, and surveying the waters and scuttling enemy ships during wartime. Although the water on this section of the river is turbulent, these sailors are carrying floating sacs made of cowhide, and even if they fall into the water and are swept away by the current, they are not in danger of sinking their lives.

"Go down!"

After rowing to the "Rolling River Dragon" with the guns of the Qing army, Gan Hui gave an order, and the sailors dived into the water in groups of three, armed with chainsaws and big scissors, and disappeared in an instant.

The Qing army on the island saw that the water ghosts of the Ming army had already dived down the river, and knew that the other party was destroying the "Rolling River Dragon", so they were so anxious that they kept hitting the nearby waters with their cannons. The water was splashing, and blood gushed out from time to time near the left of the "Rolling River Dragon".

Zhang Huangyan couldn't see the specific situation at the "Rolling River Dragon", but he didn't see Gan Hui have a successful banner for a long time, and he was very anxious. Seeing that the artillery of the Qing army was too dense, he immediately ordered the few dragon fire tributes to be fired to suppress the artillery fire of the Qing army.

The so-called "Dragon Fire Tribute" is actually the artillery of the Yanping Domain salvaging and imitating the red-haired people. Jinxia had obtained this kind of artillery from foreigners as early as Zheng Zhilong's time, and then Zheng Chenggong received RB assistance to cast his own copper cannon in the fifth year of Yongli; In the seventh year of Yongli, two cannons were salvaged outside Haicheng Port, which was named "Dragon Fire Gong". The weight of this cannon is 6,000 to 7,000 catties, and it can fire 20 to 24 catties of shells, which is more powerful than the Qing army's Hongyi cannon that fires 5 catties of shells.

There are only eight dragon fire tributes on the ships of the sailors, which were grabbed on the river bank outside Yifeng Gate when Liang Huafeng led the Qing army to attack the Zheng army that day, and the Taiping army broke through Nanjing, and these warships were sacrificed by the Qing army's Jiangning water battalion. Originally, Zhang Huangyan was going to wait for Gan Hui to break the Rolling River Dragon and then suppress the Qing army with Longhuo Gong, and cooperate with the two brigades of the Taiping Army's first town to land and seize the island, but now he can't care so much.

"Open Dragon Fire Gong!"

As the officer shouted loudly, the soldiers of the Zheng army, who had been operating the dragon fire tribute, skillfully loaded the dragon fire tribute, and the officer folded his hands, bowed to the dragon fire tribute three times, and then got up and led the torch to the fire rope.

"Bang!" There was a loud bang, and in an instant, several lucky ships equipped with the Great Dragon Fire Tribute followed and shot, "Bang bang bang!" "There was a loud bang, the Ming gunners quickly loaded their ammunition, and in less than a cup of tea, there was another round of loud noises. Although the Qing army on the Beixinzhou Fort was also equipped with more than 3,000 catties of Hongyi cannons, it was completely powerless to parry under the suppression of the Great Dragon Fire Tribute, which was more than twice as heavy. The previously dense sound of counterattack artillery suddenly became sparse.

After a few rounds of fighting in Longhuo Gong, Luo Lun shouted in surprise: "Shangshu, General Gan, they broke the Rolling River Dragon and began to land!" ”

Hearing this, Zhang Huangyan was overjoyed, raised his eyes and looked, sure enough, Gan Hui and the others had already sailed to Beixinzhou in a small boat and waved a red flag.

Obviously, the rolling river dragon is broken!

"The whole army marches forward and attacks the North New Continent!"

Zhang Huangyan ordered excitedly. When the sailors on the big ship of the Ming army heard the order, they immediately cut off the interconnected iron chains, and the sailors rowed bravely, and the big sea ships rushed quickly towards Beixinzhou. Soon rushed through the rolling river dragon and rushed towards the Qing army fort in North Xinzhou.

Gan Hui led his warriors to land on the beach, with long knives in their hands, naked, and rushed to the Qing army on the shore with shouts of killing. On the river, the ships of the Ming army approaching, whether they were sea ships or civilian ships, were all firing artillery. The Qing army in the northern new state could not stop the Gan Hui department, and they broke in, and saw the Ming army landing from the warship, and the army's morale immediately became unstable.

However, due to the mud around the North Xinzhou Fort, coupled with the trenches and wooden walls of the Qing army, the two brigades of the Taiping Army First Town that attacked the shore also suffered heavy losses, and after paying more than 200 casualties, the First Town blasted the wall with a medicine bag and captured the fort. Gan Hui was the first to board the fort and cut down the green flag of the Qing army with one sword, and the Ming troops on the river and on the shore saw it and immediately cheered and their morale was greatly boosted. At the same time, the Guazhou Water Camp of the Qing Army on the north shore also drove out of the port and quickly headed for Beixinzhou. There were not only more than 3,000 northern green battalion soldiers on board, but also more than 1,000 elite Han soldiers. (To be continued.) )