The Great Industrial Ming Dynasty Started from Beiping

Chapter 536 The largest naval battle in history
"I have a plan to deal with the Ming army."

Huang Huiqing, the minister of Annan, offered advice in the palace.

at this time.

Annan was already panicking.

No one thought that the important mountain city built on the mountain range in the north did not play the role it should play.

In less than a month, the entire border area, from northwest to northeast, fell into the hands of the Ming army. Annan hastily deployed new defense lines relying on various rivers.

When the news of the Ming army's defeat of Li's army spread, Guihua Prefecture, Xuanhua Prefecture, Taiyuan Prefecture, Lang Son Prefecture, Wanning County, Xin'an County of Jing'an Prefecture and other places either surrendered or voluntarily surrendered.

The northern region of Annan directly lost half of its land.

Militarily, the Li thieves and his son have not suffered a devastating defeat, but politically, a large number of Chinese gentry have abandoned the Li thieves and his son.

When the military strength of the Li thieves and his son left, people everywhere immediately rebelled, making it impossible for Li Ji Ya to use many of his methods.

Li Jisu received a letter of challenge from Zhang Fu.

"I have been ordered by the emperor to send 80 troops to punish you. If you are able to fight, you will lead your troops to Jialin to wait. If you are unable to fight, you can go to the camp gate to listen to the punishment."

Li Jiyou would not be fooled by such a provocative method, but the current situation forced him to think carefully.

Do you want a decisive battle with the Ming army? Otherwise, prolonging it for a long time will be detrimental to him, a local snake.

"Please Mr. Huang clarify my doubts."

Li Jiyou said politely.

Huang Huiqing smiled and said: "The Ming army is unstoppable and outmatched, and with the current situation, Annan cannot resist, so it is better to seek peace."

"fart."

Li Hancang cursed loudly.

He didn't trust Huang Huiqing at all. He was also one of the Chinese ministers who yearned for the Ming Dynasty. If he hadn't always kept a low profile, he and his son would have been liquidated long ago.

Now seeing their father and son encountering a setback, Li Hancang didn't believe that Huang Huiqing would be kind enough to give them advice.

"shut up."

Li Jiyao glanced coldly at his younger son, Li Jiyao, the current king of Annan Kingdom, and immediately lowered his head, not daring to disobey his father.

"I'm offended." Li Jiya quickly apologized to Huang Huiqing.

Huang Huiqing didn't seem to see it, and didn't care on his face.

However, Huang Huiqing said: "The land occupied by the Ming army should be governed by them. We can divide the river with them and cede large areas of land to show our repentance and gain the understanding of the superior court."

Li Hancang was anxious, this was obviously not a good strategy.

The day the Ming army established a firm foothold in Jiangbei was the day Annan was destroyed.

My father, who has always been wise, seems to be unable to see this.

Li Jishou accepted Huang Huiqing's suggestion and appointed him as an envoy to cede territory to the Ming army to seek peace.

"Father."

After the ministers left, Li Hancang shouted in annoyance.

Li Jiyou waved.

"Prepare to go north for my father, mobilize all the troops, and launch a decisive battle while the Ming army is paralyzed."

Li Jisao narrowed his eyes, "Didn't Zhang Fu, my son, ask me for a decisive battle? I agree with him."

Of course he knew Huang Huiqing's plan, so he took advantage of it and made use of it.

"Your eldest brother and I are not in the capital. You must guard it tightly and implement martial law. No one can enter or leave the capital without permission."

Li Hancang was overjoyed.

My father always surprises me, and even I am kept in the dark. This time, the Chinese squires did not know either.

His plan is good, but plans don't change as fast as they do.

The Jinzhou Navy and the Tianjin Navy, in conjunction with the Internal Navy, dispatched twelve steamships of various sizes, more than 8 large ships, more than [-] medium-sized ships, and more than [-] other ships of various types, totaling [-] people.

After gathering the main ships in Zhejiang, they resupplied along the way. The last stop was Changhua County in Qiongzhou Prefecture, across the sea from Annan.

After resting, they drove to Annan in a mighty manner, heading straight for Thanh Hoa, the current capital of Annan.

September 33, Hongwu 28 years.

The largest water war in Southeast Asia broke out in the South China Sea. More than [-] ships of the Annan Navy rushed to fight.

"Boom."

The gunboats were lined up in a row, with nearly two hundred large and small artillery pieces, setting off countless waves, and the Annan warship was hit by cannonballs.

The sailors on the warship were hiding everywhere, but they could not find a bunker. There was no safety anywhere.

Many of the Annan warships outside broke away from the battle and chose to escape, while others gathered and accelerated, hoping to engage the Ming Navy.

The gunboat continued to fire, and the remaining warships provided cover. More warships also left the formation and pursued Annan's scattered warships.

As required by the plan, not a single Annan ship was spared, and Annan's maritime power was completely annihilated. Annan lost the strategic initiative and was exhausted to deal with it, which reduced the pressure on the army.

ever.

This is the first time that such a large-scale war and such a large number of warships have occurred in this sea area.

It even affected two merchant ships that passed by without knowing it.The Ming army had net shuttle boats, which were ultra-small, shuttle-shaped, with bamboo masts and wooden sails, with a draft of seven or eight inches. They had two to four people inside and were equipped with two or three shotguns.

Two to three hundred ships gathered around and shuttled between both sides.

There are also bird boats, which are wave boats. They are small in size, with a relatively low hull and a tapered bow. They are equipped with four oars and one oar. They travel quickly and can accommodate three to 50 people.

It is specially used to chase down enemy ships that have broken up, delay and harass the opponent, and buy time for the larger ship.

The Ming Navy, with its well-planned battle plans and sound ship types, had been aiming to swallow up all the Annan warships from the beginning.

Many Annan ships collapsed and saw that they could no longer escape, so they chose to surrender.

After two days and one night of struggle.

Of Annan's more than [-] warships, only a few dozen finally escaped under the cover of night, more than a hundred were sunk, more than a hundred were seriously damaged, more than [-] were slightly damaged, and more than [-] surrendered.

Nowadays, not to mention the front line, even the capital is no longer safe and is under the threat of the Ming Dynasty navy.

When the good news came back to Guangxi, Zhu Di clapped his hands happily.

"Victory is not unexpected, but to win so cleanly, the navy has made a great contribution." Zhu Neng was transported back to the rear, and after careful treatment, he finally regained his life.

Now he is basking in the sun in the courtyard, and his face is still a little pale.

After hearing the good news, he quickly congratulated the prince and bluntly stated how important the navy's contribution was.

"Now we have a sure chance of victory. Whether it's a decisive battle or a slow battle, it's up to me, Ming, to choose."

The Ministry of War officials also laughed.

As the weather improves, the injury rate of the army has also been greatly reduced. The good news comes one after another, which makes people happy.

Subsequently, supplies to the Annan Ming Army began to be mainly transported by sea, which greatly reduced the consumption of civilian manpower and materials.

The supply ship departed from Guangxi and arrived in Jing'an Prefecture.

The Ming Dynasty's warships were divided into several groups and attacked the coastal areas of Annam respectively, and even the capital Thanh Hoa was not spared.

Although not a single city was recaptured, they were contacted by a large number of local squires. They waited for the arrival of the Ming army and immediately raised their flags to surrender.

Even in Thanh Hoa Prefecture and Yuanjue County, the hometown of the Li family and his son, there were squires who secretly contacted the Ming Dynasty Navy who came ashore.

This time.

Li Jisu really decided to sue for peace, and the land ceding envoy really wanted to cede the land, hoping to get the Ming Dynasty's forgiveness.

The morale of the Ming army was high, but in Annan, countless bad news spread in the military camp, and morale was very low.

Various rumors spread, as if the situation in Annan was over, and even rumors that Li Ji Ya had died of illness were widely circulated.

There were a large number of deserters in Annan's army. Li Yuancheng sent people to capture the deserters. He found one who had his head beheaded in public, and he would not spare it lightly.

Li Yuancheng tried hard to maintain the situation, but elsewhere he lost his fighting spirit.

Annan's army started from Sanjiang Prefecture on the south bank of the Tuojiang River from Sanyuan Mountain, followed the south bank of the Fuliang River eastward to the Ningjiang River, and then on the north bank of the Fuliang River, followed the Haichao River, the Xijiang River, and the Malao River to Pantan Kunmei Mountain, and set up camps along the river.

Additional earthen cities were built in Duobang Pass, and the city gates were connected for more than [-] miles. More than [-] million people from all Jizhou in the north of the Yangtze River were sent to guard them, and women, old and young, were driven out to increase their momentum.

A chun was built along the river, and all the Chinese ships were lined up inside the chun. The mouths of all the rivers were guarded with trees to prevent attack by the Ming Dynasty navy. It was said that there were more than [-] million soldiers stationed on land and water.

Annan's army deployed defenses along the river, and their plan was to delay the Ming army in a protracted war.

Wait until the climate is hot and humid and miasma arises before we can fight back.

In the past, when the Central Plains sent troops to attack Annan, most of them returned without success because of the teacher.

After Zhu Di learned of this situation, he also issued a special edict, requiring Zhang Fu and others to destroy the Li family before next spring.

Zhang Fu led his generals to inspect various rivers, and soon discovered that the morale of the Annan defenders was low and they had no fighting spirit.

"You can't even see the Annan Army's patrol boats on the river now. This shows their morale. Don't waste the opportunity."

Zhang Fu laughed.

On the second day of October, the Yunnan Army led by Mu Sheng defeated Annan Zuo Shengyi's general Hu She, captured the banks of the Chimuwan River and the Baihe River, and stationed on the north bank of the Tao River to form a confrontation with Duobang City.

The beach under Duobang City is flat and wide, allowing for an army attack.

After learning of the victory, Zhang Fu sent general Chen Xu to Taojiang to build a pontoon bridge with Mu Sheng's army.

On the night of the seventh day of the lunar month, Mu Sheng's army attacked the Annan Army from the north bank of Tianmu Jiangzhou. However, the army led by Annan Army General Chen Ting was very disciplined and was not defeated.

On the contrary, the local soldiers were defeated a lot, which attracted Mu Sheng's supervising team.

On the night of the ninth day of the lunar month, Mu Sheng chose to send troops to attack Mimaruzhou next door based on the strategy of Chen Xu and others.

The commander of the Annan army here, Ruan Gonggui, was obsessed with women and was unprepared. His ships were burned and the entire army was wiped out.

Since then, no Annan army dared to fight with the Ming army in the entire defense line.

The victory of the Ming Army in this battle greatly shocked the Annan forces outside Duobang City. The rest of Annan's naval forces were unable to retreat, and the Ming Army's pontoon bridge was successfully built.

The ninth day of October.

Zhang Fu led his army to set off from the mouth of the river in Xiaozhao City, leaving the governor Gao Shiwen to guard the baggage ships.

On the [-]th, Zhang Fu and Mu Shengjun met.

"Annan has many fences along the river, so the terrain is very narrow. It is difficult for us to deploy a large army and it is not suitable for fighting."

"Only the Bund of Duobang City can accommodate troops. However, Duobang City is tall and has two trenches under the city. Bamboo sticks are densely planted in the trenches. There is a horse trap outside the trenches, and the trenches are also covered with bamboo and wood. In addition to that, the defenders on the city are also equipped with a large number of guns, arrows and rolling logs, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack."

(End of this chapter)