Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 64 Fighting the Yangtze River and Aiding Yang Failed
The flowing water of the Yangtze River flows eastward.

Whenever Hu Qi goes south and dresses up and crosses south, on this vast river surface, a great battle for the survival of the nation will inevitably break out.

The Southern Song Dynasty lost consecutive battles in Dingjiazhou and Jiaoshan, and lost the natural moat of the Yangtze River, making the Mongol Yuan rule China for nearly a hundred years.

The Han nationality, which had never been conquered before, was trampled underfoot by a foreign race for the first time, which made China lose its pride since the Han and Tang Dynasties.

The battle that took place on the river at this time was like the battle of Jiaoshan in the Song and Yuan Dynasties for Daming. It was not only related to the life and death of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Yangzhou, but also a battle related to the fate of the Ming Dynasty.

If the Great Ming wins, Yangzhou will be surrounded and the south of the Yangtze River will be protected. The Han people will be high-spirited for at least a hundred years, and Xu Tu can still advance northward and restore the rivers and mountains.

If the Ming Dynasty is defeated, the Yangtze River will not be protected, the northern captives will easily cross the river, and the southern capital will also be in danger of being overthrown. It may even repeat the disaster of the Meng and Yuan Dynasties, causing China to suffer another catastrophe.

At this time, on both sides of the Yangtze River, countless pairs of eyes were watching the battle on the river. Ruan Dacheng and Duoduo even built high platforms on both sides of the river to watch the battle.

The soldiers and civilians in Yangzhou City were also affected by this life-and-death battle in Yangzhou.

Wang Yan, together with all the civil and military men of Yangzhou, stood on the tower, and never went down from the tower from morning to evening.

Relying on the advantage of large ships on the river, the Ming army entangled with the elite Qing navy navy. Although they could not defeat the Qing army, they were not defeated, forming a stalemate.

After dusk, the sun had already set to the west, and the two armies that had not yet decided the victory or defeat had no intention of withdrawing their troops and fighting again in the future.

Seeing this, Wang Yan quickly asked people to prepare torches to watch the water battle at night.

The soldiers heard the order to light a torch, but Wang Yan suddenly turned pale with shock, and said in a terrified voice: "The north wind is rising, and the navy may fail!"

He Gang and others couldn't help but change their expressions when they heard the words. They all looked at the torch, and they saw the flame flying south, and they were shocked.

On the south bank of the Yangtze River, Ruan Dacheng was standing on a high platform, seeing a sudden north wind blowing in the sky, blowing flags and flags fluttering, his whole body felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and he broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

For a moment, Ruan Dacheng was full of anxiety, and hurried to the side of the stage, and shouted loudly to the guards below: "Quick! Hurry up and withdraw!"

But the navy was fighting on the river, and the sound of the gold ringing was hard to be noticed. Ruan Dacheng hurriedly shouted: "Fire the trumpet, hang the command flag, and call the navy back!"

When the north wind blows, Ruan Dacheng's square inch is in chaos.

On the river, although Zuo Maodi was not proficient in water warfare, he also knew the difference between fighting against the wind and fighting against the wind. In addition, the Ming army chained the boats together. As long as the fire broke out, the entire Chinese army would be in danger of being defeated.

As if to prove Zuo Maodi's worries, a Qing army fireboat followed the wind, dodged the Ming army's long logs and bamboo poles, and crashed into the big ship.

The big mud-covered ship was not afraid of fire attack, but with the north blowing in the sky, the fire was greatly fueled. The fire ship loaded with gunpowder, kerosene and hay was ignited by the Qing army, and the flames danced in the wind. The string is more than ten feet high.

In an instant, the big ship of the Ming army was ignited by the fire, and Zuo Maodi looked up to the sky and sighed: "This day will not bless my great Ming!"

Seeing this, Liu Liangzuo was overjoyed, and organized more fire boats to rush towards Lianzhou. They set fire with the wind, and the wind was fierce, causing the fire to spread rapidly.

In the Ming army, Zheng Hongkui and Wang Wei were heartbroken when they saw this, and rushed forward with the boat, trying to block the burning boat for Lianzhou, but they were entangled by the Qing army boat and could not escape.

"If we lose today, we are all sinners of Ming Dynasty!" Zheng Hongkui could only shout out in anxiety, encouraging the generals around him to move forward bravely regardless of life and death. "Everyone! The rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty, let's fight here! Kill the enemy with this general!"

On the boat, the Qing army's fire attack followed the wind, and its power increased greatly.

Once a wooden warship ignites a fire, it is impossible to extinguish it. However, each warship of the Ming army is connected by iron chains, and if one fires, it will burn down a warship.

At this time, the sound of the sound of gold and guns on the south bank was loud, and Ruan Dacheng even ordered hundreds of thousands of troops on the south bank to shout in unison: "The wind is blowing, return quickly, don't love to fight!"

At this point in the battle, the defeat of the Ming army has been determined, but the big defeat is still a small defeat, but they can earn money. As long as the warship is saved, they can still fight in the future.

Fang Guoan, the commander-in-chief of the Lianzhou, heard the sound of gold, and quickly ordered the fleet to return to the south. He wanted to leave the battlefield, retreat to the south bank, and save the warship. Cannons were fired from both wings and rockets were thrown, causing the Ming army's warships to burn and smoke and flames covered the river.

The warships of the Ming army could not leave the battlefield, but the fire attack of the Qing army became more and more fierce, vowing to leave and wipe out the Ming army navy.

Most of the soldiers on Lianzhou were newly recruited troops, not elites. Seeing that the Lianzhou was on fire, there was a sudden chaos. The soldiers in front were either burned to death or fell into the water and drowned. defeated.

All of a sudden, flames rose from the boat, and the river was completely red. In a flash, hundreds of giant ships of the Ming army were burned down, and more than half of the Ming army was killed or injured.

Sun Zhaokui, a member of Zuo Maodi's command, and Shen Ziju, all his students, were burned to death.

At this time, Liu Liangzuo took advantage of the situation and launched a fierce attack, causing heavy casualties to the Ming army who jumped into the river.

Zuo Maodi and Chen Zilong retreated to the corner of Lianzhou. Seeing that countless large ships of the Ming army were burned, and the soldiers screamed incessantly, they couldn't help crying loudly: "After this battle, the boat divisions and men and horses were all lost. Jiang Fang has been nothing since then. ! My great Ming will perish in this day!"

Among the army to aid Yangzhou, the most elite [-] troops, together with hundreds of large ships, were buried in the Yangtze River. It was impossible for Ming Dynasty to rescue Yangzhou and defend the river defense.

Zuo Maodi's heart was full of despair, grief came from his heart, he suddenly wanted to die, and he jumped into the rolling river.

Seeing this, Chen Zilong quickly ordered the soldiers to pick him up, and said sadly: "Death is beneficial to the world, so it is okay to die! Death is not beneficial to the world, so how can you discard him with a useful body?"

"I know that the best thing to do is to donate life, but the soldiers, horses and ships are all destroyed, and there is no way to recover!" Zuo Maodi recruited [-] soldiers, and now more than half of them are dead or injured. Wu Yi is the only literati who has taken refuge in him. I feel really sad , really desperate, wanting to die.

Seeing him like this, Chen Zilong immediately reprimanded him angrily: "Wang Shiheng assisted Yang with 1000 men and horses, defeated the army with remnants, and defended Yangzhou alone for two months. Master Zuo still has thousands of soldiers and horses under his command. How can you talk about life and death lightly?"

When Zuo Maodi saw Chen Zilong's angry look and listened to his words, he thought of Wang Yan who had resisted 30 Qing soldiers alone and survived, and thought of Wang Yan who had been fighting against the Qing in Qingzhou, Shandong, and his mind was shocked.

Seeing the change in Zuo Maodi's expression, Chen Zilong knew that Zuo Maodi had lost his desire to die, so he ignored it. Instead, he recruited soldiers, cut off the chains, and led the boat back to the south bank before the fire spread.

In Yangzhou City, He Gang and the others looked dejected.

The Daming navy fought against the Qing army's warships for a whole day without showing any defeat, but only half an hour before dark, they were completely defeated.

The sudden blowing of the north in the sky caused the defeat of the Ming army's navy and left a shadow in the hearts of everyone. Could it be that Ming's luck was exhausted?Could it be that Yangzhou really couldn't keep it?
All the civil and military personnel in Yangzhou looked at the flames rising from the river and heard the howling and screaming of the Ming soldiers, and their expressions could not help but feel sad.

Just when He Gang and others were feeling desperate for the future of Yangzhou, Wang Yan suddenly turned around and walked down the tower, leading the guards straight to the east gate.

(End of this chapter)