Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 351 Are You Willing to Try Your Hands with a Butcher Knife?

In this era, naval battles were not as noisy as in later generations. Both sides would just sound horns and drums before they started fighting in the wide river.

There is a northwest wind today, and the Jin army in the lower north was still raising its sails, using the wind to offset the advantage of the Song army in the upper reaches.

However, as soon as the battle started, the Jin army found that they were extremely wrong.

The Song army lowered the sails not only to maximize the flexibility of water turbines in inland rivers, but also because fire prevention is the first element in naval warfare.

Unlike the later scholars' lament that "water surfaces can be attacked with fire", black powder had already been invented during the Song Dynasty, a period of rapid development of firearms. Explosive materials were difficult to find, but there were plenty of combustible materials.

Especially the Dongting Lake Navy, these water heroes who have been fighting on the river for decades, have several types of gunpowder bombs suitable for fighting on the river.

And the gap is even greater in terms of water combat experience.

Compared with the commander of the Dongting Lake navy front army, deputy commander Yang Qin, Ni Xun, Shang Jian, Liang Saner, the surrendered generals and former bandits who were the chief officers of the Jin navy, were really as immature as children.

Yang Qin was a fierce general who followed Yang Yao in the rebellion. Later, he was conquered by Yue Fei and served as the commander of the Hengjiang Army. Although he was over 50 years old at this time, he was still a man on the river and was not someone who could be easily bullied by any nobody.

Seeing the vanguard ships approaching, yet the Jin army still refused to lower their sails, Yang Qin couldn't help but burst out laughing, his graying beard trembling. "How dare these Jin thieves engage us in a naval battle? My men, let them see that on this great river, seniority is the order of the day. We are their ancestors!"

Responses rang out one after another, and soon, simple commands conveyed by flags spread across the twenty ships in the vanguard. Fist-sized thunder bombs, made of straw wrapped in black powder, were placed on the small catapults at the bow. Braziers and specially made rockets were also ready. On the deck of each ship, more than ten archers stood at attention, observing the wind direction and awaiting orders.

When they were about seventy or eighty steps apart, the first round of arrows was shot out from the Jin army's boats.

There were winds and waves on the river. At this distance, except for some of the most elite archers, once the arrow was shot, no one knew where it would go and it was completely inaccurate.

The twenty ships of the Song army's vanguard suffered almost no damage and continued to sail downstream.

The two sides moved towards each other, and in a moment, they were within thirty paces. The sailors on both sides could even see each other's expressions. With a heavy wave of the red flag in Yang Qin's hand, ignited thunder bombs were thrown onto the Jin army ships by small catapults and strongmen.

These thunder bombs were the size of a fist and were held in a net bag. After flying onto the Jin army ship, the net bag was burned and the thunder bombs instantly spread all over the entire deck.

However, this was not the worst, because the thunder bombs were made of black gunpowder wrapped in straw, so the burning was not violent at the beginning, giving the Jin army the illusion that it was nothing special. However, when the flames ignited the black gunpowder, the Jin army ship almost instantly became a dilemma with smoke and fire in seven places, and the sailors on the ship were in chaos for a while.

However, the Song army did not let them go. The rockets were ignited and poured down on the sails of the Jin army ships like raindrops.

These rockets are not hastily made products wrapped in cloth and poured with oil, but are rockets that have gone through several processes and contain black powder.

The sails that had been treated with alum and other fire-retardant materials could not withstand such dense rockets. In the smoke, the oil-coated silk was finally ignited, and the sails soon turned into huge torches.

More than ten ships of the Jin army's vanguard were completely destroyed in less than a quarter of an hour after the battle.

The Jin army sailors were still trying to put out the fire, but when they saw that the sails were also on fire and the masts were also on fire, they were completely desperate and jumped into the icy river, leaving their fate to drift.

After Yang Qin defeated the front line of the Jin navy at almost no cost, he did not have the bad habit of turning around to reward like the Song army. Instead, he commanded the front line to bypass the burning ships and penetrate the second line of the Jin navy from the side and front.

As if they had seen the fate of their comrades in front of them, the approximately 30 ships in the second formation lowered their sails and no longer fired at the Song army ships from a distance. Instead, they tried to get close and engage in boarding combat.

At this moment, the flexibility of the Song army's water steamers on the inland river was fully demonstrated. Except for a few ships that were forced to stop, the rest of the water steamers almost acted as a joke, turning the Jin army's warships that came to fight into torches.

In fact, by this time, the Song army had already shown its momentum. If they had fought more resolutely and the Jin army had reacted a little slower, it is very likely that the situation would have been like a rolling pearl curtain and burning down the camps, and the outcome of the battle on the river would have been decided in one battle.

However, Su Baoheng was not a fool. He had already realized the truth after only two failures. The Jin army was originally inferior in naval battles, and now the Song army occupied the upper reaches, so this battle could not be fought at all.

Under the command of flags and trumpets, the Jin navy completed the turn at the northern end of the river and went downstream in a flash.

Fortunately, it was a big river and extremely wide, otherwise it would be impossible for nearly 400 ships to turn at the same time.

The Dongting Lake navy wanted to pursue, but the battlefield was located on the western branch of the river that was divided into two branches by Jiangxin Island. Although it was wider than the east side, it was much narrower than the river.

More than fifty large and small ships of the Jin army mixed together with twenty ships under Yang Qin's command, completely blocking the entire river.

Especially when more than ten ships that had become torches on the river drifted downstream, even Yang Qin, who tried to send soldiers to board the ship, had to give up and abandon the idea of seizing the ship. He made a big turn from the north side of Jiangxinzhou and withdrew from the battle.

Seeing this, the remaining ten or so Jin warships also drifted downstream and fled the battlefield. The Dongting Lake navy won a great victory, sinking over thirty Jin warships with minimal casualties. This was arguably the most impressive victory since the Song-Jin war resumed.

However, Li Dao was furious and kept cursing.

The Jin navy really mastered the essence of avoiding battle and protecting ships. When they saw the situation was not good, they fled directly without any hesitation.

Originally, they thought that since they had come from afar, both sides would be fighting hastily. Even if they could not completely wipe out the Jin navy in one go, they should be able to bite off a large piece of meat.

We have only sunk thirty ships so far, which is not enough to fill the gap.

It’s hard to say whether there will be such a good opportunity in the future.

Because the key to avoiding battle and protecting the ships is that the Jin army can gain a foothold on land and the navy will not be forced out of the port. At this time, the Jin cavalry and infantry have not only gained a foothold, but have also penetrated the Huai River and Huai River regions. How can the Song army be able to force the Jin navy out of the port?
Although Li Dao, who was full of anger, wanted to give chase again, he was still worried about the Caishi Ferry. At this time, Xicaishi had been occupied by the Jin army, and Jiangxinzhou had become the front line, which could not be lost.

After hesitating for a long time, even when Yang Qin sent a military envoy to ask how to fight next, Li Dao finally swallowed his anger and ordered his fleet to be stationed in Jiangxinzhou and Dongcai Shi respectively, while he personally arrived at the camp in Jiangxinzhou with several personal guards.

The first meeting between this former general of Yue Family Army and Liu Huai was not very harmonious.

To be precise, it should be said that the situation is tense.

"All of you, get back to Dongcaishi." Li Dao arrogantly swung his hand and swept Liu Huai, Xin Qiji, and the newly arrived Li Tieqiang into the area. "My Dongting Lake navy is stationed here. It's absolutely safe. We don't need useless people like you."

Liu Huai was about to bow and salute, but upon hearing this, his nose almost twisted in anger, and his face instantly darkened: "The Jingnan Army has its own destination, it is not the place for some random people to point fingers."

Li Dao looked Liu Huai up and down and said, "Oh, you are quite tough. If you were to ask me, the swords of the Huaixi troops were half as tough as your words and three times as brave as your words, you wouldn't be chased south of the Yangtze River.

The corn of the Lianghuai people was all fed to the dogs, raising a bunch of useless people like you who lost their army and land. Now you dare to shout in front of me?! Believe it or not…"

"Old bastard, open your eyes and look." Li Tieqiang couldn't help but yell, "We are the Shandong Jingnan Army, not some shit-eating Huaixi Army!"

Li Dao was stunned.

Just now, Liu Huai spoke with a Lianghuai accent, while Li Tieqiang spoke with a genuine Shandong accent. In this era where pronunciations can vary from place to place, it was very obvious and could be recognized almost immediately.

The Shandong rebel army came to Caishiji in Huaixi to participate in the war. This kind of thing sounds so magical.

The efficiency of information transmission is too slow these days, and Li Dao set off quickly after receiving the military order, and had no idea that such a thing existed.

But if this Jingnan Army was not the Huaixi Army, but an army of volunteers that came from Shandong to the south to fight against the Jin army alongside the Song Dynasty, wouldn't that mean that they were all extremely loyal and brave, and was I wrong to scold them?

Li Dao's face immediately turned red with embarrassment. Although he knew he was in the wrong, he still forced himself to speak: "So what if the Shandong Army? Without ships, can Jiangxin Island be fully protected? Your Jingnan Army looks like it's all cavalry and infantry. How can it compare to our Dongting Lake navy? Why not go to Jiangdong and join the battle when the opportunity arises?"

If he had spoken like this from the beginning, Liu Huai would have been fine with it. But after being inexplicably scolded, the three of them were somewhat angry. Liu Huai, in particular, was afraid to show weakness because the Jingnan Army was a foreign force. He was worried that if he was underestimated, he would be coveted by all parties and eventually be wiped out.

Don't think it's impossible. Even though the anti-Jin heroes are not only national heroes but also feudal military leaders, they also want to strengthen their own strength.

One punch is enough to open the attack, so as to prevent a hundred punches from coming. In other words, even if one punch fails to open the attack, a hundred punches may come next!
"General Li still thinks that our Jingnan Army is not a brave army, but a bunch of cowards who dare not fight to the death with the Jin bandits." Liu Huai said coldly: "Is it not enough to take on such a heavy responsibility?"

Li Dao stiffened his neck and said nothing.

He is now in a difficult situation. For a veteran like Li Dao, face is almost half his life, and he cannot admit it even if he is wrong.

Just as the atmosphere between the two sides was becoming tense, Wang Huai, the deputy commander of the navy, interrupted and said, "Three members of the Jingnan Army, you have witnessed the methods of our navy. You defeated the enemy army head-on on the Yangtze River. You can be called a hero in any case. But we have never witnessed your capabilities. Jiangxin Island is located in such a crucial position. It is understandable that my commander is hesitant."

Wang Huai's words became more pleasant. Just as Liu Huai was about to show off the results of last night's battle, Xin Qiji came out with his sword in hand and said, "What's the difficulty?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the Jinwu Banner, which represented the Jin Emperor, on the west bank of the river. "Take me over there and challenge him to a duel before Jin Lord Wanyan Liang. After I kill a few of his generals, who would dare to say that the Shandong Volunteer Army isn't a hero?"

"Good!" While the others were completely stunned, Li Dao was the first to react. He clapped his hands and laughed, "If you can dampen the spirit of the Jin thieves, why wouldn't I, Li Dao Li Zishi, recognize you as my heroes?!"

(End of this chapter)