The Shun army artillerymen on the shore looked at the approaching Ming army warships and immediately adjusted their gun muzzles to fire.
Before opening fire, they thought the other party was a sitting duck.
After all, the speed of a warship going upstream is much slower than that going downstream.
But what they didn't know was that in the eyes of the Ming navy, these artillerymen were simply dead targets.
The live target can move, but these artillerymen just stand there stupidly.
boom!
The Shun army artillery on the banks of the Huai River opened fire first.
Large and small projectiles fired from more than forty artillery pieces instantly covered the surface of the river.
The Ming navy was well prepared and they hid behind the side of the ship to avoid the hail of bullets.
The wood of the ship's side was already hard, so they added wooden boards and iron sheets on both sides of the ship's side.
Except for a few large projectiles that broke the masts of several small warships and pierced the sides of the ships, the rest of the small projectiles did not cause much casualties to the Ming army.
The commander of the artillery battalion was General Wu Ruyi, the commander-in-chief of the army. This was the first time he commanded infantry to attack the navy on the shore.
When he saw the casualties of the Ming navy, he felt something was wrong.
"Shoot, let the archers shoot!" Wu Ruyi shouted.
Before the messenger could wave the flag to signal the enemy, the Ming army launched a counterattack.
Small artillery, projectiles fired from firearms, and arrows shot from bows flew towards them densely.
The Shun army's artillerymen were terrified and hid behind temporary shelters and shields.
However, after hiding, he could no longer raise his head.
As soon as the front warship finished firing cannons and shooting arrows, the warship behind followed up and fired cannons and arrows at the true meaning of the Shun army.
The Ming army's warships kept passing by, and bullets and arrows were flying in the air.
You know, the Shun army's artillery did not wear armor.
The dense rain of bullets and arrows hit the bunker with a thrilling sound.
Coupled with the occasional screams, the entire Shun army was terrified.
Even the knowledgeable Wu Ruyi couldn't stand it anymore.
He ducked behind the chariot with his head down, thinking quickly with his shield in hand.
I thought for a quarter of an hour, but nothing came to my mind.
Defense is almost a luxury now, let alone counterattack.
"Mad, this is so fucking frustrating."
The situation on Wu Ruyi's side soon reached Liu Zongmin's ears. Just as he was about to organize an infantry counterattack, the scouts brought back the news.
"Two Ming troops were found fifteen miles east of Sizhou City, with a total strength of about 10,000. If nothing unexpected happens, they have already engaged General Yuan Zongdi."
Liu Zongmin was shocked.
The Ming army encountered enemies in the north and south at the same time, which obviously showed that they had made preparations in advance.
"Pass the order down, split the central army into two, one to support the Huai River mouth, and the other to go north to support Yuan Zongdi. At the same time, notify the baggage camp to break camp immediately and prepare to retreat to the Henan area."
"Also, send a fast horse to deliver a message to the emperor, telling him that the Ming army will advance by land and sea, heading towards Fengyang from the Huai River and the south bank of the Huai River respectively."
"Yes, sir."
The messenger left quickly.
After issuing the military order, Liu Zongmin breathed a sigh of relief, then raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said to the personal guard camp: "Let's go and meet the Ming army in the east of Sizhou City first."
After the army gathered, they arrived at the east of Sizhou City. After seeing the situation on the scene, Liu Zongmin almost laughed to death.
There is a river called Xuhong River in the east of Sizhou (now Sihong County), which runs from northwest to southeast and finally flows into Hongze Lake.
Ten thousand Ming troops were stationed on the east side of the Xuhong River and the west side of Hongze Lake.
It is surrounded by water on three sides, and the only land access is in the north.
It can be said that this is a big taboo in military strategy.
Liu Zongmin didn't even need to send troops to attack actively. He only needed to take a detour and block their retreat route to the north, and the Ming army would collapse without a fight.
"Who is leading the troops on the opposite side?" Liu Zongmin asked.
Yuan Zongdi laughed at first, then replied happily: "Grain Transport Commander Zhu Guobi, the Vice Governor and the Deputy Governor, is my servant Shan."
Liu Zongmin immediately understood.
As the saying goes, "If one soldier is incompetent, the whole group of generals will be incompetent too." This is what people like them are like.
There is no need to talk about Zhu Guobi, he only has the name of a nobleman but not the ability of a nobleman.
Servant Shan has even less ability.
His only contribution was that when Li Zicheng captured Kaifeng in the 15th year of Chongzhen, he personally used a boat to rescue King Zhou from the flooded city of Kaifeng, and then sent him to Zhangde Prefecture.
Apart from this, there is no other combat experience.
"Is there no one left in the Ming court? It's ridiculous that they let these two pieces of trash send troops to rescue Fengyang!" Liu Zongmin completely let down his guard.
After laughing, Yuan Zongdi looked at Liu Zongmin and asked, "How should we fight this battle? A quick victory? Or should we send troops to cut off their retreat, wait for the right opportunity, and then surround and attack them?"
"Let me think about it." Liu Zongmin lowered his head and thought seriously.
The mouth of the Huai River is more than 200 miles away from Fengyang.
If the Ming army wanted to support Fengyang, the navy alone was not enough.
Although the navy can land and fight, it needs the cooperation of infantry because the navy’s equipment is not sufficient for field combat.
Taking the most common field equipment chariot as an example, an ordinary small boat cannot carry it. Although a medium-sized ship can carry it, it is not easy to load and unload.
Once the enemy attacks during the landing process, the human wall formed by the soldiers will be unable to withstand the enemy's impact.
It would take three or even four days for the Ming army infantry on the south bank of Huai'an to reach Fengyang.
If it goes too fast, the soldiers will feel tired and will not be able to perform their due combat effectiveness after arriving on the battlefield.
If it is too slow, it will affect the fighter.
His elite cavalry could reach Fengyang in just two days. If the Ming army crossed the river, he would join forces with the Shun army on the south bank of the Huai River to attack the Ming army.
Being attacked from both sides, the Ming army was bound to be defeated.
If the Ming army did not cross the river, he would go north to cut off the Ming army's food supply on the north bank of the Huai River, causing them to fall into chaos without fighting.
According to the marching speed of the Ming army, he had two days to deal with this group of Ming troops.
"Well... Zongdi," Liu Zongmin looked at Yuan Zongdi, "I plan to use two days to eat up this group of Ming troops, and then march west to support the emperor. What do you think?"
"Me?" Yuan Zongdi was stunned for a moment. "I will listen to you. I will do whatever you say."
"Okay," Liu Zongmin nodded, "According to the report from the remaining navy of our army, there is no trace of the Ming navy on Hongze Lake. You go north to block the retreat of Zhu Guobi's servant Congshan, let them fall into chaos without fighting, and then launch a strong attack at midnight tomorrow night!"
"Why not attack tonight?" Yuan Zongde was a little puzzled.
Liu Zongming snorted coldly: "Based on my understanding of these two idiots, they will definitely put the entire army on alert to prevent our army from attacking at night after learning that their retreat route has been cut off."
"Although we can win by attacking their camp tonight, we will have to pay a price. It is better to exhaust them for a day and a night, and then take them down in one fell swoop when they are exhausted!"
"Then our military's losses will be greatly reduced."
Yuan Zongdi looked at Liu Zongming with some admiration and nodded vigorously: "Okay, I will send a small force to harass their camp tonight. We will launch a strong attack on time at midnight tomorrow night. You will guard along the river to prevent them from crossing the river and escaping."
"Okay, then let the Ming army see what the Dashun elite are!"
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