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There was already fog, and then we ran into a strong enemy head-on. This was probably the worst possible situation.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to turn around and escape in a sea encounter, especially since the government troops have artillery.
No matter how hard the bandits fought, they only had time to turn the bow halfway before being surrounded by the government troops and caught in the artillery range.
Dozens of cannons roared, water splashed everywhere, and the smoke overwhelmed the fog.
Seeing that they couldn't turn around completely, they had no choice but to rush forward diagonally.
"Don't let the thieves escape!" Wang Ling stood in front of the fence and shouted loudly.
The enemy had only thirty or forty ships and could not defeat the government troops in any way.
This is the best prey he has ever encountered since he started his expedition. If he can't even catch it, it would be a disgrace.
There must be many generals who have the same idea as Wang Ling. There is no need for the commander-in-chief to urge them, and some boats have already rushed up.
It's only a few ship hulls away. As long as we can stop them a little and delay them for a moment, the enemy will naturally have nowhere to escape.
With this movement, the entire fleet also started moving, and was led off course by the lively prey. It was natural for the fleet to move with the momentum.
However, Wang Ling was still alert. They were almost at Wuyuan Island. Who knew where the enemy's main force was?
Even if you are encircling and suppressing the enemy, you cannot chase them too far, so as not to fall into someone else's trap.
"Send some small boats to check around. If there is an enemy ambush, sound the alarm as soon as possible." Wang Ling was extra cautious and was unwilling to let his guard down even if he had the upper hand.
Fortunately, it doesn’t take much effort to stop this group of enemy troops.
In just a blink of an eye, the vanguard caught up with the enemy.
In this kind of chase, artillery is extremely useful. Two or three ships actually emitted black smoke and stopped. It was obvious that they were hit in vital parts and could not move.
"Chase the ship in front first!" This kind of ship that has lost its ability to sail poses no threat at all. All we need to do is send two ships to surround it, slowly board it, and shoot down the deck. The key is still the enemy ship in front. The encirclement has not been closed yet. If we don't chase it quickly, the prey will escape.
This arrangement was certainly correct, but the next moment, someone suddenly exclaimed: "General, there seems to be no one on those two pirate ships!"
No one? Did they hide in the cabin? Just as the lieutenant general thought of this, he saw one of the ships with a broken mast explode.
This was not a simple fire, but the entire hull was torn to pieces by explosives, and the sky was filled with flying flames and broken wood.
Because they were too close, many of the warships in the front were affected by this change.
The next moment, another ship exploded, and the sea water seemed to boil, sweeping in all the strikers.
"Get out of the way! It's a trap!" Countless people shouted. Not to mention the sails, even the gunpowder on the decks of several ships was ignited by sparks. The chaos was even bigger. They couldn't even take care of themselves, so who would chase the enemy?
How could there be so much gunpowder on board? Could it be that they had already planned to cut off their ship and survive? Or was this all a conspiracy...
Among so many generals and officers, some did notice something was wrong, but unfortunately, it was too late.
Suddenly, artillery fire was heard from the side and rear of the army. The team of remnants who had been huddled aside and seemed to have not yet recovered from the shock opened fire at the government troops in front of them.
Because of the previous change in formation, they had unknowingly entered the optimal shooting range, and the pouring artillery fire became the only answer at this moment.
"Protect the flagship!" Someone on the ship shouted. It was no wonder that he was nervous. The position of that group of remnants was too tricky, right at the junction of the right wing and the center army. As long as they took advantage of the situation and cut in, they could threaten the flagship where Wang Ling was.
Stunned by the head-on blow, the right wing dodged almost reflexively, further disrupting the army's formation.
"Why are you hiding? Surround the enemy!" Wang Ling's hands began to tremble. He really didn't expect that this remnant of the army would turn against him in the middle of a battle.
He was clearly familiar with the army's banners and even the flags were accurate, so why did he suddenly rebel?
He had a lot of questions, but no one answered them. The remaining soldiers just fired a few rounds of artillery, and when they saw that the government troops had reacted, they immediately turned around and retreated.
But this time, the government troops failed to catch up.
It seemed like just a blink of an eye, and the enemies in front and behind were hidden in the mist again.
Although they were frightened, the enemy did not attack with real weapons, and the government troops suffered not much damage. However, the fighting spirit that had just been ignited was gone.
Wang Ling opened his eyes wide as he looked at the fleet that was in chaos and struggling to restore order. After a long time, he turned around and walked back into the house step by step.
Sitting dejectedly in the chair, he held his head and felt a buzzing in his head.
Even the remnants of soldiers asking for help were fake, so were the messengers delivering the message real?
Did the Qingfeng Gang really attack the camp, or was it all just a conspiracy by the enemy?
Should he fight or retreat? How should he fight, and how can he retreat safely?
The fog outside the window seemed to drift into the house and into his mind, making him dizzy and having difficulty breathing.
For the first time, Wang Ling regretted his decision. Wouldn't it have been better if he hadn't taken the credit and gotten involved in this mess?
No one could answer for him.
At the same time, the Red Flag Gang was indeed clearing out the officers and soldiers roaming around the nearby islands.
Not to mention that most of these islands are stationed with sea merchants who are subservient to the Red Flag Gang, just leaving so many scattered soldiers behind is not a big deal.
Once the rear is cleared, the entire communication channel will be controlled by the Red Flag Gang. They will be able to control when to transmit messages and what messages to transmit, and this can also become one of the means to frustrate the enemy.
As for the main force of the government army, they adopted a tactics that was a mixture of harassment and psychological warfare. The morale of an army requires a lot of energy to protect and maintain, and once they go from being afraid of war to being tired of war, there is no way even gods can save them.
"Boss, our plan worked! Hey, this time we probably destroyed seven or eight ships, so it's not a loss no matter how you look at it." Before noon, Li Fu excitedly led his troops back.
This time he was the one leading the team, and the dozen or so boats pretending to be remnants of the army were all captured last time. They were also equipped with officers' and soldiers' uniforms and flags. Then, he let Chief Yan lead them in training. It was really a deception that no one could detect the flaws.
Cheng Xi smiled slightly: "As long as it's useful."
Two or three of their ships were destroyed in order to carry explosives. In addition to the exchange ratio, what is more important is that it can make the enemy increasingly uneasy. Coupled with the previous "enemy surrounded on all sides", I am afraid that the enemy is not far from collapse.
"What should we do when we get down? Set some more traps?" After completing the task easily, Li Fu still felt a little unsatisfied. After all, he used to be in charge of tasks like setting off cannons and throwing bombs, and rarely came into contact with such surprise traps.
"This method worked once, but it won't work anymore." Cheng Xi was very familiar with psychological warfare and had already thought of the next step. "Wait until the fog clears, and then we can just follow the enemy from a distance."
Therefore, when the fog completely disappeared the next day, the government troops who had been stranded there for a day discovered that in the distance, the main force of the enemy army was parked, with hundreds of ships lined up in a battle array, which was very impressive.
Is this really going to be a full-scale military showdown? Two days ago, Wang Ling might have been overjoyed, but now, seeing the enemy army staring at him with eager eyes, he felt a chill in his heart, as if a thorn in his back.
If the enemy forces rushed forward, could they really win? If these thieves had other tricks up their sleeves, could he defend against them?
The more afraid Wang Ling was, the less he dared to act rashly, and the enemy actually learned this caution exactly.
So it became an awkward situation where the two armies were facing each other, and neither side was willing to start a fight, and this lasted for a long time.
When Wang Ling was exhausted and ready to fight hard, the new communication ship broke through numerous obstacles and came to Wang Ling.
"Marshal, the Doumen Fort has been breached, Panyu is in danger!"
Seeing the messenger almost in tears, Wang Ling felt dizzy and held on to the table.
This was completely different from what he had imagined. Even in his worst-case scenario, there was no possibility of the fort being captured. He had left a garrison there. Were these idiots just eating for free?!
After a long while, he spoke dryly, "When did this happen? What group of bandits are these invading troops?"
"That happened three days ago. It was the Qingfeng Gang. They brought a lot of soldiers with them and were planning to attack other garrisons. Marshal, please return with your troops as soon as possible!" The messenger had broken through the encirclement with great difficulty, and now his eyes were red with anxiety.
Wang Ling felt his chest tighten. It had been three days, so why hadn't the news reached him until now? If the Red Flag Gang hadn't been involved, his name would have been written backwards!
But even if he knew, what could he do? The enemy troops were still close at hand, waiting for their move.
If we withdraw our troops in a hurry, we may not be able to return home safely. If we are caught up by the vicious wolf, not to mention how much meat we will bite off, it is not impossible that the army will be directly disintegrated!
His fists clenched so tightly that his palms ached. Perhaps it was the pain that sobered him up, or perhaps it was a sudden flash of inspiration, but Wang Ling suddenly raised his head and asked, "Did the Red Flag Gang say they wanted to avenge General Qiu?"
The lieutenant generals and captains below all looked at each other in bewilderment. Wasn't this something they had known for a long time? Otherwise, why would they use the title of General Zhenhai and even offer General Qiu's daughter to the gang?
"In that case, why not send someone to persuade them to surrender? Just say that you can report to the court to clear Qiu Sheng... General Qiu's charges and pardon the orphan girl of the Qiu family?" Wang Ling's eyes lit up. How could he be so confused? This group of bandits were not real pirates, but a boat gang formed by the remnants of Qiu Sheng. They had not harassed the shore or rebelled for such a long time. Perhaps they had some thoughts that were difficult for outsiders to understand.
Now that they have done such a big thing and shown their fists, causing the imperial army to suffer, wouldn't it be enough to just go with the flow and offer them amnesty?
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the room. No one expected that the commander-in-chief of an army could say such a thing.
But is this feasible?
After all, Qiu Sheng died unjustly, and this was known to everyone in the world. Wouldn't it be enough for the emperor to find a reason, punish a few people, and exonerate him?
The Red Flag Gang caused such a huge disaster that affected all coastal areas, and even the imperial army was helpless against it. Isn't it only natural to offer them amnesty at this time?
If it can really succeed, this expedition will not be in vain, and we may even gain some credit.
Thinking of this, Wang Ling perked up and slammed the table: "Go and bring Xu Xianrong here!"
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