Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 329: Isolation of the River

The Mongolian cavalry was defeated and Barger was killed. This news shocked Hauge. He asked in disbelief: "The enemy cavalry is so elite?"

After learning about the details of the battlefield, Hauge said angrily, "Balger, that idiot, was killed in a battle."

However, after knowing that Zhou's cavalry had also suffered heavy losses and was no longer able to threaten him, Hauge looked at the Eight Banners of the Manchus who had mostly crossed the river, and waved his hand and said, "After we cross the river, the Mongolian cavalry will cross next, and the Green Camp soldiers will cross last."

Hauge did not hesitate any longer, boarded the boat and headed towards the other side of the river.

On the boat, Hauge felt something was wrong all over. The shaking boat made Hauge unable to use any strength. Just as the boat Hauge had just boarded was heading towards the middle of the river, bursts of cannon fire were heard in the distance.

The sound of cannons made Hauge stand up and listen carefully. After a while, Hauge asked in a somewhat uneasy tone, "Is this our cannon?"

The weather in February was still a little chilly, but Leng Sengji's forehead was covered with cold sweat. His lips trembled unconsciously, and his words trembled: "It must be the Zheng family's navy. They are willing to intercept us even at the risk of being bombarded!"

When Haoge heard this, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat and said in a hurry: "Paddle quickly! Cross the river quickly!"

Just as Hauge finished speaking, a black dot appeared in the distance, and gradually more and more black dots appeared. It was the Zheng family's ship. The sound of cannons from afar still did not stop. Hauge could even see a bullet hit the Zheng family ship, causing the warship to shake.

"Row faster! Row faster!" Hauge was so impatient that he wanted to do it himself. He pushed the boat and ran. The sailors rowing the boat used all their strength, but they used too much force and were exhausted after just a while. Seeing this, Hauge picked up a civilian who was waving his hands and rowed the boat himself.

Chen Yaoce looked at the densely packed boats on the river with a bright smile on his face. He laughed heartily, "Hahaha, hahaha, the Tartars are crossing the river. I'm just in time, just in time! Pass the order, advance at full speed, and fire your artillery once you are within range."

Although the Zheng family's ship was large, it was faster than the small boat. In a flash, the leading Zheng family ship opened fire first. With luck, the first shot hit a Qing army troop transport ship. A big hole was immediately made on the ship, and water kept pouring into the ship. Dozens of Eight Banners soldiers on the ship just splashed in the water twice before sinking into the river.

The longer the time was delayed, the more frequent the artillery fire of Zheng's army became. Many Qing troops on the river were smashed to pieces by the artillery of Zheng's navy. Most of the Qing army's troop transports were small boats, and they would be torn into pieces on the spot if they were hit by artillery. Even if they were not hit directly, the shells would fall closer and the huge waves would overturn some small boats.

These Eight Banners soldiers were basically landlubbers. Once they fell into the water, they would sink to the bottom of the river like a weight. When the Zheng family's warships appeared, the Qing army on the south bank were so scared that they immediately stopped boarding the ships.

Hauge was about to approach the other side of the river at this time, and Leng Sengji could not help showing joy. Unfortunately, the joy turned into sorrow. Only four or five meters away from the river bank, a bullet hit the boat and broke the thigh of one of Hauge's personal guards on the spot. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, and the boat kept leaking.

This frightened Haoge so much that he didn't know what to do. Leng Sengji shouted to the river bank: "Quick! Quick! Push the boat over here, the prince is on the boat!"

The Qing troops on the north bank of the river were in a panic and pushed their boats and rowed towards Hauge desperately.

When Hauge was dragged ashore in a miserable state by his personal guards, he was already drowned by the water and felt a little desperate. He almost burst into tears.

Not far away, Bolo looked at Haoge's miserable appearance after falling into the water, and thought it was a pity. Duoduo beside him stuck his head out of the carriage, and Bolo hurriedly said, "Prince Yu, it's cold..."

"Ahem, ahem, nothing." Duoduo looked at the Zheng family's ships running rampant on the river and suddenly said, "Bolo, compared with Zheng Sen and his father Zheng Zhilong, who do you think is a bigger threat?"

Bolo hesitated for a moment, but still spoke: "Zheng Zhilong has no ambition and is content with a small fortune. Zheng Sen is more ambitious."

At this moment, cheers suddenly came from the Qing army on the north bank. Bolo looked back and found that a ship of the Zheng family had sunk.

The Zheng family warship had its waterline penetrated by river defense artillery, and water poured into the ship, making it impossible to prevent it from sinking. The soldiers on board began to abandon ship and escape with the help of neighboring ships.

Chen Yaoce's expression remained unchanged. The deputy general was hesitant to speak. Chen Yaoce glanced at the deputy general and said, "Just say whatever you want to say."

"General, our army has stopped the Tartars from crossing the river. Can we withdraw now? Our army has already lost six warships. If we delay any further, there will inevitably be more losses." The deputy general bowed and spoke bluntly to Chen Yaoce.

Chen Yaoce replied in a deep voice: "Our army has stopped the Tartars from crossing the river, but King Zhou's army has not arrived yet. If we withdraw now, the loss of warships will be in vain."

"Who knows when King Zhou's army will arrive? What if they don't arrive until dark? We can't..."

Chen Yaoce raised his hand fiercely, stopped the deputy general from speaking, and said, "I have made my own decision in my mind."

On the Yangtze River, Zheng's warships were lying across the surface of the river. Under such circumstances, the Qing army had no way of crossing the river, and its troops had actually been divided into two halves by Zheng's army.

Haoge paused for a moment, but when he saw the Zheng family's arrogant ships on the river, he became furious and yelled, "Pirates! Pirates! I will kill your father!!"

Chen Yaoce was sharp-eyed. Seeing a group of people surrounding a man on the river bank, he thought that this man must be a general of the Qing army. He immediately turned around and aimed the artillery at Hauge.

When Leng Sengji saw the black muzzle of the gun, he felt something was wrong and fled from the river, dragging Hauge, who was still cursing.

Just after they walked for a while, several bullets flew towards the position of Hauge and others. Unfortunately, with the accuracy of artillery in that era, the probability of hitting a person was too low.

………………

When Huang Cheng received a report from a scout about the rumbling sound of artillery on the river, he immediately thought that it must be the arrival of Zheng's navy. He hurriedly sent a fast horse to report to Meng Jun, and at the same time, he led more than 1,800 cavalrymen who had just left the battle and slowly approached Wuchang.

Meng Jun, who was standing behind Huang Cheng, did not know at this moment that Zheng's navy had already blocked the river and prevented the Qing army from crossing the river.

At this time, Hu Zhan said to Meng Jun with a slightly yearning tone: "If the king can keep Haoge Duoduo this time, the world will be shocked!"

Meng Jun burst out laughing. This was too naive. Haoge Duoduo was not comparable to the Dukes of the Jun and the Third Prince of Shun, such as Lekedehun and Geng Zhongming. Those two were both princes. If they were both killed in Wuchang, not only would the whole world be shocked, but Dorhong would probably have to run back to the outside of the Great Wall overnight.

After hearing Hu Zhan's words, Meng Jun laughed and said proudly: "Even if Duoduo Haoge is not left, this battle can still shock the world!"