Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 266 Water Battle (Part )

When Geng Zhongming led his fleet to Shazhou in the middle of the river, he discovered the unusual movements of Shen Tingyang's fleet behind him. However, the 25 warships that had retreated in panic in front of him counterattacked quickly and fiercely. Geng Zhongming was horrified and immediately decided to break out of the encirclement and try to escape back to Guazhou.

The artillery fire from both sides was extremely fierce, creating waves in the river. The Zhou army's warships tried to board the enemy's ship, but Geng Zhongming's troops were sailing downstream with the wind and their speed was too fast, making it difficult for them to succeed. It was not until Shen Tingyang's troops surrounded them that the two sides began to fight each other.

On the heights of the Guazhou Fort, the Qing troops on guard looked in panic at the densely packed warships heading north along the river, and urgently reported the matter to the general who stayed behind to guard the water camp, Chen Shaozong.

Upon hearing the news, Chen Shaozong hurriedly ordered the navy to board the ships and prepare for battle. Then he climbed to a high place and looked out at the river. He saw from afar that Geng Zhongming's warships were sailing at full speed and trying to break out. Chen Shaozong was hesitant, not knowing whether to send troops to rescue. But after a moment, Chen Shaozong made up his mind to send troops to support Huaishun King Geng Zhongming.

If he did not send troops and allowed Geng Zhongming to be surrounded and annihilated, Chen Shaozong would not only worry about being punished by the Qing court, but also that the navy was already in the Yangtze River and was not at an advantage. If another 30% of the warships were lost, the Guazhou navy would basically be able to survive under the artillery batteries and would be unable to threaten Nanjing. No matter what, Geng Zhongming had to be rescued first. If the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up, otherwise he will be the next one to be held up.

Having made up his mind, Chen Shaozong immediately ordered all ships to go into battle, and a mighty force of one hundred and fifty warships began to sail out of the port.

The situation on the river at this time was like a sandwich, with one layer upon another, but Shen Tingyang's navy was too large. Chen Shaozong certainly did not think of surrounding Shen Tingyang, but just wanted to break in and support Geng Zhongming.

"Geng Zhongming is quite capable. He can hold on despite being attacked from both sides in such an unfavorable situation." Zhang Shun said with some emotion as he watched Geng Zhongming dashing left and right on the river, providing support or charging.

Upon hearing this, Shen Tingyang said calmly: "Although the Guazhou Navy was established only a year ago, the core is still the navy that came south from Liaodong, and the rest are small warships collected from all over the place. As long as Geng Zhongming is surrounded and killed, the Guazhou Navy will be easily defeated."

Seeing that the Guazhou navy had been fully deployed, the command flag on Shen Tingyang's flagship was waving continuously. From time to time, some ships began to turn their bows and sail downstream to intercept Chen Shaozong.

Geng Zhongming's troops belonged to the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army, and had more than a thousand personal guards. As they had surrendered to the Qing for a long time, their families and children were all in the hands of the Qing court. So even though the situation was unfavorable, Geng Zhongming tried his best to maintain the situation, and they still fought hard and were determined to break out.

When Geng Zhongming served under Mao Wenlong, he had fought against the Eight Banners and the Iron Banner. During the Dengzhou rebellion, he had fought against the Liaodong soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. After surrendering to the Qing Dynasty and entering the Pass, he also fought against Li Zicheng's troops that swept the world. Geng Zhongming's resume showed that although his military force was not large, he was by no means comparable to people like Jin Shenghuan, both in terms of combat power, willpower, and loyalty to the Qing court.

Although Geng Zhongming was cautious by nature, when he was in desperate situation, his rich battlefield experience and the glory of his royal title still drove him to make a final gamble. Seeing Chen Shaozong dispatched the navy to rescue, Geng Zhongming shouted to break out.

Just as Zhang Shun and Shen Tingyang were talking, the increasingly fierce naval battle ahead attracted their attention. They saw that Geng Zhongming's remaining thirteen large ships, under the cover of more than thirty small boats, had broken through Shen Tingyang's first line of defense with the help of a favorable wind and began to move towards Shen Tingyang's flagship.

Seeing this, Shen Tingyang ordered: "Order the patrol boats to intercept and not let the small boats get close to the flagship."

These small boats of the Qing army were small and not easy to hit with artillery. In addition, many of them were equipped with kerosene cans and some gunpowder cans that were easy to ignite.

Geng Zhongming had small boats, but Zhou's army had more small boats. Although the Qing army was sailing downstream with the wind and at a fast speed, Zhou's army had more boats and more men, and most of the thirty or so small boats were intercepted, captured by boarding ships, or hit by artillery and destroyed.

However, two small boats still rushed to the front of Shen Tingyang's flagship. Even though the soldiers on the A squad fired guns and shot arrows, one of the boats still ignited the kerosene on board and nailed the boat to the outer hull of Shen Tingyang's flagship.

"Put out the fire, put out the fire!" Zhang Shun shouted angrily.

Although Geng Zhongming's small boat performed a meritorious service, his good luck seemed to have ended there. The remaining thirteen large ships, although with a tailwind, were still not moving very fast, not to mention that there were Zhou army ships constantly approaching or firing cannons around them. Geng Zhongming was in a miserable state at this time, with a black face. He had already abandoned his flagship and retreated to another ship, but this ship seemed to be in trouble too. The sailors suffered heavy casualties, and the left side took on water. Although it did not sink, its speed was greatly reduced.

Geng Zhongming wanted to change ships again, but almost none of the remaining ships were intact. Some were on fire, while others were riddled with holes from shells. Soon, two more large Qing ships began to sink, one was captured by boarding and fighting, and three of the only ten remaining warships lowered their sails and surrendered.

"Hahaha" Geng Zhongming laughed when he saw his subordinates surrendering. He thought back to his own life, which was also a colorful life. From a lowly miner to Mao Wenlong's adopted son, he had gone deep into the hinterland of the Later Jin many times and disrupted the rear. He had also faced many dangerous situations, but he survived them all. But it seemed that this time, he would die in the Yangtze River.

Geng Zhongming stopped laughing and said loudly: "The ancients once said that a real man cannot eat from five cauldrons when he is alive, but he should be cooked in five cauldrons when he dies. I was a miner, but now I am a nobleman. It is worth it even if I die. How can a real man die in bed or on the battlefield? It is great!"

Afterwards, Geng Zhongming shouted for a fierce fight and rushed straight to Shen Tingyang's flagship. Seeing this, Zhang Shun hurriedly persuaded Shen Tingyang to retreat and left himself to command the flagship for a decisive battle with him.

Shen Tingyang refused and said, "Geng the thief still has the courage to fight to the death, how can I retreat? You go ahead, I will never retreat a single step from here, and I will see you defeat the enemy!"

Zhang Shun heard this and said firmly, "Yes, I will definitely defeat Geng the bandit!"

On the river, Shen Tingyang's flagship was fighting fiercely with the enemy, with artillery fire and smoke everywhere. Shen Tingyang stood at the bow and looked at Zhang Shun. He saw Zhang Shun personally leading the warriors and rushing onto the enemy ship. The two sides engaged in hand-to-hand combat, with swords flashing and blood and flesh flying everywhere.

Zhang Shun jumped onto the enemy ship and looked at Geng Zhongming. Both of them had their eyes wide open and murderous intent filled their gazes.

Then Geng Zhongming roared, took two steps forward, and swung his sword fiercely. Zhang Shun raised his sword and slashed it diagonally to block it. The bodyguards of both sides came forward one after another. Amid the flash of swords and sabers, Zhang Shun looked for his weakness. Geng Zhongming's attack was fierce, and Zhang Shun responded calmly, dodging from time to time.

Just when Geng Zhongming was about to slash horizontally with his sword, but his momentum was not yet exhausted, Zhang Shun seized the opportunity, squatted down, and swung his sword with force. Geng Zhongming screamed and collapsed to the ground. His knee was deeply cut by Zhang Shun's sword, and the bone was visible. Geng Zhongming was in unbearable pain and unable to stand up.

In a flash, before the guards of both sides could react, Zhang Shun leaped over and pounced on Geng Zhongming, with the blade pointing straight to his neck. He pressed down with both hands, and Geng Zhongming's blood gushed out like a spring. Only the sound of "huh...huh...huh" could be heard.

Zhang Shun cut off the head, stood up, held up Geng Zhongming's head, and shouted: "Geng the thief surrender! Those who don't surrender will die!"

Immediately, the Qing army was in chaos, and Shen Tingyang took advantage of the situation to launch a fierce attack. Flames shot up to the sky on the river surface, and the shouts of killing were deafening, which greatly boosted the morale of Zhou's army!