Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

Qi Jiguang, a famous general who fought against Japanese pirates, had a special liking for the French cannon. He conducted in-depth research and fully utilized the advantages of the French cannon.

Qi Jiguang not only used the French cannon to achieve brilliant victories on the battlefield, but also further invented new weapons such as the repeating French cannon and the portable French cannon, which greatly enhanced the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.

These innovations made the French cannon a powerful piece of equipment for Qi's army and also made an important contribution to the fight against Japanese pirates.

Now, let us get back to the topic and return to this fierce naval battle.

Although the projectiles of this round of French cannon fire were small, they accurately hit the dozen or so galleons and Spanish galleons in the front.

These shells made countless holes in the hulls, leaving these large ships riddled with holes. Although these ships did not sink immediately, the gunners in the cabins were hit by the penetrating projectiles and suffered heavy casualties.

When the distance was shortened to 500 meters, only twelve patrol boats were left. They quickly adjusted their posture, set their masts and sails sideways, and stopped steadily at this position.

Immediately, the French cannons on the bow roared again, firing three shots in succession, and then quickly turned the bow. The cannons at the stern also followed suit, and there were another three rounds of artillery fire. All the shells landed accurately on the ten enemy ships in front.

Then, the patrol boats hoisted their sails and accelerated forward. When they were only 32 meters away from the enemy ship, four groups of rockets on the twelve patrol boats fired at the same time, like a group of ferocious firebirds swooping down on the already shaky enemy ship. In an instant, flames shot up into the sky, and the gunpowder barrels on the dozen or so enemy ships were detonated one after another, making a deafening explosion. The hulls were torn apart by the violent impact and finally slowly fell into the river.

The officers and soldiers on the patrol boat looked at their victory with excited smiles on their faces, and they were ready to raise their arms and shout to celebrate this hard-won victory. However, at this moment, the second round of red cannons attacked again, like a ruthless storm sweeping over.

None of the twelve patrol ships were spared and were instantly engulfed by artillery fire. The hulls were shattered, the wreckage was scattered everywhere, and the river water was dyed bright red.

Because the front row of enemy ships fell into the river, the enemy ships behind were no longer obstructed by their line of sight and were able to exert their maximum combat effectiveness.

Hundreds of cannons on more than a dozen enemy ships roared in unison, and shells rained down like raindrops. The patrol ships had no power to fight back under this intensive artillery attack, and they broke and sank one after another, and the naval officers and soldiers on the ships were swept into the rolling river.

There was no time to grieve, as the main fleet led by Zhang Zaikui, commander-in-chief of the Jiangnan Navy, had already entered the firing range of both sides.

At this time, the Jiangnan Navy had only 13 bluffing ships, 14 sand ships, and 8 silk ships, a total of 35. These inland vessels were equipped with various types of artillery, but the average number of artillery per ship was less than ten.

In sharp contrast, the enemy's 120-ton galleon had powerful firepower, and only three or four of them were enough to fight against the Jiangnan Navy.

Today, these medium-sized vessels have lost the speed advantage of smaller vessels such as patrol boats and shuttle boats, and are unable to flexibly avoid enemy fire.

They were forced to engage in head-on combat with enemy ships on the river, responding to the enemy's fierce attacks with limited artillery fire.

The fierce fighting last night caused heavy damage to the multinational coalition forces, but they still retained more than 40 large warships ranging from 500 to 1,200 tons.

"Boom! Boom boom boom..." Both fleets launched artillery fire at the same time. The warships of the Jiangnan Navy were much larger than patrol ships, so they were stronger and more able to withstand attacks.

However, the enemy had more warships and more intense artillery fire, and the Jiangnan Navy was at a disadvantage in the battle.

Facing an unfavorable situation, General Zhang Zaikui resolutely decided to take advantage of the favorable wind and rush towards the enemy ship. He knew that if he did not take the initiative to attack at this time, only death would be waiting for them.

So, without hesitation, he ordered the sails to face the wind and go full speed ahead to ram the enemy ship.

Zhang Zaikui shouted: "With my body, I will defend our country!"

Hundreds of officers and soldiers on the flagship also shouted in unison: "With my body, I will defend our country!"

At this moment, all the officers and soldiers on the flagship were determined to die. They knew that this battle might be the last one, but they were not afraid and were determined to fight the enemy to the death.

Following Zhang Zaikui's order, all the warships of the Jiangnan Navy adjusted their sails and rushed towards the enemy ships with all their strength. Each warship rushed towards the enemy with firm belief and fearless courage.

All the navy officers and soldiers faced the invaders fearlessly, and kept shouting "With my body, I will defend my country..."

This tragic and majestic sound reverberated on the river surface, and the roar of the enemy's artillery fire could not cover up the heroic spirit. They defended the dignity of the country with their lives and wrote a magnificent hymn with their blood.

During the march, soldiers were constantly hit by bullets and ships were constantly smashed, but the naval officers and soldiers ignored them and used their cannons to bombard the enemy ships. The captains of each ship steered their ships straight towards the enemy ships.

"Crazy, these damn Qing people are all crazy!" a foreign soldier screamed in horror.

"Turn rudder, turn rudder, get away from them!" another soldier shouted loudly.

"Get out of the way, we're about to get hit!" another soldier shouted anxiously.

......

Seeing the navy warships rushing towards them recklessly, the people on the enemy ships panicked and cursed one after another.

When they were only 500 meters away from the enemy ships, the naval officers and soldiers quickly gathered all the gunpowder barrels on their respective ships together.

When the distance was shortened to 100 meters, 50 meters and 30 meters, the naval officers and soldiers ignited the gunpowder barrels without hesitation.

With a loud "bang", the navy warship rammed the enemy ship hard. The warships of both sides shook violently, as if the entire river surface was alarmed.

The force of the collision made it difficult for both sides to gain a foothold, but the naval officers and soldiers had resolute smiles on their faces, as if they had already prepared to sacrifice.

However, in sharp contrast to them, the sailors and gunners of the multinational coalition forces looked terrified.

Immediately afterwards, another deafening explosion was heard, and several gunpowder barrels exploded at the same time. Raging flames shot straight into the sky, instantly enveloping the entire battlefield in a sea of ​​fire.

With this thrilling explosion, the navy warship collapsed instantly, and the enemy warship was also severely damaged, with a huge hole blown out. The river water rushed in, and in the blink of an eye, the ship tilted, and the people on the enemy ship fell into the river one after another.

.........

On the 47th day of the twelfth lunar month, the last day of the th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the Jiangnan Navy, with more than small inland boats, annihilated large seagoing ships of the multinational fleet that had come to Fan at the Wusongkou Passage, killing more than enemies. All the officers and soldiers of the navy, including the general Zhang Zaikui, who numbered more than , were killed in the battle.