Looking into the distance, Mandahai saw a shadow of sails in the distance.

Unlike the gray hard bamboo sails of Qing army warships, most of the Ming army's warships use white cloth soft sails.

The layers of sails swayed, as if white clouds came from the distant river.

Mandahai hurriedly picked up the Qianli Mile Mile Mile. In the circular vision, the first thing that appeared was the centipede ship with many oars.

This kind of ship is more than 40 meters long, with two to three masts on the erect, and can be mounted on the side of the ship, and is equipped with light artillery. It is a fast sailing ship built in Donghai Town.

This centipede ship is a model Portuguese warship. Zhao Ming took a fancy to its advantage of being able to be Yang Fan or row, and built more than 30 ships and incorporated them into the Chongming Navy to facilitate combat on the Yangtze River.

Mandahai looked at the centipede ship that was moving the oars and advancing on the river. He was a little shocked. Then he raised the thousand-mile mirror and saw more than twenty blessed ships with hard sails behind the centipede ship.

The Ming army mainly operated at sea, so the warships were one-largest than those of the Qing army. The bow and tail of the lucky ship were raised, towering like a city, and there were iron plates on the front of the bow, which not only looked ferocious, but also played a role in impact and protection.

Behind the lucky ship were five three-masted gunships. They were even larger in size. The white sails were blown up on the three tall masts, and a slanted sail was pierced from the bow, which was also blown whirring.

There were not many warships in the Ming army, probably only more than sixty, but they were all serious warships, with a very powerful momentum.

Man Dahai's face darkened, "Send the order and be alert!"

The shore flags were waved and the war drums were beating, conveying the instructions of Mandahai.

At the center of the Yangtze River, on the sandbank fort, the Qing army gunners quickly began to load, and then adjusted the gun position. Behind the sandbank, Liu Liangzuo pulled out his knife and roared loudly, "Hang the flag, raise the sails to prepare for war!"

The Qing navy, anchored by the river, immediately raised his anchor and raised his sails, pushed the cannon window open, ready to fight.

After Boluo's tragic death, Mandahai took over as the General of the Conquest of the South and guarded Jiangsu and Zhejiang to fight against the Ming army. As a result, he was attacked by Zhao Zamao and introduced to Shandong and was defeated.

That battle made Mandahai hold a grudge and at the same time he was still scared.

At this time, Mandahai was expected to avenge his previous shame, and at the same time, he was a little afraid of Donghai Town.

Mandahai turned his head and looked at the hidden artillery array in Jiangbei. He saw sixty or seventy heavy artillery rows in Jiangbei. He gritted his teeth and said, "I heard that Zhao Zamao's gunships were sharp. Now I also have artillery. Moreover, my artillery was arranged on the shore and on the fort, and it would not sink. What are you afraid of Zhao Zamao when he came? He passed the order of this king, and the army should not act rashly. When Zhao Zamao's naval commander attacked the fort and entered the range, the Jiang waterproof division rushed out of the northern channel and led Zhao Zamao to the southern channel, and then used the south bank artillery and the artillery cannon to strangle Zhao Zamao."

The Ming army ships set off from Jingjiang and sailed westward. After reaching the south of Taixing, the Yangtze River waterway turned a corner. After the fleet turned in, a sandbank appeared in front of them, and there was a shadow of sail.

On the main mast of Zhenhai flagship, holding a thousand-mile mirror looking hand, suddenly shouted urgently: "Discover the enemy ship!"

Zhao Ming walked to the guardrail of the rudder and pulled out the thousand-mile mirror. The camera passed the Ming army sailboat in front of him. He saw the turret built with earth bags and stones on the sandbank, saw the black cannons on it, and the red-topped hats that were scattered. He also saw the dense Qing army warships in the northern channel, and his eyes could not help but narrowed.

"Master, Mandahai is ready and has arranged a large number of artillery!" Wang Deshun said in a deep voice.

The Qing army's artillery casting technology surpassed the Ming Dynasty at the beginning of entering the pass. After entering the pass, the Qing Dynasty occupied the Central Plains, with sufficient resources of fine iron, copper ingots and carbohydrate, and the number of craftsmen also exceeded that of the Ming Dynasty. Once the effort was made, the speed of making cannons could be said to be greater than that of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhao Ming took the Qianli Miles and blurted out, "How many are there?"

Wang Deshun estimated: "After a preliminary observation, there were at least fifty artillery pieces on the sandbank fortress on the front. In addition, the Qing army arranged the navy in the northern channel, obviously trying to force us to the southern channel. It is estimated that there might be a hidden artillery array of the Qing army on the south bank."

Zhao Ming glanced at Wang Deshun and couldn't help but pat his shoulder, revealing the old father's smile, "Scholars should treat each other with admiration for three days. Deshun, you have made a lot of progress. I am very pleased!"

Wang Deshun said: "This is all cultivated by the Grand Marshal. He will promote the humble position to this position. How dare you not be careful in the humble position and repay the kindness of the Grand Marshal's support."

Zhao Ming nodded with satisfaction, "Okay! How do you think you will fight this battle?"

Wang Deshundao, "The fleet sailed on the northern channel and first used the bottom 5,000-pound artillery of the three-masted gunship to bombard the artillery and lead the Qing navy to fight, thereby avoiding the attacks of the Qing army's artillery and shore artillery."

The mainstream heavy artillery used in the Ming and Qing dynasties now were all red artillery pieces of about 3,000 to 4,000 kilograms. They were imitated by Western artillery decades ago, with bullet weights ranging from ten to ten kilograms, that is, ten-pound cannons and eighteen-pound cannons.

It is inconvenient to transport heavy artillery on land, so the Red Cannon has not continued to develop for decades.

Zhao Ming's three-masted gun ship was seized from the Dutch. The Dutch's naval gun had reached five or six thousand kilograms, and the shells were more than twenty kilograms, which was the twenty-four-pound cannon used by the Western Navy.

Although the level and speed of the Qing army casting artillery exceeded that of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing court used slave-like rule to limit the creative ability of craftsmen. The Qing craftsmen mainly built ten-pound cannons and a small number of eighteen-pound cannons, which did not make the artillery larger.

However, Donghai Town has begun to build 24-pound cannons, and even began to study 32-pound cannons to chase the Western Yi navy.

Although Zhao Ming defeated the Netherlands and the Spaniards in succession, he actually defeated only the partial divisions of the two barbarians. The powerful main warships of the Netherlands and Spain were mainly in Europe, and there was still a certain gap between Donghai Town and them.

At this time, the Ming army slowly approached the fort, and the ships broke through the waves, with a huge momentum.

"Transfer! Once the pirates enter the effective range, the artillery will immediately bombard it!" As the ships get closer, Mandahai became a little excited.

On the sandbank fort, Qing soldiers wearing hats lit torches one after another, staring at the Ming army's naval ships, waiting for the order.

At this time, the Ming army fleet turned its rudder, sailing from west to northwest, crossing the center of the river and entering the northern channel, and the oblique hull allowed the side of the three-masted gunship to be aimed at the turret.

Zu Zerun, the general of the Qing Dynasty on the fort, saw that the Ming army fleet was about to enter the effective range of the artillery. He raised his left head and was about to give an order, but the Ming army fleet suddenly turned to sail northwest, which made him frown.

Obviously, there were masters of artillery on the Ming army fleet, avoiding the effective range of the turret.

At this time, Zu Zerun could only put his hand down and wait for the opportunity. At this moment, the heavy artillery at the bottom of the Ming army's gunship sideways suddenly made a loud "boom", spewing out a ball of white smoke and a shell, whistling out.

Zu Zerun was slightly stunned and was about to sneer, but the shell had already flashed by and hit the fort. The shell weighing more than 20 pounds directly smashed the stones and cracked them all. As the gravel splashed, the Qing army on the fort fell.

Zu Zerun's heart was trembling, and at this moment, the Ming army cannons on the river surface opened fire one after another. With the loud bang, the huge warships trembled slightly, and the calm river surface and sandbank trembled.

The Qing soldiers on the fort suddenly looked terrified, and everyone's eyes were filled with rapid amplification of artillery shells, fifty or sixty black iron shells smashed towards the fort like meteorites.
Chapter completed!