Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 267 No more worries

Geng Zhongming was killed by Zhang Shun, and the five or six remaining warships in the encirclement surrendered in despair. Now the only fleet left in the Guazhou navy was the fleet led by Chen Shaozong. As soon as Shen Tingyang raised the flag, the Zhou army warships turned around without hesitation and sailed downstream.

Chen Shaozong tried his best to rescue Geng Zhongming's troops, but was unable to do so. Even though they were only a few hundred meters away, the distance was like a natural moat, and they were blocked by Zhou army ships and could not move forward even a single step.

Geng Zhongming's head was hung on the mast. The morale of Zhou army soldiers was greatly boosted. They shouted and yelled one after another. The sound was so loud that it shook both sides of the Yangtze River. Chen Shaozong listened carefully and was immediately shocked.

"The prince is dead? What if the court blames me?" Chen Shaozong's mind was racing, but hearing the loud shouts of Zhou's army, the morale of the Qing army plummeted, and Chen Shaozong was helpless.

Chen Shaozong's face twitched, and then he cried out: "My Prince! I am guilty! I caused Your Highness to be harmed by the bandits, how can I have the face to go back?" After saying that, Chen Shaozong drew out his long sword and pretended to commit suicide.

The lieutenant general beside him quickly snatched the long sword and advised: "The bandits are cunning, and the prince was not careful for a while, so this disaster happened. Now that the prince is gone, the bandits are in high spirits and are ready to attack fiercely. Many decisions still need to be made by the general. The lives of thousands of soldiers hang on your shoulders."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shaozong immediately accepted the offer from his lieutenant general and sighed, "Well, as the saying goes, victory and defeat are common in the military, let's retreat to the port first, recuperate, and there will always be a day to come back."

Chen Shaozong then sent out flags, ordering the small boats to delay, while the large ships went downwind and withdrew from the battlefield.

However, Geng Zhongming died, the Qing army was defeated, and the soldiers were in panic. Some of the small boats obeyed orders and blocked Zhou's fleet, while others simply lit the flammable objects on the boats, took off their armor, and jumped down like white sharks in the waves and escaped into the water.

Although the small boats blocked some warships, there were still more ships chasing them desperately. The cannons on the bows fired from time to time, which made the Qing army even more panicked. Chen Shaozong had no choice but to leave some large ships behind to block the warships. Zhou's army chased them all the way, and the Qing army left behind three or five warships from time to time.

When Chen Shaozong returned to Guazhou port in a miserable state, the Qing generals looked back at the sinking of the last warship that was left behind, and all of them were filled with sorrow.

After a quick inventory, Chen Shaozong was in tears. All the small boats were destroyed, and there were only 41 large warships left. The remaining warships were all damaged and could not fight without repair. Although it was easier to replenish small boats, where could the soldiers who had been trained for a long time and were familiar with water battles go to replenish them?

After this battle, the Guazhou navy suffered more than 70% casualties, with heavy losses in ships and soldiers. The remaining soldiers were also demoralized and in a state of panic. Let alone threatening Nanjing and harassing the river defenses, it would not be difficult for Zhou's army to force their way into the artillery position and besiege the navy.

The war was over, the thick smoke gradually dissipated, the river began to calm down, the afterglow of the setting sun was shining, the waves were sparkling, the victors were cleaning the battlefield and treating the wounded, the badly damaged warships were slowly towed to Zhenjiang, the remaining ships were also busy salvaging those who fell into the water, the river breeze was blowing gently, the warships were broken, and corpses floated to the surface from time to time. Most of these unarmored corpses were the sailors responsible for the movement of the ships. Those soldiers who were fighting, if they fell into the water, would sink to the bottom of the river and be eaten by fish.

Zhang Shun was covered in blood and said murderously: "Sir, let's rush into Guazhou and wipe out the remaining Tartar troops!"

Shen Tingyang smiled, but shook his head and said, "After this battle, at least 70% of the enemy's navy has been destroyed. For at least a year, they will no longer be able to threaten Nanjing. It is not easy for the king to expand the navy, so how can we throw it away lightly!"

After saying this, he looked at Zhang Shun, and seeing that he looked unwilling, he smiled and said, "General Zhang, you killed the king of the enemy in battle this time, which is a great achievement. You should be awarded the title of Heavenly Strategy."

Zhang Shun was overjoyed when he heard this, but he still said, "This Geng Zhongming is not the King of Captives. At most, he can be considered a fake king. Yes, a fake king." Although Zhang Shun tried hard to suppress the smile on his face, he couldn't hold it back.

………………

The news of the great victory of the Yangtze River Navy soon reached Meng Jun, and even Geng Zhongming's head was sent to Nanjing by Shen Tingyang. After examining it carefully, Meng Jun came to the conclusion that Huaishun King, one of the Three Shun Kings, was really ordinary in appearance, even a little ugly, at least the kind that was indistinguishable from the crowd. For Meng Jun, the prestige of killing a prince of a different surname from the Qing court in this battle naturally increased, and it was also a heavy blow to the Qing court.

Of the three Shun kings conferred by the Qing court, King Gongshun Kong Youde committed suicide by burning himself in Changsha, and King Huaishun Geng Zhongming's body and head were separated and found in the Yangtze River. Now, of the three Shun kings of the Qing court, only Shang Kexi is left. I wonder how Shang Kexi will die in the future?

Meng Jun was extremely excited. With this great victory, he no longer had any worries. Looking around, he saw that Jin Shenghuan had been taken prisoner and was about to arrive in Nanjing. Li Chengdong was in a panic and withdrew from Fujian and sent envoys to ask for peace. Now he no longer had any direct enemy.

He stood up and looked at the clear sky. Now he was like a not-so-great director. In this turbulent era, he made slight changes until his power gradually grew stronger. With his own strength, he was able to turn the wheel of history.

When it comes to naval warfare, he may not be as good as Shen Tingyang, who has been dealing with warships for many years. When it comes to military strength, there are more than a thousand people in the army who are stronger than him. When it comes to guarding the rear and pacifying the people, Yang En has grown into a qualified politician, allowing Meng Jun to fight in the front with peace of mind. When it comes to food, pay, and people, Yang En always responds to orders. Even if it is difficult, he will still try his best to supply military supplies to the front line.

Now that the Qing army's Guazhou navy was defeated, they could finally free themselves from the constraints and enter the Huguang battlefield with all their strength.

On the second day after the end of the Yangtze River Campaign, Meng Jun urgently sent military orders to Nanchang, ordering Wang Fugui to lead his troops to march into Jiujiang and strengthen the city defenses as a basis for the army's advance. He also ordered Lin Shiqi to speed up the selection of surrendered soldiers and 20,000 able-bodied men, and transfer Bai Yongfu's troops back to Nanjing. At the same time, he ordered Yang En to start raising supplies and prepare to recruit civilians.