Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 289: Defeating the Jiangbei Camp (Part )

Wu Sangui began to advance towards Wuchang, and the armies of Duoduo and Baiyintu were about to arrive. The war was about to begin. While Meng Jun led the main force in Huguang, Shen Tingyang, who was far away in Zhenjiang, had already launched a siege on the remaining Guazhou navy.

Shen Tingyang led the navy to attack Guazhou Port, aiming directly at the remaining Qing navy. Although the Qing army had the cover of artillery, it was still difficult to avoid defeat in front of the Zhou navy, which was several times larger than its own.

Shen Tingyang stood on the deck of the flagship, gazing at the Guazhou Port ahead. The remaining Qing navy were huddled in the port and trembling like quails.

The Zhou army's navy surrounded the Qing army tightly. With a wave of Shen Tingyang's hand, the order was issued, the war drums rumbled, and the navy rushed towards the Qing army like a dragon out to sea.

Chen Shaozong felt bitter in his heart. He had not left Guazhou Port even once since the defeat of his navy. Even in this situation, the other side still wouldn't let him go. Chen Shaozong realized that the other side would never let his dozens of ships wander around in the Yangtze River. They would not be at ease until the Guazhou navy was completely destroyed.

As the Qing army's artillery roared, dozens of projectiles streaked through the sky and fell. The warships were densely packed and ships were hit from time to time. In an instant, the hulls shook violently and wood chips flew everywhere, like an ice surface hit by a huge rock and exploded.

But Shen Tingyang's navy did not retreat. The artillery on the Zhou army's warships also began to fire back. The rumbling sound of the artillery was like a meteor across the sky, rushing towards the Guazhou navy.

"General, what should we do?" The lieutenant general held Chen Shaozong's arm tightly and asked anxiously.

Chen Shaozong's face turned pale, his mind kept working, weighing the pros and cons. His family was in Beijing. If he surrendered, his family would surely be living a fate worse than death. But if he didn't surrender, he would die here today.

Chen Shaozong was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. Looking at the anxious general beside him, he had an idea and pulled the general over and whispered something in his ear.

The general hesitated for a moment, but when he saw the Zhou army warships approaching, he nodded immediately to show that he understood.

After a while, a human head was raised high on the flagpole on Chen Shaozong's warship, and a white flag was raised. He also issued a signal on the warship, ordering the other warships of the Qing navy not to fight back.

The rest of the warships were silent for a while, and then raised white flags one after another. Almost no one resisted, while the Qing troops on the artillery platform watched all this in amazement.

A Qing army commander shook his head and cursed: "Shit, at least fight a bit. Surrendering before the fight is really shameful."

Shen Tingyang was overjoyed when he saw this. He quickly raised the flag and ordered his men to start landing and drive out the Qing troops from the artillery positions.

All the navy surrendered, and the defenders of the artillery batteries on the shore had no intention of fighting anymore. Some surrendered or fled. Shen Tingyang captured the Guazhou port effortlessly. The Zhou army navy won the naval battle with an overwhelming advantage.

Chen Shaozong was naturally not dead. The head on the flagpole was just an unlucky guy. Chen Shaozong was afraid that the news of his surrender would be reported back to Beijing, which would bring disaster to his family. After much thought, Chen Shaozong had an idea. He faked his death and escaped by disguising himself as a personal guard of his subordinates. This strategy not only saved himself, but also kept his family safe. It was really killing two birds with one stone.

Shen Tingyang completely destroyed the remnants of the Guazhou Navy. This was good news for Zhao Yongping in Zhenjiang, and it would also be a good opportunity for him to be proud of himself.

In Zhao Yongping's opinion, with the destruction of the Guazhou navy, the Qing army could no longer stop him from crossing the river. As for the Jiangbei camp, Bai Yintu moved his troops to Huguang, leaving behind those Green Camp soldiers, who were now dead bones in the grave.

Zhao Yongping had led the villagers' army and followed Meng Jun without hesitation since Meng Jun started his rebellion. After Meng Jun sent troops to expel Li Chengdong, he placed Zhao Yongping in Songjiang and ordered him to restore the Songjiang City that was looted by Li Chengdong, recruit soldiers, train the army, and also form a navy and build warships.

At the beginning, Meng Jun was just starting out and there was a lot of work to be done. Zhao Yongping was also forced to take on the task by Meng Jun. When Zhao Yongping arrived in Songjiang, he also faced tremendous pressure.

Recalling these, he could not help but sigh to his deputy general Wu Zhifan beside him: "When I first arrived in Songjiang, the city was broken and the people were scattered. The whole place was devastated. Li Chengdong's atrocities caused the people to scatter and the whole place was in a mess. However, how could I retreat when I saw the great king's earnest expectations in the past?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhifan praised: "Although Tongzhen is in the king's army, he is not as famous as Lin Tongzhen and Han Tongzhen in terms of commanding a large army. In terms of bravery, Liang and Qian are famous. They can govern Songjiang and gradually revive Songjiang Prefecture. Now that the soldiers have been recruited, they are all strong and strong. After several years of training, our army has a sophisticated formation and is not inferior to others in combat skills. The navy has also been established. Now Zhang Shun is under the command of Lord Shen, and Yang Wei is in the Yangtze River. This is all the credit of Tongzhen!"

Zhao Yongping laughed loudly upon hearing this, and felt somewhat proud of Wu Zhifan's words. In the past few years, the king defeated Bolo and took over Zhejiang, which made many Zhou army generals famous. Although Zhao Yongping did not participate in these battles, now, although he is only a small force, he will also become famous in the army if he breaks through the Jiangbei camp.

Zhao Yongping said in a leisurely tone: "Your Majesty also knows that I have governed Songjiang, built a navy, and trained soldiers for several years, but you have never made much use of me. Now you have entrusted me with an important task and asked me to lead an army across the river and head north. This is the first general to lead a northern expedition since the barbarian court entered the pass."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Wu Zhifan with a determined look and said in a deep voice: "This is a great favor from the king. In this battle, I will not cross the river until the enemy camp is destroyed!"

After saying this, Zhao Yongping turned around and looked at the Wu'an Town Army and Gao Jinku's Wuwei Town Army who were already boarding the ship one after another, and his heart was filled with infinite ambition and passion.

Gao Jinku, who was not far away, had a melancholy look on his face, and his bearded face seemed a little lonely at the moment.

According to common sense, he had captured Lekedehun, which should be considered a great achievement. Although the king also rewarded him with money, a mansion, and even made him the chief commander of a town, such treatment should make people happy and satisfied, but Gao Jinku always felt empty in his heart.

He couldn't help but think of the king's attitude towards him. Although he gave him generous rewards on the surface, he always felt that the other party did not pay special attention to him. This feeling was like being forgotten in a corner. Although he had everything, he could never get real recognition.

Gao Jinku kept thinking about how to gain the king's appreciation. Unconsciously, he looked at the high-spirited Zhao Yongping not far away, and sneered unconsciously, thinking to himself: "If this kind of scholar had not followed the king early, how could he have become the governor of a town?"