1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 389

Wu Sen walked out of the naval yamen, looked down at the soldier talisman in his hand, and shook his head helplessly.Although he persuaded his boss last night and obtained the right to deploy troops, Wu Sen was not happy at all.It took him a lot of saliva to finally get his boss to agree to send ten more ships to him today, and go downstream to see if there is any chance of attacking the Haihan fleet. It is difficult for the transfer to pose a substantial threat to the huge fleet in the Xiangjiang Estuary.

It is difficult for Wu Sen to have any resentment for his boss's stinginess. This is not because the boss is not aware of the seriousness of the situation, but because at this time there are still a large amount of supplies that need to be transported from the south bank of the Xiangjiang River to Hue City on the north bank.At this time, being able to transport a few thousand catties of grain into the city may mean that the city of Hue can guard for one more day.In contrast, sending the limited ships on hand to carry out unsure or even futile attacks is indeed less cost-effective.

But Wu Sen still refused to give up the plan to attack. He knew that the only chance for the navy to win was to catch the opponent by surprise when the opponent's foothold was not stable. If the Haihan people finished the preparations, they would advance steadily to the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River step by step. , At that time, it is very likely that there will not even be a chance to fight back if you start fighting again.At that time, the warships of the Haihan people cut off the Xiangjiang River, which is equivalent to cutting off the connection between Hue City and the vast area south of the Xiangjiang River. Hue will completely become an isolated city and will be completely passive and beaten.Therefore, even if there is only a slim chance of winning the initiative to attack, Wu Sen is determined to give it a try.

However, the time to assemble the troops was much longer than expected, so that Wu Sen's plan to set off before dawn could only go to waste.And the finally assembled personnel also made Wu Sen feel a little sad-the full number of combat personnel should be 280 people, but in fact only the early [-] people gathered at the pier.

Wu Sen didn't need to ask what happened. Since the news of the failure of the peace talks at the end of last year, the escape situation in the army has not stopped.Quite a few people were pessimistic about the court's decision to abandon the peace talks and plan to fight the Haihan people to the end. Those in the army who were unwilling to continue fighting for the precarious Ruan Dynasty became deserters, and the navy was no exception.

Wu Sen believed that after he left the naval yamen last night, the transfer order had spread among the navy, and fighting the Haihan people on the water was basically a one-way trip for the current situation of the Nanyue Navy. Quest, naturally there are many people who deserted overnight.In the end, two-thirds of the manpower can be assembled here, which is already considered a very good result.

Wu Sen didn't make any more cheering speeches, but instead had someone lift up the silver box and distributed two taels of silver to the people present—this was almost all the money he could get out of his hands.In his view, those who are willing to stay and join the war at this time do not need to do any more ideological mobilization, but sending some money to stimulate their desire to fight.

After distributing the money, Wu Sen announced his departure, and more than 200 people were divided into [-] boats, leaving the wharf on the south bank of Hue City and heading downstream.

Wu Sen stood on the deck and let the soldiers around him put on the armor for him.This armor weighs more than 30 kilograms. Wu Sen usually does not wear it on patrol, but the next battle may have to face the sharp artillery fire of the Haihan people. Wearing armor can provide some protection—even if it is just The psychological protective effect is always better than not wearing any protective gear.

When the fleet led by Wu Sen left the port of Hue City, Gao Qiaonan defeated the South Vietnamese patrol downstream, so Wu Sen did not know that his opponent was no longer the Haihan warship at the entrance of the Xiangjiang River, but The Haihan Militia Army Corps is trying to build a fort to block the river.

"Don't think that the people of Heitugang won the battle in the morning. Let me tell you, our army is the main force in this battle against Hue. There will be more battles to fight in the future. The battle in the morning is just an appetizer. cheer me up and keep an eye on the river! If anyone lets go of a boat, don’t say I’m making trouble with Tiezhu!” Yu Tiezhu was currently cheering up his subordinates. Takahashi Nan stole the limelight in the First World War, and his subordinates were somewhat dissatisfied. Anyway, the First Battalion of the Militia is also the direct descendant of the trump card directly under the Military Commission. How could the savages in Heitugang gain the upper hand?

"Company commander, don't brag. Last year, we sent troops to Annan twice. Which one was not the navy's main force? The navy people are watching people with their nostrils. How can our army have a chance to show off!" Complaining aloud, it sounds like a veteran with some qualifications.

Yu Tiezhu replied: "This time is different from last year. The city of Hue does not rely on the sea. Even if the big ships come in along the Xiangjiang River, they can only be used as movable forts on the river. Our army will do it! This time we are fighting against Hue, we are the main force, and the navy is only worthy of washing our feet!"

Yu Tiezhu's merciless complaints drew applause from his subordinates. For these army soldiers, the various treatment of the Navy after its establishment really made them a little jealous.The military budget assigned by the executive committee to the navy is obviously more than that of the army. You must know that the cost of an "exploration-class" warship already exceeds the military expenditure of a reorganization company for a year, and the navy has built more than a dozen ships. The "Expedition Class" with a larger tonnage is also building new ships day and night. At present, four ships have entered service, but a huge keel has been erected on the berth of the Victory Port Shipyard, and there is no sign of stopping .In order to seize the time to build more warships, the Shengli Port Shipyard even reduced the berths for building cargo ships from the original four to two, giving priority to the vacated berths for the construction of naval ships.

On the other hand, the army side, although it was heard in May last year that "Hai Han Ordnance Industry" had manufactured a new type of rifle, its performance was much better than that of the [-]th type flintlock equipped by the militia, but it was not until August when troops were dispatched to Hoi An At that time, the militia began to install new guns on a small scale, and the replacement speed of the entire army was even slower. Basically, new weapons were replaced at the rate of one company per month. It was not until the end of the year that it was decided to send troops to Annan. Changed the speed of reloading.As for artillery, apart from the introduction of large-scale siege mortars with an astonishing caliber, basically no new products came out throughout last year.Of course, naturalized civilian officers like Yu Tiezhu don't know the R&D and production process of the military industry department. What they see is that the naval guns used by the navy are constantly being modified and improved. Even the gunners are given priority to the Navy.

In fact, it has only been a year since the militia split the navy. Many officers of the two armies are familiar with each other. It is hard to say that there is much resentment between the two sides, but there must be some feelings of mutual dissatisfaction.Army officers like Yu Tiezhu have long held back their energy, wanting to use actual achievements to enhance the reputation of the Haihan Army.

According to the combat plan of the headquarters, the army will not continue to march southward for the time being today, but to carry out reconnaissance and complete the blockade of the river as the main combat tasks.On the position where Tie Zhu was located, besides the first battalion and second company of the militia he led, there was also a full artillery company deployed with twelve cannons.

Ten of the twelve cannons are used to block the river, and the other two are erected on both sides of the pontoon bridge of the tributary river to block the passage of the pontoon bridge. If necessary, two shots aimed at the pontoon bridge can isolate the enemy from the small river. to the south.Under normal circumstances, this lineup is enough to resist the simultaneous attack of thousands of enemy troops from land and water.What Yu Tiezhu can be sure of is that the Nanyue Navy will not give up the opportunity to conduct reconnaissance or even launch an attack from the Xiangjiang River easily. But it is the Army's favorite way of fighting.

At ten o'clock in the morning, a loud arrow suddenly flew from the river bank about two miles south of the outpost of the Haihan Militia, which immediately attracted the attention of the sentinels.This sounding arrow came from the Heitu Port Special Operations Force on a reconnaissance mission. According to the signal agreed in advance, a sounding arrow means that a ship is coming down from the upper reaches.Yu Tiezhu immediately ordered all personnel to enter the combat position, and the artillery was loaded with ammunition in advance.

Wu Sen, who was still on the upstream river, also noticed the sounding arrows flying out of the bushes on the bank, and he couldn't help but tense up, ordering the ships to pay attention to the possible enemy troops on the river bank—but he could only be more vigilant, Few of these ships were equipped with long-range weapons and could not effectively strike the enemy on the river bank.

However, the opponent was far more aggressive than Wu Sen expected. After traveling a few miles downstream, the boat that opened the way in front sent a signal indicating that there were traces of the enemy on the river bank, and began to slow down the speed of the boat.Soon Wu Sen also noticed the enemy army on the river bank ahead. Obviously, the enemy had no intention of concealing their whereabouts. Hundreds of sand bags were piled up on the bank to form a row about ten feet long and three feet high. There are several crenels in the middle of the low wall. Although he still can't see clearly the situation behind the low wall, Wu Sen can already estimate what the opponent will place behind the crenel.

"Rush over!" Wu Sen gave the order without hesitating for too long.If they were blocked by the Haihan militia in such a place, and they just returned without success, then the last breath of the Nanyue navy would probably be exhausted.No matter what, Wu Sen was going to fight. Maybe the Haihan people built this temporary fort on the river bank just to scare people. There was nothing behind the fortifications made of sandbags that he was worried about.

However, the reality was far more cruel than expected. When it was about thirty or forty feet away from the Haihan position on the shore, black gun barrels protruded from the crenel, pointing at the river.

"Scatter the formation!" This was the last solution Wu Sen could think of.Apart from counting on using a scattered formation to reduce the density of the opponent's artillery fire, he really has no other tricks to use.

Yu Tiezhu, who witnessed the formation change of the Nanyue Navy on the shore, only let out a sneer, and then ordered the artillerymen on each artillery position to aim at their respective targets and prepare to fire.

When the artillery on the shore started firing, Wusen was desperate to find that any tactics were futile in the face of absolute fire suppression.The closest boat to the river bank was shot at a distance of about ten feet. The hull and the crew were torn into pieces, and disappeared on the river almost instantly.And the ships that were a little farther away also failed to escape from this storm-like blow. The entire river surface was shrouded within the range of the artillery, and there was no shelter at all to provide cover and shelter. The target presents no operational difficulties for artillerymen on shore.

The Nanyue navy on the river had no choice but to try their best to lean towards the other side of the river.However, this kind of struggle has no practical effect. The shotguns used by the Haihan Militia do not require very precise aiming. They only need to aim at a general position and then fire.A shotgun shell with a large killing area is enough to cover a considerable area at a distance of 200 meters. Therefore, even though the rate of fire of the artillery on the shore is not high, it is still enough to kill the ships on the river one by one.

The most terrible thing is that these ships are also equipped with a large amount of firelight. As long as they are hit by shells, even if they are swept aside, they will be ignited immediately.The crew who were lucky enough to survive had no choice but to dive into the water, and soon there was a pile of burning wreckage on the river.

Wu Sen, who was at the back of the fleet, almost burst his veins after witnessing this process. Although he knew that his poor lineup was probably not the opponent of the Haihan Militia, he did not expect the gap in strength between the two sides to be so large .However, more than ten or twenty shells smashed the fleet he worked so hard to organize into pieces.

Just as Wu Sen was about to give the order to continue to charge forward, the soldiers behind him rushed up to hold him down and stripped off his armor.Wu Sen shouted angrily: "What are you doing!"

"My lord, the battle is not going well, so why bother to die! If you take off this armor, you can still escape!" the soldier kept his hands on while talking, and he had already untied the armor on Wusen's body.

"When the country is in crisis, how can we steal our lives!" Wu Sen yelled sadly.He was really unwilling to be defeated without any ability to resist. With so many ships and so many lives, he couldn't even create a little trouble for his opponent. The only damage he caused to his opponent was probably dozens of rounds. It's just ammunition.

Seeing that the ships rushing ahead were basically wiped out by the shells of the Haihan people, the most conspicuous ship on the river was Wu Sen. The artillerymen consciously began to adjust their muzzles to face this conspicuous ship without orders Target.After a round of volleys, Wu Sen's boat turned into a fire without exception, burning blazingly on the river.

"How many ships have been hit just now, write it down carefully, and report to the headquarters later!" Yu Tiezhu ordered to the military clerk with a smile on his face.

For the two companies stationed here, this is undoubtedly a very easy battle.The record of using artillery fire to destroy the Nanyue navy on land is enough to squeeze the navy out of the battle plan to attack Hue City.The only regret is probably that it was impossible to count the number of enemy troops killed and wounded in this battle, and it was impossible to capture any prisoners alive.The South Vietnamese soldiers who were able to escape the shelling just now probably swam to the other side of the river to escape.

This battle, which lasted less than 10 minutes, destroyed nearly one-third of the ships and troops of the remaining troops of the South Vietnam Navy. When the news came back to Hue City, no ships would dare to go down the river. And come down to find out the truth.The large cargo ships staying at the estuary can now safely and boldly enter the Xiangjiang River, and transport various combat materials directly to the front line through water transportation.

The two small boats that were sent to clean up the battlefield finally captured the Nanyue Navy Admiral Wu Sen who narrowly escaped in the swamp near the other side of the river.Although he was pushed off the boat after being stripped of his armor by the soldiers, he was stuck in the swamp and couldn't get out for a while, and finally became a captive of the Haihan people.And this was also the first day of the official war, and the Haihan militia captured the highest-level personnel.

Yu Tiezhu originally planned to pry some information from Wu Sen, but he only received military training and was not good at intelligence work.After two hours of interrogation, apart from confirming Wu Sen's identity, no valuable information was obtained.Considering that the prisoner was also a moderate officer, Yu Tiezhu did not resort to violence to extract a confession, but sent someone to escort him to a camp by the sea, where a group of interrogation experts would handle related matters.

In the following two days, Haihan's position did not continue to advance southward, but remained at the current position.On the contrary, the reconnaissance team in the south area of ​​Gaoqiao was active on the outskirts of Hue City, and basically found out the approximate scope of the large fortification system outside Hue City.Although Gao Qiaonan also learned a lot of knowledge about building defensive positions during his advanced training, the area outside Hue City was still an eye-opener for him, because among the various defensive methods he had learned, there was no There has never been an area so comprehensive.Takahashinan spent two days and couldn't find any obvious loopholes in this area, so he could only draw a sketch first and bring it back for reference by the senior officials of the headquarters.

"These monkeys are very good at playing!"

After seeing the sketch of the fortifications outside Hue City sent back by Gao Qiaonan, even Yan Chujie couldn't help but complain.Although he hadn't seen the scene of the position with his own eyes, Yan Chujie could roughly imagine the local situation based on the sketches and Gao Qiaonan's description.He really did not expect that the South Vietnamese court would quietly build such a large area of ​​fortifications outside Hue City. It seemed that the battle plan to attack Hue City would not go as smoothly as previously expected.

Qian Tiandun laughed and said: "No matter how good at playing, monkeys are still just monkeys. It can be seen that they have indeed spent a lot of thought on this, probably hoping to hold us back with this position, and then slowly It consumes our supplies and troops, and finally forced us to choose to retreat automatically."

(End of this chapter)