Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 509
It is actually not easy for the North Navy to attack Hue. Although after days of shelling, the city of Hue has almost become an empty city, but it is more difficult to enter Hue from the outer sea.

This is a city surrounded by mountains, rivers, lakes and seas. It is surrounded by Changshan Mountains in the west and sixteen miles away from the sea in the east. Sixian and Sixian are the two waterways entering the waters of the Xiangjiang River; Around the left and right, Sanjiangtan, Qinglantan, and Hezhongtan are the three passes on the Xiangjiang River.

The Beihai No. 75 and No. [-] seized from Tsarist Russia are both British-style second-class sailing ships. Although they no longer need to be equipped with so many artillery after modification, they are covered with a layer of copper from the lower edge of the main waistboard to the bottom of the ship. A diesel motor is installed; and because the [-]mm cannon fires fast, the number of shells is correspondingly more prepared.Coupled with the people and other supplies of the Marine Battalion, the draft is not much less than before, almost all six meters.

According to the survey and survey results sent by the Northern Navy a few days ago, even in the deepest waterway of Shuangyu, the water depth at high tide is only eight feet five inches, and the water depth at low tide is only seven feet.With the size of Beihai No. [-] and No. [-], it is impossible to get in.

If assault boats were sent in, they would not be able to carry too much equipment and ammunition. There was a total of [-] miles of waterway from the mouth of the Xiangjiang River to the city of Hue.

"Oh, if I knew it earlier, I left two black boats and brought them here, even a flat-bottomed boat of a few hundred stones will do!" Deng Fei couldn't help shaking his head and smiling wryly after explaining the situation of the Xiangjiang waterway to Ye Chengxiang.

Hearing the words of the head of the Beihai Navy, Ye Chengxiang said: "General Deng, there are boats in Hoi An, but there is a northeasterly wind, so going north against the current may not be possible."

"It doesn't matter. Our boat is not affected by the monsoon. There is no problem sailing against the current. We can tow the boat back." Deng Fei asked quickly after explaining, "If you are going to Hoi An now, when can you get the boat ready?"

Ye Chengxiang was overjoyed when he heard that, and hurriedly said: "The boats are all ready-made, and they are parked in the port. My Ye family's 'Lianchangji' alone has two [-]-material black boats."

"How deep is the draft?"

Ye Chengxiang said with certainty: "If it is fully loaded, it will be eight feet."

"Is there any one with a shallower draft?"

"That's a big open-stern fishing boat with a draft of three feet six inches."

Deng Fei asked curiously: "Big open tail? What kind of ship is this, and what is its size?"

Ye Chengxiang thought for a while and said: "It is 84 feet long and [-] feet wide, and it can hold more than [-] materials."

After hearing this, Deng Fei hurriedly used a pen to calculate on paper. According to Ye Chengxiang, the length of the big tail is 28 meters, the width is 5 meters, the load is about 80 tons, and the draft is no more than 2 meters.

There is actually a formula for the draft of sailing ships in ancient China.Taking Guangzhou Shipbuilding as an example, the hull width of a small ship is generally about 0.2 times the length of the ship, at most no more than 0.3 times, and the draft is generally 0.38 times the width of the ship; while the width of the large ship is generally 0.47~0.5 times the width of the hull, the main mast The height does not exceed 75% of the length of the ship, the foremast is 70% of the height of the mainmast, and the sternmast is 70% of the height of the foremast.

"How many troops does the Xishan Army have in Hoi An?"

"There are only troops from the Hui'an camp, which are usually stationed fifteen miles west of the city. There are more than forty ships of various sizes in the water camp, and the strength of the troops is around 2000."

Deng Fei nodded and said: "Mr. Ye, the Thunder God will sail immediately. Let's go to Hoi An together. We need that kind of big tail, at least twenty. I don't have enough sailors here, so I need your help."

"Please rest assured, my lord, although there are not many merchants in Great Tang Street, there are plenty of fishing boats and people who know how to operate a boat. Within two days, I will be able to gather the boats and sailors that your lord needs!"

From Hue to Hoi An by sea, if you walk close to the coast, the distance is only 120 kilometers, which is less than 65 nautical miles. At the speed of the Thor, it will take more than 4 hours.

Deng Fei left as soon as he said, and he immediately notified the two motor sailing boats, asking them to stay here and put their hands into the sea, while monitoring the movement of the Xishan Army, and then the Thunder God lifted anchor and set off.

Ye Chengxiang was so shocked by everything on the Thunder God that he couldn't describe it in words, and thought that it was really right for his father to let him come this time.Being able to rely on the big ship of the Beihai Navy, the future prosperity of the Ye family is just around the corner.

Not long after Deng Fei and the others left, a fleet of more than 20 black boats under the banner of Jiu Ruan suddenly appeared in the ocean ten miles north of Hue.

"My lord, there are sails ten miles away! It's a Western-style sailing ship!"

On a black boat with the banner of "Patrolling the Seas of Duying He", the sailors in the binoculars on the top of the mast observed it with binoculars for a long time, then pointed to the southwest, and loudly reported to an official waiting under the mast.

After the official heard this, he turned around and walked a few steps quickly, and said to another official sitting on a grand teacher's chair in front of the poop: "My lord."

"Shouting so loudly, I have already heard it!"

The official said embarrassingly, "Isn't this what your lord ordered. If you have something to report, you must report it to the next level, and you must not skip the rank."

Under the red canopy, an official in his 30s has five long beards, a fringe on his head, silver ornaments on his forehead, a purple robe, and a pair of tortoiseshell-inlaid cowhide belts hanging around his waist.His attire is not the official uniform of the Xishan Dynasty, but the costume of Li Zheng in Jiuruan's side.Judging from the Bai Ze Fuzi on his chest, he is at least a third-rank military officer.

"Yeah." The military officer curled his lips, turned his head and said to a general in his 20s beside him, "Zhong Tong, you are bold and careful, and you do things safely. Big brother, I, uh, I feel at ease when I send you there."

The young general's name is Huang Zhongtong, and his official title is "Feiqiwei", a fifth rank.He cupped his hands and said: "Brother, we have taken a lot of Mo Guanfu people along the way, if they make trouble because of this"

"Hey, you and my brothers are under King Ruan's command, which is different from those traitors in Xishan."

"Yes. Everything is obeyed by the eldest brother."

The general stroked his beard and said with a look of color on his face: "Since they have been attacking Hue City for several days, they must be friendly forces. If they can help King Gialong take down Hue City, hehe, this is the only credit, Fenghou No problem! That bastard Chen Tianbao can be a Marquis of Baode. Why can’t you be a Marquis when you and my brother helped King Ruan in distress? Take my invitation card and remember, you must never be a Marquis for the Beihai Navy It was disrespectful."

After all, the person next to him handed over a red name card.Huang Zhongtong took it quickly, and saw that there were three big characters "He Xiwen" written with a brush in the middle of the greeting card, and "He Xiwen" written in small characters on the left side, "Guangnan Kingdom Ruan King's Hall patrols the sea in front of the capital camp, the third grade".

This military general was He Xiwen, the founding hero of the Nguyen Dynasty, who was very famous in the history of another time and space. He was also the number one naval general under Ruan Fuying.

Historical records about He Xiwen's early years are very vague, and Annan's historical materials about his life experience are all information provided by later generations, which is quite watery.

According to the official historical records of the Nguyen Dynasty, this person was from Sichuan. His original name was He Xianwen.Later, he changed his identity and became the leader of the Tiandihui, so some people said that this person was the early leader of the Tiandihui in Vietnam.

Hehe, the originator of the Vietnamese secret society is the "Bao Xiang Sect", which was founded in 1848.What would the early heaven and earth be?Roadhog, the deceitful robber, oh yeah, and a pirate.

In fact, according to the timetable of He Xiwen's appearance in Annan, it can be concluded that at least when Lin Shuangwen was in trouble in Taiwan, he had already led his men to Kunlun Island in the south of Annan to occupy himself.So he was probably just a young man in the Tiandihui in Chaoshan area before, not even a leader.Because after the Lin Shuangwen Rebellion, the Tiandihui appeared in the sight of the Qing court. Sun Shiyi once strictly investigated the members of the Tiandihui in Guangdong, Guangxi, and all the leaders, big and small, were included in the roster.

Furthermore, before the 51st year of Qianlong, there had never been any White Lotus Sect uprising in Sichuan.It is estimated that He Xiwen was either not good at defrauding money after he joined the religion, or he was defrauded of a lot of money, so he ran to Guangdong.

At that time, the "Tiandi Mutual Aid Association" could be joined by handing over a hundred and ten cash. If you can open up a mountain and collect some people, it is also a way to make money. Yan Yan and others relied on this to make money before.However, after He Xiwen arrived in Guangdong, he quickly became a pirate. After gaining some capital, he brought his men from Beibu Gulf to Kunlun Island to rob passing merchant ships, and then met Ruan Fuying.

Speaking of his encounter with Ruan Fuying, it is quite interesting.

According to "Jiading Tongzhi", in the spring of 1786, well, this is another story that happened in spring. At that time, Nguyen Phuc Anh's army was defeated by the Xishan Army again, and he fled to the sea from Ha Tien with a few men.When passing Conlun Island, he was suddenly surrounded by more than a hundred Chinese pirate ships.The opponent's flagship is a large three-masted sailing ship with a black hull and red deck, with the word "He" on the flag.

Needless to say, this is He Xiwen's fleet.

Ruan Fuying was only 25 years old at the time, but he had fought against the Xishan Dynasty for ten years with the remnants of the old Ruan, and he had rich political experience.After being surrounded by He Xiwen's fleet, Ruan Fuying, who was alone and lonely, straightened his clothes, walked to the bow of the ship alone, and told the surrounding pirates that he was a king in trouble who was "destroyed by the country" and that there was nothing on board.If all of you can help me defeat the enemy, when the matter is accomplished, I would like to divide the country and become the king.

You see how open and clear this is, follow me, and you will be the king of one word from now on!

It is said that anyone with a little emotional intelligence will not take it seriously.The so-called phoenix in distress is not as good as a chicken, Ruan Fuying is purely playing the erhu on the grave, what a lie!
But He Xiwen and the pirates under him believed it, and they "cut off the chicken head and burned the yellow paper", swore an oath on the spot, and called him brother. Bah!It's the king.

You must know that He Xiwen is still proficient in literature and ink, and is deeply influenced by traditional folk chivalrous culture (I have read many operas, listened to storytelling, and never read a single serious book), and has traveled around the sea all year round, so I am quite convinced by Ruan Fuying's rhetoric of.Besides, Ruan Fuying had confronted the Xishan Army for many years in the Jiading area, and he called himself "Lord Ruan of the Great Viet Kingdom", so a group of pirates who had no future at all felt that their chance had come.

After that, He Xiwen sent his men to escort Ruan Fuying to Bangkok, Siam, and defected to King Rama I.In the second year, the Xishan army was in conflict and Jiading was empty. Ruan Fuying seized the opportunity to fight back to Haxian.This time, He Xiwen personally led the fleet to greet him, and Ruan Fuying named him the third-rank sea patrol capital on the spot.

The year before last—that is, in 1788, Ruan Fuying reoccupied Jiading and gave He Xiwen [-] guan coins, [-] bolts of silk cloth and a large amount of rice as rewards.He also asked He Xiwen to go back to Guangdong to attract more pirates to fight against the Xishan Dynasty.

As a result, the Fujian and Guangdong pirates became popular in Annan; Dai Qing was too busy dealing with Beihai Town to take care of them, and the new Ruan and the old Ruan rushed to recruit them.However, Ruan Fuying was quite sensible, and he knew that if he wanted to rule Annan, he must be recognized by Daiqing and must not be provoked, so he did not let He Xiwen loot the coastal areas of Guangdong, otherwise he would also be on Zhao Xin's "blacklist".

Last summer, He Xiwen took four black boats to the north, first scouting the movement of the Xishan Army all the way, and then went to Lianzhou, Guangdong, to recruit the pirates there.

Unexpectedly, in June of this year, He Xiwen encountered a group of pirates pursued by the Qing army navy outside Hutou Mountain, Guangdong. A military general snatched the opponent's yellow jacket and waist knife.Mr. He still doesn't know at this moment, his name has reached Tianting, even Qianlong knows it.

Compared to when Mo Guanfu recruited pirates, he gave both officials and boats and guns, He Xiwen had nothing but official positions, so he could only recruit with his loyalty and his meager money.After wandering around for a year, it seemed that the time was almost up, so he returned to the south with the 1000 black boats he had recruited and more than [-] pirates more than ten days ago.

Unexpectedly, when they were walking back from the north, they encountered many small groups of pirates driving small boats. The forces of the "Northern Navy", relying on three huge boats and "hundreds of fast guns" on board, wiped out all the pirates in Jiangping Town, and even burned the boat.

Of course He Xiwen was very happy when he heard that, this is a friendly army!He had heard of the name of Bei Haijun in Lianzhou. It is said that a few years ago he fought against the city of Guangzhou, using a dozen people, and killed seven in and seven out. He really admired it.If the two sides can unite, fighting the Xishan Army will not be the same as cutting melons and vegetables.

However, when he arrived at Jiangping with the fleet, he discovered that the Beihai Navy hadn't searched here, which made him feel bad.So he not only plundered Jiangping Town, but even recruited many pirates who fled to the surrounding villages.In addition, those copper cannons blown up by the Beihai Navy are also good things, and they can be rebuilt after being brought back and melted.

There is no way, King Ruan is too poor.The towns of Jiading and Hexian were repeatedly looted by wars, and the poor people couldn't even pay their taxes.Without the assistance of the French, King Nguyen would probably have to squat on Phu Quoc Island to eat taro, and he would not even be able to defeat Ha Tien Town.

So Bei Haijun fought and burned all the way in front, and He Xiwen followed along to pick up cheap ones, which really made him and his men happy.Done, with this posture of frantically "picking up the ocean" following behind, it would definitely be useless to catch up with the Beihai fleet.

Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the Donghai camp to stay, the news of the Northern Navy's bombardment of Hue also came.He Xiwen was both surprised and delighted when he heard that the cannons on board the Northern Navy ship could hit the Hue Palace and blow up the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

What surprised him was that he had never heard of anyone's cannons being so powerful. No wonder Beihai Town in the north was able to take care of the Qing court.The good news is that now that the Beihai Navy has started to attack Hue, I have to catch up quickly to make contact with each other. When the two sides join forces to attack Hue, not only will they be promoted, but they will also make a lot of money.

When Huang Zhongtong managed to get in touch with Beihai No. [-], he was delighted to find that there were members of the Red Flag Gang on board, and now the communication between the two parties was much easier.

When the captain Guo Xuexian saw Huang Zhongtong's respectful attitude and learned that the other party was Jiu Ruan's team, he moved his mind.He immediately contacted Deng Fei, and after obtaining permission, he asked Huang Zhongtong to tell He Xiwen that the Beihai Navy would attack Hue City in three days, and the two sides could act together at that time.

(End of this chapter)