The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 918 God comes
Just as Xin Muershan was enduring the shelling with a look of despair, Jia Lian's large ship had already moved forward and aligned with the Zhenyuan.

It was called a large ship, but it was housed in an old-fashioned warship of the navy.

Compared to the massive Zhenyuan, it was truly a small boat.

On the Zhenyuan, the soldiers on the first deck quickly brought over a horizontal ladder and secured it between the two ships.

Seeing this, Jia Lian leaped forward and, in just over ten steps, boarded the Zhenyuan.

Stepping onto the familiar deck of the Zhenyuan, Jia Lian felt much more relaxed.

This is his flagship; just standing on it gives me a great sense of security.

"General!"

The soldiers and officers on the Zhenyuan all looked at Jia Lian with great excitement.

Although people had previously thought that the new warships built by Jia Lian were impressive, they didn't have a unified understanding of just how impressive they were.

But just now, the Zhenyuan didn't even move; it was only a few escort ships that made the Jurchens chasing Jia Lian run for their lives.

They all clearly saw that the large ship and more than a dozen small ships chasing Jia Lian were crammed with densely packed Jurchens.

Because it was packed full, one shot had a fantastic effect!
Moreover, it wasn't just one shot, but a series of salvos.

Of course, considering that the old warship the Jurchens were on also had value, the commander ordered that only explosive shells be used and solid shot be prohibited.

Otherwise, with those two salvos, the large ship carrying the Jurchens would probably have been sunk.

If this is true for large ships, then it goes without saying that it's true for small ships.

Looking at the lucky little boats that were still able to escape ahead, and hearing their cries for help, as well as the "clumsy chickens" still thrashing about in the sea, all the soldiers were filled with joy.

It is conceivable that, in such a situation, they could probably annihilate these thousands of Jurchens with zero casualties.

The other party had no chance to fight back at all; that's how domineering they were!

Jia Lian naturally saw the battle situation as well. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately said, "Signal with flags, ordering ten Class D warships to stay behind and clear the battlefield. All other warships, immediately follow the flagship to support the Gulf battlefield!"

The total number of new warships built under Jia Lian's supervision is less than one hundred to date.

Those over 20 meters in length were classified as Class D, which were also the smallest new-style warships.

These warships were almost always equipped with only one cannon on each of the left and right sides.

Those reaching 30 meters or more are classified as Class C. Their configuration is similar to Class D.

Those 50 meters and above are classified as Class B.

Warships of this class already possess considerable firepower.

Of course, given that the imperial court's artillery production capacity was not sufficient, many new warships were not equipped with adequate firepower.

If it reaches 80 meters, it is considered a Class A warship.

This is the ship class that Jia Lian positioned, capable of serving as a flagship and leading the fleet into battle independently.

It is also currently the highest level of warship.

As for the Zhenyuan, a super-large warship exceeding 100 meters in length, it is currently the only one built. Of course, it is still classified as a Class A warship.

With Jia Lian's command, the mighty fleet headed towards the landing bay.

In the bay, the flames of war rage.

Despite being well-prepared, the thousands of Jurchens who stormed in from the sea still put immense pressure on the soldiers in the bay.

Su Keguang and Cheng Xian had to redeploy nearly half of their troops and firepower back to the beach to set up defenses.

This significantly increased the casualties and landing difficulties for the Jurchens at sea.

But the firepower from the front is definitely not enough.

Unfortunately, every Jurchen soldier harbored hatred and believed that victory was assured under the command of the Grand Prince. Therefore, unlike the previous attack, they were no longer hesitant and instead returned to a state of fearlessness.

It is foreseeable that, as time goes by, it will only be a matter of time before the defense is breached.

Once the defensive battle devolved into a chaotic melee and hand-to-hand combat, the Jurchens, with their superior numbers, were doomed to defeat sooner or later.

At most, they would fight desperately before they died, and earn a few more heads of Jurchens.

Sensing that the situation was not good, Su Keguang and Cheng Xian couldn't help but feel anxious, thinking to themselves that Jia Lian must come back soon.

However, Jia Lian certainly wouldn't let them down.

The naval battle, though seemingly delayed, actually unfolded very quickly.

After all, it took the Jurchens almost an hour just to board the ships, so the large number of warships hidden at sea had actually set off earlier.

Therefore, the new Mursan was able to catch up with the fleet not long before they ran into each other.

The naval battle actually took place only about ten miles from the beach.

At this distance, people on the beach can see it from a slightly higher vantage point. They can see at least a large number of masts.

Therefore, when the sound of cannon fire rang out on the sea, the Jurchens at sea should actually have been able to hear some of it.

However, they were so focused on conquering Shanghai that they obviously ignored it.

Therefore, when Jia Lian led a large number of warships to provide support, the first thing he discovered was not the Jurchens on the sea, but the Jurchens and Han army on the shore.

The Han soldiers were overjoyed to find their own fleet.

The Jurchens who were attacking were dumbfounded.

What the hell?

The Jurchens could certainly recognize that what was emerging from the sea were ships, but they had never seen or even imagined such a sight before: ships lined up for miles, their masts blocking out the sky.

Luo Jue Anchang was on the front line, directing the frontal attack from behind the transverse slope, and could not see the situation on the sea.

However, the beach that Jia Lian chose was not perfect.

Although there is a moderate slope in front that can be used as a natural defensive position, there is a relatively large gap to the east of the slope.

From the opening, one can easily step into the bay.

Although the Han army must have deployed heavy troops to defend the breach, the Jurchens clearly would not give up this relatively fair direction of attack.

There were three or four thousand Jurchens gathered and attacked from this place alone.

It was the Jurchens here who were the first to discover the movement on the sea.

They panicked and didn't know what to do, so they could only wait for their leader's orders.

The two leaders in charge of this attack were stunned for a while before they snapped out of their shock.

"Do these ships belong to the Han army, or are the Koreans trying to take advantage of the chaos?"

This place is not actually part of Jianzhou's territory; rather, it is the intersection of Korea and Liaodong.

It's not surprising that North Korea knows about their intense fighting here.

But another leader immediately retorted, "It can't be Koreans. They're even more cowardly than the Wei people. We'll just leave them alone; they wouldn't dare provoke us."

Moreover, the Koreans couldn't possibly have such a large fleet!

"What should I do?"

"Never mind. What good are these ships if they're big? They might not even have many Han soldiers on board!"

"Let's kill all those damned Han soldiers in the bay first."

The other leader felt that this was somewhat irresponsible, but he couldn't think of a perfect solution for the time being. He could only continue to command the battle while ordering someone to inform Luo Jue Anchang of the situation.

Perhaps everything was destined.

If the Jurchens had fled inland the moment they spotted the fleet...

Then the heavy cannons on the ships might not necessarily pose much of a threat to them.

However, they harbored too much hatred for the Han army in the bay and knew nothing about the strength of the ships, so they didn't even consider running away at first.

They even wanted to take advantage of the gap before the fleet could establish a firm foothold, and cooperate with the Jurchens who had already rushed into the shallow waters to storm into the bay in one fell swoop.

This also means that they have lost their chance to escape.

When Jia Lian's dozens of new warships lined up in a row, completely enveloping the entire bay and the rear of the Jurchens, with over a hundred heavy cannons visible on one side, purgatory began.

On the Zhenyuan, Jia Lian coldly watched the Jurchens who were still frantically rushing into the bay.

He could have ordered the cannons to fire much earlier and capsized all the Jurchen boats in the shallow waters.

But he didn't do that.

Since the Jurchens are unaware of the power of the warships, we must strike decisively, completely terrify and confuse them, rendering them unable to retaliate.

Seeing that the thousands of Jurchens to the east were completely within the range of the fleet's artillery fire, Jia Lian ordered his men to send out flag signals into the bay, instructing them to quickly withdraw their defensive lines to avoid friendly fire.

At the same time, an order was issued to all ships to open fire at full speed.

"Boom boom boom..."

The deafening roar was accompanied by a sky full of shells rising into the air.

The first to be hit were the Jurchens who used shields as cover and bows or crossbows to charge towards the beach from the shallow waters.

They had nowhere to advance or retreat.

When cannonballs exploded around them, blasting them and their ships to smithereens, their only thought, besides fear, was to rush into the bay and engage the Han army in a fierce battle.

Only in that way might the barrage of shells be deterred and spare them.

However, the Han soldiers in the bay, who had reduced their forces, remained unmoved by their almost pleading expressions and instead used cannons and muskets to beat the drowning enemy even more fiercely.

Thus, these most elite Jurchens were filled with despair.

Like the Jurchens in the shallow waters, there were also Jurchens attacking from the east through the breach.

No, they are in a worse situation.

The artillerymen in the fleet who were firing shells into the shallow waters were probably still concerned about their comrades in the bay and dared not be too reckless.

However, the artillery that fired shells at the Jurchens to the east was quite formidable; as long as they moved quickly, they hardly needed to adjust the angle.

In an instant, shrapnel and limbs flew everywhere, and the sounds of gunfire and cries of pain blended together.

Seeing the tribal warriors around them fall in droves, the Jurchens lost all will to attack; everyone had only one thought in their minds.

escape.

We fled back, to escape this hellish beach.

However, they were destined to die in despair.

How can two legs possibly outrun a cannonball?
Previously, the two sides of the Gulf position, with a total of about twenty light artillery pieces, had already given them a headache.

Now these are dozens of giant warships, with over a hundred heavy cannons firing simultaneously.

This is a dimensional reduction attack, which cannot be resisted by human power.

On the opposite side of the slope, Luo Jue Anchang was originally in a pretty good mood.

His plan went very smoothly.

Seeing that the resistance of the Han army's position was getting weaker and weaker, his warriors had already climbed up the slope and begun to fight the Han army in small-scale skirmishes.

He knew he had already won.

Although a group of Han soldiers unfortunately escaped, the fact that he was able to wipe out the remaining thousands of Han soldiers in the bay was enough to vent his anger and establish his authority.

He was also paying attention to the beach battlefield to the east and behind the Han army.

Everything was normal until Xin Muershan disobeyed orders and went to chase after the Han army leader, which annoyed him a little.

He had already planned that after the war, he would use this as a pretext to strip the leader of the New Murshansuk tribe of his title and install someone close to him in power...

However, when someone reported that a large number of Han army ships had appeared on the sea, he frowned.

He was truly stunned when the deafening sound of cannon fire came from the other side.

He didn't know the situation, but he knew that as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, he couldn't afford to be unaware of it.

So he personally led his most elite armored cavalry to charge up a breached ramp, halted his horse, and looked out into the bay.

He was horrified at first glance.

You should know that the four old-fashioned naval warships that they had previously seized had already surprised him with how large the ships built by the Han people were.

He also took a special look at two of the ships, noting the two cannons mounted on them.

It's just an old-fashioned tube, with solid shot. It might still be somewhat useful for exchanging fire with other ships, but for killing the enemy?
Luo Jue Anchang could only chuckle.

But what's going on right now?
The warships stretched as far as the eye could see, and almost every one of them was larger than the four large ships they had previously seized.

Not to mention those cannons lined up in a row, their black muzzles still emitting sparks and smoke...

Watching the cannonballs continuously emerge from the muzzles and crash into the formations of the warriors from various tribes.

If even one of these attacks occurs, it will result in a human tragedy.

Luo Jue Anchang felt a chill in his heart.

Is this... truly a weapon of mass destruction that humanity should possess?
For the first time, Luo Jue Anchang felt that the State of Wei was an invincible great power!

These thoughts flashed through his mind, but in reality, Luo Jue'anchang reacted quickly and immediately shouted to his men, "What are you all standing there for? Tell them to retreat quickly!"

"What were those two idiots, Heshuomu and Mutuo, doing? These ships didn't just appear out of thin air. Why didn't they retreat sooner? Why did they just watch our Jurchen warriors be slaughtered?"

The attendants immediately went to relay the order.

The other leaders exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with horror.

While some of the people on the east side might still be able to escape, on the beach...

No need to look anymore, it's a complete disaster.

One of the leaders, already fearful, said to Luo Jue Anchang, "Grand Prince, let's retreat too. These Han army warships are too powerful."

Their shells have such a long range that it's probably not safe for us to stand here.

"Look, those Han troops have all withdrawn. They're clearly consolidating their forces so their naval guns can bombard us."

Upon hearing this, Luo Jue Anchang's gaze shifted.

He saw it too, of course.

To be honest, the Han army, with its forces reduced, appears to be full of weaknesses.

If he were to order a full-scale attack at this moment, he would certainly not encounter much resistance, and might even be able to wipe out the Han army in the bay in one fell swoop.

However, looking at the countless cannons pointing directly at him on the sea, he dared not gamble.

Even if he annihilates all these few thousand Han soldiers, so what?
If the Han army were to harden their hearts and launch an indiscriminate bombardment, wouldn't they be completely finished?

I wonder if the Han army warships have enough cannonballs...

Luo Jue Anchang hesitated for only a moment before hearing a whooshing sound.

"Boom~"

A shell landed a few feet to his right, and shrapnel grazed the arm of one of his guards, eliciting a scream.

Without needing any prompting, Luo Jue Anchang immediately turned his horse around and ran back as fast as he could.

On the Zhenyuan, Jia Lian put down his binoculars and asked somewhat displeasedly, "Who fired that cannon just now? The aim was terrible!"

The commander said awkwardly, "General, please forgive us, it's really too far, and we're also afraid of harming our comrades in the bay, so..."

"Stop talking. You let the big fish escape. At the celebration banquet later, your team will only be allowed to eat meat and no alcohol."

The commander and the artillerymen in the gun emplacement immediately looked distressed.

However, there was nothing to complain about.

The general said that there was a large fish in that location, which is why they adjusted the angle of their cannons to fire.

Although they couldn't see how far off they had gone, since the general said they had let the big fish escape, it must have been their fault.

(End of this chapter)