Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Liaohe Estuary.

Zheng Zhihu was commended by the imperial court after destroying the Jurchen's red-coated cannons.

The villages along the Liao River thus gained a period of safety.

Taking this opportunity, the Liaodong army established a large camp on the east bank of the Liao River estuary.

Sun Chengzong, You Shilu, and others led their troops to move here.

Looking at the camp under construction and the dock by the sea, Sun Chengzong said happily:
"This place is wonderful!"

"If we can establish a foothold here, Niuzhuang will surely recover."

You Shilu also said with delight:
"This place is indeed a key location for controlling the Liao River. No wonder the Emperor ordered us to build a large camp here and named it Yingkou."

"As long as Yingkou is controlled, the Liao River will be under the control of the Ming Dynasty."

"We can send troops whenever we want, and no one can stop us."

Sun Chengzong nodded with a smile, agreeing with this statement.

As the commander-in-chief, he is now mainly responsible for logistics. Therefore, he has a deeper understanding of the significance of Yingkou.

In terms of sea freight costs, there is not much difference between shipping from Tianjin to Yingkou and shipping to Ningyuan. Even with several naval transport trips, the additional costs were not significant after accounting for the costs.

This means that after the army is stationed in Yingkou, the supplies that were originally transported to Ningyuan can be completely transferred here.

The Liaodong military pay provided by the imperial court was enough to support the garrison at Yingkou.

Thinking of this, Sun Chengzong couldn't help but feel annoyed:

I blame myself for not discovering Yingkou sooner and moving here sooner.

If the resources previously invested in Ningyuan had been invested in Yingkou, they might have already advanced to Shenyang.

But then he realized that was impossible.

Even if we don't have as many transport ships in the past, the Liaodong army's navy would not have been able to control the Liao River.

In the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Xu Lian, the military commander of Ningyuan, led ten ships into the Liao River and ordered four of them to sail into the river bend, where they were ambushed and killed by the Jurchens.

Yingkou, which lacks control of the Liao River, is not much different from places like Gaizhou. They still need to travel by land, following the previous post road to Haizhou.

That would have involved much more resources, and the Ming Dynasty couldn't possibly build eight camps along the Liao River in one go like it does now.

This strategy is only possible with a powerful navy, such as the navy built by an emperor.

At this moment, Sun Chengzong sincerely admired the emperor, knowing that he could never have come up with such a strategy.

He now has full confidence in eliminating the Jurchens, which means heading north along the Liao River and advancing all the way to Shenyang.
-
While Sun Chengzong held this view, the Navy was not optimistic.

Zheng Zhihu reported to Yu Zigao:

"The lower reaches of the Liao River have great shipping potential. After dredging, it may become a Class II waterway, allowing large ships of 2,000 tons to navigate."

"But further upstream from Niuzhuang, there is a tributary known as the Hun River. In summer, the water is muddy and the floods are rapid, and in many places, silt accumulates and makes it difficult to pass."

"This humble general only dares to send three hundred-ton ships uphill; any larger and they are likely to run aground."

This matter made Yu Zigao frown, feeling that it was truly unlucky.

He originally intended to send the navy all the way to Shenyang, but after passing Niuzhuang, he could only use small boats of 300 tons.

These ships carried a limited number of cannons, making it difficult for them to exert sufficient firepower.

They might even be attacked by the Jurchens and suffer losses on the Hun River.

However difficult, we must give it a try. Yu Zigao told Zheng Zhihu not to be afraid of losses and to send large ships to explore.

Zheng Zhihu received orders to lead six 600-ton ships upstream to see how far they could go.

These warships, weighing around 500 tons, were designated by the emperor as third-class cruisers. They were modeled after galleons from Portugal and the Netherlands, and were the type of warships that the Ming Dynasty was most adept at building.

After several years of experimentation, the Ming Dynasty fully mastered this type of ship and modified it using Ming timber and firearms.

The boats used by Zheng Zhihu were optimized based on boat types such as the centipede boat, in order to be more suitable for inland waterway use.

Most of the customs duties allocated to the Navy were invested in building these ships.

Zheng Zhihu himself also paid out of his own pocket to order several cruisers under the guise of building up the territory's navy.

At this time, three of the six ships he was leading were his own.

Each of these ships was equipped with fifty cannons of various sizes, making them extremely powerful. As they sailed upstream against the current, the lookout on the lead ship suddenly spotted several ships on the river, which appeared to be Jurchen warships.

The officers and soldiers of the Liaohe Fleet burst into laughter upon seeing these "warships"—

Compared to the warships they used, the ships built by the Jurchens could at best be described as small sampans.

Zheng Zhihu immediately ordered the cannons to fire a warning shot, demanding their surrender. However, the men seemed not to hear him and quickly fled in their boats.

Zheng Zhihu was furious and ordered:

"Sink the ship if they do not surrender, using solid shot from the Lü Gong cannon."

The gunners were ordered to switch to the cheapest solid shot and practice their gunnery skills on these small sampans.

Soon, the Liaohe Fleet began live-fire target practice. The Jurchen sailors offered no resistance and were sunk one by one.

Joyful cheers erupted from the ships, and some even began to compete.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Zhihu, though not sensing any danger, instinctively felt something was amiss and gave the order:

"Be careful!"

"To prevent the Jurchens from having any tricks up their sleeves."

Adjust the distance between the boats and spread them out from each other.

In this way, the following ships could no longer hit the sampan, but the warning range was greatly expanded.
-
Fan Wencheng saw this scene from afar and thought to himself, "What a pity!"

He intended to take all six ships, but now it seems impossible to ambush them completely.

But that doesn't matter. His biggest task is to break the Ming Dynasty's "demonic magic" and let the soldiers know that the Ming Dynasty's "demonic weapons" are not invincible.

As the Ming fleet rounded a bend in the river and approached the fire ships hidden in the reeds, Fan Wencheng said to Dorgon:

"Ninth Prince, you may give the order."

Dorgon immediately waved his hand and ordered his men to fire the signal cannon.

Fires immediately broke out in the reeds, and boats emerged one by one.

When Zheng Zhihu saw this, he knew he had fallen into a trap.

However, he showed no panic whatsoever; instead, he laughed loudly and said:
"Fire attack?"

"Can the Jurchens outmaneuver us?"

The people around him laughed as well, because they all knew that Zheng Zhilong had defeated the Dutch by using fire.

They were proficient in this tactic and naturally had their own defenses.

Zheng Zhihu ordered the soldiers to turn the ships around and point their stern guns at the enemy. He then gave the following order:
"Bring out all the cannons and let the Jurchens have a good look at them!"

They took out a bunch of cannons, each about 30mm in diameter, stored in the ship's hold, placed them on supports, aimed them at the Jurchen fire ships, and quickly loaded and bombarded them.

This is a weapon ordered by Zhu Youjian to be manufactured in imitation of a musket, mainly used for defending the city and serving as a city wall rifle.

Because its caliber was greater than 20 millimeters, it was named a mortar.

Because of its smaller caliber compared to cannons, it is often called a small cannon.

Zheng Zhihu also kept some on the boat, specifically for attacking small boats.

At this moment, these cannons began to unleash their power against the Jurchen fire ships.

With a firing rate of nearly ten rounds per minute, the Jurchen fire ships were subjected to heavy fire.

Fire ships were repeatedly hit, taking on water and capsizing in the river.

Dorgon and Fan Wencheng, witnessing this scene, both marveled at the Ming army's superior artillery:

"The firearms of the Ming Dynasty are truly advancing by leaps and bounds."

"They've already come up with all sorts of firearms, like the electric cannon, the revolver cannon, the Lu Gong cannon, and the small breech-loading cannon. I wonder what else they'll come up with in the future?"

They had seen this kind of firearm before when attacking Ming army strongholds, but they never expected it could be used in naval warfare.

If not for other preparations, this fire attack would likely have failed.

But now, Fan Wencheng looked at the Ming army's warships behind him, his face full of smugness. (End of Chapter)