Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

In Liaodong Bay, the sea breeze was blowing. In the sea area west of Huangcheng Island, masts were like a forest. A huge fleet was sailing. This fleet was very strange, with all kinds of ships. In the middle were some Fu ships, Cangshan ships, Zhou Zeng boats, fishing boats, sand ships, etc., about 200 ships, full of soldiers, war horses and various supplies. On the periphery were serious warships, mainly big bird ships and Ganseng ships. In addition, there were some big boats, fishing boats, fast crab whistle boats, black skin fast boats, boats, rice boats, shuttle boats, etc. It was organized into eight teams, each with ten ships, two teams in front, back, left and right, with horizontal teams in front and back and vertical teams on the left and right, guarding the troop transport ship in the middle. This was the army sent by Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty to cross the sea to aid Liao.

In this year, the sea rebellion in Taiwan was so serious that even the red-haired barbarians who roamed the sea said that the warships of Zheng family in Taiwan were equipped with red cannons of four to five thousand kilograms each. The size of the ships was comparable to that of the barbarians, and the firepower was similar to that of the ordinary warships of the barbarians. In order to fight against Zheng family equipped with heavy artillery and huge ships, Emperor Shunzhi ordered the expansion of the navy and the construction of large ships and cannons. However, due to financial pressure, the new ships could only be used by the southern coastal navy such as Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangnan (South Zhili), Guangdong, and Guangxi, and only some navy camps were set up in the north. Xue Xun, the guerrilla of Dengzhou Navy Camp, and Qu Zhonghe, the guerrilla of Rongcheng Navy Camp, who were ordered to lead the four naval camps of Dengzhou, Rongcheng, Jiaozhou, and Jinzhou to escort, had only 42 warships under their command, most of which were light warships. Their combat power was not first-class. What they could really rely on were actually the 40 warships drawn from the Hangzhou Navy and Zhenjiang Navy. In order to fight against the sea rebels, the warships of these two provinces were built with large ships and many cannons. Taking the big bird ship as an example, the large one was 15 zhang long and the small one was 12 zhang long, all of which had double gun decks. Even the lighter Ganseng ship was 9 zhang long and had a gun deck.

The two largest of the eighty-two warships were not in formation, but were placed in the front of the middle of the troop transport ships. These two ships were much taller and larger than the main warships of the Qing army, the Dayiaochuan. They were shaped like a shuttle, with three floors, 56 feet wide, feet long (about meters), and feet high... There was a battle platform at the stern. The mast was made of many pieces of wood, feet high, all wrapped in iron; there was a bucket at the top of the mast, which could accommodate several people to watch the wind and look out... There were medium cannons on the upper layer and large cannons on the middle layer, which was the pinnacle of the Qing Dynasty's shipbuilding technology at that time: the Fengzhou. In fact, the Fengzhou was not originally used for combat, but was used to show off military power when sending envoys to Ryukyu and other vassal states. Each ship could carry more than naval officers and soldiers and more than members of the delegation. Qing officials who had seen the red-haired barbarian warships compared the Fengzhou with the barbarian ships, believing that although they were not as solid and stable as the barbarian ships, they were more spacious and magnificent, and their firepower was not much inferior to them.

Liaodong was in a state of emergency. Emperor Shunzhi in Beijing was so anxious that he even took out the sealed boats at the bottom of the pressure box. One of the two huge ships belonged to the Hangzhou Navy, commanded by Jin Jun, a guerrilla of the Hangzhou Navy, and the other belonged to the Zhenjiang Navy, commanded by Liu Guang, a guerrilla of the Zhenjiang Navy. Both Jin and Liu were sons of generals. Jin Jun was the younger brother of Jin Li, the former governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi and a first-class Ashaniha. Jin Li was one of the earliest Liao people to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. He had just died of illness at home not long ago. Emperor Shunzhi, in consideration of his great merits, let Jin Jun inherit his brother's first-class Ashaniha title. Coincidentally, Jin Jun's cousin, Jin Zhong, a lieutenant of the Han army of the Bordered Red Banner, was also ordered to follow the Minister of State Affairs Lai Tuku to the Liaodong expedition. Liu Guang was the eldest son of another famous Liao people, General Zhenhai Liu Zhiyuan. Liu Zhiyuan was born in Manchuria and was incorporated into the Han army of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Like Jin Li, he participated in a series of battles during the invasion of the Han Dynasty. He was now the General Zhenhai stationed in Zhenjiang. His naval and land forces repeatedly repelled the invasion of the Han Dynasty. Jin Jun was very lucky. His ship was chosen as the flagship by the two main generals who aided the Liao Dynasty, Minister of State Affairs Lai Tuku and Huguang Admiral Dong Xueli. Minister of State Affairs Yan Zha Lai Tuku was born in the Yehe tribe of the Haixi Jurchens. Because his daughter married Emperor Shunzhi's sixth brother Aisin Gioro Gaosai, he could barely be considered a royal relative. He participated in a series of battles during the invasion of the Han Dynasty and was considered a veteran of the Manchuria. The governor of Huguang, Dong Xueli, was originally the deputy general of Huamachi of the Ming Dynasty. He first surrendered to Li Zicheng and then to Prince of Yu Duoduo. Later, he followed Prince of Ying Ajige to pacify Shaanxi. He made many military achievements and was incorporated into the Han Army's Plain Yellow Banner and was awarded the first-class viscount. After that, he held the high position of governor of Huguang. Although the Huguang Green Camp under his command had as many as 11,000 people and was the main force of the army to aid Liao, they were Han people after all. The commander of this army was not him, but Lai Tuku, who only brought 2,000 Han army flags.

A group of seagulls were gliding over the sea. One of them locked onto its target, tucked in its legs, spread its wide wings, and dived vertically from the air at an extremely fast speed, shooting into the water like a sharp arrow, stirring up a splash of water. Then, the seagull emerged from the water with a fish in its mouth.

"Wonderful! Watch carefully, and you will hit the target with one strike. This bird is like a warrior, worthy of praise!" Lai Tuku stared at the process of the seagull catching fish, concentrating and not blinking, and even the sea breeze blew his white hair without him noticing, and he praised it endlessly. This veteran had been Huang Taiji's bodyguard and participated in a series of battles during the Emperor's entry into the Pass. He was promoted to the first rank and the Minister of State Affairs for his meritorious service, and he had rich battlefield experience. As the war reached the current level, the famous Manchu generals continued to wither. Emperor Shunzhi chose this veteran after much selection, hoping to use his battlefield experience to reverse the crisis in Liaodong.

"Yes, Marshal, this bird is a natural hunter. Once it finds its prey, it will attack decisively and almost always hit the target. I believe that our aid to Liao by sea this time will surprise the Wei army and succeed in one fell swoop," Dong Xueli laughed.

"Admiral Dong, you must not underestimate the enemy. I heard that the Wei Kingdom has a navy stationed in Jinzhou. Although there are not many warships, if they discover our whereabouts and light beacons, the enemy will be alert and the battle will be difficult to fight." After saying this, Lai Tuku picked up the telescope, pointed to the east, and asked, "Is that the direction of Huangcheng Island?"

"In reply to the Marshal, there is indeed Huangcheng Island in the east. Beyond this island is the Laotieshan waterway, and at the other end of the waterway is Jinzhou. I have already sent patrol boats to investigate. There are no guards stationed on the island, and there are not many fishermen, so it should not be a problem," replied Liu Guang, a guerrilla in the Zhenjiang Water Camp.

"It is better to be safe than sorry. Send a signal flag to Xue Xun and ask him to lead the fleet to make a detour. Don't let the guards discover our tracks," Lai Tuku ordered.

"Yes," Liu Guangxian replied, and then carefully reported: "According to the combat strategy discussed by Guerrilla Xue and the naval generals, our army will first send out speedboats disguised as merchant ships to unexpectedly seize Tieshan Island on the Jinzhou side of the Laotieshan waterway, and then lead thirty fast-speed warships directly to the Zhongzuosuo seaport in Jinzhou. A new customs has been built there, which can moor large ships. After capturing Zhongzuosuo, our army can land quickly and take Jinzhou in one fell swoop."

"Well, I'm a landlubber and not good at naval battles. The naval battle will be under the full command of Guerrilla Xue," Lai Tuku said and closed his eyes.

"General, there is the latest news from the pigeons." Just as he closed his eyes to rest, a sharp voice came from the sea breeze. When the voice came, a fat man came running with a pigeon in his hand. There was a small piece of cloth tied to the pigeon's feet. This man was E'nahai, a capable general under the command of Shunzhi Emperor's confidant Wu Liangfu, and the head of the Imperial Horse Administration. Since he found that the Wuyi Guards of Weiguo liked to use pigeons to deliver messages, Wu Liangfu ordered people to train a group of pigeons in the Thirteen Yamen. He found that it was indeed fast and convenient to use them to deliver messages, and many times it was better than fast horses.

"Oh, let me have a look," Lai Tuku opened his eyes that had just been closed and took the cloth handed over by E Nahai. After reading it, his eyes suddenly shot out a sharp look and he shouted angrily: "Tell Xue Xun not to go to Jinzhou, but go to Fuzhou instead."

"Go to Fuzhou? But~" Generals Dong Xueli and Liu Guang were shocked and asked the reason anxiously.

Lai Tuku laughed, "The secret cannot be revealed. Look at that seagull, it is so good at catching opportunities, it catches fish every time! Hahaha~" (End of this chapter)