There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 274 Forced Crossing
On the flagship of the Qing navy's main force, Tian Yongyi lowered his telescope with a solemn expression.

This telescope was a reward he received when he was young, serving as a third-class bodyguard to the retired emperor (Qianlong). It was also a rare item presented as tribute by Westerners (French missionaries).

Although it cannot truly see a thousand miles, it can still allow people to see a very distant scene, making it an invaluable asset on the battlefield.

When Tian Yongyu was fighting and suppressing bandits, he would always carry this imperial telescope with him, so that he could make arrangements half a moment in advance in case of any emergency.

But now, it's too fast, far too fast!
Tian Yongyi had just led his main force from the Balijiang naval camp around to prepare for a forced crossing of Meijia Island when he saw that the bait he had thrown out at the main crossing, which was also a flanking force to coordinate with the forced crossing, had already been routed.

How long has it been?

Tian Yongyi was still estimating the time. He figured that a crossing was underway at the main ferry crossing, and at least small groups of troops had landed and were engaged in fierce beach battles with the Han rebels' garrison.

Tian Yongyi didn't expect these detachments, used as bait, to be able to defeat the Han rebel army, but with so many troops pressing in, they should at least make some waves.

However, the actual battle situation was quite the opposite. Tens of thousands of Qing troops and hundreds of ferries were completely blocked by the Han traitors and could not break through.

On that narrow stretch of river, barely six miles wide, the Han traitors' cannons unleashed their firepower without restraint, taking away several Qing soldiers from ferries almost every minute.

The Han traitors' firearms were formidable, as Wang Bing, the commander-in-chief, had mentioned to them before the battle, but almost none of the generals, including Wang Bing, took it seriously.

The Han traitors had powerful firearms, so they didn't have any?

This time, they mobilized not only hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but also various firearms, including the Weiyuan Cannon, the Mother-and-Child Cannon, and the Bird Gun, totaling at least tens of thousands.

How could they not defeat a mere few thousand Han traitors?
While Tian Yongyi was still in shock, his deputy general asked directly, "General, it seems we can't advance to the main crossing. The Han traitors have already spotted us. Should we try to cross at another crossing?"

After a moment's thought, Tian Yongyi shook his head and said, "Raise the flag and have each ship cross the river as planned. Although we can't break through the main crossing, we've tied down most of the Han rebels' forces. If we change the crossing now, the main crossing will definitely collapse completely, and the Han rebels will be able to concentrate their forces to block our crossing."

Tian Yongyi made a quick decision and decided to proceed with the original plan to force the crossing at the north bank ferry.

The entire Meijiazhou ferry crossing, viewed from above, is a long and narrow mudflat. The front of the crossing is very narrow, so even if tens of thousands of Qing troops attempted to cross, only a few hundred could land at a time, making a large-scale landing impossible.

But the situation is different at the ferry crossing on the north bank. Tian Yongtong can spread out his army, preventing the Han rebels from having enough troops to surround him.

This Qing naval fleet, belonging to the Right Wing of Jiangnan, received Tian Yongyi's military orders and quickly spread out, pressing towards the north bank.

On the north bank ferry, Wang Yong's two thousand Han soldiers had arrived at the battlefield to deploy for defense. The Qing navy warships, in addition to the Jiangnan Right Battalion's navy, also carried the Su-Song Town troops directly under Tian Shuitong, with a total strength of more than eight thousand men.

As they drew closer to the ferry, Tian Yongyi was still using his telescope to assess the enemy situation when he saw that the Han rebel army numbered a mere two thousand. He immediately sneered, "Our army has eight thousand Green Standard Army soldiers and over ten thousand auxiliary and naval troops, totaling twenty thousand. The Han rebels have only two thousand; how can they withstand our twenty thousand troops? The advantage in this battle lies with our Great Qing!"

"General, your insight is brilliant!" the deputy general quickly bowed in flattery.

As the two were still chatting and laughing, a loud bang suddenly came from the river.

"boom!"

The Han army opened fire.

Since the goal is to block the Qing navy, it must be cannons, and heavy cannons like the red-coated cannons are the most effective.

Wang Yong pushed a total of ten cannons to the north bank position, and the ten cannons fired a salvo at the Zhunjiangshan warship.

They were very lucky; one of the shells hit a Qing warship squarely.

The ship was very close to the flagship when the cannonball pierced the deck of the warship. Fortunately, it did not break through the hull and cause leaks, but it still greatly shocked the Qing soldiers on the warship.

Not only were they shocked, but Tian Yongyi was also shocked: "What kind of cannon is this? How can the cannons of the Han traitors shoot so far?"

It should be noted that they are currently at a distance that is not very close to the ferry crossing; at least outside the effective firing range of the Red Coat Cannons, and even close to their maximum firing range.

Shocked, Tian Yongyi immediately ordered, "Fire back! Fire back immediately!"

As naval vessels, these warships were naturally equipped with cannons, and the cannons were immediately aimed at the Han army on the shore.

These Qing navy gunners were finally unlike the gunners the Han army had encountered in Jiangxi, who were utterly worthless. They quickly adjusted their direction, calculated the distance, and then fired the cannons in one swift motion.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Qing warships then opened fire.

It made quite a commotion, and there were a lot of them, but it was all for naught. Because the distance wasn't enough!

The Han army's cannons were able to hit Qing army ships because they used land-based cannons with added coatings, and they also used seamless steel pipes to extend the length of the cannon barrels, further increasing the range of the cannons.

However, the Qing army was outdated in its cannon-casting technology, which meant it could not produce seamless steel pipes, let alone cannons with a long enough range.

The red-coated cannons might work, but firing them from a ship would cause the recoil to shatter the wooden deck. Seeing that his ship's cannons couldn't hit the Han rebels on the ferry shore, Tian Yongyi wasn't anxious or angry. Instead, he ordered the ship to speed up and keep firing continuously, ensuring the cannon fire never stopped.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

In an instant, the north bank of the river was filled with the sounds of gunfire.

The two sides continued to bombard each other with cannons across the river. The Qing army had more cannons, but their range was too short to reach the Han troops on the shore.

Conversely, although the Han army on the shore had only ten cannons, the firepower of those ten cannons was enough to cover the Qing warships on the river.

Having won several consecutive battles in Jiangxi, the Han army had already greatly underestimated the Qing army. The Han artillerymen were completely unafraid of the Qing army's bombardment and kept firing their cannons at the ships on the river.

On the third round of bombardment, two more Qing warships were hit by cannonballs.

One of the Qing warships was struck in the middle by a cannonball and its main mast was broken off, instantly rendering it immobile.

The Qing soldiers on board were terrified, and many jumped ship to escape. Otherwise, if they remained on board, the warship, having lost its mainmast, would be unable to move and would become easy targets for the Han army's cannons.

Tian Yongyi gritted his teeth and withstood the firepower of the Han army's heavy artillery. After losing another warship, he finally reached the range of his own ship's guns.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Qing navy's cannons had only fired one round of bombardment.

"The entire army retreats!" Wang Yong wasn't stupid; he wouldn't let his soldiers withstand the Qing army's artillery bombardment. He immediately ordered a retreat to the defensive position.

The so-called defensive positions were, to put it bluntly, just a few trenches that the Han army had dug temporarily.

Fortunately, this area was a Yangtze River crossing, so the soil was generally quite loose. While the Han army bombarded the Qing army's ships with cannons to slow their landing, the Han soldiers in the rear quickly dug trenches and fortifications.

Using naval guns to force back the Han rebels, Tian Yongyi immediately ordered his army to storm the beach and land.

The Qing warships quickly launched dozens of small sampans, each carrying ten to twenty Qing soldiers who were all part of the Green Standard Army under Tian Yongyi's command in Susong Town.

Dozens of sampans landed and quickly reached the shore, where Qing soldiers disembarked and went ashore.

The leader was a Qing army captain. Seeing how easy the landing was and that no one was stopping the Han traitors, his confidence soared. He drew his sword and shouted, "Follow me! Kill the Han traitors and achieve great merit!"

"Kill the traitors of Han!"

The Qing soldiers below knew nothing yet, but when they heard the commander-in-chief say to kill the traitors, they immediately raised their swords and spears and charged.

The trenches where the Han army had retreated were very close. In the blink of an eye, the Qing army captain and his hundreds of soldiers rushed to the front, ready to engage in a fierce battle.

"bang bang bang"

"Shhhhhh!"

The Han army had rifled guns and crossbows.

This guy led his Qing soldiers forward stupidly, and they ran right into the muzzle of the Han army's guns, getting riddled with bullets.

Before the Qing soldiers behind them could react, they saw that their commander had already died in battle.

The Han army's riflemen and crossbowmen calmly reloaded their guns and arrows, and began firing again at the Qing soldiers.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Shhhhhh!"

With rifling and hollow bullets, accuracy was no longer an issue.

Combined with crossbows, which are as powerful as pistols at close range, the Qing army's rattan shields and leather armor were like paper, completely unable to withstand them.

Under the third volley of gunfire and crossbow bolts, the hundreds of Qing soldiers, who had lost unified command, finally collapsed and scattered.

Tian Yongyi was not surprised by this; the first wave of Qing troops to land were destined to become cannon fodder for probing.

"Pass down the order: the musket battalion and artillery battalion are to land immediately!"

Tian Yongyi quickly made a strategic adjustment. The arquebusiers and artillerymen who were supposed to stay at the back immediately landed with the shield bearers and spearmen.

(End of this chapter)