Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 314 Self-propelled Anti-aircraft Gun Locks Down the Yangtze River

‘Buzz buzz~~~’

The external motor's propeller churned the river water, propelling the large aircraft to speed across the river surface.

Lin Dao, piloting the large flying vehicle, watched the Yuan navy ships slowly hoisting their sails and chasing after him in the distance, and smiled silently.

It's ridiculous for a sailboat to chase after an externally mounted motor.

He gradually slowed down and eventually came to rest on a sandbar in the middle of the river, which was less than 100 square meters in size.

The Yangtze River waterway in the modern world has been dredged over a long period of time.

They had to bomb and dig to make it passable.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there were many similar sandbars and even river reefs on the river surface near Jiqing.

Once on the sandbar, Lin Dao looked around at the surrounding environment.

He then disappeared with his large flying vehicle.

When he reappeared, he was already sitting in the cockpit of the Shilka River.

The sandbar was low, and the river water kept surging up, wetting the tracks.

Lin Dao climbed out and circled the self-propelled anti-aircraft gun vehicle.

"It's a bit sunken, but it should hold up."

Seeing the tracks stuck in the sand, Lin Dao took out his walkie-talkie.

"I'm all ready. Let's begin the river crossing."

Chang Yuchun, who was looking out from the riverbank, immediately responded.

"Leader!"

Large numbers of Red Turban Army soldiers, wearing orange life jackets and carrying bundles full of their weapons and armor, waded across the river and climbed onto fishing boats.

The fishermen, hired with rice, flour, and cooking oil, rowed their boats with all their might toward the opposite shore.

The fishermen were clearly very nervous.

"Sir, the imperial fleet is on the river!"

"Their boats are big and fast; if we hit them, they'll capsize."

"Don't be afraid," the Red Turban soldiers on the ship comforted them. "With the Ming King here, the Yuan dogs' ships can't get close."

The Red Turban Army had an almost blind worship and trust in Lin Dao.

If the wise king said we could cross the river, then we definitely could!
The Red Turban Army gathered on the opposite bank, and the Yuan army on Jiqing Road began preparations early on.

All available boats were concentrated on the river near Jiqing.

Seeing the Red Turban Army begin to cross the river, these boats sailed over one after another.

The Yuan soldiers on the bow of the ship were still mocking the Red Turban Army for courting death.

They actually dared to cross the river in a fishing boat. They didn't realize that in front of the navy's large ships, a fishing boat is just a small shrimp.

You don't even need to crash into it directly; a single surge could overturn you.

"Smash them all into the river to feed the fish and shrimp!"

Hundreds of Yuan warships, large and small, sailed in from both upstream and downstream directions.

The forest path on the sandbar led into the cockpit.

All subsystems were powered on, and the observation and aiming equipment locked onto the first target.

The fastest boat traveling downstream from upstream.

The ship was highly mobile, using a mix of masts, sails, and oars, heading straight for the Red Turban Army fleet.

The turret of the Shilka River rotates, and the fire control radar locks onto the target.

'Knock knock knock knock~'

A long burst of fire, more than ten high-explosive incendiary rounds, swept across the area.

The zouge is highly mobile, but in the end it is still just a sailboat.

The Shilka River is for airplanes; no matter how fast a sailboat is, it can't outrun an airplane.

More than ten shells were fired, most of which landed on the ship.

A series of explosions engulfed the ship in smoke and flames.

Scattered wood chips and severed limbs fell far into the river.

As the smoke gradually dissipated, only the burning remains of the wreckage remained on the river surface.

This scene clearly startled the other ships.

Lin Dao ignored their fear and adjusted the angle of the turret, locking onto another large ship.

This is a large, towering ship with parapets and battlements on all sides, and even equipped with catapults.

The towering masts, adorned with stiff sails, exuded an imposing presence.

There were hundreds of soldiers on board, many of whom nervously watched the burning and sinking boat not far away.

"Who hit me?"

"How did it sink?!"

In a panic, more than ten high-explosive incendiary bombs whistled through the air and flew over.

At least seven or eight shells hit the bow of the ship.

The massive ship's bow seemed to have encountered an invisible wall, and it suddenly paused.

The next moment, smoke and fire tore the bow of the ship apart.

The flying sawdust fluttered and fell onto the river surface, making a crackling sound like rain.

A single shell struck precisely the tall mast.

With a teeth-grinding creak, the thick mast, carrying a massive sail comparable to a city wall, slowly collapsed.

Unable to dodge in time, the Yuan soldiers were struck by the mast and crushed on the spot.

Lin Dao observed carefully and saw that although the ship was engulfed in flames, it was still rushing downstream due to inertia.

Without further ado, he fired another long shot.

Nearly ten high-explosive shells were fired from the destroyed bow into the hull and exploded.

Don't be fooled by the small caliber of the cannons on the Shilka River; in the modern world, they would be considered the smallest of the small.

It could be used in naval battles at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, against those wooden ships; this would be a clear case of overwhelming force.

The imploded ship had its keel broken and its hull completely damaged. A large amount of river water rushed in, mixing with the burning materials and creating a large cloud of toxic gas.

At this moment, the Yuan soldiers still alive on the ship were in a living hell of water and fire.

People kept jumping from the boats onto the river, their numbers as numerous as dumplings being dropped into a pot.

The misfortunes of two ships in succession undoubtedly shocked the other vessels.

They all began to turn away.

'Thump thump thump thump~~~'

Amidst the thunderous roar of cannon fire, a barrage of shells whistled out and rained down on the Yuan fleet.

Lin Dao's standard was to attack the closest enemy first, then the largest one. The closest enemy meant it posed a threat to the Red Turban Army crossing the river.

Its large size meant that there were enough Yuan soldiers on board.

Especially since many Yuan warships were slowly turning, exposing their broad sides to the forest road.

With the help of search and fire control radar, a barrage of shells flew over and destroyed the burning Yuan ships, forming a long line of fire.

Several Yuan army warships and fighting vessels coming down from upstream did not choose to change course, but instead tried to take advantage of the wind and current to rush through the fire net blocking the forest road and quickly reach the downstream.

The shelling from this forest road consists of tracer rounds.

After so many shots were fired, the Yuan soldiers on the ship weren't blind; they naturally saw them.

They wanted to use their speed to bypass the sandbar.

Clearly, this demonstrates a lack of understanding of the power of search and fire control radar.

They thought they were very fast, flying like an arrow.

But when it comes to being locked on by radar, it's really laughable.

‘Dong dong dong~’

'Thump thump thump thump~~'

Lin Dao didn't waste any words, locked on and launched.

Small boats fire short bursts, large boats fire long bursts.

If it's a warship, then fire two long bursts.

Compared to modern technological weapons, all the weapons and equipment from the era of cold weapons are as fragile as blank paper.

The wooden boats that passed in front of the sandbar were essentially facing the cannons with their wide sides directly in front of them.

At a distance of only a few hundred meters, the shells hit almost all of them.

A long, narrow boat, its hull covered with raw cowhide, was strong enough to withstand crossbow bolts and stones.

However, the cannon fire directly at the forest road was devastating. A barrage of more than a dozen shells swept from the bow to the stern, shattering the entire side of the ship.

The forest road was loaded with only high-explosive shells, not armor-piercing shells.

He was worried that using armor-piercing shells would penetrate the hull directly, thus reducing the effectiveness.

The side of the Mengchong was almost completely destroyed, and the ship, having lost its balance, gradually disintegrated and sank.

Most of the boats coming down from upstream were destroyed by the forest road.

Lin Dao didn't bother with the few escape boats that were too far away.

He turned the cannon and pointed it at the boat coming downstream.

The boats downstream are moving against the wind and current, moving as slowly as turtles.

The upstream area has been almost completely destroyed, and they are still slowly approaching.

The Yuan soldiers on the ship only saw the ships burning and sinking upstream, and were shocked by the Red Turban Army's powerful fighting force.

Many people wanted to turn the boat around and run away.

However, the Mughal officer on board drew his sword and shouted to stop them, urging the fleet to continue.

Lin Dao waited a little longer to let them get closer.

The Red Turban Army's fishing boat fleet passed by the sandbar and cheered towards the forest road.

The cannons on the Shilka River spewed flames once again.

The slower speed of the downstream fleet meant that they could fire more accurately and take more shells.

The boats and yachts that rushed forward first were basically destroyed after being hit by a few shots.

Even cannonballs that land in the water can destroy the hull with their explosive force, causing the ship to take on water and sink.

The raging barrage of bullets swept through like a tornado.

Small boat, big boat, fast boat, slow boat.

Under the cannon's muzzle, all ships are equal.

The Yuan fleet downstream held out for less than a quarter of an hour before the unattacked ships quickly turned around and fled.

At this moment, Lin Dao pointed his cannons at the warships that were gradually exposing their broadsides.

A single ship carries at least several hundred people, making it an extremely high-value target.

The unluckiest ship was hit in the hull by more than ten high-explosive shells.

The middle section exploded and tore apart, the keel broke instantly, and the entire ship broke into two pieces from the middle.

The Yuan soldiers who had miraculously survived the fall into the water watched in horror as the two ships capsized, burying them in the water and gradually dragging them to the bottom of the river.

“This, this, this~~~”

On the fishing boat, Li Shanchang, unusually, lost his composure and his hands trembled.

A pair of small eyes looked from upstream to downstream, finally settling on the Shilka River, which was spewing flames on the sandbar.

"Terrifying!"

"That's terrifying!"

Hu Weiyong, who was on the same fishing boat, simply slumped down on the boat.

He shook his head repeatedly, "How could such a divine artifact exist in this world? It must be a divine artifact from the celestial realm!"

"King Ming~"

"The King of Light~"

"Truly a celestial being descended to earth~~~"

Li Shanchang forced himself to calm down and wanted to say a few words in rebuttal.

But when the words were on the tip of my tongue, I didn't know how to begin.

This kind of divine power, which can be described as devastating, is indeed beyond the scope of imagination.

"The King of Light is so powerful."

Hu Weiyong was clearly frightened.

Watching the tattered wood and scraps of cloth constantly drifting across the river, he lowered his voice and said, "It is our blessing to be able to serve the Ming King."

"It's natural."

Li Shanchang understood his meaning: "I am willing to serve the Ming King."

"But we also need room to realize our ambitions."

He paused, then looked back at the Shilka River.

There was some uncertainty in his words.

"How to realize our aspirations requires further careful consideration."

Hu Weiyong nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, we need to consider this carefully!"

(End of this chapter)