Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 1243 People are the greatest wealth

Faced with the high city of Danzhou Prefecture, the two had no good way to take the city and could only temporarily confront the pirates while waiting for Lin Feng's latest orders.

The Zhenxi No. 2 was moored on the riverbank, thirty miles from the Danzhou City Wharf.

Lin Feng and Captain Cao Chuhang stood on the deck, using their telescopes to observe the situation on the dock.

More detailed intelligence still needs to be sent by Wei Bao's cavalry, which is why Lin Feng has no further plans for the time being.

"Your Highness, let's use the old method: blow up their ships and force the pirates to withdraw from Danzhou."

After observing for a while through the telescope, Cao Chuhang spoke.

Lin Feng pondered for a moment and said, "We've already bombed them once, so the pirates must have developed defensive measures. Going into the water to approach the ships again would probably be very risky."

Cao Chuhang said confidently, "Your Highness, we have underwater equipment. The Water Ghost Team is invincible underwater. Why should we be afraid of their defenses?"

"Surprise is the key to victory; I cannot accept too many casualties."

Cao Chuhang sighed, "In this world, only Your Highness cares about the lives of us soldiers. It is the greatest honor of my life to be able to fight alongside Your Highness."

Ye Liangcai spoke up from the side, saying, "The soldiers' lives have been saved, but a large amount of money is needed to make up for it."

Lin Feng shook his head: "Do you know that in this world, people are the greatest wealth? Without people, what else is there to talk about?"

Everyone nodded in silence.

"Once the scouts bring intelligence and confirm the warships' location, we'll use the range advantage of our artillery to bombard them layer by layer until we force them to retreat from the inland waterways."

Cao Chuhang said worriedly, "Your Highness, we're afraid we don't have enough cannonballs on the ship."

"That's easy. Have someone notify the other warships to concentrate all their ammunition on Zhenxi No. 2 and give it a good beating, just make sure they don't destroy the cannons."

"Yes, Your Highness, but please rest assured."

With the initial battle plan against the pirates finalized, the soldiers on the warships immediately split up to prepare the necessary war supplies.

After the scout battalion delivered the intelligence, Lin Feng finalized the battle plan and then distributed it to Cheng Liang's cavalry battalion and Luo Shidong's Zhennan Army.

The three parties will cooperate to prevent any unusual activity by the pirates.

At the beginning of Shenshi (3-5 PM), two small warships of the Zhenxi Army delivered the ammunition needed for Zhenxi No. 2.

With everything prepared, Cao Chuhang ordered the Zhenxi No. 2 warship to slowly advance and gradually approach the Danzhou dock.

The rangefinder held up a telescope and kept calling out data so that the captain could accurately grasp the distance between the enemy and his own forces.

The two small warships of the Zhenxi Army did not leave either, and became escort ships on both sides of the Zhenxi No. 2.

The pirate warships moored at the dock of Danzhou Prefecture had already received news of the approaching Zhenxi Army warships, and they immediately mobilized all their soldiers.

The transport ships set sail and moved back to make way for the warships to block their path.

The warships carrying cannons were moored at the very front, lined up in a row, ready to use their powerful firepower to block the advance of the Zhenxi Army's warships.

Three miles upstream from the Danzhou Prefecture Wharf, there is a bend in the river. Once you turn the bend, you will find a wide expanse of water.

Dozens of pirate warships were arrayed in the wide river channel. Each of their warships carried four cannons, and together they had over a hundred cannons. It was believed that no warship could withstand their power.

The bend in the river is more than ten feet above the riverbank, and the two sides cannot see each other because of the raised riverbank.

They could only wait until the Zhenxi No. 2 warship rounded the bend before the life-or-death artillery barrage between the two sides began.

Because of the bend in the road, neither the rangefinders nor the gunners could adjust the height of their cannons, let alone accurately strike the other ship.

However, after confirmation, it was found that if Zhenxi No. 2 turned the bend, it would lose its advantage in artillery range and would only be able to compete with the pirate warships in terms of accuracy.

Both sides' land-based cavalry were probing each other's formations, and some even clashed on the riverbank.

Faced with this dilemma, Captain Cao Chuhang could only turn to Lin Feng for help.

Lin Feng was also in a dilemma. If he wanted to gain an advantage by shooting range, he could not get too close to the pirate warships. But if he did not turn the corner, he would not be able to see the enemy, let alone strike accurately.

"Have the scouts provide a more specific location and the approximate distance to the pirate warships."

Lin Feng had great faith in Wei Bao's cavalrymen; they were all all-rounders, capable of a little bit of everything, let alone drawing a sketch.

The pirates were also conducting such reconnaissance; they also needed to keep track of the movements of the Zhenxi Army's warships in real time.

When they were about five miles away from the pirate warships, Lin Feng ordered Zhenxi No. 2 to stop advancing.

After careful consideration, Lin Feng decided to fire the cannon across the mound in front of him.

He plays for stability, no longer considering accuracy.

The sketches sent by the scouts showed that the wide river in front of the Danzhou Wharf was filled with pirate warships, waiting for them to turn the bend.

Zhenxi No. 2 will be subjected to a barrage of hundreds of cannon shots, and it certainly won't be able to withstand more than a few.

With this array, Lin Feng wondered, was precision still necessary?

Even if you fire randomly, you can still hit the pirates' warships with your cannonballs.

The massive Zhenxi No. 2 ship lay sideways on the river, anchored and secured.

Based on the rangers' sketches, the rangers and gunners roughly estimated the direction and distance of the artillery fire and began adjusting the height of the cannons.

To the southeast of the mound, dozens of pirate warships had already formed a battle formation, and the gunners on board were fully loaded, holding torches and awaiting orders.

Their cannons were all aimed at the bend in front of the dock. As soon as the Zhenxi warship appeared, they would immediately fire all their cannons at once, hoping to sink the enemy ship in one round of bombardment.

Neither side could see the other, and both fell silent for a moment, with only the waves continuing to surge downstream.

At the highest deck of the Zhenxi No. 2 warship, Cao Chuhang cautiously inquired.

"Your Highness, everything is ready. Shall we begin the battle?"

Lin Feng nodded: "Let's begin."

Cao Chuhang shouted into the bronze megaphone.

"No test firing needed, eight shots in quick succession, fire!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the ship sink, followed by a muffled thunderous explosion that made his ears ring.

The eight cannons on one side of Zhenxi No. 2 began to bombard the area in turn.

The cannonball traced a fiery arc in the air, flew over the hill, and headed straight for the pirate warships in front of the Danzhou Wharf.

More than thirty pirate warships were arranged in a square formation, occupying a large area of ​​the river. They looked very impressive, but in reality, they made it relatively easier for the shells of Zhenxi No. 2 to hit their targets.

Eight cannonballs exploded among the pirate warships, causing the water to surge and the warships to bob and sway.

Shells hit the water and the ship's hull.

Water and splinters of wood splashed everywhere, eliciting gasps of surprise.

Before the pirates could react, a second round of shelling began.

The commander of the pirate warships was Mizukawa Hide, the only member of the Mizukawa family who had not left. He was highly valued by the Tokugawa and Toyotomi families and was able to command hundreds of ships. He did not want to give up such a promising position.

Being shelled through a mound, they were momentarily stunned. They couldn't see the target, and the distance was too great for their own artillery to retaliate, leaving them only able to passively take the hits.

At this point, even if you wanted to retreat, you couldn't quickly back down.