Like Chai Guozhu, Li Hualong's mood was naturally very bad.
As he walked, he saw the masterpieces left behind by the Zhennan Army on both sides of the canal. When he reached the Yangtze River and observed the Zhennan Army navy on the other side, he couldn't help but be shocked by the size of this navy.
The size of this navy was truly too large. He had never seen such a large navy. With this navy lying across the river, it was almost impossible for him to cross the river from the front.
Unless he used warships to defeat this navy, even if he could gather the small wooden boats to transport soldiers across the river, it would be impossible for him to cross the river, as long as this navy still had the ability to fight.
As long as this navy still had fighting power, there was no need to doubt their fighting power.
"Supervisor, if this navy is on the surface of the river, how are we going to charge over?"
Li Hualong's trusted aides all felt shocked and uneasy, vexed and worried for this navy.
Start building a new navy now?
Thinking too much, it was impossible financially, and building a navy took a long time. Also, the reliable shipyards were all in the south, and the south was controlled by the Zhennan Army navy. There was nothing they could do.
Using transport boats to create a temporary navy?
Not to mention the problem of numbers, could a temporary fleet really defeat a professional navy?
Li Hualong couldn't help but start to worry about the aftermath of this battle.
At least he already knew that if he didn't destroy this navy, he wouldn't be able to truly open up the canal. If he didn't destroy this navy and allowed it to continue cruising on the river, even if they recaptured Zhennan Prefecture and opened up the grain route, this navy could attack the grain route at any time, and the grain route would never be stable.
Without food to eat, the court would be anxious.
"Let's go back!"
Li Hualong directly brought people back to Yangzhou City and then gathered all the officials of Yangzhou.
"How many ships can you take out? If you gather all the ships along the canal, can you take out five hundred ships? "
Li Hualong asked directly.
The prefectural magistrate of Yangzhou looked at the officials under his command who were in charge of transportation. These officials calculated for a moment and reported a vague figure of around eight hundred. Of course, this was not the total number of warships, but the total of all kinds of ships and small fishing boats.
"Most of the ships are in Jiangnan. We don't have many ships that we can use here, but if we send people north to search and requisition all the ships along the canal, we should have more."
A transport official said.
"Supervisor, could it be that you plan to use the transport ships to fight against the navy's warships?"
The magistrate of Yangzhou looked embarrassed.
"Let's not talk about fighting. Even transporting troops across the river requires boats. My original plan was to send a group of troops to help you defend Yangzhou to the death. I'll take my troops across the river and directly attack Nanjing. I'll fight the rebels on land! But the imperial court insisted on protecting Yangzhou, and this is the result! "
Speaking of this matter, Li Hualong became even angrier. He angrily rebuked the magistrate of Yangzhou until he could not even lift his head.
"Let's collect the ships first. We'll deal with the rest later …"
"Supervisor! The rebel navy has invaded! "
On the afternoon of the eighteenth of September, the Zhennan Army Navy swaggered into the northern waterway of the canal and headed straight for Yangzhou Prefecture. Along the way, they used Francis guns to bombard the posts and newly installed defenses on both sides of the river. When the imperial court's troops heard the news and came over, the Zhennan Army Navy went back.
Along the way, they fired cannons to bombard the shore. The imperial soldiers who could not escape in time were bombarded and suffered many losses. When the navy once again entered the Yangtze waterway, they swaggered along the northern shore. The imperial court's troops on the northern shore were so angry that they pushed the cannons and wanted to fight the navy.
The Zhennan Army Navy decisively retreated back to the southern shore.
When Li Hualong learned that the Zhennan Army Navy had launched a surprise attack, destroying the coastal posts and defenses that he had painstakingly arranged, and causing two to three hundred casualties, he was so angry that he blew his beard and glared at them.
This time, Li Hualong directly ordered the generals of the army to collect all the Francis guns, catapults, and long-range weapons such as ballistae to be placed along the shore for the soldiers from the Godly Arms Battalion to use. When they saw the Zhennan Army Navy coming over, they would be bombarded intensively and would not allow the Zhennan Army Navy to enter the waterway again.
After waiting for the imperial court's troops on the northern shore to arrange the defenses, the next morning, the Zhennan Army Navy attacked again. The imperial court's troops on the northern shore were full of confidence and prepared to fire, but in the end, the Zhennan Army Navy fired their cannons from a distance.
Their cannons were accurate. Before the imperial court's cannons on the northern shore could fire, the Zhennan Army Navy had already fired their cannons. Countless iron balls smashed onto the imperial court's head. The imperial court's cannons tried to retaliate, but found that their cannonballs could not reach the naval warships at all.
What was going on?
The officers of the Godly Arms Battalion looked at each other.
After a few rounds of fire, the navy successfully silenced the imperial court's firepower.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, a group of marines landed on the northern shore and easily defeated the imperial court's troops who were participating in the battle on the shore. They beheaded five to six hundred people and seized more than thirty Francis guns and a large number of gunpowder cannonballs. Then, they swaggered back to their ships.
By the time Li Hualong rushed over with his army, flustered and exasperated, the Zhennan Army Navy was cruising on the river again.
Their leisurely manner made it feel as if they were mocking them. Li Hualong was so angry that his entire face turned red.
That was not all. When Li Hualong led his troops to the northern shore, the Zhennan Army Navy seemed to have discovered something. More than ten ships kept attacking the northern shore, and then another round of bombardment. Li Hualong's trusted aides were so frightened that they immediately protected Li Hualong and left the northern shore.
Li Hualong was unable to retaliate, and the Zhennan Army Navy's attacks were going smoothly no matter how they fought. They suffered great losses a few times in a row, and now that they had suffered a heavy loss of firearms, Li Hualong had no choice but to mobilize more firearms from the surrounding prefectures to the Yangzhou Prefecture to support himself.
At the same time, he decided to adopt a more conservative method, which was to seal off the estuary and then extend the defenses along the shore backward so that the Zhennan Army Navy would not be able to enter the waterway. At the same time, they would not be able to attack the imperial court's troops on the northern shore. This would buy them time to rebuild the transport ships.
If they were beaten like this every day, within a few days, their morale would be completely destroyed. The Zhennan Army did not even need to attack themselves. The soldiers would become frightened birds that would be difficult to control. This was something Li Hualong was very clear about.
Therefore, Li Hualong and his subordinates discussed how to seal off the estuary, such as sunken ships or using iron chains to seal off the river's surface. However, the prerequisite was that the canal could not be completely damaged, because they still needed to rely on the canal to transport food. Irreversible damage was not an option.
The Yangzhou Prefectural Magistrate told him with a bitter face that they had tried all these methods, but they were all useless.
The sunken ships had been salvaged by the Zhennan Army after they seized control of the shore, and the iron chains had been dismantled by the Zhennan Army after they repelled the troops on the shore. It did not hinder them at all.
Moreover, the Jinghang Canal could not be completely destroyed. Otherwise, there would be no meaning for them to fight here.
Faced with such a situation, Li Hualong fell into a deep dilemma.
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