Wu Chaoyue wanted to fight in Tianjia Town and control the Hubei Navy under Du Xing'a; Du Xing'a wanted to fight the Taiping Army at Jiu 14 Hukou, and Hua Shana ordered Wu Chaoyue's lifeline steam gunship to Jiujiang to participate in the war and hand it over to Du Xing'a command.

Two completely different requests were sent one after another, and Hua Shana, who was fighting wits and courage in Hunan and the Taiping Army, promised Wu Chaoyue to offend Du Xing'a and had to hand over more military power to Wu Chaoyue, who was extremely guarded by the Qing court; Wu Chaoyue was definitely unhappy to agree, and might not agree. The wolf in front of him and the tiger behind him, and the palms and backs of his hands were flesh. In a dilemma, Hua Shana, who was always smooth, had a headache.

At the critical moment, Dai Wenjie, a trusted staff member of Shana, made important suggestions in a timely manner and said: "Yu Zhong, I think you cannot consider personnel at this time, you can only give priority to military affairs. Changmao advances westward and drives all the steamships to the western front. The situation is critical. Once the navy makes any mistakes, the gateway to the hinterland of Hubei will be opened immediately. So I think that at this time, you cannot consider who you are unhappy with whom you offend. You should give priority to whom you are most confident in handing over the army."

Dai Wenjie's words finally made Hua Shana make up his mind and asked Hua Shana to immediately write down two official documents, one for Du Xing'a and order Du Xing'a to lead Hubei out of the provincial army to accept Wu Chaoyue's order; the other for Wu Chaoyue, and order Wu Chaoyue to command the decisive battle. However, while sending these two official documents with a fast horse, Hua Shana was also worried and said to himself: "I don't know if it's time, and I don't know if Du Xing'a will give me a general to supervise my orders outside. If so, then the trouble will be great."

…………

Fortunately, there was still time. Because the Taiping Army had to adapt to changing warships and upgrading equipment, Hua Shana ordered Wu Chaoyue to command the decisive battle to be sent to the capital of Hubei Province, the main force of the Taiping Army Navy, who had been replaced, had not yet left Pengze. Wu Chaoyue had just boarded the Daode and was preparing to lead the Wu Navy to set off.

Seeing that Hua Shana agreed to let him command the decisive battle, Wu Chaoyue quickly sent an order to Du Xinga with a clutch, ordering Du Xinga to lead the Hubei navy to retreat to Tianjia Town immediately, and ordered Wang Guocai to continue to help defend Jiujiang, so as not to deliberately refuse to chase Tianjia Town, and choose to attack Jiujiang brigade and attack the aid.

Coincidentally, when Hua Shana and Wu Chaoyue's orders were sent to Du Xing'a, the scouts rushed to send the news that the Taiping Navy had already set off from Pengze. Faced with these two changes, Du Xing'a, who had just been deprived of the front-line command, looked very ugly. The Qing generals who Du Xing'a believed in were all gloomy, and they were all extremely dissatisfied with Hua Shana's decision.

Depressed, Liu Liansheng, the deputy general whom Du Xing A trusted, openly vented: "Huafa Tai is partial! Although we have not won any big victory in Jiujiang, we can fight against Changmao Navy's army with the strength of the province's navy, and we still fight with Changmao Navy. We have some advantages. Why should Huafa Tai deprive you of Du Junmen? Is it only Wu Futai in Hubei who can fight? We are all wine bags?"

Liu Liansheng took the lead, Wu Guo, Qishou and Zhan Qilun and other naval generals also agreed, all of whom believed that Hua Shana looked down on Du Xinga too much and looked down on Hubei Navy! To be honest, the Hubei Navy under Du Xinga's troops was indeed good. Even if they had no experience in water battles, they could not suffer any major losses to fight against the main force of the Taiping Navy. They were definitely outstanding among the regular Qing army everywhere.

Only Bao Chao, who had learned the lesson, raised objections and persuaded: "Du Junmen, it's better to listen to the orders of Hua Jiantai and Wu Futai. They are all for your own good. We don't have a steamship in Changmao. The terrain and fortifications in Tianjia Town are also beneficial to us. If we withdraw Tianjia Town and Changmao, we will have a greater grasp."

It would be fine if Bao Chao didn't persuade him. After hearing Bao Chao's persuasion, Du Xing'a, who was already angry, immediately burst out and smashed the table and roared: "What if there is a long haired steamer? Am I scared? Just three steamer ships can scare me to death and quickly escape back to Tianjia Town to find the fort there to protect it? There is a fort in Tianjia Town, and isn't there a Balijiang here?"

Bao Chao, who stood in the wrong team several times, kept silent and did not dare to persuade him anymore. Wuguo, Qishou and others shouted even more violently, and they all thought that there was no need to be too afraid of the Taiping Army's steam gunship. Finally, Yichang Wuguo also encouraged: "Dujun Gate, why not do this? We will reply to Wu Futai that the Changmao Navy suddenly approached. We did not have time to retreat calmly, and we could not carry the mainland soldiers of the Balijiang Fort across the river. We could only continue to stick to the Balijiang Camp and could not retreat."

"Good idea!" Liu Liansheng shouted: "Still insist on not retreating first. With the cover of the fort on the shore of Balijiang, it is of course the best to win a battle with Changmao. Even if Changmao is strong, it is difficult to win for a while. As long as we defend Balijiang, it can prove that Balijiang is also suitable for a decisive battle with Changmao! At that time, do you still insist on fighting with Changmao in Tianjia Town?"

"Good idea, that's what it should be done."

Several confidant generals agreed, all of whom tried their best to encourage Du Xing A to resist the order. Du Xing A was the first to spark Shana to replace the front-line coach for no reason, and second, he really couldn't swallow this breath. He wanted Hua Shana and Wu Chaoyue to see if they were someone they could underestimate. He gritted his teeth and made up his mind, slapped the table and shouted: "Just do it! Don't withdraw!"

"Du Junmen, this..."

As soon as he shouted with a trembling voice, Bao Chao was immediately surrounded by the fierce gazes of Liu Liansheng, Wu Guo and others. He was forced to swallow back the words of persuasion that he had not finished speaking. He complained in his heart and said in his heart: "It's over, this time the trouble is so big. Could it be that we really have to destroy the ship and run away in the future?"

On the afternoon of that day, Wang Fu sent someone to urge Du Xing'a to withdraw his troops. Du Xing'a did have excuses that the Taiping Army had come from Pengze and could not retreat in a hurry, and insisted on stationing in Balijiang. Wang Fu heard the news and was so desperate that he could not retreat, but he had no choice but to make preparations for retreat, and sent a clutch to Wu Chaoyue. Yang Wending, Wang Guocai and others complained when they heard the news, but they also had no choice but to use Du Xing'a.

After a day of delay, the next morning, the main force of the Taiping Navy returned to the Hukou battlefield. Unlike before departure, the Xiaoba Ship, which was once the main warship of the Taiping Army but had weak firepower, was almost nowhere to be seen in the Taiping Navy. Instead, it was replaced by a large number of military sampans. This kind of warship can transport ten soldiers and equip sails. It has wind and no wind paddles. It is light and flexible. It is not only the Xiaoba Ship's firepower that is far better than the Xiaoba Ship's ship's sidewall. It is an auxiliary warship that has been proven to be effective in the Yangtze River water battle. Not only the Hunan Navy, but also the Wu Navy has equipped a large number of such warships to protect the near side of the main warship.

By the way, the iron of the bow guns equipped by the Taiping Army's sampans came from Wu Chaoyue's Daye Iron Factory. The technology used when casting cannons was also the iron mold casting method that Hong Renyi learned in Daye with Wu Chaoyue's acquiesce. Otherwise, the Taiping Army would not have found so many qualified irons in a short time and cast so many bow cannons.

In addition to military sampans, there are also a large number of tow ships in the main forces of the Taiping Navy. Although this tow ship is a bit bulky, it can be equipped with four medium-sized artillery and is the main firepower output force in water warfare. As for the ships such as Longlong Crab that were once imitated by the Taiping Army, they were also eliminated in the Taiping Army Navy because they exposed their fatal weaknesses such as being too bulky and weak in firepower in actual combat. After the Hunan Navy and the Wu Navy, they were also eliminated in the Taiping Army Navy.

The most eye-catching thing is of course the three steam paddle-wheel gunships purchased by the Taiping Army for a large sum of money. Although the displacement of 600 tons is not large, it is not even as good as the Zhongsheng and Renyi of the Wu Navy. However, the long whistle and the rolling smoke were lit up and flowing against the water. These three steam gunships still snatched the sight of everyone on both sides of the Yangtze River. In this regard, the Taiping Army soldiers on the south bank were of course cheering and excited, while the Qing soldiers on the north bank were in awe and could not imagine how to deal with this huge monster during the battle.

Looking at the Taiping Army's steam gunship in the telescope, although Du Xing'a and Liu Liansheng and other Qing generals were eager to pass their eyes through the lens to see, they were extremely envious and angry. Wu Chaoyue refused to drive the steam gunship to Jiujiang to participate in the war, but he kept cheering the Qing soldiers, "No need to be afraid, the steamship will just smoke and will not really spit fire! It's also a wooden boat. As long as our guns can hit, they can still sink with one shot!"

In addition to encouragement, Du Xing'a also considered whether to send troops to intercept it. However, considering that the main force of the Taiping Army's navy was dispatched in full swing, the morale was in high spirits after replacing the new ship, and there were also a daunting steam gunship in the lineup, Du Xing'a still gave up the idea of ​​launching a decisive battle here, and the danger was too small.

Of course, we can't just watch the Taiping Navy pass by the edge of the self-defense zone. With a cautious situation, Duxinga sent twenty sampans to attack to harass the flanks of the Taiping Navy that were crossing the Balijiang River. The purpose was not to expect the twenty sampans to achieve any results, but we just wanted to lure the Taiping Navy to dispatch a brigade to fight, lure the Taiping Navy into the range of the Qing army's shore artillery, and suddenly attack the Taiping Navy with shore artillery.

Of course, if the Taiping Army's steam gunship could be attracted, Du Xing'a would definitely be so smiling that he couldn't even close his mouth.

Unfortunately, the Taiping Army was not deceived. Seeing the Qing army's sampan attack, the Taiping Army only divided 30 sampans to fight, and some sampans were on guard. The main brigade continued to cross the Balijiang position from outside the Qing army's shore artillery range in an orderly manner. At the same time, while the sampans were fighting, the Qing army's shore artillery, who was eager to achieve success, could not wait to fire and bombard. As a result, the light and flexible enemy sampan failed to hit one of them. On the contrary, the number of Qing army's shore artillery was exposed, which gave Wei Jun, who was skilled in water war, probably felt at ease.

After successfully crossing the Bali River, the main force of the Taiping Navy quickly returned to the self-army camp in Poyang Lake. Lin Qirong personally went to the dock to welcome Wei Jun back, and couldn't wait to board the steam gunship to visit and look at this and that curiously, and was filled with excitement and joy. As a result, after Lin Qirong had seen enough, Wei Jun smiled and asked Lin Qirong about the latest changes in the enemy situation.

"Wuchang news, Chaoyue Xiao Yao has personally led the steamship to set off to the east." Lin Qirong answered truthfully: "In addition to the two battalions of Wu Yao Navy, there are four battalions of the Super Demon Soldiers. Calculate the distance, if it is fast, it will be late to arrive in Tianjia Town tomorrow."

"In addition, the Qing Yao in Tianjia Town is also actively preparing for the war. The Hengjiang iron chain has been raised again, with as many as ten. A large number of water fortifications have been established on the iron chain and countless mines have been placed. In addition, the Qing Yao has also built two new deep-water docks and a large number of ordinary docks in the Makou area upstream of Tianjia Town. If you guess correctly, the two deep-water docks should be prepared for Wu Yao's steamship."

Wei Jun laughed and said, "As expected, I really want to fight with us in Tianjia Town again, but it's a pity that I just don't want you to get what you want, I must pull you to Jiujiang to fight."

After laughing, Wei Jun quickly asked: "Have you found out the reason why the Qing Yao naval master Du Xing'a's main force was stationed in Balijiang? How could the Super Little Demon set up such a strange formation? While preparing for the battle in Tianjia Town, he deployed the main force of Du Yao to Balijiang?"

"The specific reason has not been found out yet." Lin Qirong replied: "But he heard the rumors that it was Yang Lao Yao from Jiujiang and the others who seemed to object to Du Yao doing this, but Du Yao just refused to listen. There is another strange thing. The three battalions of Wu Yao Navy stationed in Shanjiazhou had loaded all the food, grass and military supplies yesterday, as if they were ready to set off at any time."

"Where is the Qing Yao from Balijiang?" Wei Jun quickly pointed to the north, "Are you ready for retreat?"

"No." Lin Qirong replied: "Not only did not, but in the evening of last year, the Qing Yao also transported a batch of food, grass and ammunition from Jiujiang to Balijiang, as if he was going to prepare for a long-term garrison."

"The Super Little Demon is preparing for war in Tianjia Town. Wu Yao Navy is preparing for retreat, but Du Yao Navy is preparing to station for a long time. There are rumors on the side of Old Demon Yang, and it seems that he is very dissatisfied with Du Yao stationed in Balijiang. Why is this happening? How is this happening...?"

After pondering and analyzing for a while, a great possibility suddenly jumped out of Wei Jun's mind, which made Wei Jun blurt out: "Can you say that the demon has a conflict with the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the demon of the mantra and plan to do it alone by himself?"

Wei Jun reminded that Lin Qirong, who had long been suspicious of the strange deployment method of the Qing army naval forces, also woke up immediately and said happily: "There is this possibility! This may be very large. Otherwise, the Du Yao Navy would have given up Balijiang and withdrawn to Tianjia Town. It is impossible to transport grain and ammunition to Balijiang again!"

"It seems that God's Father is blessed. Our luck is coming." Wei Jun couldn't help but say, "Even if this is a trick that surpasses the little demon, he is not afraid. His troops are too dispersed, and it is inconvenient to contact and rescue each other. We have loopholes to exploit."

"Prime Minister Wei, what should we do?" Lin Qirong asked quickly: "Does we have to attack Balijiang, surrounded the points and attacked the supporters, and forced the Wu Yao Navy to leave Tianjia Town and come to Jiujiang to fight us in a decisive battle?"

"You can't do this!" Wei Jun flatly refused, "Not to mention that the surpassing the little demon is too cunning, we will definitely see through our attempt to surround the points and attack support. Balijiang alone is not that easy to fight."

"I have noticed just now that the number of shore cannons in the Balijiang Qingyao is very large, and the water flow in Balijiang is also very unfavorable to us. Even if we succeed in the frontal attack, the losses will definitely not be small. If we want to deal with Du Yao Navy, the best way for us is to get him out and fight him on the river surface, so that we can grasp the greatest possible outcome."

Lin Qirong nodded and asked Wei Jun curiously what to do, but Wei Jun stopped answering, but a mysterious smile appeared on the corner of his mouth...

…………

At the same time, Wang Fu, the chief general of the Wu army, sent people to Du Xing'a again, and almost begged Du Xinga to withdraw from the camp and retreat in a pleading tone, and followed him to prepare for war. However, Du Xinga still refused flatly and said, "Can't retreat! The main force of the Changmao Navy has returned to Hukou. I will retreat at this time. What should I do if the Changmao Navy takes the opportunity to launch a surprise attack?"

"I don't understand, why do you have to withdraw from Tianjia Town to fight?" Yi Changwuguo also took the opportunity to say, "Didn't your scouts see the situation today? The Changmao Navy did not dare to approach our Balijiang position at all. What is the difference between fighting here in Balijiang and fighting in Tianjia Town?"

"Yes." Liu Liansheng also shouted: "If you withdraw to Tianjia Town and attack, Jiujiang's brothers will still face the danger of being isolated. If we leave, Changmao will not attack Tianjia Town and turn around and attack Jiujiang. How can Jiujiang's food, grass, military supplies and ammunition be sent to the city?"

Wang Fu's messenger left helplessly. Wu Guo, Liu Liansheng and others laughed. Du Xing'a was calm on the surface, but he was very proud in his heart. He said to himself: "Weiting, since you look down on me so much, I must let you see this time. We fight the tigers are not only heroes on land, but also heroes on the water!"

Du Xing's insistence on disobeying made Wang Fu, the leader of the Wu army's naval division, fall into a dilemma. He left Du Xing's troops to retreat alone, and he was even more worried. If he didn't retreat, he would violate Wu Chaoyue's order. Wang Fu, who had been promoted from a small whistleman to this position by Wu Chaoyue himself, certainly did not dare to do this. In a dilemma, Wang Fu had to wait patiently, waiting for Wu Chaoyue's reply to Du Xing's Kangling. When he was already ready for retreat, he was forced to waste another precious night in Shanjiazhou.

The night was very difficult for Wang Fu, but it was easy for Du Xinga to spend it. As a result, in the early morning of the next day, just as Du Xinga was having breakfast with the soldiers, the scouts from Hukou came to report that the Taiping Navy had already launched a large-scale move and was coming to the mouth of Poyang Lake. Du Xinga smiled and hurriedly greeted the soldiers under his command: "Hurry up, hurry up and have a meal, and then take your place immediately and prepare to entertain Changmao!"

The soldiers of the Xiangyang Navy, who had gradually developed, cheered and agreed, and accelerated their meals, put down their bowls and returned to the team to prepare for the battle, and calmly prepared for the battle. As a result, when the soldiers of the Xiangyang Navy were fully in place, the main force of the Taiping Army's navy had just sailed out of Hukou.

While being extremely satisfied with the performance of his own soldiers, Du Xinga couldn't wait to start thinking about how to fight the Taiping Army with fierce artillery fire. However, less than a long time, another scout rushed to Du Xinga and loudly reported the latest developments of the Taiping Navy. As a result, just after hearing the whereabouts of the Taiping Navy, Du Xinga's face suddenly turned pale as paper and screamed in shock...
Chapter completed!