Tong Guan's attack on Jinzhou was divided into two routes.

They stationed troops all the way to Yunxiang (Yunxian County), and went up the Han River to directly attack Xunyang.

They stationed troops all the way to Zhushan and took the land route to attack Pingli.

Both roads are not very easy to walk, because that large area was called Shangyong eight hundred years ago, but eight hundred years later it will be called... Shennongjia!

There are actually not many Jinzhou rebels.

Zhang Guangdao led 11,000 troops to guard Xunyang, of which 5,000 were naval troops.

Guan Sheng led 6,000 troops to guard Pingli and built a camp between Pingli and Zhushan to defend the dangerous area.

The total military strength is only 17,000, and including the civilians, it is just over 20,000. Because most of them are waterways, the civilians do not need to recruit too many.

However, these more than 10,000 soldiers have been trained for the longest time, starting when Ju Ming attacked Hanzhong.

Most of the soldiers were mountain herbalists and hunters. They collected herbs and hunted at the same time. Crossing the mountains and ridges was considered a walk for them.

(There are also some trained refugees who are young and strong and have escaped from the Nanxiang Basin. The training time of this type of troops can also last up to half a year.)

As for the navy officers and men, half were private salt traders and fishermen, and the remaining half were bandits on the Han River, especially in the Shennongjia area.

The Golden State Rebels, like Hanzhong, focus on a defensive counterattack.

Tong Guan's offensive force, if the rural soldiers on Jingnan Road are included, totaled 73,000.

17,000 versus 73,000!

The two sides took the lead in fighting near Juiyang Town (ancient Shuhe town).

Tong Guan was stationed in Xiangyang and led the troops on the front line. Xin Xing Zong was on the north road and Xin Qi Zong was on the south road.

The Xin family had already taken refuge with Tong Guan twenty years ago. At that time, Tong Guan was not able to command the army alone and only participated in the war as a supervisor.

Xin Xingzong set up camp eighty miles away from Juiyang Town, which was later known as Baihe County.

There was no way to move forward because it was difficult to move a large army along the river bank, so ships had to be used to transport troops.

After completely defeating or suppressing the rebel navy, Xin Xingzong dared to use ships to transport troops on a large scale, otherwise the entire army would be annihilated if there was even the slightest mistake.

"We must capture it as soon as possible. Master Tong is waiting in Xiangyang!" Xin Xingzong said to He Guan.

He Guan's qualifications actually far surpassed that of Xin Xingzong, but his relationship with Tong Guan was not that close.

He Guan said: "Those sailors need to train for another month."

Xin Xingzong said: "Master Tong can't wait."

He Guan could no longer disobey the order, so he had no choice but to lead the officers and soldiers towards Juiyang Town.

Most of the warships in his hands were modified from cauldrons.

In order to transport grain and flowers and stones, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty frantically built water ships over the years. In the fourth year of Zhenghe alone, 6,700 water ships were built across the south, and the shipbuilding industry in the Northern Song Dynasty reached its peak.

However, corruption is serious and the quality of the ships is worrying.

After deciding to conquer the Zhu Pi, the imperial court ordered a large number of warships to be renovated, and it was Zhu Meng who was responsible for this.

A total of 300 warships were renovated, 200 of which were transferred to attack Jinzhou, and the other 100 were transferred to attack Kuimen.

He Guan not only had a large number of warships, but also a large tonnage: 1 warship with a 500-year charge, 10 warships with a 300-year charge, 50 warships with a 200-load charge, and 139 warships with a 100-load charge.

Some small warships within a hundred materials.

Most of the warships of the Jinzhou Rebels were converted merchant ships: 1 warship with a capacity of 300 yuan, 15 warships with a capacity of 200 yuan, and 37 warships with a capacity of 100 yuan. There are also many small ships with a capacity of less than 100 yuan, and there are even those

The several-meter-long "Heifengzhai Main Battleship".

On the Han River, officers, soldiers and navy warships came in a mighty manner with their sails fully set.

With this quantity and tonnage, without doing anything else, the rebel navy can be defeated in a collision.

But He Guan was always worried because the officers and soldiers of the Navy had not practiced much.

Some of them came from the Tiger Wing Navy (Forbidden Army), which initially recruited soldiers from the Jianghuai River. Later, the fathers died and their sons gradually succeeded, and the soldiers were basically not trained. The warships were used by the generals to do business, and they only performed for the emperor during the Dragon Boat Festival every year.

Some Gang troops, Cao troops, and patrol troops from various places are usually collecting taxes or running transportation.

Anyway, after Zhu Meng renovated the warships and sent sailors from various places, he temporarily formed a navy. What He Guan took over was these damn things.

Zhang Guangdao stood on the wall of the earthen fort, observing the enemy's situation with a telescope. Looking at the warships covering the river, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "The imperial court is indeed rich and powerful. What is the navy in my hand? Get ready to fire!"

"

Some of the extremely shabby rebel navy were hiding in the Feishui River, and some were hiding in the Han River further upstream.

He Guan stood at the bow of the ship and could not see any signs of the enemy, and he suddenly became more vigilant.

"Boom boom boom boom..."

There are six cannons made of pig iron in Hanzhong and four in Yangzhou, but there are eight here!

Shells flew from both sides of the bank without warning, splashing water continuously.

Due to the large number of officers and soldiers' warships and their large size, eight artillery shells were fired, and two of them actually hit.

what's the situation?

He Guan was startled. He thought it was a catapult attacking, but the bandits' artillery cart must have hit too far.

No matter what, you must keep moving forward.

He Guan had two tasks: to search for and defeat the rebel navy, and to transport the vanguard to seize a foothold.

It's just a catapult, it can be withstood for the time being.

The sailors on the two battleships that were hit were horrified at this moment. One of them was severely damaged, with a hole in the waterline, and it was taking on water crazily and could sink at any time.

The guide was very frightened and suggested: "General He, go back three or four miles and there is flat land by the river. You can set up camp there. There is no need to sail forward."

Before He Guan could say anything, the lookout sent word: "There is a warship flagging, and they are sinking!"

"Stand back a few miles!"

He Guan asked someone to fly the command flag, and the officers and soldiers on the warships furled their sails one after another, rowed and began to retreat.

Three or four miles back, there was a village by the river. All the people had fled long ago, and there was no one in the village.

Three thousand vanguard troops set up camp after landing.

He Guan took a small boat to check the situation of the warship. Before he could get close, the soldiers on the ship jumped into the water one after another.

After lifting the soldiers out of the water, He Guan asked, "Why did it sink so suddenly?"

The general in charge of the ship said: "There was a big hole in the side."

One couldn't understand what he was saying, and the other couldn't understand what he was hearing.

He Guan asked if any other warships were damaged, and was soon taken to another ship.

They saw that the bow of the ship was smashed to pieces. They asked what it was that was hit by something, but none of the soldiers could answer.

Just guessing out of thin air, where can you come up with it?

After the camp was set up and the vanguard troops were stationed in, He Guan immediately sent out some warships to return and cooperate with the merchant ships there to transport the large troops in batches.

Xin Xingzong led his army to arrive by boat and asked, "Have you defeated the bandit navy yet?"

He Guan explained the situation, and Xin Xingzong also felt strange.

Another day, more than 20 small rebel boats rowed near the officers and soldiers camp to provoke.

Xin Xingzong said: "Hurry up and destroy the bandit navy, so that our army can safely cross the river and attack the stronghold."

He Guan immediately boarded the ship to direct the battle. He was about to catch up to the place where he was bombarded that day. He ordered the sails to be lowered and the ship to wait for orders. He only sent a few 200-ton warships to continue the pursuit.

There was no movement from the artillery this time, because the warships of the officers and soldiers were too small, and there were only ten of them. The hit rate of the artillery was not high, so there was no need to waste gunpowder and shells.

However, there were catapults and other warships getting closer and closer, and countless flat cannons began to throw stones.

Moreover, more rebel warships entered the Han River from Feishui River.

More than 40 small rebel boats with dozens of materials, like a pack of wolves attacking tigers, rushed towards several official warships with 200 materials.

He Guan waited and waited, but did not see the strange "gun truck", so he dispatched 40 large ships to support the friendly forces.

How could the rebels dare to engage in battle? The boat was so small that it turned around and ran very fast for a while.

"Boom boom boom!"

Eight rounds were fired, all missing.

But as the government warships got closer and closer to the earthen fort, countless flat cannons were fired, but two rocks hit it.

The warships of these officers and soldiers all cut corners and were built using very cheap wood.

Not only can you be greedy when building a ship, but you can also continue to build ships and continue to be greedy.

The hull of the ship was hit by a catapult, causing a large hole to open.

"Nothing!"

He Guan ordered more warships to move forward, because the place where the Feishui River merged into the Han River was very suitable for a two-sided attack. The rebels must have set up an ambush, and the little force they just invested was not enough to win.
To be continued...