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Dark Palm Jiaozhi Chapter 56: Big Brawl

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    The situation seemed to be like this, but the strange behavior of the Northern Route Army and the abnormal surrender of the town by the Heping Mansion left Monk Zhou Shixiong at a loss.  He always felt that there was something fishy here, but he couldn't figure out what it was, and he couldn't feel at ease.

    The Le Chao army that occupied Ninh Binh City in Nam Dinh Prefecture took a short rest and then surrounded Nam Dinh City again.  This time they brought weapons and artillery that could withstand ultra-long-range crossbows.  Originally, Zheng Zhuang had no intention of exposing his secret weapon so early. His idea was to seize Henan Prefecture, then use gunboats to directly attack Thang Long Prefecture, quickly break down Zheng Zai's resistance, and seize Thang Long Prefecture, the capital of the Vietnamese Dynasty, at the minimum cost.

    Unexpectedly, he encountered an army with ultra-long-range lethality in Nading City, forcing him to reveal his secret weapon in advance.  Eight small Arab warships equipped with four nine-pound guns slowly sailed into the mouth of the Red River and docked east of Nanding City.  If Zhou Shixiong were at the scene, he would definitely recognize it. Isn't this a junk warship from the Age of Discovery?

    Because the distance was too far, Nading City could not be hit directly by firing cannons from the ship, so Zheng Du ordered people to disassemble ten cannons and transport them to the Dongcheng Gate.  Nanding City, which had never experienced artillery bombardment, failed to withstand the test of artillery. After two days of fierce fighting, some of the defenders abandoned the city and fled, while some of the defenders surrendered in Kaicheng, and Nanding City fell.

    It was half a month after Zhou Shixiong saw the battle report. He learned that Zhou Er had led 5,000 Lang Son troops to safely evacuate Nanding City, re-defense in Fucheng, Henan, and sent someone to send Zhou Shixiong the latest battle report.

    "It's dangerous." Zhou Shixiong felt more and more that the situation was not good. If Fucheng in Henan could not withstand artillery bombardment, wouldn't Zheng Zhuang be singing all the way to crush his opponents!  Zhou Shixiong immediately sent someone to deliver a message to Zhou Er, telling him how to reduce the lethality of artillery.  In order to find a deck that could withstand artillery projectiles, a group of craftsmen in the craftsman camp used their brains to think of many ways. One of them was to use a flat bamboo basket to hold sand. The effect was very good. If it were not for the weight, Zhou Shixiong would be happy to use it.  A ring of sandbags is hung on the outer wall of the chariot.

    Zhou Shixiong did not hope that this method could save Henan Prefecture, but only hoped that Zheng Zhuang's artillery threat could be blocked in Shenglong Prefecture. At the same time, he began to consider the issue of increasing troops.  Of course, these five thousand infantrymen have no problem defending the city, but their mobility is too poor to carry out rush operations against the enemy.  What Zhou Shixiong hates most is positional warfare. He likes to run around with his troops and destroy enemies on the move.

    There is another reason that prompted Zhou Shixiong to increase his troops. The direct descendants of King Ping An, who are supposed to be the main combat force, have been shrinking in Thang Long Palace. Among the reinforcements, the most powerful soldiers of the three palaces of the Nguyen Phuc family are also stationed in Thang Long Palace.  It means to reinforce Henan Prefecture.  In addition, Beijiang Prefecture soldiers and Taiyuan Prefecture soldiers were stationed in Jian'an City to guard the northern outlet of the Red River, which was very far away from the battlefield.  Only the soldiers from Lang Son Prefecture were stationed on the front line, fighting on the front line with the southern prefectures.  Both Ye Bu Shuying and Ma San's men sent similar information, making it difficult for Zhou Shixiong not to suspect that these two groups were targeting him.

    "Treat me like a soft persimmon!" Zhou Shixiong was very angry. He temporarily gave up the fight and sent troops to fight for them, but he was treated like this. If Zhou Er's five thousand soldiers and horses were not veterans and knew how to protect themselves on the battlefield,  The recruits had already died several times in Nading City.

    Angry is just anger. At this time, no one can gain anything from infighting, but since Zhou Shixiong is angry, he will certainly not let these guys have an easy time.  Zhou Shixiong gave an order to Li Xiaobin, ordering him to lead the night camp and lurk near Ningping City, looking for opportunities to recapture Ningping City.  Once successful, Zhou Shixiong will send people to defend Ningping City and gain the initiative in this internal and external battle.

    Blocking artillery is not as difficult as imagined, but this kind of passive defense can only solve temporary problems. Zhou Shixiong pondered for a long time and came up with a way to solve it once and for all.  That is to capture or destroy Zheng Zhuang's gunboats and completely eliminate his big killer weapon.

    In the narrow waters of the inland river, eight gunboats are invincible.  Zhou Shixiong only had ferries and cargo ships at his disposal, and he really didn't have any weapons that could defeat the gunboats head-on.  How to do it!

    The trick of water ghost piercing is a general tactic, and the opponent will definitely take precautions. If only one gunboat is scuttled, it will have little impact on the entire war.  It is very difficult to scuttle eight gunboats at one time. In addition to requiring a large number of water ghosts, you also need enough luck to ensure that the enemy cannot discover the water ghosts before the eight ships are involved in an accident.  Thinking of water ghosts, Zhou Shixiong naturally thought of diving suits and compressed air. In today's world without rubber products, it is of course impossible to make a diving suit that isolates air, and compressed air bottles cannot be made either.

    Zhou Shixiong scratched his head desperately, trying to find a feasible solution.  Suddenly, Zhou Shixiong remembered that the most primitive submarine seemed to be made of wood and leather.  Zhou Shixiong couldn't restrain his excitement and greeted Gao Fu that he was going to Li's Villa for a few days, then galloped to the craftsman camp.

    Arriving at the craftsman camp, Tie Yong was surprised by the dusty master of the palace, "Master Ji, why did you come here in person?"

      "Master Tie, I have thought of a boat that can sail underwater. Of course I am here to ask all the craftsmen to help make it." Zhou Shixiong was not familiar with the internal structure of submarines, but the appearance was very clear. He did not know about diving.  There are probably not many modern people who are captains of boats.

    Zhou Shixiong quickly drew a picture of the submarine and marked various requirements, such as being able to sail underwater, being able to submerge and surface, being able to breathe underwater, etc.  Tie Yong had already summoned a group of carpenters and cobblers, waiting outside the house for Zhou Shixiong's dispatch.

    "Everyone, I have to trouble you all again." These craftsmen had worked with Zhou Shixiong and were familiar with Zhou Shixiong's habits. They nodded and said that they had no problem helping Master Ji.

    "Mr. Ji, what's the difference between this thing and the pickle bucket you drew for pickling pickles?" After reading the drawings, a craftsman asked.  To be honest, although Zhou Shixiong's painting skills are very good, people who have never seen a submarine will definitely associate the things drawn in this picture with the pickle bucket. There is really no difference!

    "The pickle buckets are round, and mine is flat. The pickle buckets are all made of wood. Only the frame of mine is made of wood. The outer layer must be wrapped with impermeable leather, otherwise it will be too heavy to float and it will be troublesome." Zhou Shixiong  After explaining a few words with a smile, he ordered the carpenter to make the skeleton and the leatherworker to find suitable leather.

    According to the test rules, the first one must be the model. There is no special size requirement, of course it cannot be too big.  The oval frame is easy to make, and any carpenter can make it. But there was a quarrel among the carpenters with and without support wood in the middle. In the end, Zhou Shixiong specified that support wood must be used, and a gap in the middle should be left for convenience.  People inside do things.

    As the skeleton gradually improves, more and more troubles arise.  What is used to power underwater navigation?  Oar or paddle?  Let alone the carpenters who couldn't think of an answer to this question, Zhou Shixiong couldn't give an answer either.  He knew there was a propeller, but Zhou Shixiong didn't know how to install it to avoid water leakage.  In addition, when it comes to power, Zhou Shixiong only thinks of using a similar gear transmission method to provide power for bicycles. At present, it seems that he can partially do this. The gears and bearings seem to be about the same, right?

    Zhou Shixiong came to the craftsmanship camp in high spirits, but left disgraced two days later.  His whimsical submarine plan failed completely in the face of various unsolvable technical problems.  In the end, Zhou Shixiong only left a drawing of an underwater breathing apparatus and asked the craftsmen to manufacture it as soon as possible.  There is no technical difficulty in this thing. The slightly difficult part is to make a watertight pipe. I believe it will not be difficult for these skilled craftsmen.

    Back to Lang Son City, what awaited him was good news and bad news.  The good news is that Henan Prefecture is holding on, but the bad news is that Heping Prefecture has announced its surrender. The letter of surrender sent by Heping Prefecture to the new master was nearly ten thousand soldiers from Shanluo Prefecture who came to the rescue.

    "Is the Lord of Heping Mansion flooded with water in his head? He surrendered so neatly, what's wrong with him!" Zhou Shixiong's fresh curse words were beyond Gao Fu's reach, but he knew about Zhou Shixiong, but he didn't.  It turns out that Heping Mansion is the home of the Zheng family, and the owner of Heping Mansion, Zheng Yiguan, is Zheng Zhuang's uncle, and of course, Zheng Zai's uncle.  It's just that this uncle has always regarded himself as a descendant of Confucianism and deeply hates those who betray their master and kill the king. Zheng Zai's father, Zheng Du, is the type that Lord Zheng Yiguan hates the most.

    As for Zheng Zhuang's practice of changing emperors at will in the Li Dynasty, Mr. Zheng Yiguan was very pleased. He believed that this was because his nephew Zheng Zhuang had the ability, which was fundamentally different from Zheng Du who killed his brother to seize the throne.  After Zheng Zhuang captured Nanding City, he sent his troops to Henan Prefecture. Unexpectedly, the invincible artillery was restrained by sandbags. He attacked Fucheng continuously for nine days but failed to break a single gate. In desperation, he had to withdraw to Nanding City.

    With the East Road frustrated, Zheng Zhuang planned to find a breakthrough on the North Road. He received a letter from his uncle, inviting him to Heping City for a talk.  Zheng Zhuang left 20,000 troops to garrison Nanding City, and led 10,000 elite troops to Heping City. He met with his uncle under the city and finalized the decision to abandon the dark side of the Heping Mansion and surrender to the bright side.  In order to relieve the pressure on his great-nephew, Lord Zheng Yiguan, who hated betrayers the most, orchestrated the story of tricking the Shanluo reinforcements into entering the encirclement, and the two armies joined forces to encircle and suppress the Shanluo Army.

    It is said that Luo Gengyun, the head of Shanluo Mansion, learned that Zheng Yiguan had surrendered to the enemy and took his 10,000 troops as a gift. He became very angry and became seriously ill. He vowed to take the head of Zheng Yiguan's entire clan to comfort his people during his lifetime.

    The leader of the Dai ethnic group, who has always been brave and aggressive, actually used his oath to buy time. It can be seen that Luo Gengyun also saw that the Northern Vietnam Dynasty was in serious trouble. If he used all his troops to take revenge at this time, I am afraid the ending would be very miserable.

    Zhou Shixiong didn¡¯t know what expression to use to express his feelings after reading all the miscellaneous information.  This is so messy, cousins ??are wrestling with each other, and uncles come out to support the scene. What are you doing here to stir up trouble?  !
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