The Zhejiang Army carried few artillery shells, and the first wave of live ammunition prioritized attacking the front, middle, and rear ships of the Japanese pirate fleet, breaking their head, waist, and tail, making the Japanese pirate fleet unable to move further and becoming a sitting duck.
The subsequent shells were slightly modified by taking out the gunpowder inside and filling them with kerosene, so that they could be fired freely at the Japanese ships.
The kerosene shells were not very powerful, but when the kerosene flowed out, it was highly combustible and could burn fiercely with just a little spark. Basically, a Japanese ship hit by a kerosene shell was declared useless.
Although kerosene might not encounter sparks immediately after it flowed out, it was only a matter of time. The rockets of the Zhejiang Army on the shore did not spare any Japanese ship, and they hit the Japanese ships one by one.
As long as a spark from the Japanese ship splashed onto the kerosene, the fire would spread rapidly and would be impossible to put out.
The Japanese ships were stuck in the river by fire rafts and iron chains. The Japanese ships were very close to each other, and when they were hit by Zhejiang army's artillery shells and rain of arrows, in order to avoid them, the Japanese ships were unmanned or poorly controlled for a while, causing many of them to collide with each other.
It's not a big deal at normal times, but this fire is a disaster.
When a Japanese ship caught fire, all the other Japanese ships that collided with it could not escape. Good brothers, let's catch fire together and turn into ashes.
Soon, the Japanese pirate fleet in the river was on fire, just like the Battle of Chibi.
At this time, the sky was fine again and the wind became stronger.
No matter it is the northeast wind, the northwest wind, the southeast wind, or even a messy wind, it is all tailwind for the sea of fire at this time.
The Japanese pirates' flagship was also burning. At the beginning, Xu Hai could still command his men to put out the fire, but his flagship was too conspicuous. It was tall, big and gorgeous, and was given special attention by the Zhejiang Army. Several kerosene shells were fired at it, and the overwhelming rockets never stopped. In the end, Xu Hai was unable to save the situation.
"Damn it, damn it, Zhu Ping'an, Zhu Ping'an, I will fight you to the death! Abandon the ship, abandon the ship, abandon the ship quickly! Rush to the shore! Kill all these beasts who can only prevent fire and sneak attacks! Cut them into pieces!"
Xu Hai stood on the flagship engulfed in flames with disheveled hair, pointing at the river bank with bloodshot eyes and giving orders loudly.
Can’t bear to!
He really couldn't bear to abandon the fleet he had worked so hard to build! When he said the words of abandoning the ship, his heart seemed to be squeezed by the devil's hand and burst!
Each of these Japanese ships was his favorite. Not only were they expensive, even the smallest one that could carry thirty people cost five hundred taels of silver, not to mention the large Japanese ships, which were worth at least a thousand taels of silver. Moreover, it was not easy to save up enough to afford them. After all, only a few people came to him with Japanese ships. Most of the ships were obtained by him with great effort and trickery, which offended many people and cost him a lot of money!
If he rebuilt it from scratch, not to mention how much money and labor it would cost, the time alone was not something he could afford! An ordinary Japanese ship would take at least half a year to build! Not to mention the better Japanese ships, it would take several years just to build a keel!
Japanese pirates and Japanese ships are inseparable. Japanese pirates without Japanese ships are like wolves with broken legs and lost teeth!
Without Japanese ships, how could the Japanese pirates roam the world, how could they attack along the long coastline, how could they play tricks on the Ming army when surrounded by them, how could they escape from desperate situations, how could they... ...
It can be said that the Japanese ships are the best brothers, the best weapons, and the best hope of the Japanese pirates!
Now all his hard work and hopes have been burned into the river by Zhu Ping'an. How can he not hate him!
He wished he could eat Zhu Ping'an alive!
"Quick, abandon the ship and escape, rush to the shore and kill all the Ming troops who attacked on the shore, and make them pay with their lives!"
"They are not many, only a few thousand at most. Our forces are dozens of times more than theirs. Charge forward and kill all these despicable villains!"
"Setting fire and attacking by surprise, despicable and shameless, kill them all!"
At Xu Hai's command, all the Japanese pirate leaders, big and small, shouted and directed their pirates to abandon their ships and rush to the shore.
In fact, there was no need for Xu Hai to give the order. Abandoning ship and escaping was the only way out for the Japanese pirates. Long before Xu Hai gave the order, some Japanese pirates had already abandoned their ships and escaped!
The first few Japanese ships that caught fire had completely turned into a sea of fire. If they didn't escape, they would be barbecued. The Japanese pirates who didn't want to be barbecued jumped into the rolling river like dumplings.
As soon as they entered the water, they felt the piercing cold!
It would be strange if the river water was not cold in the dead of winter. The freezing water swept them in an instant. Many Japanese pirates who had not adapted to the cold suffered uncontrollable cramps in their hands and feet. The severe pain and uncontrollable situation naturally cost them their lives. The freezing river water poured into their mouths and noses, pulling them to the bottom of the river to feed the fish.
Of course, only a small number of the Japanese pirates suffered cramps. The vast majority of them did not suffer from cramps, but just felt biting cold, their teeth were chattering from the cold, and their whole bodies were shivering, but they were still able to swim while enduring the cold.
But not all Japanese pirates can swim. Although the vast majority of them can swim, there are some who cannot.
Even though these Japanese pirates who could not swim did not suffer cramps from the stimulation, after falling into the water, they struggled desperately for a few times in the surging river, and then the freezing river water poured into their mouths and noses, and they died at the bottom of the river while struggling and despair.
Of course, the Japanese pirates who cannot swim are naturally unwilling to die at the bottom of the river. They will desperately grab everything they can, such as floating wood, broken decks, and their good brothers who can swim, and hold on tightly.
"Fuck you, don't grab me, how can I swim if you hold me like this?!"
"Asshole, let me go, don't hold me back! Go to hell! Go to hell! Just die honestly!"
"Don't beg me. If I take you with me, I will be dragged to death by you! I still have a lot of good years to enjoy!"
The pirates who usually called each other brothers were now clearly distinguishing between life and death. Some held on tightly, some struggled to break free, and those who couldn't break free even killed them, kicking them hard, kicking them to death... ...
In this way, many Japanese pirates who could swim were carried by those who could not swim and sank to the bottom of the river together to feed the fish.
Of course, the Japanese pirates who could swim and were not entangled did not escape with their lives.
Many Japanese pirates were hit by the rain of arrows before they could swim far, and sank into the water with screams.
Many unlucky Japanese pirates were swimming in the river in panic, and were unexpectedly smashed into the bottom of the water by the collapsed Japanese ship.
There were many unlucky Japanese pirates like this.
In addition, even if they were lucky enough to avoid the risks of Japanese friends who could not swim, the flying arrows, the burning and collapsed Japanese ships, they would generally face the risk of hypothermia in the freezing cold river water, and face shock and death.
It is said that 60% of the victims in the Titanic died of hypothermia, which is how the protagonist Jack died in the film. Wasn't the tragedy of 21 people dying in the Gansu Marathon also caused by hypothermia
Therefore, the Japanese pirates who abandoned their ships and jumped into the river were embarking on a dangerous and death-ridden road.
In the rolling river, countless corpses of Japanese pirates floated up and down, and more and more...