I Build an Aircraft Carrier in the Ming Dynasty

The retreat of the navy is easier than that of the army.

Wu Yi wanted to catch up when he saw the enemy retreating, but he had to deal with the enemies who were still fighting first, and then pull out those hook guns.

At the same time, those damaged ships also need to move out of the way to clear the surface channel so that the full fleet behind can pursue.

Moreover, everyone is paddling by human power, so it is also a big problem whether they can catch up.

Taking into account many problems, Wu Yi did not order the pursuit, but only ordered to clear the remaining enemies as soon as possible, clean the battlefield, and repair the ships.

In this water battle, the ships in front were damaged to varying degrees, and some of the ships had been burnt with only shells left, and were completely scrapped.

Others were not particularly badly damaged, but to the point where they had to be overhauled.

The job of clearing the remaining enemies is very easy, because the Qing army still in place is equivalent to being abandoned by most of them, and they have no chance to escape at all.

Therefore, most people honestly choose to throw away their weapons and surrender after seeing their own fleet fleeing. Anyway, the tradition of Wu Jun is not to kill prisoners.

Only a small number of soldiers chose to jump into the river to escape, and Wu Jun did not know why they did not surrender.

For these people, Wu Jun was also polite, shooting with muskets and bows and arrows on the boat.

Unless the water is particularly good, a person who can snorkel for more than ten meters in front of them can get away with it, and most of the other soldiers who escaped will be hit and corpse in the river.

After cleaning up the battlefield, the navy came to station in the predetermined water village.

In this water battle, the Wu army lost a total of 1,500 soldiers, of which 1,200 were killed and about 300 were missing. Those who disappeared all fell into the river, and no one cared about them in the melee.

Some of these 300 people should still be able to survive, but it is difficult to say whether they can return to the army smoothly.

In addition to the loss of personnel, Wu Jun also scrapped five lucky ships, and seven still needed to be overhauled, and the losses were quite heavy.

The loss of the Qing army was even more severe. They lost a total of 23 large ships and dozens of small ships. As well as more than 2,500 soldiers who died in battle, these missing soldiers are basically equivalent to being killed in action.

Of the twenty-three large ships they lost, most of them were not seriously damaged and were captured by the Wu army.

Therefore, in addition to the loss of personnel, Wu Jun actually made a little profit in terms of materials.

After Wu Yi disembarked, Li Shaobin immediately called him to inquire about the situation of the battle. This time, if they wanted to take Jiujiang, they had to rely on the navy to transport them to the other side, and at the same time they had to rely on the logistical support provided by the navy.

"Although the enemy army was repelled, the main force of the enemy army is still there, and crossing the river rashly may be in danger. It is best to wait for a while, and then wait until I have eliminated the main force of the enemy's navy."

Wu Yi said that fighting on the water is not like land, and the more soldiers you have, the better.

If the enemy forces launched a larger fire attack when the Wu army crossed the river, they would face great risks.

Although most of the soldiers in the Wu army were from Jiangnan, not everyone could swim. Even if you can swim, your weapons and equipment will definitely be lost after falling into the water.

Therefore, they can do it by forcibly crossing the river, but the risk is very high.

Wu Yi hoped that Li Shaobin could wait a little longer, and when he defeated the main force of the Qing court's navy before crossing the river, he would be safe at that time.

"However, how long will it take for you to destroy the main force of the enemy's navy, we can't wait here forever."

Li Shaobin reminded that tens of thousands of troops, the daily consumption of food and grass is a terrifying figure.

"This......"

Wu Yi was at a loss for words for a while, but he did not dare to issue a military order to say how many days to destroy the enemy.

This is not a siege, there is a fixed target waiting there.

The navy can move at will on the river surface. If the Qing court insisted not to fight him decisively, the enemy will advance and we will retreat. If the enemy retreats, we will advance, it will not be easy for him to find an opportunity to destroy the opponent.

Not eradicating them is always a threat.

"So, let's prepare a plan for forced landing."

Liu Hansan said that he had no hope for the navy, and hoped that the power of the army would be quickly exerted.

"Maybe we can wait for the next batch of material ships to arrive, and then Brigade Wu will lead the fleet to block the enemy's navy on the Yangtze River, and we will use those ships to transport the soldiers from the mouth of Panyang Lake to the other side. As long as we can transport a group over there, we can gain a firm foothold on the other side, and the next thing will be easy."

Dai Zhijun said that as long as they were not harassed by the Qing court's navy during the landing battle, they were still confident that they could land successfully.

Although the risk is a little bigger, it saves time and can take the initiative.

"To block the enemy's navy, can this Brigade Commander Wu have the confidence to do it?"

Li Shaobin asked.

"As long as I have one more breath, I will never let the navy of the Qing Dynasty step into the mouth of the lake."

Wu Yi issued a military order, but simply blocked the enemy. This problem is not big. If he can't even do this, he, the navy boss, will have a dull face.

"In that case, let's refine this combat plan."

Li Shaobin said to everyone in the staff.

Although the plan just now sounds very feasible, there are many accidents in the war, and we must formulate a plan to deal with them one by one.

just in case

What if Wu Yi failed to block the Qing court navy, what if he blocked it, but the navy suffered heavy losses and could not protect the subsequent logistics and transportation. What if there is a strong counterattack when landing, what if there is a sudden flood...  

These are all issues that the General Staff needs to consider and study, and this is a major matter that affects the lives of 70,000 or 80,000 troops.

If the 70,000 army arrives under Jiujiang City, but the logistics are interrupted, it will be extremely dangerous.

At that time, the enemy does not need to stick to the city, as long as the food in the city and the surrounding food are scraped or burned, the Wu army can be starved to death.

This kind of thing, the Qing army can definitely do it.

Therefore, the navy should not only be able to block the Qing court's navy, but also need to preserve enough strength to maintain logistics and transportation, and it is best to defeat the Qing court's navy.

The plan was continuously deduced, and in the end everyone agreed that the key to this battle was the navy.

Unfortunately, the development of their navy is relatively slow, and now there are few ships and few people.

All the pressure was on Wu Yi, but while he felt the pressure, he was also very excited. The greater the pressure, the greater the credit.

As long as he completes this mission well, he can explain the importance of the navy to Wu Changqing and ask for more military expenses to expand the navy.

The stronger the navy, the greater his power.

After confirming the plan, all the ministries will start pre-war preparations, reconnaissance to find suitable landing sites, survey the terrain, repair ships, collect food and grass, and maintain weapons and equipment...

There is still a lot of work to be prepared for a war.