Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4846 Persian Naval Battle
More than a dozen cannons fired at the same time. The shells dragged orange-yellow trails across the night sky and fell into the naval array of the Arab Empire. The shells smashed the deck and fell into the cabin. The kerosene hidden inside was sprayed out by the explosion and splashed everywhere, and a fire broke out.

Obed, who was rushing in the front, shouted excitedly. Looking at the chaotic sailors on the burning enemy ship, he felt that war was so simple. He was originally afraid that there would be huge casualties if he charged as a vanguard, but now the enemy was in chaos and he only needed to take advantage of the chaos to attack. Naturally, the casualties would be greatly reduced.

However, when he heard the roar of artillery again and turned back in surprise, he saw a scene that he would never forget...

I saw about a hundred ships equipped with artillery firing at the same time. The roar of the artillery was like thunder, making the ears ring slightly. Cannonballs were ejected from the barrels, looking like they were rising from the ground. Countless shells were fired, soared into the air, and fell into the enemy's formation.

The sea was covered with flames and smoke. Fragments of warships and the remains of soldiers were flying everywhere. One enemy ship after another was bombed and set on fire. The entire sea was dyed red by flames.

Obed was stunned and grabbed the Tang army captain beside him and said, "This, this, this..." He was so shocked that he couldn't even utter a complete sentence.

The captain of the Tang army understood his shock and said expressionlessly, "It was just a test firing just now, marking the enemy's formation so that the cannons behind can fire more accurately. Don't be silly and open your mouth. After three volleys, you have to charge. If you don't want to be stabbed by the enemy and drowned in the sea in the first battle, then be prepared!"

"boom!"

Another round of volleys, earth-shaking.

Obed and the other warriors of the Azd tribe were already numb. Such a devastating bombardment had to last for three rounds? !
What would be left of the enemy?
But he finally came to his senses, clenched his sword, and shouted to the tribesmen around him: "Everyone, today is the day to make achievements!"

"kill!"

The tribesmen responded with roars.

In the past, these indigenous tribes were constantly involved in the wars between the Arab Empire and Persia. They had always been slaves doing the most dangerous things, such as using their flesh and blood to resist the enemy's cavalry, or using their bodies to pile up high platforms as the main force to climb the stairs of the city wall. After suffering huge casualties, they were rewarded with a piece of Hu cake sprinkled with sesame seeds at most...

But now they are fighting for the Tang Dynasty, and their military exploits and rewards are clearly written, with clear names such as charge, break through the enemy lines, be the first to climb the ladder, break the city, capture prisoners, kill the enemy, etc. As long as you can do it, the Tang people will reward you!

When the war is fought for the benefit of oneself and the entire clan, the fighting power that is unleashed is naturally incomparable!

boom!
The third round of artillery fire, the shells fell into the enemy formation, and the vanguard of the Azdid tribe just rushed into the enemy formation. At this time, the original enemy formation on the sea was already in chaos. The previously brutal and violent Arab sailors were now crying for their parents. One by one, the warships that were rampant in the Persian Gulf were either burning or smashed into wood chips and scattered on the sea. Obed only needed to hold a shield in one hand and a knife in the other, and struggled to jump from the bow onto an enemy ship, blocking the enemy's scimitar, and then easily broke the enemy's leather armor with the horizontal knife and cut it in two...

The Tang army warships that followed up easily penetrated the chaotic formation of the Arab army. The soldiers fired at the Arab soldiers indiscriminately from a high position with their muskets. The sound of gunfire rang out everywhere, and clouds of smoke rose from the sides of the ships.

Buser, who was in the rear, was dumbfounded. Although he had expected that the Tang army's firearms might be very powerful, he had never thought they would be so powerful. The array that was originally formed to be penetrated and divided by the Tang army's warships was blown to pieces by a barrage of artillery fire. In the end, the Tang army still completed the penetration and division.

Not to mention defeating the Tang army, they couldn't even hold out for a quarter of an hour...

He was already timid, and quickly grabbed Abu Awal's sleeve, saying in a trembling voice: "Governor, run!"

"Run? Where to run?"

Abu Awar looked pale and bloodshot. He glanced at Busr and said in a hoarse voice, "We have lost the port of Shirov and ruined the navy of the entire Persian Gulf. Most importantly, we have lost the sky-high taxes... Do you think we will be safe if we flee back to Damascus? The Caliph will skin us alive!"

Buser looked pale: "What should we do then?"

Abu Awal gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "We still have reinforcements from Wuci Port. Let's use your previous suggestion to tie the ships together with chains and charge at the Tang army's flagship! As long as we can sink the flagship and capture the Tang army generals, we can turn defeat into victory in this battle!

Buser was horrified: "No way! Governor, the Tang army's firearms are extremely powerful, especially the fire caused by the explosion after landing, which is difficult to put out with seawater. If we lock the warships in one place, won't it make it easier for the enemy to set fire?"

If so many ships were tied together and caught fire, they would be unable to escape even if they wanted to. It would become a huge torch floating on the sea. It would not sink to the bottom of the sea until all the ships and people were burned...

Abu Awal's eyes were red with anger. "Then let's see which one burns faster or we charge faster! There are thousands of oars on so many boats, and when they row together, they move very fast. Now that the Tang army has the upper hand and is sure of victory, they will definitely want to annihilate us. They will not retreat but will continue to reap the fruits of victory. We may not be without a chance!"

"Hmm?" Buser calmed down, thought about it carefully, and found that it did make some sense.

The corpses could not escape unless they could escape from the territory of the Great Tang Empire. But if they left the Great Tang Empire, they would be nothing. Would they become slaves? It would be better to die.

Maybe there's still a chance of winning if I give it a try.

Immediately, Abu Awal ordered the reinforcements from Wuci Port and his own warships, totaling more than 60 ships, to line up in a formation of seven horizontal and nine vertical lines, and locked each other with iron chains to form a huge "ship formation". Abu Awal's flagship was in the middle of the "ship formation" and he ordered a charge towards the Tang army.

The wooden oars of dozens of warships were put into the water and rowed in unison with the sound of war drums, which made the "ship formation" move at a very fast speed. It knocked away and sank its own warships and rushed towards the charging Tang army.

The huge "fleet" was rampaging on the sea, with an astonishing and irresistible momentum.

Soon, the news reached the Tang army's flagship, the "Prince of Wei". Yang Zhou, standing on the battlement, could not see the "ship formation" and could only estimate the direction and order a test firing of artillery. The effect was not ideal. As the battle report came in with the news that the casualties on his side were gradually increasing, Yang Zhou waved his hand and said, "Charge!"

The sails of the "King of Wei" were inflated and the wind was blowing. The huge bow cut through the waves and moved forward without hesitation. Ships dodged wherever it passed, and those that could not dodge were crushed and torn to pieces by the bow. Wherever the ship passed, only a pile of wooden debris and soldiers struggling in the water were left...

Soon, the "King of Wei" met the "ship formation" that was rushing towards them. Yang Zhou laughed when he saw this so-called "ship formation" and said to the soldiers on his left and right: "Do you remember the Battle of Red Cliff? Cao Mengde led a million-strong army and crossed the river with iron chains. However, the northerners were not used to water battles and had to use chains to connect the ships to make them as stable as a rock and as easy as walking on flat ground. As a result, they were burned to ashes by Huang Gai. I didn't expect that the Arab Kingdom also had talents like Cao Mengde. Come on, take out all the rockets from the bottom of the cabin, and let's set off a big firework in the Persian Gulf!"

"Here!"

Bundles of rockets wrapped in oilcloth for waterproofing and moisture-proofing were carried onto the deck, piled up like a small mountain, and it was estimated that there were no less than a thousand rockets.

The soldiers on the "Prince of Wei" understood the enemy's intention. They wanted to kill 800 enemies even if they had to sacrifice 1,000 of their own men. As long as the "Prince of Wei" was severely damaged or sunk, perhaps the Tang army would be defeated, and the situation on the battlefield would be reversed, turning defeat into victory.

However, the Arabs knew very little about the power of the Tang army's firearms, and thought that they could get close to the "King of Wei" by charging faster and taking a few shots. However, they did not know that although the release interval of artillery was a bit long, the release interval of rockets was almost the same...

Yang Zhou ordered: "Don't panic, follow the steps in the usual training carefully, don't burn ourselves before killing the enemy."

The officers laughed. Someone laughed loudly: "Don't worry, General. We have practiced this kind of thing at least fifteen times, if not twenty times. If you make a mistake again, we will bring your head to you!"

Yang Zhou cursed: "If we make a mistake, we will all be roasted to death. What's the point of raising our heads!"

"Don't worry, General!"

Immediately, the officers on the flagship prepared in an orderly manner, lighting rockets one after another. The sharp sound of "whoosh whoosh whoosh" was heard continuously. One rocket after another shot up into the sky and landed on the "ship formation" in the distance. The arrowheads pierced the deck and the side of the ship. The gunpowder tubes tied to the arrow shafts exploded, and the kerosene inside was thrown and splashed, igniting everything it touched. Some of them fell on the sea and even burned for a while before going out...

Rockets shot up into the sky and then fell from the sky, as brilliant and dazzling as a meteor shower. The huge "ship formation" was still charging above the sea, lighting up the night sky like a huge brazier.

The hull made a creaking sound as it was burned by the raging fire, the planks were deformed, the hull was cracked, and everything that could burn was burning fiercely. Even though the soldiers did not bother to row and kept scooping up sea water to try to put out the fire, they found that the flames attached to the black oil could not be extinguished no matter what.

More and more Arab soldiers could not stand the high temperature of the flames and jumped into the sea...

At this moment, the "King of Wei" rushed to the front of the "ship formation" with an attitude of looking down on the world. The Tang army soldiers not only used muskets to continuously shoot and harvest the lives of the Arab soldiers, but also lowered the paddle on the bow, and smashed the paddle with a huge iron block fixed on the top on the enemy ship. In an instant, wood chips flew and the hull shattered. The warships of the Arab Kingdom could not withstand the power of the paddle.

The soldier turned the capstan to pull up the pole, then put it down, then pulled it up again, then put it down again...

The connected "ship formation" could not stop the "King of Wei" at all. Wherever the bow passed, wood chips and broken boards floated in the sea, making the whole place a mess.