Chapter 435

The Shun Army artillerymen on the riverbank watched the Ming warships approaching and immediately adjusted their cannons, preparing to fire. Before they opened fire, they viewed the enemy as sitting ducks, assuming that warships traveling against the current would be significantly slower than those moving with the flow. However, they were unaware that, in the eyes of the Ming Navy, these artillerymen were the ones who were essentially dead targets. A moving target might dodge, but these artillerymen merely stood there like fools. Boom! The Shun Army artillery on the banks of the Huai River fired first. Over forty cannons unleashed a barrage of shells and shot, instantly engulfing the surface of the river. The Ming Navy, having anticipated this, hid behind the gunwales of their ships. The wood of the gunwales was already sturdy, and they had reinforced both sides with additional planks and iron plating. Aside from a few heavy shots that shattered the masts of several small warships and pierced through some gunwales, the smaller projectiles caused little in the way of casualties for the Ming forces.