1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 615 Battle of Nanri Island ([-])
Zheng Zhilong attaches great importance to Nanri Island. The leader he sent to Nanri Island is his eldest brother Zheng Zhihu, who is also one of the chief leaders of Shibazhi.

Zheng Zhihu and Zheng Zhilong were kicked out of the house since they were young. They first wandered to Macau, and then went to Japan. They assisted Zheng Zhilong by relying on martial arts and made a lot of military exploits. Describe the two brothers.

In the original historical trajectory, Zheng Zhilong chose to accept the Fujian government's recruitment together with his elder brother in 1628, and served as a naval guerrilla.In the eighth year of Chongzhen, Zheng Zhilong led his troops to attack his former ally Liu Xiang as the admiral of the Fujian Navy. Zheng Zhihu also went to the front line to fight, but was captured by Liu Xiang during the battle, caught in a fishing net, thrown into the sea and drowned .Later, in order to allow his unmarried brother to continue his bloodline, Zheng Zhilong specially adopted his son who stayed in Japan to Zheng Zhihu's name.

Of course, in the time and space where Haihan intervened, the Zheng brothers did not come ashore in 1628, because their arch-rival Xu Xinsu, with the support of the Haihan people, not only did not die at the hands of Zheng Zhilong as in the original historical track, but On the contrary, the strength grew stronger and stronger, becoming the protagonist of this confrontation.One ebbs and another, Shibazhi's power has also been weakened a lot under Xu Xinsu's constant blows, not to mention dominating the coastline of Fujian, there are not many places to stay.

As one of the few Nanri Islands that can provide Shibazhi with a stable source of income, it naturally became a place that Zheng Zhilong especially valued.It is precisely because of the control of this throat that Shibazhi can collect protection fees of up to 10 taels of silver from merchants who come and go, and it also leaves a place for Shibazhi to maintain trade with Fujian. window.For this reason, Zheng Zhilong also spent a lot of resources on this small island, trying to make it a bridgehead for Shibazhi to counterattack the mainland.

Regarding the existence of Nanri Island, Shi Diwen and others were not as ignorant as they had shown in front of Xu Xinsu earlier. Arranging the attack on Nanri Island in the joint military exercise was originally one of the military's action plans. After arriving in Fujian, the mission can act at its own discretion according to the local situation.

The assassination incident that Ning Qi encountered in the city of Zhangzhou was undoubtedly Shibazhi who gave Hai Han a not-so-successful disqualification, which made Shi Diwen and the others more determined to include it in the military exercise. The action of attacking Nanri Island made Shibazhi understand the consequences of doing something wrong.By the way, let the commander-in-chief of the Fujian military take a look at the strength of the Haihan militia army that has been giving them military assistance, and take this opportunity to sound the alarm for them and dispel some unsafe thoughts.

When there were about two nautical miles away from the opponent's fleet, Shi Diwen ordered to start adjusting the course to gain the upper hand, so that the battle formation composed of three warships could seize the favorable T-head position before the opponent's sailboat entered the range of the naval gun , to conduct the first round of shelling with a better shooting angle.

Xu Xinsu also observed the rehearsal of the fleet battle formation commanded by the Haihan warship yesterday, but at this time there were only three Haihan warships operating, which was much lighter and more flexible than yesterday's mixed fleet. It can be concluded that the Haihan Navy did not show all its capabilities in yesterday's drill.

Of course, Xu Xinsu also thought of another reason, that is, the lack of training of the Ming army navy dragged the Haihan navy back, and they couldn't achieve the level of coordination and synchronization with them.Moreover, Xu Xinsu thinks that this possibility accounts for a considerable proportion. Otherwise, how could the Haihan Navy let the navy's ships be dragged behind, and these three ships should be the main force?

Although he knew that the Haihan navy dared to do this, he must have the certainty of victory, but when he saw the enemy ships swarming towards him several times more, Xu Xinsu inevitably clenched his fists under the cover of his sleeves.

Compared with Xu Xinsu's nervousness, Shi Diwen was more excited at the moment.He has hardly participated in such large-scale military operations in the past one or two years, and returning to the battlefield again has a long-lost sense of familiarity.Moreover, Shi Diwen is also very clear about the personal significance of this battle to him. The military has already designated him as the supreme commander of the next fleet, but before this appointment is made, he must also show his performance to the Military Commission and the Executive Committee. Prove that you have sufficient competence for this position.And it is probably the best time to fight this battle well.

He was as excited as the many sailors and crew on the "Prestige Signal". This battle is also the first actual battle of the ship in service for a year.Although another warship of the same level, the Majesty, had already proved its actual combat capabilities in the South China Sea attack two months ago, the combat process at that time was to launch an attack from sea to land, and this pure Naval battles have never been experienced. "Prestige Signal" played against Shibazhi in the waters near Quanzhou this time, which can be regarded as the first time in the history of Haihan Navy.Shi Diwen told them at the mobilization meeting the night before that as long as the results of this battle are achieved, everyone will be recorded in the history of naval warfare after the war and become heroes worshiped by the latecomers.

At this time, the gunners on the lower artillery deck had opened the gun windows on the side of the ship, and extended the black muzzles to the windows.The shells and gunpowder packs have already been loaded, and they are waiting for the target to appear within the shooting field of view.

"Prestige Signal" took the lead, leading two "expedition-class" warships to draw an arc-shaped course on the sea, just across the sea in front of the Shibazhi fleet, the two most front ships in the opposing camp The pirate ship was less than a hundred feet away from the side of the "Wei Signal".Now Xu Xinsu can clearly see that the sailors on the deck of the enemy ship are scrambling to mount all kinds of shotguns and cannons on the bow of the ship. Whether you can beat your opponent or not, you always have to listen to the noise first to build up your momentum.

Sure enough, before the "Prestige Signal" sailed into the best shooting position, the ship on the opposite side fired a ping-pong-pong, but in the end, the form outweighed the effect, and the bullets and shells were tens of meters away from the "Prestige Signal" They fell into the sea one after another, without even getting a hair on them.

"It seems that they don't welcome us very much." Shi Diwen rubbed his hands excitedly and said: "Then let's start, the port artillery, open fire as soon as the target comes into range!"

About 1 minute later, a roar of artillery resounded throughout the sea area, and more than 20 artillery pieces on the port side of the "Prestige Signal" fired one after another, and the smoke of gunpowder quickly enveloped the entire hull like a thick fog rising from the sea.

Standing beside Shi Diwen, Xu Xinsu really felt the huge vibration from the deck below his feet when the artillery was fired, which was much stronger than the vibration of the ground when the artillery was fired on land. Although he had already prepared, he still had to My heart beat faster by the shelling.

After the first round of shelling was over, the field of vision was completely blocked by gunpowder smoke, and the people on the deck could not clearly see the results of this round of shelling for a while.Xu Xinsu only felt that his ears were still buzzing, and he was a little stunned by the shock.When he came back to his senses and was about to talk to Shi Diwen, the second round of shelling started again.

After three rounds of bombardment, the "Prestige Signal" had sailed out of the best shooting position, and the other two warships following it also opened fire and bombarded the enemy ships one after another.However, due to the small size of the ship, the number of cannons on one side of the ship is far less than that of the "Prestige Signal", and the momentum when shooting is also smaller.But compared with the shelling of the Haihan warships, the noise made by the first few ships of the Eighteenth Zhina is like a child's play.

After the "Wei Signal" sailed forward for a while, the smoke covering the hull gradually dissipated, and Xu Xinsu was able to see the situation of the enemy camp clearly.Looking at it, he was too shocked by the scene in front of him to speak.

The bows of the two leading ships had been bombarded beyond recognition by the repeated artillery fire just now. A large gap more than three feet long was torn open near the waterline of one of the ships. After such a short time, even the hull began to tilt a little.Although the other ship hadn't entered the water yet, the situation was not much better. The mainmast was scraped by shells, and most of it was broken. It was crooked and might fall down at any time. The sailors on the deck were panicking Lower the sails in a panic, otherwise the mast may break and fall down immediately if the wind blows slightly.But in this way, the ship basically lost its ability to move, and could only drift with the current at sea.

The two ships headed by Shibazhi are both "big ships" with more than [-] materials. The unreasonable bombardment of the Han warships directly paralyzed them.

Xu Xinsu had only one thought in her heart after watching it——Haihan's game is completely different from that of Daming Navy!In combat, the Daming navy used all kinds of firearms to attack the opponent after approaching, trying to ignite the enemy ship as much as possible. If this trick was not very effective, then it would probably have to go up and fight directly.The Haihan Navy, on the other hand, beat the opponent half to death with a cannon fire from a distance of hundreds of meters.

Xu Xinsu is not unfamiliar with this combat method. The red-haired men who fought against the Daming Navy in the Fujian sea area used a similar combat method, but the strength and accuracy of the artillery fire was probably far less than that of the sea. Han people are so sharp.

However, the pirates like Shibazhi were doing the business of licking blood at the edge of a knife. After being baptized by the shells, they did not retreat. The ships behind were still moving forward at full speed, as if they had other ideas.

Xu Xinsu is very familiar with Shibazhi's tactics.Relying on the lightness of the boat, they used various methods to carry out gang battles after approaching the target. In such a narrow place on the deck, Shibazhi's advantage in numbers could be highlighted.

However, Xu Xinsu can now conclude that their tricks can't get any advantage from the Haihan people, because their sailboats that they think are light and light are just old bulls pulling a broken cart in front of monsters like Haihan.The possibility of chasing Haihan and these ships at sea is probably lower than that of the leaders of Shibazhi surrendering collectively.

As Xu Xinsu expected, Shi Diwen saw his opponent relentlessly chasing from behind, and the smile on his face became even stronger: "Since they are still interested in playing, let's fly the kite." All right!"

Even if the steam-assisted propulsion device is not used, the speed of "Wei Signal" is almost twice as fast as that of Shibazhi's pirate ship. Coupled with the flexible over-control performance of the Shanghai Han sailing ship, it is very easy to walk the opponent on the sea matter.The three Haihan warships quickly drew an arc on the sea surface, and before the opponent had time to make corresponding course adjustments, the Haihan warship once again cut from the flank to the front of the opponent's warship.

This round of bombardment also made Shibazhi's fleet unavoidable. Amid the yelling of the sailors, several ships were damaged to varying degrees.And the ship whose bow was hit with a big gap in the first round of shelling has now plunged into the sea with its stern raised high, and it seems that it is only a matter of time before it sinks.

After suffering two consecutive rounds of bombardment with no power to fight back, Shibazhi's people probably also realized the gap in strength between the two sides. Use--you don't even have a chance to touch the opponent's side, how can you fight this battle?Although the pirates are all desperadoes, they refuse to do things that cost them their lives in vain.Immediately, a ship gave a signal and began to adjust the sails and turn to prepare to evacuate the battlefield.

But Shi Diwen didn't want to let go of the rare opportunity for training so easily, and immediately issued an order decisively: "The second ship and the third ship continue to bombard, let the engine room run at full speed, we go around and copy their rear road!"

Soon Xu Xinsu heard the familiar noise of machinery running again, and knew that Haihan was planning to make dumplings for these pirate ships—three ships surrounded more than twenty ships, this scene was really weird.

Shi Diwen did not forget the navy of the Ming army who had been watching the battle outside, and ordered the flag to be raised so that the navy also entered the battle.Of course, the goals of the navy are somewhat different. The task they are assigned is to clean up the ships that have been hit by the previous bombardment and block some ships that are trying to break out in the opposite direction.

After the steam propulsion device of "Prestige Signal" started, a large splash of water was stirred up on the sea surface at the stern of the ship.Under the terrified gaze of the pirates, this huge warship sailed towards Nanri Island at a speed beyond their imagination.The pirates like Shibazhi are veterans of intercepting ships at sea all the year round, and they already understood the opponent's intentions after seeing this action, and they didn't care about fighting any more. Nearly [-] undamaged ships hurriedly adjusted their course and split up. Break out in all directions.

(End of this chapter)