1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 651 Victory in the First Battle
Before the messenger retreated, Zheng Zhilong thought it was wrong, and added: "Let all the artillery deployed in other places retreat!"

However, where Zheng Zhilong was located was a full mile away from the line of fire, and while the messenger was still on the way, the muzzle of Nanri Village had already turned to the next target.Of course, Shibazhi's gunners did not stand stupidly waiting for Haihan's shells to fall on their heads. They also responded in a short time and began to launch shelling at Nanri Village.It's a pity that they didn't have time to conduct school shooting before the battle started, and if they want to directly hit the expected target from a distance of one mile, it basically depends on luck.

Shibazhi's luck was obviously not good enough. In such a hasty battle situation, almost none of the gunners could successfully hit the fort on the wall of Nanri Village in the first round of shooting.In contrast, the accuracy of the opponent's shelling is unbelievably high. In each round of shelling, several shells will fly into Shibazhi's artillery position, bouncing and hitting all obstacles in its way.

Although the killing range of these solid shells is extremely limited, their killing effect is full of deterrence. No matter how thick the nerves are, after seeing the scene where their partners are torn into pieces by the shells It is difficult to maintain the courage to continue fighting.Although many of these pirates may be murderous murderers on weekdays, when they find that they are just lambs waiting to be slaughtered in the face of a more powerful force majeure, this huge psychological gap will make many people feel desperate and hopeless. Panic, just like the looting targets who trembled under their hands.

When Zheng Zhilong's order to retreat the artillery was spread to the front line, Shibazhi's side had already lost two-thirds of the total number of artillery deployed here.However, when the pirates tried their best to drag the artillery to the rear, they found that the shelling of the Haihan people did not stop because of this. The impact of the shells continued to extend northward, and their retreat speed could not avoid the pursuit of the opponent's artillery. .The pirates could only throw down their heavy artillery and flee back, saving their lives first.

"Stop the shelling!" Takahashi Minami confirmed through the binoculars that all the pirates on the front line had fled, and then ordered the shelling to be suspended.Although the pirates hadn't completely escaped the range of Haihan's artillery, Gao Qiaonan didn't intend to just blast them all the way back to the sea.Qian Tiandun had made his combat intention very clear before the battle, this time the fight was to wipe out the opponents as much as possible, and hurt them once, so that they would not dare to take the initiative to attack the military strongholds along the coast of Fujian in the future.

Among the weapons equipped by Shibazhi, only the artillery they purchased from Western countries can pose a relatively large threat to Haihan, so the first priority in fighting with him is to destroy the artillery of Shibazhi first, so that other Completely lose the long-range strike capability on the battlefield.And if Shibazhi tried to narrow the battle distance, it would be more in line with Haihan's wishes. The special warfare battalion, which has almost fully equipped with firearms, is willing to teach these pirates what fire suppression is.

Gao Qiaonan picked up the walkie-talkie and reported the battle situation to Qian Tiandun, then sat down on the ammunition box and took off the heavy helmet on his head to breathe.Even though the battle lasted only about ten minutes and Haihan had always taken the initiative, he was still sweating profusely.

The artillerymen were in the same situation as him at this time, and they took off their helmets to rest on the spot.The personnel in charge of the logistics have sent cold boiled water and rice balls to supplement the heat. The medical team also came to the position and began to bandage and treat the few wounded.

Although the weapons and equipment of the Haihan militia were mainly long-range weapons from the beginning, the personal protection methods still did not deviate from the average level of this era. Soldiers fighting on the front line were still equipped with iron armor and helmet.However, this kind of metal armor is basically only used in wartime, and it is not used for ordinary marching and training.

Gao Qiaonan didn't have the habit of wearing armor to fight, but this time it was Qian Tiandun's order that the frontline combatants must wear armor to fight.This is also considering that the first round of confrontation between the two sides was dominated by artillery battles. Although the armor is definitely not able to prevent the shells, it can at least prevent the broken stones splashed after the shells hit the wall of the village.And this did save Gao Qiaonan once. There was an obvious dent on his helmet, which was caused by the rubble splashed after the opponent's shell hit the wall of the village just now. Now he is still a little dizzy.If he wasn't wearing this heavy helmet, he would have suffered a concussion, if not death, by now.

"It's dangerous!" Takahashinan himself was a little lucky to see the dent on the helmet. He was not worried that he would be injured, but that he would have to retreat from the line of fire after being injured, thus losing the opportunity to make military achievements.

Gao Qiaonan put the helmet that saved him once on the ground next to him, and then took off the two-piece body armor on his body, only then did he feel a sigh of relief.Wearing the iron armor and helmet that weighed fifteen catties in total, he would sweat quickly even if he didn't move.

However, as a field commander, it was impossible for him to just rest so easily. After adjusting his breathing, he quickly got up and began to inspect the various artillery positions on the field.This is to see how one's own injuries and losses are, and whether it is necessary to immediately recruit personnel from the reserve team to supplement them.The second is to check whether the bunker fortification of the gun position has been seriously damaged by the opponent's artillery fire just now. If there is any need to repair it, craftsmen must come to construct it immediately.The third is to take advantage of this opportunity to cheer up the soldiers so that they can welcome the next confrontation with full emotions.

The battle damage on Haihan's side was not serious. No one was killed in this round of confrontation, only seven people were injured to varying degrees, all due to the opponent's shelling.For Haihan, this result is quite good. After all, the number of artillery of the opponent is obviously superior, and both sides are equal in terms of range. Haihan's advantage is only that the preparation work is more complete, and the artillery has stronger combat capabilities. .

Such a result made Takahashi Nan also heave a sigh of relief.Before the battle, he also thought that the most difficult thing was probably the initial artillery battle. From a certain point of view, it was no different from a bayonet fight. Both sides had the opportunity to cause huge damage to the other side.But it is clear that God favored the Haihan side again this time. The artillery formation that Shibazhi deliberately created did not cause much real damage to the defending side. On the contrary, their own battle damage was too great for people to ignore.

After Shibazhi's troops retreated two miles away, they regrouped and carried out an inventory. The result drove Zheng Zhilong almost crazy—in the short firefight just now, nearly half of the two hundred or so gunners were killed on the spot, and they survived. There are still dozens of wounded in half of the army, and now there are only forty or fifty gunners who can continue to fight.

And this is not the biggest problem. The most serious thing is that Shibazhi prepared 38 artillery pieces before the war, and [-] of them were placed on the line of fire at the first time. However, after the exchange of fire just now, the [-] artillery pieces Only five of the cannons survived, and the rest were almost destroyed by the artillery attack of the Haihan people just now.Even with the addition of the eight cannons that were not put into the battlefield in the first place as a backup, there are only one-third of the cannons left now, and how long has it been since the start of the war?How will the next battle be fought?

Zheng Zhilong was silent for a long time before ordering: "Stand by. Go and inform the red-haired people that we need their help."

Obviously relying solely on the superiority in the number of artillery pieces is not enough to deal with the Haihan people in Nanri Village. It has become unrealistic for Zheng Zhilong to completely rely on his own strength to take down Nanri Village, and the outside help he can rely on now, Only the Dutch who came to help out.

But the Dutch quickly rejected Zheng Zhilong's request for help because they noticed that in addition to the red and blue Haihan flag, the flags displayed by Nanri Village also included the military flags of Daming and Xu. This war will immediately rise to a conflict between countries, and this is not the original intention of Hans to agree to send troops to Nanri Island. The big shots at the headquarters of the East India Company probably do not want to see another big conflict between their own country and the Ming Empire. large-scale armed conflict.

This is not to worry that their armed sailboats will not be able to defeat the Daming Navy, but that this kind of unhelpful conflict will greatly affect the maritime trade of the East India Company in Northeast Asia.Moreover, the current situation on Nanri Island is more complicated. In addition to Shibazhi and Daming participating in the war, there is also a new force called Haihan who is in the middle.Of course, the Dutch will not forget that behind them there are the Spaniards occupying the northern part of Dayuan Island who have been eager to challenge their maritime status in Northeast Asia. Take this opportunity to add insult to injury.

For the Dutch, it would be a good thing if Shibazhi could take back Nanri Island. It would continue to divert the attention of Fujian officials and give the Netherlands more opportunities and space to cultivate their own influence on Dayuan Island and the coast of Fujian. .If Shibazhi loses the battle, it will not cause actual losses to the Netherlands, at most it will lose some channels for smuggling trade with Daming.Although this kind of ending is not ideal, it is better than the negative impact caused by the war with Daming.Just come here to buy soy sauce, whoever wins and loses, and ask Shibazhi to collect a sum of money after the war is over. This is the business that a shrewd businessman should do.

However, it is not so easy for the Dutch to stay out of the matter, and Qian Tiandun has no intention of letting them just be idle.After the first round of firefights on Nanri Island, in the harbor on the west side of Pingtan Island, [-] nautical miles north of Nanri Island, a task force composed of the Haihan Navy and the Daming Navy is making final preparations for the attack .

The supreme commander of Haihan is Xie Li, a naturalized civilian officer. He is also the first batch of naturalized civilian officers to join the navy. He has participated in almost all naval battles since the establishment of the navy. He has rich experience in naval operations and command.This time, the Military Commission dispatched a small fleet to station in Fujian with Qian Tiandun, and did not appoint another cross-border group to be the commander, which shows the trust of the military senior management in him.

Before Shibazhi launched the offensive to Nanri Island, Qian Tiandun and Xie Li had formulated several action plans for different situations, one of which was to try to drag the Dutch into the water.The Dutch wanted to rely on their past performances to deter the Fujian Ming army navy, so that they would not dare to take part in the war easily. This is actually a good idea. If the Haihan people hadn't stepped in, Xu Xinsu really wouldn't have dared to take the initiative Mess with the Dutch.But the current situation is a little different. Haihan has eight warships participating in the battle this time, which gave Xu Xinsu great confidence. If he can take advantage of this opportunity to severely injure the Dutch, it will be regarded as a repayment of the arrow of the past. hatred.

For this reason, Xu Xinsu specially sent the two treasure-like Haihan warships under his command, and there were more than 50 naval warships deployed to the front line of Pingtan Island with them—this was almost concentrated. The elite forces of the Fujian Navy were lost.

Xu Xinsu dared to make such a big bet because Qian Tiandun gave him a reassurance after he arrived in Fujian—as long as he firmly defeated Shibazhi's offensive against Nanri Island, Fujian's next move You can start to prepare for the attack on Penghu.And the powerful fleet that Qian Tiandun brought to Fujian fully proved that Haihan's attitude was not just for fun.Xu Xinsu endured Shibazhi for so many years, and finally saw the hope of turning around, so she naturally refused to miss it easily, so she gathered the elite of her men and put them on the battlefield.

The commander of the Fujian Navy is Xu Xinsu's fourth son, Xu Yuzhuo. During his studies at the Shengli Port Military Academy, he has specially studied courses related to cooperative operations with the Haihan Navy. He is a perfect candidate for this position.

In the fleet sent by Shibazhi this time, there are not many ships that are actually used for combat. Most of them are responsible for carrying people and cargo, so that so many people can be deployed to Nanri Island at one time.The task of armed escort was mainly handed over to six Dutch armed sailing ships.The battle plan of the task force is very simple, that is, the Fujian navy will come forward to force the Dutch to take action by force, and then the Haihan fleet will dispatch to make up for it.

No matter from which point of view, the strength of the task force occupies a clear advantage, so the Fujian military is relatively certain about the outcome of this battle. The only problem is how to make the process more beautiful, so as to maximize the Get the best results for a small price.

"General Xie, is our departure time confirmed?" Xu Yuzhuo took the initiative to ask after seeing Xie Li who was patrolling at the port.

Xie Li nodded and said: "It has been confirmed. We will set off at midnight tomorrow and start fighting immediately after arriving in the waters of Nanri Island in the early morning. The battle plan will be carried out according to our previous formulation. General Xu, please hurry up and confirm all the preparations. Combatants board the ship."

(End of this chapter)