1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 657
However, at this time, the pirate ships that escaped earlier had already filled the escape channel. Most of these ships were damaged to varying degrees due to the shelling they received during their escape. It was difficult to maintain a perfect sailing condition. Crowded in a relatively narrow waterway, the speed of the boat will naturally not be fast.Although Zheng Zhihu was the leader of the troops, he didn't even dare to show his banner on the boat at this time, lest he would attract the attention of his opponents. Although he was anxious, he could only slowly move forward with the big team.

At this time, the Haihan militia that had rushed to the pier had basically ended the fighting, began to take over the port area, and cleaned up and searched the captured pirate ships that hadn't had time to escape.The hundreds of pirates left in the port did not cause too much trouble to the militia. Most of them didn't even have a decent resistance, so they chose to surrender to save their lives - because they all heard that Haihan soldiers were far away. The loudspeaker was used to repeatedly shout the slogan "Drop your weapons, surrender and not kill", and at this time, it seems that it has no practical significance to continue to choose the way of fighting to be loyal to the leader.Keeping one's own life and not continuing to make unnecessary sacrifices when the situation is over is the choice a sane person should make.

In the end, the pirate ships that failed to escape offshore accounted for about one-fifth of the total number of the attacking fleet.The reason why these ships failed to escape was that the hull was damaged or the sailors did not board the ship in time. Most of them were because they had not had time to load the supplies on the ship. After a day or two, I fell into the predicament of lack of water and food.Most of the last batch of pirates who were left behind in the port were injured, such an escape was almost tantamount to suicide, it might as well stay and surrender to Haihan, maybe there is still a chance of survival.

The very few pirates who tried to rely on their personal bravery to make a dying struggle were quickly defeated under the suppression of muskets and bayonets.In the face of an established professional army, the role of personal bravery is extremely limited, and Takahashi Minami, who leads the troops, has always been very firm in his attitude towards the resisters—anyone who refuses to surrender on the battlefield does not need to ask for instructions or warn. Immediately.So every desperado who rushed out and wanted to make a last-ditch effort got a consistent volley of gun shots and the subsequent close-up knife.

The killed resisters will be dragged to the pier immediately and shown to the pirates who have chosen to surrender, in order to warn them not to think about anything else, otherwise the corpses of these stubborn resisters will be their end.And this deterrent method did have an excellent effect. After seeing the corpse of their companions, the pirates were obviously much more honest. They obediently obeyed the command of the Haihan soldiers and squatted in a row with their hands on their heads in the open space of the pier.Several soldiers holding hemp ropes kept twisting the pirates' hands behind their backs, and then tied their hands with ropes.During this process, the soldiers will also conduct a simple body search by the way, find the hidden daggers and other items on the pirates and throw them aside for centralized processing.

For the handling of prisoners, this army from Annan is also familiar with the way.In the late period of the Annan Civil War, this army often accepted thousands of prisoners in southern Annan. How to manage these prisoners of war, it can be said that there is already a set of relatively well-established methods and systems.To arrest these pirates on Nanri Island, they only need to follow the gourd painting.

Of course, Gao Qiaonan did not forget to ask the artillery to immediately clean up the forts erected by the pirates on the shore, and gather the gunpowder together for further processing.It is indeed a safety hazard for such high-risk items to be left open on the pier so casually. If some pirates who can't think about it rush to act as human bombs with fire pockets, then the fun will be great.

Qian Tiandun arrived at the port with Ming army representative Xu Jiaqi at this time.Xu Jiaqi saw the pirate captives crouching on the pier. On the one hand, he marveled at the combat efficiency of the Haihan militia for taking down the port in such a short period of time. On the other hand, he secretly regretted it. You should bring your own troops to pick up this credit.Although Fujian officials will not miss him in the rewards for meritorious deeds after the war, there will still be a subtle difference between "commanding in command" and "killing the enemy in person" in the minds of the chiefs of the Ministry of War, which may also be different. Indirectly affect his future career promotion.

"Have you caught Zheng Zhihu?" The first thing Qian Tiandun did after seeing Gao Qiaonan was to ask about Zheng Zhihu's whereabouts.There is not much suspense about the outcome of this fight. Qian Tiandun is now more concerned about how much he can achieve, whether he can capture one of the big bosses of Shibazhi, Zheng Zhilong's younger brother Zheng Zhihu, this symbolic meaning It is far greater than capturing hundreds of remnants and defeated generals and a dozen pirate ships with a total tonnage of less than [-] tons.

"My lord, according to the captives, Zheng Zhihu has boarded the ship and escaped to sea, but judging from the time, his ship should not have escaped from our army's encirclement." Gao Qiaonan replied hastily.

Qian Tiandun looked at the chaotic pirate fleet on the sea in the distance, nodded and said, "Report the situation to Xie Li immediately and let him keep an eye on it! Zheng Zhihu must stay on Nanri Island whether he lives or dies!"

Xu Jiaqi looked enviously at Gao Qiaonan holding a small black box and reporting the battle situation to his colleagues several miles away at sea.Many senior officers of the Fujian Ming Army have seen this kind of small box with the effect of sound transmission for thousands of miles. Xu Xinsu also asked Haihan for a large sum of money to buy it from Ning Qi on behalf of Ning Qi, but he was not confirmed. reply.Ning Qi also made it very clear that it wasn't a matter of price, it was just that this thing was not on Haihan's sale list at all, and he would not accept anyone's bid.Although Xu Xinsu was a little disappointed, but at the same time felt relieved - what he couldn't buy with money, others couldn't buy either, and the only Haihan people who had this kind of artifact happened to be his allies.

And there are many such wonderful tools in the hands of the Haihan people, with different functions, and most of them are used in navigation and military fields.And those who have really seen Hai Han's methods will find it difficult to think of fighting against them.Even Xu Xinsu, who now has the military power in a province, often sighs in private that it is fortunate that he and Haihan reached a cooperative alliance back then.

Zheng Zhihu, the other party involved, was sailing into the open sea with trepidation at this time, but the situation here is not much better than in the harbor. Dozens of warships of the Ming Navy cast a large net around the periphery, trying to Getting out is still not easy.

The main mast of Zheng Zhihu's ship was interrupted, and the speed was very slow. It was obviously extremely difficult to rush out.He immediately ordered a nearby pirate ship in better condition to come over, and then change to the past.

However, this transfer attracted the attention of nearby Ming warships, and a Haihan-made warship belonging to the navy immediately turned its muzzle and shelled the ship.Zheng Zhihu was indeed unlucky. Before he got on the ship, he was hit by a round of shelling. A shell hit the rudder oar at the stern of the ship, and immediately caused the ship to lose most of its steering ability. .

When Zheng Zhihu summoned the third ship and planned to transfer again, the sailor, who had already sensed that the situation was not right, also called for reinforcements from his companions, and began to attack the ship with concentrated fire.The pirate ship that was going to come to rescue Zheng Zhihu, seeing the situation was not good, gave up trying, and chose to turn and escape when the distance was less than twenty feet.

"This damned guy! After returning to Penghu, I will punish you!" Zheng Zhihu was so angry that he chose to turn around and run away when he saw that the ship's accident was imminent.It's just that while yelling and scolding, he has also realized that it may be difficult for him to have a chance to return to Penghu safely.

"Listen, people on board, you have fallen into the siege of the Fujian Navy, immediately surrender unconditionally!" The content of the shouting and the iron horns used on the Fujian Navy's warship were copied from the Haihan Navy, and this arrangement is also the same as that of the Navy. Admiral Xu Yuzhuo's meaning—he thinks the Haihan Navy's approach is very domineering, and it is worth emulating for the Fujian Navy.

However, the pirates on board obviously did not intend to accept the advice of the Fujian Navy, and the pirates responded with loud curses and a few sporadic musket shots.Of course, such an act of death would not be forgiven by the Fujian Navy, so two rounds of shelling were carried out at a distance of about 30 meters, which finally calmed down the pirates on board.

After deciding that the pirates on board had given up resistance, a naval warship slowly approached. The sailors stretched out bamboo poles with iron hooks, hooked the side of the pirate ship, and pulled the two ships closer. When they were still three or four feet away, they stepped on the side of the ship and jumped onto the pirate ship.

Soon the sailors were ecstatic to report a major discovery on the pirate ship: Zheng Zhihu, one of the chief leaders of the Eighteenth Zhi, was on board the ship, and was seriously injured and unable to resist.

Zheng Zhihu was injured in the last round of shelling just now. The grape bullets fired by the Ming army penetrated the hull and hit him.

When Xie Li and Xu Yuzhuo heard the news and rushed to board the pirate ship, Zheng Zhihu, who was carried to the deck by the sailors, had already turned blue due to excessive blood loss, and it seemed that he could not be rescued.

"You are Zheng Zhihu?"

Zheng Zhihu reluctantly raised his head when he heard the voice. It was a young man in a Haihan military uniform. He had dark skin and short hair like that of a Haihan. It was impossible to tell whether he was a real Haihan or a so-called Haihan naturalized people.Zheng Zhihu reluctantly responded, "You are...officer Haihan?"

"This is Xie Li, the commander of the Haihan Navy stationed in Fujian. Are you Zheng Zhihu?" Xie Li asked, while signaling the medical staff behind him to rush forward to treat his injury.

"There is no need to treat..." Zheng Zhihu waved his hand to signal the medical staff to move away, and said in a weak voice: "I am Zheng Zhihu, and it is a great achievement for you to catch me...It's a pity...you can't bring the living back ...Thank you..."

"I don't care about your life or death, that's the business of the Ming government." Xie Li couldn't even see the slightest pity on his face: "Even if you are taken back alive, you will still be sentenced to death!"

Zheng Zhihu shook his head slightly and said: "Beheading can't scare me... But I don't know one thing... You and I have always kept the water in the river, why do you Haihan keep chasing and beating me Shibazhi... you won't let me go Pass?"

Xie Li looked at Zheng Zhihu with a very surprised look, then shook his head and said: "You are also a person who has been fighting in the rivers and lakes for decades, why would you ask such a naive question? Are you robbing merchant ships and civilian ships?" When the time comes, will you explain the reason to them? To put it bluntly, it is nothing more than four words, the jungle will eat the jungle!"

Xie Li said this very directly, and he didn't use any principle of assisting the government in arresting pirates to perfuse Zheng Zhihu. He didn't hide it at all. Even Xu Yuzhuo who was next to him twitched his mouth slightly after hearing this.Although Xu Yuzhuo also knew that Haihan's style of work had always been like this, this was the first time he heard a senior officer of Haihan say it himself.

Xie Li continued: "You Shibazhi's crimes along the coast of Fujian have already hindered our Haihan's business in Fujian. And don't forget, your people assassinated our chief two months ago. Maybe You don't know how serious this matter is, but I can tell you now that your actions are tantamount to declaring war on us. So don't complain about whether the well water does not violate the river water. Since you have done it, you have to be responsible for what you have done. "

"Okay... what a predator of the jungle..." Zheng Zhihu was spitting blood from the corner of his mouth, and he was already angry.

Xie Li shook his head, ignored the dying man, turned to Xu Yuzhuo and said, "Leave the rest to General Xu. Congratulations to General Xu for his new achievements!"

"This is also the completion of General Xie!" Xu Yuzhuo replied with a smile: "After returning to Zhangzhou, Xu will hold a banquet to thank General, please be sure to show respect!"

Everyone carried the bridal sedan chair, since Xie Li had expressed that he would hand over this great achievement to Xu Yuzhuo, then Xu Yuzhuo would naturally show his gratitude by giving him enough face.It was just one of the trophies they were talking about. Zheng Zhihu, the leader of Shibazhi, had died silently due to serious injuries and blood loss.

Of course, although the other person is dead, his head will probably be chopped off and hung outside Zhangzhou City for half a month, as a warning to others.And Xu Yuzhuo, who commanded the battle at sea, will be credited with a great service. Not only will he report his merit to the Ministry of War, but he will also have a memorial to the imperial court. At that time, various rewards and seals will definitely be indispensable.

"Zheng Zhihu caught it." Only a few minutes later, Qian Tiandun learned of the battle report at sea, and immediately informed Xu Jiaqi.

"Alive or dead?" Xu Jiaqi asked subconsciously.

Qian Tiandun replied: "It was still alive when it was caught, but because of the serious injuries, it has become a dead person now."

(End of this chapter)