Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 263 The Night Attack of the Xiangshan Association
Shen Jingdan and the others made this detour, and the lucky boat traveled tens of miles in one go. They didn't arrive at Wailingding Island until the sun went down.It was impossible to go by boat at night, so everyone had to agree to wait at Wailingding Island overnight.

These days, Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng, and Ding Guofeng took turns chatting with Zheng Yi and the others, talking about how big the world is, where all the countries are, and why these countries come to Guangzhou to do business.It also talked about Zheng He's voyages in the Ming Dynasty, the shipbuilding technology of the ancients and why the Manchurians couldn't do it.

In fact, during the period from Shunzhi to Kangxi in the early Qing Dynasty, the main force of the Manchu Navy was the Zhejiang Navy and the Fujian Navy.During the shipbuilding competition that was launched to eliminate the Zheng family in Taiwan, the Qing army imitated a large number of large bird ships.But after taking Taiwan, the bird boat was abolished immediately.

However, the Guangdong navy was congenitally deficient. The early warships were all captured Zheng's warships, which had long since decayed.On the paper of the Ministry of War, although there are 84 boats and 60 boats in the water battalions in Guangdong, in fact there are only 15 boats in total, and the largest one is only seven feet long.The entire Guangdong Navy has been reduced to an inland sea fleet that inspects smuggling, and dare not go deep into the ocean at all.When chasing bandits at sea, the Qing army often recruited civilian ships. Once something happened, the government did not care about compensation; Just run away.

Before going to bed today, Zhao Xin spent two hours, talking, writing and drawing, to give Zheng Yi and the others a general introduction to what is Fushou Gao, what are the harms of this thing, and why Westerners sell it to adults. clear.

"Captain Zhao, you have said so much, and I can understand it all. Since the drug, oh, is opium. Since opium is not a good thing, how can we block this harmful poison and prevent everyone from buying it? ?” It was Zheng Qi who asked the question.

"Oh, you asked a very good question. But this matter is not something that can be explained clearly in a few sentences." Zhao Xin nodded approvingly. After thinking about it, he found a piece of white paper and drew roughly On the topographic map from Guangzhou to Malacca, pointing at the location of the port of Malacca with a pen, he explained to Zheng Qi: "Occupy this place and control this strait. Most of the smuggling will be eliminated."

Zheng Qi scratched his head and said, "Is this place so important?"

Zhao Xin said: "It's very important. The British of the East India Company have always wanted to take this place from the Dutch. Now they have to wait for an opportunity."

"what chance?"

"A chance for the French."

"Ah?" Zheng Yi was immediately confused.

Zhao Xinxin said that this is really tiring. After talking about Southeast Asia, do we have to talk about Europe?He simply used a pen to draw a large circle starting from the Strait of Malacca, including the entire Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian archipelago, and even the entire South China Sea. Pointing to the area of ​​the circle, he said: "Whoever can control the Strait of Malacca can block the opium channel."

Zheng Qi's eyes lit up, wishing he could stick his face on the paper.He said in his mouth: "Good guy, I think the sum of these islands is about the same as that of the Qing Dynasty?"

"Smaller than Daqing, but the territory is big enough."

Zheng Yi, who hadn't spoken for a long time, suddenly said: "Mr. Zhao, you talk so much, do you want us to help you take this place down?"

Liu Sheng, who was reading a book beside him, chuckled and poured a basin of cold water on him. "You? You can't. With your little ships and manpower, you can only be ravaged by the British when you get there."

Zheng Qi said unconvinced: "Why do you underestimate people?!"

Liu Sheng said: "Look at that? Do you know how many cannons there are on an ordinary British warship?"

Zheng Qidao: "There is one parked at the southern port, and I think there are only twenty or thirty gates."

Liu Sheng shook his head and said, "Xiaoqi, that is a merchant ship, mainly carrying cargo. As for a warship, the smallest 50-ton class has more than 60 guns. As for the worst class, a third-class battleship also has 80 to [-] guns. Cannon, your tugboats and oyster-hull boats are no match for you."

Zheng Qi stood up with his hands on his hips and said, "We can use fireboats to attack, we can sneak attack at night, yes"

Just listen to Zhao Xin interrupted: "Naval battles are fought with ships and artillery. You can win once or twice by fireboats and sneak attacks, but how do you win the forts in Malacca? Do you use human lives to fill them? Besides, even if you win When it came down, the British sent over a dozen warships, and when the cannons fired, you couldn't hold it at all."

Zheng Yi said thoughtfully: "Mr. Zhao, what do you think we should do? Just watch the Western ghosts transport all the drugs to Guangzhou to harm people?"

Zhao Xindao: "You and Xiaoqi are both smart people, come back to Beihai Town with us to practice hard for a few years. When we come back again, we will fight down the Strait of Malacca and drive the British and red-haired people away!"

After saying this, Zhao Xin turned his head and looked at the watch on the wall. It was past ten o'clock, and he said to Zheng Yi and the others: "It's getting late, let's talk tomorrow."

On the way back to the bow cabin under the escort of several soldiers, Zheng Qi said to Zheng Yidao: "Brother Yi, what do you think?"

"Me?" Zheng Yi looked blankly at the darkness in the distance, and said, "Although I haven't heard a lot of what Captain Zhao said, I know he's right. How about you?"

Zheng Yi used to think that being able to unify all the gangs in the Pearl River Estuary and "going out to sea" would be an honor for his ancestors, but he didn't expect that his ideals were not worth mentioning in Zhao Xin's mouth.

"Brother Yi, Brother Chang won't let you go because you have to inherit the family business. I've thought about it these days, and I don't want to do the business of robbing houses anymore. The government regards our Dan family as pariahs. How can someone like me stand out?" One day? Follow them, it may be a chance."

Zheng Yi patted Zheng Qi on the shoulder, and said: "Xiao Qi, what you said is what I have been thinking about these days. I will plead with Dad later. I really want to see an iron ship that is bigger than this ship. Know and know."

After that, the two had nothing to say, and fell asleep after returning to the cabin.

In the middle of the night, on the pier of the former cottage north of Jiangjun Mountain, there are crowds of people, and the beach illuminated by countless torches and bonfires is very bright.According to the order of Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, this time, the left and right battalions of the Xiangshan Association dispatched a total of more than 800 troops, two boats, 10 boats, and five civilian boats.In addition, there are several gunpowder boats used for approaching sneak attacks and a dozen small boats manned for sneak attacks.

At this time, more than 100 crying bustards, women and prostitutes, escorted by more than a dozen veterans of the Qing army, were walking towards a conscripted Tong'an boat.

"What are you crying about! Who will cry again? I chopped it up with a knife and threw it into the sea to feed the fish and shrimp!" A Qing soldier in his 40s cursed viciously at several crying old bustards.

A crying bustard with snot and tears asked the old soldier: "Master, when the battle is over, it will be nothing to do with us?"

"What's the matter? Master Shi can still lie to you?! After this fight, go to the yamen to collect reward money!"

In the light and shadow of the torch, Li Dagang, who was standing not far away, looked at the scene in front of him, heaved a long sigh, and said to his subordinate Qian Boss: "Is our stuff ready?"

Mr. Qian gave a military salute, and said to Li Dagang: "The gunpowder is not enough, I have already sent people to the fireworks shop outside the city to get some gunpowder."

Before the Opium War, the Manchu Qing had very strict management of gunpowder, and it was almost a case-by-case discussion, and the army would never allow gunpowder to be allocated privately.The military gunpowder in the whole of Guangdong was made by the director Tongzhi leader under the governor's yamen, and then handed over to the Chinese army yamen of the left-wing naval battalion for secondary distribution to each battalion.Now that the fire is imminent, it is too late to adjust the gunpowder, so I have to find a fireworks shop to make up for it.

The firearms that Li Dagang ordered his men to make were mainly divided into two types.

The first is the fire boat that Li Dagang himself wanted to build.Fill the small boat with gunpowder and cover it with a thick reed mat. The ignition device consists of velvet, lighted incense sticks and ropes; after approaching the enemy ship, the daredevils manually pull up the rope to set the incense sticks on fire. After burning, it ignites the fuse and then detonates, causing an explosion and fire.

The second is to consider that the Thor's side is very high and not easy to climb, so a batch of gunpowder cans for throwing and clay pots filled with black dog blood and feces were made.Li Dagang doesn't believe in any sorcery, but he can't stop his subordinates who believe in it!So after some pleading, he agreed.

The Taoist priest Ma Benchu ​​was arranged to continue setting up altars on a Tong'an boat.After three days in a row, the old Taoist was almost tired and vomited blood, and he thought he was going to die!After taking the money after this trip, I have to go back and rest for a few days.

At the second quarter of Zizheng, the soldiers of the Qing army began to board the ship after a full meal.

The deputy general Shi was wearing a gleaming military general's armor, a copper inverted U-shaped helmet, and gilt copper hollowed-out phoenix ear wings on the left and right sides.The top of the helmet is small and the bottom is large, with a cover plate in the middle, a piece of otter tail hair on the top, two small copper pipes on the left and right, and two pheasant feathers inserted.

Standing beside Vice General Shi was a painting and calligraphy office sent by the Chinese Army's capital and the Governor's Mansion.For the sake of safety, Vice Admiral Shi decided to take a boat with Taoist Ma.

At exactly the right time, the Qing army fleet began to set off.The distance from the former Shanzhai Wharf to Tanzai Island is not far, [-] miles by water.

In ancient water attacks, the most important thing is to watch the changes of water current and tide.The tidal current near Tanzai Island is part of the Pearl River Estuary tidal current, which flows northwest during high tide and southeast during low tide.And the tide level is the highest every day from the ugly time, and then the tide begins to ebb, and the attack is launched after Yin time, and the water flow is just right.

The Qing army fleet drove slowly for almost an hour, and then cautiously came to a distance of 500 meters north of the Thunder God.At this time, the sea surface of Tanzai Island was completely silent, and the only thing that could be heard was the sound of waves crashing against the hull of the boat.The Thor ship in the distance was pitch black, only the top of the bow mast and the top of the ship building flashed red light.

Zhao Xin and others finally got careless!No one can keep their nerves tense for more than ten days in a row, saying that they must take strict precautions, but there are always some who don't take it seriously; the calm weather of the past few days has made everyone on the Thor gradually ignore the hidden dangers.

In order to train their own senior crew members, the sailors on board are responsible for the night duty these days. The three of Zhao Xin and the others only come to make inspections occasionally; if they really want to keep the three of them on duty 24 hours a day, every 2 hours, morning and evening Have a nervous breakdown.

The sailor on duty tonight was tired of the "anti-drowsiness system" that had to be pressed once every five minutes, and turned it off without authorization in the middle of the night.After the guy closed it, he didn't think it was enough, so he ran to the dining room on the second floor to get a chair, put his feet on the nautical chart table, and dozed off.
In the bow cabin, Zheng Yi suffered from insomnia.He listened to the snoring beside him, but what Zhao Xin had said to him in the past few days was in his mind.Yes, the world is too big!Compared with the entire South China Sea, my original ambition is not even a sesame seed.Westerners, the government, opium, Malacca, etc., disturbed Zheng Yi's heart.

While tossing and turning, Zheng Yi got up quietly, put on his coat and walked to the main deck. He looked up at the stars in the sky, thinking about the marriage he had made with the Xu family.

Zheng, Xu, Shi, and Ma are old pirate families in Fujian and Guangdong.The Shi family has long been wiped out, and it is said that only one girl survived and entered the brothel.The Xu family and the Ma family also declined, and only the Zheng family ruled the Pearl River Estuary.Now that the Xu family is weak, there is no need to worry about it being replaced. Therefore, Zheng Lianchang took great pains to book this marriage.

While thinking wildly, Zheng Yi walked to the side of the boat and looked straight into the distance.Suddenly, he saw that there seemed to be a little fishing fire on the sea in the distance, and he couldn't help being a little surprised. It was so late, and there were still people fishing?
He saw those fishing boats gradually approaching, as if in a fan shape, and they were coming towards the Thunder God.Zheng Yi felt that something was wrong. He was familiar with the tactics of the Qing army or the pirates at the mouth of the Pearl River in this era. The strings of lights in front of him clearly showed an offensive posture.

At this time, as the opposite ship got closer, the torches on the ship and the lanterns on the mast became more and more clear.Zheng Yi had already seen the words on the lantern clearly at this time, and immediately yelled "No!"

He turned sharply and ran towards the ship building, shouting in his mouth: "There are officers and soldiers! Officers and soldiers are here!"

The soldiers from Beihai Town who were on duty on the lower floor of the ship building were startled by Zheng Yi's yelling, and just about to curse, Zheng Yi ran over, grabbed his shoulders and shouted: "Soldier! Soldier! !Call someone!"

The soldier looked in the direction of Zheng Yi's finger, and was also shocked, so he slapped the alarm button casually.The harsh siren sounded on the Thor in an instant, and the lights in the cabins on the third floor and the first floor were lit up one by one.The guy on duty in the cockpit was startled, turned over and fell to the ground. When he walked up to the radar with grinning teeth, he was frightened out of his wits.On the north and south sides of the Thor, more than a dozen ships of various sizes are approaching.

At this time, the gunpowder boats under Li Dagang's command had already been dispatched, and each boat was rowed forward by three Shui Yong, and the distance of [-] meters was reached in a blink of an eye.After these selected water warriors approached the Thunder God, they tried to hook the hull with the iron hook on the ship. Who would have imagined that the hull of the Thunder God was smooth and there was nothing to rely on.

On a gunpowder boat near the bow, Shui Yong saw that the hull could not be hooked, and was worrying, when he suddenly saw the black anchor chain sinking in the water not far away, he quickly called his companions to lean over, and then put the iron hook Hooked on the anchor chain, he tried his best to sideways the hull of the gunpowder boat and got close to the hull.

A water warrior saw that the boat had stopped, and immediately pulled the rope in his hand. As soon as the incense stick fell, the tinder gradually lit up.

"Let's go!" The three Shui Yong jumped into the water and swam towards a water boat with all their strength.

The other gunpowder boats became more and more flustered, and the water warriors just put their boats on the hull of the Thunder God, and they didn't care about finding a place to hang the hooks. They pulled the ropes and jumped into the water to escape.Except for the boat hooked on the anchor chain, several other gunpowder boats were rushed to the sides of Thor under the action of the current.

In the power distribution room on the Thor, the boatswain who hurried over quickly turned on the headlights on the mainmast.Zheng Qi and the others who were awakened in the forecastle came out one after another. They saw the bright lights on the mainmast in a daze, and they didn't know what happened.

At this time, Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng were running out barefoot in vests and shorts, holding only a pistol in their hands; when Ding Guofeng ran to the cockpit, he saw the sailor on duty trembling. What's the matter?"

The sailor on duty, knowing that he was in serious trouble, was too frightened to speak.Suddenly, Ding Guofeng saw the bright lights of the mainmast, and he was about to go to the compass deck to check the situation with a pistol in his hand. As a result, he just opened the cabin door, his eyes blurred, and then he heard a "Boom!"

The shock wave of the explosion overturned Zheng Qi and others at the bow on the deck. Amidst the stunned people on board, a ball of fire rose into the air from the left side of Thor's bow.

"It's broken!" Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng just came out of the ship building, and looked at the fire and yelled in their hearts that it was bad.At this time, Zhao Xin saw Zheng Yi running up to him, and shouted: "Officers and soldiers! The officers and soldiers are here!"

When Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng heard this, they didn't care about other things, and quickly called other people to rush to the side of the ship, and when they found an M2HB, they were ready to shoot.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"Boom! Pop!"

Zhao Xin, who was knocked to the ground by the shock waves of the first two rounds of explosions, just got up when he heard a familiar voice from above his head.

"Why are there still two kicks?" The thought was fleeting, and he rushed to the heavy machine gun again, pulled the rope on the edge of the canvas, and then flipped it off with his hand.

"Bullet!" Zhao Xin yelled, and a soldier was running towards here with a bullet belt.Each heavy machine gun position is generally equipped with fifty rounds of ammunition, and if it is really necessary to go to war, it can be used up in a blink of an eye.

At this time, Zhao Xin saw several small boats approaching from the north. He turned his machine gun and began to shoot, and the soldiers from Beihai Town behind him who were not knowing who to shoot also began to shoot at the bright part of the sea.

　Let me tell you that the Qing army in Guangdong did many similar things during the first Opium War.The excrement can is just one of them, which makes the British disgusting enough.Others such as imitating Ming Dynasty mines, booby traps, and fire boats have also been done.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)