1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 174 The First War in Hanzhou ([-])
"Signal! All ships out! All out!" Major Anthony Goldstein shouted.

Damn it, those cunning pirates actually set up artillery on the mountains on both sides of the harbor!They had been waiting for all their warships to sail into the harbor before they suddenly fired.

Oh God, are they trying to sink all our warships here?
Except for the "Cassilis" which was unable to move, the remaining four Spanish warships began to turn hastily.

"A bunch of idiots, don't fight that stationary ship!" Inside No. 1 Fort, Zhang Jiawen roared furiously: "Bombard that smoking ship!" Seeing that the enemy ship was about to turn and flee, Then don't hurry up and leave another one.

A gun emplacement on the Cyone was hit, detonating a nearby keg of gunpowder and sending a plume of smoke billowing from the ship.But other facilities on the ship were intact, and all the sailors were struggling to adjust the sails and turn the rudder, trying to change direction in the shortest time and escape from the harbor.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Several shells were fired and hit the bow of the ship, knocking down several sailors who were sailing on the deck, rolling and wailing.

"Change the chain ammunition and attack the smoking ship!" For No. 3 battery, Liao Meng also took a fancy to the "Sioni".

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A few more shells from the No. 2 turret hit the stationary "Cassilis", breaking several large holes in its port side.

"Fucking Shang Sanxi, what a waste of cannonballs!" Zhang Jiawen cursed at No. 2 Fort far away.

"Crack!" With a crisp sound, the mast at the midship of the "Sionny" was hit by the No. 3 battery on the right side of the mountain, and it was broken in two immediately, and the huge sail fell down, covering many sailors on board. under.

The "St. Lawrence" commanded by Major Anthony Goldstein was the first to complete the turn and immediately fled towards the harbor.Around it, water columns kept rising, presumably the enemy fort was unwilling to let it slip away so easily.

Except for a few 3-pounders and 4-pounders that did not participate in the attack on the three forts at the pier, all the other artillery did their best to pour shells at the enemy ships in the harbor.Under the siege from three sides, two of the five Spanish warships were damaged and lost power, and one of them had several large holes broken under the waterline and fell over on the sea.The remaining three ships were almost all wounded and escaped from the harbor in embarrassment.

"Report to the commander, the pier fort repelled five Spanish warships. Two of them were damaged, lost power, and stopped in the harbor." A village soldier ran from the pier and reported the results of the battle to Cao Xiong.

"Zhang Jiawen is doing well!" Cao Xiong's face was full of joy, "When the Spaniard is completely defeated, I will toast him with a few glasses of wine!"

"Zhang Jiawen is a good guy!" Yu Fukun said with a smile: "I have a lame leg and can't run the boat, but I can still show such ability in the coastal defense fort!"

"It's not just Zhang Jiawen who has such ability!" Qi Tian said: "Yu Zhongxiang injured four fingers, Chen Dalang broke his arm, didn't they all do brilliantly in the police station and Xinxiangpu!"

"They are all good men!" Cao Xiong praised.

"The Spaniards were repulsed at the pier. Do you think they will stop there and withdraw to Luzon?" Hu Wenjin asked.

"No!" Qi Tian said decisively: "After preparing for so long and running such a long distance, they just suffered a little setback at the pier. They must not be willing to withdraw to Luzon. They will, maybe they are looking for a place to land. In the place where they are trying to break through Hanzhou. In this way, they will have an explanation when they go back."

"We must immediately find a landing place and send the army ashore." Major Anthony Goldstein waited for the three ships to escape from the harbor and joined the four waiting merchant ships.

Several captains and Captain Petar Veron, commander of the landing force, held an impromptu meeting to discuss the next military operation.The captain of the severely damaged "Kawanaka" suggested returning to the voyage on the grounds that the enemy's fortresses were under such heavy fire.So even if they landed, the pirates must have a fortress, which may also be equipped with artillery.The fleet couldn't land at the pier, and the siege artillery couldn't be unloaded, so they cooperated with the landing troops to attack the pirates.

That being the case, the expedition fleet should return immediately, inform the governor of the actual situation, reassess the specific strength of the pirates, and then launch the second expedition after careful organization again.

Major Anthony Goldstein categorically rejected this suggestion. If the fleet returned without success, his career would be over, and he would even lose a reputation as a cowardly fighter.

"They're just a bunch of pirates, gentlemen!" said Major Anthony Goldstein. "They're a bunch of despicable pirates who don't do anything but plunder. I admit, their battery fire is very violent. That's why , I have reason to believe that the group of pirates must have unloaded all the guns on the hijacked Santa Cruz and placed them on the pier battery. Then, the stronghold they hid probably has no guns."

"Gentlemen, we have 250 gallant Spanish soldiers in our expeditionary fleet, and [-] native servants. If necessary, the thousand natives who are built as coolies can also be armed. I believe that on land, That group of pirates will definitely be vulnerable to the natives on Sulu Island. We will occupy their castles, we will also occupy their pier forts, and we can catch them all and bring them back to Luzon. Accept Judgment and punishment of our great kingdom of Spain!"

"Moreover, we can also rescue our companions. They are still in the harbor where we fought just now, waiting for us to rescue!... So, gentlemen, let us act quickly and find a nearby place where we can land!"

"Obey, Major!" Everyone was persuaded by Major Anthony Goldstein, and as the commander of the expedition fleet, he had the right to ask everyone to continue fighting.

"You, go back and tell Battalion Commander Niu that the enemy ship is heading northeast and has not landed yet." Riding on his horse, Fu Jinbiao ordered a cavalry behind him.

After the Spanish fleet left the harbor, it first stayed in the open sea for a while, then turned around, sticking to the coastline, heading northeast.Fu Jinbiao followed along with seven or eight cavalrymen.Not long after, when they reached the edge of the forest, they had to send out several people who abandoned their horses and ran to follow.

The Spanish fleet traveled about five or six kilometers northeast and stopped at a rocky shoal.After a while, several small boats were drawn out in the middle of the fleet, carrying more than [-] musketeers, and began to slowly detect the depth of the nearby water.

Finally, several small boats approached the shore. More than 30 musketeers jumped out of the boat and waded onto land.

"Jiuwa, go back and report. The enemy ship stopped at a shoal about six kilometers northeast of the wharf. ...Maybe it will land here!" Fu Jinbiao ordered a thin cavalryman.

Fu Jinbiao climbed up a big tree with the remaining three cavalrymen, and carefully observed the movement of the Spaniards.

After putting down the Spanish musketeers, the small boats quickly returned to the fleet.

Soon, the Spanish fleet traveled more than 200 meters to the shore.Then began to put down some small boats, and countless musketeers and native servants descended from the side of the big ship to the small boats.

After the boat was filled with soldiers, it rowed quickly towards the shore.

"Xiao Shuan, there are 1000 people, right?" Fu Jinbiao asked in a low voice while climbing on a branch.

"It seems that there are more than 100 people." Zhang Xiaoshuan replied.

"Is the number wrong?" Fu Jinbiao was a little surprised. When several military officials in Hanzhou predicted that the Spanish landing force would not exceed 1000 people.But looking at the situation now, the many small boats of the Spaniards are still transporting people ashore from the fleet.

"I... I didn't count wrong." Zhang Xiaoshuan looked carefully at the tree trunk in front of him, "With 100 people, I just made a mark with a knife, and there are already... there are eleven!"

"That's it, keep counting." Fu Jinbiao continued to lie on the tree trunk to observe the actions of the Spaniards.

"What? More than 800 Spaniards landed?" Niu Hu was surprised when he heard the report of the cavalry sent back by Fu Jinbiao.Why is the Spaniard so generous? A landing force of more than 800 people came.Then our plan to fight against the enemy will have to be changed.

Three battalions of township soldiers and two companies of marines, with a total of 2000 troops, thought they could surround and annihilate the Spaniards who landed with absolute advantage.

Unexpectedly, with more Spaniards coming, Hanzhou's military strength does not seem to have much advantage.Can the siege war still be fought?
"The original plan remains unchanged!" Niu Hu lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said calmly: "All the military deployments are done according to the plans drawn up in advance. If the plans are changed rashly, all the deployments will be changed. Therefore, we It is suggested that more than a dozen artillery pieces be dispatched urgently from Heishan City. Under Jianye City, cooperate with the artillery at the top of the city to bombard the Spanish army formation. As long as they are scattered, whether 2000 or 800 people, they are all scattered dead sheep!"

Cao Xiong listened, and nodded again and again, "Huzi, you are more and more proficient in the way of battle! Tomorrow's battle, everyone will act with the order of bulls and tigers!"

The crowd clapped.

As the commander of the landing force, Captain Petar Veron was under a lot of pressure.According to the order of Major Anthony Goldstein, the commander of the expeditionary fleet, he must first seize the pier fort tomorrow to allow the fleet to enter the port.Then, unload a few cannons from the warship, and lead the troops to attack the pirate's fortress.

Captain Petar Veron thinks it should not be too difficult to capture the pirate's forts and fortresses.He once led his subordinates to attack the Kingdom of Sulu. Once the Spanish Musketeers landed and cooperated with some native servants, it was generally difficult for the enemy to resist their attack.As for the enemy's fortress, it is nothing more than a city wall built of rammed earth or wooden rafts, which will be easily broken under the bombardment of heavy artillery.

The only worry is that when the troops land, a large number of enemies will launch a surprise attack when they are not stable, causing certain losses to the landing troops.

However, what is surprising is that the landing troops went ashore one after another without any attack from the enemy.Don't those pirates dare to break out of their fortress, and wait for us to attack?

A small team of soldiers was sent out to detect and drive away several pirates who were spying on the Spanish landing operations.As more and more landing troops came ashore, Captain Petar Veron's nervous mood gradually relaxed.

Well, let's rest on the shore tonight.Tomorrow, with the heroic Spanish army, drive out all the cowards who only know how to hide in the forts and fortresses, let the natives who follow them hang them all up again, and watch us occupy everything here.

God bless us!

(End of this chapter)