Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 50: The First Target of Conquest, Zamboanga
The fleet heading north docked at the Weiyangfu Pier for two days. Officials and wealthy businessmen who came to visit by submitting letters came in an endless stream, and there was a long queue of carriages and sedan chairs waiting to be received.

Zheng Guohui selectively met some important people, and left the rest to his aide Zheng Guotai to deal with. Basically, he just accepted gifts and visiting cards.

Two days later, the fleet set sail again. The original four ships were expanded to six ships, and five more beautiful maids were added to the ships. They set off north to Huaiyin Prefecture.

The fleet arrived safely at Huaiyin Prefecture two days later. The fleet docked directly at the Qingjiangpu Wharf. Naturally, there was another round of welcoming and seeing off by officials. The hustle and bustle was not to be mentioned for now.

They walked and stopped along the way for more than ten days before leaving Xuzhou Prefecture and heading north to Jining Prefecture. The originally lively welcoming and seeing-off scene came to an end.

After leaving Xuzhou Prefecture, they were out of the territory of Jiangnan Province. Zheng Guohui ordered that, except for the necessary fresh vegetables and meat supplies, the fleet should continue to move north without stopping and leave the southwestern Shandong region that had been devastated by the war as soon as possible.

this day

On the bank of a canal north of Jining Prefecture, a dozen tough-looking men stood on the top of a hill, watching a fleet of boats winding past from afar, with greed in their eyes.

"Master, the information has been ascertained. This corrupt official is Zheng Guohui, the Jinling City Guard, who was on his way to the capital to receive a reward. He was formerly a member of the Tongzhou militia. He rose to prominence thanks to his presence in Tianjing City, and his blood debts are countless, and even a thousand deaths would not be enough to atone for his crimes. On this journey, I wonder how much of the people's wealth he has extorted."

"Then let's do it. It's just the right time to get some money and give our brothers a treat."

"Young Flag Master, please be patient. This bastard named Zheng is sailing in the river. My brothers in the Nian Army are good at cavalry battles, but not at water battles. We must make careful plans."

"That's right. I heard there are a lot of musketeers on the official ship. Blindly attacking will only increase casualties. Don't lose a few teeth before you get the meat."

"Bah, stop talking. You're destroying your own prestige and boosting the ambitions of others."

Listening to the noise of his men, the leader of the White Banner, Li Yuntai, a tall, strong man with a beard, narrowed his eyes and flashed a cold light, and said:

"Brothers shouldn't quarrel with each other, otherwise others will laugh at you.

Have someone continue to watch the fleet, while the rest of us lead a large group of troops to the front and wait. We'll ambush the fleet in the narrow river. I'll take Zheng Guohui's head as a sacrifice."

Prince Wei Li Yuntai was one of the more than ten leaders of the Nian Army. He had always been in contact with the remnants of the Taiping Rebellion. His whereabouts were erratic and difficult to predict.

The Nian Army cavalry roamed across seven provinces, namely Anhui, Henan, Shandong, Hubei, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Zhili (Hebei), for more than ten years. At its peak, its total strength reached 200,000, making it by no means an easy opponent.

Under the repeated encirclement and suppression by the Huai Army heading north, their power has now been greatly reduced, and they are now scattered around.

After Prince Wei Li Yuntai gave the order, the brothers around him all clasped their fists in response, their expressions becoming excited, like bloodthirsty hungry wolves surrounding fat prey.

On the fleet

Captain Hu Zuqing of the personal guards put away the monocular with a serious expression, his brows furrowed in thought.

After passing Jining Prefecture, sneaky cavalry or groups of strangers often appeared along both sides of the canal, which made him intuitively feel the strong hostility.

After entering Lu Province, the entire fleet strengthened its surveillance and vigilance, ready to deal with any unexpected situation at any time.

There were originally four large ships coming out of Jinling, but now the number has increased to nine as they travel through various states and prefectures, loaded with various local specialties and the admiration of prefecture and county officials for their superiors.

When passing Weishan Lake

Many merchant ships gathered here also followed the official fleet, forming a large fleet of forty or fifty ships, which looked spectacular.

These merchant ships are very straightforward.
The ground in Lu Province was not at peace, and they just wanted to take advantage of the power of the official ship, hoping to scare away the bandits.

Correspondingly, this large fleet heading north also became particularly conspicuous.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that these merchant ships also have armed guards, and when they gather together they can form a considerable force, so small groups of bandits dare not approach at all.

Sailing on the Grand Canal means traveling during the morning and staying at night.

The fleet would weigh anchor and set sail before dawn, and at night would dock at the county and prefecture docks along the Grand Canal, where heavy troops often gathered, and safety was therefore more guaranteed.

Hu Zuqing thought about it for a moment, then turned back and came to the first floor of the ship. After entering, he saw his aide Zheng Guotai sitting at a table on one side, holding a brush and drawing a list of the goods that had been registered and verified and were loaded on board.

Zheng Guotai turned around and saw Hu Zuqing pushing the door open. He placed the brush in his hand on the inkstone and asked, "Captain Hu, is there anything wrong?"

"Mr. Zheng, I'm concerned about the increasing number of people spying on both sides of the canal. I'm deeply concerned and would like to report this to the General."

"No need. The general has also noticed something is wrong. This is a sign of impending disaster."

"That……"

"The general has ordered all soldiers to be alert and ready to take orders at any time. I'm afraid a tough battle is unavoidable. But there's no need to worry. As long as we don't panic while sailing on the river, those bandits can't do anything to us."

"I understand."

The words are divided into two parts, each expressing one branch.

It was the morning of March 1865, 3, the last day of March.

Amidst the azure sea and sky in the north of Mindanao, a sail appeared, then two, three, and countless more, and a dense fleet of ships emerged on the skyline.

This was none other than the task force fleet that had braved the waves all the way south. Dozens of large ships were scattered in a straight "I" shape, stretching for dozens of miles.

"Look...that's Minangnao Island. We finally arrived safely."

"Long live the general! Long live the advance team!" With the experienced captain's shout, everyone on the ship became excited and rushed to the side of the ship, shouting happily.

Looking at the blue sea and the rolling coastline on one side, I couldn't help cheering and threw the bucket and hat in my hand into the sky.

Navigator Zheng Shouzhong (with the title of Qianzong, Eleventh Uncle) hurried out from the stern deck and looked at the increasingly clear coastline in the distance, and couldn't help grinning.

Finally, we lived up to the general's trust and brought the fleet intact to its destination...Mindanao Island.

He was extremely worried along the way, fearing that anything might go wrong. He was too ashamed to go back to his parents and brothers in his hometown of Tongzhou, and too ashamed to face the spirits of his ancestors in heaven.

Now that this big stone has finally been put down, I feel a lot lighter all over.

Navigator Zheng Shouzhong led the fleet from Chongming Island. After entering Haikou from the Huangpu River, they turned south and continued south along the coastline.

The entire fleet's route south was basically based on being able to see the coastline.

Taking advantage of the residual power of the northwest wind, we arrived at the Penghu Islands smoothly, where we carried out large-scale repairs and replenished water, vegetables and food.

During this era, the Penghu Islands were almost completely autonomous. Every year, the navy camp under the jurisdiction of Fuzhou Prefecture would conduct two inspections, passing through the Penghu Islands on their way back and forth from Taiwan Island.

In fact, the Navy Camp has not been seen for more than ten years.

The fishing villages on the Penghu Islands are self-sufficient and seem to be a secluded paradise where no one cares about them. However, foreign sailing ships, smuggling merchant ships or pirates often pass by and exchange some fresh vegetables, meat and fresh water with the locals.

But the old people living in the fishing villages of the Penghu Islands had never seen such a large-scale fleet heading south, and they were truly shocked.

The navigator Zheng Shouzhong lied to them, saying that they were a fleet of imperial ships sent south to comfort the vassal states by the imperial court, and no one doubted it.

Fortunately, the fleet did not take advantage of the local fishing villages. They used real money to exchange for fresh vegetables and meat, and replenished a large amount of fresh water.

Just in time

A strong wind blew on the sea, and the surging waves reached 6 to 7 meters high, and the sea conditions became increasingly severe.

According to experienced old people in the fishing village, this should be a weak typhoon heading north and passing through the Penghu Islands, and it will not last too long.

Sure enough, this typhoon only had a marginal impact on the Penghu Islands. In the following three days, the waves were turbulent, with the highest waves reaching 10 meters, which was terrifying to watch.

As quickly as it came, it went as quickly as it came.

Three days later, the sea returned to calm, as if the previous raging waves were just an illusion.

The fleet heading south luckily avoided the typhoon in Penghu Bay. After the wind and sea calmed down, they immediately weighed anchor and set sail, heading south in a mighty manner.

This season is not a time when typhoons are frequent, and the probability of two typhoons coming together is extremely small.

This judgment was very correct. Since the fleet set sail from the Penghu Islands, it had a smooth journey south to Mindanao and arrived in just six days.

It can be said that it was the ancestors’ presence that blessed the southbound fleet and ensured their safe arrival.

Seeing the coastline of Mindanao means that the journey south is halfway to victory, and the rest will be much easier.

Judging by the navigation instrument

The current location of the fleet should be in the northwest of Mindanao. After commanding the fleet to approach the coastline, the navigator Zheng Shouzhong ordered it to sail southwest along the coastline.

He was an experienced person and knew that Zamboanga, the second largest city in Mindanao, was located in the southwestern corner of the island.

And there is the fleet's final destination.

After another day and night of sailing, the large fleet sailed south along the coastline of Mindanao. We saw a coastal city in the distance, with various buildings spread out and people coming and going.

This is Zamboanga, an excellent seaport in western Mindanao, overlooking the Sulu Archipelago and bordering the Basilan Strait.

Zamboanga is located at the tip of the peninsula, on a narrow coastal plain. It is hot all year round with an average annual rainfall of 900 mm.

This amount of precipitation is probably slightly less than that in the southern part of Jiangnan Province and slightly more than that in the northern part of Jiangnan Province. It is a relatively moderate level.

This is the center of brass and copper products of the Moro indigenous people, a shell distribution center, and a historic fishing port that produces a variety of seafood.

Looking at the beautiful coastal city before him, the pilot Zheng Shouzhong's eyes were burning with passion as he loudly ordered;

"The fleet raised the battle flag, sounded the alarm bell, and all combatants were on full alert and ready for battle.

The fleet sailed to the harbor and sent the order down;
Enter one by one, seize the pier in sequence, clear out all irrelevant personnel you see, and welcome the main force of the fleet to land.

Brothers, our glorious moment has arrived."

"Kill, kill, kill..."

All the crew members waved their swords and guns excitedly, their eyes full of fiery desire, and the frenzy of battle quickly infected everyone.

Before setting out, the General had made it clear;

This is an army heading south to conquer. Imagine how you would capture a city before, and do it just like that without any hesitation.

(End of this chapter)