Di Ming

Chapter 506 Setting Sail Back Home!

The Crusaders on the Western warships then discovered, with pain and horror, that the Ming army's muskets had a longer range and faster reloading speed than their new muskets.

Lord, what kind of enemies did they encounter?
“Bang bang bang bang—”

The warships of both sides approached each other and fired at each other in a line, about a hundred paces apart, like shooting arrows. The foreign soldiers suffered heavy casualties, while the Ming army suffered far fewer casualties.

On the Western warships, the busiest people at this time were the accompanying priests, who were so busy praying for the fallen that they couldn't keep up with the demand.

The priest accompanying the army repeatedly said, "Lord, my poor children, yet another mother has lost her son..."

After noon, the sea wind suddenly intensified, and the allied fleet, which was already at a disadvantage, found it difficult to maneuver its large galleons in the strong winds, causing their formation to begin to break apart.

Wang Huaizhen seized the opportunity and signaled to Zhu Yin: "My lord, you can order the central fleet to change to a wedge formation, and divide the fleet into three branches to penetrate and split the allied forces into three groups! Then we can defeat them in one fell swoop!"

Zhu Yin stared at the scattered Allied ships on the sea. "Can this tactic be implemented? This is a battlefield ten miles wide."

"I think there's no problem!" Wang Huaizhen was a veteran sailor of thirty years. "My lord, the wind is currently in our favor. The enemy ships have many large sailing ships, which are not very mobile. We should be able to surround them within half an hour!"

"Then let's give it a try!" Zhu Yin put down his monoculars and decisively gave the order.

"Signal the order: change the center line to a wedge shape, Cao Xin's left flank will contain the allied forces' right flank, while the right flank will encircle the enemy's left flank. Advance from three directions, and be sure to divide the allied forces before surrounding them!"

"We must not only win, but win big and wipe out the enemy!"

The flagship Xianyang was the first to adjust its mainsail to a downwind position, its hull piercing the center of the Allied forces like a sharp sword.

Thirty-six cannons fired alternately from two directions, like arrows being drawn from both sides, wreaking havoc in all directions.

The Jinghai Navy is undoubtedly the most professional navy in the world, with highly skilled naval warfare techniques and a quality that meets the standards of a modern navy, far surpassing that of the Allied forces.

The Ming fleet moved northward, continuously destroying the masts and sails of the allied ships.

"Boom boom boom!" The Ming navy, which had already established a rhythm and whose cannons were superior in power, accuracy, and loading speed, easily divided the Western Allied Fleet into three parts.

From west to east, the allied forces were squeezed to the coast in the north, attacked from both sides in the middle, and blocked by the right wing of the Ming army in the south.

If viewed from the sky, one would see the massive Western Allied Fleet, a naval crusade formed with half the strength of the Invincible Fleet at its core, the largest Western expeditionary fleet since the Age of Exploration, which is gradually being divided into three parts by the Ming fleet and is about to be surrounded.

The Western officers, familiar with naval warfare, were terrified. The Ming fleet's skillful naval tactics once again refreshed their understanding.

A Spanish officer couldn't help but lament, "Gentlemen, we were wrong, we made a fatal mistake. The navy of the ancient Eastern nation of Seres is the most powerful in the world. Unfortunately, the price of proving this may be the crushing defeat of a massive Western combined fleet!"

A French officer, pale-faced, made the sign of the cross. "Lord! It's ridiculous that so many people still think this ancient Eastern country has become so vulnerable! Those who have misjudged should be sent to the gallows."

"It was a mistake for us French to join the Spanish army in the naval expedition to the east."

The French Wars of Religion led to the exile of a large number of Huguenot knights and professional soldiers. Spain recruited them with double the pay, resulting in many Frenchmen serving as mercenaries in Spain, who possessed the most advanced flintlock muskets in Europe.

More than a thousand French soldiers participated in this expedition. They came for high salaries, spoils of war, and the honor of military victory, but who would have thought that the result of their long journey would be so disheartening!

Seeing that he was about to be surrounded, Alvaro had no choice but to quickly order a full-scale retreat to the west to counter the Ming fleet's encirclement.

However, the wind direction was unfavorable to them at the time, so this tactic was completely ineffective.

Left with no other choice, Alvaro ordered the sacrifice of his right flank in the center, and commanded the fleet on the left flank near the coast, along with his own central force, to attack the Ming army's left flank from both sides, intending to eliminate the Ming fleet's left flank at a great cost.

"Boom!" The Allied flagship "St. Philip" desperately organized a counterattack, but the Ming army's artillery fire was too dense. Its mainmast was hit by a solid shot and collapsed with a crash, killing and injuring dozens of soldiers.

"Oh, Lord!" came the foreign soldier's scream, "Mama!"

Alvaro himself almost got caught in the crossfire, his body covered in dust and smoke particles.

"Commander! Our formation has been breached! The Ming army is encircling us!" Antonio ran onto the bridge, covered in sweat.

Alvaro, his face pale, drew his command sword from his waist as he watched his left and right flanks being cut off by the Ming army.

"Order all ships to converge on the flagship and engage in boarding action! With our swords and spears, we will defeat these Eastern heretics! Knights bathed in the Lord's holy light will not be defeated!"

The allied ships lowered their sails and adjusted their hulls, attempting to board the Ming ships.

At this point, Alvaro and Antonio had no other choice but to launch a full-scale boarding action. At least in their own view, this was the only tactic left to salvage the situation and regain control of the battlefield.

"Approach the enemy ship! Prepare musket ammunition! Check armor, gear, and weapons!"

The Ming army's encirclement, ironically, gave the Western allied forces the opportunity to launch a full-scale boarding action.

With their extensive experience in boarding maneuvers, the Western Fleet managed to forcefully engage the Ming army's right flank with more than ten warships.

They seem to have a firm grasp on this aspect of their presence.

Spain conquered such vast colonies and destroyed so many indigenous kingdoms not only with firearms, but also with the bravery and discipline of its knights. In short, they were equally confident in hand-to-hand combat and melee fighting.

They didn't believe that the warriors of Seris would have the upper hand in a face-to-face battle.

"Lower the bridge ramp! Seize the enemy ship!" came the signal flag from the St. Philip.

As the Western warships desperately closed in, the Ming warships not only fired their muskets more fiercely, but even the archers on board began to fire.

These Ming archers were all professional archers who had trained for many years. At such close range, their killing power against foreign soldiers was even greater than that of muskets because their firing rate was much faster than that of muskets that required reloading.

The Jurchen archers, in particular, were incredibly skilled at shooting at the face at close range.

"Bang bang bang—"

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh—”

The Ming army unleashed a barrage of muskets and arrows at the approaching enemy ships. But the Crusaders were not fools; they returned fire with their muskets while holding up their cross shields, holding their positions on the ship's sides and closing in relentlessly, regardless of casualties.

The more fiercely the Ming army fired, the more they believed that the Ming army was afraid of boarding action.

On the first Western warship to approach, the bridge, which was not originally intended to be used, was moved out and set up, and grappling hooks were thrown out like locusts. The heavily armored Spanish marines swung along the cables toward the Ming warship.

"May God protect us! Kill!"

To their surprise, the Ming army not only did not retreat, but also excitedly seized their ships.

It actually means actively engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

Fierce hand-to-hand combat erupted on both sides' warships. Spanish musketeers fired from the sterncastle, while shield bearers approached amidst the smoke, followed by armored soldiers wielding cross-shaped swords and small shields.

The Ming army used the same tactics. Surrounded by his personal guards, Cao Xin personally led his swordsmen forward, his Tang swords flashing like lightning, cutting down two Crusaders in quick succession.

"Bang bang bang—" Ming musketeers stood on different levels of the deck, firing from either a high vantage point or with their heads tilted upwards.

At this distance, Western plate armor was no match for musket fire.

The battle quickly devolved into a brutal melee. The deck drains were clogged with congealed blood, and the cries of the wounded mingled with the clashing of weapons.

In an instant, the sea was filled with ships with gangplanks, and the warriors on both sides, wielding longswords and spears, roared and fought fiercely at close range.

Cao Xin's Daliang came alongside a large carrack of the allied forces. He was the first to jump onto the other side's deck, and with a sweep of his Tang sword, he beheaded a Spanish officer.

Ming soldiers followed closely behind, with musketeers lined up on the deck, taking turns firing. The Western soldiers fell down screaming in agony.

The heavy infantry in the Ming army were practically beasts in hand-to-hand combat, wielding long swords and heavy weapons, causing the Western Allied Forces to retreat repeatedly.

The fierce Later Jin Baiya La (white-armored heavy infantry) in history were actually modeled after them. Most of them were elite Qin and Jin soldiers from the Nine Garrisons. After following Qi Jiguang to the Southern Dynasties, they were treated very well and were equipped with new Daishan armor, making them even more powerful.

Then there's Qi Jiguang's army, extremely skilled in small-group warfare. Their boarding maneuvers during the anti-Japanese pirate campaign inflicted countless losses on the pirates, to the point that even the pirates, originally adept at boarding maneuvers, dared not engage in them lightly. Now, Ming soldiers from Qi Jiguang's army, operating in small groups, posed a formidable threat to the Crusaders.

Meanwhile, the Japanese soldiers sent to the ship specifically for hand-to-hand combat were also wildly brandishing their weapons, fighting desperately against the Crusaders, and fighting a bloody battle for their new ruler (Zhu Yin).

The arrogant Crusaders, relying on their superb swordsmanship and indomitable will, fought a desperate battle against the Ming army, but were still suppressed by the Ming army and quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.

Shurhaci led over a hundred Jurchen warriors, clad in two layers of iron armor, who slaughtered the Crusaders, who were clad in plate armor, until their souls trembled.

The Ming army displayed its might, slaughtering the enemy and leaving the deck covered in blood and corpses.

One after another, Western warships were captured and seized by the Ming army intact.

"What? This is impossible! This is impossible!" Alvaro felt a chill run down his spine. "Quick! Create distance! Withdraw! Get our warships back!"

The Western commanders on the flagship were all dumbfounded and ashen-faced.

It turns out that even in boarding maneuvers, they were no match for the Ming army. Clearly, the Ming soldiers' close-quarters combat skills were superior to those of Western armies.

But they knew it was all meaningless now.

At this moment, the Ming army finally completed the encirclement of the allied forces. The well-trained sailors quickly adjusted the rigging, using the improved slanted sails to catch the wind, and the warships skillfully cut into the flanks of the Western fleet.

Alvaro's flagship attempted to organize a new battle line, but the various units had already been divided by the Ming army.

Finished!

Governor Antonio discovered with despair that the Ming army's new rudder mechanism enabled them to turn at an astonishing speed. A Ming cruiser completed a beautiful turn into the wind less than two hundred yards from him.

Then the Ming warship fired a volley from its broadside, and the terrible chain bullets tore apart all the sails on the flagship.

At the same time, the cannons of the Ming warships roared again, and the allied fleet, which was completely surrounded, was doomed.

In the late afternoon, the left wing of the allied forces was completely defeated by Cao Xin's troops, and more than 30 ships were sunk or captured.

The central coalition forces are still putting up a futile resistance.

The Xianyang's cannons were aimed at the waterline of the St. Philip. Amidst the booming cannon fire, more than ten shells hit the ship in succession, and the enemy ship began to list.

Alvaro watched his flagship sink steadily, his eyes filled with despair: "No! We are the invincible Spanish fleet! The eastern seas should not be our burial ground!"

Antonio pulled him back: "Commander, it's not too late to order a surrender now! It will be too late if you wait any longer!"

"No!" Alvaro roared, "I am the Commander-in-Chief personally appointed by His Majesty the King, I cannot surrender!"

By this time, the Western fleet had suffered heavy losses. Alvaro decided to take a desperate gamble, concentrating thirty warships in the center to attack the Ming flagship.

The surviving Western warships hoisted their last sails, and the decks were crowded with Crusaders ready for a desperate charge.

Zhu Yin raised his binoculars and silently watched Alvaro, who was preparing for a desperate fight, his gaze indifferent.

Since you're unwilling to order a surrender, then die.

Zhu Yin ordered the nearby warships to move closer to the center and form a dense defensive circle.

As the Western fleet came into range, the cannons of the Ming warships roared in unison. The massive Saint Philippe finally gave way when it was only three hundred paces from the Xianyang, and the ship began to sink.

Alvaro refused to move the flagship. The proud Spanish nobleman straightened his ruffled collar and pointed his sword eastward: "At least let us die like knights."

“Commander!” Antonio cried. “For the sake of the remaining knights, we must live. It is our duty after defeat.”

Just as the Allied forces were preparing to abandon ship, Cao Xin's Daliang rammed the side of the St. Philip, and a gangplank was erected, with Ming soldiers swarming aboard.

Alvaro drew his longsword, intending to make a final stand, but Cao Xin knocked the weapon away with a single blow and captured him alive.

Seeing that all was lost, Antonio rushed to the top deck and signaled for surrender with flags.

Thus, after a day of fierce naval battle, the allied ships were either sunk or burned under the Ming army's artillery fire and boarding maneuvers, and the last fifty or so surviving warships surrendered.

The Ming army lost fewer than twenty warships and more than three thousand soldiers.

On the eighth day of the fifth month of the twenty-fifth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty, the second year of the Taichang reign, Prince Wu, Zhu Yin, decisively defeated the combined Western fleet off the coast of Burma.

Once the Allied fleet was destroyed, the troop transport ships behind it, which had lost naval protection, were powerless to resist at sea, and the 20,000 soldiers were naturally captured as well.

The entire army was wiped out!

The 40,000-strong expeditionary force, composed of Western whites, mixed-race whites, black slaves, and Indian natives, was wiped out in just one day in the waters off Bago, Burma.

As evening approached, the sea breeze subsided, and the setting sun dyed the sea surface blood-red.

Off the coast of Bago, countless shipwrecks, corpses, and tattered sails floated. The Ming Dynasty navy's crimson sun and crescent moon dragon flag flew high on the Xianyang, still bright and dazzling despite being stained by gunpowder smoke.

Zhu Yin stood on the bridge, gazing at the battlefield on the gradually calming sea, his expression grave.

The Ming army also paid a heavy price in this naval battle that lasted a full day. Many of those casualties were veterans of the Jinghai Army.

What is the value of a foreigner's life compared to that of a Han Chinese? Not to mention his Jinghai veterans, every one of them who dies is one less to lose.

They only lost 40,000 men. But I lost a thousand veterans of the Jinghai Army.

Cao Xin escorted the captured Álvaro to the bridge. The once arrogant Spanish marshal was now in a sorry state.

“You won.” Alvaro’s voice was hoarse. “I admit, we failed miserably, and you won gloriously.”

"Kneel down!" The guard grabbed his hair and forced him to kneel on the ground.

Zhu Yin looked at him with disdain and said indifferently, "The ocean does not belong to you. Your Western maritime era is over. History will remember the Ming Dynasty, but it will not remember you."

"Sooner or later, in the near future, the Ming Dynasty's fleet will appear in your homeland. A century in the west, a century in the east."

Alvaro couldn't understand Zhu Yin's words, but he sensed something chilling in them.

He tried to struggle to his feet, but at that moment he lost his last bit of courage!
Zhu Yin waved his hand, ordering his men to lock up Alvaro, Antonio, and others together with Mang Yingli and Zheng Song.

Under the setting sun, the Ming Dynasty's naval fleet stood in neat rows, its dragon flags fluttering in the wind, resembling a giant dragon dominating the sea, or a Great Wall of warships forming a sea wall.

How magnificent!

Zhu Yin was filled with pride when he saw the Ming navy bathed in the smoke of victory.

The first large-scale naval battle between East and West ended with a resounding victory for the Ming army and the complete annihilation of the allied forces.

A maritime era belonging to the Ming Dynasty has arrived under his leadership.

It has been a full four months since I left Beijing at the beginning of the first lunar month until the beginning of May.

In those four months, he conquered Macau, Malacca, Burma, Vietnam, and the Western Allied Forces, winning every battle and becoming a force to be reckoned with, his ambition reaching far and wide!
Zhu Yin, his heart pounding, withdrew his gaze and ordered, "The army will rest for three days and then set sail back home!"

"Issue the order that the waters between India and Myanmar (the Indian Ocean) shall henceforth be renamed the Western Sea of ​​China!"

...

On May 12, the Ming army set sail from Bago Port, ready to return fully loaded!
……

P.S.: The naval battle that was so difficult to write is finally over, what a relief!

(End of this chapter)