Huangming

Chapter 499 Night Raid Fails, War to Annihilate the Barbarians Begins

Along the coastline of Fengguiwei in Penghu, the biting sea wind, carrying salty and damp air, relentlessly lashes against the unfinished castle walls day and night.

The rammed earth walls, brownish-yellow in color, have been built to a height of more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and the corner bastions are beginning to take shape. Craftsmen and soldiers, barefoot, tread on the muddy construction site, ramming thick logs into the foundation. The sounds of hammers and chisels, shouts and yells, mingled with the roar of waves crashing on the shore, echoing in the bay.

But this bustling scene went completely unnoticed by the Dutch.

Everyone's face was covered in mud and sweat, their brows were furrowed, and even their movements were somewhat sluggish. They showed no excitement at seizing the foreign stronghold, only post-battle fatigue and deep-seated anxiety.

Rejoz was captured.

Of the original seventeen ships, only thirteen remain. The flagship, Guningen, was captured by the Ming army, and nearly two hundred soldiers were either killed or captured. The remaining men looked out at the sea and felt that the shadow of the Ming warships was hidden in that azure expanse.

In a rush, everyone unanimously elected Gao Wenlu to temporarily take command.

In his early years, this man traveled between Luzon and the Ming Dynasty coast with the Dutch East India Company. He was fluent in Minnan dialect and adopted the Han name "Gao Wenlu" to facilitate his interactions with Han Chinese. He was considered the most knowledgeable person in the fleet about the situation in the Ming Dynasty.

Even he found the mess before him incredibly difficult to handle.

In the temporary tents next to the castle construction site, a heated debate had been going on for most of the day.

We must evacuate immediately!

A bearded captain slammed his hand on the wooden table, making the ceramic bowls on it vibrate loudly.

"The Ming army that fought us that day was only a detachment, yet it sank two of our ships!"

The prisoners said their main force was in Taiwan, with hundreds of warships.

If the main force arrives, our small force simply cannot hold them off!

His words immediately drew a chorus of agreement.

An officer in charge of supplies added with a bitter face: "The fresh water on the ship is only enough to last for ten days, and the food is almost gone. Although the fishermen we plundered these past few days have managed to gather some rice and grain, it is not enough to feed the entire army."

"At Fengguiwei, even a decent water source is hard to find. If we continue like this, we'll collapse before the Ming army even attacks!"

These people were mostly captains of armed merchant ships, backed by Dutch aristocratic investors, and their top priority was "stop-loss".

If the fleet is destroyed, they will not only lose all their principal, but may even be held accountable and exiled by the company.

"Evacuate? Where to?"

Gao Wenlu sat in the main seat of the tent, his tone somewhat cold.

“Return to Luzon? What will the governor think of us? Seventeen ships set out, lost the flagship and the commander, and returned empty-handed. He will say we were defeated by a Ming detachment?”
Will those noble lords who invested in us let us off the hook?
Will the East India Company's board of directors allow us to continue commanding the ships?

His words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the crowd's restlessness.

The tent fell silent instantly, with only the sea breeze seeping in through the gaps, carrying the dampness from outside and causing the candlelight to flicker.

Gao Wenlu stood up, walked outside the tent, and pointed to the castle under construction:
“Look at this fortress. Once the bastion is completed, we will be able to set up twenty-six cannons. The Ming army’s breech-loading cannons cannot match our range and will not be able to penetrate the rammed earth walls at all.”

"As long as we hold this position, we can turn the tide and launch an offensive once the reinforcements from Luzon arrive!"

A few days ago, he had secretly dispatched the fastest armed merchant ship, carrying battle reports and a plea for help, to Luzon. The ship's sails were adorned with the East India Company's emergency signal flags, hoping to attract reinforcements as soon as possible.

When he mentioned reinforcements, he deliberately emphasized his words, trying to instill confidence in everyone.

"But what if the main Ming army arrives faster than the reinforcements?"

The bearded captain from earlier was still persistent and kept asking questions.

Gao Wenlu turned to look at him, a cold smile playing on his lips:
"The Ming army's advantage lies in close-quarters combat, but their Fujian ships simply cannot withstand our Hongyi cannons."

As long as we hold the coastline and prevent them from getting close, even if they have a thousand warships, they can only circle around at sea.

not to mention."

He paused, looking over the crowd.

"The Ming emperor is doing business with Spain and Portugal on raw silk and porcelain, and the profits are substantial."

If we can hold Penghu, we can cut off their trade routes. Then, whether we force the Ming Dynasty to open trade or seize merchant ships, we can recoup ten or even a hundred times our losses!

These words struck a chord with everyone.

The Dutch East India Company was originally established to monopolize trade in East Asia. If it could gain a foothold in Penghu and cut off the trade route between the Ming Dynasty and Southeast Asia, it could not only make up for the losses this time, but also vent the resentment of the Portuguese taking Macau.

Seeing that everyone's expressions were softening, Gao Wenlu pressed his advantage and said:

I know you're afraid.

But if we evacuate now, we'll be doomed.

They'll either die in the storm of returning to Luzon, or they'll die on the company's gallows.

"Stay here, repair the fortress, and when reinforcements arrive, we'll not only survive, but also return with a ship full of wealth!"

He walked over to the bearded captain and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hold on for another twenty days, at most twenty days, and the reinforcements from Luzon will arrive. In these twenty days, we will speed up the construction of the fortress and plunder some fishermen to replenish our food supplies."

If we can just hold on for these twenty days, everything will turn around.

The people in the tent looked at each other, and the hesitation in their eyes was gradually replaced by helplessness.

Gao Wenlu is right.

Retreat means the end of your future; staying, though dangerous, offers a glimmer of hope.

The officer in charge of supplies was the first to bow his head: "In that case, I will arrange for people to go to the coast to plunder again and collect as much food and fresh water as possible."

The bearded captain sighed, and his clenched fist slowly relaxed:

"I will have the gunners on the ship assist in building the gun emplacements and setting up the cannons as soon as possible."

Seeing that no one objected anymore, Gao Wenlu breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the sea at Fengguiwei.

The setting sun was sinking below the horizon, turning the seawater a blood red, and there was no sign of any reinforcements on the distant horizon.

This gamble has only just begun.

They were betting not only on the speed of reinforcements, but also on the arrival time of the main force of the Ming Dynasty navy.

But now he had no way out. He could only hold on to his command and force everyone to build a desperate fortress on this foreign coast.

time flies.

It got dark very quickly.

The night in Penghu was oppressed by thick, dark clouds.

There was no moon, and even the stars had vanished without a trace. Only the dark sky hung over the sea, merging with the surging waves into a deep indigo.

The sea breeze, carrying a salty tang, howled across the reefs of Fengguiwei Peninsula, with the crashing waves becoming the only background noise.

This deathly still and violent night provided perfect cover for Deng Shizhong's three thousand elite soldiers.

Deng Shizhong was dressed in black soft armor, with a long iron sword left by his father Deng Zilong at his waist, and his steps were as light as a cat's.

The three thousand soldiers behind him were all tightly bound in their armor, their leggings wrapped up to their knees, their long swords wrapped in hemp cloth, and even their horses' hooves were covered in cotton cloth. They only held short-handled pistols in their palms, the barrels already filled with gunpowder and lead bullets.

They slithered along the rocky shore on the west side of the peninsula, oyster shells tearing the soles of their boots, but no one uttered a single groan.

This was the elite of the Tianjin Navy, selected by Deng Shizhong from over ten thousand men. Knowing they were no match for the Dutch in naval battle, they gambled on winning on land.

"Everyone, follow the marks we made earlier!"

Deng Shizhong lowered his voice and gestured for the team to slow down.

Three days ago, he sent scouts to search all the sentry posts at Fengguiwei.

The Dutch set up three hidden outposts at the foot of Snakehead Mountain, two in the crevices of the rocks and one hidden behind a dead tree, with only two Southeast Asian auxiliary soldiers at each post.

At this moment, the lead scout approached the first sentry like a cheetah. Taking advantage of the servants' drowsiness, he covered his mouth with his left hand and slit his throat with a short knife in his right. The two dark figures fell to the ground silently, their blood absorbed by the burlap sack laid out beforehand.

After clearing out sentry posts along the way, the team quietly arrived at the foot of Snakehead Mountain.

Looking up, the outline of Snake Head Mountain resembles a lurking beast in the night, while the castle construction site on the mountaintop is as bright as day.

Hundreds of torches were stuck in the rammed earth mound, and the firelight cast many shadows on the construction site.

Deng Shizhong squinted and, by the firelight, saw clearly:
Hundreds of Ming Dynasty fishermen, shirtless, were whipped by Dutch overseers as they carried logs. Some fishermen had blood streaming down their legs, but they were forced to keep going by the whips.

Several Dutch soldiers with high noses and deep-set eyes leaned against the edge of the shed, drinking from earthenware bowls and occasionally kicking the fishermen in the direction of the shed. Their laughter was particularly jarring in the night.

"Those sons of bitches, those red-haired barbarians!"

Deng Shizhong gripped the knife handle tightly.

He had heard that the Dutch were plundering fishermen to build their city, but he never expected them to be so brutal.

These fishermen, who used to live off the sea, have now become laborers at the mercy of others, unable to even catch their breath at night.

He gritted his teeth, no longer hesitating, and waved his hand: "Follow me! Kill the overseers first, then save the people!"

Three thousand elite soldiers surged up the mountain path like a tidal wave.

Deng Shizhong took the lead, slashing with his long iron sword. Before the first Dutch overseer could react, his arm was severed, and he fell screaming into the fire.

The soldiers followed closely behind, stabbing the auxiliary soldiers in the groin with daggers and firing their pistols in the direction of the Dutch.

The sound of gunfire rang out in the night, startling the torches on the construction site into a frantic sway. The Dutch overseers and their entourage panicked, some trying to run away, others trying to grab their matchlock guns, but they were all felled by the Ming army's swords.

"Fellow villagers, we are the Ming Dynasty navy! Hide!"

Deng Shizhong shouted at the fishermen. The fishermen were stunned at first, but after seeing the Ming soldiers' armor, they burst into tears and ran into the woods on both sides of the mountain road. Some even grabbed sticks from the ground, wanting to help the Ming soldiers fight the Dutch.

But at that moment, Deng Shizhong's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He realized something was wrong.

He glanced at the corpses lying on the ground: including the rescued fishermen, there were only about a hundred Dutchmen and their entourage in the entire construction site, which was far from the "heavy guard" he had expected.

Where are the Dutch main players?
Where did those Dutch soldiers who were armed with matchlock guns and could fight against the Ming army go?

"not good!"

Deng Shizhong suddenly looked up at the sea.

Before he could even shout "retreat," dozens of orange-red lights suddenly lit up on the distant sea.

Those are the muzzle flashes of Dutch warships!
Immediately afterwards, a thunderous roar of artillery fire erupted as dozens of shells, trailing black smoke, hurtled toward the castle construction site on Snakehead Mountain!

"Get down! Get down quickly!"

Deng Shizhong roared and tackled the soldier next to him to the ground.

But the shells came too fast and too densely.

The rammed earth mound was blown apart, sending rubble and wood chips raining down. The torches crackled as the firewood, ignited by the shells, burned fiercely. Many Ming soldiers, unable to dodge in time, were blown away by the shells or struck in vital areas by rubble, falling instantly to pools of blood. The construction site was thrown into chaos, and the previously high morale was shattered by the sudden barrage.

"It's a trap! This construction site is bait!"

Deng Shizhong lay on the ground, watching the outlines of the Dutch warships moving back and forth on the sea, and a wave of regret washed over him.

He should have realized that the old fox Gao Wenlu would not have focused his main efforts on the construction site.

It was clearly a deliberate act to leave these overseers and laborers alive, luring the Ming army into a night attack, and then using the cannons of the warships to bombard them and wipe them out in one fell swoop!
As soon as the gunfire ceased, shouts from the Dutch echoed across the sea.

A dozen small boats were launched from the warships, each carrying Dutch soldiers armed with arquebuses, followed by a dense troop of auxiliary soldiers, and charged toward Snakehead Mountain.

The Dutch soldiers' arquebuses rang out, firing lead bullets toward the Ming army, while their vassal soldiers charged forward, brandishing long swords and howling.

"Kill! Fight them to the death!"

Deng Shizhong got up from the ground, wiped the blood off his face, raised his iron longsword and charged at the enemy.

Although the Ming soldiers suffered heavy casualties, they were all courageous men who drew their swords and fought back.

However, the artillery fire was too deadly, not only losing nearly half of the troops but also causing morale to plummet.

The arquebus had a longer range than the Ming army's swords and cannons. Under the cover of small boats, the Dutch kept firing from the mountain. The Ming army could neither advance nor hold the mountain, and could only passively take the beating.

"General! If we keep fighting, all the brothers will be wiped out!"

A soldier dragged his injured leg and crawled to Deng Shizhong's side.

"Let's retreat first! As long as we're alive, we can always rebuild!"

Deng Shizhong glanced back.

Only a little over a thousand Ming soldiers remained behind them, all wounded, some still helping their comrades retreat.

The Dutch warships on the sea were still firing cannons at the mountain, while the small boats were almost at the foot of the mountain.

He gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment, but he still waved his hand:

"Retreat! Retreat to Longmen Port!"

The Ming army fought and retreated, using the cover of night and the woods to make a difficult withdrawal from Snakehead Mountain.

The Dutch did not pursue too closely; they simply stood at the foot of the mountain and fired in the direction the Ming army was retreating.

Gao Wenlu stood on the flagship's deck, holding a telescope, watching the Ming army figures gradually disappear into the night in the distance, a smug smile playing on his lips.

"Commander, should we pursue them to Lungmen Port?"

"I asked the adjutant beside me."

Gao Wenlu lowered his binoculars, his gaze fixed on the direction of Longmen Port, a glint of ambition flashing in his eyes:
"Not urgent."

"The morale of the Ming army was greatly damaged after this defeat."

Let's repair the castle first, then replenish our food supplies.

Once the fortress is secure, we'll go to Longmen Port and drive them out of Penghu completely!

The sea breeze ruffled his cloak, and in the night, his smile carried a hint of ruthlessness.

This night raid not only inflicted heavy losses on the Ming army, but also revealed their weakness to him.

Despite their bravery on land, they could not withstand the cannon fire of warships.

As long as the stern of Fenggui is held, and with the combined force of fortifications and warships, Penghu will eventually fall into the hands of the Dutch.

the other side.

Deng Shizhong led his remaining troops back to Longmen Port, and the muffled sound of Dutch matchlock guns could still be faintly heard from the direction of Fengguiwei behind them.

His armor was torn open by shrapnel, and his exposed arm was bleeding, covered in mud and grass.

The soldiers around them were in even worse shape; some used broken swords as crutches, while others were being supported by their comrades, their trouser legs soaked in blood, leaving long red trails on the ground.

The sea breeze swept by, carrying the smells of blood, gunpowder, and the groans of the wounded, making the air feel heavy.

"General...can we still defeat the red-haired barbarians?"

A young soldier's voice trembled; his helmet was missing, blood was seeping from his forehead, and his eyes were filled with fear.

Deng Shizhong opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He panicked too.

The naval battle a few days ago resulted in the loss of most of the fast ships, and the nighttime raid was ambushed, leaving more than half of the three thousand elite soldiers dead. The remaining men were so weak that they barely had the strength to hold a sword.

Penghu is only so big. The Dutch warships are blocking the sea, and the fortress is almost finished. If this drags on, let alone driving away the enemy, they might all be buried in the sea.

at this time.

A lookout at the port suddenly cried out in alarm:
"Sails! So many sails! It's our ship!"

Deng Shizhong suddenly looked up and gazed in the direction the lookout was pointing.

Suddenly, a dense array of sails appeared on the dark horizon, like a herd of giant beasts awakening from the night, heading towards Longmen Port.

As the sails drew closer, the stern of the leading ship could be vaguely seen, with a familiar apricot-yellow flag fluttering in the moonlight, the character "Mao" on the flag appearing and disappearing.

"It's General Mao! General Mao is back!"

Someone shouted first, and the remaining soldiers instantly erupted into chaos. Their heads, which had been drooping just moments before, suddenly lifted, and even the wounded forgot their pain, struggling to reach the harbor.

Deng Shizhong's eyes suddenly welled up with tears. He wiped his face hard and ran quickly toward the dock.

The ray of light in our desperate situation has finally arrived.

Before long, the lead first-class Fujian ship slowly approached the shore, its planks clattering onto the dock, splashing up tiny droplets of water.

Mao Wenlong, dressed in bright silver scale armor, was the first to step down.

Behind him followed a group of military officers, all with solemn expressions, but at the very back was a particularly eye-catching figure.

Angelica, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, wore a dark brown leather nautical coat with a short gun at her waist. Her blonde hair was tied back with a leather rope, making her stand out from the officers around her who were dressed in Ming army armor, attracting frequent glances from the soldiers on the dock.

As soon as Mao Wenlong stepped onto the dock, his gaze swept over the warships moored in the harbor.

The fleet, which should have originally consisted of over a hundred ships, now has only thirty or forty remaining, mostly damaged Haicang and Cangshan ships.

His brows furrowed instantly. When he saw Deng Shizhong and a group of ragtag soldiers approaching, their armor disheveled and faces covered in blood, looking like defeated soldiers who had just crawled out of the mud, his face darkened.

"what happened?"

Mao Wenlong's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an imposing aura that seemed to calm even the sea breeze.

Deng Shizhong knelt down on one knee with a thud, his head bowed low, his voice full of remorse:

"This subordinate has failed in his duty!"
The day before yesterday, in a naval battle with the Dutch, more than ten fast ships were lost.

Tonight, they planned a surprise attack on Fengguiwei Fortress, but they fell into the trap set by the red-haired barbarians.

They deliberately left the fortress construction site as bait, secretly bombarding it with warship cannon fire and sending arquebusiers to attack from both sides. Our brothers...lost more than half their number."

"Humph!"

Mao Wenlong stepped forward and kicked Deng Shizhong's armor.

"You have such an impatient nature!"

What did I tell you before I left Taiwan?

The Dutch have strong ships and powerful cannons, and they are cunning. They want you to hold your ground and wait for the main force to come to your aid!

You think you're invincible just because you've defeated a few pirates?
They dared to launch an unauthorized attack and fell into such a simplistic ambush!

Deng Shizhong gritted his teeth, letting the armor rub painfully against his chest, and dared not refute.

He knew that he had underestimated his opponent this time.

The surrounding soldiers all lowered their heads, and no one dared to utter a sound.

Mao Wenlong took a breath, looked at Deng Shizhong's bleeding arm, his gaze softened slightly, and he finally suppressed his anger:

"Your crimes will be dealt with after we settle things with the Dutch!"
"Now is not the time to pursue this matter. This town has brought eighty warships and five thousand elite troops here to drive these red-haired barbarians back into the sea!"

He crouched down, grabbed Deng Shizhong, and his eyes were sharp as knives:

"Tell me all the details about the Dutch. How many ships do they have? How many men? What stage is the fortification construction at? How is the defense of the stern of the bastion arranged? Don't leave anything out!"

Deng Shizhong quickly straightened up, enduring the pain, and recounted the events of the past few days in detail:
"The Dutch now have thirteen ships left, including three galleons, ten armed merchant ships, about eight hundred soldiers, and more than two thousand Luzon vassal soldiers."

The fortress bastion at Fengguiwei is almost finished, with twenty heavy cannons mounted. During the day, they have their servants and captured fishermen build the fortress, while at night most of them return to their ships to guard it, leaving only a few sentries…”

Mao Wenlong listened carefully, and when Deng Shizhong finished speaking, he suddenly looked up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes:
"Good! They thought that once they defeated you, no one could stop them! Now that we're here, they still don't know it."

"Tonight is perfect! Before they've even settled in, let's catch them off guard and drive these red-haired barbarians out of Penghu completely!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and shouted to the generals behind him:
"Issue the general's order! All warships must be inspected and replenished with ammunition immediately; the 20,000 elite troops will be divided into three teams: one team will accompany the general to attack the warships at Fengguiwei, one team will attack the fortress, and the one team will guard Longmen Port to cut off the retreat! Depart precisely in half an hour!"

"As ordered!"

The generals responded in unison, their voices so loud that the seawater at the dock seemed to tremble.

Looking at Mao Wenlong's upright figure and then at the soldiers bustling about in the harbor, Deng Shizhong's earlier sense of defeat vanished.

With the commander-in-chief here, they can win this battle!

Angelica, standing to the side, crossed her arms and looked at the scene before her, a hint of amusement flashing in her azure eyes.

She moved closer to Mao Wenlong and said with a smile in her accented Mandarin, "General Mao, the way you're acting makes it seem like you're going to uproot the Dutch?"

Mao Wenlong glanced at her, his tone cold and hard:

"Penghu is the maritime border of the Ming Dynasty. How can we allow the red-haired barbarians to run wild?"
If you want to watch the excitement, stay on the boat.

"If you dare to play any tricks, this town wouldn't mind throwing you and the Dutchman to feed the fish."

Angelica smiled and raised her hands, making a "harmless" gesture:

"I'm just someone who provides intelligence, so naturally I hope you win."

After all, I don't want to see the Dutch establish a foothold in Penghu.

Mao Wenlong ignored her and turned to walk towards the warship.

As night deepens and the sea breeze intensifies, a night battle that will determine the fate of Penghu is about to begin!
ps:
My monthly pass is about to expire, so I'll use it now.

I will add more chapters for monthly votes. I still have a cold and fever, but I will try my best to write more once I'm better. Please understand.

(End of this chapter)