open sea

326 - Take advantage of the void
The blunderbuss thorns were made in Nanyang, and they were transported together with the luggage. Because of the short time, there were only a thousand blunderbuss thorns in the luggage.

The sword-shaped ridge is made of Baotou Steel. For the sake of convenience, it has not been opened, which is the blood groove.Because most of the swords and swords in the Ming Dynasty were cut out, these things were mostly for decoration or to remove forging defects. The biggest significance is that it can save materials when there are few materials.

There is no shortage of iron or steel in Guangdong. Even though Nanyang Wei used firewood and lime to smelt iron and forged it many times, Chen Mu was still worried that the high sulfur content of some iron would affect the quality of weapons. He would definitely not use the method of saving materials to make guns. prick.

The advantage is that with the same number of infantry, he has more bird guns, which can kill the enemy's spearman early; the disadvantage is the same as the historical plug bayonet, sometimes it is not easy to pull out. From gunner to short spearman.

His blunderbuss is only four feet long, and with the thorns included, it is less than six feet long. If it is purely against spears, it is still at a disadvantage, but at least there is no need to carry a waist knife.

This kind of thorn is only a stopgap measure, and it is only equipped with Chen Mu's vanguard army to give them a little advantage in close combat. There will be no such thorn in the next transportation.

There will be a new tenon-type thorn, but even if there is the method of soft sword steel used by the craftsman of the Ministry of Industry as the spring, the accuracy of the parts is still too difficult for the craftsman's craftsmanship. No, what's more, the new type of bayonet thorns cannot be directly equipped on the existing bird guns.

Chen Mu simply designed the new blunderbuss, and the design was sent back to Nanyang along with the supply ship.Nowadays, hydraulic forging hammers, drilling machines, and manual cutting tool beds have all improved productivity and processing accuracy, as well as innovations in firing technology, which can bring great development to the new gun.

The new guns are all made of flint hair, and the tail of the gun bed is made of a human body-shaped bracket, and the head of the gun tube is equipped with a thorn sleeve with a mortise and thorn so as not to affect the cleaning rod.However, considering the needs of the next war, the rifling and Minie bullets were not added into the design.

He also attached a design drawing to Guan Yuangu for him to ponder and experiment, and apply it to a small number of thicker and more durable gun barrels in the future. It can also be paired with a small telescope to start a silly daydream in Chen Mu Here, he will have some snipers in his troops in a few years time.

And his preparation for this was to send a letter to Bai Yuanjie to find a Portuguese businessman to buy a batch of oak wood, and ask them about the feasible method of making glass.

But these things are not as important as the current war.

The dispatched scouts reported that some people failed to come back alive. The news of the Ming army's landing on Luzon Island should be known to the Spaniards soon, but it doesn't matter if the news leaked at this time.

Because it was only two days after the return of the scouts, the mountain pass where Shao Tingda was stationed was full of smoke.

Regardless of whether the motive was leaking news or chasing scouts or deliberately cutting off the threat of Luzon Suleiman, the smoke of the fire sixty miles south of Panshilan City meant one thing—the Spaniards were coming.

The people around Hawksbill Harbor were panicked, but what made Chen Mu feel at ease was that from far and near several beacon towers, two black smokes turned into thin lines on the horizon, which meant that the enemy's strength was around [-], and Shao Tingda had a good location , Holding ten two-pound cannons in hand, even if you can't hold on for a day, with the artillery team, it is not a problem to fight and retreat in case of crisis.

"Shi Qianhu led 27 banner troops to support first, but if he couldn't resist, he would retreat [-] miles, which is suitable for interspersed encirclement. Chen will set off in an hour. If you are not [-] miles away, I will continue to attack."

Shi Qi took the order and immediately rushed to the camp, and within a moment of the sound of the gathering drum, the [-] banner troops rushed to the south.

Chen Mu summoned his subordinates to discuss the matter, and at the same time sent someone to inform Chen Lin that he would send three additional fleets to Turtle Harbor.

"Chen guessed that the Xiyi didn't know that our army had landed on the island. Because Li Dan sent back a secret letter, there were only six thousand Lv and Japanese soldiers in Luzon Island, and hundreds of Xiyi soldiers. Among them, there were nearly a thousand Han people recruited by Li Dan. .”

Chen Mu spread out the simple topographic map of half of Luzon Island surveyed and drawn by the banner army in the commander's tent, and said to the generals: "According to what Li Dan said about the garrison of the Xiyi soldiers, there are more than [-] garrisons in Manila, scattered all over the city. , they built a new royal city in the city, and it has not been fully built, only Xiyi can enter the royal city."

"In addition, thousands of troops are scattered outside the island. Some are going east to suppress tribal villages, some are supervising logging, and some are guarding river passes. This consumes a lot of their troops."

"Now that Xiyi sent [-] troops to attack the tortoiseshell port, it was blocked by Shao Qianhu. Where did Xiyi use these two thousand troops?"

Chen Mu pressed his hand on the topographic map and scanned the generals.

Deng Zilong said solemnly: "Chen Shuai means to take advantage of this opportunity to attack Manila. If this force is dispatched from Manila, the city will be empty at this time; if it is not dispatched from Manila, there will be insufficient reinforcements; unless they dispatch troops from outside Luzon Island Otherwise, this is a good time to attack Manila."

That's what I mean!
"Ten two-pound cannons were unloaded from the temporarily unused small shark ship. General Deng, I need you to lead the rest of the fleet out of the bay and head southward for forty to sixty miles. If the beacon is lit near the coast and mountains before evening, it means the battle has been won." , If there is still no beacon fire at noon the next day, we will withdraw to Panshilan City; after that, two beacon fires will go forward for thirty miles, three forty miles, and four fifty miles; one beacon will stop anchoring."

"Until three hundred miles away, there is a small bay. If you sail at noon, you can enter Manila Bay at night, but the journey on the road is slow and the distance is long. It will take me one to three days. If you don't appear on land, you need to attack Manila by sea. , I should overcome all difficulties to get there. Just attack Manila from the periphery to create momentum, and will not attack the city and fight in the streets.”

"You need to take this opportunity to sink or capture all the enemy ships in Manila Bay - Chief Lin!" Chen Mu said, turning his gaze to Lin Feng, and said: "You have two thousand men, lead them to go south with General Deng If I don't show up, I will attack Manila with General Deng, and if there is no problem with the siege on land, you can lead the fleet around Luzon Island, and this is the end."

Chen Mu pointed to the narrow area in the southeast of Luzon Island named Lucena by the Spaniards and said: "After landing, take this town. It is the place where the southeast Luzon and other islands must pass for reinforcements to Manila. I need you to ambush All the enemies trying to get through there, let not a single soldier go north."

Lin Afeng didn't expect that she would also be classified as the main combat power, she clenched her fists and paused for a moment, then said firmly: "I obey!"

Chen Mu nodded, glanced at the generals again, put on his pockets and said, "Everyone, follow me to take Manila."

When dismantling the cannon on the ship and replacing it with a cannon carriage, soldiers from the Chen Lin battalion escorted a westerner from the small boat from Chen Lai Island and sent them to the camp where Chen Mu was ready to go. After saluting, the battalion soldiers were about to say something. But was stopped by Chen Mu.

Chen Mu looked at the Portuguese Pinto and asked in surprise, "Old Mr. Pinto, you are not in Haojing, what are you doing in Luzon?"

Pinto, a writer of the Portuguese school of hyperbole, raised his finger to his glasses, took off his hat, and said nervously: "General Chen, your departure was too secretive, which made me miss the opportunity. I hired a merchant ship to arrive." Lu Song was captured by another General Chen. The southern expedition of the Ming Dynasty was a big event, and I hope to have the opportunity to experience the war with the general. As you can see, although I am old, I am still an adventurer, regardless of victory or defeat , it was all a great war and it should be recorded."

"Win or lose? I will only win."

Chen Mu chuckled, shook his head slowly, and said, "I'll give you a moment to think about it. If you decide to follow me, you won't be able to leave ten years from now. Your book will only be published after ten years. When you want to escape, you will be killed, limited to your age, and you may not be able to leave until you die."

"If you still want to join, I will reserve a place for you in my staff and give you a salary every month."

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)