Chapter 134 Not a surprise attack, a decisive battle
On the surface, the Eastern Expedition was to capture coastal areas and rescue the people who suffered from relocation. However, in Zhu Yongxing's view, the key to victory or defeat for both sides lies at sea rather than on land. As long as the Qing navy is severely damaged or annihilated,
After seizing control of the sea, the Qing army in Guangdong was completely passive. It not only had to fight the Ming army on land, but also had to beware of the Ming army's navy landing on its flank. How to fight this battle?
Jin King Li Dingguo entered Guangdong twice, but without the cooperation of a strong navy, he could only rely on the army to compete with the Qing army city by city. In the process of advancing, he not only stretched the supply line, but also stayed in the fortified city for a long time.
The result was that the soldiers and generals were exhausted. We must say that this was one of the important reasons for the failure. Of course, this was caused by Zheng Chenggong's selfishness, blind procrastination, and empty words.
Therefore, although Zhu Yongxing also issued an order to the Zheng family during this Eastern Expedition, he did not include the Zheng family when formulating plans with the staff. Since the establishment of the South China Sea Fleet, it has successively integrated Deng Yao, Chen Shangchuan, Yang Yandi and Zhejiang
The fleet originally loyal to King Lu was tempered and expanded in the Battle of Jin and Xiamen and the battle against the Nanruan Navy. Coupled with the purchase of ships and credit, in terms of the number of ships and artillery, it had already exceeded the Qing army.
Guangdong Navy.
Seizing victory with a decisive battle at sea was the greatest hope of Zhu Yongxing and his staff. To this end, Zhu Yongxing did not hesitate to sacrifice some economic interests and roped in British and French warships to come to help in the battle. Although the British and French forces in Asia were not
Although the two countries only sent five warships in total, the balance of strength was clearly tilted towards the Ming army.
It's just that naval battles are more difficult to grasp than land battles, and it's not a simple one plus one problem. Although Zhu Yongxing tried his best and combined all the forces that could be combined, he was still uneasy about the outcome of the battle.
However, things in the world are so wonderful and do not develop according to the designed trajectory. Even though Zhu Yongxing knows many things that have happened in history and tries his best to guide and utilize them, there are still many things that are beyond his expectation.
of.
Now, an opportunity to win suddenly comes into the hands of the South China Sea Fleet. It's just a bit unprepared. I don't know whether I should believe it or whether I should seize it?
The Qing navy in Guangdong was stationed in Zhelin Village, Jieshi Village, Nantou Village, Beijin Village, Baige Village, and Baisha Village. They managed the navy in sections starting from Xuanzhong Port in Fujian Province and ending in Leizhou Hai'an, and then added
The sea around Qiongzhou. Among them, the most effective ones were the three-town Qing army under the jurisdiction of Guangdong Jieshi Commander-in-Chief Su Li, Raoping Commander-in-Chief Wu Liuqi, and Nanyang Navy Vice-Admiral Xu Long.
The Qing troops in these three towns have been stationed in the coastal areas for a long time. They are the only troops in the Qing army that are familiar with naval warfare. Moreover, they have had many battles with the Zheng army and accumulated a lot of experience in naval battles, and are focused on by the South China Sea Fleet.
And when one of the key targets of attention, Su Li, the commander-in-chief of Guangdong Jieshi, secretly sent a messenger to negotiate the terms of surrender and brought an opportunity to severely damage the Qing navy. Naturally, people would be dubious and had to
Treat with caution.
"Although the opportunity is rare, what if it is a trick of the Qing army to lure our army into an ambush?" Jinghaibo Deng Yao, as the commander-in-chief of the South China Sea Fleet, was well aware of Zhu Yongxing's high expectations, so he was naturally extremely cautious about the fleet's actions.
Linghai General Chen Shangchuan did not dare to be sure easily, but just made his own analysis, "If it is a trick of the Qing army, then Su Li is unlikely to propose such conditions for surrender. Only His Highness has the authority to allow such conditions.
Others are determined not to accept it without authority."
"This is in line with Su Li's usual character, short-sighted and profit-seeking." Zhenhai General Yang Yandi curled his lips. Although he also had a rough background, his status was different now, and he despised this former colleague.
During the chaos of the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, there were five major pirates who opposed the imperial court in the surrounding areas centered on Chaozhou Prefecture and Huizhou Prefecture. They were commonly known as the pirates going north and the bandits going south. Among them were the five tigers, namely Dapu Sanheba Wu Liuqi,
Guangdong Jieshi (now Lufeng Jieshi Town, Shanwei City) Su Li, Raoping Huanggang Huang Hairu, Haishan Zhu Ayao, Chenghai Nanyang Xu Long, known in history as the "Five Tiger Chaos".
At the beginning of the seventh year of Shunzhi, Pingnan King Shang Kexi and others led their troops from Nanxiong to Shaozhou. Sanheba Wu Liuqi and Jieshi Suli went to the province to surrender. Because Suli and Zheng Chenggong had a deep grudge when they were fighting for supremacy at sea, they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.
Later, Su Li not only repeatedly attacked and robbed Zheng Chenggong's generals who came to Haifeng to transport food and recruit troops, but also attacked Zheng Chenggong's Huilai camp.
Zheng Chenggong hated Su Li so much that he called him a traitor and repeatedly sent his generals to attack Jieshi City, including Gan Hui, one of the "Five Tiger Generals". However, Su Li relied on his ability to carry mountains and block seas.
Defeated by strong cities and strong towns.
After the Qing government promulgated the "Boundary Relocation Order", Su Li was very dissatisfied with the Qing government's policy and secretly ordered his subordinates to obstruct the relocation officials. Due to Su Li's power, Haifeng only moved several places including Pipa Village at first.
However, as the Qing government sent imperial envoys to various provinces to inspect "boundary immigration", various places became more vigorous in driving coastal residents into the interior, and Haifeng County was no exception.
One wants to strictly implement the court's orders, while the other sends people to destroy the boundary posts and stone monuments for the relocation of the boundary. The relationship between Ruan Shipeng, the magistrate of Haifeng County, and Su Li suddenly becomes tense. Ruan Shipeng's repeated destruction of Su Li can be described as
He was extremely angry. On the one hand, he threatened to send troops to attack Su Li, and on the other hand, he complained to Shang Kexi and the governor, preparing to completely subdue Su Li so that he could "immigrate" smoothly and improve his political performance.
Historically, Su Li finally met Ruan Shipeng with swords and swords, and then established his own kingdom, named "Long Fei", and built a palace privately, openly opposed the Qing government's relocation, and displayed his anti-Qing banner. At that time, the Nanming Dynasty was about to perish, and Su Li
There was an old grudge with Zheng Chenggong that could not be resolved, so he had no choice but to go it alone.
Now Su Li still wants to rebel, but he has the option of surrendering for help. However, as Yang Yandi said, Su Li is short-sighted and arrogant. He actually regards the sea and Lu Feng as his own, and proposes a move similar to separatism.
meaning condition.
Su Li's rebellion against the Qing Dynasty was not in Zhu Yongxing's memory. This historical fact was not mentioned in many historical materials because it did not have a great impact. Zhu Yongxing's omission was understandable. Therefore, not only did he not remind him
When the officers of the South China Sea Fleet granted Deng Yao and others the power to make emergency decisions, they only limited their power to combat.
"Report this matter to His Highness and let His Highness decide!" Deng Yao finally did not dare to take charge and decided to leave the matter to Zhu Yongxing.
"Then let's make a plan first, lest His Highness decide and be unable to take action in a hurry." Chen Shangchuan had no objection to Deng Yao's decision, but he had suggestions.
"Do you think His Highness will agree to such a condition?" Yang Yandi was somewhat disapproving, "It's just a Su Li return. If others who come to surrender in the future follow suit, it will be difficult to deal with."
"Leaving aside whether Su Li's surrender is true or not, I don't think His Highness will set such a bad example." Deng Yaoshen nodded in agreement, but then said: "However, you should be prepared for any danger. Your Highness - there is always something.
We can’t easily speculate on the fantastic ideas.”
"Is it just too late?" Chen Shangchuan still had some doubts, but since it was related to the safety of the fleet, he didn't dare to act rashly before confirming whether it was true or false.
"It's okay if it's not in time." Yang Yandi chuckled, "Just in time to see if this Su Li is really surrendering. He is so arrogant just based on Jieshi. Do you really think you can resist the Guangdong Qing army with just a few troops? Do you really think we can't do it without him?
no?"
Deng Yaoshen agreed and nodded repeatedly. The substantial increase in strength made him full of confidence. He really wanted to win a big victory, win the favor of His Highness Min, or be promoted one step higher.
Chen Shangchuan suddenly looked at Yang Yandi thoughtfully, and after a long while he said meaningfully: "Our South China Sea Fleet is not afraid of the Qing Army's Guangdong Navy even if Su Li is missing. If the Guangdong Navy is missing Su Li, what will happen?"
?”
Deng Yao and Yang Yandi looked at each other and were stunned. They vaguely felt that there was an opportunity to take advantage of it, but they couldn't think of it.
"The Qing army is gathering its navy at the water village of Baigemen (today's Tongming Fishing Port, Mazhang Taiping Town, Zhanjiang City)." Chen Shangchuan smiled slightly and explained: "If Su Li has any righteous intentions, he will not obey orders honestly.
The priority is to preserve our strength; if it is a false surrender and an ambush is set up, the location should be determined based on our reply. In this way, our army can use the trick and send someone to inform His Highness while asking Su Li to return. We only say that we need to wait for Your Highness to make a decision and paralyze the Qing.
Army. Then, our army can dispatch the entire army to surprise the Baigemen Water Village and severely damage or annihilate the Qing Navy."
Deng Yao and Yang Yandi fell into thinking, and then invariably focused on the map, their eyes slowly stopping at the Qiongzhou Strait.
The key to the surprise attack lies here. The Qiongzhou Strait is about 80 kilometers long and the narrowest point is only 18 kilometers. How can we avoid the Qing army sentinels and reach the Baigemen Water Village secretly?
Maybe there is no need to avoid the Qing army's sentry ship? Deng Yao raised his head with some suspicion, and met Chen Shangchuan's gaze. He blinked and said tentatively: "Go straight through, attack ships when you see them, kill people when you see them, rob them."
Arrive at Baigemen Water Village before the Qing army calls the police?"
To call the police, you can either go by land or by sea. The fastest way is naturally the sea route. If the Qing army's sentry ship is sunk, or it follows closely behind the Qing army's sentry ship, how much preparation time will the Qing army navy have?
"Your Majesty, your Majesty." Chen Shangchuan nodded in agreement, and then said in detail: "Our army can be divided into three groups and move forward one after another. Even if the Qing army's sentry ship can escape the alarm, it will only detect the ships and troops of our vanguard.
The enemy made a miscalculation. The worst result is that the enemy's entire division comes to fight, and a decisive battle at sea is what our army wants, so what should we fear?"
"Yes, it's just a decisive battle." Deng Yao was moved. He turned to look at the two deputies and was met with eager eyes.
"Sir, I would like to be a pioneer." Yang Yandi couldn't bear his temper and took the lead in asking for military leave.