Volume of Changning Kingdom: Section 40: The Fall of Shanba Port
The group of people returned from Changning Mountain along the river, and the speed was much faster. It only took one day to arrive at Taojiazhai. When Tao Bo saw them coming, he hurried over.
"Second Master! I don't know what happened at Shanba Port yesterday. There was a lot of smoke! There was also the faint sound of cannon fire! One cannon shot was so loud that it could be heard here!"
After hearing the news, everyone looked to the west, and there were indeed a few fine black smoke pillars in the direction of Shanba Port, which seemed to be signs of fire.
"Is there an invasion of pirates?!" Huang Shidong's heart tightened: Sulu pirates from the north often invade Shanba Port, but with the strategic location of the Huang family's general military headquarters and the young men who are always ready for war, they fight against the enemy.
None of them made any profit. Most of them robbed a few fishing boats and people's homes, abducted some women and children, and fled.
But Tao Bo said that the situation this time was different. First, the sound of cannons basically stopped from yesterday to early today. Second, there was a lot of smoke, indicating that there was obviously a relatively large fire.
If it is a pirate invasion, the scale this time must be very large.
"Is there any beacon fire at Shanba Port?"
"I didn't see it."
Huang Shidong was slightly relieved: if the enemy was too powerful and the strength of Shanba Port could not withstand it, the General Military Mansion would light up black smoke asking for help, and men from other ports and villages would gather to reinforce Shanba Port.
There are no beacon fires now, and the sound of artillery gradually subsides. It should be that the enemy has retreated.
Even so, everyone decided not to spend the night here and traveled all night to return to Shanpak Port as soon as possible.
At midnight, the ship finally arrived at Shanba Port. To be cautious, Huang Shidong ordered people to park the ship on the river beach outside the town, and the group quietly disembarked and headed for the town.
At night, Shanba Port no longer has the tranquility of the past. Several houses with open fires reflected the sky red, turning the clouds into a gloomy and terrifying dark orange. More extinguished burning points appeared in this strange night.
There was black smoke, and the black smoke was carried by the sea breeze from the sea to the inland. Everyone actually smelled a faint trace of blood from the oncoming coke-smelling sea breeze...
The entire town was shrouded in the silence of death, with no lights at all. Huang Shidong was secretly shocked: Although people's homes basically didn't light up lights after dark, there were lanterns on the checkpoints and towers in the town all night long, and there were lanterns on the towers at the port.
As usual, the fort was lit with lights all year round. But now it was completely dark.
It was also dark in the direction of the General Military Mansion. Originally, a pair of torches in front of the main gate of the General Military Mansion would be lit at night and stay on all night long. Could it be that...
Although Cui, Wu and others did not know the inside story, they saw the solemn faces of Huang Shidong and other locals and knew that something was wrong. Wu Tingwei immediately ordered the captain of the navy: "Get ready for battle!"
Huang Shidong originally wanted to go to a house to ask about the situation, but no one answered even after knocking on several houses. Walking further in, he saw that every house in the town was closed, and corpses could be seen on the street from time to time, people who had been trampled by the crowd.
The stalls were in disarray, with merchandise scattered all over the floor.
"Let's go! Go back to the house and have a look!" Huang Shidong didn't panic too much and led everyone up the mountain road to the General Military Mansion. It was obvious that a large group of pirates had come this time, and the people in the town should have fled now.
We took refuge on the Soongbongfu Mountain.
The General Military Mansion occupies a geographical advantage. In the past, when encountering pirates and plunderers, big guys would take refuge in the fortress earth building of the Huang family. It is not easy to capture the General Military Mansion with its high walls and tight defenses, although the torch has been extinguished.
, but there was no fire, which showed that the General Military Mansion itself was not damaged.
However, the enemy has probably not retreated yet. If you rush up the mountain like this, you are likely to encounter the enemy directly on the way. Considering that this trip is very dangerous, it is not appropriate to involve the Australian guests and Anna. He then whispered:
"Two elders, the situation is unclear now. I will take some people back to the General Military Mansion later. You are all guests and the road is unfamiliar, so it is not suitable to be in danger. Please retreat to the woods at the foot of the mountain for temporary shelter. If it is safe,
If nothing happens, I will send someone to find you. If not..." He informed Zhu Shunshen, "Brother Shen, you stay here with a few elders. If no one comes to you after dawn, you can take the guests overland.
Go to Shanjiu Port and find a boat back!"
Before Zhu Shunshen could speak, Wu Tingwei said: "How is this possible! You are in danger now, how can we just stand by and watch! Besides, some of us have guns..."
Cui Yunhong nodded and said: "Yes, if we go together, we will have more than a dozen guns."
"It's impossible!" Huang Shidong shook his head repeatedly, "The situation is unclear at the moment, and it's difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy. When the melee breaks out, we don't care about everyone's caution. If we hurt the two leaders, wouldn't it be a huge sin!" He firmly disagreed with them going with the team.
Cui and Wu knew that he was not only worried about their safety, but also wanted to protect Zhu Shunshen and Anna. It was natural that he did not want them to get involved in the war, so they no longer persisted, and the group hid behind the cliff of Zongbing Mountain.
among the woods.
Huang Shidong and his followers quietly climbed up from a steep path on the other side.
However, they had only walked less than half of the way when they heard a burst of noise and fighting in front of them. Huang Shidong's heart tightened. Although this path was not a secret path, it was rarely used by people on weekdays and was considered inaccessible. At this moment, it was
There are people here who are fighting, and the General Military Mansion is probably in danger...
Before he could finish his thoughts, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, rolling and crawling away on the steep mountain road. The torch was swaying behind him, and from time to time he could hear shouts of killing.
"Quick! Disperse!" Huang Shidong had just given the order, but the figure was already nearby. After taking a closer look, he couldn't help but shout out:
"Auntie!" He was suddenly stunned. A core member of the Huang family like Auntie ran away from the mountain. It was obvious that the General Military Mansion must have fallen!
Huang Qiyan also saw Huang Shidong at this moment and immediately shouted: "Run! The red-haired man is breaking into the house!"
Seeing that the pursuers behind him were getting closer and closer, the servants and guards around Huang Shidong immediately drew their swords and rushed towards them. Huang Shidong caught the aunt, and the two of them immediately fled down the mountain.
When Huang Qiyan broke through, the few servants and guards who were covering her were already dead and wounded, and she almost fell into the hands of the pursuers. Fortunately, Huang Shidong appeared to intervene and managed to escape.
From behind, gunfire was like rain, screams, groans, and shouts could be heard endlessly. Huang Shidong knew that the more than ten servants and guards he had brought with him were in danger, but at this moment, he did not even dare to look back, and the aunt and nephew kept walking down the mountain.
Escape.
The mountain road was rugged and difficult, with many twists and turns. Fortunately, they were familiar with the road conditions and could walk on flat ground even in the dark. But even so, their escape along the way was full of thrills: the enemy kept shooting down blindly with dense volleys of guns,
The beating caused branches of vegetation to fly everywhere.
Originally, they were not too afraid of firearms. No matter what kind of firearm, it took a long time to fire the first shot before firing the second shot. However, at this moment, the opponent's shooting seemed to be continuous, and the projectiles kept pouring down. When they ran down the mountain, they were surrounded by
There is not a single servant left.
"Let's go to Shanjiu Port..." Huang Qiyan said.
Huang Shidong originally wanted to go to the grove to join Cui, Wu and others first, but at this moment the pursuers had arrived, and bullets were raining down, so he really couldn't care anymore, so he had to rush forward.
Just as the aunt and nephew were about to be overtaken and killed by the pursuers, red flames suddenly appeared in the jungle, and the sound of gunshots pierced the boundless darkness, echoing between the mountains and the sea of Borneo. The pursuers fell instantly.
Four or five people were killed, and the remaining people stopped and looked around hastily at the sudden enemy.
"Quick! Keep shooting! Destroy all the enemies!" Cui Yunhong saw that the situation was critical and she would die if she didn't save her aunt and nephew.
The navy soldiers were equipped with Hall-type rifles, which fired extremely fast. In just a few rounds, they knocked down all the more than 20 pursuing soldiers. Taking advantage of this gap, Huang and his nephew fled in.
into the grove.
"What's going on?" Wu Tingwei asked in surprise.
"Stop asking, let's leave quickly!" Huang Qiyan waved her hands, "It's not safe here."
The group immediately hid in the jungle under Huang Qiyan's guidance.
The Huang family has been operating here for more than 200 years, and of course they have thought about all possible dangerous situations. The worst case scenario is that the General Military Mansion is captured, so the survivors have made corresponding preparations for their escape.
After walking in the dense forest for more than an hour, they came to a pile of rocks on the seashore. It was the time of high tide. Huang Qiyan asked everyone to take shelter in the rocks for a while.
Cui Yunhong looked back at Zongbingfu Mountain, and visually determined that this place was only two or three kilometers away from Zongbingfu. However, this area was all tropical jungle. Without Huang Qiyan to lead the way, the pursuers would have to walk at least three or four hours to find this place from land. They
It's safe for now.
However, they are now on the beach. If the pirates do not retreat and use ships to patrol and blockade, it will not be easy for them to escape.
It would be great if there was a boat now. Regardless of the size, as long as it could carry them and sail along the coast, they could escape to other Chinese ports here.
He looked at his watch. It was already one o'clock in the morning. If he could not leave Shanba Port before dawn, the situation would be even more critical after dawn. Of course, the pirates most likely just wanted to plunder. If they could hide for a few days, they would be able to retreat.
It's safe.
The question is how to hide in this chaotic reef?
At this time, the tide began to recede, and the entrance to a rock cave was exposed among the large piles of rocks. Huang Qiyan greeted them and walked into the cave one by one.
Cui Yunhong was secretly surprised and turned on her headlight. When she walked in, she saw that there was a naturally formed "cave" inside. The entrance of the cave was closed by seawater during high tide, and was only exposed during low tide. The deepest part was a place where the tide could not reach.
, resting two large European-style rowing boats.
Each of these rowing boats can seat thirty people and is equipped with sails. When the sea conditions are good, it is not a problem to sail hundreds of nautical miles.