Chapter 263 The Night Attack of Xiangshan Association
Chapter 263 Xiangshan Association’s Night Attack
Shen Jingdan and the others made such a detour, and the lucky boat traveled dozens of miles more. When the sun set, they arrived at Wailingding Island. The boat was unable to sail at night, so everyone had to agree to wait one night on Wailingding Island.
These days, Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng, and Ding Guofeng took turns chatting with Zheng Yi and others, talking about how big the world was, where all the countries were, and why these countries came to Guangzhou to do business. They also talked about Zheng He's voyages to the West in the Ming Dynasty. , talked about the shipbuilding technology of the ancients and why the Manchu navy was not good at it.
In fact, from the Shunzhi period to the Kangxi period in the early Qing Dynasty, the main force of the Manchu navy was the Zhejiang navy and the Fujian navy. During the shipbuilding competition that was launched to eliminate the Zheng family in Taiwan, the Qing army imitated a large number of large bird ships. After taking Taiwan, , Bird Boat was immediately abolished.
The Guangdong Navy was inherently deficient. The early warships were all captured Zheng warships, which had long since decayed. According to the current paper of the Ministry of War, although each water camp in Guangdong has 84 sailing ships and 60 stern ships, But in fact, there are only 15 ships in total, and the largest one is only seven feet long. The entire Guangdong navy has been reduced to an inland sea fleet for inspecting smuggling, and it does not dare to go deep into the ocean. When encountering sea bandits, the Qing army often If something happens to a civilian ship, the government will not pay any compensation. Therefore, the civilian ship will regard catching thieves as a dangerous route, and they will run away after hearing the news. By the time they finally find a suitable ship, the bandits will have already fled away.
Before going to bed today, Zhao Xin spent two hours talking, writing and drawing pictures to give Zheng Yi and the others a general explanation of what Fushou Ointment is, what harm it has, and why Westerners sell it to everyone. clear.
"Captain Zhao, I understand what you said. Since the longevity ointment, oh, is opium. Since opium is not a good thing, how can we block this harmful poison and prevent everyone from buying it? ?" The question was asked by Zheng Qi.
"Oh, you asked a very good question. But this matter cannot be explained clearly in a few sentences." Zhao Xin nodded approvingly. He thought about it, then found a piece of white paper and roughly drew it on it. On the topographic map from Guangzhou to Malacca, he pointed the location of Malacca Port with a pen, and explained to Zheng Qi: "Occupy this place and control this strait. Most of the smuggling can be eliminated."
Zheng Qi scratched his head and said, "Is this place so important?"
Zhao Xindao: "It's very important. The British in the East India Company have always wanted to take this place away from the Dutch. Now they have to wait for an opportunity."
"what chance?"
"Opportunity for the French."
"Ah?" Zheng Yi and the others were immediately confused.
Zhao Xinxin said that this is really tiring. When talking about Southeast Asia, do we need to talk about Europe? He simply drew a big circle with a pen starting from the Strait of Malacca, including the entire Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Islands, and even the entire South China Sea, and pointed The circled area said: "Whoever can control the Strait of Malacca can block the passage of opium."
Zheng Qi's eyes were bright, and he wanted to put his face on the paper. He said: "Good guy, I think these islands combined are almost the same as those of the Qing Dynasty, right?"
"It's smaller than Daqing, but the territory is large enough."
Zheng Yi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said: "Mr. Zhao, you talk so much, do you want us to help you knock this place down?"
Liu Sheng, who was reading a book on the side, laughed and poured cold water on him. "You? You can't do it. With your few ships and manpower, you will only be ravaged by the British when you get there."
Zheng Qi said unconvinced: "Why do you look down on others?!"
Liu Sheng said: "Look! Do you know how many cannons there are on an ordinary British warship?"
Zheng Qidao: "There is only one ship parked at the southern port. I think there are only twenty or thirty ships."
Liu Sheng shook his head and said: "Xiaoqi, that is a merchant ship, mainly carrying cargo. As for warships, the smallest six-hundred-ton class has more than fifty guns. As for the third-class battleship, which is the worst, it must have 60 to 80 guns.
You can't beat those cannons with your sailboats and oyster boats."
Zheng Qi stood up and put his hands on his hips and said: "We can attack with fire ships, or sneak attacks at night, yes."
Only to hear Zhao Xin interrupt: "What you fight in a naval battle is ships and artillery. You can win once or twice with fireships and sneak attacks, but how do you capture Malacca's fort? Do you need human lives to fill it? Furthermore, even if you capture it,
When we come down, the British will send more than a dozen warships over, and with a blast from the cannons, you will not be able to hold on."
Zheng Yi said thoughtfully: "Mr. Zhao, what do you think we should do? Just watch the Western ghosts transport all the longevity pills to Guangzhou to harm people?"
Zhao Xindao: "You and Xiaoqi are both smart people. Come back to Beihai Town with us to practice for a few years. When we come back, we will conquer the Strait of Malacca together and drive away the British and the red-haired people!"
After saying this, Zhao Xin turned around and looked at the clock on the wall. It was already past ten o'clock, and said to Zheng Yi and others: "It's quite late. Let's talk tomorrow."
On the way back to the bow cabin of the ship being escorted by several soldiers, Zheng Qi said to Zheng Qi: "Brother Yi, what do you think?"
"Me?" Zheng Yi looked blankly at the darkness in the distance and said, "Although I have never heard of a lot of what Captain Zhao said, I know what he said is reasonable. What about you?"
Zheng Yi used to think that being able to unify all the gangs in the Pearl River Estuary and become a "big exporter" would have brought glory to his ancestors, but he never thought that his ideal was not worth mentioning in Zhao Xin's words.
"Yi Ge, Brother Chang won't let you go because you have to inherit the family business. I have thought about it these days and don't want to be in the business of robbing families anymore. The government regards us Dan people as untouchables. How can someone like me get ahead?
That day? Follow them, maybe it will be an opportunity."
Zheng Yi patted Zheng Qi on the shoulder and said: "Xiao Qi, what you said is what I have been thinking about these days. When I go back, I will beg my father for mercy. I really want an iron ship bigger than this one."
See and learn.”
After that, the two of them were silent and went back to the cabin to sleep.
At midnight, the Qianshanzhai pier north of Jiangjun Mountain was crowded with people, and the beach was very bright illuminated by countless torches and bonfires. According to the order of Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, this time the two battalions of the Xiangshan Association dispatched a total of more than 800 troops.
There are two escort boats, 10 watercraft, and five civilian ships that have been mobilized. In addition, there are several gunpowder ships used for approaching and sneak attacks and a dozen small boats with manned sneak attacks.
At this time, more than a hundred weeping madams, women and prostitutes, escorted by a dozen veterans of the Qing army, were walking to a Tong'an ship that had been mobilized.
"Why are you crying in mourning! Whoever cries again, I will chop him up and throw him into the sea to feed the fish and shrimps!" A Qing soldier in his forties viciously scolded several crying old bustards.
A crying madam asked the veteran: "Master, will we really have nothing to do with the formation by then?"
"What's going on? Master Shi, can he still deceive you?! After this fight, all go to the Yamen to collect the reward!"
In the light and shadow of the torch, Li Dagang, who was standing not far away, looked at the scene in front of him, sighed deeply, and said to his subordinate Qian: "Are we all ready?"
Mr. Qian made a military salute and said to Li Dagang: "There is not enough gunpowder. We have sent people to the fireworks shop outside the city to get some gunpowder."
Before the Opium War, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had very strict management of gunpowder. It was almost done on a case-by-case basis, and the military was never allowed to secretly prepare gunpowder. The military gunpowder in Guangdong was made by Tongzhi and others who were subordinate to the Governor's Yamen, and then handed over to the government.
The Chinese Army Yamen of the left-wing naval camp distributed the second distribution to all battalions. Now that the launch was imminent, it was too late to adjust the gunpowder, so I had to find a fireworks shop to make up the quantity.
The firearms Li Dagan ordered his men to make were mainly divided into two types.
The first type is the fire boat that Li Dagang wanted to build. The small boat was filled with gunpowder packets and covered with thick reed mats. The ignition device was composed of tinder, lit incense and rope; after approaching the enemy ship, the gunman dared to
The dead man manually pulled up the rope and let the incense light the tinder. After burning, it lit the fuse and detonated, causing an explosion and fire.
The second was considering that the side of the Thor was very high and difficult to climb, so they made a batch of gunpowder jars for throwing and clay pots filled with black dog blood and feces. Li Dagang did not believe in sorcery, but
He couldn't stand the bosses under him and trusted him! So after some pleading, he agreed.
The old Taoist priest Ma Benzhu was arranged to set up an altar on a Tongan boat and continue to practice. After three days in a row, the old Taoist priest was almost tired and vomiting blood. He thought that he was really going to die! After this trip, he got the money.
Go back and have a good rest for a few days.
At the second quarter of Zizheng, the Qing troops began to board the ship after a hearty meal.
Lieutenant General Shi was wearing a shiny military armor and a copper inverted U-shaped helmet with gilt copper hollow phoenix pattern ear wings on the left and right sides. The top of the helmet was small and the bottom was large, with a treasure in the middle.
The cover plate base has an otter tail feather on the top, two small copper tubes on the left and right, and two pheasant feathers inserted into it.
Standing next to Vice General Shi was a calligrapher sent by the Central Military Commission and the Governor's Office. For safety reasons, Vice General Shi decided to take a boat with Taoist Master Ma.
At the right time, the Qing fleet began to set off. The distance from Qianshanzhai Pier to Tanzai Island was not far, fifty miles of waterway.
In ancient water attacks, the most important thing is to look at the changes in currents and tides. The tide near Tanzai Island is part of the Pearl River Estuary tide. The flow direction is northwest at high tide and southeast at low tide. The tide level is the highest from the right time every day.
, then the tide begins to ebb, and the attack will be launched after Yin Shi, the current is just right.
The Qing fleet drove slowly for almost an hour, and then cautiously arrived at a distance of 500 meters north of the Thunder God. At this time, the sea surface of Tanzai Island was silent, and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of waves washing against the hull.
The Thor ship in the distance was pitch black, with only the top of the bowmast and the top of the ship's building flashing red light.
Zhao Xin and others finally got careless! No one could tighten their nerves for more than ten days in a row, saying that they must take strict precautions, but there are always some people who don't take it seriously. The calmness of the past few days has gradually caused everyone on the Thor to ignore it.
of hidden dangers.
In order to train their own senior crew members, the night watch these days is all handled by the sailors on the ship. Zhao Xin and the others only occasionally come to inspect; if they really have to keep the three of them 24 hours a day, every two hours, morning and evening
Have a mental breakdown.
The sailor on duty tonight was fed up with the "anti-drowsy system" that had to be pressed every five minutes, and in the middle of the night he actually turned it off without permission. After this guy turned it off, it was not enough, so he went to the restaurant on the second floor to move it.
He got up his chair, put his feet up on the chart table, and dozed off.
In the bow cabin, Zheng Yi suffered from insomnia. He listened to the snoring next to him, but what he was thinking about was what Zhao Xin had told him these days. Yes, the world is so big! Compared with the entire South China Sea
In comparison, his original ambition was not even comparable to a sesame seed. Westerners, government, opium, Malacca, etc., made Zheng Yi feel confused.
While tossing and turning, Zheng Yi quietly got up, put on his coat and walked to the main deck. He looked up at the stars in the sky, thinking about the marriage he had made with the Xu family.
Zheng, Xu, Shi, and Ma are an old pirate family in Fujian and Guangdong. The Shi family has been wiped out for a long time. I heard that one girl survived and she even entered a brothel. The Xu family and the Ma family have also declined, and only the Zheng family dominates the Pearl River.
At present, the Xu family is weak and there is no need to worry about taking over. Therefore, Zheng Lianchang took great pains to arrange this marriage.
While thinking wildly, Zheng Yi walked to the side of the boat and looked into the distance. Suddenly, he saw some fishing fires on the sea in the distance, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Is it possible that there are still people fishing so late?
He saw that the fishing fires were gradually approaching, as if they were forming a fan shape, heading towards the Thor. Zheng Yi felt that something was not right. He was familiar with the tactics of the Qing army or the pirates at the Pearl River Estuary in this era, and this series of things in front of him
The string of lights clearly showed an offensive posture.
At this time, as the ship on the opposite side got closer and closer, the torches on the ship and the lanterns on the mast became clearer. Zheng Yi had already seen the words on the lanterns clearly, and immediately shouted "No!"
He turned around suddenly and ran towards the ship building, shouting: "There are officers and soldiers! The officers and soldiers are coming!"
The Beihai Town soldier who was on duty at the lower level of the ship building was startled by Zheng Yi's shouting. He was about to curse a few words when he saw Zheng Yi running over, grabbing his shoulders and shouting: "Bing! Bing!"
!Call someone quickly!”
The soldier looked in the direction of Zheng Yi's finger and was shocked. He slapped the alarm button with a slap. A piercing alarm sounded instantly on the Thor, and the lights in the cabins on the third and first floors went off one by one.
It lit up. The guy on duty in the cockpit was so startled that he turned over and fell to the ground. When he walked up to the radar with his teeth bared and took a look, he was frightened out of his mind. On the north and south sides of the Thor, there were more than a dozen
Boats of various sizes are approaching.
At this time, the gunpowder boats under Li Dagang's command had already been dispatched. Each boat was paddled by three water warriors, and the distance of one hundred meters was reached in a blink of an eye. After these selected water warriors arrived at the Thor, they tried to use the iron on the ship to
If the hook is used to catch the hull, who would have thought that the Thor's hull is so smooth that there is nothing to rely on.
On a gunpowder boat near the bow, Shui Yong saw that the hull could not be hooked. When he was worried, he suddenly saw the black anchor chain not far away and sunk in the water. He quickly called his companions to come closer and then removed the hook.
Hooked on the anchor chain, he pushed the gunpowder ship sideways and got close to the ship.
When a Shui Yong saw that the boat had stopped, he immediately pulled the rope in his hand. As soon as the incense was poured out, the tinder gradually caught fire.
"Let's go!" The three water warriors jumped into the water and swam hard towards a small boat.
Several other gunpowder boats became more and more panicked. The sailors just pressed the boats against the hull of the Thor, not caring about finding a place to hook the hook. They pulled the ropes one after another and jumped into the water to escape. Except for the boat hooked on the anchor chain, the others
Under the influence of the current, the gunpowder boats were washed away and drifted to both sides of the Thor.
In the power distribution room on the Thor, the boatswain who hurried over quickly turned on the headlight on the mainmast. Zheng Qi and others who were awakened in the bow cabin came out one after another. They saw the mainmast in a daze.
The lights were on and I didn't know what was going on.
At this time, Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng were running out wearing vests and underpants, barefoot, and only holding a pistol in their hands. Ding Guofeng ran to the cockpit and saw the sailor on duty shivering. He quickly asked: "Come out."
What happened?"
The sailor on duty knew that he had caused a big disaster and was so frightened that he could not speak at all. Suddenly, Ding Guofeng saw the mainmast light shining brightly. He took a pistol and went to the compass deck to check the situation, but he just opened the hatch.
, I felt a blur in front of my eyes, and then I heard a "Boom!"
The shock wave of the explosion flipped Zheng Qi and others on the bow of the ship to the deck. While everyone on the ship was stunned, a fireball soared from the left outer side of the Thor's bow.
"It's broken!" Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng just came out of the ship building and looked at the fire and shouted in their hearts that it's going to be bad. At this time, Zhao Xin saw Zheng Yi running up to him and shouted: "Officers and soldiers! The officers and soldiers are here!"
When Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng heard this, they didn't care about anything else and quickly called on others to rush to the side of the ship. They found an M2HB and were about to prepare to shoot.
"boom!"
"boom!"
"Boom! Snap!"
Zhao Xing, who had been knocked to the ground by the shock waves of the first two rounds of explosions, had just gotten up when he heard a familiar voice coming from above his head.
"Why are there two kicks?" The thought just flashed by. He rushed to the heavy machine gun again, pulled the rope on the edge of the canvas, and then lifted it with his hand.
"Bullets!" Zhao Xin yelled, and a soldier was running over here holding a bullet belt. Each heavy machine gun was equipped with fifty rounds of bullets. If a war really broke out, they would all be fired in the blink of an eye.
At this time, Zhao Xin only saw a few more boats coming from the north. He turned his machine gun and started firing. The Beihai Town soldiers behind him who were not sure who to hit also started shooting at the bright spot on the sea with their guns.
By the way, the Qing army in Guangdong did many similar things during the First Opium War. The urine cans were just one of them, which disgusted the British. Others, such as imitating Ming Dynasty mines, booby traps, and fire ships,