Chapter 788 Jia Heng: It is people who determine the outcome of a war
Guangdong, Panyu
Jia Heng was discussing with Bugalu, the Portuguese governor of Haojing, when suddenly a young soldier ran out of the barracks and said loudly: "Sir, over there in Haojing, the Portuguese are fighting with the navy under General Wu.
.”
As soon as these words came out, the faces of all the senior officials in Guangdong in the military tent suddenly changed, and they looked at each other in confusion.
In the past few days, through the translation by the attaché, Guangdong officials have learned about the lease regulations signed by both parties, and have a deep understanding of the purpose of Jia Heng's previous tough attitude.
In short, bluffing and using force to overwhelm others.
When Jia Heng heard this, his eyes narrowed, he turned to look at Bujialu, and asked: "Sir, what's going on?"
Bugalu also had a confused look on his face, raised his hand and said helplessly: "Earl, I didn't give orders to my men before I came here, yes, and besides, I'm still in your military camp."
Jia Heng frowned, his eyes flickered, and then he relaxed and said in a deep voice: "What happened over there in Haojing?"
If there was really going to be a war with the Han army, it was impossible for the Australian governor to come in person to talk about it, and to renew the lease in a serious manner, it might be that one of his men left alone.
At this time, Fang Jun, the commander of the Guangdong capital, frowned and said: "Uncle Yongning, the Portuguese are going to war with us. Do you want to mobilize heavy troops to recover Haojing?"
If Haojing is recovered and Uncle Yongning reports the details, then in front of the emperor in the capital, he will be regarded as being in the emperor's heart.
Seeing several people discussing, Bujialu had already guessed the reason. He felt a little anxious and said hurriedly: "Count, I can mediate and stop this war."
Jia Heng turned to look at Bugalu and said softly: "There must be a rebellion within Haojing. If Sir rashly goes back, he may be harmed by traitors and then blame us, causing disputes."
If he dares to let Governor Haojing go back, he is afraid that he will be harmed by the rebels on the island before he can return to Haojing. Then he will sow discord and let the Portuguese go into full-scale war with the Han army. This will play into the rebels' ambitions.
Jia Heng said coldly: "Sir, this battle is inevitable, but Sir, you can follow our Guangdong Navy to shout to the Portuguese in Haojing, urging them to surrender to us."
When Bujialu heard this, his expression paused slightly, but he hesitated a little.
Speaking of which, this was also a part of Carlos's plan. If Bugallu asked his men to surrender to the Han army, it might cause an uproar in the country.
Governors sitting overseas did not protect the interests of their home country, but instead allowed their warriors to surrender to the enemy.
Jia Heng looked gloomy, raised his eyes to look at Bugalu, and said: "Sir, you can think about which of his generals launched the rebellion here, and you can deal with it later."
Bugalu frowned and looked at Mr. Li aside, only to see Mr. Li nodded.
After Jia Heng finished speaking, he looked at Wu Tao and said thoughtfully: "General Wu, summon the navy and follow me to send troops to Haojing immediately."
Wu Tao's face was shocked, and he quickly clasped his fists and responded to the order.
Following Jia Heng's order, the soldiers of the naval camp in Panyu guarding the port began to move quickly. A large number of naval infantry poured out of the barracks like a tide, boarded the boats one after another, untied the cables, and walked along the
The Pearl River heads towards Haojing.
Jia Heng also left the camp with a face as clear as water. Chen Xiao followed suit and said with a worried look: "The Guangdong navy fought with them and lost two ships. What do you think the chances of winning are?"
If this battle is defeated again, it will be very difficult.
Jia Heng thought for a while and said: "The chance of winning is about 70%. Let's not talk about this anymore. Once the ship is ready, we will set off immediately."
After saying that, he raised his eyes to look at Xue Baoqin and said warmly: "Sister Baoqin, I will send someone to take you back to the inn later."
"Brother Heng, can I go there too?" Xue Baoqin raised her pink face, with hope in her almond-shaped eyes.
Jia Heng turned to look at Xue Baoqin, with a somewhat solemn look on his face, and said softly: "In front of the two armies, swords and guns have no eyes. It's not a joke. Sister Baoqin is obedient."
This was different from the past, and even in the past, he did not bring Xianning to the battle in person.
Hearing this, Xue Baoqin felt regretful in his heart, but seeing the solemn look on Jia Heng's face, he had no choice but to agree sadly: "Okay then."
It's just that there is still a sense of disappointment in my heart. I originally wanted to see the naval battle between the two sides, but now I can't.
Jia Heng said nothing else, got up and left the navy guard port with Chen Xiao. Surrounded by a large number of Jinyi palace guards, they took a boat and headed towards the waters where Haojing Island is located.
At this moment, in the afternoon, the first naval battle between the two sides has come to an end. In the vast sea area northeast of Haojing, the waves are rolling and the blue waves are rolling.
Viewed from a high altitude at this moment, wooden sailboats with dark yellow cloth sails on their masts were sparsely falling into the sea like dumplings. With loud "rumbling" sounds, the cannons on both sides of the ship
The gun flashed with bright fire from time to time, and then thick puffs of gunpowder smoke filled the air.
Portugal's eighteen warships, in small groups, engaged in long-range bombardment with the Guangdong navy ships, which were generally twice as many as their own.
Not many cannonballs on the sides of the Guangdong Navy's warships landed on the Portuguese ships. Most of them splashed on the sea, and were sometimes accompanied by misfiring of the cannonballs.
As for the Portuguese sailing ship, it was equipped with a red cannon with a black mouth. Its accuracy and range were obviously much higher than that of the official army. Although the hit rate in the naval battle was somewhat impressive, it still caused great trouble to the official army.
Even though the generals in charge of the Guangdong Navy Division knew that the Yi people had sharp firearms and deliberately took precautions, they still suffered a lot during the fight with them.
In fact, at the end of the 17th century, before the era of steam and ironclad ships, they were all sailing ships with wooden structures driven by wind. The defensive capabilities of the ships on both sides were not enough to withstand two to three cannon bombardments.
Initially, the officers and soldiers were caught off guard and suffered losses, but with the large number of ships and intensive firepower, they also sank two Portuguese ships.
When Jia Heng came to Haojing, he saw the dejected Guangdong Navy, as well as several battalion and guard commanders, commanding colleagues, and commanding officers who came to greet him.
"I have finally seen you, sir." All the generals saluted Jia Heng and General Wu Tao of Guangdong Province.
Jia Heng nodded and asked: "How many ships and gunboats do the Yi people in Haojing have? How many casualties did the navy have?"
Qian Xi, commander of the Yuehai Marine Battalion, explained: "Uncle Yongning, the barbarians' artillery fire was very fierce. We sank two 400-ton warships. Fortunately, the rescue was timely and there were no too many casualties."
That is to say, the government and military dispatched many ships. This time more than 10,000 people were dispatched. Even if a ship sank, it was quickly rescued by other government and military ships.
At this time, Bugalu, Mr. Li and several attendants came quickly and said with gestures: "Uncle Yong Ning, I can go to the front of the army to speak, and the two parties will sit at the negotiating table again and renegotiate."
Jia Heng frowned and said in a deep voice: "Sir, once the battle breaks out, there must be a winner. This is no longer something I can decide, and I don't think Jazz can dissuade the enemy who just gained the upper hand at this moment.
Your army."
If the official army had the upper hand before, they could try to get some of the "unknown truth" rebels to defect through the Buga Road. But now that the Han army has been slightly defeated, it needs to regain ground.
This is already a matter of national concern, otherwise there will be criticism in Beijing.
Moreover, Sir Bugalu's words at this time may not be effective for the Portuguese, and the winner will not be blamed.
Jia Heng said, and asked Sir Bugalu and related attendants to take a rest first. He led a group of officers and generals to the temporary tent, where he saw only a few pictures depicting Hao Jing and the islands in the surrounding sea area.
The map was hung on the military tent, and on both sides were brightly lit black lacquered armchairs.
The generals sat down to discuss matters. Jia Heng looked at General Wu Tao of Guangdong Province and said: "General Wu, the range of the Folang machine guns equipped by our army is not as good as that of the Portuguese. We cannot use our own shortcomings to attack the enemy's strong points. Since the Portuguese are here
If Haojing is entrenched, we can send infantry to cut off the enemy's rear route from Xiangshan County."
In the wars between the Ming army and the Portuguese recorded in historical materials, one feature is that they dived and dug ships and set fire boats to retreat from the enemy. Because at this time, they were all wooden boats, and fire boats were still very useful.
As for the fire ship, it is a ship filled with hay and poured with kerosene. After the sergeant ignited the mother ship, he returned in the sub-ship, and then the mother ship floated to the enemy ships to create chaos.
At this time, water battles and fire attacks were common. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, if Zhuge Liang borrowed arrows from a straw boat and met Cao Cao who ordered people to set off rockets, he would basically die on the spot.
As for Haojing, it is not actually an isolated island. It is connected to the land of Xiangshan County, but there are some small islands surrounded by the sea.
Wu Tao said quickly: "Our army has prepared fire ships, which will come in handy in the next war. We are about to detach a navy and send it to Xiangshan County."
Fang Jun said: "Uncle Yongning, I am willing to lead the troops ashore to Xiangshan to coordinate the Guangdong Navy's operations."
In the territory of Guangdong, due to the existence of General Yuehai, the status of the Guangdong Commander-in-Chief has always been very embarrassing. Now that he has the opportunity, he must perform well.
Jia Heng nodded and said, "Then I'll be handsome if I have a laborer."
After finishing speaking, he looked at the generals of the Guangdong Navy and said in a deep voice: "For the specific strategy of using troops, all generals are veterans, so I don't need to say more. I will only say one thing. Raise troops for a thousand days and use them for a while. In normal times,
All these are insignificant, just like a small island of barbarians, our great Han Yuehai navy is helpless, so there is no need to exist anymore!"
The Guangdong Navy's infantry company only has 35,000 infantrymen. Even if Hao Jing's side wins a battle, it will be difficult to withstand the continuous attacks of the Guangdong Navy.
If even Hao Jing and this small group of Portuguese cannot defeat them, it goes without saying that the entire Guangdong Navy will definitely need to be vigorously rectified, and he will stay here longer.
However, it shouldn't be the case.
Judging from the performance of Wu Shou and others, they are basically old soldiers and have unified their understanding, so there is no need for him to direct the rest.
When the generals below heard the words, they were all shocked. They responded in unison and followed the Guangdong General Wu Tao out of the camp in darkness.
The generals of the various ministries left the port and ordered their troops to march towards Haojing.
After the generals dispersed, Chen Xiao frowned, worry evident on his face, and said in a clear voice: "Why don't you go make arrangements and leave everything to the Guangdong Navy?"
With Jia Heng's personal actions in the past, this time he just said a few words and asked the Guangdong Navy to send troops, which was indeed a bit beyond the girl's expectation.
"He may not be much better than these navy generals, especially Wu Tao. You can't underestimate him." Jia Heng frowned, looked at the map, and whispered: "Wait a moment, let's follow the ship ahead.
Go to supervise the battle and take a look at the power of the Hongyi cannon."
At his level, except for key battles, it is rarely necessary to carry a knife and go to the front line to fight in person, but more for deployment.
The last time I had a head-to-head confrontation with Duduo, my original intention was to inspire the Jiangnan camp's low morale after the defeat, not to show off bravery and ruthlessness.
As for the layout of the navy, it is more appropriate to issue combat missions and let the navy generals complete them flexibly. Can't the machine gun be moved five meters to the left?
Chen Xiao thought for a while and said: "These navy generals are indeed generals who have been in the war for many years. If they serve bravely, it will not be difficult to win. I am afraid that they will deliberately cause harm."
Jia Heng nodded and said: "They are the ones who are in trouble. At that time, the Guangdong Navy will have to undergo a comprehensive rectification. Whether they can stay in their current position is another matter. Of course, they cannot completely let go.
No matter, let’s go and see which one is better and worse, and then we’ll make a calculation.”
With that said, without further words, Li Shu and other retinues of the imperial guards marched toward Haojing Island.
On the other side, it was just after noon, the sun was high, the sky was as blue as green, cotton-like white clouds were floating in the sky, and the sound of water rushing on both sides of the ship was heard.
Carlos stood on the bow of a wooden sailing ship with a giant mast, looking up at two 400-material warships in the distance that were resting in the sea. At this moment, thick smoke was billowing from the decks of the warships, and the masts
A red cloth and black rusty Han army flag hung on it had a black hole in it.
At this time, Carlos's brother-in-law Alam, with worry in his eyes under his thick eyebrows, said in a deep voice: "Carlos, there are too many ships and troops in Han. Although our artillery is powerful, there are so many
Ships cannot be sunk one by one."
Compared to Carlos, who was born into a noble family, Alam is more like a phoenix man favored by the daughter of Carlos' family.
Carlos sneered and said: "Don't worry, these Han troops have nothing to fear. As long as their losses exceed 20%, they will collapse quickly."
There are still some worries in my heart. Sir is now among the Han army, and I don't know what to do with him by the arrogant and rude Earl of Han?
Of course, even if Sir comes back, he can still shirk the fact that the Han army launched a shameless sneak attack on them and they were forced to fight back. Moreover, he was worried that Sir would be detained by the Han army, so he planned to lead the troops to rescue them.
Anyway, considering his family, even if the knight was furious, he could only send him back to his country.
As Carlos thought this way, the sound of rumbling artillery fire also pulled his thoughts away.
At this moment, the forty-three warships of the Guangdong Navy were "besieging" the eighteen Portuguese sailing ships. It was not until evening that the two sides stopped fighting after the officers and soldiers abandoned six warships with thick smoke billowing from them.
Two Portuguese ships were sunk and one was seriously damaged.
Night shrouded the earth, and on the boats, bonfires lit up bit by bit. They were Han army ships with lanterns hung on their masts.
Jia Heng looked toward Xiangshan County. The Guangdong Navy sent a partial division, took a shortcut, abandoned the boat and went ashore. There were about 6,000 people, intending to cut off the enemy's rear route.
Jia Heng looked at Bugalu and Mr. Li not far away. Since these two people were special envoys of the vassal state, they were accompanied by the army for protection at the moment.
Seeing Bugalu frowning, Jia Heng said: "Sir, don't worry about Jiajuan. As long as you defeat them, you will be reunited with Jiajuan."
Bugalu looked at the boy in python suit opposite, nodded and said: "Your Highness, I may know who is at war with your country."
Jia Heng's eyes moved slightly and asked, "Oh."
Bugalu's eyes were dark and he whispered: "It's Carlos. He actively persuaded me to go to war with your country."
In this way, if Carlos is defeated, although Carlos will also be blamed, the king's accountability will still fall more on him.
Jia Heng frowned, recalling a tall young man with gloomy eyes, and asked: "The young man who came to Panyu to see me for the first time?"
Bugalu nodded and said: "Earl, your army is not fighting well. Do you need me to shout?"
The current defeat of the Han army is only temporary. As time goes by, they will be the only ones who lose in the end, and by then, the content of the previous negotiations will have changed.
Jia Heng said: "There's no rush now, just wait and see tomorrow."
If the Portuguese in Haojing can be defeated in one fell swoop, the power of the Portuguese in Haojing will be greatly weakened, and it will also be a good start for progress in solving the Haojing problem in the future.
Seeing that the young man persisted, Bujialu vaguely guessed some of the reasons. He didn't say much, but looked solemn.
noon the next day
Jia Heng, accompanied by a group of royal guards, led Sir Bugalu onto the ship and looked at the battle taking place on the sea.
At this moment, one ship after another the official and military ships were attacking the Portuguese ships with their Franco cannons. The Franco cannons themselves actually date from the pre-Ming Dynasty and have a history of nearly a hundred years. They are all antiques that should be put in the history museum. They are naturally efficient.
Not too high.
Bugalu looked at the Han army ships that were at a disadvantage, and whispered: "Count, the artillery guns installed in your army are things that we have eliminated over the past few decades, and they are simply unable to compete with today's cannons."
Jia Heng said solemnly: "But it is people who determine the outcome of a war."
Bugalu was silent for a moment after hearing this, his face was thoughtful.
At this moment, several Portuguese ships were suddenly seen frivolous. It turned out that last night, the Guangdong Navy sent soldiers who were proficient in water skills to dive into the sea and cut several holes into the bottoms of the Portuguese ships anchored on the sea.
A small hole.
The characteristics of the large number of official and military ships came into play, and not long after, several Portuguese ships sank into the sea with thick smoke.
"Rumble..."
The roar of the Folang cannon and the Hongyi cannon sounded on the sea, deafening.
Although the officers and soldiers were unable to catch up, they gradually closed the distance and began a boarding battle.
Jia Heng watched calmly and did not intervene, but he was a little helpless about the tactics at this time.
The officers and soldiers of the Guangdong Navy were okay. Perhaps they had more contact with the barbarians, and their boating skills and artillery skills were better than those of the naval forces in the Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps.
In fact, it is already an era of long-distance warfare, but because of the backwardness of the Han Dynasty's military technology and the lack of accuracy and stability of muskets and artillery, there are forms of boarding warfare and jumping.
After a while, General Wu Tao of Guangdong Province led a dozen of his guards over and said, "Uncle Yong Ning, the Portuguese navy has fled towards Haojing Island."
Relying on the many ships and cannons, the officers and soldiers finally gained some upper hand regardless of the cost of ship casualties.
Jia Heng asked: "General Wu and several generals have worked hard. Is there any news from Xiangshan County?"
Wu Tao said: "Right now, there is no news from Commander Fangdu. I think there should be news tomorrow about whether we will send someone to pursue him."
"Follow pursuit and force them to Haojing Island. They also need to go to the island to replenish water and food. Other navy warships are still besieging them," Jia Heng said.
Currently, only a part of the Guangdong Navy is participating in the naval battle. There are also about a dozen warships and dozens of patrol ships blocking the waters around Haojing.
At this moment, Bugalu looked at the smoke-filled naval battle battlefield around him, with a solemn look on his face. The scene he was most worried about appeared.
The Han army had too many troops, and even if their firearms were not as good as theirs, Carlos and the others would eventually fall into a passive position due to the large number of people on board.