On the Feilong flagship, Yin Feng stood next to the cannon on the bow of the ship, holding a telescope and looking ahead. Beside him, Chen Zhongji, Ye Hua, Zhao Tie and others were holding telescopes and looking ahead. The Chinese Jesuit missionaries who were accompanying him You Wenhui was drawing something in his sketchbook, and a Portuguese missionary who had recently come to Taiwan to preach was also watching the game.
"Commander Zhao, most of your troops have landed ashore. That's good. Your landing training has worked."
"Thank you captain for the compliment. I will go ashore to prepare for battle." Zhao Tie stood at attention and saluted and said with a smile: "Just wait and see, if these white devils still think of us as we were three years ago, how good will they be?" "
Yin Feng watched with a smile as Zhao Tie got off the boat, looked back to the north, and asked Ye Hua: "Have the warships concerned with the Rats not come out yet?"
Ye Hua is now the deputy commander of the Navy and the captain of the Feilong. He is also the most read and literate among all the Dan sailors. This Dan people from the southernmost part of Hainan Island has now become a captain in the Age of Discovery. Over the past three years, he has eagerly learned navigation knowledge from the Portuguese, Dutch and old helmsmen and boatmen along the coast of Fujian. He has been upgraded from an expert long-distance swimmer to an all-round battleship captain.
He did not answer immediately. He looked up at the lookout in the watchtower at the top of the mast. After observing for a while, he said: "The enemy's main battleship has come out... Oh, the red flag has been hoisted. The enemy is coming."
Yin Feng smiled: "Okay, I will leave all the war to you," he called to the others: "Come on, let's go to Fort Santiago. The naval battle is about to begin. Ji Zai, go call Miss Li. We're ashore,"
Li Lihua insisted on joining the force that counterattacked Manila. Yin Feng took her with him, considering that she had grown up in Luzon Island and was familiar with the environment there, and could serve as a consultant.
…
The Intramuros of Manila ushered in the biggest crisis since its construction amid the rumble of cannons.
Since the daytime yesterday, the physiological people doing business in the city have almost disappeared. Recently, the Governor divided an area in Binondo, north of the original Balian Chinese District, and rebuilt a new Chinese District. It has been affected by the epidemic in the past few months. Physios who are given preferential treatment and can live in the royal city are ordered to leave the royal city at night and return to Binondo to live there.
However, this order was not well implemented. Some Spanish businessmen hosted overseas Chinese businessmen at their homes. They allowed their unmarried business partners to stay overnight in the royal city, and it was impossible for the Spanish colonial authorities to search them one by one.
However, since yesterday, these physiological businessmen have made excuses to leave the Royal City, saying that they are going to Binondo to supervise the construction of their own houses. Only a few businessmen who have nothing to do with the China United Company are stranded in the Royal City. The Military Intelligence Department of the Chinese Company's escort team is in Manila. An Xiaosi, the person in charge of the company, believes that there is no obligation to notify these Fujian merchants who are not friendly to the company.
In the morning, when the sound of warning cannons from the Manila port was heard, Governor Acuna, who was having breakfast, accidentally broke his agate wine glass. Army Commander Don Fernando slipped and fell from the stairs of his home and broke his left wrist. Santiago When the fort's cannons sounded, all the churches in Intramuros rang their bells, declaring martial law in the city.
The Archbishop of Manila is still the same Father Miguel de Benavides who incited the Manila Massacre. He is now even older and gloomier; he has always hoped to return to the monastery in Madrid to retire, and he hates Luzon. He disliked the climate and hated the indigenous people here; but because the Spanish church was very dissatisfied with his missionary work in Luzon, he never received an order.
The Flores monk who was at the forefront of the massacre of the Chinese and killed hundreds of Chinese with his own hands was already the vicar general of Manila and concurrently the abbot of the Dominican monastery in Manila. He was counting on Bishop Benavidez. If he could leave Manila early or go directly to see God, he could take over the position of Father Benavidez. Therefore, the two of them usually dislike each other and are very awkward when they meet, but this morning, the two of them came together Arrive at the Governor's Palace.
The power of the Catholic Church is always a powerful political force in any Spanish colony, and the Governor cannot neglect it.
However, Governor Acuna now had no time to pay attention to them. While putting on his armor, he said coldly to the two top clerics of the colony: "The fleet commander has confirmed that the enemy is the one who escaped from Luzon three years ago. The army composed of physiological men is now a crisis of life and death for the Philippine colony. I hope that you two can mobilize the strength of all the parishioners to defend Manila. I have no time to say more. We must put aside all internal contradictions. Those physiological men are ours. The biggest enemy,"
…
While the Spanish army in Manila was mobilizing, the naval battle had already begun.
The Spanish army never planned to engage in large-scale naval battles in Asia, and even the infantry was mainly set up to suppress the colonial indigenous rebellion. The Spanish naval warships in the Philippines were not suitable for the new maritime tactics of sea array line bombardment. The Maria and San Antonio The ships are all Karak-type ships with tall buildings and bulky hulls, which are far inferior to the Chinese Fuchuan; even those fast warships are more suitable for transportation than naval warfare. For Asian countries that do not have ocean-going navies, Spain The fleet is still a deterrent fleet; for the Chinese United Company's naval fleet, they have already broadened their horizons by learning from the experiences of the Portuguese and Dutch; naval warfare tactics mainly learn from the Dutch and draw lessons from them. The experience of the sailing warship era brought by Yin Feng from later generations.
Therefore, from the beginning, the warships formed a long row with the main fleet, forming a half-moon shape surrounding the small Spanish fleet.
The Spanish sailing warships lined up in two columns to attack, with two tall Karak warships on one side and the remaining small warships on the other. It seemed that they were going to use 6 small warships to contain the large group of Chinese warships, relying on the big guns first. Destroy the left wing of the Chinese warship array, and then sweep the entire fleet.
However, as soon as the war started, the Chinese company's warships began to use the convenient maneuverability of Chinese sailing ships to divide and surround the Spanish fleet. In the north of Manila Bay, a large number of warships surrounded the difficult-to-move Maria, and the San Antonio quickly Maneuver and look for opportunities to fire a shot, like a swarm of gadflies besieging a lumbering bull.
Near the mouth of the river, the Chinese three-masted sailing ship and the six Spanish small warships were bombarding each other, circling each other.
"Where's our big ship? Why hasn't it come out yet?"
Li Lihua held up the telescope on the runway of Fort Santiago and shouted anxiously. Then she looked at Yin Feng and others with embarrassment. Captain Van Leyden smiled and said: "Miss Elizabeth, don't worry, our battleship will be here soon." About to attack,"
Yin Feng, Zhao Tie, Mai Xiaoliu, An Xiaosi and others were spreading out the map of Manila for discussion on the artillery position. He raised his head indifferently and glanced at the naval battle scene filled with gunpowder smoke and the shadows of sails and flames flickering in it. , said calmly: "Naval battle is not a problem. I have never taken Spain's small fleet to heart. Manila City is the most important. The first regiment of soldiers who have landed now is only more than 1,000 people. When will the rear troop transport ship be about? arrive,"
The navy liaison officer reported: "Commander Ye has sent a boat to the entrance of the bay to greet him. It will probably arrive in the afternoon."
At this time, Yan Siqi, who had been climbing on the flagpole, shouted: "The Feilong has come out, all of them have come out, all three warships have come out,"
As soon as the Feilong and other three huge warships with a combined Chinese and Western style appeared, the fierce and stalemate battle immediately turned one-sided. According to Tian Ji's horse racing principle, Ye Hua commanded the three warships to attack the six small warships first, taking advantage of the Spanish's opportunity to be in a daze. , bombarded them in turn with more than 150 cannons, and with just two volleys, those poor little sailboats were crippled, their masts were broken, their hulls were riddled with holes, and the decks were filled with blood and corpses.
The third ship of the Feizi gracefully turned a corner outside the river mouth and sailed towards the battlefield where the Maria and other warships were entangled. They threw the 6 crippled Spanish small warships that were unable to resist to their companions and ignored them. A Chinese three-masted sailing ship quickly surrounded and beat the drowned dog, because the Spaniards had lost the ability to fire cannons, and the Chinese warships could rush to a very close distance and attack the Spaniards mercilessly using powder barrels, rockets, and shotgun shells. Before long, five of the six warships either turned into burning torches or sank into pieces into the sea. The last Spanish warship raised the white flag and surrendered.
Yan Siqi shouted from the flagpole of the fort: "Ship owner, Commander Ye has sent a flag message, do you accept the surrender?"
Yin Feng raised his head from the map and looked at the sea where the smoke was thicker: "Tell him to capture one or two officers and come back."
In the gun cabin under the upper deck of the Flying Leopard, young gunner Li Kuiqi was squatting in front of a pot of hot charcoal fire, sweating profusely, and was vigorously stirring a round 6-pound iron bullet in the charcoal pot.
The gunner who directed the bombardment was an old Dutch mercenary, Andre, an instructor in the artillery major of the military academy. He walked through the rows of gun mounts, squeezed past the busy gunners, and came to Li Kuiqi's place at the stern of the ship. He kicked The young man's buttocks said in hard Chinese: "Boy, you're not feeling well yet, the war is about to begin."
Li Kuiqi was kicked in the butt and almost fell into the brazier. He couldn't help but became furious. He looked back and saw that it was the Dutch artillery instructor who had always been strict. He stood up at attention and said with a smile: "It will be over soon, Instructor An, you can't miss me." your business,"
The Maria and the San Antonio had just wasted a lot of ammunition and were dizzy by a group of maneuverable Chinese sailing ships. Fortunately, the Spanish warships had tall hulls and could withstand the repeated bombardments of those Junk ships. After all, the gadfly could only harass the stupid cow. , the real battleship duel was about to begin. Spanish fleet commander Pizarro discovered the sudden appearance of three main battleships of the Chinese company, and paralyzed 6 small battleships with fierce and intensive artillery fire.
He was stunned for three seconds, and then immediately ordered to turn the rudder and aim the side of the ship in the direction of the three Fei Zi warships. However, the other side also followed a zigzag route, approaching sideways from the ship and pointing its broadsides at them. The Spaniards, when the two sides were 1,000 steps apart, the Chinese opened fire.
Firing at this distance is basically equivalent to shooting at the moon, which is meaningless. Pizarro thought that the Chinese gunners could not hold their breath and shot first, and soon discovered that something was wrong; this was a signal to dozens of Chinese warships surrounding the sea battlefield. The ships began to leave the area and lined up about three miles away, blocking the exit direction of Manila Bay.
Now it is a battle between two Spanish Carrack warships and a new warship of the Chinese company. In terms of the number of cannons, the Chinese have about 150 cannons, while the two Spanish warships have 70 cannons; the Chinese have an absolute advantage of two to one.
At this time, the follow-up fleet of the huge Chinese company fleet also arrived. Part of the first regiment of the escort, Zhuang Ding auxiliary soldiers, Taiwanese indigenous soldiers, foreign mercenaries and other people of all colors became the audience of this naval battle. , including the old general Chen Di; he finally could not resist the temptation of traveling overseas and took a warship to Manila - he was a man of temperament after all.
The cannons began to roar, and the two sides were close to a distance of about one kilometer. The cannonballs could already kill each other. At that time, Yu Dayou, the famous anti-Japanese general, who was Chen Di's old boss, once said: There is no other way to fight at sea. Big ships beat small boats, and big guns win. Just a small gun.
Although the words are a bit absolute, in general situations it is the undoubted truth: as long as the party with the advantage is not an idiot or a coward, of course, the gunners also need to be well-trained and the sailors can operate quickly.
There is almost no suspense in the current battle situation. The Spanish warship cannot rotate flexibly and cannot keep up with the Chinese's rotation speed. It has been forced to point its bow towards the side of the enemy's ship several times, and has repeatedly fallen into a T-shape with three Chinese warships. Go straight to death.
Cannonballs roared back and forth, and each warship was spraying fireworks and projectiles at maximum speed.
"A little to the left, a little to the left, okay, light the fire,"
"Damn it, one more shot, clean the barrel, dry it, okay, load it, damn it, loader, are you dreaming, quick, okay, use chain bullets, use chain bullets,"
"Boom," an enemy cannonball penetrated the hull, knocked over several sailors, and flew out of the gun window on the other side.
It was completely impossible to see anything in the gun cabin. The gunner, loader and others were basically groping about their work in the choking smoke. The gunner stuck his head into the gun window and shouted: "Put the sports car up three points, use Chainshot fired at the mast,"
"Be careful, gun emplacement No. 5 on the left has been hit,"
"Drag the wounded out, restore the gun position, continue shooting, don't stop, hurry up,"
"The San Antonio is dead, okay, who did it? This shot took out its main mast,"
When the main mast of the San Antonio fell, most of the cables were torn off, and all the canvas fell down. It was paralyzed on the sea and became a living target.
Li Kuiqi carefully held the brazier to the middle gun position and shouted: "Go away, the incendiary bombs are coming, this time I will fire the cannon,"
Li Kuiqi is now known as the "Little Magic Cannon" and is also the deputy gunner, so the gunners got out of the way, and the Dutch veteran gunner Andre squeezed over and personally served as Li Kuiqi's loader.
This kind of "incendiary bomb" is a red-hot iron pellet. In the original historical time and space, it was an evil thing first invented by the British in the late 17th century. Now, under Yin Feng's hint and encouragement, it appeared on Chinese warships in advance. This Loading this kind of cannonball is risky; because when shooting, the red-hot shell itself actually ignites the propellant. If the loader is slightly negligent, he or she will be injured, and death may be possible.
Andrew carefully held the red cannonball with a brazier, looked at the Maria across from the muzzle and said: "Remember, the intelligence said that the Maria's ammunition depot is about two-thirds of the way to the stern. The location must be hit with one shot,"
As the hull of the Flying Leopard moved, Li Kuiqi held his breath and adjusted the direction of the gun muzzle. He kept marking the distance with a ruler and calculating the distance in his mind. "Okay, let's fire the bomb."
Andrew quickly poured the shells from the muzzle, and the red iron bullets rolled down the barrel, igniting the propellant. A red light flashed, and a burst of smoke rose from the stern of the Maria, and the hull shook. Keep moving forward.
"It's a hit, oh, it didn't explode, keep going! Keep firing," Andrew turned around to comfort Li Kuiqi: "It's a good hit, but it's just bad luck..." Before he could finish his words, a deafening explosion sounded, and the fire turned red. Gun cabin.
Everyone watched in stunned silence as the entire stern of the Maria exploded. The entire ship was blown out of the water by the huge explosion. When it fell, only the front half was left. Before anyone could take a breath, half of the Maria was The Asia immediately tilted and sank to the bottom of the sea.
Only one of the Spanish sailors on the Maria, including Fleet Commander Pizarro, survived, and the rest were all buried in the sea.