The Menhaitian stayed in Kaohsiung for three days, but did not meet the expected indigenous guide party. Due to limited time, Zunping did not stay any longer, so he pulled anchor and continued northward.
After a day of sailing, we stopped at Haitan Island in Fujian, 68 nautical miles north of Taiwan. Haitan Island is the fifth largest island in China, with a length of about 27 kilometers from north to south, and a length of about 18 kilometers from east to west, covering an area of 309 square kilometers.
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According to the information provided by the Big Library, Haitan Island has been developed since the Song Dynasty. What is even more surprising is that during the Song Dynasty, a pastoral supervisor was set up here to graze horses. It can be seen that the water, soil and climate here are suitable for horses to live and breed.
Haitan Island already had a population of 40,000 to 50,000 in the Ming Dynasty. In terms of size, it was larger than the Nan'ao Island they passed through. The Haitian Ship spent two days here to conduct an inspection. Just like on Nan'ao Island, as soon as they landed, the island
The soldiers and civilians were heavily guarded on the island, but no one tried to expel or eliminate them. They were allowed to wander around the island.
The Haitian entered Hangzhou Bay on June 2 and disembarked near Haining. At dawn the next day, Li Ziping commanded the Haitian to approach Biezimen and prepare to enter the Qiantang River. According to the plan, the Lianjun asked the Haitian to explore.
The waterway in the Qiantang River allows naval ships to sail directly into the Qiantang River when necessary.
The main channel of the Qiantang River estuary has undergone many changes in history. The biggest change occurred during the "Three Gate Changes" during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Historically, there were three channels into the sea between Gongshan Mountain in Xiaoshan on the south bank and Haining on the north bank, which were called the "Three Gates": The river channel between Gongshan Mountain and Zheshan Mountain was about 62 kilometers wide and was called the South Gate. The two mountains faced each other like a gate.
In ancient times, it was called Haimen. There is a small mountain next to Gongshan Mountain, shaped like a turtle, and it is placed in the Haimen, so it is also called Turtle Gate. The river channel between Zheshan Mountain and Hezhuang Mountain is about 17 kilometers wide, called Zhongxiaomen; Hezhuang Mountain and Haining on the north bank
The river channel between the seawalls is about 105 kilometers wide and is called the North Gate. The main channel of the river channel has changed in three periods: first to the south gate, second to the small and middle gate, and third to the north gate. When the Haitian Ship came here, it was when the main channel of the river passed through.
At the time of the South Gate, the terrain of Bizimen was dangerous. It was a dangerous place with mountains and rivers. In the Ming Dynasty, it was the first gate to prevent Japanese invasion in Hangzhou. Controlling Bizimen can prevent intruders from the sea from entering Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou.
Region. During the Jiajing period, Zhejiang set up six guards to prepare for Japan, and the Haimen guards were responsible for the defense here.
Li Ziping didn't know how many defense facilities there were in the Bizimen area. He was not worried about the Ming army's firepower, but he was worried about not knowing the local waterway conditions. If it ran aground on the river, its firepower was limited, and the Haitian with insufficient troops would become a Daozu.
The fish meat below.
Therefore, Li Ziping was very careful. When he approached the Biezi Gate, he put the entire ship on alert. At the same time, he lowered all the rowing boats and small boats on the ship. The rowing boat was in front to measure the water and pilot, and the small boats patrolled back and forth to cover the navigation of the ship.
. He carefully ordered to maintain the pressure of the boiler. The water flow in the river mouth was unpredictable, the hydrological data was insufficient, and without enough maneuverability, it was easy to run aground.
According to the intelligence data collected through reconnaissance and collection: there are Ming troops, as well as fortresses and forts at Biezimen. The sudden appearance of the Haitian caused a comprehensive warning in the surrounding areas. However, just like the situation along the road, there were no Ming naval forces.
Ships came out to try to expel them. Obviously the Ming army was wary of typical European ships like the Haitian. They knew from many years of dealing with these European pirate merchants that the firepower of these ships was better than that of the dilapidated naval ships. Therefore, they adhered to the
We should adopt a policy that remains unchanged in the face of ever-changing situations, stick to the fortress and never move out.
Qian Shuixie led the team to make a tentative landing. After about two kilometers into the coast, several villages along the coast had already fled.
"They ran very fast." Qian Shuixie was greatly disappointed. He originally expected to arrest a few people and impose a "reasonable burden", but in the end there was no one in the village. It was obvious that they were running in a hurry, and they could not even raise pigs, chickens and ducks.
None of them were taken away.
Liu Zheng said: "How about we catch all the chickens..." After drifting on the sea for a long time, he has been eating grass rations. Except for occasionally encountering some fishermen selling vegetables and eggs to them, he has not eaten for a long time.
We have got fresh meat. Get some fresh and delicious free-range chickens. They will definitely taste delicious.
"Then we will become Japanese devils." Qian Shuixie shook his head - this is a violation of discipline. There are policies and procedures for collecting reasonable burdens, and now they are stealing things, which is quite serious in nature.
The team continued to move forward for one kilometer. There was a vague noise in front of them. Qian Shuixie ordered to stop and sent people to conduct reconnaissance. After a while, the scouts came back and reported that more than a thousand armed men had gathered less than one kilometer ahead.
The personnel were probably local officers, soldiers and village warriors. I don't know whether they were prepared to defend to the death or to rush in and eliminate them in one go.
Qian Shuixie decided to retreat. Their mission was to test the local defenses, rather than capture Haining with only twenty men. He ordered everyone to turn back and retreat to the rowing boats on the seaside.
But at this time, there suddenly came a rapid sound of gongs and drums, followed by the roar of thousands of people. Qian Shuixie knew that the enemy was obviously preparing to pursue them.
It is unwise to race against them now. We are still almost 3 kilometers away from the coast. Even if we run all the way, it will take more than ten minutes. The exploration team members are also carrying heavy surveying and mapping equipment, so if they run away like this, they will definitely lose their weapons and equipment.
He looked at the terrain around him. There was a small hill at most five or six meters high on the outside of the curve of the road. It was densely forested and there was a river at the bottom of the hillside. There were a lot of vegetation, making it easy to hide and retreat.
Set up an ambush at a road corner. Once the enemy is attacked by fire from one side of the road, they will subconsciously flee in the same direction on the other side of the road. The ambusher can concentrate firepower and follow up without changing the shooting angle.
Qian Shuixie immediately discussed with Liu Zheng and decided that half of the squad would escort the exploration team to continue retreating, while Qian Shuixie would lead a squad to break up the rear.
"Be careful, don't make dumplings for others here." Liu Zheng warned.
Qian Shuixie nodded: "No, the surrounding view here is very good, and their roundabout movements cannot be hidden from me. I will lead the men to fight here for a while, and as soon as the enemy retreats, I will quickly lead the men to follow. You call out on the way
The Haitian will pick you up."
"Okay, take care of yourself." Liu Zheng knew that this was not the time to talk nonsense, so he led the people away.
"Machine gun!" he shouted, and the shooters in the team who used M77B automatic rifles modified with bipods immediately came out.
"Go to the top of the hill and shoot as soon as I fire." Qian Shuixie said, "First hit the front of the team with a long burst, then hit the rear of the enemy team with a short burst."
"Understood, sir."
He then arranged for a soldier with the best grenades to serve as the machine gun deputy. He collected ten grenades from other soldiers and gave them to him. The sniper was also arranged on the hill.
Because the visitor was a chaotic warrior, the sniper did not have a clear priority target. Qian Shuixie ordered him to fire freely from the moment the enemy entered the effective range.
The team spread out along the curve of the road. Qian Shuixie's intention was to use a fierce ambush to stun the pursuing enemy, take advantage of the situation and defeat it, making it lose the ability to pursue.
The machine gunner quickly found a suitable shooting position on the hill. He carefully bumped the special shell collection bag onto the ejection port. This collection bag was truly original and was an in-vehicle accessory for the M77B automatic rifle. Sniper
He carefully installed a simple scope on his Mosin-Nagan rifle and checked the bullets in the chamber one last time.
The "Grenadier" opened the caps of all the grenades, tore the moisture-proof oil paper, and pulled out the ropes. He looked at the dirt road in front of him, trying to figure out the maximum distance he could throw the bombs, and then he stood again
He stood up and gestured to see if there were any branches or shrubs that would hinder his bomb release.
Wang Jiashan wielded a blunderbuss and followed the large group of people in a noisy manner.
The sun shone warmly on Wang Jiashan's body. One of his arms and half of his shoulder were exposed through the tattered gown. The color of the gown had long been lost, and pieces of it were hanging here and there.
On his body, he could barely hold on by being tied randomly with straw ropes around his waist.
He was naked and wearing a pair of straw sandals. If it weren't for the tattered leather helmet on his head, the blunderbuss on his back, and the leather bags containing gunpowder and lead bullets in his eyes, he would be no different from an ordinary local beggar.
Wang Jiashan was a military household member of the Haimen Guard. Although the guard system of the Ming Dynasty had long been ruined, there were still some military household soldiers who trained in each guard station. Wang Jiashan was one of them.
As a military commander, he could get some food and salary intermittently, and he didn't have to give orders all day long. Thousands or hundreds of households worked and farmed.
In front of Wang Jiashan is his neighbor Li Shanmin. Li Shanmin is a middle-aged man with a sad face. He has seven children, ranging from Damin to Qimin. Even though everyone who can walk is working as an errand, there is never enough food to eat. Li Shanmin
The fifteen-year-old eldest son Li Damin, who was wearing ragged clothes, was carrying a wooden gun and walked in front of him happily, as if he was going for an outing.
Compared with the old, weak, sick and disabled military households, the rural warriors seemed more uniform, all young and strong, and their morale was also good. They were regiment drills from several nearby villages and towns, and were led by the deputy regimental commander, and went with the officers and soldiers.
Drive out the "pirates".
The coast of Zhejiang used to be the hardest-hit area where Japanese pirates were rampant. After the Japanese pirates basically disappeared, they were replaced by "pirates". However, Zhejiang no longer had important foreign trade ports in the Ming Dynasty, so there was no Zheng Zhilong similar to Fujian and Guangdong.
, Zhong Bin, Liu Xiang and other sea masters, but there are still many small groups of pirates. Officers and soldiers and local braves often clash with such pirates who come ashore to plunder.!