Zheng Zhipeng, surrounded by his own soldiers, galloped to the dock, where people on the grain platform had already rushed boxes upon boxes of silver.
Because time was tight and there was no time to weigh the silver, all that arrived were Spanish silver. Box after box was open, and the white flowers were bright and dazzling.
"Respecting the general's order, each person will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver! If you have merit, you will be rewarded with another fifty taels!" Zheng Zhipeng said loudly. The sailors immediately became commotion, and the money was very attractive. Originally, they were gathered and heard that they were going to fight, and there were already
Seeing the signs of unrest in people's hearts, the grain table brought white money to them, and they heard that there was such a big reward, which made everyone feel itchy again.
"Reward!"
The men immediately distributed handfuls of silver coins to the hands of the sailors. Twenty pieces of white silver were heavy in their hands. The sailors all smiled. This was the first time such a generous reward had been given.
Greed makes people bold, and their morale, which had been depressed, was boosted by the money. They all cried out: "There's a scar as big as a bowl on the head!" It seemed that the Australian artillery fire that had just frightened them out of their wits had also begun.
Nothing special
There are still about sixty fireships that stayed on Gulangyu Island and escaped back. In the current situation, there is a good chance of success. Zheng Zhipeng immediately ordered the entire team to dispatch, hoisted full sails and rushed straight towards Huli Mountain.
After the fleet set sail, it immediately opened a wide front and rushed towards the seaside at the foot of Huli Mountain. The sailors, whose eyes were red from the stimulation of the silver, screamed one by one and rowed their oars desperately to let the ship run away.
Go faster.
The dispatch of the fire attack fleet was immediately discovered by the observers on the Lichun, and Mingqiu immediately ordered the deck to be cleared and the unloading of cargo to be temporarily stopped.
"Load all main guns with grapeshot!"
The elevator rumbled, and the 130mm grape bullet was lifted up from the ammunition compartment. The grape bullet is similar in structure to shrapnel, but the projectile is much larger. It is generally only used by the navy, and is specially used to deal with light ships and destroy enemy warships.
Deck facilities.
Driven by the combination of sails and oars, the fire attack ship rushed over at an average speed of 7 knots, and soon approached a place less than 1 chain away from the anchorage point.
"Start shooting."
The Lichun's two 130mm main guns roared again, and long tongues of flame pushed the shells out of the chamber. The shells spun and flew over a distance of more than a thousand meters, exploding in the sky above the densely packed fire attack fleet, and the gunpowder fired every shot.
A dozen pellets as big as ping pong balls shot out from the shells and sprayed towards the fleet.
The pellets of the grapeshot instantly tore apart the human body, the firewood on the deck, and finally penetrated the ship's plank. Seawater immediately poured into the hull.
In the first round of shelling, three fire attack ships began to take on water and sink. More ships were hit by bombs and lost control - some had their masts broken, and some sailors lost their lives.
The out-of-control fire attack ship drifted sideways, and the entire formation suddenly became chaotic. The ship in front blocked the ship behind. The helmsmen had to move the rudder pole desperately, and the dense fleet collided with each other, and the sailors fought against each other.
Cursing, he used his pennant to push the opponent away.
"All fire!"
Following the Lichun's shooting, the main guns of the other four battleships roared at the same time. Grape bullets continued to fly over the fire attack fleet. Clouds of black smoke exploded in the air, pouring projectiles towards the fleet. Burning heat
The projectiles hit the dry firewood and the sails, igniting flames.
The sailors who had just plucked up the courage were crying for their fathers and mothers under the hail of iron that was spreading in the sky. They saw that the head of Paoze beside them was blown off by the projectiles. His arms and legs were knocked off, or half of them were torn off alive.
He has a body, a soul is in despair, and he no longer has the consciousness of losing a scar as big as a bowl for money. He just hates that there is no place to hide in the boat - every projectile goes straight through the bottom of the boat.
The main gun fired three rounds, and the Hotchkiss rotary guns and typewriters on the ship followed suit. The distance of more than a thousand meters was the effective range for them to fully exert their firepower. 13mm and 30mm lead bullets rained down on the fire.
The boat flew away, water splashed everywhere, and the boat in front was suddenly beaten like a hornet's nest, and it sank straight towards the sea.
Although Zheng Zhipeng's boat was behind, he could clearly see the tragic scene of the grape bombs exploding in the air. Seeing the Kun thief performing unexpected "demon magic" again, his chest felt like thousands of arrows piercing his heart. In battles, we must fight each other.
Only then can we decide the outcome. What kind of war is this? Seeing that the fire attack ships in front were huddled together, some were already on fire, and some were half-sinked. This fire attack battle, which cost tens of thousands of Spanish silver, was already a war.
Slumped, he couldn't help but feel anxious and resentful. Regardless of whether the sailors could hear it or not, he stood up and shouted:
"Don't be afraid, everyone, come together, if you bump into one, you will be rewarded with a hundred taels!"
Before he finished speaking, another round of grape bullets flew into the air and exploded. A grape bullet shot down with a whistling sound and passed through Zheng Zhipeng's chest. It immediately made a hole as big as a bowl and penetrated through.
The deck behind him. Zheng Zhipeng staggered, as if he still didn't believe there was such a big hole in his body, his eyes widened, and he fell on the deck.
Zheng Zhipeng's death did not cause any waves - even if he was not killed, the fire attack had failed. Under the combined attack of grape bombs and rapid-fire cannons, none of the fire attack ships could enter within 1000 meters of the transfer anchorage.
The ships that caught fire burned on the sea, drifting slowly, and burned and sank before reaching the anchorage. The few that got close were towed aside by small boats and allowed to burn.
The sea was smoky, and many fire attack ships were burning, but none of them threatened the Kun Thief's warships, let alone collided with one. The Kun Thief's small boats were still transporting men and horses to the beach.
The generals of the Zheng family who gathered on the city tower looked at the sea with dejected expressions on their faces. Some of them had already taken a few steps back. If the city tower hadn't been filled with Zheng Zhilong's soldiers, they would have fled long ago.
Zheng Zhilong forced himself to calm down: "If the fire attack is defeated, it will be defeated. The Kun pirate ship is strong and powerful, and our brothers can't compare. Wait for them to land and then fight them in one go! Everyone rectifies the troops and prepares for war!"
All the generals sang in unison and dispersed. Zheng Zhilong led his generals and soldiers down to the city tower. They saw a commotion at the gate of the city. The soldiers were collecting silver rewards. Although the ranks of his own soldiers were a little chaotic, they were all dressed in uniforms.
The armor is complete, the equipment is bright, and it is much stronger than the officers and soldiers. I can't help but feel a little comfort. Although the Lu Division is not the core of the Zheng family, he has not invested less in it over the years, and all equipment and military pay are favorable, which is very good for him.
He has won several battles - he even went to Guangdong to fight against Paiyao. Now his only hope is to withstand the Kun bandits in land battles.
It seemed that there were not many people who landed on the shore, only 500 people at most. This made him somewhat reassured. He immediately paid attention to the soldiers:
"Call Matos and Tontaro."
Matos and Tongyun were the leaders of his black guards and Japanese guards. Zheng Zhilong's black guards were recruited from the Portuguese, and most of them were escaped slaves of the Portuguese. According to records, there were "850 people with families in Macau at that time"
The Portuguese,... They have an average of 6 armed slaves. The largest and best among them are the Kabari people, and other tribes... The Portuguese and these people (Japanese) have excellent bird mills, spears
and other weapons. There are few Portuguese who do not have 6 or 12 muskets or flintlocks".
The Kabari people are black slaves from East Africa. Most of them have received military training and are accustomed to using Portuguese matchlocks. They are brave in combat and have no problem with betrayal. Therefore, they are trusted by Zheng Zhilong and maintain a strength of 300 people all year round.
.
As for the Japanese Guards, his connections with the Hirato clans and being a Catholic were enough for him to recruit hundreds of Japanese soldiers of Christian origin.
Although Matos and Tongtaro are not the core members of Zheng's group, they are Zheng Zhilong's "private soldiers", elite men who truly obey his orders. The most important thing is that he does not have to worry about these two people betraying him.
Matos and Totaro came in front of him. They were all dressed in Portuguese clothes. Except for Totaro who had a pair of swords on his waist, he was dressed like a European soldier.
These two guards are all armed and trained like European armies. They pay special attention to matchlock shooting. Both shooting accuracy and firing speed are top-notch. Zheng Zhilong feels that he can still fight with these two teams.
There is a big relationship.
"The Kun thieves are coming to attack here soon." Zheng Zhilong said, "You two have gathered your team and obey my orders."
"Aren't we going out to fight? General?" In addition to the days under the Portuguese, Matos has been in China for several years and can already speak Chinese very well.
"Of course we have to fight, but you are my sharp knives. I will use them at critical moments. Are the cannons and gunners ready?"
"Get ready. I have sent the best gunners to the city to operate the artillery - they are all Portuguese veterans. But the gunners of the two cannons have not been well trained. I am afraid there will be an accident..." Ma
Toss said.
"That Chejidan taught you how to use it. Just use it. The cannons of the Kun thieves are very powerful. Now our original cannons are no match for them. We have to take risks."
"Yes, General." Matos no longer expressed any objection.
Zheng Zhilong asked people to bring in silver, and ordered that it be distributed to the soldiers of the guard at the rate of twenty silver coins each. Each of Matos and Tongtaro received one hundred silver coins. In addition, the Portuguese who operated the artillery were given a heavy reward: one silver coin per person.
One hundred silver coins.
After the arrangements were made, he divided 2,000 men to hold on in the Zhongzuo City with the cannons on the city wall. The rest of the main force and the guards went out of the city to line up to fight in a deeper area on the northwest side of the city. (To be continued...)