The Countess of Scarborough has been sailing close to the high point. It slowly sailed towards the bay along with the tide. At the same time, it continued to fire cannon fire. Those white light beams always illuminated the ship. The Orientals on the shore obviously put their ship behind them.
As the main target of attack, cannonballs kept flying towards him. Fortunately, the enemy did not have heavy cannons. The strong oak hull of the Spanish galleon withstood the bombardment of most of the cannonballs. Only a few of the cannonballs penetrated the ship's planks. But the cannonballs
Many sailors were killed and wounded. Bodies with severed arms, legs, and missing heads were scattered everywhere on the deck. Blood was flowing in the gutters on the deck. Aragones couldn't stand it anymore: If the attack continued like this, he might not replace the Chinese sailors on the spot.
I had no choice but to go back to Manila.
"This devil's beam of light!" Aragones cursed, "Have you not succeeded yet?" He asked Li Siya again. Her usually calm face was also a little twitchy. In addition to the Spanish artillery fire, Liu Xiang
The cost invested this time was not small, and all the people who landed were old bandits, many of them desperadoes and deserters from the navy. Based on her experience, the Countess of Scarborough's firepower was very powerful on the coast of China.
is unparalleled. Although he may not be able to kill Liu Xiang in a naval battle as he boasted, suppressing the firepower along the coast is still not a problem. With the cooperation of this group of capable pirates, seizing the ship is a sure thing - no
Thinking that a carefully planned plan would not be much better than Zhu Cai Lao's fate.
Suddenly, a distinctive sharp whistling sound came from the air. The two of them were startled. A sharp bullet penetrated the side of the ship solidly. Wood chips, blood and corpse parts flew out from the gap, and their ears were filled with laughter.
They were all screams.
"fire!"
Following Bai Yu's command, another 70mm pointed bullet roared out of the muzzle. The four 70mm rifled cannons on the two modified fishing boats stared at the Countess of Scarborough and fired in turn.
The power of the pointed armor-piercing bullet is several times that of the round bullet, and no matter how thick the oak board is, it cannot stop it.
The Countess of Scarborough finally couldn't withstand it. This sudden shell destroyed almost an entire side of the bulwark of the Spanish galleon. Nine of the 16 cannons were completely unable to fire. More than half of the gunners below the deck were killed or injured.
"Send the firework signal and retreat." Aragones finally gave the order to retreat. Although the tide has not yet begun to ebb, it will not be easy to evacuate the harbor, but if we do not retreat now, I am afraid we will never be able to evacuate again. And Liu
The allies of Xiang will let it go to the devil for the time being. Aragones, who lost his ship and had his whole family enslaved on it, is penniless. What awaits him is the wrath of the Governor of Manila and the prison prepared for him by his creditors.
.
"Captain, we still have a few rowboats that haven't returned yet—"
"Don't worry about those dirty natives, turn the wheel!"
"There aren't enough sailors in the rowboat."
"Get everyone who can move to row the boat!" Aragones became furious, "Go quickly!"
Dozens of sailors slid along the cables to the rowing boats. Pushed by the long oars, the Spanish galleon turned the rudder with difficulty and began to retreat. Aragones ordered the cannons that could be fired to continue firing, first to more or less suppress the enemy.
Yes, secondly, you can consume more ammunition - the lighter the boat, the better when escaping.
"Devil!" He gritted his teeth and said to the huge ship shadow in the depths of the harbor, feeling a huge chill in his heart.
Lisya stood beside him. She had wanted to stop Aragones' retreat. Once he ran away, the cannons on Gang Leader Liu's five brigs could no longer suppress the enemy, and even the ships and people had to be killed. She was buried here. But now was not the time to show loyalty, so she pocketed the hood of her cloak and retreated down the ship's deck inconspicuously.
The Spanish retreat caused the pirates in the harbor to completely lose their fighting spirit. Two of the five brigs had been sunk by artillery in the harbor during the battle. The other three saw the Spanish fleeing and followed suit. The ship suddenly exploded while escaping, and fireworks shot into the sky. The pirates on the shore were immediately confused. Many people dropped their weapons and rushed towards the rowing sampans on the beach. There were only a few sampans on the beach. At one time, there was a fierce fighting, and many people were killed. The boats crowded with escapees were difficult to control in the chaos and turbulence. When the cross-country military rifles that pursued them to the sea continued to fire, some of the boats capsized. , the sea was full of floating and struggling human heads. Seeing that the situation was not good, some of the remaining people fled into the nearby mangroves to survive.
As the people from all walks of life gradually integrated, the communication and command became smoother. A platoon of emergency reinforcements from Bairen City also arrived. Xi Yazhou led the soldiers all the way to Bopu. He was in a state of confusion and did not know what the port was like. On the way, we heard the sound of gunfire and saw the searchlights dancing wildly, which was very frightening. I was afraid that the people crossing had suffered heavy casualties.
When we arrived at the camp, we saw that although the surroundings were in a mess, when we saw Wu De, we realized that there were currently twenty or thirty people injured, most of them minor injuries, and there were many casualties among native laborers and soldiers.
Because the sky was still dark, the enemy and we were engaged in another melee just now. After arriving, all the troops were stationed at various intersections and key points to prevent the enemy from escaping or attacking again. They waited until the sky got bright before making a decision. Li Haiping suggested launching the fishing boat. Chase out of the harbor and sink or simply capture the foreign ship, but everyone feels that the current situation is unclear, so they still remain on the defensive for the time being.
While discussing the next step of action, cleaning the battlefield and treating the wounded, I suddenly heard a noise, followed by the sound of artillery, gunshots and shouts. After more than ten minutes, the sound stopped completely, and occasionally one or two shots were heard. Scream.
It turned out that the pirates who had gathered in the mangroves saw that the situation was not good and tried to rush out and escape. As a result, they were massacred by the surrounding marines and artillery that were waiting for them. They were all killed, and the injured were also given a bayonet.
After an hour of fierce fighting, the fire in Bobu Harbor gradually extinguished. Only a gunpowder-exploded brig was still burning and floating on the water. There were various wreckage and corpses floating on the water. More than half of the approximately 400 Chinese and foreign pirates who landed were Tomorrow's sun will never be seen again. The wounded are everywhere, and wails and screams are coming one after another. The medical team and nurses from the health school drawn from Bairen City are extremely busy.
While Wu De sent people to extinguish the fire, he also mobilized migrant workers and necessary materials from Bairen City to clean up the battlefield. He also personally went to an isolation and quarantine camp, where hundreds of men, women, and children who had migrated from Baitu were detained. During the fierce fighting, some shells were hit here, part of the building was destroyed, and more than ten people were injured or killed. There was a panic in the camp. Wu De comforted everyone, telling them that it was pirates who were attacking, and they had been repulsed, and then let the stretcher team Carry all the wounded out for treatment.
After the sky dimmed, people from all walks of life began to clear the surrounding area on a large scale. However, there were not many living people left, and less than fifty people were captured. Those who were seriously injured did not bother the traversers to fight their consciences, and the New Army soldiers stabbed each one one by one. Everything has been solved, and only those who can walk to the dressing room by themselves can survive.
The members of the Executive Committee patrolled the beach under the protection of the navy. After a fierce battle all night, everyone felt that they had survived a catastrophe. Many of them looked pale. Generally speaking, they vomited less than after repelling the county's siege for the first time. Many, it seems that everyone has gradually become accustomed to the bloody scenes, but it is the soldiers of the New Army. Although most of them are fighting for the first time, they are equally familiar with the bloody scenes - people in this time and space have seen too many scenes of death and have long been used to it. .
While walking, Ma Qianzhu chatted with others and encouraged everyone's morale. In his opinion, such an intense battle was just the beginning, and there would be more severe tests waiting for them in the future.
"Commissioner Ma, the battle statistics are out." The work of the Planning Committee has always been known for its precision, efficiency and ruthlessness.
Ma Qianzhu looked through it and said to everyone: "We suffered serious losses in this battle."
Everyone was utterly defeated.
"Don't look so funny." Ma Qianzhu patted the folder in his hand angrily, "If you think the hundreds of iron knives, a few matchlock guns, and a dozen leaky sampans that were seized are worth the Can we surpass the 1,900 rounds of bullets, 214 rounds of artillery shells and hundreds of kilograms of gunpowder we consumed?" He finally added, "20 New Army soldiers died, 15 workers, and 10 people were seriously injured and disabled."
The final number of casualties is indeed a bit shocking. The New Army soldiers are the seeds of the future army that they have carefully trained. It is really heartbreaking to lose them like this. The workers can at least speak a few Mandarin and have adapted to the way of working here. A basic level of trust has been established.
"These plagued pirates!" Li Haiping felt extremely distressed because of the heavy losses suffered by the navy in the battle.
"You insist on training your own navy, but you don't have enough training, right? You still have to rely on land to fight -"
Before Wei Aiwen finished speaking, he saw the navy glaring at him angrily, as if they wanted to eat him alive.
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Xi Yazhou quickly interjected: "Why are these useless words now? Let's review the battle carefully, fix the loopholes, and see what to do in the future."
"The navy must be expanded to at least two companies," Li Haiping immediately proposed. "Bopu's garrison tasks are too heavy, the duty points are too scattered, and the forts have to be managed."
Ma Qianzhu stopped Wei Aiwen, who was about to speak again, and said: "The vacancies in the navy must be filled immediately, and the issue of military expansion must be considered comprehensively. Let's talk about the fortification of Bopu first."
The defense of Bopu is still weak, with a small number of forts and insufficient heavy artillery. The Lingao beacon tower showed its great value in the battle. It not only monitored the entire battlefield from a high position, but also reported battlefield trends anytime and anywhere. The searchlight also played a role Excellent battlefield lighting effect. In contrast, the effect of the 12-pound cannon appears to be much limited. The artillery team believes that the cannon on the fort should be larger than 24 pounds. The several heavy cannons cast by the time traveler are limited to The hoisting capacity was not transported to the beacon tower, but was instead erected on a temporary fort next to the trestle. Facts have proved that the defense level of this hastily built fort itself was too poor, and there was not enough infantry cover. During the battle, It was quickly captured by the enemy, and more than a dozen sailors were all killed in the battle, causing the largest casualties in this battle.
The 12-pound mountain howitzer once again demonstrated its great value. The maneuverability of three or four people making it the most reliable area-killing weapon for traversers. Lin Shenhe pointed out that if it can be used between two temporary artillery forts,
Equipped with 1 to 2 mountain grenades on the side, the artillery fortress may not be captured so quickly.
Li Di, Bai Yu and other gunners also pointed out that there were too few types of artillery shells, solid shells had limited damage to enemy ships, and shotgun shells could only exert their lethality very close to the enemy.
"If there are no grenades, at least there must be incendiary bombs. Oh, by the way, there are also chain bombs."
"Well, if we have chain bombs, we can knock off the mast of the Spanish galleon this time - it can't escape!"
"It's not hard for me to remember the original incendiary bomb, right? It's just a red-hot iron ball. It would be nice to have this. It can at least set the ship on fire."
"In addition to cannons, the port itself must have some other fortification measures." Li Haiping suggested, "Can we build some mines? I know it is a bit difficult to trigger mines. How about making visual mines? This is not technically difficult, right?"
"It's not that small." Lin Shenhe shook his head, "The visual mine needs to be detonated by electricity - it's easy to say that we can use electric beads instead. We have enough in stock, but the required wires are too many. Relatively speaking, it's still
Triggering mines is easy. Let’s focus on the key issues.”
After discussion, it was decided to build two more three-story forts with masonry and cement structures next to the trestle. The tall body of the Fengcheng Ship can also play a role similar to the Bopu beacon in the port. The executive committee decided to add 1~
2 rotatable heavy guns. Consider setting up some blocking devices at the entrance of the harbor.