Chapter 79: Sweet Harbor - Catching Turtles in a Urn
Chapter 79: Sweet Harbor - Catching Turtles in a Urn
Night gradually fell from the sky, covering the harbor. The sea breeze blew the mist rising from the sea - this is a common fog in Lingao when entering early summer. The fog is getting thicker and thicker, and the piers, piers, coasts, islands,
Most of the factory buildings are surrounded by a layer of soft gauze, and only the lights in the building can be vaguely seen.
Wu De looked at the luminous watch in his hand. It was already eight o'clock in the evening. The lights near the naval shipyard were particularly bright, and the roar of steam engines could be heard. That was the sound of loading cargo for the Great Whale. It was ready to be installed on
The four smoothbore cannons on the Great Whale were transported to Bopu during the day. In order to avoid the public eye, the loading work would be carried out by the navy at night at the dock of the shipyard without any labor.
According to the plan, the Great Whale would build a protective wall with straw bags filled with soil, and stack rice bags or sugar bags outside. In fact, several artillery pieces and two platoons of marines would be ambushed inside. As soon as the opponent came close, he would bombard it with artillery.
Pirates' ships - According to the descriptions of the sailors on the Guang Bing, the pirates' ships are all small and medium-sized coastal ships. They will definitely sink if they can't take more than a few shells.
If the pirates only dispatch one or two ships, this plan is the simplest and most effective with the firepower that the whale will be equipped with. But if the enemy has many ships, the surprise effect achieved by sudden shooting can only be achieved once. After shooting, the artillery is reloaded and aimed.
It will take some time. Ships that have not been hit can use scattered attacks to avoid the firepower on the ship - the big whale is not a motor boat, it is slow and its maneuverability is not flexible. Once it is entangled by a small boat and enters a close-up fight, the enemy will
If there is a large number of people, you will suffer losses. If the enemy is attacked and is frightened by the firepower of the whale, it turns around and runs away, and the speed of the whale cannot catch up, resulting in a rout. Obviously using the whale itself is not enough.
There must be ships to cooperate with the operation.
However, as more ships are dispatched, cunning pirates may retract their tentacles. Obviously, no matter what model the navy adopts, the basic condition for victory-"the initiative"-is still in the hands of pirates.
Spread in front of you is a map of the distribution of islands and reefs in the sea near Hai'an Street on a 1/100,000th chart magnified 50 times. This area is dotted with large and small islands, reefs, and sand, forming countless channels extending in all directions.
waterways and hidden gorges. Such an environment is naturally particularly beneficial to pirates who use light boats and small boats.
After thinking for a moment, he dialed Li Di's phone number:
"Is the Deng Yingzhou in the port?"
"Report! Here."
"Call that, Wang -" Wu De suddenly remembered that the first mate who landed in Yingzhou seemed to be called Wang Dabeard by everyone, "...first mate, come to the base headquarters!"
"Wang Bearded? Call him immediately."
After a while, Wang Bearded arrived. Regarding his beard, the navy was divided into two different factions. One faction thought his beard was very beautiful and "British" and wanted him to keep it, while the other faction believed that the beard was unhygienic.
, soldiers are not allowed to grow beards. The dispute between the two sides has not ended yet. Therefore, Wang Dabeard's beard continues to be retained. After a voyage, the crew members have to rest for a few days as usual, so he looks very clean and energetic, wearing a 19th-century navy uniform.
Dressing smartly, I no longer have the pirate image of the past.
"Based on your past experience as a pirate, where would you choose to intercept ships entering and leaving Hai'an Street Port?" Wu De pointed to the chart, "To ensure absolute safety, the other party may have an escort."
Wang Dabeard looked at the sea chart carefully - these extremely detailed things could no longer surprise him.
"Here." He pointed to a group of black spots on the chart.
Wu De looked intently and saw that this place was called "Chrysanthemum Island". It was not a shaped island, but just a bunch of rocks sticking out of the sea. This place was the only way to pass by the Hoi'an Street Port.
He nodded. Guangbing was attacked four miles southeast of this area. Wang Bearded's experience was correct.
"Why did you choose this place?" Wu De asked, because there are several similar islands and reefs nearby.
"The conditions here are the best. There are many islands and reefs, and it is easy to hide a boat. Just hide the boat on the Juhua Island and send people to go far away from the reef. If a boat comes, you can rush out and catch it by surprise." Wang Da Hu Zi said, "If the opponent has an escort and cannot defeat it, just escape directly through the outer island. There are many waterways, many rocks, and a lot of underwater sand. If the pursuing ship is not familiar with the route, it will hit the rocks immediately."
"Well, what if we try to catch these pirates?"
"The best way is to ambush the ship on the inner island in advance," Wang Bearded said without hesitation. "Unless the pirates are not prepared to escape through the outer island, the cat jump between the inner and outer island is the only way to pass. There are several gunboats blocking us there, attacking us from both front and rear. No matter how powerful you are, you won't be able to escape."
"Very good." Wu De thought that if he only looked at the chart, he would never know that there are so many tricks in the reef group with only a few black spots.
"But the inner island is very difficult to enter." Wang Beard reminded, "The waterway is too complicated. There is no danger except for small sampans entering. Larger boats may run aground or run aground when entering or exiting the waterway."
"How big of a ship can it fit into?"
Wang Bearded shook his head: "The boat can only carry 200 materials at most. The water inside is very chaotic and there is a lot of sand."
"Are you familiar with the waterways?"
"This-" Wang Bearded hesitated a little.
"To be honest," Wu De said, "this task is very important. I will give you credit when it is completed!"
"Yes," Wang Bearded stood up unconventionally, "I did go in with someone, only once. I still remember some sea routes."
"Okay, get ready and report to the shipyard dock."
The next day, Wu De was busy selecting weapons and troops. He decided not to send troops to participate in this operation, but to mobilize the indigenous troops of the navy in an organized manner. In the evening, he and Wang Dabeard took a ride. A 100-ton single-masted ship went to Juhua Island to conduct reconnaissance in person.
In order to narrow the target, except for seven or eight sailors and two first-batch promoted officer cadets who were undergoing training, no one else was brought. To ensure safety, the ship was temporarily equipped with a motorboat. Propeller machine.
The ship sailed for several hours at night. As it approached midnight, Wu De estimated that it was now close to its destination - Juhua Island outside the Hoi'an Street Harbor.
The sea was calm and the moon was bright. The ship had lowered its sails and used oars to propel slowly.
"Did you find it?" he asked Wang Dabeard, who was observing from behind the bunker at the bow of the ship.
"Not yet. It should be soon." Wang Bearded observed the sea surface attentively. Now his eyes were used to the darkness, and with the help of the telescope, he could roughly distinguish things within three hundred meters of the sea surface.
The scout ship moved on.
"There are black spots ahead." Wang Bearded shouted in a low voice, "Pay attention to the speed of the boat!"
At this time, what appeared in front of Wu De's eyes was not just a few black spots, but a large group of black spots. The people on the boat became nervous. Did they take the wrong course? There are not so many small reefs and islets on the chart!
"Stop!" Wu De quickly ordered the captain.
The reconnaissance ship quickly reduced its speed and relied on the momentum of inertia to glide forward quietly. Wu De checked the compass degrees, then went down to the cabin, turned on the flashlight, and carefully checked the chart. But there was nothing on the chart.
Such a strange sign. Could it be that the sea conditions have changed so much in the past 400 years? The compass degrees, the ship's heading and the current calculated position are all correct. Wu De thought for a while and calculated the tide time. That's right.
, it is the lowest tide and it is a full moon, so many nameless reefs are exposed to the sea. In this kind of sea area that is not a navigation channel, the measurement will naturally not be too precise, and after all, the time is four hundred years apart. Even if the measurement is accurate
After several years, the waterway has changed beyond recognition due to changes in the sea water. Now the only way is to rely on testing the depth hammer, walking section by section, and gradually entering Juhua Island.
The water surface of the outer island is open, but there are many rocks.
"The tide is low now." Wang Bearded said, "Under normal circumstances, most of these rocks would be submerged. A 100-material ship like ours needs to be careful and nothing will happen."
Wu De observed the sea conditions here. He secretly felt that it was right to call Wang Dashu as a staff officer. If a large ship of unknown depth chased in at this place, it would indeed be very likely to hit the rocks.
"Now we have to enter the inner island." Wang Dabeard said nervously.
The reconnaissance ship passed a black reef and turned into a narrow waterway. The reconnaissance ship was like an old donkey, walking and stopping for a while. The sailors held their breath and stared at the things that emerged from the bottom of the sea from time to time.
Standing on strange-shaped rocks, with hooks and poles in hand, you are always ready to deal with unexpected situations.
The current in the waterway was abnormally turbulent, and the sailors tried hard to hold on to the oar pole to prevent it from rushing to the rocks and being smashed into pieces. Wang Dabeard recalled the channels he had traveled and guided the direction of the scout ship. Sometimes in order to confirm a reef
He had to confirm for a while whether it was a marker or not.
After stopping like this for almost an hour, the boat sailed into the narrow inner island. Then it slowly sailed towards Maotiao Pass. There are two huge rocks here. The sea between the two rocks is extremely narrow. If it is
The ship with 200 pieces of material could only barely pass by.
"This is the cat jumping hole." Wang Bearded pointed to two rocks, "It is said that even cats can jump across the distance."
Wu De nodded: "Is this Waiyu outside?"
"Yes, as long as pirates pass through this place, they can get out through other waterways on the inner island. It is said that there are seven or eight such waterways, and they can take a boat with a hundred or two hundred materials - but someone needs to guide them."
"Then why don't we enter the inner island from here?"
"I'm not familiar with this waterway -" Wang Bearded said frankly, "I heard that there are several dark sands in the sea near Maotiao Pass on the Waiyu Island, and their positions change frequently. People who are not particularly familiar with the hydrology here will most likely be stranded.
above."
Wu De ordered the reconnaissance ship to enter a narrow waterway, find a rocky beach that could be leaned on, throw the anchor to the rock, grab the crack in the rock, and secure the ship.
The entire Juhua Island is just like its name, resembling a chrysanthemum shape, scattered on the sea. There are many strange and various backflow channels and small islets between the islets and the reefs.
Poor bay. Large ships cannot move in it at low tide. Only the outer islands have relatively wide sea surface.
Wu De, Wang Dabeard and a sailor climbed up to this unknown island. He had a pair of binoculars hanging around his neck and an oilcloth raincoat on his body. The three of them walked up the mountain with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Climb up, scaring seabirds, lizards and other animals into running around. Wu De stopped and paid attention to the movement on the sea around him.
The entire Juhua Island sea area was extremely quiet, with only a few fishing fires in the distance. Seeing that there was no movement around, he continued to lead people to climb up.
Half of the island is covered with a thick layer of wet velvet-like moss. As soon as people step on it, it makes a sizzling sound like a water-absorbing sponge. The steep places are very slippery. They fell asleep several times in a row.
I almost fell down. When I climbed up, I found a fairly flat open space covered with thorns, dense thorns, and dead branches that had fallen sideways. They were intertwined to form a natural fence. The sailor used a machete to clear the way.
The group of people came to a relatively gentle clearing near the cliff. The full moon was in the sky, the waves were sparkling on the sea, and they had an unobstructed view of the entire Maotiaokou sea area.
The viewing angle of this place is very good. Wu De said in his heart that an observation post can be arranged here. Suddenly an idea came into his mind. Isn't this place a better shooting position than a ship with one or two hundred materials?
A ship with one or two hundred materials can only be equipped with light artillery, and not a few of them. If we really want to block the attack here, we still have no advantage in firepower. Since there are so many small islets on Juhua Island, we can completely block it here.
Make a fuss about it and arrange more artillery on it. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but get excited that he had found a good strategy.
He visually checked the angle here, and then looked at the surrounding environment. Although the slope was slightly sloping, the slope was gentle, and medium-sized artillery could be placed if the ground was slightly flattened. The area was also large enough, and three or four can be placed.
The 12-pounder cannon battery can also arrange a small number of covering infantry.
Looking at the opposite side, there are several places that may be suitable for placing artillery, one or two at each place, so that a total of more than seven cannons can form a crossfire. The artillery fire fired from fixed islands and reefs is stronger than that fired from a shaky sea ship.
Much more accurate. Prepare one or two more ships to intercept them at Maotiao Pass. Once the pirate ships arrive here, it will be a situation of catching turtles in a jar. Not even one of them can escape.
"Let the officer cadets come up!" Wu De ordered, "Carry out mapping operations here and map the surrounding target reference objects!"
After giving the order, he went down to the ship and reported the plan to Lingao via the radio.
"Please ask Director Ma to coordinate this matter," he added at the end of the message.