It was a vanguard squad that was preparing to go up the mountain. No one expected that when they emerged from the gunpowder smoke at the foot of Wushan Mountain, they would cause a total collapse of the officers and soldiers on Ya Niang Shoe Island Mountain. When this 10-person reconnaissance team climbed to the top of the mountain, there were originally
The Chinese military camp with more than 600 people had become deserted. Camp flags and weapons were scattered all over the ground.
After the task force occupied Yaniang Shoe Island, Chen Haiyang ordered the attack to be suspended. The officers and soldiers got a little respite. Fortunately, the defeated soldiers were not captured and finally escaped to Humen Village. Some of the officers and soldiers originally stationed in the Humen area retreated to Humen Village
, the navy ships retreated to Dahushan Island.
Whether it was Dahu Mountain or Humen Village, it was easy to capture it. Chen Haiyang ordered to stop the fighting because it was about to get dark. He did not intend to get into a melee with the Ming army after dark, which would increase unnecessary casualties.
The Fubo Army established an observation post on Wushan Mountain to monitor Humen Village at the foot of the mountain. The location of Humen Village has become extremely dangerous at this time. From Wushan Mountain, you can overlook the entire Humen Village, and a few field guns can make the entire village become more dangerous.
Unable to hold on. Such phenomena that violate the most basic military common sense are common in battles.
China's military system, technology, and tactics had obviously stagnated in the late Ming Dynasty. The veterans had clearly realized this during the Battle of Humen.
The navy has full confidence in its own military power and technology after this battle - the Ming government could not even say that it had a navy to use, and now it has been proven that land defense is also vulnerable.
Looking down from the mountain, the entire Humen Village was brightly lit and noisy with people. After observing, Shi Zhiqi believed that the situation in the village was chaotic and that the entire army might be dispersed before midnight.
"If you collapse, you will collapse. This will save you the trouble of attacking tomorrow." Chen Haiyang looked at the map in the tent he had just set up. "We will capture Humen Village early tomorrow morning. There is a Taiping Ruins in front of Humen Village. Try not to harm the lives and property of the people."
.”
"clear!"
"Of course, the premise is that they are honest. If they come to attack us actively, then you are welcome."
Chen Haiyang planned to transfer artillery boats and sampans to the Sanmen Waterway the next day to support the navy's attack on Humen Village. The Sanmen Waterway was between Humen Village and Wushan. Once Wushan was lost, the Sanmen Waterway became the only barrier to Humen Village. Xu Tingfa
In the battle plan, a sandbag fort was originally to be set up at the entrance of Sanmen Waterway. However, the construction had not started at this time. There were only a dozen soldiers guarding the building materials on the fort position, and they had already fled. The boat was composed of small boats.
The team easily passed through the Sanmen, entered the Sanmen Waterway, and went straight to Humen Village.
On September 21, after a night's rest, the navy quickly crossed the Sanmen Waterway by sampan and formed an array in front of Taiping Ruins. The people in Taiping Ruins quickly sent a few old people to come out to present gifts and ask the army not to attack Taiping.
Ruins.
"We will do our best to prepare everything the army needs." Several old men kowtowed at Shi Zhiqi's feet, "Please, Your Majesty, restrain your men..."
"I'm not the king." Shi Zhiqi just wanted to have a few beauties kowtow at his feet and beg for mercy. I couldn't bear what you old men did, so he immediately said righteously and sternly, "We are the upright Fubo Army! We are here to pray to you.
The Ming Dynasty officials in Guangdong are seeking justice. Don’t worry! As long as you do what we say, no plant or tree of yours will be harmed!"
The old men thanked them profusely. Shi Zhiqi immediately ordered people to escort them to Chen Haiyang. He had specialized civil affairs personnel to communicate with the local indigenous people.
"Report to the detachment leader!" The leading soldier sent for reconnaissance came back, "There is no one in the village!" He breathed, "It is an empty village!"
"Have you searched the area?"
"Searched! There was no sign of the enemy. We captured a few wounded soldiers who stayed in the village. They said that the large group of people had fled in all directions in the middle of the night. General Xu did not stop him and ran away with his soldiers and others.
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Shi Zhiqi scratched his head: "He was so happy! He just walked away."
The earthen city of Humen Village, which Xu Tingfa had painstakingly built, was now deserted. Xu Tingfa, Li Xijue, Fan Wencai and others all fled overnight. A large number of ordnance, food, grass, ammunition, armor, staffs, and flags were abandoned in the village. After all the hard work,
All the Hongyi cannons that had been transported were also discarded. A large amount of gunpowder and cannons were just left on the spot without even setting off a fire. Shi Zhiqi was speechless at the way he discarded military supplies so carelessly.
There used to be a factory behind Humen Village that made gunpowder and cast cannonballs, but it also fell into the hands of the navy at this time. In addition to many finished gunpowders, there were also a large amount of saltpeter, sulfur, charcoal and other raw materials for making gunpowder, and lead was also seized.
, more than 200,000 kilograms of pig iron and other metal materials, which can be said to be a rich harvest.
More than 200 craftsmen and their families living near the factory were all taken prisoner, and the officers and soldiers simply forgot about them when they fled.
The battle at Dahushan lasted even shorter. The ten warships led by Chen Qian retreated upstream without engaging in the battle. The Dahushan fort was completely paralyzed after withstanding an hour of shelling and rounds of shelling by spy boats. The navy boarded
Went to Dahushan Island, dismantled the cannons, and hunted down the defeated soldiers. The military operations in the Humen area were all over before noon on September 21st. The officers and soldiers suffered 1,000 casualties and 600 were captured. The task force captured 140 people with various cannons alone.
.Another 22 naval vessels and small boats awaiting repair were seized.
The total casualties of the task force were 2 dead and 31 wounded. Ten ships were hit, but none of them could be said to be lightly damaged. Only the ammunition consumption was huge, and the large-caliber mortars on the artillery boats were destroyed in two days.
During the battle, each gun fired fifty rounds. Even counting the shells stored on Hong Kong Island, there were only six shells left for each gun. The ammunition on the spy boat was also consumed a lot.
"We are about to lose the U.S. military in time and space. High investment, high logistics." Chen Haiyang sighed while looking at the form sent by the logistics staff.
In modern times, the consumption of thermally weaponized armies was more than ten times that of medieval armies. Chen Haiyang's two battles at the Pearl River Estuary consumed two-thirds of the total tonnage of ammunition carried by the entire fleet.
Chen Haiyang began to establish a temporary supply line from Hong Kong Island to Humen. The supply line was carried out by captured sampans, long dragons and other small ships, and supplies were continuously transferred from Hong Kong to Humen. Since the navy eliminated the pirate gangs on Lantau Island
The maritime patrol system at the Pearl River Estuary that was later established greatly improved maritime security in the entire Lingdingyang area. The introduction of high-speed and flexible patrol boats also made navigation clumsy, and poorly armed pirate ships disappeared. The supply line only requires a small number of armed ships.
Seized materials were also shipped via this line to Hong Kong Island for transfer back to Lingao - some were used locally. As for the various construction materials left on several unfinished fort positions, they were all shipped to Hong Kong for use.
As for other forts, barracks and other buildings, except for a small part left for the fleet, most of them were dismantled by the prisoners, and the dismantled building materials were also sent to Hong Kong for use.
"Demolish all the houses we can no longer use!" Chen Haiyang ordered.
So Shi Zhiqi became the captain of the demolition team, driving the prisoners to demolish the houses every day. Except for a few better military camp houses, which were temporarily retained and disinfected and used as temporary barracks, all the buildings were razed to the ground.
Chen Haiyang planned to use Humen as a temporary base. To this end, he renovated the trestle at the foot of Wushan Mountain to provide fleet ships with docking for rest. He himself moved his headquarters to the top of Wushan Mountain.
He then met with the people of Taiping Ruins. The trembling people sent gifts - fifty taels of silver, two loads of sucrose and ten bare pigs. Chen Haiyang ordered them to be accepted. He asked the people to elect a liaison officer and announced a reasonable burden.
——This so-called reasonable burden is actually a kind of blackmail on the people. Of course, it can also be called a tax. The Senate treats it as a tax. Although the Pearl River Delta region cannot be brought under their direct rule in a short period of time,
However, the Central Government Administration Council believes that it is entirely possible to impose "reasonable burdens" from now on.
Zheng Zhilong collected navigation taxes at sea, while pirates in the Qing Dynasty had been collecting various "fees" in the Pearl River. Such fees were levied not only on villages, but also on transport ships and merchants sailing on the Pearl River and along the coast.
Anyone who refuses to pay will be brutally retaliated against. When the pirates were at their most rampant, they even set up a semi-public tax collection agency in Guangzhou to collect "fees". The crossing group should do the same thing.
But the technique and degree should be gentler and more beautiful.
According to the provisions on reasonable burden, when people and ships traveling through the group need to requisition labor and materials on the spot when passing through Taiping Ruins, the materials and labor requisitioned can be used at a discount to offset the reasonable burden of the village. If the demand exceeds the reasonable burden
The Cross-Trade Group will pay the excess amount according to the price.
As for the reasonable amount of the burden, after some bargaining, it was set at thirty-five taels of silver per year - because the villagers had already sent fifty taels of silver, Chen Haiyang generously agreed to waive the payment this year and start counting from the next year. "
"Reasonable burden" can also be offset by rice and other physical goods according to market conditions. According to the economic level of Taiping Xu, this amount is not large - if they can spend some money to buy peace, the villagers are still willing to accept it.
The Ministry of Finance hopes that through this expedition, a primary taxation system will be formed for the villages along the Pearl River, and a second tax source besides Hainan will be opened up - especially the various agricultural products abundant in the Pearl River Delta, which is very much needed by the Chuanchuan Group.
Materials.
The current tax amount is of course negligible, but it can always remind villagers in the Pearl River Delta of the existence and power of the Cross Group.