Twelve cruisers lined up in a row and sailed slowly past a thousand meters away from the fort. The heavy guns on the broadside used smoke grenades to bombard the fort. Each boat fired once and then sailed over. The thick smoke rising from the shells can mark the impact point of the shells.
The fleet can complete the teaching shooting in advance, and at the same time alert the Spaniards, allowing them to fire back and take the opportunity to conduct fire reconnaissance.
Yang Fan planned to destroy the forts on the north bank of the river in the first stage. Then let the pirate group land and occupy the fort. Then the artillery was set up on the fort and bombarded the Royal City of Manila. Yang Fan's cannons hit far enough to cover the entire city across the river.
Five hundred Spanish conquistadors were stationed at the Hebei Fort, and twenty 30-pound shore defense guns were installed here.
Long gun. Generally, the barrel length is 32-34 times the caliber, and the weight is about 2 tons. The weight of the projectile is around 15 pounds.
This type of gun generally has a longer range, with a direct range of up to 420 meters.
The long guns on the fort now are 30-pound heavy guns. Weighing 5 tons, it is naturally more powerful. Although the direct range will not increase significantly, the shells will be heavier and the penetration will increase. It can completely penetrate the wooden side of the cruiser at 500 meters.
pointblackrange direct range, not the closest range. This refers to the farthest distance the artillery can fire at 0 angle, with a maximum range of 2,400 meters. However, the maximum range data is completely meaningless for naval battles, because warships are unstable platforms, and firing from such a long distance is completely If you don't have anything, most of the artillery on the ship cannot be set up at too high an angle.
This kind of coastal defense gun is the largest coastal defense gun cast in this city. There was a cannon foundry in Manila because there were copper mines in the Philippines. There are also three large mortars.
These three mortars are very terrifying. They are pumhartvonsteyr mortars produced in Austria.
The caliber of these three guns is 800mm, and the shells weigh 690 kilograms. There are also ten pumhart vonsteyr mortars on the horse-faced fort on the city wall of the Royal City of Manila across the river.
In 1411, the Holy Roman Empire manufactured and invented the pumhart vonsteyr cannon, which weighed about 8 tons, was more than 2.5 meters long, had a caliber of 800 millimeters, a projectile weight of 690 kilograms, and a range of only 600 meters. This heavy artillery is generally used as siege artillery and coastal defense artillery in Europe.
Such huge artillery shells are generally of two kinds: blooming shells and solid shells. The firing ammunition will be filled with 300 kilograms of black powder. The power is very terrifying. This kind of cannon has been improved and produced since it was successfully cast in 1411. After the outbreak of the English Revolution, Cromwell's army forged the same type of mortar Roaring Meg and destroyed several strong fortresses controlled by the Royalists. Great damage was done to the castle, which eventually led to its fall.
At this narrow estuary, the width of the river is less than one kilometer, only about 700 meters. The horse-faced gun positions on the city wall and the forts in Hebei can cross-shoot warships trying to rush into the inner lake. Moreover, once upstream, the speed of the sailing ship slowed down greatly, making it a perfect target for long cannons and mortars.
The fort and the city wall formed a crossfire, tightly blocking the river mouth.
There is a gourd-shaped lake not far upstream of the river. The water depth is also ideal. That's why the Spanish chose to build the city of Manila here. The main thing is to be optimistic about the lake upstream. The Spanish galleon was safely anchored there.
If the warships were anchored there, forts and cannon on the walls could block the mouth of the river. If an enemy ship is damaged by gunfire, the warships in the inner lake can rush out and take the opportunity to annihilate the enemy ship.
Yang Fan's cruiser would suffer a big loss if it forced its way to the river mouth. At such a close distance, every Spanish shot would penetrate the side of the cruiser. If it were the pumhart vonsteyr cannon made by the Holy Roman Empire, with such a large charge, even if the explosive shells did not sink the cruiser, they would cause great damage, necessitating withdrawal from the battle.
After the cruiser carefully fired smoke grenades from a long distance, the shells quickly exploded around the fort. The Spaniards were a little alarmed. They discovered that these Ming Dynasty's navy actually had explosive bombs. Their batteries were not afraid of direct fire. Because the two- to three-meter-thick stone base has a platform made of compacted soil inside, which can block direct shot balls.
However, they are very afraid of curved artillery. These high-trajectory, parabolic projectiles will land near their gun emplacements. Explosive bombs will kill them.
In panic, the fort immediately fired back, and the solid spherical bullets fired at a high angle from the 30-pound long gun roared towards them. But at a distance of one thousand meters, the accuracy is very poor.
Although this long gun can hit a maximum range of 2,400 meters. But the direct distance will not exceed 500 meters. The maximum range is the high elevation range. In this era, there were no artillery function firing tables, and long-distance shooting relied entirely on experience.
After several rounds of shooting, 20 guns formed a straddle fire in front and behind a cruiser. Three shells landed off the starboard side of the ship, and two off the port side. It stirred up a huge water column.
At this time, because the navy was mobilized, Yang Fan's ship, the Royal Clipper, had already arrived.
He and his ladies had returned to the Royal Clipper. After all, this place is more comfortable than the cruiser, and since they are on the cruiser, it also affects the combat. The warships did not dare to approach the enemy.
Now, there are wicker chairs on the balcony and various nuts and drinks on the small table. Yang Fan wore sunglasses and Ge You slumped on the recliner, lazily enjoying the warm sunshine and watching the navy attack the fort.
This is the tropics. Although it is already late autumn, the temperature here is still around 30 degrees. The ladies all changed into dresses. Xiao Niangpi and the others also put on sunglasses and held ice cream bowls in their little hands. There was also a milkshake on the small table.
Yang Fan joined Mixue Bingcheng in modern times. Then the equipment was sent over. Because ladies love ice cream so much. No matter winter or summer, you should eat a bowl every day. They are also very fond of all kinds of coffee and modern beverages, sodas, etc.
The sound of gunfire rumbled in the distance, and the young ladies on the balcony were wearing slippers and crossing their legs, lying lazily on deck chairs, eating ice cream and watching the war. While asking about the battle situation like curious babies, Lin Yueru and Xiao Niangpi were very interested in the knowledge of naval battles and took every opportunity to learn from Yang Fan.
They also like to learn about various situations in Spain. After all, I heard the old man say that back then, Spain and Portugal were mediated by the Pope and drew lines on the map to divide the world.
Under the translucent and thin gauze clothes, the bellyband is half hidden and half exposed, which is very attractive. On their chests, each of them wore a string of huge gemstone necklaces, which looked like the nouveau riche.
Yang Fan didn't bother to care anymore. Just pretend you didn't see it.
They were just forced to put these necklaces into an ultrasonic cleaning box that was transmitted. Give it a good wash.
As a result, the jewelry that Aunt Mei had wiped clean was cleaned with countless dirt by ultrasonic waves. They were so frightened that they screamed.
"Master, our cannons are not very accurate at this distance." Xiao Niangpi said after taking a sip of the strawberry-flavored milkshake through a straw. The fleet's artillery shells fired dozens of rounds, and only three shells fell into the fort.
"Well, I haven't figured out the situation yet, so I can't get close to him." Yang Fan said while smoking a cigar.
The ladies hated the smell of smoke and did not allow him to smoke indoors. I don't care about him outdoors.
"After a while, two rounds of straddle fire were fired. The quality of the Spanish artillery is quite remarkable." Yang Fan said, "If we keep fighting like this, we will hit it sooner or later."
Because it was a probing attack, the main purpose was fire reconnaissance.
Captain Lin Yuan came over to ask for instructions: "Master, we have figured out the situation. There are 20 30-pound long guns in the fort. These long guns have long barrels and much more charges than the ship's 36-pound cannons. They can all be fired. It is worn by our cruiser. According to the scouts who have gone ashore for makeup reconnaissance in the past few days, I heard that there are mortars on the fort and the city wall. They are pumhart vonsteyr mortars made in Austria. "
Yang Fan frowned, he didn't expect the Spaniards to be so reckless and actually purchased the expensive pumhart vonsteyr mortar. Although this kind of gun has a range of only 600 meters, it is extremely lethal. Whether it is against ships or infantry attacking ashore.
"Do you know how many mortars there are?" Yang Fan asked.
"No less than ten. Among them are three forts."
Yang Fan frowned. It seemed that we really couldn't fight hard and could only attack at night. The safest way is to organize a commando team, equipped with revolvers and grenades, and take advantage of the cover of darkness to attack the fort from land.
Although the fort is strong, Yang Fan's incendiary bombs fired from the naval gun can still land on the fort. In this era, ammunition was packed separately. Large amounts of gunpowder were piled on the fort, which would be ignited by incendiary bombs. However, this cannot completely destroy the fort. There are always surviving cannons and mortars.
To occupy the fort, you must send Marines to land and fight. These mortars would cause heavy casualties to the infantry. Although these 700 kilograms of explosive bombs are filled with black powder, the shattered shrapnel when they explode is also very terrifying.
So daytime is not a good option. It would be a good idea to send a commando team up under the cover of night.
"After dark, let a group of pirates land on the north side of the fort. Then let them select a commando team of 100 people. Give each of these people a revolver, thirty rounds of ammunition, and four grenades."
"Let them take the lead, and the others will follow. The fort must be taken down before dawn."
Lin Yuan took the order and left. Yang Fan looked at the fort in trance. If he pulled out this nail, he could capture the city of Manila across the river.
"Master, why are we fighting at night? Is it because of those mortars?" Lin Yueru asked puzzledly.
"One is to test the level of our field training. The other is that the opponent's artillery is fierce. Not only long guns and mortars. A large number of Spanish heavy matchlocks are also very powerful. Our bulletproof shields cannot stop it. . To attack during the day, unless you carry out soil work, dig trenches, gradually get closer to the city wall, and then let the engineers dig holes and blast. Otherwise, there will be a lot of casualties in a forced charge."
Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru put down their ice cream bowls and picked up their binoculars to observe for a while. Finally understood Yang Fan's intention. The fort and city wall were built on rocks by the sea, making it very difficult to land. The other side is a river, and the remaining two sides are open areas.
The fort and the city wall are both six or seven meters high, and together with the original height on the ground, they are already ten meters high. The stone walls are made of large pieces of granite weighing several tons, and the impact of solid shells is not good. If you carry a ladder and rush up, no one knows how many people will die in the open space of 300 meters.
"Master, why do you have to attack this fortified city? The English will not be able to come out sooner or later. It is enough for us to leave a ship to monitor them. Isn't it easier to intercept them at sea?" Lin Yueru asked puzzledly.
Yang Fan looked stern and said coldly: "Have you heard of this sentence?"
"What are you talking about?" Lin Yueru asked.
"Anyone who openly offends a strong man will be punished no matter how far away!"
Seeing that Lin Yueru didn't know, Xiao Niangpi explained: "You are not responsible for overseas intelligence. It is normal for some things to be unclear. Anyone who openly offends a powerful Han must be punished no matter how far away he is! It comes from a letter written by Chen Tang, a famous general in the Western Han Dynasty, to Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty. The original words are Yi Xuantou Street was placed among the barbarian mansions to show that those who invaded the powerful Han Empire would be punished even if they were far away! This meant that the severed heads should be hung in the streets where the barbarians lived to let them understand that those who dared to invade the powerful Han Empire would be punished. No matter how far away we are, we must kill them."
Xiao Niangpi continued: "Twenty-six years ago, here, the Spaniards massacred 30,000 people of the Ming Dynasty. We haven't settled the accounts with them yet. This time, the Spaniards dared to take in the English fleet that I was pursuing. They really didn't want to live or die. Of course I won’t just let it go.”
Yang Fan said: "Since the Sanbao eunuchs went to the West, a large number of landless farmers on the southeast coast have moved to islands in Southeast Asia to live. Although the court regarded them as overseas abandoners, thinking that they had abandoned the emperor and ancestors and evaded their obligations and responsibilities. Belongs to the category of defection. So it doesn’t matter whether they live or die.”
"But, after all, they are Han Chinese, our compatriots with the same culture and race. They have the blood of China flowing through them. Southeast Asia is not a land outside the law. Except for the court that can sanction them according to the law, no one is allowed to punish them privately. And killing. This precedent cannot be set." Yang Fan said with a straight face.
Lin Yueru also nodded and said: "Yes, if we leave this kind of thing alone, overseas Ming people will be persecuted again in the future. Master, what are you going to do?"
Yang Fan said: "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty doesn't care, the cabinet doesn't care, and the navy on the southeast coast doesn't care. But I care! From now on, no matter who is a Franco or any other mess, they will never dare to act arbitrarily again." Massacre the people of Ming Dynasty."
"After the capture of Manila, gather the Han people, go to each house to register, and issue household registration books to confirm the identity of the people of the Ming Dynasty. Then investigate the events of the year, let them identify the murderer, and deal with them in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. If there is no violation of the people of the Ming Dynasty, escort them Dig copper mines. There are large copper mines here. They cannot be released until their country and their families have collected enough money to buy their freedom. As for the local natives, those who invade the people of the Ming Dynasty will be dealt with according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty."
There are eleven large copper mines in the Philippines. The largest copper mine has ore reserves of about 2.2 billion tons and metal reserves of no less than 12 million tons. All added up, the metal reserves are no less than 40 million tons. Yang Fan has these mineral distribution maps.
The Philippines is close to the Ming Dynasty, which was seriously short of copper. So the copper coins are not enough. The currency used by the people at the bottom is mainly copper coins. There was a shortage of copper coins, causing the price of silver to be too high. And over the years, silver has become increasingly scarce. As a result, underlying commodity transactions were severely affected.
Although Yang Fan is experimenting with banknotes, the scope is too small. He is also paying his troops and workers through the transmitted silver, increasing purchasing power and increasing the amount of silver in circulation. Trying to curb further deflation. However, after all, it is a drop in the bucket.
The gentry of the Ming Dynasty were like a bottomless pit, plundering and plundering, collecting silver into their hands, and then hoarding it. Yang Fan's method can only slow down the deterioration trend. To completely solve the problem, we must find ways to increase the flow of silver and copper metal into the Ming Dynasty. ww
The greatest value of the Philippines is its proximity and convenient shipping. And it has large, high-grade copper mines. Yang Fan wanted to punish the Spanish on the one hand, but the temptation of the copper mine was a more important reason.
Although Baotou, that is, Jiuyuan City, has fallen into the hands of Yang Fan, 100 kilometers due north of Baotou is the Bayan Obo mining area, and more than 100 kilometers further north is the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Outer Mongolia.
Judging from the map, the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine is located in Khanbagd County, South Gobi Province, Mongolia. It is one of the largest gold and copper mines in the world and is only more than 80 kilometers away from the China-Mongolia border. According to relevant data, this giant copper mine has preliminary proven copper reserves of 31.1 million tons and gold reserves of 1,328 tons.
Outer Mongolia has 2 billion tons of copper ore reserves, but they are inexplicably unfriendly to us. Not only will they not sell it to us. Copper mineral products developed in Mongolia by other countries are also not allowed to be sold to China. In 2022 alone, my country's imports of copper ore and copper concentrate will reach as high as 25.27 million tons, and its dependence on foreign imports is even as high as 82%!
Even if the Ming Dynasty cannot use up the copper produced by Yang Fan, it can still be sent to the Horn of Africa and exported back to the country. Don't worry about sales. However, there is no water in Bayan Obo and Outer Mongolia. In this era, it is impossible to mine without water. Therefore, a tropical region like the Philippines, with its advantages in port shipping, is the first choice.
