Chapter 225
Just like a classic line from Li Yunlong in "Bright Sword": "Every army has its own tradition. What is tradition? Tradition is a kind of character and a kind of temperament. This tradition and character are formed by the formation of this army. , determined by the character and temperament of the first military chief, he injected soul into this army. From then on, no matter the passage of time or the change of personnel, the soul of this army will always be there."
Ning Haijun actually has such a character. When Cheng Shijie established Ning Haijun, he clearly told all the officers and soldiers of Ning Haijun that as soldiers, they only do two things in their lives, fight and prepare for war. No matter at any time, when facing the enemy's provocation, we must not evade, let alone compromise.
When you encounter an enemy, you must draw your sword, and if you draw your sword, you must drink blood. This is the soul that Cheng Shijie injected into Ning Haijun.
What happened in Luzon was precisely caused by the misjudgment of the Spaniards. The Spaniards were accustomed to being superior in Luzon. Whether it was the Chinese in Luzon or the indigenous people in Luzon, they all raised fat pigs, and the fat pigs were fattened. Of course, they have to kill and eat meat.
The last large-scale massacre of Chinese was also in 1609, the thirty-seventh year of Wanli. Because Chinese businessmen protested against excessive taxes, the Spanish authorities massacred more than 50,000 Chinese. These two large-scale massacres of Chinese people gave the Spanish colonial authorities significant benefits.
You must know that the Chinese are very wealthy in Luzon because the Chinese are very hard-working. Whether they are engaged in business or agriculture, they can generate huge profits every year. During these two massacres of the Chinese, they seized more than 30 million taels of silver from the Chinese.
Now after more than 20 years of development, the Chinese have grown from less than 300 households in the 37th year of Wanli to 20 to 30,000. Looking at the wealth of the Chinese, the Spaniards are very tempted.
As usual, they fired up their cannons and shouted to kill Zheng He.
But the problem is, what they didn't expect was that if Ning Haijun said he would take action in half an hour, he would actually take action.
In order to prevent the main warships of the Ning Navy from being hit by Spanish coastal defense ships, the warships of the Ning Navy lowered their sails to half sail and moved along an arc toward Manila Bay.
If you observe carefully, you will find that the tactics used by the Ning Navy's naval warships at this time are not actually naval battle tactics, but the riding and shooting tactics of the Jiannu and Mongols. Each battleship is a team of cavalry, and the naval guns become arrows in the hands of the cavalry.
Of course, when Jiannu and the Mongols faced the Ning Navy, they suffered from the range. When Jiannu and the Mongols faced other Ming armies with poor equipment, this cavalry and shooting tactic was very fatal.
Every shot will cause heavy losses to the Ming army, causing casualties everywhere. Unless the Ming army infantry has more crossbows and shields, if it is a spear formation, a few rounds of volleys will be enough to collapse the spear formation.
Because of the limited area of Manila Bay, the Ning Navy's warships were organized into a formation of twelve ships, and their broadside guns were aimed at the Spanish forts.
As Ning Haijun opened fire, the Spaniards would not stand up and take the beating, and they also began to fire.
"Boom boom boom..."
A large cloud of gunpowder smoke suddenly rose from the Spanish fort, and the lead ball came through the air, hitting the sea and stirring up water columns more than ten meters high. To be fair, the power of the Spanish coastal defense guns was really good! It's not impossible to be accurate. If Ning Haijun stays put like Zheng's fleet attacked Wusongkou, maybe a few warships will be hit.
The most accurate shot fired by the Spanish coastal defense artillery was more than 20 meters away from the Ning Haijun's Dengzhou. The huge water column filled the deck of the Dengzhou with sea water.
Even if they were not accurately hit, if the warships of the Ning Navy had used forward-loading smoothbore cannons fired with black powder, the seawater fired out by just one shot would have been enough to destroy several naval guns, and they would have been drenched with seawater gunpowder. Definitely unable to launch.
It's just a pity that Ning Haijun's naval guns use separate ammunition and do not need to be ignited by an open flame. Even if the shells are briefly soaked in sea water, they can still be fired normally.
"Let these Western barbarians see what artillery fire means!"
"Launch, launch..."
As Li Zhixiang's order was issued, the twelve Sea Shark-class warships in the first formation received the order through walkie-talkies at the same time.
"Boom boom boom..."
Twelve giant shark-class ships fired twelve three-inch side guns at the same time, and a total of one hundred and forty-four guns sprayed out huge clouds of smoke. Before these shells could land, Ning Haijun's gunners immediately loaded them, once again showing This gives the breech-loading artillery the natural advantage in loading speed.
It's a pity that these silk-wrapped shells are too wasteful. Then the second round was fired at the same time, almost without stopping.
The next moment, shells hit the fort one after another. The explosions exploded like a kaleidoscope, expanded into large fireballs, and spread at an alarming speed. The thunderous explosions made the sky rumble and the earth shook violently.
On the dock, Governor Juan felt his legs weaken and he sat down on the ground! Regardless of the stunned gaze of senior Spanish colonial officials, the sixteen forts turned into boiling craters, from which terrifying flames erupted.
The buildings were torn to pieces by the blast wind, and the trees were either cut into toothpicks by the flying shrapnel, or turned into torches by the high temperature generated by the explosion. Fires burned raging on the tree crowns, and the burning branches and leaves rained down, setting fire wherever they fell. Wherever it burns...
Of the sixteen cannons, four of them had turned into a sea of flames. No one knew how many people were blown to pieces in an instant. Those who were still alive screamed in terror or looked like headless flies in the fire. He ran wildly and didn't even know what he was shouting.
In a word, the Spaniards were frightened by such a terrifying blow!
Juan's eyes almost fell to the ground, and he screamed: "Oh... God... this... what kind of weapon is this? When did artillery become so powerful?"
The Spanish gentlemen who kept shouting and killing were covered in cold sweat on their foreheads. They all touched their chests in unison, "It's terrible, it's terrible..."
Colonel Omore reacted quickly. He pointed to the lieutenant colonel and adjutant beside him and said: "Quickly, let our soldiers retreat and stay away from the sea. They can't do anything here. On the contrary, they will be killed and injured by the Ming army's artillery." !”
These Spanish soldiers retreated hurriedly as if they had been granted amnesty.
However, at this moment, Li Zhixiang yelled at the commander-in-chief Qian of the First Squadron on the intercom: "Li Yuan, you bastard, I asked you to concentrate on firing, where did you shoot the cannons? These shells are very expensive of!"
Li Yuan is Li Zhixiang's nephew and Li Fang's younger brother. It is an indisputable fact that Li's uncle and nephew occupy the main position in the navy.
Li Yuan was scolded by Li Zhixiang, but he did not dare to talk back. The two rounds of shelling just now fired a total of 288 shells. Of the sixteen forts, twelve are still there, especially the four forts that were hit. It is obvious that the second round of shelling is no longer needed. It's a waste. It’s so biased!
However, there is no way to catch the fired shells. The only thing everyone can do is to reload and wait for the next chance to shoot.
Then comes the performance of the Second Squadron. Although the breech-mounted smoothbore cannon has a fast rate of fire, the problem is that the warship will deviate from the target when it is moving. It is too late for the third round of bombardment, and the firing angle needs to be readjusted. It's better to do it again, or you'll have to start over again.
Since Li Zhixiang opened the full channel, his words of reprimanding Li Yuan could be heard by all the squadron commanders. The naval establishment of the Ning Navy is different from that of the army. A single giant shark-class battleship is at the level of a hundred commanders. The four warships are combined into a strike group. The commander is the commander, and the squadron is at the commander-in-chief level. The commander is ten commanders. Two battleships.
During the first round of bombardment by the twelve Shark-class battleships of the Second Squadron, the 144 shells did not hit any of the forts, but were aimed at the dock.
There was no other way. The commander of the Second Squadron saw Governor Juan, a large group of Spaniards who looked like big shots, and Spanish soldiers who were retreating. This time they decided to attack the Spanish land forces first and prepare for the landing on Luzon. Once the Spanish land forces suffered heavy casualties, their landing on Luzon Island would be very smooth.
The power of one hundred and forty-four shells was quite astonishing. A wall of flames rose from the Manila South Port Pier. Amidst the lightning and thunder, the strong wind spread the flames in a circular shape, encircling each warehouse area into a whirlpool of flames. .
The blown trees were uprooted, civil structures collapsed, and houses made of bark burned like matchboxes. Spanish soldiers, indigenous people, and Spanish mercenaries struggled and wailed in the raging fire.
The infernal flames made the Chinese at Zhenghe Port look pale.
At this time, in Zhenghe Port Area, observation points appeared on almost all high-rise buildings. These observers were not military personnel, but Chinese leaders in Luzon and shopkeepers of various merchants.
Wu Shangzhi saw the flames and huge explosions on Manila's South Harbor through the telescope. He murmured: "It turns out that they are dragons crossing the river!"
"Let me tell you, without diamonds or porcelain work, Major General Cheng turns out to be so powerful!"
Wu Dakuan did not go to the rooftop to watch the battle, but looked at the patriarchs of other major families calmly: "This time, we Luzon Chinese owe Major General Cheng a huge favor! As human beings, we must not forget our roots!"
Li Guoqun muttered: "I'm afraid this matter will cause too much trouble, and Major General Cheng will cause a big disaster. I'm afraid that General Cheng will not be able to handle this matter!"
Wu Dakuan looked at Wu Shangzhi coming and asked, "How is the situation now?"
"Major General Cheng's men are attacking the Spaniards. Nangang has been blown into ruins. The Spaniards have suffered heavy losses and suffered heavy casualties!"
Speaking of this, Wu Shangzhi said excitedly: "Now the Spaniards have suffered a lot!"
Wu Dakuan said: "My old man has lived for most of his life. I only know that this time, if the cannons of Major General Cheng's warships hadn't bombarded us, we would have really been ruined!"
Li Guoqun still remembered the tragedy more than 20 years ago. He murmured: "Twenty-five years ago, forty-nine members of our Li family died!"
"Fifty-three members of our Hu family have died, including my grandson who just turned one year old..."
"We must support General Cheng!"
Wu Dakuan looked at everyone and said seriously: "We have to support General Cheng, just so that next time something like this happens again, he will come back with cannons to support us! There is no money in the world to settle unfair things, and the court's I know those officials very well. Let’s carry a mountain of silver out to protect Mr. Cheng and General Cheng, in order to protect ourselves!”
Wu Shangzhi understood what Wu Dakuan meant, and he said with some difficulty: "Father, do you mean that our Luzon Wu family is tied to General Cheng?"
Li Guoqun said: "Brother Wu, how can our Nanyang Li family be left out of this matter?"
"Our Hu family's clan is in Annan. I will send a letter to the clan leader in Annan right now. We will tie together with General Cheng to advance and retreat together, and to share honor and disgrace!"
The Chinese people present were so excited. How many years has it been? They were looking for a living in Nanyang. Although Zheng Zhilong became the overlord of the sea, even the Spanish and Dutch, including the Portuguese, the British, and all Westerners had to pay him protection fees, but the problem was that Zheng Zhilong only cared about making money for himself and did not care at all. The life and death of the Chinese in Luzon, the Chinese in Guawa, and the Chinese in Nanyang.
Historically, Zheng Zhilong really had no control. After Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong came to power and took control of the Zheng family. When he heard about the fourth massacre of Chinese by the Spanish colonial authorities in Luzon (1662), he ordered Li Ke Luo carried a copy of his credentials and threatened the Spanish authorities to send troops to assist the Chinese in Luzon.
The Spanish authorities were frightened and released tens of thousands of Chinese who were ready to be massacred. Afterwards, the Spanish were afraid that Zheng Chenggong would attack Luzon and ordered envoys to go to Taiwan to beg for peace. However, Zheng Chenggong fell ill and left, and the Zheng family fell into internal strife. The Qing Dynasty had no awareness of sea power, so the matter was dropped.
The Chinese in Luzon acted very quickly. Before Ning Haijun successfully captured Manila, they each donated thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver, raising a total of 3.6 million taels of silver to give to Cheng Shi. At the same time, they also worked on their relationship and prepared to go directly north to seek an audience with Cheng Shijie.
Of course, after Ning Haijun took action in Manila, he had the intention of conquering Manila. While Spain was coveting the Chinese wealth, Ning Haijun was actually also coveting Luzon.
You must know that Luzon has abundant rain and rich resources. The Spaniards can earn millions of taels of silver in Luzon every year, even as much as the fiscal revenue of the Ming Dynasty in one year.
Not to mention that Cheng Shi was tempted, Xie Jinglin had explained to Cheng Shijie three times the importance of Luzon. The senior officials were too small, and Luzon was very big. If he occupied Luzon, Ning Haijun would be able to advance, attack, and retreat to defend.
With Ning's navy's land combat strength, it only needs to station more than 10,000 troops in Luzon. Spain can't even hope to recapture Luzon.
…
The naval battle in Manila continued. When the Ning navy bombarded Manila's south port, Spanish warships patrolling the outer sea also followed.
After receiving news of the appearance of the Spanish fleet, Li Zhixiang ordered the First Fleet to meet the enemy, and the other Second, Third, and Fourth Squadrons continued to attack Manila South Port.
What surprised Li Zhixiang was that these Spanish navies actually circled with the Ning Navy's First Squadron offshore Manila.
"You stupid coward!"
Li Zhixiang felt a little distressed when he saw the Jinzhou of the Ning Navy's Fourth Squadron being hit, but war is like this, and no one can guarantee absolute victory.
"Jinzhou" is one of the four great battleships of the Ning Navy. It was also the pride of the past and the largest warship in the past. Unfortunately, times have changed.
The Big Four King Kong has become a mascot in the battle sequence of Ning Haijun. But the problem is that the Four King Kongs don't want to act as mascots and take risks to attack during the naval battle.
Although he successfully destroyed a Spanish fort, he was hit by grapeshot fired from a large-caliber naval gun.
"Report the damage!"
"Twenty-three people were killed on the Jinzhou, the side deck was penetrated, the rudder was damaged, and the main mast of the Haizhou was severely damaged and lost power!"
"The Second Squadron provides cover and drags the Jinzhou and Haizhou back! The Third Squadron continues the attack!"
The target of the Third Squadron was the last three forts. They were preparing to shoot when they saw the Spanish soldiers in the fort holding their heads and screaming as they escaped from the fort. They rolled and climbed down the fort and fled.
The gunner was stunned: "I haven't fired yet, why are you running away?"
They didn't fight, but the problem was that the four squadrons of the main battleships of the Ning Navy had fired thousands of artillery shells at the sixteen Spanish forts in Manila. These were not extremely powerful solid artillery shells, but explosive shells.
Whether it is the shock wave of the explosion or the flying shrapnel, it is extremely lethal to the soldiers in the fort. The Manila fort is different from the Ning Haijun fort in Wusongkou.
The fort built by Ning Haijun at Wusongkou was a concealed semi-underground fortification with anti-gun holes, but the Spanish fort in Manila was open-air. There was just a circle of sandbags surrounding the cannon. This kind of fortification basically had no defensive effect against the shells.
Even if they are not hit directly, the light shock wave can kill them, but the key is that they are better off not firing. Once they fire, they will immediately encounter the most violent retaliation.
Under this situation, the Spanish artillery refused to fire. When the Second Squadron wanted to tow away the damaged warship, they did not continue to fire while Ning Haijun was busy and had no time to deal with them, but took the opportunity to escape.
In fact, Spain's troops in Luzon are all second-line troops, and the real first-line proficient troops are fighting the enemy in Europa.
Li Zhixiang said he was indifferent to the Spanish's escape.
What surprised them even more was that the Spanish warships, a total of seven warships, did not fire a single shot or fight a single battle, but actually hoisted the white flag.
"How is this going?"
"No matter what, let everyone be prepared and send people to surrender. If they dare to play tricks, send them into the sea!"
Li Zhixiang said: "Old Shen, you can command the landing operations!"
"good!"
Shen Shikui said in his heart: "I should have come long ago!"
Shen Shikui's status in the Dongjiang Army is much higher than that of Li Zhixiang, but the problem is that Li Zhixiang defected to Cheng Shijie earlier than him, and Cheng Shijie's principle of hiring people is in order of priority. With the same ability, if he is the first person to defect to him, he will definitely be more valuable than the later one. Easily promoted.
Of course, if the disparity in ability is too great, the first-come, first-served principle does not apply.
Shen Shikui took over the command and directly ordered: "Order to jump into camp and attack to capture the dock!"
Tiaodang was originally the establishment of the Tang Dynasty army.
In "Li Weigong's Art of War", the number of troops for each expedition is stipulated. When a general goes on an expedition, he usually sends 20,000 troops each time. Of course, this is not a dead target. It will be increased or decreased as appropriate according to the actual situation, and it will be "temporarily changed". As for the composition of the military services, General Li was very detailed: a field force of 4,000 people, called the "Chinese Army", must have 2,800 combatants, a ratio of 70%.
Among these 2,800 combatants, there were 800 crossbowmen. The crossbowmen were further subdivided into: 400 archers, 400 crossbowmen, 1,000 cavalry, and 500 sword and shield bearers. The Tang Dynasty called these soldiers " Dancing."
In fact, jumpers generally refer to elite soldiers who charge into battle.
Under the cover of the Second Squadron and the Fourth Squadron, sixteen sand ships from the Chinese Army's position took the lead in rushing towards the dock. There are a total of 300 soldiers from the Dang camp on each battleship, and the whole battalion has a total of more than 4,800 people.
These soldiers are not actually prepared to capture Luzon. In fact, at this stage, Cheng Shijie has no plan to capture Luzon. These soldiers are to guard against Zheng Zhilong's pirate soldiers. What they are best at is actually fighting in gangs, that is, jumping to On the enemy's warship, fight to capture the enemy's warship.
The reason why Zheng Zhilong has more than 3,000 warships is because most of them were stolen from his battles.
It is actually not easy to become an elite jumping soldier of Ning Haijun. First of all, you must be able to swim and not get seasick. These soldiers are either from the Dongjiang Army or Shandong. After a year of hard training, each of them wears heavy armor. It weighed more than forty kilograms, of course it was Mingjin. In fact, each of their armors weighed forty-eight kilograms.
In addition to the Modao made of high manganese steel, the weapons used also include six grenades. Of course, this unit also has other equipment, which is a pair of strong bows and sixty sharp arrows. These archers are for the Modao army. Provide remote cover.
The Tiaodang soldiers' landing operation did not encounter any resistance.
Watching this heavy armored infantry landing, Juan stood on the city wall of Manila, but felt a little uneasy.
This city was founded by the Spanish. It is located on the south bank of the Pasig River, about 4.5 kilometers away from the port. The area is actually not large. The total area is about 64 hectares. If converted into acres, it is 960 acres. . All the walls are about 4.5 meters high and made of stone.
When faced with artillery, it has strong defensive capabilities. Even if the Luzon natives are exhausted, they will not be able to capture the castle.
Of course, historically this castle did not change hands until Spain withdrew from Luzon.
However, Juan doesn't feel any sense of security now.
When Ning Haijun's jumping soldiers appeared in his sight, Juan looked at Louis and said: "Louis, you go and negotiate with the people of the Ming Dynasty. As members of the civilized world, we should resolve disputes in the way of the civilized world!"
(End of chapter)
