Hao'ao, St. Paul's Castle.
In the study room of Governor Shi Bozhi, the three people stared at each other, all a little dumbfounded. Today is Saturday. Acting Bishop Luo Wenzao did not even attend the Saturday Mass. He just stayed in the study with Governor Shi Bozhi and the mercenary commander Rodoni, each holding a copy of the Qing Emperor's imperial edict. I looked at it carefully over and over again, and I don’t know how long I looked at it. The faces of the three people are getting greener and greener.
The room was quiet, only the sighs of the three people could be heard.
In the end, Luo Wenzao was the first to be unable to hold himself any longer. With a shake of his hand, he put the folded document on the table, covered his face with both hands, and sighed deeply as he rubbed it: "The secret agreement we signed with Wu Sanwei is here. On the way to Chongqing, we were intercepted by the Qing army. Now the Qing Emperor issued an imperial edict, requiring us to hand over the St. Paul's Fortress immediately, and then all go to Beijing to work as foreign slaves in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He only gave us three days to reply in three days. , the Qing army outside the city is about to start attacking."
It turned out that Emperor Kangxi had issued an imperial edict to recruit the Portuguese in Haao, and the 10,000 Qing troops led by Wang Fuchen had already arrived in Haao!
And these ten thousand Qing troops look very elite!
Equipped with a large number of artillery and muskets, the infantry ranks are very neat. Although the number of cavalry is not large, they are all equipped with extra-long bamboo spears. They are obviously shock cavalry with strong impact.
At this time, the total number of Portuguese and mixed-race Portuguese men in Haoao Castle was only one thousand, of which there were only two hundred professional soldiers belonging to the Portuguese mercenary team. Although the white Portuguese soldiers in Haoao all went into battle with black slave soldiers, each Portuguese musketeer or Portuguese cavalry had seven or eight black slave soldiers to assist them in the battle. But including the black slaves, the number was less than 2,000. How could they resist the tens of thousands of elite Qing troops?
This kind of army composed of white mercenaries and black slave soldiers is essentially a feudal army, but it only has relatively advanced European firearms. In terms of combat effectiveness, it cannot be compared with those modern armies in Europe that have experienced the baptism of long wars.
Although this Portuguese colonial empire was also a European colonial empire, its system was relatively backward, either feudal lord style or autonomous city-state style! There were even cases where "colonial lords" fought for independence and fought civil wars, so they were often "anti-conquered" by the surrounding local feudal lords and became vassals and slaves of Asian feudal countries.
The Portuguese stronghold of Haao was actually a free city-state. Although the governor and mercenary captains are both sent by Goa, the real power of the city is in the hands of a parliament composed of a group of Portuguese merchants who have settled in Hao'ao for generations - they pay for the wages of the mercenaries and the daily expenses of the city. , even the Catholic Diocese of Haao is maintained by their donations.
The Portuguese in Hao'ao did not have the courage and determination to fight the approaching Qing soldiers outside the city. This group of Portuguese businessmen had long since lost the ambitions of the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company. They no longer have any control over the sea, so why are they so "heroic"?
In fact, they are the middlemen between Shang Kexi and the Dutch and English, just making a small profit. Moreover, their relationship with the Dutch and English downstream is not good.
Both the Dutch and the English wanted to bypass the middleman in Hao'ao and do business directly with the Chinese. And they did it to a certain extent. The Dutch had contacts with the Jingnan Palace, and the English set up an office on Taiyuan Island.
It was only gratifying that the Xiangshan mutual trade was the largest, and the missionaries sent by the Hao'ao diocese entered the Beijing court. This made the Hao'ao Portuguese the largest middlemen in the trade between the East and the West.
Shi Bozhi and Luo Wenzao concluded a secret agreement with Wu Sanwei in order to place a bet on Wu Sangui as soon as possible to ensure that Haao Ao could continue to be a middleman comfortably after changing his surname to Wu in Guangdong. Because it was a secret agreement, they felt that The Qing side won't notice for a while, so they can have one foot in two boats and get the benefits of both ends.
But they never expected that the Qing Dynasty's reaction this time was a bit abnormally fast. The secret contract sent to Wu Sangui was intercepted at the first opportunity, and then the army was immediately mobilized to blockade Haao and cut off all material supplies.
And they seemed to be on the right track, rushing to deliver the artillery, gunpowder, muskets and galleys ordered by Wu Sanwei to Xiang Island before Hao'ao arrived and before the Foshan shipment to replenish the inventory arrived.
Now, even if the Hao'ao Governor's Mansion wants to arm all the whites and mixed-race whites in the castle, it does not have enough muskets.
In addition, the Qing Dynasty also set up a Guangdong Customs Road Yamen in Xiangshan. This Yamen was also very efficient. As soon as it was established, it immediately issued a notice to the east-west merchant ships operating along the coast of Guangdong, announcing the blockade of Hao'ao Port and prohibiting all merchant ships from entering. Haojiang! Customs passes were also issued to merchant ships willing to obey the ban, allowing them to go directly to Guangzhou for trade!
Moreover, the customs yamen immediately set up red cannons on the west bank of the Haojiang River, completely blocking the Haojiang waterway.
Although Hao'ao does not only have one Haojiang Inner Harbor, Haojiang Inner Harbor is the main port of Hao'ao. Once it is blocked, there will be no merchant ships coming.
Therefore, it is now impossible for the Governor-General of Hao'ao to purchase arms through the English and Dutch.
In desperation, Shi Bozhi and Luo Dongni could only order to defend the fortress, recall all the Portuguese and mixed-race Portuguese living outside the Hao'ao Castle, and burn down the docks and ports of Haojiang Inner Harbor. There were no ships left in time.
At the same time, they did not forget to send the galley clipper to Xiangdao for help. Now all they can count on is that "Xiangdao Obai" quickly marched to Dongguan!
"Don't be afraid, as long as Obey starts to march, everything will be fine!" Shi Bozhi was quite optimistic, "St. Paul's Fortress is a European-style fortress. It is also equipped with a large number of twelve-pound cannons, as well as Thousands of Spanish heavy muskets can mobilize at least two people to defend the city! Antonio, you are the mercenary captain, are you confident in defending it?"
Rodoni frowned, "It is true that the Governor's Bastion is difficult to break, but there is a method that is useful for any strong fortress in the world! That is to siege it for a long time. They have almost done it to siege us!"
In fact, before the Vauban-style siege method—that is, digging trenches to advance and then setting up mortars to open the shells—became popular, the Europeans had nothing to do with the bastions. If they did not want to fight with mountains of corpses, they would have to resort to long-term sieges. .
Therefore, Zheng Chenggong's method of attacking the city of Relanze and the Kangxi Dynasty's method of attacking the city of Yaksa were both commonly used methods before the advent of Vauban siege method. Even if the great military strategists in Europe were used to attack, this was the only way.
Although Vauban has now distinguished himself in Louis XIV's army, he had to wait until the French-Dutch War began in 1673 before he invented the "parallel siege method." It is now the end of 1671 in the Western calendar, so Hao'ao's It is not surprising that the Portuguese believed that their fortifications could not be forcibly breached.
"It doesn't matter," Shi Poji said with a smile. "Since our fortress was attacked by the Dutch in 1622, the Hao'ao City Council has allocated a large sum of money to establish the city's food reserve system. Our city We will always reserve enough grain, meat and pickles for everyone to eat for eighteen months! For eighteen months, Ao Bi won not only Dongguan, but also Guangzhou."
When Luo Wenzao heard what Shi Bozhi and Luo Dongni said, he breathed a sigh of relief: "That would be great. If we can be saved as long as we persist and hold on, then I believe that the Almighty God will help us overcome the difficulties. !”
"Governor, the Governor's enemies have begun to build fortifications!"
As soon as Luo Wenzao finished speaking, a Portuguese mercenary officer opened the door of Shi Bozhi's study and loudly reported the military information he had just obtained.
"Building fortifications?" Shi Bozhi showed a calm smile and said to Luo Wenzao: "Priest, let's go and take a look together!"
"Okay," Luo Wenzao also smiled, "Then I will go and see their siege fortifications first, and then I will pray to God."
"Shikai, did you dig the trench in the wrong direction? Why were you digging it towards Haao Castle? Shouldn't the siege trench be dug around the castle?"
To the north of St. Paul's Fortress, three miles away from the fortress wall, Wang Fuchen looked at the busy trench-digging site in front of him and suddenly realized something was wrong. The trench was not dug horizontally, but straight towards the fortress in front.
"Dad, you don't understand. My second brother is digging a tunnel, digging it under the castle, burying it with gunpowder, and then blasting it with a single click, until it collapses into the sky!"
Before Wang Zhongxiao answered his father's question, Wang Jizhen spoke first - he was supposed to go to Shaanxi to be the prefect, but he took the opportunity to visit relatives after marriage and couldn't leave after arriving in Guangdong.
This time his father, Wang Fuchen, sent out a large number of troops, and he also came to take advantage of the military merits in the name of "praising and supporting military affairs."
"How much gunpowder do we need?" Wang Fuchen frowned, "Jinbao, do we have enough gunpowder?"
"Not enough!" Guo Jinbao, the quartermaster in charge of the supply of firearms and gunpowder, shook his head. "Guangdong does not produce fire and saltpeter. Gunpowder is still very precious, so you have to use it sparingly."
"Shikai, what should we do if we don't have enough gunpowder?" Wang Fuchen also looked at his son a little anxiously.
"That's enough," Wang Zhongxiao said with a smile, "Dad, don't worry, I have already planned for you not to dig tunnels."
"If you don't dig a tunnel? Then you want to besiege the city? How long will it take?"
"Not a siege," Wang Zhongxiao shook his head, "Dad, the method I am using now is called the parallel siege method!"
"Parallel?" Wang Fuchen was stunned, "It doesn't seem to be very parallel!"
Although he didn't know much about geometry, he could still roughly guess the meaning of parallelism. The trench being dug now is not parallel to the city wall, and it is dug crookedly.
"This is called a snake-shaped trench," Wang Zhongxiao explained. "The reason why we have to dig toward the city wall is to dig a passage that will not be bombarded, so that engineers can dig close to the city wall. The reason why we have to dig it in a winding way , is to prevent the enemy's artillery shells from flying straight in the trench if they fall into the trench, causing heavy casualties.
Haier planned to dig parallel trenches for the siege less than a mile away from the city wall. Once the parallel trenches are dug, the shotgunners and cannons can move in. Then use sky cannons to fire explosive shells into the city wall, and then use shotgun soldiers to set up defenses based on trenches to protect the conflict cannons. I estimate that in another month, we will be able to capture Haao Castle! "
Wang Fuchen was surprised for a while: "One month? How can it be so fast?"
"Almost," Wang Zhongxiao said with a smile, "the first parallel trench will be completed in ten days, and then the parallel trench will be expanded to the west and east sides of the castle. Finally, it will form a three-sided surround.
In this way, we can place dozens of shells capable of firing twelve-pound and twenty-pound projectiles in three trenches to bombard them day and night! After ten days of bombardment at most, the Portuguese would have to surrender in Kaicheng! "
"Can it really be that fast?" Wang Fuchen was shocked by this unheard-of but seemingly feasible method of siege. "If this Haoao Castle can be captured in a month, then Guangzhou City."
"One month is enough!" Wang Zhongxiao said with a smile, "Although Hao'ao Castle is small, it is small and strong. There are also many artillery, and there are triangular fortress guards around the castle. It is difficult to shoot directly with red cannons. It can be moved. In comparison, the city of Guangzhou is easier to fight. As long as we use the sky cannon to suppress the artillery on a section of the city wall, and add the red cannons to bombard it for a day, the city will be broken!"
While they were talking, Yao Qisheng suddenly walked over in a hurry. He came to Wang Fuchen and bowed: "Zhijun, report from the watchtower, three large Western sailing ships were found on the sea of Lingdingyang!"
"Three large Western sailing ships?" Wang Fuchen was stunned, "Are those Portuguese reinforcements?"
"Impossible," Wang Zhongxiao shook his head, "Portugal has long since declined, and there are not many big ships here. I guess those ships are from Spain, the Netherlands, and England. They are here to see the fun!"
"Watching the fun?"
Wang Zhongxiao snorted: "If we can't capture Hao'ao, they will offer help and get some oil, water and trade privileges by the way! If we capture Hao'ao Castle soon, then they will have a good talk with us. Let’s talk!”
"Then will they work with the Portuguese to deal with us?" Wang Fuchen asked a little worriedly.
"Yes!" Wang Zhongxiao said with a smile, "If we suffer a big loss under the Hao'ao Fortress, they will come to trouble us! But I will not give them a chance. They will see another one soon. Another wonderful siege! Master Yao, please go and tell those foreign devils that I will invite them to have dinner at St. Paul Castle in one month!"
"Is one month enough?" Yao Qisheng also knew military affairs. He looked at the Portuguese fortress and seemed a little doubtful.
"That's enough!" Wang Zhongxiao said, "I won't let them wait too long."
"okay!"
"Governor, they seem to want to dig a tunnel!"
On the wall of St. Paul's City, Father Luo Wenzao put down the telescope in his hand, turned back and said to Governor Shi Bozhi.
"Starting digging at such a distance? How many days will it take to dig?" Hao'ao mercenary officer Luo Dongni shook his head.
Shi Bozhi thought for a while, "I think it will take at least a month? And we still have a very wide and deep moat to rely on. As long as we dig the moat deeper, we can block their tunnels. These The Chinese are really stupid!”
Luo Dongni laughed, "They are not very good at fighting in the first place!"
At this time, Luo Wenzao suddenly pointed to the three European soft sailing ships on the east sea and said loudly: "Governor, Chief Antonio. Look, there seem to be three European soft sailing ships on the sea!"
Rodoni turned around and took a look: "It's the ships of the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines, the Dutch East India Company, and the English East India Company. They must have received the news that the Chinese were going to attack St. Paul's Castle to watch the excitement!"
Shi Bozhi also raised his telescope and looked at the sea, and whispered: "A Spanish galleon, a Dutch Galen ship, and an English Galen ship should all be the largest ships they operate along the coast of China! It seems that the Spanish, Dutch, and English all want to take the opportunity to expand their trade share in China!"
He thought for a while and then said to Rodoni: "Antonio, can we still discharge the galleys?"
"It can still be used now," Rodoni said. "The small port in the south can still be used."
"Okay!" Schipozhi smiled, "Please go there in person to meet the Spanish, Dutch and English and ask them to unite their position with us! We Europeans must speak to the Chinese with one voice! We must let them know that we have more advanced military technology and we are the makers of maritime trade rules!
Because only in this way can we obtain the greatest benefits and have the freedom to trade and spread the gospel of God! "
Rodoni nodded, "Okay, I'll go right away!"
(End of chapter)
