Shen Jingdan and the others made such a detour, and the lucky boat traveled dozens of miles more. When the sun set, they arrived at Wailingding Island. It was impossible to sail the boat at night, so everyone agreed to wait one night on Lingding Island.
These days, Zhao Xin, Liu Sheng, and Ding Guofeng took turns chatting with Zheng Yi and the others, talking about how big the world was, where all the countries were, and why these countries came to Guangzhou to do business. It also talked about Zheng He's voyages to the West in the Ming Dynasty, the shipbuilding technology of the ancients, and why the Manchu navy was not good at it.
In fact, from the Shunzhi period to the Kangxi period in the early Qing Dynasty, the main forces of the Manchu navy were the Zhejiang Navy and the Fujian Navy. During the shipbuilding competition that was launched to eliminate the Zheng family in Taiwan, the Qing army imitated a large number of large bird ships. But after Taiwan was taken, the bird ships were immediately abolished.
The Guangdong Navy was inherently deficient. The early warships were all captured Zheng warships and had long since decayed. At present, according to the Ministry of War's paper, although various water camps in Guangdong have 84 shuttle boats and 60 stern boats, in fact, there are only 15 large shuttle boats in total, and the largest one is only seven feet long. The entire Guangdong Navy has been reduced to an inland sea fleet inspecting smuggling and does not dare to go deep into the ocean. When chasing bandits at sea, the Qing army would often recruit civilian ships. Once something happened, the government would not pay any compensation. Therefore, civilian ships regarded catching bandits as a fearful way, and when they heard the news, they fled one after another. By the time they finally found a suitable ship, the bandits would have been gone. Just ran away.
Before going to bed today, Zhao Xin spent two hours talking, writing and drawing pictures to give Zheng Yi and the others a rough explanation of what Fushou Ointment is, what the harm is, and why Westerners sell it to everyone. clear.
"Captain Zhao, I understand what you have said. Since the longevity ointment, oh, it is opium. Since opium is not a good thing, how can we block this harmful poison and prevent everyone from buying it? ?” The question was from Zheng Qi.
"Oh, you asked a very good question. But this matter cannot be explained clearly in a few sentences." Zhao Xin nodded approvingly. He thought about it, then found a piece of white paper and roughly drew it on it. On the topographic map from Guangzhou to Malacca, he pointed the location of Malacca Port with a pen and explained to Zheng Qi: "Occupy this place and control this strait. Most smuggling can be eliminated."
Zheng Qi scratched his head and said, "Is this place so important?"
Zhao Xindao: "It's very important. The British in the East India Company have always wanted to take this place away from the Dutch. Now they have to wait for an opportunity."
"what chance?"
"Opportunity for the French."
"Ah?" Zheng Yi and the others were immediately confused.
Zhao Xinxin said that this is really tiring. After talking about Southeast Asia, do we have to talk about Europe? He simply drew a big circle starting from the Strait of Malacca, including the entire Malay Peninsula, the Indonesian Islands, and even the entire South China Sea. He pointed at the circled area and said: "Whoever can control the Strait of Malacca can block opium." channel."
Zheng Qi's eyes were bright and he wanted to press his face against the paper. He said: "Good guy, I think these islands combined are almost as big as the Qing Dynasty, right?"
"It's smaller than Daqing, but the territory is big enough."
Zheng Yi, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly said: "Mr. Zhao, you talk so much, do you want us to help you knock this place down?"
Liu Sheng, who was reading a book on the side, laughed and poured a basin of cold water on him. "You? You can't. With your few ships and manpower, you will only be ravaged by the British when you get there."
Zheng Qi said unconvinced: "Why do you look down on others?!"
Liu Sheng said: "Look at me? Do you know how many cannons there are on an ordinary British warship?"
Zheng Qidao: "There is only one parked at the southern port. I think there are only twenty or thirty doors."
Liu Sheng shook his head and said: "Xiaoqi, that is a merchant ship, mainly carrying cargo. As for warships, the smallest six-hundred-ton class has more than fifty guns. As for the third-class battleship, which is the worst, it must have 60 to 80 guns. You can't beat those cannons with your sailboats and oyster boats."
Zheng Qi stood up and put his hands on his hips and said: "We can attack with fire ships, or sneak attacks at night, yes."
Only Zhao Xin interrupted: "The only thing that matters in a naval battle is ships and artillery. You can win once or twice with fireships and sneak attacks, but how do you capture Malacca's fort? Are you going to use human lives to fill it? Furthermore, even if you capture it, When we come down, the British will send a dozen warships over, and with a blast from the cannon, you will not be able to hold on."
Zheng Yi said thoughtfully: "Mr. Zhao, what do you think we should do? Just watch the Western ghosts transport all the longevity pills to Guangzhou to harm people?"
Zhao Xindao: "You and Xiaoqi are both smart people. Come back to Beihai Town with us to practice for a few years. When we come back, we will conquer the Strait of Malacca together and drive away the British and the red-haired people!"
After saying this, Zhao Xin turned to look at the clock on the wall. It was already past ten o'clock, and said to Zheng Yi and others: "It's quite late. Let's talk tomorrow."
While being escorted back to the bow cabin by several soldiers, Zheng Qi said to Zheng Qi: "Brother Yi, what do you think?"
"Me?" Zheng Yi looked blankly at the darkness in the distance and said, "Although I have never heard of a lot of what Captain Zhao said, I know what he said is reasonable. What about you?"
Zheng Yi used to think that being able to unify all the gangs in the Pearl River Estuary and become a "big exporter" would already bring honor to his ancestors, but he never thought that his ideal would be insignificant in Zhao Xin's words.
"Yi Ge, Brother Chang won't let you go because you have to inherit the family business. I've thought about it these days and don't want to be in the business of robbing families anymore. The government regards us Dan people as untouchables. How can someone like me get ahead? That day? If you follow them, it might be an opportunity."
Zheng Yi patted Zheng Qi on the shoulder and said: "Xiao Qi, what you said is what I have been thinking about these days. I will beg my father for mercy later. I really want an iron ship bigger than this one." See and see.”
After that, the two of them were speechless and went back to the cabin and fell asleep.
At midnight, the Qianshanzhai Pier north of Jiangjun Mountain is crowded with people, and the beach is very bright illuminated by countless torches and bonfires. According to the order of Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, this time the two battalions of the Xiangshan Association dispatched a total of more than 800 troops, two shuttle boats, 10 watercraft, and five civilian ships. In addition, there were several gunpowder ships used for approaching sneak attacks and a dozen manned small boats for sneak attacks.
At this time, more than a hundred weeping madams, women and prostitutes, escorted by a dozen veterans of the Qing army, were walking to a Tong'an ship that had been recruited.
"What are you crying for? Whoever cries again, I'll chop him up and throw him into the sea to feed the fish and shrimps!" A Qing soldier in his forties viciously scolded several crying madams.
A crying madam asked the veteran: "Master, will we really have nothing to do with us after the formation is completed?"
"What's going on? Master Shi, can he still deceive you?! After this fight, all go to the Yamen to collect the reward!"
In the light and shadow of the torch, Li Dagang, who was standing not far away, looked at the scene in front of him, sighed deeply, and said to his subordinate Qian, "Are we all ready?"
Mr. Qian made a military salute and said to Li Dagang: "There is not enough gunpowder. We have sent people to the fireworks shop outside the city to get some gunpowder."
Before the Opium War, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had very strict management of gunpowder, almost on a case-by-case basis, and would never allow the military to secretly deploy gunpowder. The entire military gunpowder in Guangdong was made by the directors and leaders under the Governor's Yamen, and then handed over to the Chinese Army Yamen of the left-wing naval camp for secondary distribution to each battalion. Now that the launch was imminent, it was too late to adjust the gunpowder, so I had to find a fireworks shop to make up the numbers.
There are two main types of firearms that Li Dagang ordered his men to make.
The first is the fire ship Li Dagang wanted to build. The small boat is filled with gunpowder bags and covered with thick reed mats. The ignition device consists of tinder, lit incense and rope; after approaching the enemy ship, the brave men manually pull up the rope to let the incense light the fire. The velvet burns, ignites the fuse and then detonates, causing an explosion and fire.
The second is considering that the side of the Thor's ship is very high and difficult to climb, so a batch of gunpowder jars for throwing and clay pots filled with black dog blood and urine were made. Li Dagang doesn't believe in sorcery, but he can't stand those bosses and bosses under him who do! So after some pleading, he agreed.
That Taoist priest, Ma Benzhu, was arranged to continue setting up the altar on a Tongan boat. After three consecutive days, the old Taoist priest was almost exhausted and vomiting blood, thinking that he was really going to die! After this trip, I got the money, but I have to go back and have a good rest for a few days.
At the second moment of Zizheng, the Qing soldiers began to board the ship after a hearty meal.
Lieutenant General Shi was wearing a shiny armor of a general, a copper inverted U-shaped helmet, and gilt copper ear wings with hollow phoenix patterns on the left and right sides. The top of the helmet is small and the bottom is large. In the middle is a treasure cover plate base. At the top is an otter tail feather. There are two small copper tubes on the left and right sides, and two pheasant feathers are inserted into it.
Standing next to Vice General Shi was a calligraphy and painting office sent by the Central Military Command and the Governor's Office. For safety reasons, Vice General Shi decided to take a boat with Taoist Ma.
At the right time, the Qing fleet began to set off. In the past, the distance from Qianshanzhai Pier to Tanzai Island was not far, fifty miles of waterway.
In ancient water attacks, the most important thing was to watch the changes in currents and tides. The tidal current near Tanzai Island is part of the tidal current in the Pearl River Estuary. The flow direction is northwest during high tide and southeast during low tide. The tide level is the highest from the Chou time every day, and then begins to ebb. After the Yin time, the water flow is just right.
The Qing fleet drove slowly for almost an hour before cautiously arriving at a distance of 500 meters north of the Thor. At this time, the sea surface of Tanzai Island was silent, and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of waves washing against the hull of the boat. The Thor ship in the distance was pitch black, with only the top of the bow mast and the top of the ship's building flashing red light.
Zhao Xin and others finally got careless! No one can keep their nerves tense for more than ten days in a row, saying that they must take strict precautions, but there are always some people who don't take it seriously; the calmness of the past few days has made everyone on the Thor gradually ignore the hidden dangers.
In order to train their own senior crew members, the night duty these days is all handled by the sailors on the ship. Zhao Xin and the others only occasionally come to inspect; if they really have to be on duty 24 hours a day, every two hours, morning and evening Have a nervous breakdown.
The sailor on duty tonight was tired of having to press the "anti-drowsy system" every five minutes, and actually turned it off without permission in the middle of the night. After this guy closed the door, it was not enough, so he ran to the restaurant on the second floor to move a chair, put his feet on the chart table, and dozed off.
In the bow cabin, Zheng Yi fell asleep. He listened to the snoring next to him, but what he was thinking about was what Zhao Xin had told him in the past few days. Yes, the world is too big! Compared with the entire South China Sea, my original ambition is nothing compared to a small amount of ambition. Westerners, the government, opium, Malacca, etc. made Zheng Yi feel confused.
While tossing and turning, Zheng Yi quietly got up, put on his coat and walked to the main deck. He looked up at the stars in the sky, thinking about the marriage he had made with the Xu family.
Zheng, Xu, Shi, and Ma are an old pirate family from Fujian and Guangdong. The Shi family had been wiped out long ago, but I heard that only one girl survived and she even entered a brothel. The Xu family and the Ma family also declined, and only the Zheng family dominated the Pearl River Estuary. Now that the Xu family is weak, there is no need to worry about being replaced. Therefore, Zheng Lianchang took great pains to arrange this marriage.
While thinking wildly, Zheng Yi walked to the side of the ship and looked straight into the distance. Suddenly, he saw some fishing fires on the sea in the distance, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Is it possible that there are still people fishing so late?
He saw that the fishing fires were gradually approaching, seemingly forming a fan shape, heading towards the Thor. Zheng Yi felt that something was not right. He was familiar with the tactics of the Qing army or the pirates at the Pearl River Estuary in this era. The string of lights in front of him clearly showed an offensive posture.
At this time, as the ship on the opposite side got closer and closer, the torches on the ship and the lanterns on the mast became clearer and clearer. Zheng Yi had already seen the words on the lantern clearly at this time, and immediately shouted "No!"
He turned around suddenly and ran towards the ship building, shouting: "There are officers and soldiers! The officers and soldiers are coming!"
The Beihai Town soldier who was on duty at the lower level of the ship building was startled by Zheng Yi's shouting. He was about to curse a few words when he saw Zheng Yi running over, grabbing his shoulders and shouting: "Bing! Bing!" ! Call someone quickly!"
The soldier looked in the direction of Zheng Yi's finger and was shocked. He slapped the alarm button with his hand. A piercing siren suddenly sounded on the Thor, and the lights in the cabins on the third and first floors lit up one by one. The guy on duty in the cockpit was so frightened that he turned over and fell to the ground. When he walked up to the radar with a grin on his face and looked at it, he was immediately frightened out of his mind. On the north and south sides of the Thor, a dozen ships of various sizes were approaching.
At this time, the gunpowder boats under Li Dagang's command had already been dispatched. Each boat was paddled by three water warriors, and the distance of 100 meters was reached in an instant. After these selected Shuiyong arrived at the Thor, they tried to use the iron hooks on the ship to hook the hull. Who would have thought that the hull of the Thor was so smooth that there was nothing to rely on.
On a gunpowder boat near the bow, Shui Yong saw that the hook on the hull could not be hooked. When he was worried, he suddenly saw the black anchor chain not far away and sunk in the water. He quickly called his companions to come closer and then removed the hook. Hooked on the anchor chain, he struggled to turn the gunpowder ship sideways and get close to the ship.
When a Shui Yong saw that the boat had stopped, he immediately pulled the rope in his hand. As soon as the incense was poured out, the tinder gradually caught fire.
"Let's go!" The three water heroes jumped into the water and swam hard towards a small boat.
Several other gunpowder boats became more and more panicked. The sailors just pressed the boats against the hull of the Thor, not caring about finding a place to hook the hook. They pulled the ropes and jumped into the water to escape. Except for the ship hooked on the anchor chain, several other gunpowder ships were washed away and drifted to both sides of the Thor under the influence of the current.
In the power distribution room on the Thor, the boatswain hurried over and quickly turned on the headlight on the mainmast. Zheng Qi and others who were awakened in the bow cabin came out one after another. They saw the light on the mainmast in a daze, and they didn't know what happened.
At this time, Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng were running out wearing vests and underpants, barefoot, and only holding a pistol in their hands. Ding Guofeng ran to the cockpit and saw the sailor on duty shivering. He quickly asked: "Come out What happened?"
The sailor on duty knew that he had caused a big disaster and was so frightened that he could not speak at all. Suddenly, Ding Guofeng saw the lights on the mainmast brightly lit, and he took a pistol and went to the compass deck to check the situation. As soon as he opened the hatch, his eyes blurred, and then he heard a "Boom!"
The shock wave of the explosion flipped Zheng Qi and others on the bow of the ship to the deck. While everyone on the ship was stunned, a fireball soared from the left side of the Thor's bow.
"It's broken!" Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng just came out of the ship building and looked at the fire and shouted in their hearts that it was going to be bad. At this time, Zhao Xin saw Zheng Yi running up to him and shouted: "Officers and soldiers! The officers and soldiers are here!"
When Zhao Xin and Liu Sheng heard this, they didn't care about anything else and quickly called on others to rush to the side of the ship. They found an M2HB and were about to prepare to shoot.
"boom!"
"boom!"
"Boom! Snap!"
Zhao Xing, who was knocked to the ground by the shock waves of the first two rounds of explosions, just got up when he heard a familiar voice above his head.
"Why are there two kicks?" The thought just flashed through his mind. He rushed to the heavy machine gun again, pulled the rope on the edge of the canvas, and then lifted it with his hand.
"Bullets!" Zhao Xin shouted, and a soldier was running towards this side holding a bullet belt. Each heavy machine gun is usually equipped with fifty rounds of bullets. If a war really breaks out, all the bullets can be fired in the blink of an eye.
At this time, Zhao Xin only saw a few more boats coming from the north. He turned his machine gun and started firing. The Beihai Town soldiers behind him, who were not sure who to hit, also started shooting at the bright spot on the sea with their guns.
By the way, the Qing army in Guangdong did many similar things during the First Opium War. Pee cans are just one of the things that make British people sick to their stomachs. Others, such as imitations of Ming Dynasty mines, booby traps, and fire ships, were also made.
(End of chapter)
