At dusk, on the dock of Jiangping Town, boats and ships from the river and the sea meet each other, with masts like a forest. The noise on the dock has never stopped these days.
After the fully loaded pirate ships docked, the big bosses walked off the gangplank with smiles on their faces, and, surrounded by their men, walked toward the town shouting. Behind them, businessmen from Guangdong and Guangxi who had been waiting for a long time rushed to the side of the ship and discussed business with the deputies in charge of managing supplies on the ship.
Beginning in 1788, the Chinese pirates recruited by Nguyen Quang Binh not only helped the Taishan court and Nguyen Phuc Anh in the south to fight, but when they had no combat missions, they would also ride the southeasterly wind and sail eastward to plunder the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong.
For those pirates from Guangdong, Fujian, and even Zhejiang and Jiangsu, although Chen Tianbao and Mo Guanfu were the "big brothers" who recruited them, Ruan Guangping, the king of the Xishan Dynasty, was the real big boss. All pirates worshiped the "Guangzhong Emperor" as their leader. After selling off the supplies they plundered, the pirates themselves could get 20% to 40% of the points in return, and the rest had to be handed over to the Xishan regime.
Beginning in the late 18th century, the Later Le Dynasty continued to expand for more than two centuries, and its accumulated social conflicts eventually triggered the most brutal civil war in the history of Annam. This war simultaneously destroyed two regimes - the Zheng regime in Tokyo and the Nguyen regime in Quang Nam, destroying more than two centuries of commercial prosperity created by relying on huge maritime wealth.
Thirty years of war and famine have turned two-thirds of the people in Annan into bandits, while the other third live in dire straits. The Dong Nai area, located in the Mekong Delta, changed hands eight times between Nguyen Phuc Anh's army and the Tay Son army. Countless villages and towns were repeatedly plundered. At this time, Annam had become the most destructed area in Asia.
Different from other places in the south that have been ravaged by war, because it is located on the northeastern border, far away from the battlefield, and due to the rise of pirates, Jiangping Town, with more than 2,000 residents, has shown a kind of abnormal prosperity.
At the wooden gate at the entrance of the town, several Xishan troops on duty were sitting on rattan mats under the shed, leisurely making tea and drinking tea. In the town, every house along the street has tiled roofs and whitewashed walls, with lofty views, several miles east and west, and three streets in a row. There are many businesses and travelers on the street. There are white stone brick roads at your feet and green brick roads in the alleys. The clear water gurgling in the water diversion ditches on both sides of the road is like a small town in the south of the Yangtze River in poetry and paintings.
On the street under the setting sun, pedestrians were either wearing silk satin or gauze lichen, and there was not a single person wearing linen clothes; while the women who were traveling all wore silk scarves on their heads and wore The large round neck is made of gauze and ramie, and the clothes are embroidered with brilliant colors. It looks so rich and elegant!
Because it gets cooler after dark, the streets and piers are still brightly lit and people are coming and going. Due to the noise of people on the street, no one noticed that in the sky above Jiangping Town, several black objects with faint red lights were flying around, giving a clear view of the entire town.
At this time, looking down from the air, it is very easy to identify the compounds where the pirates are located, especially the general military mansion of Mo Guanfu. Ordinary wealthy people will not have so many men with swords and guns inside and outside.
At around 2 o'clock in the morning, Jiangping Town finally fell silent from the hustle and bustle. On the invisible sea, several black boats quietly arrived a few hundred meters away from the port under the cover of the sound of waves. Then, a dozen figures dived into the water from several small boats, and then swam towards the dock. After they climbed onto the pier from the sea, soaked all over, they split into groups of three or two and began to attack several night guard towers on the pier.
There were several soft "ta-da" sounds, and the bodies of the two Xishan soldiers standing on the high ground suddenly tilted. However, the sound of their falling alarmed a group of soldiers on night watch below. In the electric light and flint, dense "ta-da" sounds came from sounded in the darkness. After the hail of bullets, all eight Xishan soldiers were shot to death, and no one survived.
The lapping of the waves made the planks and masts of the crow boats in the harbor creak. Neither the pirates sleeping on the deck nor in the cabin noticed any movement on land.
Subsequently, these people eliminated the defenders on the two forts near the port one by one. After that, a soldier from a Marine battalion came to the beach and flashed a flashing signal on the dark sea with a flashlight.
After a while, more black boats appeared from the darkness, and the North Marine Corps' night attack on Jiangping Town began. However, as hundreds of marines landed, the pirates living on the black ships in the port were also awakened.
"Who? Um..."
A pirate who was woken up sleepily climbed up from the deck, rubbed his eyes and walked to the side of the ship to ask casually. Unexpectedly, two crossbow arrows suddenly cut through the night and pierced his chest almost at the same time.
The four companies of the Marine Corps each have their own tasks. The first company is responsible for seizing the large ships in the port and controlling the artillery on the ships to prevent pirates from escaping. The second and third companies attack the General Military Mansion, and the fourth company is responsible for encircling and suppressing the houses of other pirate leaders.
Chaotic footsteps sounded on the street. When the team attacking the General Military Mansion advanced to the cross street, they were finally discovered by the patrolling Xishan Army. Lin Daosheng, who led the team, knew that time was running out and could no longer care about anything else. He raised his hand and faced The nearest Xishan Army was a shot.
"Bang!" The harsh gunfire pierced the night sky, and the tranquility of Jiangping Town was also broken.
"What happened?!"
Mo Guanfu, who was awakened by the gunfire, didn't even have time to put on his coat, so he picked up the knife and rushed out of the house shirtless.
"Big, big, big brother, it's not good, someone is attacking!"
"Who is it? Where did it come from?!"
"Come from, from the cross street!" The pirate ran all the way from the cross street in the center of the town, even losing his shoes. "These people are so ruthless. They came up without saying a word, raised their hands and fired shotguns. Many brothers were killed and injured."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Guanfu heard a familiar voice not far away shouting: "Brothers! There are only dozens of thieves, kill them!"
"Kill! Kill!" As the horn sounded, there was a cry of killing outside the General Military Mansion. The originally dark night sky was illuminated by fire as if it were daytime, but the shouts of the pirates were immediately drowned in the roaring roar. Amid gunshots and deafening explosions.
Although Ruan Guangping has given the Xishan pirates a lot of equipment in the past two years, they are mainly warships and artillery used in naval battles. In addition, there are also some guns, matchlock guns and shotguns. However, the quality of those muskets was not very good. Many of them were imitations of 16th-century Portuguese items from private blacksmith shops, so pirates often asked European captives to help repair the firearms.
Compared with firearms, Xishan pirates usually like to use bows, spears, broadswords and shields. However, because Mo Guanfu was trapped in the General Military Mansion and could not get out, the weapons depot in the town could not be opened. As a result, the pirates who hurriedly responded to the battle suffered heavy casualties, and the few swords, guns, bows and arrows in their hands could not pose a threat to the Northern Navy.
"How many people are outside?" In the uncertain light and shadow, Mo Guanfu's expression changed. He couldn't think of anyone who dared to come to Jiangping Town to cause trouble.
The Qing government? Impossible, this is Annan's territory.
The Xishan Army unloaded mills and killed donkeys? It's impossible, Ruan Guangping still has to point his own people to fight Ruan Fuying's navy! In the past two years, Ruan Phuc Anh hooked up with the French in Siam, asked for instructors and bought weapons. He even built a Bagua city in Jiading with the help of the French, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Unless Ruan Guangping no longer wants to be emperor, he will cut off his wings when he is so full.
Internal strife? It doesn't look like either. The pirate leaders here in Jiangping are all under the control of him, the "Wufang Commander". He knows the equipment of his various troops very well. No one has so many muskets!
Suddenly, he seemed to have guessed something, and then he said angrily: "Damn it, someone must have been bribed by Ruan Fuying! I have to kill him alive!" After that, he said to the next President Qian: "Send someone Ask whose troops it is!”
After a while, Mo Guan, who had already retreated into the General Military Mansion, hid behind the door and shouted at the top of his lungs: "People outside, we are all brothers in the same boat! We have something to discuss! Which family are you from?" ?Give me your name!"
At this time, I heard someone shout loudly in the Dan dialect: "Who the hell are you brothers? I'm fighting the Xishan Army!"
The hundred or so pirates who fled into the General Military Mansion in a hurry heard the familiar dialect and felt extremely panicked. They were even more certain that other pirates were coming to attack them. Judging from the previous battles, these people outside are vicious and equipped with a lot of firearms. It only takes a short time to go from the cross street to the general headquarters. As long as they meet each other, they will be killed or injured. If the fight continues, they may all be killed.
When the pirates were hesitating, they heard a few "clangs" and several dark things were thrown in from the outside through the wall, and they seemed to be emitting green smoke. One of them was curious and was about to step forward to pick it up. Suddenly, a fire suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, and then he heard a loud "boom". The gate of the General Military Mansion was suddenly full of dead and wounded, and other pirates who were still alive suddenly dispersed.
"Blast the door open!" Lin Daosheng, who was in charge of leading the third company's attack, gave the order. Several soldiers rushed forward and put grenades at the gap under the door.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..." The wooden door was blown to pieces. Before the smoke of the explosion dissipated, a group of soldiers rushed in with guns in hand.
Mo Guanfu had already led several of his men to the back door of the house. When he heard the explosion coming from the front yard, he didn't care to let his men go out to explore the way first. He opened the door latch and led people to rush out. As a result, people rushed out from the left and right. There was a burst of gunfire from the side, and Mo Guanfu was shot several times on the spot, and it looked like he would not survive.
At the same time, gunfire and explosions in Jiangping Town also alarmed the residents of Bailongwei Town to the east. In the past two years, Jiangping has become increasingly prosperous by selling stolen goods to pirates, and Bailongwei in the east has also benefited from a lot of glory. Not only did the town help sell the stolen goods, many people even joined the Xishan Pirates.
However, when hundreds of pirates rushed to the dock with weapons in hand and planned to cross the river for support, they were suddenly attacked by a special operations battalion that had been waiting for a long time. Under the hail of bullets, the pirates who managed to escape turned around and ran towards the town, not daring to come out until dawn.
The gunfire in Jiangping Town continued until four o'clock in the morning, and all pirate gathering points in the town were surrounded and suppressed by the Marine Battalion. Pirate leaders Mo Guanfu and Wu Shi'er were killed while escaping, while the other leader, Wu Shida, was not found.
Under the trembling eyes of thousands of people in Jiangping Town, the Northern Navy spent half a day blowing up the armory of the Xishan pirates, and then posted notices everywhere in the town, leaving behind the message "Working for the Ruan family in Xishan" "Those who violate the law will be severely punished and will not be loaned" warning.
Finally, the cannon doors of all the cannons on the black ships in the port were blocked with nails, and then tung oil was poured everywhere on the ships, and the pirates' warships were set alight one by one. When the fire soared into the sky and the masts turned into charcoal, the Marine Battalion quickly evacuated.
It was only then that someone finally discovered three large ships anchored on the sea several miles away.
Since then, although there were still small groups of pirates in Jiangping who used it as a nest, until the destruction of the Ruan clan in Xishan, there were no large groups of pirates gathering anymore.
