Before his fifth brother Zheng Zhifeng left, Zheng Zhilong had to instill enough confidence in him. The source of this confidence was the new weapon provided by the prince - the "Whaling Hark" anti-ship missile!
Zheng Zhilong originally wanted to test-fire at Liaoluo Bay south of Kinmen to show off his extraordinary military power. However, considering that this move would not deter Hongyi, but would inform the enemy in advance, he decided to wait until the fleet arrived in Penghu.
"Brother Tiger, I hope you can use this fairy weapon to open the eyes of a certain subordinate!"
The Zheng family also brought with them 2,000 troops under the command of the commander-in-chief Hu Dawei. This troop was not an attack force in the conventional sense, but a mixed combat unit of sea and land. In particular, it brought a large number of Zheng family generals who had never met before. deadly weapon.
"My uncle's words are serious. Your Highness has sent me here to help my uncle!"
After Hu Dawei was re-promoted to chief military officer, his troops were assigned to the East Palace Guards. However, because he had participated in the battle to regain Datong, his troops had rich experience in using mortars, so this time they were sent here by a certain prince. Cooperate with Zheng Zhilong to regain the treasure island.
The unit includes an artillery battalion equipped with 144 mortars and 50 cavalry. An infantry battalion with a strength of 500 men, composed of pikemen, musketeers, and archers. And an anti-ship missile battalion, equipped with one hundred "Harpoon"-II anti-ship missiles.
With the day-and-night efforts of a certain prince and a group of madmen headed by Bo Jue from the Academy of Sciences, a second-generation anti-ship missile was specially developed to attack wooden planks in view of the special nature of the current naval battle.
The warhead of the first-generation "harpoon" was pure gunpowder. Although the live-fire target shooting effect was extraordinary, given that the tonnage of the Dutch warships was not small, the second-generation "harpoon" used a mixed warhead of gunpowder and kerosene. .
The total combat weight of the missile is close to fifty kilograms, and it requires four soldiers to work together to install it on the launcher. Fortunately, as long as the warhead is not installed and no open flames are encountered, this weapon is still difficult for the enemy to "destruct itself." "of……
In order to receive this new "kid", Zheng Zhilong could only bear the pain and allocate four battleships imitated from the Hongyi battleship to install anti-ship missiles.
"Reluctantly giving up" is because installing the "harpoon" requires dismantling a mast on the upper deck, and during launch, in order to prevent the missile's tail flame from igniting the combustibles on the deck and the sails of the mast, the entire ship must be fireproofed .
It is necessary to lay a layer of iron sheet on the deck, apply a layer of insulating tin powder, and then install two huge iron boxes to stow the cloth sails.
Then came the installation of the missile launchers. In order to avoid the impact of bad weather during the installation process before the naval battle, the missiles were installed on fixed launchers and protected by long iron boxes to avoid exposure to wind and rain. .
When it is time to launch, remove the iron box, open the wings of the missile, adjust the angle of the up, down, left and right, combine it with the installed telescope to aim at the target, then ignite it and wait and see.
Of course, when launching the "" whaling harpoon, the enemy and ours must be relatively close, otherwise this thing will not be able to hit the target. If the launcher is hit by a Hongyi artillery shell, you will have to consider yourself unlucky.
On the other hand, if the level of the Hongyi gunners is too low and the projectiles cannot hit the Zheng Army missile warships, it will usher in an extraordinary and even extremely glorious doomsday. The raging fire will eventually send their warships to the bottom of the sea... …
The tonnage of the Hongyi-like warships equipped by Zheng Jun exceeds the speedboats commonly used by the Dutch, and the cost is as high as more than 50,000 taels of silver. Four ships are as much as 200,000 taels of silver.
Zhen Haibo's direct generals were all very dissatisfied with Hu Dawei's command of requisitioning his own large warships as playthings, although the robbers on each ship were still their own people.
But obviously after cutting off the main mast, the ship lost its speed advantage, and most of the guns were removed. It was considered a serious self-destruction of martial arts.
Although the warship provided by Zheng Zhilong was large, after detailed calculations by the craftsmen, it was found that only two launchers could be installed on one side, and due to the limited space on the deck, they were installed separately, one on the deck and one in the cabin.
After the modification, the entire ship can launch four anti-ship missiles at the same time, and the ammunition can be loaded once. It is also equipped with ten large fire guns. However, due to the lack of a mast, the ship's speed was too low, and it was privately ridiculed by General Zheng as an "ox cart on the sea."
Once the modification is deemed to have failed after actual combat testing, the two hundred thousand taels of silver will be wasted. Fortunately, Uncle Zhenhai is wealthy and doesn't care at all, and he turns a deaf ear to all kinds of criticism.
If he could become famous in one battle, Zheng Zhilong even wanted to equip all large warships with such sharp firearms, so that Hongyi would never dare to provoke him again.
At this time, the cost of building a bird boat was less than a thousand taels of silver, and the cost of building a large Guangzhou ship was only a few thousand taels. Building a ship for 50,000 taels of silver was definitely a big deal.
The number of Western-style galenic ships ordered by Zheng Zhilong to be built was small and large in tonnage, so the cost was very high, much higher than the same type of warships built by the Dutch. They were the well-deserved core force of the Zheng fleet.
In this way, the head of the family ordered four ships to be mobilized, the masts were cut, and they were used to install unknown mysterious weapons. Many people found it a bit unbelievable, and even planned to laugh at it.
"It's ready to launch!"
Hu Dawei also knew that he had to prove something first before he could get rid of the bad reputation of a "look-alike". At least he had to give the Crown Prince some credit. He couldn't let the people in Fujian look down upon him, so after making preparations, he ordered emission.
The target was a Guangzhou ship with a long service life. Zheng Zhilong simply used this ship as a target ship. It was not worth a lot of money anyway, and it was almost used up. Even if it exploded, he would not feel bad, and it would also allow his generals to take good care of themselves. Open your eyes, why not do it.
After receiving the order, a small team of soldiers started working on the deck. First, they removed the iron box, opened the wings of the missile, then adjusted the angle, aimed at the target ship, and after repeated verification, lit the fuse.
"call……"
Bright flames sprayed out from the tail of the missile. After a few seconds of acceleration, the missile had enough kinetic energy to sprint forward, allowing it to slide out of the launcher. After a relatively downward flight curve, Then fly straight to the target.
The distance from the launch position to the target ship is only a hundred steps. The purpose of arranging such a close attack is to improve the hit accuracy as much as possible and avoid the first display in front of Zheng Jun ending in failure.
Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers, the missile flew straight to the target with a force that penetrated the rainbow. When the weather was good and the sea was not rough, the hit rate of the "harpoon" was still very high.
Although the anti-ship missile force was hastily established, it had already done many target shooting exercises in the capital. Before going south, it had also practiced targeting ships three times off the coast of Tianjin, so it was not that they had no target shooting experience at all.
"boom……"
This "whaling harpoon" accurately hit the old Guangzhou ship opposite. With a loud noise, a huge fireball exploded in the middle of the Guangzhou ship.
After adding kerosene specifically for plank boats to the warhead, the missile is obviously much more powerful than simply filling it with gunpowder, especially with the increased collateral attack. The construction materials of the plank boats determine the terrifying nature of its combustion. as a result of.
After the explosion, the fireball gradually disappeared, and while billowing smoke emerged from the blown black hole, it was replaced by kerosene directly igniting the damaged parts of the ship's hull, which soon ignited and turned into a bonfire at sea. .
After being hit hard by a missile, even if the ship does not sink immediately, it will lose most of its combat capabilities. If there are still sailors on the ship, there is no other way out except jumping into the sea.
"It's incredible~!"
In the eyes of Zheng Jun generals who were stunned on the spot, this thing was much more powerful than the bullets fired by fire guns. Even the combined attack effect of dozens of 18-pound bullets was not as good as A missile.
No wonder the boss is willing to take out four giant ships for modification. The power of such sharp weapons cannot be underestimated. One can destroy a warship. It is almost unrivaled on the sea.
It seems that the boss is really far-sighted and foresighted. If he had known that this thing was capable of shocking damage, he should have taken out a few more ships for modification. Do you still have to worry about Shizi Hongyi now?
After the experimental proof, General Zheng's attitude changed very quickly. Just looking at the shocked expressions of everyone, Zheng Zhilong understood clearly, and he felt extremely proud.
If it weren't for these four modified warships, he would have led his army to conquer the Hongyi in the east, and he would still be a little afraid of fighting at sea. But now he has nothing to fear, because he is afraid that the Hongyi will be too scared to fight.
"Brother! The younger brother will set off first to explore the water channel for the elder brother. When the tide rises, our fleet can swarm in and annihilate the Hongyi ships in the bay in one fell swoop!"
Zheng Zhifeng was convinced when he saw this. With such a sharp weapon, Hongyi couldn't deal with it. Not only him, but also all the sailors who saw the live ammunition shooting performance were also confident and their morale was high.
The eldest brother is not completely sure that he will not let his fleet take the initiative to attack Hongyi. He already has an absolute advantage in the number of warships, and this time with the so-called missiles, it is even more powerful.
"Okay! Our army will take advantage of the rising tide to quickly attack the harbor and annihilate the enemy ships. Then we can avoid being damaged by the firepower of the castle. After winning, we can evacuate to a safe area."
Zheng Zhilong wanted to fight quickly to prevent the battleship from being sunk by the cannons on the castle of Relanze. With the typhoon approaching, the Luermen Channel will not be too narrow and shallow for the time being, so it is better for the fleet to stay in the bay to take shelter from the wind.
This operation is divided into three steps. The first is to let the fleet pass through the Luermen Waterway, rush into Damuan Bay, and eliminate all the Hongyi warships in the bay.
Secondly, the fleet must cooperate with the land division to siege the sea fort on the island at the end of the northern line. If the typhoon is really coming soon, then the attack time must be convenient.
Finally, after the two major threats from the Hongyi were eliminated, the navy and land divisions were able to attack the Relanje Castle and force the defenders to surrender.
"Mr. Cocu, please send this letter to Chief Executive Van der Berg. As long as Mr. Berg agrees to evacuate all his troops and people from the island before the war, I will ensure the safety of his personal and property. and allowed it to take away the ships in the bay. Otherwise, Bember would give no guarantee as to what would happen next, and the East India Company would bear all the responsibility."
Zheng Zhilong found Philippe Cocu, the captain of a Dutch merchant ship captured at sea, and asked him to serve as a messenger to deliver a message to the defenders. Zheng Zhilong, who was proficient in Dutch, could communicate with Cocu without any hindrance, and the other party could naturally understand the words. the meaning of.
"Aren't we partners? Why do you want to raise troops to invade?"
Kecu obviously regards the senior officials as his own territory. In his view, Zheng Zhilong and the East India Company are in a cooperative relationship and should not turn to attack his own side at this time. This is obviously a bad behavior that violates the spirit of the contract.
"As long as you withdraw from Dongfan, we will still be partners, and I will provide your company with sufficient and high-quality goods. As for why you want to bring troops here, Benbo has already stated the interests in the letter. I believe Mr. Bolger We will make a decision that is beneficial to you, your country, and both parties!"
Seeing that the guy in front of him was just a messenger, Zheng Zhilong didn't want to talk nonsense to him anymore. After talking to himself, he sent someone to send the guy away.
Keku's merchant ship was also released and allowed to sail to the Castle of Geranze, but it was already an empty ship, and the goods and even the firecrackers were all moved away by Sergeant Zheng.
Cocu was very annoyed with this kind of banditry and banditry logic and expressed strong protest. However, given that Nicholas Zheng Yiguan was originally a pirate, Cocu could only go to Berg to complain.
If the defenders can repel the invading enemy, then this bastard Zheng Yiguan can return all the property that was plundered from him, and maybe pay a compensation. Now Keku can also use this method to comfort himself. .
Cocu believes that as long as the Batavia headquarters can provide enough reinforcements to the generals, then Zheng Yiguan and his fleet are not invincible. Now in naval battles, no country or group is the Dutch. opponent.
The only difficulty was that even if Bolger knew that Zheng Yiguan was about to launch an attack on Geranze, and sent a rescue warship south, if he sailed against the wind, he didn't know how long it would take to reach Batavia.
When the East India Company headquarters hears the news, it will send reinforcements northward. Even Coku is not sure whether the defenders in Relanja can hold on until then.
The bastions were indestructible, and they persisted for a year and a half without any problems. The local Dutch army relied on the bastions everywhere to repel the siege of the Spanish Imperial troops. But once the defenders are cut off from water, the outcome will be difficult to say.
The troops in Geranze Castle were completely alone, and Cocu felt a little pessimistic about its worrying prospects. He could only assess the situation and act according to the opportunity.
Zheng Zhilong did not want to make the matter bigger, and planned to continue doing business with Hongyi in the future. Moreover, the stronghold of Relanje belonged to the East India Company and had little to do with the Dutch government. At most, it was just a military conflict between two major business groups.
The prince thinks that the matter can be big or small, and he can just let Zhen Haibo make his own arrangements. If the Dutch are wise, they can reduce the big matter to a small matter, reach a reconciliation between the two parties, and business activities can resume as before.
On the contrary, it is not impossible for the Ming Dynasty to declare war on the Netherlands. The Dutch navy's maritime power in East Asian waters was extremely limited. The East India Company also had the original intention of making money and was not willing to engage in a long-term war with the Ming Empire.
The purpose of fighting is to make money, and to make money is to fight. This sentence is very appropriate at present.
When the Dutch East India Company, which was rampant around the world, met its East Asian counterparts, it would be a close encounter...
