Starting from the morning, Zheng Jun did not launch a large-scale artillery bombardment, but concentrated on cleaning up the battlefield and treating the wounded, including the captured Hongyi wounded soldiers. Except for some who died, everyone received timely treatment.
Worried that the shelling would make the wounded feel guilty, Zhenhai Bo Zheng Zhilong did not allow Hu Dawei's artillery regiment to open fire, and the fleet led by Zheng Zhifeng did not sail into Damuan Bay for the second time to bombard the Relanja Castle.
Zheng Zhilong sent his uncle Zheng Ji to load the soldiers who were not seriously injured but temporarily unable to participate in the battle on a ship and transfer them to Penghu or Xiamen for recuperation.
The seriously injured who could be treated were unable to take a boat and were temporarily placed in camps in the south of Taiyuan Island for care. After the situation improved, they would be shipped to the rear.
Zheng Zhilong never thought that a land battle would turn out like this. Even if it was a night battle, the enemy situation was unknown, and 5,000 men and horses took turns taking turns, they would not be severely damaged by 500 red barbarians.
Fortunately, the various ministries had already set a secret code before the war. Anyone who did not speak in the dark at night would be killed. At first, it was set as Min dialect, but Hu Dawei's troops were all from the north and could not speak Min dialect at all, so It was changed to Mingyu, the northern Mandarin.
Otherwise, in the melee, the situation ahead is unclear, the visibility is extremely poor, and in an emergency, even one of your own people could be killed and hundreds of others injured, which would be even worse.
Zheng Zhilong couldn't blame Zheng Zhi'ao too much. To be fair, Zheng Zhi'ao didn't make much of a mistake in arranging his troops, and his command before the battle was considered appropriate.
The reason why there were so many casualties was probably because the senior officials of the Zheng family had been content with the status quo before. They had slacked off in training their own soldiers and horses, and had been out of battle formations for a long time. Once it came time to risk their lives, even if they wanted to kill the enemy, they would be powerless. .
After later understanding, it was found that neither Zheng Ju nor Zheng Shao appeared timid in battle or took the initiative to flee. The former was injured by Hong Yi's sneak attack with a short blunderbuss, and the latter was cut by his sharp sword during the confrontation.
However, Zheng Zhilong could well imagine that the precautions he reminded his generals in advance were not taken seriously. The prince said that Hongyi was brave and had to fight steadily and use troops cautiously, which was also despised by everyone.
This battle also served as a wake-up call to the Zheng family. It is not easy to capture the Dayuan area. The Castle of Relanja is so close that it is difficult to conquer it. Without perseverance, previous efforts will be in vain. .
In desperation, Zheng Zhilong could only decide to increase his troops and allocate 3,000 soldiers to Zheng Zhi'ao to maintain the siege of Relanze Castle. Allocate another 1,000 horsemen and 1,000 infantry to Zheng Mingying, because the war situation on the east coast is not optimistic either.
There was a siege on Damuan Island, but the castle of Relanja could not be captured for a long time, and the Zheng army began to fall into a double vortex of daytime artillery battles and night sneak attacks.
The situation on the east coast was a different story. Since Hongyi deliberately did not confront the Zheng army head-on and chose to engage in ambush warfare and guerrilla warfare, Zheng Mingying had to continuously send troops to pursue and contain them.
However, since the unit only had 5,000 soldiers and horses, and most of the small number of horsemen were lost in the confrontation with the Hongyi horsemen, they were unable to outflank the main Hongyi force.
Relying on infantry alone to advance could not stop the Hongyi from fleeing inland. Zheng Zhilong could only strengthen Zheng Mingying's troops in the hope of a quick victory.
In this way, the Zheng Army deployed 6,000 troops on the east coast, 13,000 troops on Da Yuan Island, 500 troops on Wei Island on the northern line, and about 6,500 troops on Penghu at the forward base. As a reserve team.
Zheng Zhilong did not mobilize all the Penghu garrison to the front line to fight. Firstly, because the role of the infantry was not significant at the moment, and secondly, he considered the issue of transshipment.
Once the Zheng army is unable to capture the Relanja Castle before the next storm comes, all soldiers and horses will have to evacuate from the front line to Penghu to avoid the storm, and then come back again.
Damuan Island cannot station too many soldiers and horses, which puts too much pressure on the supply of materials. Even if the Zheng Army can rely on its strong sea transportation capabilities for supplies, it will still consume a lot of resources to maintain the daily combat needs of more than 10,000 combat troops. Astonishing.
The most important thing is that Zheng Zhilong is worried that the Dutch fleet that slipped away from Da Yuan Bay will not go to Manila or Batavia, but will harass Zheng Jun's supply line at sea, greatly restricting Zheng Jun's attack on Da Yuan. Island Attack.
The Hongyi prisoners only said that their fleet had all left the port before Zheng Jun arrived, and no one knew its specific whereabouts. Only senior officers or civilian officials would know such military secrets.
Based on the intuition of his old profession, Zheng Zhilong believed that this Hongyi fleet was very likely to go north to plunder the coast of Fujian. Maybe Zheng Zhilan, who was in charge in his hometown, would get news soon.
The Hongyi fleet has a unique advantage, that is, the south wind is blowing now. As long as the Zheng Jun fleet pursues the Hongyi battleship after discovering it, it must sail southward against the wind.
Hongyi took advantage of the fact that its warships were faster than Zheng Jun's warships against the wind, and could easily get rid of the pursuit of Zheng Jun's warships. Under headwind conditions, Zheng Jun's warships would never be able to catch up with Hongyi's warships.
With this advantage, the Hongyi Fleet can plunder passing ships as they please along the coast of Fujian, unless Zheng Zhifeng's fleet comes back for reinforcements and can collide head-on with the Hongyi Fleet.
Zheng Zhilong also built a number of Galenic warships, which the Ming people called "plywood ships." The appearance of the ships was exactly the same as those used by the Dutch Red Barbarians, except that they still used Ming-style hard sails instead of Western-style soft sails. , so the speed cannot be improved.
This is why the generals of the Zheng Army were surprised that Hongyi was able to sail against the wind from Dayuan to Batavia, which is far away in the southernmost part of Southeast Asia, within two months.
As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Zheng Zhilong had to consider many things comprehensively. The escaping Hongyi fleet was a serious concern for Zheng's army and had to be on guard against it.
If they stay in the strait area, they must be severely damaged or even eliminated before the Red Barbarian support fleet sailing from Batavia can reach the generals.
It is easy to meditate like this, and it is easy to give orders, but it is extremely difficult to actually do it. One can imagine the difficulty of searching for more than a dozen warships on the vast sea.
Even if a merchant ship reported that they saw the Red Yi battleship, by the time their own fleet sailed past, the Red Yi battleship would have already fled. Even if the time difference was only a quarter of an hour, they were determined not to catch up.
Zheng Zhilong wanted to immediately ask his fourth brother Zheng Zhifeng to lead half of the fleet back to Kinmen to protect his hometown, but he gave up the idea after a second thought.
The coast of Fujian is extremely long. Unless the Red Yi Fleet can be defeated in one fell swoop, it would not be a wise move to search behind the Red Yi Fleet. Instead, the Red Yi Fleet will be restrained at every turn and become even more passive.
Before the enemy's situation becomes clear, it is better to stay the same and adapt to the situation, so as not to fall into Hongyi's plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain. If the Hongyi fleet is ambushed near Dayuan or Penghu, Zheng Zhifeng's fleet will have to be transferred back. , to participate in the encirclement and suppression.
After considering so many issues, Zheng Zhilong suddenly discovered that the situation was far from as optimistic as he had imagined before, and his offensive had stalled almost across the board.
The land battles on the east coast and Taiyuan Island did not go smoothly. Instead, there were heavy casualties, and the wounded were in urgent need of treatment. I want to fight a naval battle, but I can't find the target, and I have to wait for news.
The hot weather in the Dayuan area made it extremely difficult for the officers and soldiers participating in the war. Under the scorching sun, it was a chore to perform any outdoor tasks. The high temperature also caused many soldiers to suffer from heat stroke and vomit. The Zheng army's combat effectiveness dropped sharply, which was partly related to acclimatization.
There is very little fresh water on the island, and fresh water must be transported in ships from Penghu. Otherwise, tens of thousands of troops will not be able to sustain themselves for even a day. These are difficulties that many people have never thought about, but are facing in reality.
In order to avoid the large-scale occurrence of scurvy that the prince was worried about, Zheng Zhilong had to transport a large amount of fruits from the east coast, Penghu, and even his hometown to supplement the necessary nutrients for the soldiers' bodies.
The most ordinary soldier can receive two fruits every day, and an army of 10,000 will need to eat at least 20,000 fruits every day. If not, when the soldiers fall ill, the cost of curing these patients will be even higher.
The prince said that Fujian has a subtropical climate, while Taiyuan area has a tropical climate. It seems that there is not much difference, but soldiers are very prone to acclimatization and other diseases, so they must be prepared in advance and take precautions.
Zheng Zhilong also didn't expect that just after crossing the strait, four to five hundred miles away, the situation would be completely different, and almost all of the Crown Prince's predictions had become a reality. It was truly a prophecy.
If they hadn't taken action in advance and brought many doctors along with the army to treat the wounded, I'm afraid that the tens of thousands of troops would have turned into a group of sick men lying on the ground moaning incessantly.
Heat stroke is not a serious illness. As long as you take proper care, you can recover in a few days. However, for warriors, lack of physical strength means no fighting ability. This is a fatal weakness on the battlefield. Even if you are ill for a day, you will die.
Zheng Zhi'ao also knew that there were many soldiers suffering from heatstroke in his army, but he did not expect that the impact would be so great, especially when fighting in close combat with the Hongyi soldiers. Soldiers Zheng, who fought with illness, were really helpless.
Hu Dawei's officers and soldiers were all from the north, and they were even more uncomfortable fighting in the hot and humid Dayuan area. Fortunately, the soldiers of the artillery regiment only needed to load, fire, and clean the barrels of the artillery. They did not need to fight with the red barbarians. .
Due to his previous "show of great power", Zheng Zhi'ao also changed his previous skeptical attitude and was very polite to the commander-in-chief Hu Dawei. The officers and soldiers under his command received unprecedented preferential treatment, especially in terms of food.
Zheng Zhilong had previously stipulated that each person in the artillery regiment from top to bottom should be provided with a pound of fish, a pound of kelp, a pound of rice, a pound of fruit, five liters of water, and fresh vegetables from time to time. These ingredients are Zhen Haibo paid for it himself and transported it directly to the beach by merchant ship.
The prince had already made an agreement with Zheng Zhilong that the artillery regiment would go south to assist in the war, and all the food and salary needed would be supported by the Ministry of War. Zhen Haibo only needed to provide the necessary gunpowder and other combat supplies.
However, Zheng Zhilong would not take the polite words seriously. Apart from not overstepping his authority and paying Hu Dawei's troops, all other expenses of the artillery regiment would be settled by his family.
It would be a big joke if less than 2,000 troops helped the extremely wealthy Zhenhaibo fight the war, and in the end the court would have to provide money and food and spread the word.
The artillery regiment led by Hu Dawei was treated very well when they were in the capital. Ordinary soldiers were given three taels of silver and half a stone of rice every month. They could eat meat every day, but it was impossible to get a kilogram of it. .
When we got to the officers' side, the hot weather was terrible, but they could eat delicious sea fish every day, which was a feast for the northern soldiers who had green eyes.
At first, many guys who had never eaten sea fish got the freshly caught sea fish. After it was grilled, even the bones of the fish head were chewed and swallowed in their stomachs, for fear of spoiling any good thing.
Unlike river fish, sea fish don't have many small spines. You can really eat it like pork. Just eat kelp shreds sprinkled with salt. Apart from the fact that you can't drink alcohol, it's really a great thing.
There are many people who have never eaten bananas in their lives. Except for apples, oranges, pears, peaches, plums, apricots and a dozen other fruits, many northern soldiers have never been able to taste fruits produced in the south.
It is very normal for ordinary soldiers to receive fruits like lychees and eat the shells together. Don't be surprised. Being a soldier in the north is no better than an animal. In many cases, a soldier is worth less than an animal.
Therefore, the artillery regiment, together with the chief officer Hu Dawei, reciprocated Zhen Haibo's kind gesture. They worked very hard when bombarding the castle of Relanze. The shells were fired accurately, but they caused great pain to the Hongyi in the castle.
They never thought that two thousand marine fish and two thousand kilograms of kelp every day would have such a great effect. No matter where they were, these seafood products would not be so cost-effective...
Kelp is better to say. Marine fish are caught by fishing boats and immediately transferred to a nearby large ship. They are placed in boxes and covered with a large amount of crushed ice to preserve freshness and slow down the decay time, and are then transported directly to Taiyuan Island. beach.
In the entire Ming Empire, only the wealthy Zhenhaibo Zheng Zhilong could provide such special services that cost a lot of money. Not even the Ministry of War could do this.
Others didn't know how powerful the mortar, which looked like an iron barrel, was, but Zheng Zhilong knew it, so he treated Hu Dawei's men so favorably.
The red barbarian soldiers in the castle must have been beaten to death by the shelling before they came out for a sneak attack. This also shows that the role of the artillery regiment is very huge and the effect is remarkable.
It is not that Zheng Zhilong does not have powerful guns, but transporting them to the mountain is time-consuming and laborious, and they can only be fired directly, making them easily countered by Hongyi.
For Zheng Zhilong, who was trying to suppress the Hongyi and reduce the casualties of his troops, ordinary direct-fire blunderbuss would definitely not be able to keep up with the mortars that were light and capable of direct fire.
Mortars are light in weight, fast to deploy, have strong firepower, and have a high rate of fire. Apart from a relatively short range, they have almost no shortcomings. The actual combat performance has also verified the statement of the prince, which is completely consistent with the live ammunition firing conditions in the capital.
Using some cheap seafood can make Hu Dawei's artillery regiment fire hard. At least in Zheng Zhilong's view, this is a very cost-effective deal.
The more active the Hongyi in the castle were at night, the more miserable they were during the day. The Zheng army suffered heavy casualties, but so did the Hongyi.
Zheng Zhilong estimated that after the battle, Hongyi had lost at least one-third of its total troops. If it happened again in the future, there should be few people who could hold on to the Castle of Relanja.
Moreover, Hu Dawei's troops suffered no losses, which is the greatest good thing. Once most of the wounded are transported, Hongyi's castle can be bombarded every day, so that they can't stop all day long...
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