4336 (AD 1639), August 27th.
Li Qingmu stood on the deck of the Hanwudi battleship.
He looked far into the horizon and saw a sunset in the sky that was about to disappear.
The Royal Navy fleet of Dahua has just passed through stormy seas.
Soldiers wearing rubber raincoats were clearing water from the deck.
The temperature here in Nanyang is very high, and the soldiers can maintain their combat effectiveness in the rain.
In this situation, if freezing rain falls in the autumn and winter in the north, the warships will basically lose their combat effectiveness.
Li Qingmu listened to the navigation staff report on the fleet's location.
The location of their fleet was only two hours away from Manila Port.
Li Qingmu looked at the two fleet governors, Feng Sanqiu and Zhou You, standing aside waiting for his orders.
"Do you think we should choose to attack Manila Port at night or wait until dawn tomorrow before attacking Manila Port?"
Li Qingmu has not been at the grassroots level for a long time. When he was the governor of the South China Sea Fleet, the warships were not very capable of fighting at night.
The fleet dealt with pirates and weak naval countries like Vietnam, and they dared to fight at night.
When encountering an opponent that is too powerful, they will try to fight during the day.
After several years of development, the navy does not know whether they have the confidence to win at night.
Governor Zhou You said helplessly: "Our Fourth Fleet was established relatively late and operates normally during the day. I am very confident.
But fighting at night places too high demands on soldiers.
When fighting during the day, we can use the powerful range of naval guns to deal with opponents at a safe distance.
When fighting at night, you must use carbide searchlights to target the enemy.
The distance of the carbide searchlight is relatively short, and we must be within the range of the opponent's cannon.
With the current training level of the Fourth Fleet, I cannot guarantee the victory of the war in a narrow encounter-style battle.
I do not recommend using the night attack method. This is to attack the enemy's shortcomings based on one's own shortcomings and cannot effectively utilize the strengths of our army. "
Zhou You chose to tell the truth. Their fourth fleet was not strong in night battles and there was no need to hide it.
In a real fight, you can tell at a glance whether you are strong or not.
Lying will affect the outcome of this war, and he will never be redeemed by death.
Feng Sanqiu said modestly: "Commander Li, our second fleet's night combat capability should be half of its daytime combat capability.
In particular, the Logistics Department specializes in suppressing napalm on wooden warships.
This kind of ammunition can also function as a flare during night operations and can guide us to the coordinates of enemy warships.
The most important battlefield lighting, we can use steam speedboats equipped with carbide searchlights.
He is very fast and cannot be easily hit by enemy troops.
Our Second Fleet is specially trained for night battles.
In order to ensure the accuracy of naval guns in night battles, it is necessary to get closer to the enemy.
But our battleships are covered with a layer of steel armor, which can effectively reduce the damage of enemy artillery. "
After Feng Sanqiu finished talking about the Second Fleet's night fighting capabilities, he went on to say: "Our Second Fleet is relatively familiar with the sea conditions around Luzon Island.
Chief of Staff Dong Scale just informed me that based on the results observed by the hydrometeorology and meteorological staff.
There may be violent storms in Manila Port tomorrow and the next two days, and it is basically certain that strong winds of level 7 or 8 will blow here.
In the case of night fighting, the accuracy of the cannon is still guaranteed.
In a windy environment, the accuracy of the cannon cannot be guaranteed at all. Even after several rounds of salvo fire, even one shell may not hit the target. "
Li Qingmu heard the news reported by Feng Sanqiu.
He needs to choose one of the two combat environments: night or stormy day.
Comparing the two combat environments, the winning rate in the night battle is higher, at least there is no strong wind today.
Nowadays, they are all sealed metal cannonballs. They are not afraid of heavy rain, but strong winds.
As the wind strength increases by one level, the ship will rock further
As the intensity increases, the accuracy of the artillery shells will drop off a cliff.
Warships are afraid of strong winds, but coastal defense guns are not.
Attacking on a windy day will most likely result in enemy shore defense artillery destroying too many warships.
The casualties in this war were too great, and even if he won, Li Qingmu wouldn't get much merit.
He not only wants to win the battle, but also wants to win a beautiful battle.
Li Qingmu looked at Feng Sanqiu and ordered: "A night attack on Manila Port, are you confident of victory?"
He chose to send troops to capture Manila Harbor when the weather conditions were good, and try to eliminate the Spanish warships as much as possible.
Now the night attack is a good opportunity, and the Spaniards in Manila Harbor may not be prepared to guard against them.
All the Spanish patrol boats along the way were wiped out by steam boats.
The Spaniards in Manila Harbor had not yet received news of their attack.
Waiting until tomorrow to launch the attack, the patrol ship did not return to the port, which will definitely make the Spaniards in Manila Harbor wary.
They missed the opportunity to attack.
Governor Feng Sanqiu heard Li Qingmu's question.
He responded confidently: "Commander Li, please rest assured that our Second Fleet will definitely be able to blockade the Port of Manila.
I can't guarantee you how successful we will be.
But I can guarantee that the Spanish warships will remain trapped in the port and will not be allowed to break out. "
After Li Qingmu heard Feng Sanqiu's reply, a smile appeared on his face.
Only when warships are on the sea can they exert their great strength.
Once a warship is trapped in a port, it becomes a living target.
Their role is not as effective as coastal defense guns.
Li Qingmu ordered: "Then we will act according to combat plan No. 13."
After the order was issued, the battleship Han Wudi issued orders to each ship through semaphores.
The Royal Navy fleet of Dahua immediately changed.
The cruisers of the Second Fleet moved forward to clear obstacles ahead for the fleet.
The battleship Han Wudi and other warships formed a combat formation and quickly approached the Manila Port.
Zhou You took a speedboat back to his flagship, the battleship Tang Taizong.
He began to issue combat orders to the ships of the Fourth Fleet.
The main mission of the Fourth Fleet is to support the operations of the Second Fleet.
…………………………
Governor Rubio came to the Port of Manila to inspect the military’s preparations.
He could already smell the smoke of war coming.
The patrol boat dispatched by the military was supposed to return to the port in the afternoon, but it did not return at dusk.
There is only one possibility in this situation, and that is that they have encountered something unexpected.
"Could it be that the Dahua court reacted so quickly? Dahua issued the order to attack as soon as we left."
Bishop Bria heard what Governor Rubio said.
He shook his head and said: "Your Excellency, this is unlikely to happen.
The Governor-General also understands the attitude of our domestic officials.
Launching a round of war would take months of discussion.
Let alone such an indigenous country, it takes a long time to prepare for war.
When we were in the capital of Dahua, we also learned about the speed of the Dahua court.
I also read in the newspaper that it took nearly two years for the military to request a war before the Emperor of Dahua, Su He, approved the Northwest Campaign.
The Royal Navy of Great China should not come so quickly. "
A naval general came over holding an Erguotou bottle in his hand.
Governor Rubio looked at this man. He was the top naval admiral here, General Olied.
He looked at the Erguotou wine bottle in Olled's hand with a look of disgust on his face.
This man was a well-known drunkard in the Navy. He liked to drink alcohol with extremely high alcohol content. Unexpectedly, he was still drunk before the war came.
Olled shook the wine bottle in his hand and pointed to the flag above the warship.
"There was a storm on the sea today, and the patrol ship may have encountered a storm, which delayed their return.
It's almost dark, and the Chinese Royal Navy won't be stupid enough to attack us at night.
According to my experience, there are strong winds on the sea after midnight.
In blustery weather, the accuracy of battleship guns was extremely low.
The Royal Navy of Great China really dares to come, then I will let him go without return.
I can destroy the incoming warships only by relying on the coastal defense guns in Manila Port. "
Governor Rubio saw General Allied's confident look.
He looked at the huge coastal defense gun next to him again.
This most advanced artillery shipped from China made him feel at ease.
Governor Rubio reminded: "General Ollid, the Royal Navy's naval guns are not afraid of rainy days. You must take it seriously."
General Oled raised the wine bottle. After taking a big sip of wine, his body was shaking a little and he said drunkenly:
"Don't worry, Lord Governor, the Royal Navy of Great China is also an experienced navy.
In order to ensure victory in the war, they will not act recklessly, and they will never attack at night.
Even if the Royal Navy of China launches a night attack, our losses will not be huge.
At that time, we will use coastal defense artillery to counterattack. After daybreak, it will be time for our battleships to show their strength. "
General Olled is extremely confident. He is a veteran in the Spanish Navy and has more than 30 years of naval command experience.
He knew exactly what kind of results warships could achieve in night battles in this era.
Governor Rubio saw General Olied's attitude, and he felt a furry feeling in his heart.
General Ollid has never fought against the Royal Navy of Great China and does not know the strength of the Royal Navy of Great China.
He just wanted to persuade General Olied to pay attention to the situation in Manila Port.
His confidant ran over and said excitedly: "Your Majesty the Governor, the spies we sent out got the news.
Dahua had several officially owned merchant ships, carrying steam engines and large quantities of silver coins to Southeast Asia.
These ships transported more than ten million taels of silver coins. "
Governor Rubio was overjoyed when he heard the news.
He originally thought he would only get some steam engines, but he didn't expect there to be a large amount of silver coins.
Bishop Bria said in surprise: "The imperial court of Great China minted coins and circulated them throughout the country through the banking system.
This time the merchant ship was carrying silver coins and steam engines, which was a good opportunity.
As long as these silver coins are looted, the Great China Dynasty may not have the military expenditure to go to war. "
When General Oled heard this, he immediately said excitedly: "This opportunity cannot be missed. We will send several warships tomorrow to capture this transport team.
Our military does not want steam engines, but out of these ten million taels of silver coins, five million taels of silver coins must be allocated to the military. "
When Governor Rubio heard the military's request, he immediately refused: "It's impossible. This money has to be allocated to domestic officials. He can only give the military one million taels of silver coins."
Because of the allocation of this fund, they went to the Governor's Palace to argue about the matter, and did not discuss the defense of Manila Port again.
…………………………
It was completely dark, and only the stars in the sky were twinkling.
The Royal Navy warship approached the Manila port at high speed with full sail.
No lights are allowed outside the cabin of a warship.
Lighting in the cabin must also be covered with thick cloth.
Li Qingmu stood on the deck of the battleship Han Wudi, and he could already see the lights in Manila.
The artillery staff used telescopes to calculate the distance between the warship and the port.
The artillery staff officer blew his whistle, and a rapid whistle sounded on the ship.
After the steam boat heard the whistle, they knew that the battleship was ready, and they immediately drove the steam boat to approach the port of Manila.
The officer could already vaguely see the figure of the warship in the port.
He got off immediately
Light the carbide searchlight on the bow of the steamboat.
The huge light immediately illuminated the situation in the port as bright as day.
The officers on the battleship could already clearly see the situation in the port and immediately lit the carbide lamp on the warship.
The light of the carbide lamp illuminated the entire warship, which immediately dispelled the darkness. The scene on the warship was the same as during the day.
The battleships formed a long queue, and the cannon on the left side of the ship was already aimed at Manila Harbor.
Li Qingmu saw Governor Feng Sanqiu commanding the battle at the side, and he asked: "Governor Feng, how are you preparing?"
Feng Sanqiu saluted with a military salute and reported: "Commander Li, our Second Fleet is ready and requests bombardment of Manila Port."
"Permission to fire."
When Feng Sanqiu heard Li Qingmu's order, he picked up the signal gun and fired three shots into the sky.
Three green flares immediately took off.
When the battleship captains of the Second Fleet saw these three flares, they immediately gave the order to fire.
Niu Lu, the captain of the battleship Han Wudi, shouted loudly: "All naval guns use armor-piercing projectiles, and the steam speedboat has guided us to the location of the coastal defense guns.
Point me at the coast defense guns on the coast. Our mission is to destroy the coast defense guns.
Once you discover that the concealed anti-artillery is firing, immediately launch a counterattack.
Coast defense artillery must not be allowed to destroy the warships of our comrades. "
Wang Doudou, the captain of the battleship Yue Fei, shouted excitedly: "Remember your mission, use napalm bombs with inertial fuses, and aim them at the warship."
Use the napalm bombs with time-delay fuzes and shoot them over the warships. Make sure you don't hit them by mistake.
We will burn the port of Manila. "
The battleship's guns immediately began to fire a salvo, and huge flames came out of the guns' muzzles.
The sky over Manila Harbor soon resembled a goddess scattering flowers, and large amounts of fireballs continued to fall on the sea.
From time to time, a huge fireball appeared on the dark sea. This was a warship set alight by napalm.
When Wang Doudou saw this scene, he said with emotion: "If you fall behind, you will be beaten. How easy it is for us to fight now.
At that time, naval guns had a short range, and fire attacks also required rockets.
Nowadays, the range of naval guns is too long, and the range of rockets is too close, so they are basically eliminated by the front-line troops.
A wooden warship cannot escape from napalm bombs. "
…………………………
The Governor's Palace in Manila is not far from the seaside. Rubio and others had just finished discussing the profit distribution when they heard the sound of huge cannons.
After General Ollid heard the sound of the cannon, he immediately rushed out of the Governor's Palace.
He looked towards the direction of Manila Port and saw the violent burning of Manila Port.
"How can this be."
Olied saw that the warships in the port had turned into large fireballs. He couldn't believe his eyes.
When Governor Rubio saw this situation, he was stunned on the spot, but he quickly reacted.
He immediately ordered: "General Oled, go to the port to take command, we have not lost yet.
We still have the last line of defense. Coastal defense artillery must destroy the incoming enemy forces.
I will mobilize the troops in the city and go to the port to support you. "
General Olied also reacted, and he immediately ran towards the port on horseback.
He stared closely at the coastal defense artillery and saw that the coastal defense artillery had begun to fight back.
Olied observed for a while, and his heart was quickly filled with despair, and he realized that Manila Port might not be able to hold it.
As soon as the coastal defense artillery fires, it will be immediately locked by the enemy warship and quickly destroyed.
When General Ollid arrived at the port, one-tenth of the coastal defense batteries had been destroyed.
He looked at the warships on the sea as bright as day, but found that they were completely helpless.
Even if the coastal defense artillery hit the enemy ship, it did not sink the enemy ship.
The Royal Navy warship of Dahua can withstand the attack of coastal defense artillery
, continue to launch attacks on the port.
He had heard before that the battleships of the Royal Navy of Great China were covered with steel armor and could withstand artillery attacks.
When General Ollid saw this situation, he felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart.
