mtl008 Chapter 218 The Weak Defenders
Chapter 218 The Weak Defenders
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Gao Jie asked, "Can't they just say we're officers and soldiers? They can't afford to make things difficult for their own people, can they?"
Liu Ye reacted quickly, replying, "What are we going there for? We're going to launch a sneak attack, to kill and set fires! We don't even have time to hide our true identities, do we want to expose ourselves? This place is very close to Zheng Zhilong's lair, and any news will soon reach there."
Gao Jie shrugged: "Then what should we do? If we're only staying for a day, we can find a small port to deal with. But we need to wait for the best time to launch an attack. Who knows how many days we'll have to stay on this island?"
Liu Ye frowned and asked, "How many infantrymen on our ship can go ashore?"
Gao Jie replied, "My sailors can't be used as infantry—their stage is on the sea, and they're not good at land combat. Besides them, there's only your bodyguard, sir." As the armed force directly protecting Liu Ye's safety, the bodyguard had always been inseparable from him.
After considering it for a while, Liu Ye finally made up his mind: "We have to go to the port, but we can't expose our identities... Anyway, this operation is about impersonating someone else, so let's treat it as a rehearsal—we'll impersonate Liu Xiang's people and subdue the soldiers on the island."
Impersonating Liu Xiang? Gao Jie and the others were stunned at first, but after they came to their senses, they couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Great idea!"
It must be said that using Liu Xiang's name was the best choice. It allowed them to take action against the officers and soldiers in a legitimate way. When the news reached Fujian, Zheng Zhilong would only assume that "Liu Xiang" who attacked Nan'ao Island and "Dutch" who attacked Zhongzuosuo were in cahoots, and he would be convinced of the identity of this "enemy".
The fleet bypassed the northeast of Nan'ao Island and arrived at Qing'ao Bay, the island's largest deep-water port. The port had simple wharves and piers, and several small ships were moored there, flying the general's flags commonly seen in Ming Dynasty ships, which appeared to be the ships of the island's garrison. Looking at these dilapidated little boats, Gao Jie doubted whether they could withstand a single ramming by a Wuyi-class warship without falling apart.
The dock had simple fortifications, all made of stone, with arrow emplacements every ten or so steps. Behind it, a road led into the island, where a dozen or so rows of bungalows were visible for about a mile, with flags hanging from them; these were presumably the barracks.
A few soldiers were idly sunbathing on the dock when they saw a ship approaching. Their spirits lifted, thinking, "Business is here! Such a big ship will surely fetch at least fifty or sixty taels of silver." When they finally reached the shore, a mountain of ships pressed in one after another—a massive fleet, all large ships exceeding a thousand taels in length!
The soldiers were initially stunned, but after a moment, they yelled "My God!" and turned to run back. A fleet of this size was definitely not a merchant ship; ordinary merchants couldn't afford such large vessels. Perhaps only the Japanese from the Eastern Islands possessed such ships. They'd heard that the Japanese had powerful cannons on their deck boats; if they didn't run, they'd be nothing more than prey for the enemy.
The fleet approached the shore without any resistance, initially assuming there would be no significant resistance on the island. However, a gong sounded from the shore, and a chaotic group of Ming soldiers rushed to the fortifications, where swords and spears were arrayed behind low walls, and some even drew their bows and arrows. Under these circumstances, relying solely on the infantry guards for a landing operation would inevitably result in unnecessary casualties.
The Qiongzhou Naval Officer Training Course had explained in detail how to break through coastal defenses, so even if Gao Jie didn't command, the captains of each ship knew what to do.
Under Gao Jie's unified command, the entire fleet lined up in rows, opened its gun ports, and aimed at the shore. The distance was neither too far nor too close, making the Caron cannons somewhat inadequate; long-barreled cannons were the only option.
Moments later, with a series of loud booms, solid bullets whistled towards the Ming soldiers.
How could a simple stone fortification withstand the powerful kinetic energy of a 10-pound cannonball? Sections of the low wall collapsed, sending rubble flying. Some Ming soldiers were crushed into a bloody pulp, while others were crushed to death by the falling rocks. Their determination to resist vanished instantly with the shelling. Those who managed to escape the bombardment screamed and fled at an even faster pace than when they arrived.
Liu Ye smiled contemptuously. A few shots would be enough to test the mettle of these soldiers; they were even worse than the civilian militia in Guangzhou. He then issued the order for the landing attack.
Lin San led his armed guards ashore and chased after the soldiers toward the military camp. A few minutes later, several gunshots rang out in the distance.
Hearing the sparse gunfire, Liu Ye knew that the resistance was not intense, and he felt very relaxed. He even made a bet with Gao Jie.
"Gao Jie, I bet Lin San can finish the fight in half an hour. Want to bet with me?"
Gao Jie's eyes widened: "I heard there are two battalions of soldiers stationed here. You think you can defeat them with just over a hundred men? I swear, this battle won't be over in an hour, and we might even have to use naval guns..."
"Haha, Li Fei said that the officers and soldiers here are divided into Fujian Battalion and Guangdong Battalion according to region. This is just a name, and it doesn't mean that they have a full strength of a thousand men like our infantry battalion. You know, the battalion of the imperial army is a very magical organization. It can be large or small. It can have several thousand men, or as few as two or three hundred men..."
Gao Jie couldn't understand this highly flexible organizational structure, and he still didn't believe it: "I don't believe it, I'll bet you. If you lose, you have to give me the pistol that Master Liang specially made for you..."
The special pistol he mentioned was a "limited edition" Patriot Type 8 pistol meticulously crafted by Lin Weiye for Liu Ye. Its shooting accuracy was higher than the mass-produced version, and the original brass parts had been replaced with gold, making it shiny and high-class. Gao Jie had been coveting it for a long time.
Liu Ye laughed and said, "No problem. But if you lose, I'll deduct two months' worth of your allowance."
Gao Jie replaced Liang Xiaoming as fleet commander because Liu Ye couldn't bear to see Liang Xiaoming continue taking risks, especially since Liang Xiaoming was now primarily focused on technical aspects. The fleet commander was currently the highest-ranking officer in the navy, equivalent to a major battalion commander in the army, with a monthly allowance of 15 taels of silver, totaling 30 taels for two months—enough for an average family of five to live on for a year. Gao Jie thought to himself, "You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub," and nodded, "Deal!"
According to Gao Jie's understanding, the soldiers on the island were fighting on their own territory, and the attacking guard force consisted of only a little over a hundred soldiers. Even if their fighting strength was poor, the defenders could hold out for more than half an hour. However, what disappointed him greatly soon happened: more than half an hour later, Lin San led his guards and drove several hundred Ming soldiers, dressed in tattered mandarin duck battle coats, to the seaside like cattle and sheep. Although these people outnumbered the guards several times over, they showed no intention of resisting.