Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 180 Yu Zigao is as immovable as a mountain

The northeasterly wind roared across the Taiwan Strait, bringing up waves as high as seven or eight feet. This was considered a relatively mild sea condition in winter. Huiyou Company's fleet had chosen a good day with good wind and sunshine to set sail.

If you don't encounter a typhoon, sailing in the south wind season will be more comfortable because the wind is much gentler than in the north wind season. But it was obvious that Lin Hai could not wait until the south wind season to fight Zheng Zhilong.

The sea breeze blew from the starboard side, and the fleet took the wind on the port side and sailed in the cross-tail wind to the vicinity of Baisha Cape in Taoyuan City. Here, the fleet turned to starboard and began to cross the channel in a crosswind.

The fleet has a total of more than 30 ships, with the Calais ship "Princess Princess" as the leader, followed by the flagship Dingyuan, the old lock ships Yiyang, Anyuan, Changluo...at the rear of the fleet. The other ones were the Beaufort and another Calais ship, the Madame von Fong.

Lin Hai stood on the stern deck of the Dingyuan and first watched the steering process of the flagship. He saw hundreds of sailors using slings and slings to control the square sails on the bowsprit, foremast, mainmast and mizzenmast. and gaffsail.

Among them, the bowsprit sail and bowsprit topsail on the bowsprit are particularly difficult to operate, but if they can be operated properly, they can play a greater role in assisting steering.

Lin Hai knew that in the wheelhouse that he could not see, there were more than a dozen helmsmen turning the tiller. This was adding another control mechanism to the tiller. The tiller drove the tiller to rotate, and the tiller in turn drove the tiller and the tiller. The rudder blades rotate.

The reason why there is a steering pole is so that the helmsman can stand at a higher position on the poop and see the sailing operations on the deck so that he can cooperate with each other. The operation of the full-sail Galen is too complicated, and if there is no tacit cooperation, an ugly scene may appear.

In fact, the steering rod is only one step away from the steering wheel that came out at the end of the 17th century. The steering wheel connected to the tiller by a rope and a pulley is much more labor-saving to operate. In this way, the tiller can be made shorter, the maximum rudder deflection can be greatly improved, and the maneuverability of the ship can be greatly improved. Performance will be greatly improved and steering will be much less dependent on the sail.

However, Lin Hai has not yet had time to develop a steering wheel. At present, the operation of the Dingyuan is still the same as other full-sail ships of this era. Fortunately, the sailing skills of these native Filipino sailors are quite good, and they are obviously the elite selected by Manila.

After watching the Dingyuan's turn, Lin Hai held a monocular to watch the rear fleet's turn. Although it was stipulated that each ship should turn with the lead ship, the turning process of more than 30 ships still seemed very messy.

The maneuverability of these ships is different, the hulls themselves are also old and new, and the speeds are also very different. The formation sailing itself is very difficult, let alone turning. But Lin Hai still urged the Navy to formulate regulations for formation navigation, which he believed was the basis for building a regular navy.

After completing the turn, the fleet began to reorganize its formation, still sailing westward in a column. As it got farther and farther away from the coastline, the wind and waves on the sea became stronger.

Miguel complained next to Lin Hai: "The wind and waves in this strait are really too big. It's really a headache to send troops in winter."

"We have tried our best to choose good weather, and the only thing left is to pray for good luck." Lin Hai replied in a deep voice.

In fact, he was worried. The fleet of more than thirty ships seemed mighty and majestic, but it was not worth mentioning in front of the power of heaven and earth. A sudden strong wind could easily annihilate it.

Lin Hai continued: "It will be much better when we get to the coast of Fujian. The wind and waves will be much smaller, and there are many good harbors along the way. The fleet can go to the harbor as quickly as possible to take shelter from the wind, so the route we chose is to cross at the narrowest point of the strait. .”

From Baisha Cape in Baodao to Haitan Island in Fujian, it is the narrowest part of the strait. The distance from east to west is only 130 kilometers. The fleet rode the cross wind and walked almost in one day.

The process of crossing the strait was very tedious, and the fleet's formation was relatively well maintained. The advantage of the north wind season was that the wind direction was more stable. The sails and rudders of each ship did not need to be operated too much, and they only had to maintain a roughly equal speed.

That night, the fleet anchored in the harbor of Haitan Island, and headed south along the coastline of Fujian early the next morning. Most of the company's armed forces were in this fleet. Lin Hai chose to sail during the day and anchor at night.

The rest of the voyage follows both wind and water. The surface currents in the Taiwan Strait are basically in the same direction as the wind. However, due to the influence of the Oyashio and Kuroshio currents, the coast of Fujian basically flows southward all year round, while the coast of Baodao flows northward all year round.

During the monsoon transition period, the Oyashio and Kuroshio currents are sometimes evenly matched, which may cause the ocean currents in the strait to basically stop, which may trigger strong meteorological activities.

Therefore, the Taiwan Strait is such a terrifying existence for seagoing ships in the age of sailing. They are afraid of typhoons in summer and strong north winds in winter. It is not necessarily any better in spring and autumn.

This may be why Baodao and the Philippine Islands are not far from the mainland, but their civilization process lags far behind other Southeast Asian islands. For a long time, the needle route from China to the Philippines even went west first, and then Make a big circle from Indonesia.

Despite smooth sailing, the voyage from Haitan to Xiamen took a total of four days due to the complex hydrology of the coastal area and the need to maintain a basically consistent speed.

On the first day of the twelfth lunar month in the sixth year of Tianqi, the fleet of Huiyou Company finally docked at Yuandang Port, the largest seaport on Jiahe Island. It is surrounded by land on three sides from the north and southeast, and the west side of the opening faces Zhangzhou Prefecture, which is considered a good shelter from the wind. land.

At this point, Lin Hai finally put his anxious heart back in his stomach. Although some army officers and soldiers were already dizzy and vomiting, they had all been on sea ships, but they had never experienced strong winds and waves for six consecutive days.

Lin Hai regretted not letting the army abandon the ship at Haitan, and then took the land route to Xiamen to rendezvous. Now he had to let the army rest in Xiamen for a while. Fortunately, the first one to dispatch must be the navy.

Xu Xinsu had already received the news and personally took his two sons and brothers Yang Lu and Yang Ce to the port to greet him.

"Dad, six elders and seven elders, this is Brother Lin's fleet." Xu Letian pointed at the Dingyuan from a distance and said. The latter's towering mast stood out like a flock of chickens in Yuandang Port.

Except for Xu Letian, this was the first time for the others to see Lin Hai's fleet. Xu Xinsu and Xu Yilong could only watch the excitement, but Yang Lu and Yang Ce on the side almost had their eyes popping out.

"My dear mother, where did Lin Qianhu get so many duck butts? How much money did it cost! There is also a big plywood boat. Your mother has never seen such a big boat. This Lin Qianhu Where are the sailors from who can sail this western-style ship?"

Yang Ce let out a series of exclamations like fried beans. Yang Lu beside him was calmer and replied unhurriedly: "Don't forget, Lin Qianhu is from Taixi. And besides the sailors, He is afraid that there are still many gunners, look at the gun ports on both sides of the ship."

At this time, the gun doors of Huiyou Company's fleet were all closed. Yang Ce exclaimed when he heard this: "Are there really those long-tube cannons here? This damn... damn... I really don't know what to say. What's better." "It's better to have it." Yang Lu replied from the side, "otherwise, with our brothers and the Fujian Navy, the old shipowner's revenge will probably not be avenged."

"Shhh... there is an old Dong Heng over there who regards Marshal Yu as his treasure." Yang Ce raised his chin to Xu Xinsu's direction. Although he told his brother to lower his voice, he raised his voice.

At this time, in a tall restaurant not far from the port, Fujian Commander-in-Chief Yu Zigao, who was over 60 years old, stood in front of the window on the top floor. He opened the window and looked at the fleet moored in Yuandang Port. His cloudy eyes also Like Yang Lu and Yang Ce, their eyes widened.

He had seen the Dutch fleet. A few years ago during the Ming-Dutch Penghu conflict, he was the deputy commander-in-chief of Fujian. At that time, he fought against Hongmao in Penghu and suffered a lot from the foreigners' powerful ships and cannons.

Just as Yu Zigao was looking at it, his personal maid came to report: "Sir, Butler Chen is here and is asking for a meeting outside."

Yu Zigao was still looking out the window and said without looking back: "Just tell him to come in."

Soon, Butler Chen came in and said, "Sir, Mr. Xu will send someone to post a message saying that he will be serving wine at Tingtao Pavilion tonight and invites you to be a guest."

"Master, I'm a little tired today, so you can just say no for me." Yu Zigao replied absently, and after hearing Butler Chen's voice of resignation, he suddenly turned around and said, "Forget it, I'd better go. "

That night, Xu Xinsu held a banquet in Xiamen City to welcome Lin Hai. Yu Zigao, the first-ranking Fujian general soldier, came to support him in person, which gave Xu Xinsu and Lin Hai enough face.

But Lin Hai arrived late. He had to first settle the accommodation for the army officers and soldiers, and at the same time send patrol ships to the outer sea. After all, Yuandang Port was also an inland sea, which was not a good battlefield for the navy of Huiyou Company.

Lin Hai was not confident about the Fujian Navy's pier system, so he felt more at ease sending out his own patrol boats. At the same time, all naval personnel are accommodated on board the ship so that they can respond quickly if there is an enemy situation.

Almost all the maritime power of Huiyou Company is here, no matter how cautious you are, Lin Hai even did not hesitate to leave Yu Zigao alone for more than half an hour.

"I'm late for my humble duty. Please forgive me, Marshal Yu." Lin Hai ran into the private room of Tingtao Pavilion and came to Yu Zigao's side, making a gesture to kneel down.

"Today is just a private party, why does Lin Qianhu need to give such a big gift?" Although Yu Zigao was over sixty years old, he was still very nimble and helped Lin Hai in one fell swoop.

Lin Hai felt that the big hands holding his forearms were very strong. When he looked down, he saw that Yu Zigao's hands were covered with calluses, which were acquired from years of playing with weapons.

"Although this person failed to defeat Zheng Zhilong, he is not an embroidered pillow." Lin Hai thought secretly in his heart.

Although Yu Zigao was born in the military, he also passed the military examination. It was impossible to pass without strength. At the same time, he had to read military books and strategies. It should be noted that Yu Dayou had three sons, and the other two were unknown. Only Yu Zigao climbed to the position of commander-in-chief.

"Besides, Lin Qianhu has just arrived at the Zhongzuo Station. It is important to settle his subordinates first. What's the crime?" Yu Zigao said and added, "But there is no need to send this patrol boat. This commander has been in charge of the Zhongzuo Station since he took office. , we have vigorously renovated the beacons along the coast of Zhangzhou Prefecture, and also dispatched additional patrol boats."

"It turns out that the commander-in-chief had already made arrangements. I am really impressed by my humble position." Lin Hai used flattery to resolve the embarrassment. He was really worried about Yu Zigao before.

"As a general, it is always right to be cautious." Yu Zigao stroked his beard and said, "I also read the instructions you put in when you defended the city under General Xu, and it was very popular among military strategists. How wonderful..."

Yu Zigao was very polite to Lin Hai, and Lin Hai naturally reciprocated the favor. He flattered Marshal Yu very much, and the guests and hosts at the banquet that day were very happy.

However, when talking about when to send troops south to suppress Zheng Zhilong, Yu Zigao boasted that he could destroy Zheng Zhilong at any time, but at the same time he explained that his troops were unprepared and that he did not have enough food and grass. He did not say anything until the banquet was over. Come on if it makes sense.

Fortunately, Yu Zigao did not hesitate about the gunpowder Lin Hai wanted, and directly expressed his willingness to allocate it to him.

After the dinner, Lin Hai called brothers Xu Letian and Yang Lu and Yang Ce over and asked, "This General Yu has been in charge of the Zhongzuo Institute for several months, right? Do you three know what his plans are?"

Xu Letian was the first to reply: "After he came to the Zhongzuo Institute, he first reorganized the city defense and the piers of Zhangzhou Prefecture, which was basically the same as Brother Lin's method of defending the city at that time. Then he cried out to Master Zhu Du and said It’s because we have no soldiers, no money, no food, and we just refuse to send troops anyway.”

Lin Hai heard this and said, "Master Zhu Du can't do anything to him?"

"What can I do? Fujian really has no money now. Master Zhu Du is also crying to the emperor about poverty and wants to withhold taxes, but the emperor doesn't allow it." Xu Letian continued, "Besides, Marshal Yu has someone in the court, Zhu Du. Mr. Du really doesn’t dare to do anything to him.”

"Oh? How do you say this?" Lin Hai asked in confusion. After listening to Xu Letian's explanation, he realized that Yu Zigao's in-laws were Wu Chunfu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, who was also from Quanzhou.

This man was one of the Five Tigers of the Eunuch Party, and Lin Hai also knew it. Hearing this, he thought to himself that it seemed that he still had to keep a distance from Yu Zigao, otherwise it might be detrimental to him.

In fact, the subsequent downfall of Yu Zigao was indeed related to the Eunuch Party. Although Zhu Yifeng, the new governor of Fujian, was not a Donglin Party member, he privately disliked the Eunuch Party. In the first year of Chongzhen, he actively participated in Yu Zigao's case when the eunuch party's rebellion was pending. As a result, both sides suffered losses. Yu Zigao was imprisoned, and Zhu Yifeng was dismissed from office by the remnants of the eunuch party.

"This guy is actually afraid of fighting. He knows very well how many kilograms the Fujian Navy has, and he doesn't dare to fight the man named Zheng. He just brags in front of shopkeeper Xu." Yang Ce answered at the side.

"I also think so. Marshal Yu knows the military well, and he is not as arrogant as Chen Guoji, who died in the previous battle, so he plans to rely on the center and left to defend the city." Yang Lu also said about Yang Ce's words agree.

　Thanks to Lao Zhuwu for the reward of 10000 taels!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)