Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 181 The Navy’s Combat Objectives

"I agree with the views of the Sixth Elder and the Seventh Elder. Mr. Yu is now using a procrastination strategy. He wants to delay Zheng's thieves until they retreat, or wait for him to attack Xiamen and defeat the enemy with the help of a fortified city." Xu Letian also agreed. Yang Lu and Yang Ce agreed.

"Then what is Thief Zheng doing on Dongshan Island now?" Lin Hai then asked.

"It's nothing more than collecting water reports. In addition, we send ships to plunder the towns and villages along the coast of Zhangzhou and Chaozhou." Xu Letian added, "Except for the initial attack on Tongshan City, this guy has never done anything else. Try to attack the city."

"Zheng Thief is self-aware. The previous attack on Liu'ao relied on internal support. This time he captured Tongshan City because the general was absent. The soldiers and civilians in the city surrendered without firing a single bullet." Lin Hai replied with a smile after hearing this.

Zheng Zhilong's current siege ability is very weak. Yu Zigao saw this clearly, so he simply sat high in Xiamen City and did nothing. From this perspective, he should be considered self-aware.

The Ming Dynasty had no shortage of generals who knew how to fight, but there were only a few generals who could not live without empty pay or drink the blood of their soldiers. If the army is in ruins, it is of no use for the generals to know their troops. In the end, they can only shrink their heads like Yu Zigao did.

"Since Mr. Yu has no intention of sending troops, then I will go and suppress the Zheng thieves. What do you think?" Lin Hai then asked, Yu Zigao could afford it, but he couldn't afford it. God knows what Zheng Zhilong will do this time. How long do you plan to stay on the coast of Fujian?

Moreover, Lin Hai felt that it was better if Yu Zigao did not want to send troops, so as not to have someone to take command when possible. Moreover, this guy and the backbone of the eunuch party were related to each other, so it was better not to get involved as much as possible.

"Brother Lin, there are nearly 20,000 Zheng thieves." Xu Letian reminded from the side after hearing this.

"Are there really 20,000 people?" Lin Hai expressed doubts about this. During the Chongzhen period, Li Kuiqi, Liu Xiang and others easily had tens of thousands of people. I don't know if these numbers are reliable. Anyway, the last time Zheng Zhilong led the army to attack Liu'ao There are only 2,000 direct troops.

"It's true. Thief Zheng has been on Dongshan Island for several months. There are many sources of information about his military strength. In short, it is about 20,000 people." Xu Letian continued, "In addition, General Yu also went to Dongshan Island. Sentries were sent to find out that there are more than 200 Zheng pirate ships anchored in Ximen Macao alone."

It seems that Yu Zigao still has some elite servants. He has done everything he can despite the lack of combat power of Fujian officers and soldiers. Lin Hai just wanted to say one thing about this: Why did you go there earlier?

A general spends at least nine percent of his time away from war. As a general in Fujian, he does not engage in military construction on weekdays and concentrates on corruption. This is all he can do in the end. However, this was also the norm at the end of the dynasty. Yu Zigao was far inferior to his father, but he could no longer be regarded as a mediocre general at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

"What is the size of Thief Zheng's ship? Is there any artillery on the ship?" Lin Hai has not yet fought against Zheng Zhilong at sea, so he can only rely on the Fujian Navy for intelligence.

"There are fifty or sixty large ships with more than 500 materials, of which about 20 are with more than 1,000 materials, and there are three giant ships with 2,000 materials, which are about the same size as Brother Lin's Dingyuan."

In the Ming Dynasty, material was often used as a unit of ship size. There were many debates about the meaning of this word in later academic circles. Some thought it was the load, while others thought it was the wood used in construction.

Lin Hai specifically consulted people of this era on this issue and concluded that the latter statement is correct. Generally speaking, the corresponding relationship between material and displacement is about two to one.

In other words, among Zheng Zhilong's more than 200 ships, there are fifty or sixty ships with more than 250 tons, 20 ships with more than 500 tons, and three of them are more than 1,000 tons. The total tonnage of these large ships alone far exceeds the fleet brought by Lin Hai this time.

"Brother Lin, now that you know the strength of Thief Zheng, do you still dare to go south to suppress him?" Xu Letian looked at Lin Hai with bright eyes and asked.

"Why don't you dare?" Lin Hai stood up suddenly when he heard this, "Last time, the two old thieves Chen and Yang had thousands of people. They were defeated by more than 200 people by me. Now the heads of these two thieves are all gone." In front of the old captain’s grave.”

As he spoke, he slapped the table with a look on his face: "This time, I swear to kill Thief Zheng and avenge the old captain!"

"Well said! Count me, Yang Qi!" Yang Ce cheered loudly after hearing this.

"Lin Qianhu, our brothers are at your disposal." Yang Lu also stood up and clasped his fists at Lin Hai. Status was determined by strength. After seeing the fleet of Huiyou Company, the two brothers naturally respected Lin Hai. .

"Okay! I won't refuse." Lin Hai clasped his fists in return to the Yang brothers, and then asked Xu Letian, "Brother Letian, what do you say?"

It was always Xu Xinsu and Xu Yilong who made the decisions in the Xu family. Xu Letian didn't have any opinions. Hearing this, he replied: "I also agree to send troops as soon as possible, otherwise the Zheng thief will only become stronger and stronger, but I still need to report this matter." We’ll talk about it after I’ve passed my father.”

"What kind of gift do you have? You are just not happy, and your hundreds of brothers all obey you." Yang Ce and Xu Letian have already been very familiar with each other, and they speak without any scruples. Among the Xu family's father and son, The only one he likes is Xu Letian.

What he said is correct. The sailors of the Xu family have always been led by Xu Letian. Although these men at sea eat from the Xu family, Xu Letian, who hangs out with them every day, must be more talkative than the Xu family. Xu Xinsu works better.

"What should be reported must be reported. Not only shopkeeper Xu, but also General Yu must ask for a troop dispatch order. After all, we are officers and soldiers of the imperial court." Lin Hai quickly came out to smooth things over. He still had to get more information from Fujian officials. more intelligence and hydrological data in order to formulate the next combat plan.

The next morning, Lin Hai made a generous speech to Yu Zigao and Xu Xinsu, expressing his willingness to be the vanguard and go south to suppress Zheng Zhilong.

Xu Xinsu was moved when she heard this and said, "My dear nephew, why are you so rash? I think it's better to be more cautious."

Lin Hai shook his head resolutely and said: "The Zheng thief is sitting in Tongshan. We are waiting here to delay. When will it be? What's more, it is the north wind season now. We have the upper hand. If we delay for a few more months, we will have to attack and defend." It’s in place.”

Xu Xinsu added: "But the imperial navy has already been defeated in two battles, and Lu Guerrie of Kinmen was captured alive by Zheng Thieves. It would be better to wait until General Yu is ready, and then attack together together."

However, Lin Hai still insisted on sending troops: "How can you kill a chicken with a sledgehammer? Zheng, a mere thief, is nothing more than a chicken and a dog in the eyes of my nephew. Why should Marshal Yu take action?"

Xu Xinsu looked at Yu Zigao, who was silent for a moment and then said: "Lin Qianhu's ambition is commendable. Since this is the case, I will order you to lead our troops to fight with the Zheng thief first." The power of the broadside artillery was very clear, after all, they had fought against the Dutch in Penghu a few years ago. At that time, the red-haired fleet was sent directly from the Batavia headquarters. Among them, there were five Galen ships equipped with more than thirty cannons. They were far inferior to the pitiful small ships of today's Da Yuan Merchant Store.

For a moment, Yu Zigao even had the urge to go south with Lin Hai, but in the end he suppressed the idea of ​​taking risks himself. After all, he is sitting firmly in Diaoyutai in Xiamen, and no one can do anything to him. There are people above him.

"In this humble position, I will obey the general's orders." Lin Hai immediately replied loudly. He was a guest soldier. If Yu Zigao did not agree with him sending troops, he could directly ask the governor of Fujian for orders.

But since Yu Zigao didn't express any objection, he still had to give him face. The information he had here was probably more reliable than Zhu Yifeng's.

"I'm really old." After sending Lin Hai and Xu Xinsu away, Yu Zigao sighed.

Somehow, a picture flashed through his mind: the dim light came in from the old window and reflected on the plain book table. Three children were huddled together reading the military book on the book table. A powerful voice was explaining the contents of the military strategy to them, but they couldn't see the man's face clearly.

That was his father, Yu Dayou. He was honest and self-sufficient throughout his life. Even though he was a first-class official, his family was still poor, but as long as he went to the battlefield, he could scare the enemy.

Once upon a time, that was the person that the young Yu Zigao admired the most. I think he was also a passionate young man back then. It's just that the years are like knives, and somehow I have become what I am today...

Yu Zigao recalled it for a long time, but in the end he still couldn't remember his father's appearance. He had passed away for almost half a century.

Three days later, all the gunpowder Lin Hai requested was in place. At the same time, he also obtained more detailed information from Yu Zigao, as well as hydrological data along the coast of Zhangzhou Prefecture.

He held a pre-war meeting in the captain's room of the Dingyuan. The scope of this meeting was small. There were only four people from Huiyou Company: Lin Hai, Shi Bi, Miguel, and Wu Guoyi. In addition, many others were invited. Letian and the brothers Yang Lu and Yang Ce mainly discussed the general direction of the combat plan and did not involve too many tactical details.

There is a huge map on the conference table. It was drawn by Lin Hai and enlarged ten times based on Fujian coastal defense data. The painting style is still the freehand style of this era, but fortunately the elements are basically complete.

In the map, Dongshan Island is shaped like a butterfly with a huge triangular tail. The left and upper right sides are inland seas surrounded by land on three sides, named Zhao'an Bay and Dongshan Bay respectively.

Among them, the entrance of Dongshan Bay is particularly narrow and is separated by islands. The entrance is only about ten miles away, and it is protected by small islands such as Tayu in the middle. To enter this bay with a small mouth and a big belly, one can only take the very narrow channel on both sides of the island. Fortunately, the channel is deep enough for all ships in this era.

The Tongshan City captured by Zheng Zhilong was at the top of the left channel, which is the northeast corner of Dongshan Island. It was named Tongling in later generations. The anchorage of Zheng Jun's fleet was also in Dongshan Bay, not far to the west of Tongshan City. The name of the place was Ximen Ao, which was the location of Dongshan Port in later generations. It could berth large ships of 5,000 tons.

Between the northwest corner of Dongshan Island, the left front wing of the butterfly, and the land in Zhao'an County, there is an extremely narrow waterway, only one or two miles wide.

Lin Hai introduced the enemy situation and related hydrological conditions in detail, and then said: "Everyone, the Dongshan Island where Zheng is located has nearly tens of thousands of households, and the northwest corner of the island is very close to the land of Zhao'an County, and the narrowest point is only one mile, so It is unrealistic to rely on the navy to trap it on the island, we must land on the island to fight it decisively."

His mouth was a little dry when he spoke, he picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea, and then continued: "So the first thing we have to discuss is where the army will land, which will determine the navy's strategic goal for the first step."

"Here, the Bachi Gate." Wu Guoyi pointed to the place on the butterfly's left forewing that is closest to the land. This is the main transportation route from Dongshan Island to Zhao'an County. The ferry is called Chenpingdu, which Lin Hai said is only one mile away from Zhao'an County. place.

"From the perspective of the army, this is indeed the best landing place. The soldiers can land in only a short boat ride." Lin Hai nodded first, and then asked Shibi and Miguel, "But can the navy control the waters around Chenpingdu?"

Shi Bi shook his head and said: "No, the water channel here is too narrow, and the water depth is not enough. The only ships we can enter are the Princess Jieyou and Madam Feng. Apart from that, there are only small boats on the ship. This kind of small boat There are a lot of boat people, so it’s easy to recruit more.”

"So, can the navy block all the enemy warships in Ximen Macao?"

"It's difficult." Miguel shook his head and said, "I don't think the navy should easily enter Dongshan Bay. Although this bay is large enough, there are many islands in it and there are not many channels with sufficient water depth. We will lose room for maneuver. , fell into gang wars, or were attacked by arson ships."

Lin Hai nodded when he heard this: "In other words, if we want to land from Chenpingdu, we can only choose to march from Zhao'an Bay, or simply recruit civilian ships opposite Bachimen. At the same time, we can't stop Zheng Jun's small boats from coming to intercept Landing troops.”

"If we want to be on the safe side, the navy would be better off not even entering Zhao'an Bay. Although the opening of this bay is larger, it is still not enough. Moreover, the water area of ​​Zhao'an Bay is not as large as that of Dongshan Bay. In short, this is not an ideal battlefield. ." Miguel continued.

"Then, it is impossible to land from Chenpingdu, and other ports in Dongshan Bay and Zhao'an Bay are not good choices." Lin Hai continued, "Then the only thing left is the side facing the open sea, and the other ports in Dongshan Bay and Zhao'an Bay are not good choices." This means that the Army must take a longer boat ride to reach the landing site.”

"Yes, that's it." Shibi said from the side.

Lin Hai felt a little headache. The northerly winds and waves were too strong, and long-term boating in the open sea would definitely have a greater impact on the army's pre-war status.

But given the battlefield situation, there was nothing we could do about it. Who said that the company's people and ships were not as numerous as its opponents? What's more, the sailors' combat power is probably not as good as Zheng Zhilong's, and a decisive battle in the inland sea will probably lead to death.

"Then, the navy's first phase of operations objectives are very clear. First, we must gain control of the sea off Dongshan Island. It is best to block all enemy warships in Dongshan Bay."

　Thank you to the King of Dali for the reward of 2000 taels! Thanks to the book title Set Sail for the reward of 2000 taels! Thanks to the flying little pig for the reward of 500 taels!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)