Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 256: Glory Belongs to the Vanguard Bureau
Hand grenades were not rare for the Ming army, and many were unearthed later, mainly used in city defense. Of course, they were also used in naval battles. The so-called national surname bottle made by Zheng Chenggong can also be regarded as a kind of hand grenade, but the shape is different from the commonly used ones in city defense.

The hand grenades used for defending cities in the Ming Dynasty were generally round in shape and were called Chimadan. They were actually a hollow iron ball that was filled with black gunpowder and then installed with a fuse. They mainly relied on the fragments after the explosion to injure people, and some of them also contained some projectiles.

There were no collision fuses in those days, and the fuse had to be lit with an open flame, so this thing was quite dangerous. Throwing it too late would mean suicide, and throwing it too early might not explode after it hit the ground, and the enemy would pick it up and throw it back. Only the bravest soldiers had the courage to use it.

Because of this, Chimadan is mainly used for defending cities, because the enemy troops under the city cannot throw it back to the top of the city, and it is rarely used in other situations.

Lin Hai watched the Vanguard Bureau charge from afar from the watchtower in the wooden city, and couldn't help but feel a little proud:

This is the first grenadier troop in this time and space! Except for the Friends Company, no soldiers in the East and West have received special training in grenade throwing. Today is the time to test the results of the training.

With the cover of artillery fire, the Vanguard Bureau launched a fearless charge towards the enemy's trenches in the bloody setting sun. In Lin Hai's sight, soldiers kept falling, but no one chose to retreat.

The gunfire of Zheng's army rang out in the intervals between the roar of artillery. Lin Hai couldn't see the expressions of the enemy soldiers who showed up, but for some reason, he felt that the pirates must have felt an inexplicable fear.

Finally, the first soldier rushed to the trench wall, lit a grenade and threw it into the trench. Then he was killed by the enemy and fell down forever.

The explosion sounded a while later, followed by a shrill scream. The grenade was obviously thrown a little too early, but Zheng Jun didn't react. They didn't expect that the Vanguard Bureau would use this method of attack after approaching.

Soon, the sound of grenade explosions rang out one after another, and the screams in the trenches became a line. The enemy retreated towards Xiamen City like a tide. The pirates trampled on each other, and many were squeezed into the moat and stabbed to death by iron sticks in the water.

Taking advantage of the enemy's retreat, the soldiers of the Vanguard Bureau at both ends of the eastern trench pushed the earth baskets in front of them into the trench. After the southeast and northeast corners of the trench wall were breached, the artillery facing the southern and northern trenches began to fire.

There were not many enemy troops in these two trenches, and many of them had turned around and fled when the eastern trench was lost. This time, they all ran away.

The escape spread like a plague, and soon the defenders in the west also began to run back. Anyone with a sound mind knew what the loss of two adjacent trenches meant, and there was no point in holding on any longer.

The surviving soldiers of the Vanguard Bureau had been holding their ground under the trench walls. After nightfall, they pushed all the earth baskets on the four trench walls into the trenches, and then returned to the camp under the cover of darkness.

The demolition work was a complete success. From then on, whenever Zheng's army left the city, they would be exposed to the firepower of Huiyou Company. The Vanguard Bureau paid a heavy price for this.

In this battle, more than 60 sentries of the Pioneer Bureau were killed, and another 30 were injured, with nearly half of the troops killed. After this battle, no one dared to say anything about the generous salary of the Pioneer Bureau, and the soldiers of Tongan Township also admired Lin Hai's troops.

Lin Hai personally visited the camp of the Vanguard Bureau and had cordial conversations with every wounded soldier and survivor. Although the battle was won, the morale of the Vanguard Bureau was somewhat low due to the high casualty rate. During the battle, there was no time to think about it, and after advancing a certain distance, it was actually safer to run to the trench wall as soon as possible than to run back. These soldiers behaved very bravely. However, once they retreated to the camp, recalling the tragic scenes on the battlefield, many people still had the idea of ​​retreating, and unconsciously revealed a depressed mood.

Lin Hai was keenly aware of this. As the commander, he had to boost morale. It was useless to play tricks at this time, so he had to get down to business.

"Brothers, this is the first battle of the Vanguard Bureau in the true sense. You have shown due courage. This courage is the soul of the Vanguard Bureau's future. Let us remember this battle..."

Lin Hai then announced that the sentries of the Vanguard Bureau would be awarded first-class collective merit, and special medals for the Battle of Xiamen would be awarded. All the dead in the battle would be given generous compensation, and each of the living would be awarded 50 taels of silver. In addition, from now on, the Vanguard Bureau would permanently cancel the two levels of treatment, and all would receive three times the salary.

Honor is particularly important for scattered soldiers, and it can only be obtained through fighting. Lin Hai wants every new recruit who joins the Vanguard Bureau in the future to know the history of this battle.

In Xiamen City, at the Quannan Guerrilla Headquarters, Zheng Zhilong angrily questioned his sworn brother Wang Mengxiong: "Didn't you say that the trench could hold off Lin Hai for at least half a month? How come it was breached in just two days? Even Brother Dajing was killed."

In this battle, Wang Mengxiong's old subordinate Ye Dajing died in the eastern trench. Zheng's troops stationed in the trench were all miscellaneous troops. On the afternoon of the second day, seeing that the defenders began to slack off, Zheng Zhilong asked Ye Dajing to lead dozens of elite marines out of the city to supervise the battle. As a result, he was killed by a grenade and his body is still under the city.

"Boss, I did underestimate the enemy's combat effectiveness. But they fought very hard in this battle, and I think the goal of wearing down the enemy's morale was achieved..." Wang Mengxiong hurriedly defended himself. The fighting will of Lin Hai's troops was beyond his imagination, and the tactic of skirmishers throwing grenades was also something he had never expected.

Zheng Zhilong could only listen to Wang Mengxiong now. Hearing this, he asked again, "The trench has been lost. How long do you think the city can hold out?"

"Boss, as long as all the brothers can work together, I believe we can hold out until the day when we run out of ammunition and food." Wang Mengxiong said, "Xiamen is a city with high walls and deep moats. It is absolutely impossible to take it down with just the limited force of Lin the bandit."

"But they have artillery and may not attack head-on." Zheng Zhilong was still a little confused.

"The artillery can't even do anything to the trenches, let alone the city walls." Wang Mengxiong reminded, "Compared to this, I am more worried about changes in the city. In order to avoid affecting morale, I think we should not punish the deserters of today's battle."

"You are right." Zheng Zhilong nodded, "But we have no reinforcements, and holding on is not a solution after all."

"One more day of defense will wear down the Lin bandits' spirit. We still have to leave the city for a decisive battle in the end." Wang Mengxiong said, "I still say the same thing. Our Marines are not here to eat and do nothing. If the Marines stay in the trenches today, the Lin bandits will not win!"

(End of this chapter)