Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 265 Night Attack
"Boss, we can't worry about all this right now. Being trapped in an isolated city is a dead end. The only way for us to have a chance of victory is to fight the bandits as soon as possible."

"I know what you said, brother. It is imperative that the whole army march out of the city for a decisive battle, but not tonight, but after daybreak."

Ever since being attacked by Wang Mengxiong, Zheng Zhilong seemed to have become a different person, and his tone was very firm at this moment.

"The bandits of Lin have few soldiers, and the soldiers of Tongan Township cannot fight at night. If our army attacks at night, the bandits of Lin will most likely hold their ground. But after daybreak, things will be different. The bandits of Lin are fighting this way in order to force our army out of the city, and they will definitely come out of the camp to fight us then."

Zheng Zhilong said, "Besides, there is another advantage to fighting during the day. The chances of our brothers escaping without fighting are less than at night, which is more conducive to controlling the entire army."

"Since the boss has made up his mind, then it's up to the boss to decide." Wang Mengxiong thought for a moment, then said with a spirit of excitement, "That's good, let us brothers fight Lin the bandit in an open and aboveboard manner!"

Wang Mengxiong still had confidence in the Marines he had trained with great effort, and he also had the upper hand in terms of overall troop strength. If they were to set up their formation and fight openly during the day, he didn't think they would necessarily lose.

"That's right!" Zheng Zhilong applauded and said, "In order to boost the morale of the whole army, I will have to trouble you tonight to defeat the bandit Lin first."

Wang Mengxiong was confused: "Boss, didn't you say you would give up the night attack?"

"We are not going to attack the camp, but to attack the artillery positions of the bandits Lin. The bandits Lin's artillery is now on the front line outside the Qiming Gate, and there are only a small number of troops on guard. Brother Xian can lead the Marines to attack at night. If we can seize or nail down the bandits Lin's artillery, our army's morale will be greatly boosted, and we will surely win the decisive battle tomorrow!"

Zheng Zhilong spoke passionately. The so-called nailing a cannon to death means nailing an iron nail into the cannon's vent. This is a quick way to render a cannon ineffective. The nailed cannon must first have space ground out and then be slowly pried open. It takes a lot of effort to reuse it.

"This..." Wang Mengxiong hesitated for a while and said, "The artillery position of the bandits Lin is protected by trenches and artillery forts. Even if there are not many defenders, our army will suffer heavy casualties if they want to capture it, which may be detrimental to morale. Moreover, as long as our army starts the attack, the bandits Lin will definitely send more troops..."

"Brother, why are you so confused?" Zheng Zhilong waved his hand to interrupt his brother. "Who told you to attack from the front of Qiming Gate? Lin's trenches are all on the east side. You can leave the city from the south gate or the north gate, and then attack the flank of the enemy's artillery position."

Zheng Zhilong's words were quite insightful. Lin Hai had always wanted to force Zheng's army out of the city for a decisive battle, so he did not strictly follow the Vauban siege method to surround Xiamen city with trenches.

In this way, the artillery position at the front is equivalent to exposing the flank. In the case of not having an advantage in military strength, this is undoubtedly a big weakness, and it may be occupied by the defenders in the city if one is not careful.

However, attacking from the flank would not achieve the effect of a surprise attack. Huiyou Company had scouts on guard outside the four gates of Xiamen. It would take time for Zheng's army to leave the city and circle around it. Lin Hai had enough time to send reinforcements.

Wang Mengxiong was well aware of this, but he also felt that Zheng Zhilong's strategy was worth a try.

Zheng's army still has more than a thousand marines. If the Tongan soldiers are not counted, Lin Hai has no advantage in terms of manpower. Moreover, the initiative on the battlefield for the night attack on the artillery position is on their side. Huiyou Company can only respond passively. This battle is very worthwhile.

Of course, what is more crucial is that the well-paid marines are more reliable than those ragtag pirates after all, and a force of more than a thousand people is easier to control and less likely to collapse on its own.

"I obey your orders! Please stay in the city and wait for my victory report!" Wang Mengxiong accepted the order generously and immediately summoned the Marines to prepare for a night attack outside the city.

At this time, the rockets of Huiyou Company were still fired at Xiamen City from time to time, and occasionally there were one or two explosions of shrapnel shells. Most of the pirates were still eating and drinking, but the more than 1,000 marines only ate a little and stopped, resting in the barracks and waiting for orders. You can't eat too much before a battle. Too much burden on the stomach and intestines will lead to insufficient blood supply to the brain, which will make you feel sleepy. Eating too much and then doing strenuous exercise can easily lead to stomach cramps and vomiting.

This is what "a full stomach makes one feel weak" means. Cao Cao once said, "It's like raising an eagle. You use it when it's hungry and fly away when it's full."

Therefore, famous generals in ancient times generally would not let their soldiers eat too much before a battle, and sometimes they would even go to the battlefield on an empty stomach. The so-called "destroy the soldiers before they eat" was probably influenced by this factor.

However, pirates never care about these things. They care about enjoying life in the moment, and no one wants to starve to death. This alone shows that the marines trained by Wang Mengxiong are much more elite than ordinary pirates.

Zheng Zhilong also went to the Marine Corps barracks with Wang Mengxiong, gathered all the officers and gave him an impassioned speech. Of course, the most important thing was to promise them great benefits.

At 10 p.m. that night, Wang Mengxiong led the Zheng Army Marines out of Xiamen City from the Chade Gate. The scouts outside the city quickly passed the military intelligence to the military camp of Huiyou Company.

Lin Hai was awakened from his sleep again. At this time, there were only his personal soldiers such as Viper, and a staff officer named He Ying who had no military position in his tent.

The flank of the forward artillery position was exposed, and this weakness was very obvious. The Huiyou Company had long anticipated that Zheng's army might attack outside the city at night, so they had made corresponding arrangements when arranging camping.

"Pass on my order. All the cavalry scouts of the Vanguard Bureau who are not on guard duty will be dispatched to delay the enemy."

"The Second Bureau of the Army Department will leave the camp immediately and form up on the south side of the artillery position to meet the enemy."

"The first division will march southwards out of the camp to support the second division. Deputy Commander Wu will lead his personal soldiers and flags and drums to follow the first division and be responsible for commanding the front line."

"The rest of the troops must all get up and put on their armor, waiting for the central army's orders..."

Lin Hai quickly issued a series of orders. Ruan Jin's second team and Scarface's third team set up camp at the north and south ends respectively, which implicitly implied the flanks of the artillery positions.

Since the enemy troops were coming from the south, it was natural that Ruan Jin's second team would lead the charge, and the first team in the middle would be responsible for support. As for Scarface's third team, as well as the auxiliary troops and the sentries of the vanguard team, Lin Hai did not want to move them for the time being.

"Commander, now that the enemy's intentions are unclear, should the cavalry scouts of the Vanguard Bureau remain in the central army?" He Ying suggested from the side.

Lin Hai understood what he meant. Cavalry had the advantage of rapid mobility and usually had to take on the role of a reserve force in war so that the commander could make new deployments in a timely manner based on battlefield conditions.

The Huiyou Company did not have many cavalry units, and some of them were responsible for guarding the south, north and west sides of Xiamen City.

At this time, it was not clear how many troops Zheng had dispatched in the south, nor was it clear whether they were decoy troops. It was indeed somewhat unreasonable for Lin Hai to send out the only hundred or so cavalrymen he had to delay the enemy.

(End of this chapter)