Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1251 Grape Bullets

Surrounded by his own soldiers, Zheng Zhipeng galloped to the pier, and the people on the grain platform had brought boxes of silver to him.

Due to time constraints, there was no time to weigh the silver, so all the silver was delivered from Spain.One box after another was open, dazzlingly bright with white flowers.

"Respect the general's order, each person will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver! Another 50 taels for meritorious service!" Zheng Zhipeng said loudly.The sailors immediately became agitated, and the money moved people's hearts. Originally, they were gathered together and heard that they were going to fight, but they already showed signs of instability. After receiving such a big reward, everyone was so excited that they couldn't bear it.

"Reward!"

The subordinates were about to distribute handfuls of silver coins to the hands of the sailors. The 20 yuan silver coins were heavy in the hands, and the sailors all smiled. This was the first time that such a generous reward was given.

Greedy and courageous, the morale that had been sluggish was boosted by the money, and everyone screamed: "There is a bowl-sized scar on their heads!" no big deal

There are still about [-] fireboats remaining on Gulangyu Island and fleeing back. In the current form, there is a good chance of success.Zheng Zhipeng immediately ordered the whole team to dispatch, set up the full sail and rushed towards Hu Lishan.

Immediately after the fleet set sail, it opened a wide front and rushed towards the sea below Huli Mountain. The sailors, whose eyes were red from being stimulated by the silver, screamed and rowed desperately to let the boat run away. faster.

The dispatch of the Huogong fleet was immediately discovered by the observers on the Lichun, and Mingqiu immediately ordered the deck to be cleared and the unloading of cargo was temporarily stopped.

"All main guns loaded with grape shells!"

The elevator boomed, and the 130mm grape shells were lifted from the ammunition bay.Grape bombs are similar in structure to shrapnel, but the projectiles are much larger. They are generally only used by the navy, and are specially used to deal with light ships and destroy the deck facilities of enemy warships.

Driven by the combination of sails and oars, the fire attack ship rushed over at an average speed of 7 knots, and soon approached the place less than 1 chain away from the anchorage point.

"Start shooting."

The two 130mm main guns of the Lichun roared again, and the long tongues of flame pushed the shells out of the chambers.The artillery shells flew over a distance of more than 1000 meters and exploded in the air over the densely packed fire attack fleet. The gunpowder shot out more than a dozen pellets the size of ping-pong balls in each shell and sprayed towards the fleet.

The projectiles of the grape bombs instantly tore apart the human body, and the firewood on the deck finally pierced the ship's plank, and sea water immediately poured into the hull.

In the first round of shelling, three fire attack ships began to sink into the water.More ships were hit and out of control—some masts were broken, and sailors were killed.

The out-of-control fire attack ship drifted sideways, and the entire formation suddenly became chaotic. The ship in front blocked the ship behind, and the helmsmen had to move the rudder desperately. The dense fleet collided with each other, and the sailors collided with each other. Cursing, propped the opponent away with a penny.

"All fire!"

Immediately following Lichun's firing, the main guns of the other four warships roared at the same time, and grape bullets flew over the fire attacking fleet continuously. Clouds of black smoke exploded in the air, pouring projectiles towards the fleet.The hot bullets hit the dry firewood and the sails, igniting the flames.

The sailors who had just plucked up their courage by Yin Zi cried for their parents and mothers under the iron hail that spread in the air, and saw that the head of Pao Ze beside him was blown off by the bullet, his arms and legs were knocked off, or he was directly torn half alive. With a broken body and a dejected soul, he no longer has the consciousness of losing a bowl-sized scar on his head because of silver. He only hates that there is nowhere to hide on this boat-every bullet goes straight through the bottom of the boat.

The main gun fired three rounds, and the Hotchkiss gun and typewriter on the ship followed suit. The distance of more than 1000 meters was the effective range for them to give full play to their firepower. The 13mm and 30mm lead bullets flew towards the fire attacking ship like raindrops. Going, the water splashed everywhere, and the boat rushing in front was immediately beaten like a hornet's nest, and sank straight towards the sea.

Although Zheng Zhipeng's boat was in the back, the tragedy of the grape bombs exploding in the air was clearly visible. Seeing that the bandits were performing unexpected "demonic techniques" again, their chests were like thousands of arrows piercing their hearts. Fighting and fighting, you have to fight Only then can the outcome be determined. Now that this is the case, what is it called fighting?Seeing the fire attack ships in front of them huddled together, some were already on fire, and some were half sunk. Can you hear it, stand up and shout:
"Don't be afraid, everyone, if you hit it together, you will be rewarded 100 taels!"

Before the words were finished, another round of grape bullets flew into the air and exploded. A grape bullet shot down in the air with a whistling sound. It passed through Zheng Zhipeng's chest, and immediately made a hole the size of a bowl, and penetrated it with a puff. The deck behind him.Zheng Zhipeng staggered a step, as if he still didn't believe that there was such a big hole in his body, his eyes widened, and he fell on the deck.

Zheng Zhipeng's death did not cause any waves—even if he was not killed in battle, Huo Gong had already failed. Under the joint attack of grape bullets and rapid-fire guns, none of the Huo Gong ships could enter within 1000 meters of the transfer anchorage. The ship that hit the fire was burning on the sea surface, drifting slowly, and burned and sunk before reaching the anchorage, and the very few that approached were pulled aside by the small boat and allowed to burn.

The sea was smoky, and many fire attack ships were burning, but none of them threatened the bandits' warships, let alone collided with one.The small boat of the bandit is still transporting people and horses to the beach.

The generals of the Zheng family who gathered on the tower looked at the sea, each of them showed despondent expressions, and some of them had already stepped back a few steps. If the tower was not full of Zheng Zhilong's personal soldiers, they might have fled long ago.

Zheng Zhilong forced his composure: "If the fire attack is defeated, it will be defeated. The bandit ships are strong and the guns are strong, and our brothers are no match. When they land on the shore, we will fight them vigorously! Everyone organize their troops and prepare for war!"

All the generals sang in unison and dispersed.Zheng Zhilong brought his generals and soldiers down the tower, and saw the noise at the gate of the city, and the soldiers were all receiving rewards. Although the ranks of his own soldiers were a bit chaotic, they were all fully armored and equipped, and they were better than officers and soldiers. Much more.Can't help feeling a little comforted.Although Master Lu is not the core of the Zheng family, he has not invested less money in these years, and the equipment and military pay are all favorable, and he has won several battles for him - he even went to Guangdong to fight Pai Yao.Now his only hope is to be able to withstand the Kun bandits in the land battle.

It seems that there are not many people who landed on the shore of the Kun bandits, at most no more than 500 people.This reassures him somewhat.Take care of the soldiers now:
"Call Matos and Totaro."

Matos and Tongyun were the heads of his Black Guard and Japanese Guard.Zheng Zhilong's black guards were recruited by the Portuguese, and most of them were escaped Portuguese slaves.According to records, there were 850 Portuguese with families in Macau at that time,...they had an average of 6 armed slaves. Among them, the largest and best were the Kavali, and there were other tribes,...the Portuguese and these The Chinese (Japanese) had excellent spears, spears, and other weapons. Few Portuguese did not have 6 or 12 muskets or flintlocks".

The Gaveli people are black slaves from East Africa. Most of them have received military training and are accustomed to using Portuguese matchlock guns. They are brave in combat and have no problem of betrayal. Therefore, they are very trusted by Zheng Zhilong and maintain a scale of 300 people all year round.

As for the Japanese Guards, based on his relationship with the Hirado clans and being a Catholic, it was enough for him to recruit hundreds of Japanese soldiers of Christian origin.

Although Matos and Tong Taro are not the core members of Zheng's group, they are Zheng Zhilong's "private soldiers", elite troops who truly obey his orders.Most importantly, he didn't have to worry about these two people betraying him.

Matos and Totaro came before him, both dressed in Portuguese style.Except for Totaro with two swords in his waist, he was dressed like a European soldier.

Both guards were armed and trained in the manner of European armies.He pays special attention to matchlock gun shooting, whether it is shooting accuracy or firing speed, they are all top-notch. Zheng Zhilong feels that he can still fight, which has a lot to do with the two teams in hand.

"The gangsters are coming to attack here soon." Zheng Zhilong said, "You two have assembled your team and obeyed my orders."

"Aren't we going to fight, General?" In addition to the days under the Portuguese, Matos has been in China for several years, and he can already speak very good Chinese.

"Of course we will fight, but you are my sharp knives, and I will use them at critical times. Are the cannons and gunners ready?"

"Get ready, I have sent the best gunners to the city to operate the artillery - all Portuguese veterans. But the gunners of the two cannons are not well trained, I am afraid there will be an accident..." Ma Toss said.

"That Qiezhidan taught you how to use it. You can use it. The cannons of the Kun bandits are very powerful, and the cannons we have now are no match for them. We have to take risks."

"Yes, General." Matos no longer objected.

Zheng Zhilong asked someone to bring the silver, and told the soldiers in the guard to give each of them [-] silver coins. Matos and Tong Taro were each given [-] silver coins. Hundred silver coins.

After the arrangement was completed, he sent 2000 people to defend the city with the cannons on the city wall, and the rest of the main force and guards went out of the city to line up for a relatively deep area in the northwest of the city.

(End of this chapter)