Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 710 The Battle of Upper Crossbar Island
Splashes of water rushed onto the ship from the bow from time to time, and the boat was crowded with soldiers from the Marine Corps and Marine Corps.They sat silently on the deck at the bottom of the ship, holding rifles in their arms—according to the regulations, they were all covered with disposable protective bags made of oiled paper.The steam engine made a loud vibration.Shi Zhiqi was standing on the stern of a large boat.Seeing the upper rung island getting closer and closer, I was so nervous that I licked my lips—thinking that there would be something like chewing gum to chew.

Several small launch boats serving as fire support walked ahead of the queue with black smoke.These small boats are equipped with typewriters with shields, and the boats are covered with iron sheets, which are specially used to reach the coast and straf the cover troops.The shooter on the ship wears a steel helmet and wears
Wearing protective clothing with front and rear steel breastplates, each of them held the balance bar of the typewriter nervously and waited for the order to fire.

The small hairboat approached the shoreline, and the loud roar of the typewriter immediately filled the air, which was unnecessary.There is no one on the unfinished West Fort position.The buckshot fired by the typewriter is nothing more than breaking many grasses and trees.

Shi Zhiqi took the lead and was the first to jump off the big boat. The water was very shallow. He swung his command knife forward and shouted: "Attack!"

A trumpeter blew the charge in the sea.Ship after ship of sailors and armed sailors quickly jumped into the knee-high water and waded ashore. Soon, Shi Zhiqi sent two companies and two 2-pound mountain howitzers to the west bank of Shanghengban Island.All remaining Ming troops were wiped out.About 2 people were captured.Shi Zhiqi ordered the troops to advance to the east of the island immediately.

According to intelligence, there are 800 officers and soldiers on Shanghengdang Island, and there are 12 newly added Hongyi Cannons in the East Fort on Shanghengdang Island.The fort was also built in the Wanli Dynasty and is relatively strong.There are 500 Taiwan guards.If you attack from the front, you will not only have to bear the artillery fire from the East Fort, but also be bombarded by the side fire from the Ya Niangxie Fort.

Since all the muzzles of this fort are pointing to the east, the back of the fort is completely defenseless.So when Shi Zhiqi commanded two naval companies to appear from the side and back, and the shells fired by the two mountain howitzers fell into the fort, the morale of the entire fort collapsed.The heavy Hongyi cannon could not be moved easily, and the enemy came from behind.Relying on broadswords and spears, the soldiers holding three-eyed bird guns were of course powerless and unwilling to resist.Only the general's personal soldiers who guarded the platform fought a brave hand-to-hand battle, resulting in the death of one sailor and the loss of three others. This was also the only casualty of the navy in the entire battle on Shanghengdang Island.

The sailors quickly defeated twice as many officers and soldiers guarding the platform, and the repeated bombardment of platoon guns and mountain grenades turned the battle into a one-sided massacre.A few people fled to Yaniangxie Island on the opposite bank in small boats, and the rest of the officers and soldiers scattered in all directions, and soon surrendered in large numbers and became prisoners.

Surrounded by guards, orderlies and messengers, Shi Zhiqi entered the fort filled with smoke and corpses.climbed to the top.The fort itself was not damaged, and it seemed to be quite sturdy. The 12 Hongyi cannons were placed on the emplacements without firing a single shot, aiming at the sea surface where the enemy ships should come.

Shi Zhiqi observed it and found that the design of this fort was very strange. The so-called fort was just a circular pier made of earth and stone.The outside is covered with bricks and stones, and 12 Hongyi cannons are placed on the stage, all facing the sea.The side of the pier is only surrounded by a simple brick wall, without any defensive facilities, not even a ditch.It seems that the defenders did not consider the possibility of the enemy landing from the side and rear.

Even if the attack is launched from the front, because there are no auxiliary fortifications around the piers, as long as the attackers attack the piers at a short distance, they will enter the dead angle of firepower of the piers, and they can calmly climb up the piers to fight.Shi Zhiqi estimated that it would take less than half an hour for a company of naval soldiers to attack the fort from the front—of course there would be some casualties.

"Power generation!" Shi Zhiqi proudly stepped on the crenel of the fort, looked at Wushan on the opposite side of the East Waterway, and slashed his command knife, "The key to Humen is in the hands of our marines!"

While fighting to seize Dahengang Island, another force landed at the Luwan Fort position on the river bank to the west of Shanghengdang Island. All 100 local soldiers guarding the fort fled without engaging in battle.The half-built fort and many building materials were left behind.So far, Humen's second line of defense, which is also the main line of defense, has been breached, even if it does not attack Yaniang Xieshan and destroy the fort above it.The Pearl River is already wide open.

However, Chen Haiyang wanted to completely capture Humen, so he immediately ordered the bombardment boats to be towed by the big boats into the east waterway of Humen, ready to bombard the Yaniangxie fort.Shallow draft boats and bombardment boats sailed along the coast of Shanghengban Island. Because they were out of range, the forts on the opposite Yaniangxie Island could only look at the boat and sigh.

The camp on Wushan Mountain was already in a panic, and no one expected that the defense system they had spent so much time building was so vulnerable.Fan Wencai said tremblingly, "The fort, why did the fort get lost all at once..."

"The thieves actually landed from the other side and attacked from behind. It's really despicable!" Li Xijue, who came from Zhaoqing to Humen to inspect the defense of Humen, felt "lucky". He said it was despicable, but he finally understood in his heart what kind of mood Lu Yizhong was in to write that letter.

"It doesn't matter, there aren't many Kun thieves coming to the island, only two or three hundred." Xu Tingfa tried to calm down.In fact, when the red and blue and white flags of the Australians were flying on Shanghengdang Island, Xu Tingfa's heart sank to the bottom.Once the upper crossbar is lost, the entire Humen Pass has lost its blocking effect.In order to rebuild the defense, it is necessary to recapture the upper crossbar island.

He called a partial general: "Immediately recruit 300 dead soldiers! Each person will be rewarded with five taels of silver, and prepare to cross the sea to counterattack on Hengdang Island! After the task is completed, each will be rewarded with ten taels! Those who are injured will be rewarded with five taels of silver! The dead will be rewarded." 20 taels!"

"Understand!" Pian Jiang went immediately.Here he ordered people to prepare sampans and small boats, preparing to cross the East Waterway to counterattack.

Just when he mobilized his troops to fight back. The 10 bombardment boats that had already anchored at the east fort on Shanghengban Island began to bombard.

With the thunderous bombardment of the 280mm mortar gun, black iron balls rose into the air from the thick smoke.Landing on the fort with a flaming tail, Xu Tingfa, Fan Wencai and others worked hard and spent thousands of people and tens of thousands of dollars to expand and repair the Yaniangxie Fort, which trembled and collapsed under the fire of the 280mm mortar.Broken bricks and rocks were thrown into the sky, and dull explosions came one after another, and the entire fort seemed to be completely shrouded in smoke.

The counterattack plan planned by Xu Tingfa was completely disrupted. Under such fierce artillery, no fool would go to the beach to "counterattack" for five taels of silver.

Li Xijue saw that the fort had been fired by the thieves and smoke was everywhere, and the walls collapsed, but there was no sign of firing a single shot. He asked anxiously: "Why didn't our army's Hongyi cannon fire?"

"I can't hit it!" Xu Tingfa said impatiently, "It's so far away, it can only fall into the water!"

"What?! The Hongyi cannon..." Li Xijue's face turned pale—he always regarded the Hongyi cannon as an unprecedented military weapon, and now there is a cannon that hits farther and is more powerful than it.In addition, watching the battle so far, the officers and soldiers have only been beaten, and there has been no effective counterattack. The more they watched, the more they became suffocated.

Xu Tingfa could no longer take care of Mr. Li from the governor's yamen.Not only was his counterattack plan difficult to launch, but at this time the Kun thief's fleet had already entered the East Waterway.

If Shanghengdang Island is not lost, the Australian ships can be "painfully wiped out"!Xu Tingfa thought with regret.He still had a little hope: the forts of Ya Niangxie, which was suppressed by the artillery fire, would fire under the artillery fire after seeing the enemy ship come into range.

Shi Shishi's Fifth Squadron was ordered to use the suppression and smoke effects of the grenades fired by the bombardment boats. The Fifth Squadron approached until 380 meters from the front of the fort and dropped the anchor to fix the ship's position, and then joined the shelling with side artillery.

The Hongyi cannon on the turret at a distance of 380 meters is capable of inflicting heavy damage on these spy boats, but after being bombarded by mortars for 10 minutes, all the soldiers on the turret died and escaped, the open gun positions There are no more soldiers firing cannons.I saw the fort fortifications collapsed in pieces under the artillery fire, like a castle of sand.From time to time, the gunpowder magazine on the fort was detonated, setting off a black flame that shot straight into the sky.

Then another two squadrons entered the East Waterway to approach the bombardment. After an hour and 25 minutes of bombardment, all the forts on Yaniangxie Island lost their combat effectiveness. 300 sailors, sailors and marines landed on sampans. Enter the fort.At 1707 in the afternoon, all the forts fell.In addition to the 400 corpses left by the officers and soldiers guarding the platform, about [-] people were taken as prisoners.

Xu Tingfa and the others were already ashen-colored. Seeing the fort fall, let alone a counterattack, if they stayed in Wushan right now, they might not even be able to protect themselves.Right now, the only option is to immediately return to Humen Village and defend to the death.Xu Tingfa was about to dispatch troops and generals to arrange the retreat when someone shouted in his ear: "It's not good! The Kun bandits are attacking the mountain!"

Immediately, the entire camp of the Chinese Army on the top of Wushan Mountain immediately exploded. The officers and soldiers who watched the battle all afternoon had no fighting spirit, and suddenly scattered like birds and beasts, except for a few soldiers of Xu Tingfa who remained calm and guarded the Chinese Army. , the entire camp of the Chinese army was already in chaos.

"My lord, let's go!" Several relatives couldn't help but put Xu Tingfa and others on the horse, and fled down the mountain surrounded by them.

(End of this chapter)