Da'ao, which is the Haishan Island in later generations, is located on the southern coast of Raoping at the junction of Fujian and Guangdong. It covers an area of ​​about 45 square kilometers and is across the sea from Nan'ao Island, with a distance of about fifteen miles.

During the Song and Yuan dynasties, the islands were all living on the islands, but after the Ming Dynasty's sea ban, all the islanders moved inward, so that some old buildings on the island were abandoned. For example, the Longfu Temple, which was built in the Jin Dynasty, covered a vast area, had bronze Buddha statues of eighteen Arhats and inscriptions of celebrities of all dynasties, also became deserted from the booming incense.

Tai O is much closer to the coastline than Nan'ao Island, and the number of bandits entrenched on the island is naturally far less than that on the island. Judging from the previous information, there were about 400 bandits on the island. When they heard that the army was coming, the bandits burned their ships to prevent their accomplices from escaping, huddled in the city walls, waiting for the official army to withdraw.

As a result, the official army did not retreat, but instead came to the island.

At Hougang, Shen Xi stood at the bow of the ship and personally directed the gunners to set off firecrackers at the beachhead from the Dongshi to the safe haven on the island. Dozens of shells fell down, gravel flew and plants splashed, but no one appeared in several suspicious places.

After confirming that there were no ambushes, the officers and soldiers began to board the island by boat, and at the same time brought the "unconscience cannons" and "Franc cannons" used to attack the city.

Chen Xi did not land on the island, so he never expected his small body to be useful on the battlefield. He just needed to direct and dispatch according to various situations ahead.

The first batch of soldiers to go to the island were about 300, including crossbowmen, shield soldiers, spearmen, spearmen, and artillery soldiers. At the same time, two Flang machine cannons were transported to the island.

When Qianhu Sun Xinian saw Chen Xi holding a bamboo tube-like thing to look at the situation on the island, he was a little confused and shot his face and asked for instructions: "Sir, do you think this battle is quite sure?"

The whole army was very respectful to Chen Xi, and many people wanted to flatter Chen Xi but failed. Although Sun Xinian was a thousand households, he actually led only 400 troops this time and was arranged to be in the rear army, so it was rare to say something in front of Shen Xi.

This question asked knowingly can be understood as he was asking for nothing to say, in order to attract Chen Xi's attention.

Chen Xi glanced at him and asked back, "How many do you think?"

Sun Xinian was stunned and then replied: "Sir, it must be 10%."

Chen Xi smiled but did not answer, and continued to use a telescope to check the situation on the island. Sun Xinian retreated awkwardly.

...

...

There is no risk at the beach. After the officers and soldiers came to the island, they quickly established defenses and then sent people to explore the island in depth.

After passing the beach, there was a dense forest, which was very dense. It looked lush from the boat, but no one knew that about a hundred meters behind the jungle, there were strange rocks hidden. Often, a piece of woods and bushes were cut off before they could find a vertical stone wall facing three or four people in front, so they could only find another place to continue cutting down.

After about an hour, the officers and soldiers on the island cut down a small area. The stone forest seemed to be quite large and they had no idea where the passage was.

Chen Xi saw this situation with a telescope at the bow of the boat and suddenly felt something was wrong.

If there are really ambushers on the island, the enemy is hiding in the dark, and the official army is in the open, suddenly rushed out, defeating the few with the crowd and retreating quickly, the officers and soldiers cannot even pursue.

The combination of this dense forest and stone formation is almost the same as the monster that devours human life, and it is not enough to get stuck in the gap between people. Even without ambush, this circling terrain and terrain is very likely to cause disconnection between the team. It seems that the island attack strategy formulated before will not work.

"Ming Jin to withdraw the troops!" Chen Xi immediately ordered.

Jing Yue didn't understand, turned his head and asked in surprise: "Sir, why should we withdraw our troops?"

Chen Xi said angrily: "Don't you see that the current situation is not suitable for attacking the island? I immediately ordered the officers and soldiers to retreat and temporarily camp on the beach. First, a fire will be used to clear the forests and bushes around the beach, and find a relatively flat open space to station them."

"After the second batch of officers and soldiers landed on the island, the fleet immediately drove to the East Reef Platoon and continued to transport troops. Wait until the three armies gathered tomorrow to launch an attack!"

Jing Yue had only one thought in his mind, should he create such a big formation?

The island said there were 400 bandits, but that was just the worst plan. This was also what Chen Xi repeatedly asked to make a combat plan. To make a war plan, we must make strict plans and make the worst plan. So we should estimate the number of bandits on the island as much as possible. Perhaps the island has actually been empty at this time.

Now the fleet has more than a thousand troops, complete weapons, advanced artillery, and strict military appearance. It is easy to quell the island's bandits, but Chen Xi ordered the three armies to launch an attack after they arrived together, which was simply a big deal.

However, Jing Yue has an advantage that he obeyed Chen Xi's will. He would give the order quickly.

After receiving the notice, the officers and soldiers on the island retreated back to the shore, and then according to the wind direction, they began to set fire to the woods on the shore. Soon, the smoke rolled, and the flames were dotted at first, but not long after, they became one. The fire became stronger and stronger. Finally, it made a "whistle" sound, spreading towards the northeast along the strong southwest wind.

After about an hour, the woods and bushes in the bay opposite Dongshi Beach were burned out, revealing the true appearance of the earth.

It turned out that the large beach on the northern coast of Tai O Island was full of rugged rocks in the past. It was blocked by dense forests before and could not see the appearance. Now I know that the gap between each boulder is very narrow, and it can only accommodate two people passing by side. It is really a matter of being a man who can pass by thousands of men.

Fortunately, it extends about a mile northeast along the coast, and the terrain is relatively wide, but the fire is currently relatively large, and it is estimated that it will take two or three hours to burn out and extinguish.

The second batch of officers and soldiers landed on the island one after another, and Chen Xi himself was among the second batch of island landing personnel.

Jing Yue personally escorted Chen Xi and took a boat to the shore. The first thing Chen Xi did when he got on the shore was to find a stone to help him sit down, and then he called a few thousand households who led the troops and hundreds of households to come and give instructions.

Except for flagships and four frigates, the rest of the ships in the bay returned to the land to receive the subsequent troops and horses to land on the island. Since Chenxi has ordered the three armies to attack the island together, the rest of the troops will be transported to the island except for the supplies and left-behind troops that transport food and grass to take care of the horses. At least two subsequent ships will be transported. Calculated that the time should be around midnight before all the soldiers can be transported.

Jing Yue said: "Sir, Brother Liu Ya said that you are afraid of strong winds. If the subsequent fleet cannot follow you, when the tide is high, the island bandits take advantage of the situation to counterattack, we... will have no way out."

Chen Xi looked at Liu Ya who stood there staring at him, looked back at Jing Yue, and sneered: "Why are you getting more and more courageous? There are only 400 bandits on this island at most. We have more than a thousand soldiers, weapons and artillery. As long as we don't go deep into the center of the island, what's there to worry about?"

Jing Yue thought about it and found that this is indeed the case, but he was just uneasy.

But the general who knew a little bit of knowledge went over and reminded him: "You don't understand it now, right? In the art of military affairs, this is called "devouring the boat and fighting with your back. Have you heard of Han Xin? If you want to fight, don't leave a way out..."

The officers of the Ming Dynasty generally had low academic knowledge, but when they knew what others did not understand, they liked to show off and brag. The listeners remembered it in their hearts, and perhaps they could follow the same method as the capital for bragging next time.

Chen Xi shook his head helplessly. He never thought of "fighting with his back". He just felt that the situation on the island was unclear. The best strategy was to fight steadily, rely on the advantage of military strength to win, and train troops at the same time.

At the end of the first year, half of the troops stayed on the shore to watch the fun. The battle of Ukawashima, which he had been preparing for for a long time, ended with no bloodshed, and failed to achieve the effect of training.

Chen Xi brought a group of new soldiers on the battlefield who thought they could do everything but in fact they had not experienced many practical tests. There was no way to train troops through actual combat.

Since the stone forests in the depths of the coast are equivalent to natural city walls, you only need to block a few passages and then place some warning posts on the top of the stone forest, it is very safe to camp with your back against the stone forest.

Of course, Chen Xi has never relaxed in defense. At present, the open area in the northeast is still burning. When the fire is smaller, Chen Xi is preparing to arrange defense in this direction.

Chenxi had already climbed the top of the stone forest with a wooden ladder to see clearly. From the shore, there was a large open area. The trees on it were cut down and the thieves reclaimed large areas of land. The fire was basically blocked when it burned there. In addition, the southwest wind was blowing on the island at present, and the hinterland of the island and the forests in the south were not affected.

After Chen Xi came down from the top of the stone forest, he immediately sent a scout to investigate the terrain on the island, so as to accurately identify the locations of several villages and determine the route of entry.

After the officers and soldiers came to the island, they performed their duties according to the arrangements of Chenxi.

The scouts were the most laborious group. They took their weapons and fireworks that could send signals, and teamed up with five people and began to march deep into the island.

The scout team was sent out by Chen Xi in one go, with more than 900 officers and soldiers left, half of which were responsible for camping and preparing to bury pots and make rice, while the other half digging toilets, trenches and traps, and laying horse-resisting fences.

Before I knew it, two hours passed, and it was already the afternoon.

"Sir, the camp has almost been built, why haven't the subsequent troops arrived yet?"

Jing Yue came over to inform Chen Xi that Chen Xi was standing on the top of the blackened "big stone wall" and looked towards the depth of the island with a telescope.

"Over there...and there, you can see two villages. You need to be careful in these two directions. We should advance tomorrow morning in these two directions first." Chenxi Road.

Jing Yue climbed along the wooden ladder to the top of the huge rock and looked into the distance. After a long time, he looked at Chen Xi for no reason and asked, "Sir, do you have it? Why didn't I see it..."

Chen Xi handed the telescope in his hand to Jing Yue.

Jing Yue held it in his hand and looked in front of him. He screamed in surprise. With a trembling hand, the telescope fell directly on his instep and then fell on the rock.

Chen Xi was so angry that his face turned red and shouted, "What are you doing?"

"Master... Sir, I'm not good at using my job. What can I see clearly the things in the distance?" Jing Yue quickly bent down and went to pick them up.

Chen Xi picked up the telescope first, wiped away the dust on it with care, and said coldly: "Fortunately, it didn't fall directly to the stone. If it broke, you can't afford it. This is the first telescope in all dynasties since Pangu opened the world."

Jing Yue looked confused: "What mirror?"

"telescope."

Chen Xi repeated, "As the name suggests, it is a mirror that can see the scenery in the distance."

Jing Yue admired Chen Xi so much that he was full of thoughts and complimented: "My lord is really a god. With this treasure, why worry about the bandits not being eliminated and the people of the Ming Dynasty will not be at peace?" (To be continued.)
Chapter completed!