Chapter 223: Not beneficial to oneself but harmful to the enemy
Zhu Hongyu personally went to the port to welcome the ship from Luzon.
A large number of Liberation Army officials and the technical backbones of the arsenal were thrown into busy work as soon as they got off the ship.
The development of Qiongzhou is in full swing!
…
In March of the 16th year of Yongli reign of the Ming Dynasty, one month after the Ming army regained Qiongzhou, they finally launched troops again.
The huge fleet pulled anchor and set sail, its sails covering the sky!
In this battle, Zheng Jun's entire army was dispatched!
The Liberation Army left a thousand troops to guard Qiongzhou, and all the remaining troops followed the army northward to attack Macau.
A light rain began to fall in the sky, and raindrops continued to drip on the deck of the fleet.
The waterlogged canvas became heavy, and the sound of the wind blowing on the sails became dull.
In the flagship command room of the Ming fleet, Zhu Hongyu, Zheng Chenggong, and other senior generals of the Ming army gathered together.
Eyes focused on Luo Wenzao.
Luo Wenzao stood at the table and introduced the specific situation in Macau to the top brass of the Ming army in great detail.
"The Folangji people don't have many troops in Macau. Even including the servant army, there are only a thousand people at most."
"There are only three to five hundred real soldiers!"
"Such a small force cannot be dispersed at all, it can only be concentrated and used."
"The focus of their defense is actually only one point, and that is the fort that blocks the inlet and outlet of Macau."
"So, as long as the fort is captured, Macau will no longer be in danger!"
"But the fort in Macau has sharp artillery and a relatively important location, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack."
While talking, Luo Wenzao drew a map on a piece of white paper.
Soon, a structural diagram of the fort appeared on the paper.
Zhu Hongyu sat in the top position, tapped his eyebrows, and asked.
"How alert is the fort? Do we have any chance of a surprise attack?"
Fighting against the fort will undoubtedly be a tough battle!
In the case of a frontal attack, the fleet and the fort will be bombarded, and the fleet will definitely suffer.
It is estimated that the casualties will not be small!
Therefore, he wanted to ask if there was any chance of a surprise attack in this battle!
Luo Wenzao shook his head and said.
"Reporting to His Majesty the Supervisor, we have little chance of a surprise attack!"
"The fort blocks the waterway in and out of Macau. If we want to land in Macau, we can only attack the fort."
"If we forcefully break through, the fleet will suffer heavy losses under the attack of the fort!"
Zhu Hongyu looked at Zheng Chenggong and wanted to ask Zheng Chenggong for his opinion.
Zheng Chenggong pondered for a while and then spoke.
"If we can't make a sneak attack, how about a siege?"
"Send troops to land from other places, cut off the land route, and then use the fleet to block the waterways in and out of Macau. When the Folangji people run out of ammunition and food, they will collapse without a fight!"
In history, the Ming and Qing dynasties repeatedly took advantage of the Portuguese by besieging the city and cutting off water.
The fort in Macau is indeed difficult to attack, but Macau itself is not easy to defend or attack.
Macau is just an island, and water resources on the island are scarce and scarce.
Even to a certain extent, the attacking side does not need to storm the fort. As long as the city is besieged and the water is cut off, the Portuguese will not be able to hold on for long.
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly and said.
"The troops can be landed, what if they are attacked by the Qing army and the Fo Lang robots from both sides?"
When the Ming army wanted to regain Macau, the biggest difficulty was not the Portuguese, but the Qing army!
Playing in Macau has never been a problem for Zhu Hongyu and Zheng Chenggong.
Even if we can't defeat it, we can just lay siege to it!
However, what they were afraid of was that they were in a stalemate with the Portuguese and the Qing army would stab them in the back!
Although Shang Kexi is not in Guangzhou, there are still thousands of vassal soldiers under the Pingnan Palace in Guangzhou City.
They are all the best among the best who have been fighting for decades in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
They are not the same thing as Qiongzhou’s Green Camp soldiers!
Although the two sides have similar numbers, their combat capabilities are vastly different.
Zhu Hongyu spoke again.
"I heard that the Francois are in Europa and are allies with England!"
"The two sides are extremely close, and all ports in the Franconian country are open to the British country unconditionally."
"If we, the Ming Dynasty, use the banner of the British Empire, we may have a chance of succeeding in our raid!"
Zheng Chenggong seemed to have remembered something and spoke.
"We can send a Western-style sailing ship to Macau under the flag of the British Empire."
"Behind us is our main fleet. We opened the gun windows and fired cannons, pretending to pursue this English sailing ship."
"After the Western-style sailing ships enter the port, we can cooperate with our main fleet to seize control of the port, and then find a way to conquer the fort."
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly and expressed his agreement.
Ma Xin on the side suggested.
"In order to prevent the Qing army from reinforcing the Fo Langji people in Macau, our army can send a partial division to attack the Qing army's Humen, Dajiaoshan and other forts at the mouth of the Pearl River."
"Attract and contain the Qing army's forces and buy time for our army to capture Macau!"
Zhu Hongyu and Zheng Chenggong both agreed.
It is not difficult to attack Macau. The size of the fort in Macau is limited, and the size of the Portuguese garrison in Macau is even more limited.
The reason why the Dutch failed to attack Macau in 1622 was because the Dutch were actually very weak militarily.
Moreover, the Portuguese in Macau maintained good relations with the Ming Dynasty.
Once the battle situation in Macau reaches a stalemate, the Ming Dynasty may come up at any time and give the Dutch a sliding tackle.
The Netherlands evacuated after feeling a slight resistance, not daring to besiege the city for a long time.
The real difficulty is how to defend Macau under the threat of the Qing army!
Zhu Hongyu slapped his head and secretly shouted that he was being stupid.
Macau is difficult to defend, but Hong Kong Island, not far from Macau, is easy to defend.
Hong Kong is much larger than Macau, and there are several rivers on it. There is no need to worry about being besieged by the Qing army and cutting off the water source.
Rather than insisting on garrisoning troops in Macau, it is better to build a bastion in Hong Kong.
When it comes to trade, Hong Kong is more suitable than Macau!
In this case, the only meaning of Macau to Zhu Hongyu and Zheng Chenggong is the Bugalao Cannon Foundry.
Of course, even if this is the case, even if the Portuguese in Macau hand over the Bugarao Cannon Foundry, Zhu Hongyu will not let them go.
It’s not that we want to expel the Western colonists, such a noble reason!
Rather, it is out of interest considerations. After all, free trade can be done by both parties. How can a monopoly make money quickly?
If Macau is eliminated, the benefits of trade with the mainland will be monopolized by the Ming Dynasty, and there will be no need to share profits with the Portuguese.
This is the key!
Of course, if the Ming army destroyed Macau, the Qing government would strictly ban the sea.
Shang Ke is glad that we no longer engage in entrepot trade!
Zhu Hongyu also said it didn't matter.
Anyway, if trade cannot be carried out, the interests of Shang Kexi and the Portuguese will also be harmed. What does the Ming Dynasty have to do with them?
The Ming Dynasty couldn’t get involved in Macau’s re-export trade!
There is no profit in it in the first place, of course, no matter how hard you try, you won’t lose anything!
Although this is not beneficial to oneself, it can definitely harm the enemy!
"After our army conquers Macau, garrisoning troops in Macau is not the best choice!"
While talking, Zhu Hongyu pointed out the location of Hong Kong Island on the map.
"It may be more appropriate to station troops here!"
Zheng Chenggong studied the natural environment and hydrological conditions near Hong Kong, nodded slightly and said.