There were bursts of fierce shelling from the port, and the firelight caused by the artillery fire was unusually conspicuous in the dark night.
The explosive bomb landed in the port and caused a rumbling explosion!
Amidst the continuous explosions and the charge of Zheng Jun's sailors.
The Portuguese soldiers in the fort finally couldn't hold on any longer.
"retreat!"
"retreat!"
"Return to the cathedral!"
"..."
At the command of the commander, the Portuguese soldiers withdrew from the fort and withdrew in the direction of St. Paul's Cathedral in Macau.
The focus of the Portuguese's defense in Macau was the fort, but that does not mean that apart from the fort, they did not have other defense facilities.
They also built a fortress building in Macau that is half Chinese and half Western style with a bastion and city walls.
It's not big in scale, but its defense should be pretty good.
The purpose of building the fortress was to protect the city hall and cathedral after the fort was lost.
The fall of the fort was a foregone conclusion, so naturally the Portuguese would not insist on fighting at the fort.
Retreating to the cathedral area to reorganize the defense is normal operation.
…
As the Portuguese retreated on their own initiative, the Ming army established control of the fort.
A large number of marine troops began to land from the port and gathered towards the fort.
Heavy siege artillery, large-caliber mortars, etc. were also transported off the ship, preparing to be used to attack the fortress of Macau.
Zhu Hongyu also personally set foot on the land of Macau.
Behind him was the Liberation Army that was rapidly gathering after completing the landing.
Zheng Chenggong also put on his mountain armor and landed ashore under the escort of his own bodyguards.
The progress of the Ming army continues!
On the one hand, preparations were made to attack the cathedral and the city hall. On the other hand, men were sent to attack the Bugalao Cannon Foundry.
As long as the Ming army could capture the Bugarao Cannon Foundry, even if this attack could not ultimately capture the entire Macau.
This wave is also a blood profit!
A Bugalao artillery foundry can improve the ordnance manufacturing and research and development capabilities of a large part of the Ming army.
In the eyes of Zhu Hongyu and Zheng Chenggong, those skilled cannon-casting craftsmen are the most valuable wealth!
More valuable than the whole of Macau!
…
On the other side, the news that the fort was captured alarmed almost all the Portuguese in Macau.
The governor, the city chief, the bishop of Macau and other important figures were all awakened from their sleep by the sudden sound of cannon fire.
Then they received the bad news from the commander that the fort had been lost.
"It's British!"
"It was the despicable and shameless British who teamed up with the insidious and dirty Ming people to attack us!"
The commander shouted hoarsely, accusing the British of being despicable.
"What to do next?"
The governor's face was full of sadness.
The fall of the fort almost meant that Macau's defense force was cut in half.
If the "Ming-British Allied Forces" continue to attack the Macau Fortress.
There is a high probability that the Macau Fortress cannot be defended!
The archbishop kept crossing himself on his chest and praying silently in his heart.
"May the Almighty Lord bless us..."
The commander spoke.
“We can ask for help from the Tatars in Canton!”
"In recent years, we have maintained a very good trade relationship with His Excellency Prince Pingnan of the Tatars."
"If we ask the Tatars for help, for the sake of money, I think the prince will be willing to help us."
"Especially, not only are the British coming, but also the Ming Dynasty's fleet!"
"The Tatars and the Ming Dynasty are mortal enemies!"
The commander opened his mind.
Since the British could bring the Ming fleet to attack Macau, why couldn't they bring the Tatar Qing too?
The Governor nodded and said.
"very good!"
"Send someone to Guangzhou now to ask for help!"
"Hopefully we can hold on until then!"
…
On the other side, Humen Fort!
The Ming fleet, flying the British Union Jack flag, arrived outside the Humen Fort in the dark.
The fleet faced the enemy on the side, lined up in a row, and fired a salvo at the Humen Fort!
The rumble of cannons almost covered everything.
Cannonballs continued to fall on the fort, causing earth and rocks to fly.
Fortunately, the Qing army had fortifications to rely on, otherwise they would have been doomed!
The Qing troops stationed at the Humen Fort were instantly stunned!
Okay, why did you get bombarded?
General Huang Zhongyuan looked anxious and ordered the fort defenders to prepare for a counterattack.
"Assemble! Assemble!"
"Quickly reload the artillery, and fight back for me, hit me hard!"
"..."
Boom! Boom!
The rumbling sounds of artillery sounded one after another, and the Qing army's forts began to fire back.
The shells seemed to be free of charge, and they were fired towards the dark sea.
There was a fierce artillery battle between the two sides, and the Ming army's fleet would be hit by the Qing army's artillery fire from time to time, resulting in casualties.
Speaking of combat effectiveness, the current Humen Fort is much stronger than the Humen Fort during the Duck War!
In terms of fortifications, they are all open-air fort fortifications!
No difference!
As for artillery, the Humen Fort two hundred years later and the Humen Fort now use front-loaded smoothbore cannons.
There is no essential difference!
Even the quality of the Qing army's artillery and gunpowder shells in this era was better than two hundred years later.
There were even many grandpa cannons from this era that were used by the Qing army until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
It hasn’t been changed in two hundred years!
As for the gunners, the Qing gunners of this era were all elites who had been fighting for decades, and their experience and gunnery skills were first-class.
Much better than the trash from the Duck War!
Therefore, the result of this Humen artillery battle was not ideal for the Ming Dynasty.
The forts and warships of both sides exchanged bombardments. Although the Ming army had more ships and more cannons, it was never able to gain the upper hand.
During the war with Yapian, the British fleet simply beat the Qing army with blood, and the gap was quite big!
But it’s not incomprehensible!
The Qing army during the Duck War and the Qing army now are two different species.
Ma Xin stood at the bow of the ship, constantly directing the firing of cannons.
"Fire, don't scatter, focus your firepower to knock out one of Qinglu's firepower points first!"
"Solid bullets are useless, use blooming bullets instead, use blooming bullets!"
As the order was issued, the artillery of the Ming army began to use explosive ammunition!
Unlike direct firing of solid bullets, which rely on the kinetic energy of the shell to kill the enemy, blooming bullets mainly rely on the fragments and shock waves generated after the explosion.
This also means that with the same artillery caliber and the same charge, the artillery that opens the shells can raise the muzzle to a certain angle in exchange for range.
As for raising the muzzle, the kinetic energy of the artillery shell will be reduced, affecting the power of the shelling.
That doesn't matter, the explosive bullets don't rely on kinetic energy to kill the enemy!
Boom! Boom!
The sound of artillery continued continuously, and the recoil of the Ming army's heavy artillery fire caused the warship to roll left and right.
One after another, the explosive shells seemed to be free of charge, and they fell towards the top of the Qing army's fort.
Hugh! Hugh!
Continuously, bullets were fired downwards, landing on the Qing army's forts.
A Qing soldier watched helplessly as a cannonball fell in front of him, and the warhead pierced the ground hard.
But most of the tail is still exposed to the air.
The Qing soldier stared at the Ming army's explosive ammunition with curiosity on his face, somewhat confused as to what it was.
Why are the cannonballs long?
Wouldn’t the long cannonballs burrow into the ground when hit?
Can it still roll and cause damage?
Just when he was confused, the fuse of the explosive bomb burned out.
The gunpowder filled in the warhead was ignited!
With a bang, a violent fire exploded, and impact and fragments swept around.