The administrative systems established by Ming officials in various places began to mobilize urgently. The main task was to strengthen security and guard against traitors.
You must know that during the Spanish rule in Luzon, they still cultivated a lot of scoundrels. After the arrival of the Ming army, these people lost their former glory and were in panic all day long. They dreamed all day long that the Spaniards could make a comeback and let them relive their days.
The majesty of a running dog.
Now, the Spanish fleet is approaching the city, and these people are preparing to cause some trouble in Luzon in order to cooperate with the Spanish internally and externally. For such hidden dangers, the Ming regime naturally wants to eliminate them first.
The mission of the Kanyu Battalion is mainly to guard the coast and prevent the Spanish Army from taking the opportunity to land. Speaking of which, the Kanyu Battalion on Luzon Island has a strength of five to six thousand people and is equipped with new firearms. Even if the Spanish Army has twice the number
The strength of the Ming army is not the opponent of the Kanyu camp. However, in the past few months, the Ming army has established many industries on Luzon Island, especially a large number of mines under development. If these industries are destroyed by the Spanish
, the loss is a bit big.
The busiest one was naturally Deng Zilong's navy. A large number of scouts rode light boats, constantly traveling between the open sea and the port, reporting the movements of the Spanish fleet. Deng Zilong, Su Hao and others were on the 6,000-ton treasure ship.
In the command post on the ship, he was calculating the Spanish fleet's itinerary with a chart, preparing to choose the best time to give the Spanish a head-on attack.
"Okay, it's time for me to go to sea."
Deng Zilong put down the magnifying glass in his hand and said to Su Hao with a smile.
"General Deng, do you really want to go to sea in person?" Su Hao asked reluctantly.
Deng Zilong said: "This is natural. This battle is of great importance, and it is the first battle since the establishment of our navy. How can I not take command in person?"
Su Hao said: "Actually, the matter is not that serious. We can't seek a big victory. A small victory is not a piece of cake. General Deng, if you don't underestimate this junior, let Hao carry out the task of intercepting the Spaniards on your behalf.
Besides, there are other generals of your navy on board, and you can rest assured of their quality."
"In other words, I have not stolen the limelight from you in this land battle. Finally there is a naval battle, why don't you let me take the spotlight?" Deng Zilong said with a smile, "To be honest, I want to take command personally, but I can't.
It’s not because I don’t trust anyone, or because I can’t trust anyone, it’s just that I haven’t actually fought a naval battle since I became the commander-in-chief of the Navy. How can I not enjoy such an opportunity?”
"Uh... Then this junior has nothing to say." Su Hao was indeed speechless. Some people may be born to live for war, and no one can deprive them of their right to fight.
Deng Zilong put on his armor. With an order, he led 8 warships to leave the port and circled towards the side and rear of the Spanish fleet. At the same time, Hao Tong, with 10 warships responsible for facing the enemy, also weighed anchor and set sail.
Facing the direction of the Spanish fleet, we headed forward through the waves.
On the sea, the Spanish fleet consisting of 20 warships was also moving forward murderously. On the flagship San Martin, the Spanish fleet commander Waldo was observing the sea with great nervousness, waiting for the Ming army's attack.
advent.
Three months ago, Kevin took the remaining ships of his fleet and fled Luzon Island. He came to the Spanish fleet base on Sumatra Island, met with Waldo, and reported to Waldo the Ming army's landing on Luzon Island.
Kevin particularly emphasized that the Ming army possessed a powerful explosive, and also used this explosive to create explosive shells that could be fired with gunpowder. For this reason, Waldo could not hold Kevin responsible for the loss of the warship.
Responsibility.
The Chinese sent troops to Luzon and expelled all the Spaniards on the island of Luzon. This was intolerable to the Spaniards. Therefore, Waldo decided to use all the strength of his fleet to teach the Chinese a lesson
His idea is to first deal with the Chinese navy in a naval battle, and then escort the army with warships to land on the island and engage in a decisive battle with the Chinese army on the island. With the navy's cover, the army's coastal operations will have
An absolute advantage.
With this idea, Waldo gathered 20 warships and rushed to Luzon Island. Compared with the Spanish Armada, which once had more than a thousand ships, Waldo's forces were relatively thin, but he believed that in the future
With the combat experience of the Spanish Navy, there should be no difficulty in dealing with the Chinese Navy.
The only thing that made Waldo feel uneasy was the Chinese Navy's explosive artillery shells. After all, this was something he had never seen before. He could not imagine what kind of changes this weapon would bring when used in naval battles.
"Kevin, do you know the range of the Chinese fleet's artillery?" Waldo asked Kevin, who was standing aside, for the tenth time.
Kevin said: "Mr. Waldo, I'm very sorry, I don't have actual figures. However, according to what I heard from people in the Army, the Chinese fleet fired artillery less than half a mile away from them. In addition,
, Judging from the information sent back by our missionaries, the effective range of Chinese artillery is generally only one-third of a mile, which is about the same as the effective range of our Kofflin guns."
"However, our Kofilin guns do not have the power to destroy ships. If we want to destroy the opponent's warships, we must use short-range cannons. And within the range of the cannons, the Chinese's explosive shells can already cause serious damage to us.
It's a threat." Waldo said anxiously.
Kevin said: "Mr. Waldo, I can understand your worries. However, we can first use light boats to approach and harass and interfere with the Chinese tactics. The four-masted boats will take the opportunity to approach and use cannons to intensively attack the enemy. In this way, the Chinese
People will be caught off guard and defeated by us one by one."
"I will naturally arrange the tactical matters. Kevin, you are responsible for commanding your own four ships." Waldo said rudely, "By the way, I remind you that the best way to deal with the burning of gunpowder is to
The best way is to prepare some wet sand. I think you have it ready on your boat, right?"
"Yes, we have prepared wet sand. Once our ship is hit by Chinese shells and catches fire, my sailors can put out the fire in the shortest time." Kevin replied obediently, Waldo was
His immediate boss, he would not dare to bare his teeth with Waldo.
Waldo looked at the chart in front of him and said: "Okay, we are approaching the Luzon coast. I just saw a Chinese boat passing by in the distance. This should be a reconnaissance ship sent by them. If I hadn't guessed,
If you are wrong, the Chinese fleet has already set off to fight us. Mr. Kevin, please return to your command position."
"Yes, Mr. Waldo." Kevin agreed, got off the San Martin, and took a small sampan back to his own flagship, the San Marion.
"Enemy ship found!"
As soon as Kevin returned to his flagship, the lookout on the San Martin reported the enemy situation to Waldo. From the top of the tall mast, the lookout could see seven or eight people appearing on the sea level in the distance.
There was a black spot. Based on many years of maritime combat experience, he knew that this must be the enemy's fleet.
"Send a battle alert!" Waldo ordered.
Two signal cannons were fired from the San Martín. For a time, the captains, sailors, and gunners of each ship in the Spanish fleet were all busy. The sail on the ship was suddenly pulled to the top of the mast, and the sailboat accelerated by the sea breeze.
, and rushed towards the enemy on the opposite side. The gunners cleaned the barrel of the gun, stuffed it with projectiles made of gunpowder and pig iron, and made various preparations before shooting.
"Tovey, Yass, come forward to meet the enemy!" Kevin also issued an order on his flagship. As the fleet commander stationed in Luzon, he was duty-bound to serve as the vanguard in this battle. He needed to first
Contact with the Ming Army.
The two caravels rushed out quickly and headed straight for the Ming fleet.
"The Spaniards are coming up, prepare to fight!" Hao Tong also issued a combat order on the Weiyuan, the flagship of the Ming army fleet. With the help of high-power telescopes, the Ming army discovered the opponent earlier than the Spaniards, and also identified
Hao Tong really felt that there was no pressure on the two caravels coming straight towards him.
2000 steps, 1500 steps, 1000 steps...
The distance between the two armies was getting closer and closer, and the two Spanish caravels had entered the effective range of the Ming army's artillery fire, but Hao Tong still did not give the order to fire.
"What's going on? Why aren't we allowed to fire?" The gunners in the cabin couldn't help but muttered as they looked through the observation windows at the oncoming enemy ships on the sea.
"You know nothing!" Xiaoqi officer scolded, "Hao Youyi said that we can only shoot at close range in this battle, not long range. Didn't you notice that the propellants just installed were all for close range shooting?"
"Why?" the gunner asked in surprise.
"Well... this is a clever plan discussed by General Deng and General Su. How can you and others know about it?" the small flag officer replied nonchalantly. The strategy of showing weakness and arrogance to the enemy was not conveyed to the grassroots officers and soldiers.
The purpose was also to worry that people would talk too much and leak the news. The flag officer only knew that the order he received was not to shoot at long range, and to use solid bullets and explosive bullets with a small charge, but he did not know the reason.
"Perhaps the general is worried that our artillery training time is too short and the long-range shooting accuracy is not enough?" The gunners found reasons for themselves, "Well, in fact, they don't have to worry at all. We have practiced on the Yangtze River for so long. If
If you can't hit an enemy ship at a distance of 1,200 steps, wouldn't it be embarrassing?"
The flag officer said: "What are you complaining about? Is there anything wrong with the commander-in-chief's strategy? Please stay alert and observe the soldiers. You will be sure to spot it. When the enemy ship reaches 500 steps, you will notify me."
"Command!" The soldier in charge of the observation held up the telescope, widened his eyes, and carefully distinguished the size of the enemy ship in the lens, so as to judge the distance of the enemy ship. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, novels are better