The sky is bright, the rain is still falling, and the wind is still blowing, but the wind and rain have become much lighter. After the storm of the hurricane has passed, all that is left is the tail. Maybe the weather will remain like this for a day or two, but it is no longer so violent and disturbing.
People are afraid.
Zhang Yanling stood on the deck of the Star wearing a raincoat and bamboo hat. He squinted through the rain curtain and looked at the ancient seaport city in front of him. The city shrouded in the wind and rain looked solemn and simple, and very grand.
Before setting off from the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Yanling studied a lot of information and notes. He also had a good understanding of the ports that were important nodes in maritime trade.
From the "Zhufan Chronicles" written by Zhao Rushi, a royal official of the Southern Song Dynasty, to the "Dao Yi Zhi Lue" written by Wang Dayuan, a folk navigator of the Yuan Dynasty who once arrived in Australia, to the "Zheng He Navigation Chart" compiled by the eunuch Sanbao after his voyage to the West.
Zhang Yanling studied many books on overseas navigation and the geography of foreign countries. It was precisely in order to have a firm understanding of the situation of foreign countries overseas, as well as their maritime routes and important port nodes.
In almost every related book, the Port of Colombo at the southern tip of Ceylon Island cannot be avoided. The recorded name may be different, but it specifically refers to this harbor. The books all believe that this is the only port after the Strait of Malacca.
An important transit port, it is the distribution center for the spice trade between the Western Regions and the Indian mainland.
After all, after crossing the Strait of Malacca, traveling through the long Indian Ocean and crossing thousands of miles of ocean, this is the first stop. Whether it is the collection and distribution of goods or supplies, rest and repairs, it is undoubtedly here. The next port that can be docked
The southern tip and southwest of the Indian continent are seven to eight hundred miles away, which seems too far away for ships that have experienced a long voyage across the ocean.
Although Zhang Yanling himself is not familiar with the Port of Colombo, after all, it was just an ordinary port of a small island country in the Indian Ocean in later generations. But at least he knows that Colombo has a long history. It is said that two thousand years ago, this was a place where trade and population gathered.
Two thousand years shows the long and long history here.
At this moment, I stood on the deck and looked at the Port of Colombo in the rain, looking at the stacks of houses, some tall and exquisite, some low and ordinary, and some magnificent. From the perspective of the bay, it is a kind of looking up.
.It makes this port city more and more grand and majestic and oppressive. It also makes me realize the huge scale of this port city.
A rough estimate of the size of the city of Colombo shows that it is at least fifteen miles long from east to west. The width from north to south is unknown, but it is obviously not short. Based on this estimate, as the capital of the Kingdom of Ceylon, the permanent population here must be at least 200,000.
The above. This may not be a big deal in the Ming Dynasty, but in the land of Nanyang, a port city of this size is considered a super large city.
There is a natural deep-water harbor here. It can be said that the wharf is basically in its original state without widening or excavation. Even so, there is still a deep-water wharf with a width of five or six miles, which is convenient for all kinds of large sea ships to dock.
Above the port pier, several wide and straight roads extend from the pier into the city, passing through the high cliffs on the shore and leading to the city center, connecting streets throughout the city.
It can be seen that the layout of the entire city is actually a gentle seaside flat land with some slight undulations. The terrain of the city to which the road leads is slightly higher, but it is not an upward sloping mountain like the port of Manlajia.
The seaside here was originally a cliff. Because this is a deep-water port, the locals dug a road out of this cliff and extended it to the seaside to become a dock. The city is located parallel to the top of the cliff, so the topography
Slightly higher. The terrain on both sides of the bay is proof of this. The forts on both sides are erected on cliffs with a height of two to three feet. This should be the original terrain feature of the Colombo Port Terminal.
Facing this ancient city that stood tall in the wind and rain, Zhang Yanling felt a sense of awe in his heart. But this did not shake his idea of conquering it at this moment. He came here to conquer this city.
Of the city.
"Reporting to the Duke, a large number of soldiers and horses were found in the street. The direction is due north, about four miles away."
"Report! A large number of French musketeers were found on the west side of the street. They are building fortifications on the street. The number is unknown, about hundreds."
"A large number of infantry were found in the northeast, heading towards the dock along the street. They are definitely soldiers and horses, holding weapons in their hands. There are thousands of them."
"..."
The voices of the scout soldiers on the top of the main mast were reporting the enemy's situation one after another. They tied themselves to the mast, endured the blows of the wind and rain, and scanned the entire city with telescopes to obtain all information that could be visually detected on the streets in the city.
The mainmast is five feet high, and it is the commanding height beyond the dock on the shore. It is a good place for observation. Of course, what they saw was only a small part. After all, a large number of buildings would block the street, and they could not observe all the enemy's forces.
Mobilization situation.
But this intelligence is actually very descriptive of the situation. The enemy did not give in because the warships in the port were destroyed. They were gathering their forces and preparing to fight with themselves in the street.
Zhang Yanling did not want to fight with them in the streets. The last street fight in the attack on Malacca Harbor killed and injured many brothers. When they attacked the Long Bridge in the West District, Chen Shiyi almost lost his life. Although Zhang Yanling was confident in the abilities of his men,
But Zhang Yanling didn't want too many casualties.
In such a huge city, on the complicated streets, it would be a nightmare to fight with a large number of enemies. Perhaps this is inevitable, but at least it is not yet time to fight with them hand-to-hand. Zhang Yanling wants to use thunderous means
Shock the enemies here and make them feel their own insignificance and the enemy's strength.
"Send the order! The fleet will advance one mile toward the pier, form a parallel formation, and after anchoring, prepare to bombard the city with artillery fire." Zhang Yanling ordered sternly.
The armored warships acted quickly according to the order. The fleet advanced to Lixi and anchored only about 700 steps away from the shore.
At the same time, the bow heavy guns of each ship began to be inspected and loaded, and the five Dragon Roar Cannons began to be pushed onto the deck for fixed installation. The huge number of Tiger Roar Cannons in the cabin were also loaded again and adjusted to their angles in preparation for firing.
Obviously, this is another large-scale indiscriminate bombing. All soldiers like to do this. The joy of destruction is often greater than the joy of construction. When artillery fire covers everything, the pleasure of crushing the opponent is addictive.
The entire Armada has become somewhat addicted to this.
Zhang Yanling held up his telescope and looked at the shore. He was estimating the distance between the splendid spire palace in the city and the shore. It seemed to be four or five miles away, which should be within the striking range of the Dragon Roar Cannon. The Dragon Roan Cannon could finally
It came in handy.
It darkened above the head, and the sound of raindrops beating on the bamboo hat disappeared. Zhang Yanling turned around and saw that it was Catherine holding an oil-paper umbrella and using her feet to protect herself from the rain. Her shoulders were actually wet.
"Why are you here? Just stay in the cabin, it's very dangerous outside." Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
Catherine looked at the city in front of her and asked softly: "Your Majesty, Duke, are you going to...bomb the entire city?"
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Exactly."
Catherine frowned and said, "But there are many innocent civilians living in the city. Does the Duke plan to blow them up too?"
Zhang Yanling said coldly: "I will give them time to evacuate. But I cannot guarantee that they will not die."
Catherine said: "Your Excellency, civilians are innocent. Can you..."
Zhang Yanling shouted in a deep voice: "Catherine, this is war, and I cannot guarantee that every innocent person can survive. What I have to consider is the victory of the war and the safety of my men. I know this is cruel, but
That's all I can do. You go back to the cabin, you'd better leave this kind of thing alone."
Catherine frowned and stood blankly. She did not blame Zhang Yanling for his harsh attitude. She knew in her heart that from Zhang Yanling's point of view, all this was understandable. Maybe the Duke was ruthless in some things. But if he was not like this, how could he
With today's achievements, perhaps it would have failed long ago.
It seems that apart from lamenting the cruelty of war, she has no reason to persuade her.
"My lord Duke, don't blame me for talking too much. I think you'd better not hurt them. Although war is cruel and death is inevitable, your purpose is not to kill people, but to control this port, isn't it? As a future trade hub,
You want to gain the support of the people here. The more people you kill, the harder it will be for you to control people's hearts in the future. Isn't it?" Catherine persuaded softly.
Zhang Yanling frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly smiled and said: "Catherine, what you said makes sense. Thank you for reminding me. Although I don't care about their resistance because I have the absolute ability to control the situation, what you said is still very important."
It makes sense. I promise you that we will try to reduce civilian casualties as much as possible."
Catherine nodded happily and said: "Thank you, Lord Duke, that is great. I thank you on behalf of the common people."
Zhang Yanling burst out laughing and said, "You thank me on their behalf? I just don't know if they appreciate it. I just hope your kindness will not be let down. I'm afraid you will be disappointed. Not with me, but with the people here."
"
Catherine looked at Zhang Yanling in confusion, not understanding what he meant by this. Just as she was about to ask, she saw Chen Shi striding over and reporting loudly.
"Reporting to the Duke of the State, all ships and cannons are ready. Please give me your instructions."
Zhang Yanling said solemnly: "Order each ship's heavy artillery to aim at the enemy troops gathered in the street and the fortifications built. The target of the Longyin Artillery is that palace, which should be the palace of the Ceylonese people."
Chen Shiyi cupped his hands and said, "Yes! What about the Tiger Roar Cannon? Are you going to bombard the market indiscriminately?"
Zhang Yanling waved his hand and said: "Don't open fire for now, give the civilians a chance to escape. Unless... they commit trouble themselves. Let's take a look first."
Chen Shiyi was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll put the Tiger Roaring Cannon on standby first."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "This is a long bombardment. Let brothers take it easy. Take turns to bomb and take turns to rest. We are currently at sea. They have no warships and cannot pose a threat to us. Don't worry, brothers. We have already occupied the area.
Absolute initiative. Do you understand?"
Chen Shiyi bowed and said, "I understand my humble position."
Chen Shi took a big step away and began to convey the order. Zhang Yanling turned to look at Catherine and said with a smile: "Are you satisfied?"
Catherine smiled sweetly and said: "Thank you, Lord Duke."
Zhang Yanling held her hand and said: "Go back to the cabin and rest. I haven't slept since last night. I'm sleepy too. Have a good sleep."
Catherine smiled and said: "We are about to have sex, how can we sleep?"
Zhang Yanling said: "The sound of artillery is a lullaby. If you can't do this, how can you march and fight? One of the essential skills of an army officer is to sleep when you need to, and don't care if the sky falls. You need to wake up for three days
You have to hold on even if you don’t sleep for three nights.”
Catherine laughed and was about to speak when she heard a loud bang, which blew Catherine's words back into her stomach.
The heavy artillery and dragon chant cannon attacks on the opposite shore began.