Chapter 631 One shot is not enough, just two shots
Haojing, this small place that used to be just a barren land, has changed in the past few months. After the Portuguese came here, they began to build simple houses for living and warehouses for storing goods.
At the dock, a simple workshop for making guns was even built.
However, there are not many Portuguese who came here. The total number of merchants, sailors and troops is more than 500. This scale is actually similar to the Portuguese who have been entrenched in the Tuen Mun area for decades.
In the famous naval battle of Tuen Mun in history, the number of Portuguese participating in the battle, regardless of soldiers and civilians, was only a few hundred!
It's not that the Portuguese don't want to send more people to this place, but they only have a few people in the Nanyang region. A small stronghold with hundreds of people is already pretty good.
At this time, in an obviously Western-style church on the shore, several Portuguese people were discussing with sad faces.
"These barbarians, they actually went back on their word and wanted us to leave Macau!"
"These damn Tang people, they collected a lot of money from us, and now they want to go back on their word. We absolutely cannot agree. The great Portuguese can never succumb to these barbarians!"
"But if we don't withdraw, they will use force. We have too few troops now. Once a fight starts, I'm afraid the Battle of Tuen Mun will happen again!"
"We must immediately request reinforcements from Malacca and ask them to reinforce us with more ships and soldiers. We must keep this stronghold for the kingdom!"
Although this group of Portuguese people discussed in a very tough tone, it could be heard that they were still extremely wary of the military power of the Tang Dynasty!
However, due to fear, it was absolutely impossible for them to abandon Macau directly. They finally gained a foothold on the coast of China. For this reason, they reported to local officials in Guangzhou of the Tang Dynasty last year.
A valuable bribe was paid.
However, now they also know that these rebels, who are said to be from the land of China, actually ignored the lease treaty they signed with the local officials in Guangzhou and directly said that it was invalid.
"Since we can't resist on land, can we launch an attack from the sea? We can attack them directly from the mouth of the Pearl River and kill them all the way to Guangzhou!"
"Guangzhou? No, there is news that the Tang Dynasty is building forts at Humen and other places at the mouth of the sea. Our fleet is too small to knock down these forts!"
"And the Pearl River Estuary has always been a key defense area for the Tang Navy. The war between them and the Ming Dynasty is still going on. The Ming Dynasty's navy is powerless against Guangzhou, let alone us!"
"However, we can't go now, but when the fleet from the direction of Malacca comes, then we can make these Tang people look good!"
"Now we only need to strengthen our defenses and build fortifications. It will not be so easy for these Tang people to conquer Macau!"
The Portuguese in the Haojing area were not willing to give up, and they also accelerated the production of guns and construction of fortifications. When the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty King Division who had been monitoring the situation on the opposite side learned of this situation, they quickly reported it to the people who had just arrived in Xiangshan.
Imperial Envoy Zhao Chengang
After Zhao Chen just finished reading the report, he said to his subordinates: "Go to Haojing again and give them an ultimatum to leave Haojing immediately within three days. Otherwise, Datang will expel them by force. At that time, there will be no weapons or weapons."
Eye, if there are casualties, don’t blame me, the Tang Dynasty, for being unkind!”
The Fo Langji people refused to evacuate, but were prepared to resist stubbornly. This was within reason of him, because if the Tang Dynasty was thousands of miles away and managed to occupy a foothold, it would not surrender willingly.
Those who want to go out want Datang to give up its existing interests. There is no other way but war!
And he also knew that the purpose of issuing the ultimatum this time was just to make his own division famous. Of course, this was also a lie. The truth of the matter was that the military reported that it would take time to mobilize troops, and the needed
No more time, no less time, exactly three days.
This is why he said three days!
This time, in order to regain Haojing, the Tang Dynasty actually did not use many troops. There were four armed merchant ships from Hong Kong, as well as twenty or thirty small boats of various types recruited from nearby areas such as Xiangshan. Of course, these were only secondary.
Yes, the core force is still the army force, including an infantry battalion and an artillery team.
At this time, this army force of about 650 people was rushing towards Haojing!
Therefore, it was also the first time to fight against the Folangji people, so this time the Tang Army was not arrogant, but more cautious, and ordered the Sixth Infantry Division stationed in the Pearl River Delta to take charge of this matter.
The headquarters of the Sixth Infantry Division handed over this task to the 17th Infantry Regiment stationed in the Xijiang estuary area, that is, Xinhui, Shunde, and Xiangshan, to handle the matter, and transferred an equipment from the division headquarters.
They were supported by an artillery unit of six five-pound cannon.
After accepting the order, the 17th Infantry Regiment did not dare to neglect. On the one hand, the infantry regiment made preparations to defend Xinhui, Shunde, and Xiangshan, and prepared to block the possibility of the Folangji people coming up the Xijiang River from the Xijiang River and kill them all the way.
There was also the possibility of going to Zhaoqing, and the third infantry battalion of the regiment was also dispatched to Haojing.
At the same time, because he knew that the Fo Langji people had sharp firearms, he also strengthened most of the artillery under his hands in that direction to cooperate with the third infantry battalion in combat.
Therefore, to cooperate with the third infantry battalion in combat, there will be six five-pound artillery pieces, three three-pound shotguns, and four two-pound shotguns.
Just talking about the density of artillery, it can be said that it is the highest artillery support that battalion-level troops have received in all the Tang Army's battles.
There is no way, the firearms of the Folangji people are sharper. The existing nine-pound artillery pieces of the Tang Army were all purchased from the Folangji people.
It will take three days for these more than 600 troops to arrive smoothly. After arriving, they must build considerable defenses and prepare for an attack!
Three days, this is the time needed by the Tang Dynasty military, and it is also the time Zhao Chengang left for the Fo Langji people!
But it is obvious that neither the Tang Army nor the Folangji people responded directly to this three-day ultimatum. One side continued to build defenses, while the other side prepared to attack!
So in the past three days, although the envoys from both sides had exchanged several times, it was obvious that no practical agreement could be reached!
On the third day, with a quarter of an hour before the ultimatum, Major Dai Liliang, commander of the 3rd Infantry Battalion of the 14th Infantry Regiment, stood on a low hilltop, using a monocular telescope in his hand to view the Buddha statue hundreds of meters away.
The defense situation of Langji people.
"These barbarians are much stronger than those pseudo-Ming thieves, and the fortifications are quite decent!" After a while, he put down the telescope, and then said: "When the fight starts, we must first let the artillery attack those barbarians.
Several towers must be blown down first, otherwise, the barbarian musketeers above will cause considerable casualties to our army!"
A captain next to him said: "Don't worry, Commander Dai. My artillery brothers have already marked all the units. As long as you give the order, our artillery team can quickly enter the predetermined artillery position and then blast their towers."
Smashed!"
"Yes, although their watchtowers look tall, they have only occupied this place for a few months. The watchtowers are not that thick. If they can't be destroyed by one shot, just fire a few more shots. It will be much easier to hit than those city walls."
Got it!"
This is a fact. The city walls these days are very thick. Even if the wall is seven or eight meters high, it is only six or seven meters thick. If a solid bullet hits it, it will only make a hole at most, which is useless.
Only the walls of some small cities are not so thick, and they can only be destroyed by bombardment several times. But in big cities like Wuzhou and Guangzhou, artillery under twelve pounds is useless.
To deal with this kind of city wall, the Tang Army now relies on gunpowder blasting, but it is obvious that the several watchtowers and earthen walls hurriedly built by the Folangji people do not need to be so troublesome.
It will be destroyed. If one shot is not enough, then use another shot!
"What did the Imperial Envoy say? The ultimatum time is coming soon, how is he doing?" Dai Liliang said: "This matter cannot continue to be delayed. Even if our army is waiting, the navy cannot wait.
!”
"We have already sent people to inquire, and we will probably have news soon!"
For this battle, the Army can say that all its troops are on the shore and it doesn't matter how many days they wait. However, the Navy cannot. This time, the Navy took the risk of deploying troops from the base on Hong Kong Island.
Several armed merchant ships came to support the operation. In addition, the Xijiang Squadron under the Pearl River Fleet also mobilized a large number of small boats to stand by. Now they are hiding on the nearby sea waiting for a sneak attack.
If you wait too long, who knows what will happen. Once this opportunity for a sneak attack is lost, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the Navy to fight.
You must know that there are many ships of the Folangji in Haojing's port. If there is a head-on confrontation, it goes without saying that the navy will definitely be completely defeated!
However, Dai Liliang did not wait long. Soon, a messenger arrived at the front line and brought a handwritten letter from the imperial envoy Zhao Chengang. The letter read: The Folangji people invaded the vast land of China as barbarians. Although our Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked hard to educate them,
The barbarians were extremely ignorant and difficult to educate, and refused to evacuate Haojing. At this point, the negotiations between our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Folangji people completely broke down, and the interests of the empire were entrusted to the army and navy officers!
After reading the handwritten letter from Imperial Envoy Zhao Chengang, Dai Liliang immediately turned to the group of officers in front of him: "Gentlemen, the time has come to serve the country with loyalty!"