Brigadier General Qi Wenhuan led more than 4,000 troops to land. Even if the Ming army on the island fought tooth and nail to resist, it was impossible to really block the attack of the Tang Dynasty's landing troops.
As for the effect of Qin Zhifu's temporary betrayal, it was actually very limited. Even without Qin Zhifu's betrayal, Qi Wenhuan was sure to end the battle completely and capture the General Military Mansion and the port area within today.
Of course, Qin Zhifu's action cannot be said to have no effect at all. At least he made the battle end a few hours earlier, which could also reduce the casualties of the landing troops.
After the battle, Qin Zhifu led a few of his confidants to see Qi Wenhuan. When he saw this person, Qi Wenhuan muttered in his heart that Zhaoqing didn't know how to deal with this person since he was the commander-in-chief of the Ming Army.
However, he knew very well that although this person was not of great military use, he still had some political role, and this was not something he could intervene in.
Therefore, Qi Wenhuan did not have an in-depth conversation with Qin Zhifu. He only exchanged a few words on the surface and then took this person on a transportation boat to the Lianzhou outside the port.
After all, in this battle on Nan'ao Island, the highest ranking military officer was Vice Admiral Ouyang Gui. On the surface, Ouyang Gui was the supreme commander, so this matter had to be handled by Ouyang Gui.
But at this time, Ouyang Gui didn't know that Qin Zhifu had changed his mind. He had been staying on the Lianzhou. Although he also saw that there seemed to be civil strife among the Ming army in the port, he did not expect that it turned out to be people from Nan'ao Island.
The supreme commander of the Ming army and the commander-in-chief of Nan'ao Island is here anyway!
Now he is still busy accepting prisoners of Ming army ships in the port.
When the three armies of the Tang Dynasty began to land, the ships of the Ming Navy tried to rush out and used the remaining fireships, but they were all blocked by the powerful artillery fire of the mobile fleet.
After the landing force took over the General Military Mansion and the port area, even Qin Zhifu was defeated and could not escape, so the Ming navy who stayed in the port gritted his teeth and surrendered simply.
This time, more Ming ships surrendered in the port, and some of them were relatively intact ships. At the same time, there were also many captured Ming sailors. Naturally, Ouyang Gui could not ignore them and needed to arrange manpower to take over these ships.
Yesterday's naval battle in the outer sea, coupled with today's landing operation, can be said to have completely annihilated the Ming Navy on Nan'ao Island. The Ming Navy's more than one hundred small, medium and large ships except for a few yesterday
Except for a few that escaped, the others were either sunk or captured. Of course, most of them were small offshore boats and were not of much value.
However, after statistics, there are sixteen ships of about one hundred tons, and five ships of more than two hundred tons. Although these twenty-one ships are all traditional Fu ships, Guangzhou ships, and sand ships, their value is still considerable.
Among them, the ships of more than 200 tons can be directly converted into armed merchant ships and then put into service directly.
The remaining ships of about 100 tons can also be allocated to the logistics department and used as transport ships.
It's just that most of the ships need repairs, and many of them are seriously damaged, so repairs will take some time.
Ouyang Gui had just finished dealing with the captive ships when he ushered in Qi Wenhuan and others. When he learned that Qin Zhifu, the commander-in-chief of Nan'ao Island, had turned around, even Ouyang Gui was shocked.
He immediately met Qin Zhifu in person, but there was still no in-depth discussion. Instead, he was told to return to Guangzhou with the fleet tomorrow and then go to Zhaoqing.
How to arrange him specifically is a matter for Zhaoqing. He, Ouyang Guike, has no control over it and does not have the power to do so.
This made Qin Zhifu worry a little about gains and losses. He did it anyway and reluctantly donated the city, but it was still unknown whether he would be able to enjoy the glory and wealth in the Tang Dynasty!
But now that the matter has come to this, Qin Zhifu has no way out!
We had to stay one night on the Lianzhou, but the next day we continued on the Lianzhou and returned to Guangzhou with the Datang Navy mobile fleet.
The size of the mobile fleet that returned to Guangzhou this time was even larger than when it came. When it set out, there were only nine battleships and more than 20 armed merchant ships. However, when it returned, except for some of the mobile fleet's own ships,
In addition, there were more than forty captive ships.
Ouyang Gui, in accordance with the plan he had made before, left a squadron here directly, with one cruiser, three frigates, and twelve armed merchant ships of more than 200 tons.
The above-mentioned ships are all in relatively good condition and have not been seriously damaged in the battle. They can directly carry out simple maintenance and repairs on Nan'ao Island and garrison the island at the same time.
Other ships, more or less, need to be repaired, especially the several seriously damaged ships that need to be brought back to Guangzhou for repairs.
Accompanying the return were the Guards troops and more than 8,000 Ming army prisoners.
Even the troops of the Army's First Mixed Regiment left Nan'ao Island on the same day and returned to Chaozhou Prefecture, while the two Marine Corps battalions stayed on the island and began to build coastal defenses and fortresses on the island.
The island will be combined with the original Chaozhou Laiwu Island fort in the future to control coastal security in western Guangdong.
According to the judgment of Ouyang Gui, Qi Wenhuan and others, there are two Marine Corps battalions with more than a thousand people, plus more than 20 artillery pieces moved from warships and deployed in the port area. If the Ming army wants to counterattack, it will not be possible.
It is impossible to invest five or six thousand troops.
What's more, they have to pass the naval fleet first.
After solving the worries about Nan'ao Island, the First Mixed Regiment can allocate more strength for operations in the Fujian direction.
Since the Army of the Tang Dynasty captured the area south of the Yangtze River in Huguang and Jiangxi, Fujian has become a prominent part of the entire Ming Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty's ruling areas.
However, because Fujian is mountainous and the roads are difficult to navigate, and because the navy was not very strong before, it could not even conquer Nan'ao Island at that time, so the war in Fujian was delayed again and again.
But now the Tang Dynasty did not want to delay it any longer, and conquering Nan'ao Island was actually a prelude to conquering Fujian, in order to free up the first mixed group to go north to Fujian.
Of course, there are Yu Dayou's more than 10,000 rebel troops in Fujian, and there are also many Ming army guards. Relying on just one first mixed regiment is too reluctant, and the boat will capsize in the ditch if you are not careful.
Therefore, in the battle plan formulated by the Privy Council, the first mixed regiment was actually not the main attacking force, but another force.
That's the 6th Infantry Division.
Since the end of the Battle of Nanchang, the Tang Army has deployed a large number of troops in Jiangxi, and it has also entered a confrontation stage. It is impossible for all frontline troops to be involved, so the Sixth Infantry Division took the opportunity to withdraw to Fuzhou to rest.
After resting, the Sixth Infantry Division will launch an attack from west to east, and go straight to Fuzhou without going anywhere else!
As long as Fuzhou is captured, Fujian can basically be declared captured, even if Zhangzhou and other places are still in the hands of the Ming army, it will be nothing.
Subsequently, the 6th Infantry Division and the 1st Mixed Regiment will continue to move northward, all the way into Zhejiang. If they can go through the hills and mountains in southern Zhejiang and enter the plains in northern Zhejiang, that is, the Hangzhou area, then they can basically declare the great victory.
The Tang Wangshi entered the prosperous place south of the Yangtze River.
However, after the 6th Infantry Division and the 1st Mixed Regiment left for Fujian, the original defense areas of these two units needed to be refilled with troops.
The First Mixed Regiment is doing pretty well. There are still two Marine Corps battalions on Nan'ao Island. At the same time, the Guards are continuing to expand their troops and deploy defenses in the Guangdong area. However, after the Sixth Infantry Division was transferred, the Second Army's
Strength will be affected to a certain extent.
One infantry division and two mixed regiments are not enough.
For this reason, the Army has once again proposed a plan to form a new main infantry division and two mixed regiments!
But this time, Li Xuan did not directly veto it as before, but began to consider the pros and cons.
Expanding the army is naturally a good thing, and after these two years of conquest, after taking over Jiangxi, Huguang, the area south of the Yangtze River, Yunnan, Kunming and other places, Datang's ruling area has greatly expanded, both in terms of population and taxation.
There is a relatively large increase.
In this way, there will be a basis for military expansion.
But how to expand the army specifically needs to be carefully considered.
Li Xuan did not reject the Army's plan, but he also did not directly approve it. Instead, he asked the Army to carefully consider the army expansion plan.
After hearing Li Xuan's words, Zeng Ziwen showed no trace of disappointment on his face, and immediately said with great joy: "I will definitely complete the plan as soon as possible. Within five days, no, within three days, I will submit the details to His Majesty.
New plan!”
After these people from the Army were sent away, the people from the Secretarial Department of the Hanlin Academy immediately reported back, saying that it was a great victory on Nan'ao Island.
Li Xuan was not surprised that Nan'ao Island won the battle. The navy had been preparing for this battle for more than two years. It would be damned if they couldn't win. But what made him curious was that in the battle on Nan'ao Island,
There is also a Ming army commander anyway.
This is so new!
Even Li Xuan couldn't help being curious and ordered him to go ahead and bring them over to meet them when they arrived. In addition, he also asked the people from the Ministry of Etiquette and Newspaper Department to prepare publicity articles. This was the initiative of the General Soldier anyway. If he didn't publicize it well,
That would be such a waste.
Qin Zhifu hasn't arrived in Zhaoqing yet, but articles promoting his deeds have already been written by several writers in the Chao Bao Department, and multiple articles have been published together, preparing for a special report. The Chao Bao Department is very
He generously prepared two pages for Qin Zhifu, and will continue to report on it for several issues, trying to maximize the impact of this matter.
The title of the article to be published in the next issue is four characters: Abandon Darkness and Turn to Light!
Of course, you can’t tell anything by just looking at these four words, but what’s really shocking is the subtitle: Qin Zhifu, the former commander-in-chief of Nan’ao Island of the Puppet Ming Dynasty, was devoted to the king’s division, and he led his troops to submit to the king’s division of the Tang Dynasty before the formation!
After reading this article about Qin Zhifu, the next article is: Anti-Ming Dynasty fighter Qin Zhifu reveals and denounces the many shady secrets of the pseudo-Ming Dynasty officialdom!