Before the warship even got close, the sound of artillery and flintlock guns started to sound continuously.
The intensive firepower of the Ming army killed or injured the few Annamites on the shore and fled in a hurry.
As soon as the warship approached the port and before it stopped, the officers and men on board jumped down one after another to attack the enemy.
"Boom, boom, boom..." The artillery on the Ming army's warships began to extend into the distance.
"Bah, bah, bah..." The soldiers of the Ming army who came ashore automatically formed a battle line and moved forward.
"Boom, boom, boom..." If the enemy in front of them has a group of Annan rebels gathering to resist, the grenadiers will throw grenades into the crowd, and there will be bursts of explosions, which will make the Annan rebels cry and howl.
, heavy casualties.
Annan has been fighting wars for decades, either the Le Dynasty fighting against the Mo Dynasty, or the internal struggle between the north and the south of the Li Dynasty. Those rebel soldiers with military experience have all become old men. When they are strong, they are weak, and when they are weak, they are weak.
If you are strong and fight with the wind, you are definitely a brave person, but if you fight a tough battle or lose a battle, you will definitely be the first one to escape, otherwise, you will not be able to survive.
However, most of the Annan rebels are new recruits. They have never experienced any war, or have experienced very little. When encountering a well-organized war, they may be able to act according to military orders; but when encountering such a war that is unprepared,
, then you can still react, so you can only rely on your instinct to escape first.
In this war, the Dutch warships escaped first, which actually sealed their defeat. The morale before the battle was suddenly hit, which would be a serious problem for the elite troops, let alone these Annan rebels.
!
In fact, the elite of the Annan rebels were all used by their leaders to expand territory to the west. How could they possibly expand the territory if they just sent a miscellaneous army composed of some crab soldiers and generals?
At this time, the battle situation here at the mouth of the Red River is completely one-sided. Ming troops are charging forward everywhere, while the Annan rebels are retreating all the way. Military facilities such as ports, forts, etc. are basically being rushed by Ming troops.
And then it was occupied.
This situation is somewhat similar to the Opium War in the late Qing Dynasty.
During the Battle of Humen, the Qing army set up a three-layer defense line in Humen: Shajiao Fort and Dajiao Fort on both sides of Humen Gate were the first layer; the line on Shanghengdang Island was the second layer; Weiyuan and Jingyuan were built on the east coast.
, Zhenyuan Three Forts, a consolidated fort is built on the west bank, and there are crossbars on the island, two Yongan Forts and Sand Barrier Forts and other facilities; Dahushan Fort is the third level.
Each fort was equipped with more than 400 large and small artillery pieces, and more than 11,000 troops were stationed there. Wooden rafts and iron chains were set up in the waterways in the river to block enemy ships, and naval warships were patrolling. They were commanded by Guan Tianpei, the admiral of the Guangdong Navy. It was the time at that time.
The strongest coastal defense fortress in the Qing Dynasty.
This deployment, at least it sounds, is already impregnable.
However, the invading British army only had 18 combat ships, 462 guns, and an army of about 2,000 people. In the end, the invaders suffered almost no losses, but Humen was occupied by them.
In this plane, the mouth of the Red River is equivalent to Humen, because the mouth of the Red River is the gateway to the capital of the Li Dynasty (Guangzhou). Once it is captured by the enemy, it will threaten its capital (Guangzhou), so there are heavy troops and forts.
During the Opium War, there was a generation difference between the weapons of the British army and the weapons of the Manchu and Qing armies; similarly, there was also a generation difference between the weapons of the Ming army and the Annan rebels at this time.
Most of the Annan rebels still used cold weapons, and only a small number were equipped with matchlocks. The Ming army's flintlocks were standard equipment, as well as hand grenades made of white powder and rifled artillery.
These weapons can suppress the Annan rebels in all aspects and are the most advanced firearms in the world.
At this time, more than 5,000 Ming army officers and soldiers who landed in advance basically captured the military facilities at the mouth of the Red River. Later, more than 5,000 Ming army officers and soldiers disembarked from the fleet. Together with the previous 5,000 people, there were more than 10,000 Ming army officers and soldiers in total.
Occupied the Red River mouth basin.
Many Annan rebel warships at the port were too late to escape. Either they surrendered or were sunk, but most of the Annan rebel warships had already entered the Red River and escaped upstream.
Yang Zhan stood on the high ground on the port side, scanning the newly occupied place.
I saw groups of Annan rebel soldiers being escorted from all corners to the square at the port by Ming army soldiers. In the distance, more civilians, mostly women and children, were fleeing in the distance.
Yang Zhan didn't care about those who escaped at all. The purpose of laying down the Red River Estuary was just for demonstration. Let the Annan rebels know that the Ming Dynasty's iron fist is invincible, so run away quickly!
At this time, he turned his head and looked to the west, just wondering whether to attack Dongguan, which the Annan people called the capital of Tokyo.
Dongguan is about three hundred miles away from the mouth of the Red River. This distance, whether far or close, is about the same as the distance from Tianjin Wei to the capital.
If the warships of the Ming Dynasty go upstream, only the steam-armored warships will have no problem. Other warships that rely on wind power will have to consider unexpected situations.
Another problem is that the ammunition supply carried this time is not much. Because originally it was just a demonstration on the coastline, and at most it would be a naval battle to annihilate the navy of the Annan rebels.
If you want to attack Dongguan, you must also consider this logistical supply issue!
Thinking of this, Yang Zhan couldn't help but turn his head and look north again. What if he attacked north and opened up the land route with Guangxi?
However, this seems unnecessary. Now that there is no navy of the Annan rebels, it will be more convenient to use ships directly from Guangxi to supply along the coastline.
After thinking for a while, Yang Zhan finally decided that it would be better to use Chaotian's decree to intimidate the Annan rebels and make them flee inland faster.
In the evening, the battle report about the Red River Estuary came out.
In this battle, the Ming Navy damaged thirteen warships, two of which were seriously damaged and could not be repaired within a period of time and had lost their combat capabilities. The other eleven warships could continue to fight after being repaired.
According to preliminary statistics, thirteen warships of the Annan rebels were sunk by the Ming army. Thirty-six warships were towed to the port after being damaged and waiting for repairs. Eight of them were seriously damaged. It was certain that in a short time
It cannot be repaired.
In addition, a total of eighteen complete warships were captured, mainly because the damaged warships were blocked in the port and had no time to escape, so they had to surrender. In addition, nearly half of the Annan rebel warships, that is, seven
A dozen boats fled into the Red River.
In terms of soldiers, thirty-six soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were killed and 275 were injured, of which 26 were seriously injured. As for the Annan rebels, according to incomplete statistics, it is estimated that five soldiers of the Ming army were killed.
There were more than a hundred people. The number of prisoners was accurate, 1,567, of whom about 500 were injured.
On the next day, Yang Zhan and supervisor Zhang Tongchang inspected the Annan rebel prisoners in the square.
These Annan rebel prisoners, who had been hungry for almost a day and a night, were all in low spirits. When they saw a high-ranking official from the Ming Dynasty approaching, they all shrank and looked very frightened.
What surprised Yang Zhan and Zhang Tongchang was that these Annan rebel prisoners were really old, young, and not many normal young and strong. Obviously, decades of turmoil here in Annan, especially
The large-scale war between the North and the South consumed most of the young people in Annan. The remaining young Annan rebels were sent to the west to expand territory.
After seeing these prisoners, Yang Zhan and Zhang Tongchang discussed it and finally ordered that all those with military positions or officials would be beheaded, and their heads would be hung along the Red River so as not to waste food; the rest were ordinary people.
All the rebel soldiers were let go.
Moreover, before releasing them, he also told them clearly that Annan was the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The Li Dynasty in Annan, whether it was the Zheng family in the north or the Ruan family in the south, were all rebellious. If the imperial court regains the old land of Annam, the people will live a good life.
days, but the rebel leaders will be killed without mercy.
The rebel soldiers who were released this time must be registered before being released. If they dare to resist the imperial army next time, they will be severely punished if they are captured again. However, if they surrender before the war, they will not be counted.
Comparatively, if you can escort an officer to surrender, it will be considered a meritorious service and you will be allocated your own grain fields.
……………………
While Yang Zhan and Zhang Tongchang were dealing with these prisoners, someone finally rushed to Dongguan to report the war at the mouth of the Honghe River.
"What?" The powerful official of the Annan and Northern Dynasties and the actual controller of the Qing capital, Zheng Zhi, was shocked when he heard this. He couldn't believe his ears. "It was a complete defeat. You lost such an important place as the mouth of the Red River in one battle?"
Not only him, but all the other Li Dynasty civil and military officials in the hall were shocked, panicked and tinged with fear.
"Your Majesty, it was the Dutch who fled before fighting that caused the entire army to collapse..."
Listening to the messenger describing the general situation of the battle, Zheng Zhi was so angry that he gritted his teeth. If the Dutch appeared in front of him at this time, he would definitely be eaten alive by him!
Honghekou fell, and Tokyo was under the attack of the Ming army, and they might be overrun in a few days.
More importantly, the Ming Dynasty is a big country. It is unknown how many troops will be sent this time, and its elites are attacking Menglanzhang in the west, and they have almost defeated them all. At this time, even if they want to mobilize their elites back
Even rescue is impossible!
what to do?
By the way, the west and north of Tokyo are also the territory of the Ming Kingdom. If the Ming Kingdom launches a three-pronged attack this time, then the Li Dynasty will be even more dangerous!
At this moment, the arrogance that they had when they ambushed and defeated the Ming army, and even annihilated more than 5,000 Ming troops, had disappeared from these Li Dynasty monarchs and ministers.
At this moment, all they could think about was the fear of the huge Ming Empire!
If not, I heard Li Shenzong on the throne ask Zheng Jie with a crying voice: "Ai Qing, what should I do?"