The most brutal battles since ancient times are often battles in which the enemy and we are evenly matched.
Or at least each party feels that they have a chance and the advantage is mine, so they will continue to place bets on the card table and will not stop even if they lose.
This is obviously the case for Zheng Gen at this moment.
If he had no expectations or psychological expectations at the beginning, then I am afraid that when he saw Zheng Chenggong's fleet artillery fire being so fierce just now, he should just be nervous and choose to stop.
However, he firmly believed that Zheng Chenggong was at the end of his game. He was close to running out of ammunition and food when he returned from Burma. He urgently needed to return to Guangzhou for supplies. The artillery fire in front of him was just a temporary bluff and had no staying power.
It would be even more impossible if we didn't take advantage of Zheng Chenggong's illness to kill him and let Zheng Chenggong return to the spring water in Guangzhou to regain full health and mana and get two magical equipment before fighting again.
As a result, the naval battle naturally turned into a pure exchange of fists and armor-piercing cannons. Groups of Vietnamese main gunboats pressed forward wildly and fiercely, exchanging cannonballs with Zheng Chenggong without any fancy.
The big iron ball weighing 70 kilograms smashed through the main Vietnamese gunboats one after another, causing water intrusion. Finally, occasionally a gunpowder magazine was penetrated and exploded.
In the era of sailing warships, because the hull was made of wood and its weight was too light, even if the waterline was penetrated and flooded, the ship would rarely sink unless there were too many holes and the reserve buoyancy was completely exhausted.
The main reason for the direct explosion and sinking of warships is basically the explosion of ammunition depots. It can be said that six or seven of the ten sunken ships were caused by explosions of ammunition depots, and two or three were caused by fires that destroyed the entire ship. Only one was
Penetrating injury, direct water intrusion and sinking.
At this moment, the Vietnamese navy and the Ming Dynasty navy were bombarding each other face to face. A stick of incense, a quarter of an hour, and less than half an hour. As the bombardment continued, several Vietnamese ships sank due to explosions in ammunition depots.
Gunboats and a few boats full of fire floated on the sea like dead fish, drifting with the current.
Zheng Chenggong's flagship alone detonated the gunpowder magazine and sank a Manila-type heavy cover with three gun decks, as well as two heavy Karak gunboats. As a result, one Galen gunboat suffered a hole and caught fire, and two ships suffered holes.
From this perspective, Zheng Chenggong's flagship itself directly achieved three kills and three assists, with an exchange ratio of six times. The key is that although its wooden armor was also punctured, in addition to the mast and sail being damaged to a certain extent,
There were no fatal injuries.
"Your Majesty is really far-sighted. The Shen family's understanding of naval warfare is no less than that of our Zheng family. He actually judged at the beginning that the bombardment between heavy gunships was the main cause of the sinking, which was the explosion of the gunpowder magazine.
That’s why when Ming Dynasty was designing the battleship, it emphasized the need to install protective armor for the command cabin and gunpowder cabin. Now it seems that this little bit of steel plate material is simply a stroke of genius.”
Zheng Chenggong himself was sitting on the flagship, hiding in the fleet command room, listening to the sound of cannons in his ears and the results reported by his subordinates, and he couldn't help but sigh with emotion from the bottom of his heart.
The Ming Dynasty had Zhu Shuren as a time traveler, so of course he was well versed in some of the most well-known experiences and lessons from the era of sailing battleships.
In later generations, anyone who is a little bit of a military fan will know that most sailing battleships were sunk due to gunpowder explosions.
However, in the real world, it took the summary of three Anglo-Dutch wars, and even the subsequent summary of the Napoleonic War, for these experiences to become a consensus. They are all lessons learned with blood.
The Ming Dynasty could directly copy the answer. When designing battleships, they focused on protection and added steel plates to two types of individual cabins. This was equivalent to being directly invincible in the era of solid iron ball cannonballs.
After all, until the 1860s, during the Civil War between the United States and the United States in another time and space, battleships equipped with steel plates were bombarded with solid iron bullets, but they could not penetrate each other.
In the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1863, the Confederate USS Virginia and the Northern Union's USS Monitor fought against each other for a whole day, and in the end they only achieved zero penetration of each other.
At this moment, Zheng Chenggong's flagship is also a model of this kind of absolute defense. Although the several layers of shipboard planks on the gun deck cannot withstand the impact of thirty kilograms of iron bullets within two hundred paces, many holes were punched out.
, but these holes did not affect navigation at all. They were all above the waterline, so only a few sailors were killed and wounded, and a few cannons were damaged.
No matter if the Vietnamese persist in scraping, they will only be massacred unilaterally.
As the artillery battle continued, half an hour later, the Vietnamese finally confirmed two facts in despair:
First of all, the defensive power of Zheng Chenggong's battleship was far beyond their imagination. No matter how bombarded it was, it would not lose its combat effectiveness. At most, its firepower would be weakened and its masts and sails would be slightly damaged.
Secondly, their bet that "Zheng Chenggong lacks ammunition, his arrogance is only temporary, and he will stop after the gunpowder is used up" has not happened, and it seems far away.
What's even more terrible is that with the battle distance so close, both sides will use wooden trumpets to shout to demoralize the other side if they have the opportunity. Even if the sea cannons are loud and the waves are loud, the enemy will always hear them if they shout too much.
Zheng Chenggong asked his subordinates to spread the word "Zheng Zha, you have fallen into the trap of my father-in-law. The Dutch in Malacca have been frightened by our Ming Dynasty. My ammunition was sold to us by the Dutch! You can take as many hits as you want!"
As the news spread wider and wider, the Vietnamese finally couldn't stand it any longer.
After Zheng Chenggong keenly recognized the wavering of the Vietnamese navy, he decisively made a further attempt to overwhelm everyone and divide and disintegrate.
"Temporarily contain Zheng Zha's fleet, and then focus on the gunboats of Ruan Phuc Bin's forces on the left wing. Chase them and blast them! Then cooperate with the shouting! Let him know that he will die if he dares to venture into this muddy water!"
Zheng Chenggong had done his homework before the war until the spheres of influence of the two dynasties and four surnames within the Vietnamese were complicated. When faced with the power of the north, the "Vietnamese Wei Emperor" and the "Vietnamese Wei King Wu" might temporarily share the same enemy, but when it came to a life and death situation,
I am definitely a dead Taoist friend rather than a poor Taoist.
So, at the critical point of morale collapse, Zheng Chenggong chased Nguyen Phuc Binh's fleet and launched a concentrated bombardment. Nguyen Phuc Binh's fleet finally chose to oil his feet and withdraw from the battlefield, just like Hideaki Kobayakawa in the Battle of Sekigahara, and ran away.
They didn't even care about the disconnection between the remaining gunboats and Guangzhou Shipbuilding.
After defeating Ruan Phu Ping, Zheng Chenggong's pressure was greatly reduced. Then he turned his guns to deal with Zheng Gen, and the situation became even more devastating. It was like a wall that everyone pushed against him.
In the end, the brutal artillery battle lasted from the morning to the afternoon. As the three-story gun-deck Manila-type heavy-cover ship on which Zheng Gen personally rode was attacked and sunk by Zheng Chenggong's fleet, this battle of destruction of the Vietnamese navy,
It's finally coming to an end.
The Ming army chased them north, killing all directions, driving the remaining Guangzhou ships who had no time to escape, cutting them in vertical directions, and shattered the Vietnamese formation into pieces.
On the ocean off the coast of Washington, blood-stained shipwrecks and broken sails were scattered everywhere, and the total number of sunken and burned ships was no less than a hundred.
…
"Victory in Hue! The ugly people in Vietnam overestimated their capabilities and dared to intercept Duke Zheng on his way back. However, Duke Zheng killed him and killed the commander of the Vietnamese navy Zheng Gen! He burned hundreds of enemy ships and killed more than ten thousand enemies!"
News of the Battle of Hue, as Zheng Chenggong successfully returned home, was of course immediately transmitted back to Guangzhou at a very fast speed.
When the news arrived, even Emperor Zhu Ciyu himself, who was on the southern tour, was directly shocked.
Because at that time, he was ready to leave the city and go to the Nanhai Pier to welcome Zheng Chenggong on his triumphant return from the expedition to Burma. Then he encouraged the labor force and encouraged the soldiers to keep up their efforts. After the supplies were restored to good condition, he continued to work hard for the Ming Dynasty and fought against the Vietnamese.
As a result, the wine, meat and fruits prepared for the victory in Burma have not yet been eaten, and a second piece of good news has been superimposed. How can this not make the monarchs and ministers of Guangzhou stunned?
This is just like what was originally said, you first go back to the spring to restore health and mana, and then you get two magical equipments and then go out for a wave. But after reading the town return scroll, good guy - I have memorized five more kills.
head on the body.
Two months ago, Zhu Ciyu, who was still blaming himself for the setback of the patrol squadron sent to Vietnam's coastal waters as a deterrent, suddenly got a shot in the arm. Thanks to Uncle Zheng's rescue, there was no need to go back after the southern patrol was over.
Worried about being educated by my father.
Zhu Ciyu hurriedly arrived at the dock with his escorts and laborers, wine, meat and property. As soon as Zheng Chenggong got off the boat, he personally poured wine for Uncle Zheng.
Gu Yanwu and others were also on the side, pouring wine for other generals.
In addition to wine, meat and fruits, the wealthy businessmen in Guangzhou also specially cooked hundreds of large pots of herbal tea to relieve the heat of the soldiers returning from the tropical expedition. After all, it is already the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and the scorching heat and fever are no joke.
.
"Uncle Zheng is really the great master of our Ming Dynasty, the magic needle that fixes the sea. When we talk and laugh, the oars and oars disappear into ashes. This is what we call it. With Uncle Zheng here, why worry about the thieves in the South China Sea not being destroyed."
"Your Majesty is exaggerating. I just followed the regent, learned the essence of naval warfare, and integrated it with my talent. That's why I am so lucky today.
This is all due to my great power. I was able to overwhelm the red barbarians in Malacca, Batavia and other places. They felt guilty for selling warships to Vietnam before, so they had to take the initiative to sell ammunition supplies to our army this time, so I was able to have enough ammunition.
On the way back, he defeated the enemy fleet that intercepted him."
Zheng Chenggong was humble, and thus let the emperor and the officials in Guangzhou know the inside story of the battle.
Although Zhu Ciyu had cleared up his doubts, he still couldn't help but sigh: "Even so, Uncle Zheng was able to predict the enemy's opportunities and prepare in advance by thinking that the Vietnamese might intercept them halfway. He can be regarded as a master of the military who knows himself and the enemy."
Not to mention the grand banquet that day, the troops rested and resupplied for many days after returning to port, and the warships damaged in the battle were also brought into the shipyard for repairs.
In the remaining days of July, the imperial court was not in a hurry to expand its weapons. As August passed by, it was a little cooler, and the lightly wounded were almost healed.
Seriously wounded soldiers and damaged warships will definitely not be able to participate in the next phase of the battle, so there is no need to use them.
Zhu Ciyu waited for Zheng Chenggong to recover, and then earnestly discussed military aircraft with him to see when it would be appropriate to use troops on the Vietnamese land. Naturally, he also brought Gu Yanwu with him during the discussion, who was responsible for discussing how to divide and disintegrate the enemy, and to pull together one faction and fight against another.
Zheng Chenggong said that there were not many remnants of the Vietnamese navy, and he could fully maintain the maritime supply line from Guangxi to Thanh Hoa, the capital of Vietnam (near present-day Hanoi, but closer to the mouth of the Red River than Hanoi), and could even carry a small amount of land troops to directly launch landing operations.
However, after consultation, everyone felt that it was not necessary to land all the armies, as it would be too troublesome. Because the most dangerous mountainous areas on the Vietnam border, Lang Son and Gaoping are still in the hands of Annan's comfort envoy Mo Jingyu, and the Ming Dynasty has
Divide your troops to help him defend the city.
It is actually not difficult to cross Lang Son, Caoping, and then enter the Red River Valley by land. The only difficulty is that it is troublesome to transport supplies over the mountains, but it is easy for soldiers to walk across the mountain on two legs.
In this case, more is worse than less. After accounting and considering that Li Dingguo is still maintaining order in the newly occupied areas of Myanmar, the imperial court asked Sun Kewang, who was also a surrendered general like Li Dingguo, to support Mo Jingyu and attack Thanh Hoa from Gaoping overland. .
Zheng Chenggong led the fleet and transport fleet to escort Liu Wenxiu to land at the mouth of the Red River, and went upstream to join Sun Kewang, and later replenished Sun Kewang with food, medicine and ammunition by sea.
As a result, the measure of "cutting off the shipping capacity of the upper reaches of the Red River" that the Vietnamese had been preparing for was completely in vain, because the Ming army did not need to transport supplies from Yunnan to Vietnam via the upper reaches of the Red River -
As an aside, the Ming Dynasty’s sea supply conditions today are actually better than those in the late 1970s.
Nowadays, Zheng Chenggong's navy has completely crushed the Portuguese and Dutch products purchased by the Vietnamese. This is an unprecedented and hugely favorable situation. If the army does not seize it, it will be a disgrace to its ancestors.
…
The subsequent military operations against Vietnam have completely entered garbage time.
The Ming Dynasty was divided and disintegrated. Landings and direct attacks were used simultaneously to annihilate Zheng Zhe's main force in batches. The Vietnamese army suffered casualties and captured no more than one or two hundred thousand people. Zheng Zhe's overwhelming army was almost destroyed.
The price paid by the Ming Dynasty was not high, because Mo Jingyu, a local snake, helped the Vietnamese traitors and vanguards resist harm. In the future, they would also help the Ming Dynasty maintain governance and suppress civilian resistance in Vietnam.
The conditions promised by the Ming Dynasty were to take back Mo Jingyu's Gaoping and Lang Son Prefecture, which were dangerous and impoverished areas in the mountainous areas, and to replace them with fertile plains that were undefensible. Thanh Hoa, the former capital of Vietnam, would be used as the capital of Thanh Hoa.
Mo Jingyu’s new territory and allowed him to be hereditary as the Secretary of Xuanwei for several generations.
It's hard to say whether Mo Jingyu himself and his descendants will be able to be used as chess pieces of the Ming Dynasty in the future.
As for Ruan Phuc Bin of South Vietnam, in the end, because the Ming Dynasty did not have the energy to digest so many new territories, he was temporarily overawed by Gu Yan's military envoys and accepted the nominal canonization of the Ming Dynasty. He no longer insisted on Li Chao Zheng Suo and was willing to help the Ming Dynasty attack Zheng Zao in exchange for the Ming Dynasty.
Do not take action against him and recognize his rule in the south.
After all, in the Ming Dynasty's considerations, the Red River Plain area in North Vietnam has been Chinese territory since ancient times. The Jiaozhi County of the Han Dynasty was located here and was also controlled by the Tang Dynasty. It was later discarded by the Zhao family of the Song Dynasty after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Therefore,
Now it makes sense for Daming to take it back.
When Zhu Shuren himself read history books in his previous life, he never recognized the so-called "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" because this name was originally defined by the Song Dynasty to cover up shame. The real name should be "Five Dynasties and Twelve Kingdoms".
Because the Jiaozhi Kingdom and the Koryo Kingdom also established themselves in the decades between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the rise of the Song Dynasty. In the eyes of people during the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was no difference between the Goryeo Jiaozhi Kingdom and the Southern Han Dynasty, Shu, Wu and Yue.
If the Song Dynasty wanted to boast that it had reunified the political power that had been divided after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, it should recognize the Five Dynasties and Twelve Kingdoms. However, it did not have the ability. It only brought back ten of the twelve, and two were separated forever. The Song Dynasty
Talent's Spring and Autumn style of writing covers shame and only writes about the Ten Kingdoms.
As for Shun Hua, the area south of Da Nang is not considered "since ancient times". It was during the more than 600 years when Vietnam became independent after the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms that it slowly expanded southward and destroyed Champa and other places.
The new territory that came out really has nothing to do with the Han and Tang Dynasties. Things have priorities and assimilation is difficult, so there will be no need to step into the quagmire.
In this way, with the final defeat and death of Zheng Zha, the Le Dynasty of Vietnam came to a complete end. The last king of the Le Dynasty was killed together with Zheng Zha. Nguyen Phuc Bin declared that he would no longer recognize the Li Dynasty and proclaimed himself king and vassal of the Ming Dynasty.
, and also killed all the distant clan members of the Li Dynasty in the southern region.
Although there are still countless rebels in Vietnam, which can last for many years, at least they no longer need to involve too many troops and material resources from the Ming Dynasty. Let Mo Jingyu, the puppet, slowly eliminate them.