Chapter 860 The power of crushing
Using the "Enterprise" to lead the battle against these small boats with a displacement of less than a hundred tons is really a bit overkill. Even without the use of ship-based artillery attacks, the metal attack angle of the bow alone is enough to easily tear these small boats apart. The hull and even the keel of the ship were broken off. However, compared to the simple and crude attack method of collision, the visual and auditory impact caused by artillery shooting is obviously greater. For those pirates who have the idea of jumping into gangs, it is simply a sure blow - under such dense artillery fire In the face of an attack, the possibility of rushing to the side of the "Enterprise" and implementing gang-hopping operations was extremely slim. Unless there are three or four times more ships launching attacks, they can rely on their numerical advantage to forcefully attack the cannonballs. Of course, having said that, the Haisha Gang cannot afford the heavy price of this kind of fighting method.
Following closely behind the "Enterprise" were two expedition-class warships that were installed with steam propulsion devices just before setting off from Sanya. Their original mission was to guard the side and rear of the "Enterprise"'s blind spot on the battlefield, but in Under the current one-sided fighting situation, the two ships have automatically changed from escort mode to last-hit mode, and launched a second strike against the enemy ship that was damaged by bullets at the front.
Just as the coalition command predicted before the war, the sudden attack left the Haisha Gang at a loss. Although their vigilance and reaction speed were commendable, they launched ships out of the harbor to resist as soon as the enemy attacked, but Since they were not aware of the identity of their opponents, and it was difficult to form an organized resistance in the haste of the incident, this charge outside the harbor was more like sending themselves to the muzzle of the Haihan warship as a living target.
Some ships that were not moving so fast immediately began to turn around after discovering that the leading troops had suffered heavy losses. They had never seen a warship with such powerful firepower in their lives. They were frightened and only thought about how to avoid these evil stars on the sea. , and now the harbor exit channel has been tightly blocked by pirate ships and coalition fleets that have capsized due to flooding, and the only escape route is the Liuheng Island behind.
Ma Ling lay on the side of the ship and shivered under his feet. This was the first time he had encountered this kind of artillery battle at sea. While being shocked by the power of the artillery fire, he was secretly glad that he had chosen to join the Haihan people's camp. Based on the combat methods he saw before him, he could be sure that even if the naval forces stationed in Nanjing and Hangzhou came to the East China Sea, it would be difficult for them to gain favor in front of such a fleet. As for the pirates on Liuheng Island, unless God can set off huge waves in the East China Sea and sweep away the Haihan fleet, their outcome will probably be just as determined in the Haihan battle plan. There is no chance.
Twenty minutes after the war began, more than ten ships had been damaged, capsized, and sank in the channels entering and exiting the three harbors, and even more ships had returned to the harbor after being damaged. Although several ships desperately escaped from the port through the gap, this did not mean that they could escape. There were dozens of warships within two nautical miles of the periphery waiting to pick up these fish that slipped through the net. In order to escape from the large net set by these eager predators, in addition to excellent luck, you also need a speed of more than ten knots and a hull that is at least three times stronger than the current one, and these are obviously These are all unattainable extravagant hopes.
The battle in the waters between the east side of Liuheng Island and Wonsan Island was even more one-sided. Since most of the armed ships and combatants of the Haisha Gang were concentrated in the southern harbor, most of the docked here were fishing boats and The damaged ships that need to be repaired have almost zero resistance. However, some fishing boats operating in this area immediately fled north after discovering that the coalition fleet was coming. Although according to the pre-war arrangements, there should be ships from the Sanlin Gang in that direction to help block the escaping ships, but it is difficult to say whether it can be done without leaks. The main task of the warships assigned to this direction was to control the coastline in this area, so they did not continue to pursue northward for a few small shrimps.
The Haisha Gang has concentrated most of its armed sailing ships in the westernmost small harbor among the three harbors in the southern part of Liuheng Island. What they consider is that in the event of an emergency, the island's commanders can assemble their troops in the shortest possible time. Surface forces resist invaders. However, it is precisely because of this that this small harbor suffered the strongest attack among the three harbors at this time.
The "Enterprise" cut horizontally from the east side, and after conducting indiscriminate bombardments on ships sailing out of the two commercial ports all the way to the west, it took the last small harbor exclusive to the Haisha Gang as its final target. Cooperating with the operation was a temporary formation composed of two expedition-class and more than ten exploration-class warships. These warships were divided into two layers, inside and outside, to tightly seal the access channel to the small harbor. If there is still space for small fishing boats to escape in the other two harbors to the east, the blockade here is so strong that even if you want to swim out, it is impossible.
Ma Ling, Xu Ke and Lin Xing watched silently as the Haihan fleet bombarded the harbor. They could no longer comment on the Haihan people's combat performance. This method of combat has gone beyond their previous understanding of naval warfare. As a leading party, they really don't have much role to play. They only need to quietly watch the coalition fleet crush the Haisha Gang's helpless struggle. At this time, the three of them all doubted the value of their existence. The Haihan people are so powerful, do they really need the assistance of the Leading Party to complete these combat plans?
Of course, there was another group of people who were in a gloomier mood than the three of them at this time, and that was the members of the Haisha Gang who were trapped in the harbor. In fact, when Lin Xing went to Shipu Port to ask for a meeting with the Haihan people, the Haisha Gang also received news about the change of ownership of Shipu Port. But sadly, neither the first boss Li Luotou nor the second boss Motegi Shinobu paid enough attention to the news. They believed that the Haihan people had not openly opposed the army and local government in Fuguang for many years, and there was no reason to travel all the way. Come to Zhejiang to attack an unrelated guard post. Besides, although the geographical conditions of Shipu Port are good, because it is far away from the central area of Ningbo Prefecture, there are no necessary conditions for the Haihan people to suppress the border. To put it bluntly, even if the Haihan people came here to rob, the area was almost entirely a fishing village and there would be no targets worth plundering.
Therefore, they believe that the Haihan people may have arrived at Shipu Port with a fleet, or even had friction with the local Ming army out of some misunderstanding. However, it is said that the Haihan people attacked Shipu Suo City, occupied and blocked the local Harbor Pier, but they refused to believe it because they really couldn't imagine the motive of the Haihan people to do such a thing.
It wasn't until the third boss Gomez came back from Zhoushan yesterday morning to finish his work. After hearing the news, he shouted that something was wrong and quickly summoned Li Luotou and Motegi Shinobi to discuss countermeasures.
Speaking of this matter, we have to start with the immigration policy currently implemented by the Portuguese in the Far East. Since Haihan has extremely strict controls on Western immigrants stationed in Hainan Island, except for businessmen who have paid a deposit and those who have obtained the Goa Governor's Palace or the Macau Council Authorized representative, it is difficult for other Portuguese people to be allowed to settle on Hainan Island for a long time or to rent land or purchase real estate. Therefore, immigrants sent to the Far East often can only stay in Sanya for a short time. If they do not choose to be naturalized as Haihan Danggui, they must leave the country within fifteen days. A small number of these Portuguese immigrants who transited through Sanya came to the coast of Zhejiang, and many of them joined Gomez's staff because of their sense of identity. In addition, there are also some Portuguese businessmen who realize indirect trade with various countries in Northeast Asia through Gomez's Haisha Gang.
Because of his Portuguese identity, Gomez obtained much more information about Haihan through Portuguese immigrants than these two masters, even more than most smugglers in the East China Sea. Gomez is generally aware of Haihan's main trends in recent years, so there is a very important piece of information he has that the other two people don't know - the Haihan people solved the Eighteen Zhizhi in the Fujian Strait last year. Since then, attention has gradually turned north. Gomez noticed that the Haihan people's indirect influence was not only in Zhejiang, but had even crossed Zhejiang to Jiangsu, Shandong and other places further north. More and more Fujian merchant ships were constantly transporting back one ship after another from the north. War refugees, and it is said that these refugees are going to the colonies developed by the Haihan people in the past two years, including the Penghu Islands that changed hands last year and the newly opened Kaohsiung Port in Taiwan.
Most of Gomez's people come from distant motherland, and he naturally knows how difficult this long sea migration journey is. If he were the person in charge of this task, he would definitely find a way to build an immigration transfer station midway to ensure that these people can better adapt to the destination where climate and environmental conditions change greatly. If conditions are right, this kind of transfer station can be expanded into a new colony, just like what the Haihan people did in Panyu, Guangdong.
Zhoushan Islands is undoubtedly an excellent choice. It is almost the midpoint of the route from Fujian to the Shandong Peninsula in the north. It is also a wilderness that is difficult for the government to truly control. The islands here are basically occupied by large and small civilian armed forces. It is only natural for the Haihan people to get involved here. Gomez even considered that if the Haihan people planned to do this one day, then he must go to the Haihan people to discuss cooperation matters as soon as possible. Among the Portuguese businessmen he knew, quite a few had done business with the Haihan people, and he could introduce them at that time to build relationships.
However, Gomez's idea was still in his mind and before he could put it into practice, the Haihan people had already arrived at his door. He had different ideas from the other two leaders. In his opinion, the military action taken by the Haihan people at Shipu Port was a precursor to big moves along the coast of Zhejiang. It is true that the Haihan people have no record of attacking the Ming army's garrison in Fuguang and Guangzhou provinces. However, Gomez knew very well that the Haihan people's method of snatching Hainan Island from the Ming Dynasty was not so upright. Someone told him that the Haihan people also used it at the beginning. This goal was achieved through force, and then all responsibility was placed on a group of non-existent pirates. The Guangdong government was afraid of the Haihan people's force and received a lot of benefits, so they always turned a blind eye to this matter.
Gomez believes that the Haihan people can repeat this almost hegemonic operating mode in Zhejiang. As long as all the people in Shipu Guard Station are dealt with, they can blame this on an unlucky force in the East China Sea afterwards. At that time, the Haihan people can once again invade the East China Sea in the name of assisting the government in suppressing bandits, and then rely on strong force to occupy an area here as a foothold.
Gomez told Li Luotou and Motegi Shinobu about his guess, but the two of them still had doubts about his opinion. After all, Gomez's speculation did not have any real evidence, and the suggestions he gave turned out to be It was simply unacceptable for the two of them to ask the Haisha Gang to take refuge with the Haihan people as soon as possible.
Although the Haisha Gang is not yet the strongest armed force in the East China Sea except for the Ming Dynasty's official army, it is at least ranked high. Looking at the entire East China Sea, no one dares to point fingers at the Haisha Gang. Before the Fujian Shibazhi left Penghu, they came to Zhejiang to purchase food supplies, and they also politely sought help from the Haisha Gang. Even when Zheng Zhilong's brother came to visit Liuheng Island, he never mentioned the topic of asking the Haisha Gang to be loyal to Shibazhi. Although the Haihan people have a great reputation in the south, they don't seem to be powerful enough to make the Haisha Gang surrender after hearing the news.
Gomez himself was actually not sure of the Haihan people's true intentions. He could only hope that the Haihan people did not take Liuheng Island and the Haisha Gang seriously. But just in case, he still suggested that the other two heads should strengthen the early warning range and defense of their own sites during this period. This is not to resist possible attacks by the Haihan people, but if such a situation really happens, they can rely on these means to delay the time so that they can evacuate Liuheng Island and escape.
Although Li Luotou and Motegi Shinobi felt that Gomez's plan was too exaggerated and believed that the Haihan people would not come to the door, they had also heard various rumors about the Haihan armed fleet. They were not afraid of ten thousand, just in case. It was still necessary to be on guard, so Gomez made some adjustments to the island's defense deployment. But the effect of this temporary measure is naturally very limited. Gomez finally convinced the other two people yesterday. Before the various remedial measures in his mind could be implemented one by one, the Haihan fleet was The door has been opened.
Although Gomez has never seen the Haihan fleet, he has heard Portuguese immigrants describe the appearance of the Haihan warship, especially the red and blue Haihan flag flying on the top of the mast, which can be seen from a long distance away. The true identity of this fleet has been identified.
(End of chapter)