Chapter 908 Attacking Miyako Island
This was not Zheng Zhilong's first confrontation with the Haihan people, and he was naturally very aware of the power of the Haihan militia. In the past battle records, Shibazhi had almost never taken advantage of him at all, and was pinned to the ground and rubbed by his opponents every time. Zheng Zhilong was not even sure whether the casualties his troops had caused to Haihan after so many attacks had reached three digits. Although a year has passed since the last battle between the two sides, Zheng Zhilong does not have much confidence in the fighting will of his men, because even he himself is often frightened when he sees Haihan's two-color flag in his sleep. Have to wake up.
Zheng Zhilong has been active in the military in recent years, with victories and defeats, and he actually takes life and death lightly. However, in addition to his own life, he is actually more worried about his family's retreat. The eldest son Zheng Fusong currently lives with him on Miyako Island, while in distant Hirado, Japan, his wife Tagawa Matsu and the younger son Tagawa Shichizaemon stayed there and lived an anonymous life. Although Chen Yixin made many inquiries when he led the team to Hirado, he was unable to find out the whereabouts of the mother and son due to the deliberate cover-up of the Matsuura family.
Not many people know the name Zheng Fusong, but if you talk about the other name he later changed to Zheng Chenggong, it will be known to everyone in later generations. Zheng Fusong was born in Hirado, Japan, in August 1624. He lived in Japan with his mother Tagawa Matsu until he was six years old. In the original history, Zheng Fusong moved from Japan to Quanzhou, Fujian Province after his father Zheng Zhilong accepted the invitation from the Fujian government. However, due to the emergence of the Haihan people, Zheng Zhilong did not get the opportunity to be recruited by the government. Instead, he was always regarded as a criminal by the government. He was a thorn in his side and wanted to get over it as soon as possible, so Zheng Fusong didn't go to the mainland at all after coming from Japan and settled directly in Penghu.
In the original history, after Zheng Fusong arrived in Fujian, he was admitted as a scholar at the age of fourteen. At the age of seventeen, he married the niece of Dong Yangxian, a Jinshi in Quanzhou and the Minister of Rites, and was sent to Jinling at the age of twenty. He studied and successfully entered the Nanjing Imperial College for further study. He became a disciple of a famous Confucian sect in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and was named "Sen", which means "big wood". His mentor was the famous man in history who refused to commit suicide because he disliked the water being too cold. Qian Qianyi, an unscrupulous person with braids.
When Zheng Fusong was twenty-one years old, that is, in 1645, brothers Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui supported the Tang Dynasty King Zhu Yujian in Fuzhou and proclaimed himself emperor, changing Yuan Dynasty to Longwu. This unlucky emperor only reigned for one year, but he made a move that had a huge impact on Zheng Fusong's life, which was to give him a national surname, a given name, and the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Forest Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Yitong Consort. If he didn't have a daughter, he would have even granted a marriage in one step. In short, in order to win over Zheng Zhilong, a minister with military power, Emperor Longwu tried every means. At this time, Zheng Fusong's name became Zhu Chenggong, and the people respectfully called him Guo Xingye.
Of course, because Haihan's appearance in this time and space disrupted the original development trajectory, Zheng Fusong has become further and further away from the life path of the "national surname". Under the current situation, it is still unclear whether the Manchus outside the Pass can go south, but the responsibility of turning the tide in the southeastern coastal areas and holding high the banner of anti-Qing and restoration of the Ming Dynasty will probably no longer fall on his shoulders. His future life trajectory has undergone fundamental changes without his being able to detect it.
Zheng Zhilong, who sensed the dangerous atmosphere, wanted to send Zheng Fusong away at this time. After all, he still had family members in Japan, and Zheng Fusong's chance of survival would be much greater than if he stayed on Miyako Island. But Zheng Fusong appeared on the island more often on weekdays, and his subordinates and the people on the island also knew that the two father and son lived together. If someone discovers that Zheng Fusong has been sent away at this juncture, the military morale on the island will immediately fall into disarray. The risk is indeed a bit greater for Zheng Zhilong.
Just when Zheng Zhilong was in a dilemma and was indecisive, a small team sent to the west to scout the movements of Jilong Port in Taipei sent back the latest news. The Haihan people have currently implemented a blockade on Jilong Port. All ships can only enter or leave, and no situation in the port can be investigated. However, judging from the number of armed ships patrolling the nearby sea, it is obviously much stronger than usual.
The hope that Zheng Zhilong still had in his heart was shattered. He recalled that before the Haihan Fleet launched a large-scale attack on Penghu last year, the ports in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou were also blocked a few days in advance. This is almost a fixed routine before Haihan launches a large-scale offensive. As the Haihan port closest to Miyako Island, the external blockade of Jilong Port also seems to indicate that Haihan is about to launch a new offensive from the local area.
Of course, Zheng Zhilong can also choose to continue to escape. The world is such a big place, and there will always be a chance of survival if he escapes. The difference is just the length of survival. But Zheng Zhilong no longer wants to flee. After all, he was once the overlord of a party with thousands of people armed. Now he is suppressed as a local rich man in a corner of the ocean. The psychological gap is so big that no one else may be able to bear it. If he continued to run away, he might not even be able to become a rich man, and he didn't want to cause trouble to his family living in Hirado.
Zheng Zhilong originally wanted his close confidants to take his son Zheng Fusong to leave Miyako Island at night. However, Zheng Fusong, who was less than ten years old, did not want to leave his father's side, although he did not know why the Haihan people would hunt down his father all the way. and uncles and brothers, but he believed that if he left Miyako Island at this time, he would be acting as a coward, which was unacceptable to him. This innate courageous temperament is probably one of the reasons why he grew into a national hero in his original historical trajectory.
Although Zheng Zhilong felt something was wrong, he really didn't want to be separated from his son at the last moment. He knew that although the Haihan people were warlike, they did not kill young, old, women and children indiscriminately. However, his son had a special status and would not end well after being captured by the Haihan people. If the Haihan people's offensive really cannot be stopped this time, then it would be a tragic ending for the father and son to commit suicide together at the last moment.
On September 1st, the Haihan fleet set out from Jilong Port. Not far from the harbor, the huge flagship was spotted by the Shibazhi reconnaissance ship several nautical miles away. Although the sailboats used by Shibazhi are far slower than the Haihan warships, the communication method they use is fireworks. One rocket can send messages several miles across the sea. The speed is definitely much faster than the speed of the sailboats.
However, once the fireworks started flying on the sea, they naturally could not hide it from the many eyes on the Haihan warship. After receiving the report, Wang Tom just sneered, but he did not feel nervous about it. It is only 200 nautical miles from Jilong Port to Miyako Island. If the road goes smoothly, it will only take more than a day to get there. Even if Shiba Shiba can have an extra day to prepare for the war, there is absolutely no way he can withstand the fleet he leads. .
Of course, there is another possibility that Shiba Zhi immediately dispersed after getting the news and fled separately. In that case, it would be difficult for the Haihan Fleet to completely annihilate the Eighteen Zhiyu Party. But Wang Tom thinks this possibility is unlikely, because there is really no place for these desperate pirates to continue their escape. Either surrender to Haihan or fight to the death with Haihan. These two possibilities are much greater than escaping again.
In the evening of the same day, the fleet arrived in the waters of Iriomote Island and Ishigaki Island. It is still about 70 to 80 nautical miles away from Miyako Island. If it sails all night, it can reach its destination in the early morning. Originally, Tom Wang planned to station himself near Ishigaki Island for one night before moving on, but since this operation had been exposed at the beginning, in order to avoid long nights and dreams, Wang Tom still ordered to sail all night. It's just that the sailors have to switch shifts to sail the ship, and the speed naturally slows down a lot. Early the next morning, two islands, one large and one small, one in the south and one in the north, appeared on the sea in front of the fleet. According to the markings on the chart, these two islands are Tarama Island and Minna Island. The two islands are about eight kilometers apart, and the area of the islands is nearly ten times different. There are a large number of coral reefs near these two islands. The water depth near the coast is difficult to accommodate large ships. There are only a few fishermen stationed on the islands.
About thirty nautical miles further east from these two islands is Miyako Island, the destination of the Haihan Fleet's trip. Miyakojima is actually not an island, but an archipelago composed of five islands including Miyakojima and the neighboring Irabujima, Shimojijima, Kurimajima, Ikemajima and Ogamijima. The total land area of these islands exceeds 200 square kilometers, and the terrain is relatively flat, suitable for cultivating crops.
However, judging from the colonial area that Shibazhi established on the west coast of Taiwan Island before, its agricultural development capabilities were worrying, that is, it could only grow some rice and vegetables, but not many cash crops. It must have been after moving to Miyako Island. The situation is similar. There are no natural resources for development on this island. You can imagine the living conditions of an armed organization like Shibazhi who does not produce all year round on the island. It is estimated that except for seafood, they will not be able to eat anything else.
This time Shibazhi did not continue to send out suicide squads to hinder the progress of the Haihan fleet like last year, but chose to huddle on the island for defense. But in Wang Tom's opinion, this kind of countermeasure is actually no different from a turtle that shrinks into its shell. It seems to have safely protected the vital parts of the body, but at the same time, it also completely leaves oneself at the mercy of the opponent. The Haihan Fleet will have ample room to choose one of several alternative landing sites for the next landing battle.
There are also a large number of coral reefs in the offshore waters around Miyako Island, so there are not many coasts on this island for larger ships to dock, and they are mainly concentrated on the northwest coast. It goes without saying that Shibazhi must have deployed its strongest line of defense there.
The fleet flagship "Endeavor" took the lead, entering from the strait between Irabu Island and Miyako Island, and approached the coast of the planned landing site without encountering any resistance.
However, the Shibazhi on the island obviously did not intend to turn a blind eye to the actions of the Haihan warship. Several artillery fires were fired one after another on the shore, and the shells roared and hit the "Endeavour" and other warships following behind.
"Fire back!" When Wang Tom saw the fire coming from the shore, he felt relieved and gave the battle order very calmly. What he was worried about was not that the Eighteen Zhiyu Party would continue to resist, but that they would all escape before the arrival of the Haihan Fleet. But since there are still gunners on the shore who are persisting in fighting, it means that Shibazhi has not organized an escape, otherwise it is impossible to leave an elite unit like the gunners on the island without taking them away.
Although the naval guns on the "Endeavour" are all large-caliber and short-barreled, they do not suffer in terms of range. The shells fired from the ship can also hit the gun positions deployed by Shibazhi on the shore. Just because the waves on the sea make it difficult to stabilize the ship's hull, for this kind of far-away bombardment, you can only aim in a general direction, estimate the launch angle, and then you can only rely on random hits.
When the "Endeavor" fired the seventh round, a shell finally hit the gun position on the shore, and lifted the artillery and three gunners deployed at the gun position that lacked bunkers into the sky. During this period, at least three shells hit the "Endeavour", but because the distance was too far, the shells were basically exhausted when they flew here, and were unable to cause substantial damage to the thick side of the "Endeavour". It only caused a brief vibration of the ship's hull.
While the flagship was fighting hard, the troop carriers on the periphery also sailed close to the coast, either directly washed up on the beach, or lowered their boats to allow Army soldiers to land from places beyond the range of the island's artillery.
Although the army troops participating in this operation are not as powerful as the special operations battalion under Qian Tiandun, they have considerable experience in carrying out such amphibious landing operations to seize islands. In fact, in the sea-oriented Haihan Militia, the Army's amphibious warfare subject is one of the most basic training subjects. Every qualified Army soldier must master basic landing combat skills, such as armed swimming, rowing, and landing. Concentration, establishment of beachheads, counter-landing operations, etc. A large amount of training allows the soldiers to achieve good results in actual combat without the need for special adaptive training and terrain reconnaissance.
Naturally, the Haihan people's landing on the coast could not be hidden from the eyes of the island's defenders. However, since the artillery in Shibazhi's hands was already very limited, there was no way to defend more places. At present, they could only concentrate on following the "Endeavor" parked at sea. "The bombardment was somewhat powerless against the army landing ashore in the distance.
Of course, the commander of Shibazhi would not just watch the Haihan Army land ashore so easily, and then outflank his own artillery. He also sent a force to intercept the Haihan landing site. But compared to the Haihan soldiers who were armed to the teeth, the defenders who only had swords, guns and sticks as their main weapons were a bit miserable, and such weapons and equipment did not really help them much in the combat missions they had to perform.
(End of chapter)