Chapter 3567
After receiving the report, Zheng Agui was still more cautious. He first asked the lookout soldiers to confirm that there were no traces of enemy warships near the mouth of the river, and then ordered the fleet to sail to the nearby coast and get as close as possible to the colonial settlement. Landing ashore.
The reason why the fleet was not allowed to rush directly into the river mouth and go upstream was because the width of this small river was only twenty or thirty feet, and there were many sandbars in the middle of the river. He was worried that the hydrological conditions here were not sufficient to support the navigation of his fleet. , there is no need to carry out landings at the risk of the ship running aground.
Whether it was because they did not notice the arrival of the Haihan fleet or because they were afraid, the landing process did not encounter any interference from the settlements, and they did not even see a single person. Zheng Agui's company arrived at Sumba Island very smoothly.
After the assembly was completed, Zheng Agui handed over the retreat to the sailors on the warship. He led the company to form a formation and slowly marched towards the settlement in the north inland.
They didn't go far before they saw acres of farmland, mostly growing corn and vegetables. The natives on the island probably don't have such farming skills yet, and they should be Western immigrants who settled here.
This settlement was only two or three miles away from the coast, and Zheng Agui's company did not need to carry much supplies and marched through the fields in a light condition.
The cross on the church steeple was already faintly visible in the distance. Zheng Agui issued an order for the few scout cavalry in the company to ride their horses and rush in the east and west directions to confirm the defense situation of the settlement and whether there were any signs of people fleeing.
There is currently no information about the settlement in front of him, and Zheng Agui cannot judge whether there are organized Spanish armed personnel stationed here.
But judging from past experience, the Spaniards usually built settlements into fortresses with certain military functions and equipped immigrants with a certain number of light weapons. What's more, this area was once the territory of the Dutch. Even if the Spaniards didn't guard against Haihan, they would definitely guard against the Dutch coming back.
So even if there are no troops stationed here, it is very likely that they will encounter resistance from armed immigrants. If there are any small-caliber cannons or other things in the settlement, they must be dealt with carefully.
Zheng Agui asked the entire company to work as a platoon and spread out the formation during the march to avoid being attacked by the opponent's concentrated fire.
When he was still about a hundred feet away from the outskirts of the settlement, Zheng Agui ordered to stop advancing and use a telescope to observe the situation ahead.
There was no resistance during the previous landing, which can also be explained by the fact that the opponent may not have noticed the arrival of the Haihan fleet, but now that they have advanced to such a close distance and still haven't seen the opponent's movement, Zheng Agui must consider that the opponent has already It is prepared for a defensive battle.
From the telescope, the buildings in this settlement are basically typical Western-style wooden houses, but the doors and windows are closed and no one is seen walking around. This is obviously not the normal state of an immigrant settlement during the day.
Soon the scout cavalry also sent back the news and found that there were brick and stone barricades on the main road entering the settlement. This way of blocking the road was obviously intentional.
Zheng Agui immediately gave the order to continue advancing slowly. Each squadron and platoon could fire on their own when they found a fighter plane without asking for instructions.
In the end, it was the opponent who lost his composure first. Someone fired a shot in a bunker, which immediately triggered a concentrated fire attack.
Seeing the other party firing, Zheng Agui's mood calmed down. Judging from the muzzle flash and smoke produced by the opponent when shooting, it is not difficult to determine that it is a standard flintlock gun commonly used in Spanish colonies.
However, this flintlock gun is not that flintlock gun. Compared with the flintlock gun produced by Haihan, its combat performance is still far behind. Whether it is range, accuracy, loading speed, or successful firing rate, they are all not on the same level.
Of course, you get what you pay for, and the cost is also very different. Because of this, the Spanish distributed large quantities of these cheap flintlock muskets to colonial settlers as their self-defense weapons.
If the people guarding the settlements were just civilians instead of organized troops, it would not be too difficult for Zheng Agui's company.
The enemy's firepower point that fired first was quickly silenced by the Haihan Army's heavy fire. They must have eaten their fill of bullets.
After this firing, the situation in the settlement was exposed, and the silent measures were completely meaningless, so other guards hidden in the building also opened fire.
It's just that they are limited to the environment and can only hide separately, and there is no way to concentrate on firing at the same place. The shooting accuracy of smoothbore flintlock guns is a joke, and it is difficult for a single point of fire to cause effective damage.
What's more, because they were too nervous, they almost didn't realize that the current exchange of fire was too far away, and the enemy's position was outside the effective range of the weapons in their hands.
This dispersed fighting method also makes it impossible for them to confirm the status of other companions, and they can only fight independently. How to fight depends on individual performance.
Zheng Agui's men, on the other hand, were waiting for work, aiming at the exposed fire points on the opposite side one by one, and began to call names with the rifles in their hands.
Civilians who have never actually participated in such a battle, even if they have weapons in their hands, will find it difficult to maintain a stable mood in a combat situation, let alone calmly analyze the battlefield situation and judge their own situation and the enemy's situation.
Civilians who lack professional training often show their heads or even expose most of their bodies when shooting. In the eyes of the Haihan Army, they are living targets, and it is only a matter of time before they are hit.
Even if some people are lucky enough not to be hit by the bullets fired from the opposite side, they often tremble and finish the few rounds of ammunition in their hands, and then they can only huddle in the hiding place at a loss and dare not move anymore.
Of course, there are some people who have never fired a gun from the beginning to the end. This is not because they are more calm, but they are simply frightened by the sound of crossfire coming from outside.
It didn't take long for Zheng Agui's company to complete the three-sided encirclement of the settlement. Several cavalrymen rushed to the north and blocked the only way out.
Several riders rushed out of the settlement trying to break through, but their target was too big. They fell off their horses one after another under the intensive firepower from the outside before they could run far.
Zheng Agui was not in a hurry and continued to direct his men to slowly complete the encirclement and tighten the encirclement little by little.
About half an hour later, someone waved a white cloth and shouted loudly in Spanish on the upper floor of the church in the settlement.
Zheng Agui didn't even need a translator to know that the other party was conveying his intention to surrender - he had seen such a scene more than once during the battle with the Spanish two years ago.
Zheng Agui then asked a Spanish translator to come forward with a tin trumpet and shout, requiring everyone in the settlement to surrender immediately and not to make any resistance, otherwise they would be shot without mercy.