Chapter 652 Offensive and defensive transition

The purpose of choosing to start the war in the early morning when most people are most relaxed is to catch them unprepared and take the initiative on the battlefield. However, for the Ming Navy, their task is relatively difficult, because it requires them to enter the battlefield first and act as bait.

Try to lure the Dutch ships away from the vicinity of Nanri Island as much as possible, and then the Haihan fleet will choose the opportunity to insert from the flank between the Dutch and Nanri Island, cutting off their connection with the pirates on the island.

Most of the ships of the Ming Navy are still in stock. These warships can still compete with the pirate ships of Shibazhi, but they are slightly at a disadvantage when facing the Dutch armed sailing ships equipped with multiple cannons. They can only rely on the number of ships.

to make up for it.

Xie Li had no intention of forcing the Ming navy to serve as cannon fodder. He had already made it clear to Xu Yuzhuo in the prior communication that the Ming army could "preserve its effective forces as much as possible on the basis of achieving its tactical objectives, without having to fight with them"

"The Dutch fight to the death", the real technical work still needs to be completed after the warships of the Haihan Navy enter the predetermined position.

Naturally, Xu Yuzhuo would not refuse the kindness of the Haihan people. After witnessing how the Haihan warships defeated the many with less and caused Shibazhi's pirate ship to capsize, he had completely become a leader of the Haihan navy.

A loyal fan, he agreed to all the tactical arrangements proposed by Xie Li.

At this time, the pirates on Nanri Island were in an embarrassing dilemma. The Dutch refused Zheng Zhihu's request to land on the island to help in the battle. Shiba Zhi's own combat effectiveness was not enough to shake the defense of Nanri Village on the frontal battlefield. If

Forcibly driving the infantry to charge Nanri Village, the result is likely to be devastating. The Haihan people's musket formation is no joke - the last time the Haihan people attacked Nanri Village, Zheng Zhihu sent them out to carry out the harassment

More than two hundred members of the Tactics team lost their lives in vain because of this.

But if we don’t take the initiative to attack Nanri Village, the purpose of this trip will be difficult to achieve. Compared with the defenders in Nanri Village, the biggest disadvantage of Shibazhi is that it is difficult to supply. Once supplies are in short supply, even if they have not attacked

Xia Nan Rizhai can only choose to retreat, and the time left for them to take action is only a few days. Whether to fight or withdraw, they must make a decision as soon as possible.

Although Zheng Zhihu has always been decisive in killing, this was the first time he encountered such a dilemma. He quickly summoned his subordinates to discuss countermeasures. But he soon discovered that such discussions were in vain. Almost everyone under his command was against him.

Similarly, they were caught in the conflict between fighting and retreating and were unable to make a decision. A group of people had a heated quarrel, and when the quarrel became so anxious, they almost started fighting. If Zheng Zhihu hadn't stopped it in time, Shiba Zhi might have been included in the battle damage list.

I have to add a few more names.

"They are all a bunch of useless trash!" Zheng Zhihu was still furious when he returned to his camp. This group of people would only be useful when they were robbing at sea. Let them go ashore to fight, and their level would only be that of ordinary mountain people.

Thieves level. If we can rely on such a group of people to realize the ambition of the Eighteen Zhizhi to unify the southeastern coast, how many years and months will it take?

After two battles with Haihan, Zheng Zhihu is now aware of the huge gap in combat effectiveness between the two sides. Although he does not yet understand how the Haihan people have trained such an army, he has a general understanding of why Xu Xinsu is the leader.

The Fujian military would choose to cling to Haihan's thigh and not let go - if Zheng Zhihu had made contact with the Haihan people first, he would probably have made the same choice.

But now the positions of the two sides are completely opposite. Zheng Zhihu also understands that Shibazhi has lost such an opportunity. Even if he surrenders to the Haihan people, the Fujian government may not be willing to let their leaders go. Even if they are unwilling, they can only

Choose a path until it's dark.

But in any case, today's start was not good, and morale has dropped to a very low level. If he continues to force his men to fight in battle, it may not have good results. Therefore, Zheng Zhihu simply ordered the withdrawal of the troops and will go out to invite the battle tomorrow. But he

Maybe I didn't expect that after this night, the situation would change drastically.

In order to prevent another night attack from his opponent, Zheng Zhihu ordered that no one be sent to ambush in the wilderness outside the camp that night - this decision made Yi Laoer, who was in charge of intelligence collection, breathe a sigh of relief. His men were already running low.

There is not much, and after what happened yesterday, no one is willing to risk their lives to go out on guard duty at night. Even if the reward is doubled or tripled, no one is tempted. After all, although money is good, you still have to spend it with your life.

Just fine.

But it is also dangerous to be completely undefended. At this time, Yi Laoer came up with an effective method, which was to tie the various chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep and other livestock brought to the island as supplies with ropes and let them go.

Some of them are used as warning signals near the camp. These animals are relatively small targets. When disturbed, they bark, and the defenders in the camp can take warning in time.

However, Nanri Village did not arrange another attack that night. The people of the special battle company spent almost the whole night on the island. Qian Tiandun hoped that they could get sufficient rest time, because the offensive and defensive positions of both sides would be different in the future.

Changes are likely to happen. Qian Tiandun needs his infantry to maintain a better combat condition to face subsequent battles.

The Dutch were undoubtedly the most relaxed camp during this period. The results of Shiba Zhi's battle on the island did not have a direct impact on them. They only needed to defend the outer sea and prevent their opponents from outflanking Shiba Zhi from the sea.

The retreat is fine. When Shibazhi's artillery position was overwhelmed by Haihan artillery fire, Van der Wegen even leisurely organized a fishing competition on the ship. In the end, the first mate of the flagship "Flying" Weir

Sen won a reward of ten silver coins with a four-foot-long fish.

But this kind of relaxation only lasted until the early morning of the next day. At nearly five o'clock in the morning, the lookout on the mast discovered a large fleet on the northern sea. The number of ships was at least five times that of the Dutch fleet.

More than times. After van der Wegen was awakened by the news in his sleep, he didn't even have time to put on his uniform, so he came to the deck to confirm this terrible discovery.

Half an hour later, the fleet's sails were clearly visible on the sea level. Although it was not bright yet and the flag of the fleet could not be seen clearly, Van der Wegen could judge based on his own experience that the fleet should

It is a unit directly under the Ming Dynasty Navy—that is, Xu Xinsu.

"Ring the bell and prepare for war!" Van der Wegen did not panic. After confirming the situation, he immediately began to issue orders in an orderly manner: "All the gunners entered the gun positions and raised the gun windows! Chief mate, have someone go to my cabin to pick me up.

Get your uniform!"

Although the original intention of the Dutch was not to fight with the Ming Dynasty, this avoidance was not a fear of battle. If the Ming Dynasty navy bumped into them so ignorantly, Van der Wegen would not mind giving them a small lesson as a warning.

The fleet on the opposite side was heading south at full speed, and the sun was about to rise above the sea level. From this distance, Van der Wegen could already confirm the flag on the other side's mast through the telescope - yes, this fleet was exactly the same number.

The Fujian Navy of the Ming Dynasty led by his family.

"Well, since they have chosen war, let us help them!" Van der Wegen ordered: "Show the flag, change the formation of the fleet, seize the upper hand, and prepare to fire!"

Most of the Dutch armed sailing ships have some experience in naval battles. After the flag of the flagship was played, several other sailing ships quickly adjusted their direction of travel, followed the flagship in a queue, and pointed their broadside guns in the direction of the opponent.

But the Ming Army obviously had no intention of winning over the Dutch so easily. After discovering the Dutch's plan, the Ming Navy's fleet quickly divided into two groups, moving to the left and right. It seemed that they were planning to use similar tactics.

Use the broadside to seize the bow and stern position of the Dutch fleet.

"Want to play tactics with us?" Van der Wegen sneered at the contingency measures of the Ming Dynasty Navy. When it comes to naval battles, the Dutch have very strong strength in this era. Even the Spaniards, who have a fleet of galleons that are unmatched in the world, can

I dare not say that I can definitely defeat the Dutch in naval battles. This formation change of the Ming army seems to Van der Wegen to have too obvious intentions, and it is difficult to pose a substantial threat to his own fleet.

"Turn around and head west. We have to get ahead of them." Van der Wegen gave the next order decisively.

The advantage of the Dutch sailing ships in speed was also unreservedly reflected at this time. The Dutch fleet changed its course and made an arc, which was just enough to intercept the part of the naval warships that turned to the southwest.

Just when Van der Wegen was still considering whether to use a few shells to warn his opponent to retreat, he suddenly discovered that his opponent actually opened fire first.

Several types of firearms made of bamboo and wood rose up from the deck of the opponent's warship, trailing fire tails, and drew arcs in the air towards the direction of the Dutch fleet. The purpose of these firearms was to ignite the opponent's sails and hull.

, thereby paralyzing the mobility of the opponent's ships, and its range is about twenty to thirty feet, which is definitely a very sharp weapon in the Far East of this era. However, the effects achieved in actual combat cannot fully realize its design intent.

First of all, these primitive rocket-propelled weapons have no accuracy at all. When launching, the operator can only estimate a rough orientation and distance. After ignition, it is completely a matter of luck. And this kind of accuracy

The disadvantage can only be compensated by the number of shots fired, just like the musket formation uses a formation to shoot in line to improve the hit rate. However, if the wind on the sea is slightly stronger, even if ten ships fire a salvo, they will be blown away by the wind.

If you deviate from the direction, it will be difficult to achieve results.

Secondly, the range of most of these firearms is not as good as that of artillery, and the lethality is also even lower. Even if the enemy ship is shot by ten or eight, as long as it is dealt with in time, there will be no trouble. It is not even as good as the naval gun firing on the opponent's hull.

A hole can cause water intrusion and cause big trouble.

As expected, these fireworks-like firearms of the Ming army had no effect. Most of them fell into the water a few feet away from the Dutch sailing ship. Occasionally, one or two rockets pierced the ship, and they quickly disappeared.

The sailors in charge of damage control on the ship used earth bags and wet cloths to extinguish the damage.

"These Orientals are so arrogant! For the glory of the company, I have to give them a little show!" Although they were not hurt by this wave of offensive, the Daming Navy's "unwise provocation" still angered them.

Van der Wegen's boss said he should try not to start a war with the Ming Dynasty, but he never said he had to endure the active attack of the Ming Dynasty's warships. Just being beaten without fighting back was definitely not the East India Company's style of doing things.

"Open fire! Give them a good beating!" Van der Wegen's blood boiled over and he gave the order to open fire and attack.

The eight naval guns on the side of the "Flying" fired first, and the shells roared towards the Ming army's fleet. One of them directly hit the bow of a Ming army warship, sending debris flying across the ship's planks.

It can be seen that a sailor collapsed immediately on the deck.

However, the Ming army's fleet did not stop there, but continued to charge forward. Van der Wegen knew that this was one of the tactics commonly used by the Ming army. After approaching the enemy, he used various close-range firearms to carry out arson operations again. It was nothing in comparison.

With lethal long-range firearms within twenty feet, the Ming army had more means to achieve this kind of combat purpose, including the practice of throwing or spraying various flammable and difficult-to-extinguish combustible materials onto enemy ships, and these attacks

The means are much more terrifying than those long-range rockets. Even a large ship like the "Flying", if surrounded by a bunch of Ming warships, will be difficult to effectively resist the flammable objects flying from all directions. If the distance is further

To further shorten the time, these Ming warships would also use various tools to immobilize the two ships, and then join forces to carry out hand-to-hand combat.

"Adjust the course, keep the distance, and don't give them a chance to get closer!" Van der Wegen clearly understands that his own disadvantage lies in the small number of ships and personnel. It is extremely unwise to engage in a short-distance fight with the opponent.

With the advantage of ship performance, as long as you keep a distance and slowly use artillery to deal with the opponent, it is the safest strategy.

The sound of the artillery battle at sea naturally reached the shore of Nanri Island. The pirates in the Shibazhi camp woke up from their sleep and came out to watch the sea battle. Although the fighting waters were still several nautical miles away from the port of Nanri Island

, but the constant shelling of the Dutch sailing ships still gave the pirates a shot in the arm - fortunately, they invited red-haired men to cover the safety of the retreat, otherwise they might have been blown up by the Ming navy that quietly came over in the middle of the night.

chrysanthemum.

"After taking so much money from our family, it's time to let these red-haired ghosts use some strength!" Watching the Dutch sailboats fighting on the sea, Zheng Zhihu's mentality became a little more balanced, and he agreed that the two families would coordinate the attack.

Nanri Island, it is outrageous that the Dutchman has been idle all this time.
Chapter completed!