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Volume 13 Reviving the Ming Dynasty Chapter 668 Threat at Sea (3)

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    Oyster Mirror, the foothold of a group of Western pirates, while the coast of Fujian was on guard, the Dutch and Portuguese were having a dispute.  After returning to this base, the two parties divided the spoils they had obtained. There was nothing inappropriate in the process of dividing the spoils.  But when it came to the next action, the two sides had differences.

    Although they easily defeated hundreds of Zheng family ships this time, the cautious Dutch had some doubts about their next plan to storm the coast of the Ming Dynasty.  The person who proposed this view was the Dutch Colonel Rogers, a typical European with a big beard and a very strong body.  However, in stark contrast to his rough appearance, is his cautious style. "Captain Derek, although we won the victory this time, it is obvious that those Ming people are not their army. This can be seen from the weapons in their hands."  You can tell the difference by using weapons. As a businessman team from the Ming Dynasty, they can organize such a large fleet and personnel, so their army must have stronger combat effectiveness. If we attack rashly, they will definitely beat us hard.  It will kick our ass hard, so I don¡¯t agree to launch an attack there immediately. Instead, we should send people to check it out first, and then decide whether to send troops."[]

    Derek, who looked much younger than Rogers, tall and handsome, immediately shook his head: "No, no no! Lieutenant, you are wrong. In my opinion, no one along the coast of Ming Dynasty can be our opponent!  Our interactions with the Ming Dynasty have not lasted more than a day or two. I know very well their power at sea. We are enough to deal with them. How can you stop just because you have a small gain? That is not our style.  Ah, and we¡¯re here to get more.¡±

    "No, it's because you don't understand the people of the Ming Dynasty! I can tell you responsibly that the strength of the Ming Dynasty is definitely beyond your expectations. I remember that a few years ago, we had a battle with a force from the Ming Kingdom.  There were conflicts, and as a result, dozens of large ships of our East India Company were destroyed by them, and many soldiers were buried at the bottom of the sea. If we are still careless this time, maybe even more people will die. So I insist,  Your Excellency, I insist that we must see the situation clearly first!" Rogers emphasized again.  The defeat he mentioned was the battle with the Zheng family at sea. Of course, he didn't know that he was defeating the original enemy this time, otherwise he might not be so persistent.

    ???????????????????????????????????????????????? In the end, they had to set their sights on another person who was much higher than them in military rank, and that was the only governor here, Chris George of Portugal.  After George watched the two arguing with a smile for a long time, he coughed lightly and said: "Two gentlemen, please don't break the friendship over such a trivial matter. In fact, your starting point is the same, that is, start from the beginning.  The Ming Dynasty got more, but the method was slightly different. I think we can have two ways to solve all this. Now we have a total of eight large ships and more than 70 small ships. We can distribute them  , let most of the big ships and small boats attack the coast of the Ming Kingdom, while other ships block the sea roads leading to the Ming Kingdom, so that even if we cannot win, this place will still be under our control. And once we do this  Yes, if the Ming Dynasty has enough ships, they will definitely send them out to fight us. Once we reach the sea, our advantage will be even greater."

    The two of them saw that George had solved the problem like an idiot and couldn't find any better ideas for a while, so they nodded and agreed.  Since it was Derek who advocated the attack, the mission of the attack naturally had to be handed over to him.  He quickly selected the five best-performing ships from several large warships, and most of the ones he brought with him were sailors and pirates from his own country.  Before he left, he also said to Rutgers: "If we win this time and get rich rewards, you and your men can't even think of getting a share of it."

    "Hey, I won't be jealous of that thing. If you can really win, it means that the Ming Dynasty is nothing more than that. I will naturally lead my own fleet to rob more wealth!"

    The two parties soon separated. One headed for the Ming Dynasty, while the other led most of the remaining ships to cruise on the sea. As long as there were passing ships, they would be controlled by them, including people.  The goods were obtained by them.

    The pirates are fully prepared, and the defenses along the coast of Fujian are all ready. However, the person who can really decide the outcome of sea control is not these two people, but the center of the Ming Dynasty, in the city of Beijing.

    After Tang Feng spoke, those officials naturally no longer dared to treat coastal matters lightly. In the past few days, many people put forward their own opinions, but they were rejected one by one by Tang Feng.

    The Ming Dynasty¡¯s understanding of the sea is only recorded in ancient books. How can those officials really understand how to fight a naval battle?What about a fight?  Tang Feng also understood this. The reason why he did this was just to show his attitude. He wanted everyone to understand the importance of the sea to the country, so that when they encounter the same thing again in the future, they can make the best decision.  Reacted appropriately.

    As for how to deal with the trouble at hand, Tang Feng already had some ideas after a few days.  Now if it really comes to the sea, the Ming Dynasty's navy, which has not gone out to fight for a long time, is no match for the Western pirates. Even the large-scale merchants like the Zheng family who relied on the sea for a living ended in failure. Then why should the Ming Dynasty fight with them?  ?

    The advantage of the Ming Dynasty lies in its geographical location. As long as those red-haired men abandon the ship and land on the shore, they will not be far from failure.  However, if this happens, the people along the coast will inevitably be harmed. What Tang Feng has to do is to do everything possible to save them.  In addition, with the further development of the Age of Discovery in Western countries, the Ming Dynasty has also imposed a maritime ban, and collisions between the two sides are inevitable. If you want to stop being bullied by them, you need to let these Westerners know how powerful the Ming Dynasty is.  Therefore, this battle must not only be a victory, but also a great victory, and even create a sensational effect, so that those Westerners in the future will not dare to talk about war lightly, so that the Ming Dynasty's maritime borders can be protected.  And all of this cannot be achieved by relying solely on victory on the shore. Intercepting at sea is still needed to inflict heavy damage on the invading enemy.

    Based on these points, Tang Feng formulated a general plan, which was implemented by all the officers and soldiers of the guards along the southeast coast.  Although Tang Feng also wanted to rush to the southeast coast in person to participate in this battle that might change the entire world, it was impossible for the court to leave him now, and he did not feel comfortable leaving like this.  So he had no choice but to hand it all over to someone he could trust, and that person was Hong Chengchou, who had been promoted to Minister of War.

    Although there are many generals in the DPRK, fighting the enemy at sea is different from that on land. Even if they go, they may not be able to succeed.  But Hong Chengchou was different. He was able to achieve a great victory as a civil servant with little knowledge of military affairs when the rebel army was at its peak. This shows that he was talented in war. Even if it were a naval battle, he would not be able to coordinate the overall situation.  Too bad.  Moreover, all Tang Feng needed was someone who could obey his will. What he really wanted to rely on was the local Zheng family in Fujian, so he sent this person who didn't have much military exploits to facilitate the Zheng family's own performance.  If a veteran goes to Fujian, he might not buy into the Zheng family's account.

    In addition, there is one last point that Tang Feng does not want to be noticed, that is, he does not want military power to fall into the hands of other people who are not on the same side as him, even if it is just some guards officers and soldiers.  After these years of getting along with Hong Chengchou, he had been completely conquered by Tang Feng and became his staunch supporter. With him going to the southeast, the military power would still be under Tang Feng's control.  It is precisely because of these reasons that Tang Feng decided on such a surprising candidate to go to the southeast.

    Of course, Hong Chengchou was not completely unprepared for his trip.  After learning the details of the failure of the Zheng family's active attack, Tang Feng knew that the enemy's firearms were also very powerful, so he quickly ordered the Firearms Bureau to take out the newly produced and previously hoarded firearms, and then followed Hong Chengchou  Went to the southeast.  In this way, the Ming Dynasty would not lag behind those pirates in terms of weapons. As for the quality of the ships, Tang Feng, a man in Beijing, could not decide.

    While Beijing¡¯s reinforcements were rushing southeast, Fujian had already been attacked from the sea.  This time, the pirates prepared a large number of weapons. As soon as the ship approached the coast, they first bombarded the defense lines on the shore with extremely long-range artillery.

    Although some of the Ming troops on the shore also held muskets, their range and power could not compare with the artillery on the ship, and they soon had no choice but to retreat.  However, the government had already evacuated all the people in this area, so although Hongmaozi's artillery was powerful, it caused very few casualties. Only some soldiers who could not escape were injured by the gunfire.

    Seeing that the Ming army was suppressed by our own side and was unable to fight back, the morale of the pirates over there rose.  With shouts, they left the ship and rushed to the shore.  Although most of them don't know how wealthy the Ming Dynasty is, they still believe that a country that can import and export so many precious goods must be extremely rich.  As long as he can rob enough things this time, he won't have to worry about gold coins for a long time in the future.

    Tall Portuguese pirates wearing short-sleeved pirate uniforms or shirtless quickly rushed to the shore from the sea. In addition to axes and swords, they also had blazing guns in their hands. Such lethality  Not much weaker than the ship's artillery.  Seeing the enemy coming to kill them, the officers and soldiers of the guard station had no choice but to fight back, and the two armies started a fight on the beach.

    In terms of cold weapons, the Ming army used spears and broadswords, which had a length advantage over the pirates' long swords and axes.  But in terms of physique, the Ming armyOf course, they can't compare to those strong pirates.  Those pirates, because of their race, are nearly seven feet tall, and all of them have broad shoulders and round waists. However, the Ming army here is generally thin and inferior in strength alone. Once this happens,  Fighting closely, the Ming army was at a disadvantage.

    " What's even worse than physical strength is the gap in firearms.  Because the Ming Dynasty's previous enemies were all in the north, either Mongolia or Jurchens, new weapons were shipped there first. This resulted in the weapons of the soldiers in the southeast not keeping up with the times.  The guns they use now are still the same guns from decades ago. Not only are they not very powerful, but it is also very troublesome to load gunpowder after shooting. This is nothing compared to the guns in the hands of pirates.  Often, only one shot was fired here, while the pirates over there had fired several shots in a row. Although they still had the upper hand in terms of strength, they were completely suppressed.

    At this time, the only way for the officers and soldiers was to rely on the terrain to fight and move, leaving many corpses along the way.  The pirates became murderous and chased after the officers and soldiers until they rushed to a village not far from the coast. Then they ignored the officers and soldiers and began their looting operation.

    The Ming army had to be safe until this moment. It was obviously impossible for them to go forward and fight with these pirates who looked very different from what they had seen in the past, and all of them looked ferocious.  The officers and soldiers of these southeastern guards were already inferior to the frontier troops in the north in terms of combat effectiveness. Coupled with the ferocity of the enemy, they immediately lost the courage to fight again.

    By this time, the pirates were already plundering the village.  Fortunately, as early as two days ago, Si Yamen persuaded all the people in this area to leave. Otherwise, if these pirates entered the village, they would inevitably cause many casualties to innocent people.  But after all, they were leaving in a hurry and could not take away all their belongings. Many things were still at home, which gave the pirates an advantage, and they carried all the exquisite items they had never seen before into their arms.

    Seeing that they were unable to fight against the enemy, the Ming army wisely chose to retreat.  Since you still can't make any gains from these pirates in the wild, let's rely on the city to fight.  They just retreated, and thousands of pirates rushed out of the village. After all, the village was too small, with a small population and not many good things. The pirates just robbed everything.  Only then did they realize their purpose of coming here, and immediately charged forward again.

    But at this time, the official army had already retreated some distance, and the fire guns in the hands of the pirates could not hurt the enemy. They had no choice but to follow the Ming army and kill Quanzhou, the largest city of the Ming Dynasty here.  They rushed straight to the foot of Quanzhou City before they stopped, and then they discovered a problem. It was difficult for them to actually attack the city.

    Although the city in the south cannot compare with the tall cities and strong walls in the north, it is not something that thousands of pirates without any siege weapons can defeat.  When they saw the pirates chasing after them, the Ming army was shocked. They entered the city, closed the door, and brought out the prepared rolling wood and stones, just waiting for the enemy's attack.

    However, Derek still knew himself. Looking at the towering city wall, he made a prompt decision and ordered to leave the place.  They came to rob, not to occupy the Ming Dynasty's territory. There was no need to storm the city, which had been fully prepared. Moreover, he also knew that there were a large number of places that could be plundered nearby, so why bother to hang on?  What about dying in one place?

    Seeing that the pirates had retreated, the officers and soldiers who had just suffered a defeat breathed a sigh of relief.  The battle just now really surprised them. Those pirates were simply inhuman. They were far superior to themselves in both speed and strength. If they were allowed to attack the city, they and the people in the city would all die.  In their hands.

    But this joy did not last long, these people knew that something bad was going on.  The pirates retreated without attacking here, but that doesn't mean they won't have plans for the coastal area.  Because of the blocking force waiting in front of them, the people in the rear did not retreat too far. Now that the pirates have given up on themselves, they will definitely continue to go northwest, and the damage they will cause to the entire Fujian will be too great.

    Once they figured this out, the faces of those Qianhu officers turned pale. They knew that if it turned out to be what they thought, the first person the court would blame would be themselves.  They no longer cared about fear at this time, and quickly pulled their troops out of the city, following the pirates' tracks to kill them. However, they completely forgot that now they could go back and destroy the ships on the sea.  As long as the pirates' ship is destroyed, these people will have no way out. How can thousands of people in the Ming Dynasty maintain continuous victory?

    The officers and soldiers followed the pirates in hot pursuit, but the pirates were completely unafraid. They robbed when they needed to and killed when they needed to, and soon plundered the villages and towns around Quanzhou City.  Because of their timidity, the officers and soldiers did not actually confront them, but just followed them from a distance, more like their followers.

    When other guards and troopsWhen they heard the news and came to help, the pirates had already grabbed a lot of property. Everyone was carrying gold, silver, silk and other items, and they could no longer take them away.  When Derek saw this, he knew that his goal had been achieved. Not only did he get a lot of property, but he also experienced the "power" of the Ming Dynasty team. With confidence in his heart, he ordered to go back.

    When several people gathered together to pursue again, the pirates had already returned to the ship on the beach and then walked away.  Only the victims and destroyed homes were left.  The officers and soldiers looked at all this and really wanted to cry without tears. How should I explain to the superiors?

    After Derek's triumphant return in Oyster Mirror, he really enjoyed the glory. Now no one disagreed with him anymore. He immediately decided to disembark from Fujian again after half a month's rest. This time, they would plunder more  property.

    At this same time, tens of thousands of elite Beijing troops led by Hong Chengchou have arrived in Fujian, and the real battle is about to begin
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