Chapter 379 Fire Suppression

Zhang Xuesheng was not mistaken, it was indeed Zheng Chenggong's Ming army fleet that came.

However, the three battleships that rushed to the forefront were not Zheng Chenggong, but the detachment of the captured army headed by the "Qinzhou", and they would undertake the heavy task of opening up a landing ground......

Just captured Min'an Town, and before he had time to catch his breath, He Shouxin reported the battle situation to Lin Xiao through the radio.

After Lin Xiao praised him as usual, he didn't forget to tell him:

"Commander Xia has been waiting on the south bank of the Minjiang River for a long time, just waiting for the fleet to take over the river, what to do, you can do it yourself."

Lin Xiao's meaning is very straightforward - the soldier is fast!

There's no way, Lin Xiao, this guy, has been really idle these days, hurry up and settle those Tartars in one go, let's go to the big staff early!

Others are working the front line, but he, the commander-in-chief, has nothing to do in Anping City in the rear - he accompanies Master Qu and Zheng Chenggong all day long, playing chess, drinking tea, where is he idle!

So, He Shouxin and Zheng Chenggong's generals Zhou Rui and Chen Hui decided to immediately lead the fleet up the river without stopping, and even the lunch of the soldiers was eaten on the boat.

According to the plan, when they arrived at Mawei, the huge fleet was divided into two routes.

Zhou Rui personally led a part of the gunboats and a large number of transport ships into the southern branch of the Minjiang River, and their task was to destroy the riverbank camp of the Tartars on Nantai Island, occupy Nantai Island, and take Xia Bomin's men and horses across the river to participate in the siege.

He Shouxin and Chen Hui took another part of the ships directly into the North Branch and sailed straight to Fuzhou City.

……

At this time, He Shouxin stood on the high stern of the "Qinzhou", looking at the tall city tower in front of him, and a mocking smile flashed across the corners of his mouth.

The city of Fuzhou in front of you belongs to the landform of a typical small basin of the estuary, the basin is surrounded by mountains and mountains on all sides, from a military point of view, once it is surrounded, it is a dead place with wings that is difficult to fly, tens of thousands of Tartars are trapped here, is this going to burn the jade?

Because the Min River rushing down between the two mountains at the foot is like a giant sword, splitting the land and Nantai Island in half, therefore, the whole city is located in this small depression, very cramped along the river, the tall city wall is very close to the river bank, less than two miles out of the south gate, is the riverside wharf.

At a glance, on both sides of the pier, the Tartars had several masonry barracks that were much lower than the towers.

It seems that they not only have garrison cannons at the head of the city, but also dozens of iron cannons in those riverside barracks.

"Stop the ship, drop anchor!"

When he was about 500 steps away from the pier, He Shouxin shouted an order.

At this distance, it will be outside the range of the Tartar artillery, and any further, it will be beaten.

The first time he led the army to fight alone, He Shouxin was very cautious, he secretly made up his mind that he must fight beautifully and show his ability in front of the commander-in-chief, otherwise, his little junior brother Situ will almost overshadow him.

"Put the dinghy, Franc Camp ashore!"

As soon as the ship stopped, a cold light flashed in He Shouxin's eyes, and he gave another order, "Guard Company, mortar preparation!" ”

……

Looking at the countless warships in the river, Zhang Xuesheng's legs trembled, he grabbed the battlements hard, and muttered: "It's over, so many ships, it's over......"

It was strange that Admiral Zhao Guozuo beside him was staring at the three giant ships at the head at this time, and they were silent - these boats rushed forward alone, leaving the entire fleet thousands of steps away.

As the distance got closer, he saw more and more clearly that the first two and last three warships were not the common two-masted ships in the South China Sea, but the large Galen ships commonly used by foreigners.

These battleships pressed towards the dock like a hill were two large and one small, the smallest one had more than 1,000 materials, and the other two had 2,000 materials.

It seems that the battleship at the head is in excellent condition, the tung oil on the board is smeared shiny, and the booms and canvas of the two sails are also intact and new, revealing a clean and neat appearance.

On the high stern, there is a military flag of the captive army, and the word "forest" is embroidered on it.

On the ship, the sailors who were busy lowering the sails, anchoring, and pulling the cables were all dressed in uniform indigo cloth costumes, and they looked full of energy.

The rows of soldiers standing on the deck, dressed in colorful clothes, all standing straight with helmets in their hands, all holding firearms in their hands, seemed to be waiting impatiently to stop the ship and go ashore.

The draft of the ship was heavy, and it was obviously fully loaded, and the cannon on the deck had long since been stripped of its armor, and the black hole in the muzzle of the gun was heart-wrenching.

Strangely, the boat had large fishing nets hanging from the anti-jump gang on both sides, but there were no gun doors.

"Only one cannon?"

Zhao Guozuo's gaze was uncertain.

In an instant, he seemed to react suddenly, and suddenly shouted, "I'm going ashore...... Beat the drums, fire the cannons! Fuck it! ”

Damn, the thief is going ashore, whether he can reach it or not, bombard him a few times first, and then talk about it!

Suddenly, the dense drumbeat sounded, and the Qing troops in the front camp moved when they heard the sound, and the artillerymen who had been guarding the artillery for a long time picked up the red-hot iron chisel and began to ignite it.

Behind them, whistles sounded, and groups of arquebusiers and crossbowmen hurriedly lined up, ready to protect the artillerymen.

Suddenly, one black dot after another flew out of the deck of the battleship, and in the blink of an eye, it flew above the barracks, and exploded in the air, a burst of red light flashed, and a rain of steel balls and shrapnel shot out.

The artillery of the Qing army, which was igniting, and the infantry formation behind them, were instantly covered by a fierce rain of bullets, and the crowd fell one by one, and the screams, screams, and groans were mixed together, and immediately resounded......

"Blossom bombs?"

Zhao Guozuo exclaimed, his mouth opened wide, he stuck his head out of the battlements, stared at the camp in front of him, and couldn't say anything else.

Governor Zhang Xuesheng's face was even more pale, his fingers holding the battlements trembled slightly, and his ten fingernails were pale.

There seemed to be a gray fog in front of him, and the battleship and the barracks in front of him suddenly shook—his legs had no strength at all, and he could barely stand.

……

It's a pity that there are not many mortars in the guard company, and Lin Xiao only equipped the whole company with a total of four, one for each platoon, and one for the machine gun squad - this is already a special care, the shells are too precious, and the other main forces are only given one per company.

In order to prevent the stunned Tartars from reacting and launching a counterattack and ensuring the safety of the landing force, it was necessary to suppress the front line with sufficient firepower.

He Shouxin had already prepared, and with an order, a thunderous sound, the lone naval gun in the bow finally opened fire.

Although it was a breech gun, the caliber of this gun reached 155mm, and the solid bullets fired were even more than 32 pounds.

The steel barrel makes the cannon far more propellant than guns of the same caliber, so the range is extremely long, and it can easily bombard targets at a distance of two kilometers.

At this moment, the surviving Qing soldiers in the camp were huddled behind the wall, desperately praying that the terrifying flowering bullet would fall on the heads of others.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and a hole the size of a wellhead suddenly appeared in the wall of the masonry wall - the distance was too close, and the solid cannonball broke through the wall with great kinetic energy.

With the debris flying in the sky, an iron ball flew past the eyes of the stunned Qing soldiers, smashed the soup pot on the fire behind them, and slammed into a barracks, splashing soup and charcoal everywhere......

(End of chapter)