Chapter 406 Penghu sheltered from the wind

"Good!"

Zheng Chenggong slapped the table, stood up, and said loudly, "Chief soldier Shi Lang listens to the order!" ”

"The last general!"

"Ben Shuai reinstated your original position in Zuo Pioneer Town today,"

Zheng Chenggong raised the command flag and said in a deep voice, "I order you to lead fifty warships and three thousand elite soldiers as the vanguard to open the way for the whole army!" ”

"The last general obeys!"

Shi Lang clenched his fists with both hands and hissed in response.

"Governor Huangshan!"

"The last general!"

"Order you to stay in the center and left, dispatch in the center, Gan Hui, Wan Li, Lin Sheng, Chen Kui, Zhang Ying, you and others will stay in the state capitals......"

Zheng Chenggong looked at the generals and said sharply, "The rest of the generals, all the consulates and departments will step up their preparations for the battle, and they will go on the expedition in two days!" ”

"The last general obeys!"

"Obedience!"

……

Under Lin Xiao's constant urging, everything was ready, and the fleet gathered in Liuluo Bay.

On June 23, the fifth year of Yongli, Zheng Chenggong led all the soldiers to hold a grand ceremony of "sacrificing to the sky", "ceremonial land" and "sacrificing to the river" in the school field of Kinmen Island.

On the same day, he left part of his troops to defend Fujian, and personally led more than 300 warships and more than 11,000 soldiers to set out from Liaoluo Bay in Kinmen and march to Dayuan through Penghu.

This day has finally arrived, and Lin Xiao has been waiting for the flowers to thank you!

Immediately, he led six large ships, including the "Longsheng", into the first echelon of Shi Lang, and took the lead and crossed the strait......

However, the weather was not very good, the sea was a bit rough and they braved the wind and waves all the way and crossed the Taiwan Strait overnight.

In the early morning of the 24th, the forward fleet arrived safely in the waters of the Penghu Islands and did not encounter any suspicious ships.

Behind them, about half a day's journey, was Zheng Chenggong's main fleet of more than 200 warships.

After the whole army arrived at the Penghu Islands, due to the increasing wind and waves, and it was still a headwind, Zheng Chenggong decided to temporarily anchor here to avoid the wind and waves, and then choose the opportunity to sail straight to Dayuan Port to find an opportunity to land.

From Penghu to Dayuan, although it is only 50 nautical miles, the sailboats of this era must sail zigzags according to the wind direction and ocean currents, and the tonnage of most of the ships in Zheng Chenggong's fleet is too small, if the wind and waves are too strong, it is still very difficult to sail at sea.

For Zheng Chenggong's decision, others are puzzled, but Zheng Chenggong knows in his heart, there is plenty of time, as long as he does not miss the high tide day at the beginning of the month, it is not a big problem to delay here for a few days, there is no need to risk sailing.

According to Zheng Chenggong's instructions, except for the sailors and sailors, the rest of the officers and men on the ship went ashore to rest, eat hot, and sleep soundly.

Early the next morning, Zheng Chenggong and Lin Xiao went ashore in a dinghy and landed on the main island with great interest.

The Penghu Islands, located in the Taiwan Strait in the west of Taiwan Island, are named after the surging sea outside the harbor and the water in the harbor is as quiet as a lake, mainly consisting of Penghu Island, Yuweng Island and Baisha Island, as well as the remaining 64 smaller islands.

At this time, the Penghu Islands were still nominally the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and there were more than 1,000 Han immigrants living on the island, who made a living from fishing all year round, but because there was no official jurisdiction and no official military protection, they were often plagued by the Dutch and sporadic pirates from all walks of life.

At first glance, the people on the island were overjoyed when they saw the arrival of the mainland officials and troops, and they rushed to tell each other, carrying water and serving tea one after another, to welcome their relatives from the mainland.

The two stopped at the port, while enjoying the beautiful sea view, and watched the soldiers who went ashore, with the assistance of the local people, busy setting up tents and camping.

Looking at the lively and harmonious scene between the military and the people in front of him, and looking at their smiling faces, Lin Xiao felt a little sour in his heart, but he was more relieved - no matter how far away from the mainland, after all, they are all my Chinese compatriots, and they are always devoted to the motherland.

And Zheng Chenggong beside him was looking at the huge fleet of black and oppressive ships inside and outside the beautiful fishing port, at this moment, he was excited, this place was still with his father when he was a child, it has been a long time!

At this moment, he meditated in his heart that Penghu was very important militarily, and at least more than 1,000 people should be left as a follow-up to support the main force to continue the eastward crusade.

Lin Xiao was only followed by Situ Zheng and a few others, Wang Dong, Wen Biaorui and other officers were commanding the troops to set up camp, and the Franc Machine Battalion, the Juvenile Battalion and the Guard Company had all disembarked one after another.

Of course, his mere hundreds of people, compared with the nearly 10,000 people under Zheng Chenggong's command, are very inconspicuous in terms of the momentum of the number and the brightness of the banners......

His fleet did not enter the port, and was under the command of Fang Yuchun and He Shouxin respectively, forming two sub-fleets, one left and one right, to patrol the nearby ocean to prevent a sneak attack by the Dutch fleet.

Before the war, it was expected that the main force of the Zheng family's fleet would almost pour out of the nest this time, and it was impossible for the Dutch not to notice such a big movement, and they would definitely make a move, and it was very likely that they would send gunboats to intercept it......

It was said that it was a detachment, but in fact, Fang Yuchun and He Shouxin only had three ships under their command - the "Longsheng" with the reconnaissance ship "Beagle" and another gunboat, while the "Qinzhou" with the "Gray Dolphin" and another gunboat slowly moved forward in a zigzag shape.

There were not many boats, but Lin Xiao was not worried at all.

The visibility at sea is not very good, and he is capable of guarding tasks, even if he encounters a large Dutch gunboat suddenly, he can still calmly deal with it, and only his ship can quickly engage in battle.

Because, looking at the entire fleet, only the two machine ships, "Longsheng" and "Qinzhou", can sail in a straight line in such sea conditions, and the speed of the sailing ships is faster than all sailing ships.

This kind of task, only the battleship given to him, Lin Xiao can rest assured, because what he wants is to crush the opponent and completely ensure the safety of the fleet, he doesn't want Zheng Chenggong to be sunk before he arrives at the big rank......

……

Since He Shouxin and Fang Yuchun had experience in commanding naval battles in Macao, Lin Xiao decided to let them each take command of the detachment.

After Lao Chen and the others died, Fang Yuchun had already returned to the "Longsheng" as the captain, except for the five crossing crew members of the engine department, there was only a special operations squadron under Situ Zheng on the ship - the "Longsheng" was not a battleship, and there were no sailors.

And He Shouxin originally took his guard company on the "Qinzhou", but at this moment, the guards and soldiers were all ashore and camped, and there was only one squadron of sailors on board.

However, this squadron of sailors was not vegetarian, except for one naval gun on the front and rear decks, they were armed with an M16 rifle, and in addition, they were also equipped with "Javelin" missiles, although there were only two.

In addition, the other four gunboats captured by the Portuguese also had a squadron of sailors, each of whom also had two "javelins" in their hands.

This is where Lin Xiao's confidence lies.

Therefore, when it comes to patrolling, in fact, Lin Xiao's mission to them is very clear - if the Dutch fleet does not come, once it appears, it must seize the fighter plane and annihilate the enemy who comes to attack!

Lin Xiao hoped that the first battle would be settled, relieve the troubles of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, and ensure that the fleet arrived safely at Dayuan Port.

Of course, if the Dutch did not dare to come, Lin Xiao and Zheng Chenggong's soldiers would split up, they would not go to Dayuan Harbor, but went straight to Dagou Harbor, and tried to hold the Dutch fleet in their home port.

The intelligence was reliable, and Guo Bin's tone was resolute - there were never more than three gunboats in Dayuan Harbor.

Because, the commander of the Dutch fleet and the governor of the Grand Governor did not deal with each other, and the two were like natural enemies, and neither was willing to look at each other directly......

Lin Zheng and the others looked at the old man for a long time under the shade of the trees in the port.

In June in Penghu, the weather is already very hot, and standing in the shade of a tree to blow the wind is much more comfortable than in the camp.

It was almost noon, and the star officer on duty came to invite them to the camp for dinner, and Lin Xiao suddenly felt his stomach rumbling - this foodie, I don't know if there is a time when he has a bad appetite.

Unexpectedly, at this very moment, there was a rumbling cannon sound in the ocean in the distance - the first naval battle of the Eastern Crusade began.