Overnight, the entire Keelung Port became an air port, so much so that after getting up in the early morning, Sun Tianzong even felt that he was dazzled, and in the harbor, except for some small boats, there were no warships to be seen.

Where did those gunboats go?

But the reinforcements of the gunboats are gone, along with the original gunboats in the bay are gone, where did they go?

In confusion, Sun Tianzong noticed that the atmosphere in Keelung City today seemed to be different from the past, and the red-clothed soldiers of the Loyal and Righteous Army could be seen everywhere on the streets, and they appeared on the streets with loaded guns, and even at the port, a few cannons were erected.

What's going on?

"The officers and soldiers are coming!"

Sun Tianzong said excitedly to Ji Siqian beside him.

"It must be the official army coming!"

Just as Sun Tianzong was saying this, a news came from over there - the official army is coming!

The officers and soldiers are coming!

The sudden news spread throughout Keelung City, which only made Sun Tianzong and the others look out of the bay excitedly, because they were far away, they couldn't see what was outside Keelung Bay, and they couldn't even see the situation on Keelung Island, but Sun Tianzong said to the people around him with some excitement.

"Brothers, look, this time, the official army will definitely win a big victory, and our brothers have suffered a lot this time, so the younger brother thinks that we have to send a message to the official army......

As soon as his words fell, someone shouted over there.

"Send a letter to the officers and soldiers, do you know where the officers and soldiers are?"

Where are the officers and soldiers?

In the waters off Keelung Island, a fleet of hundreds of warships in a row did not appear at one time, at first, the gunners on Keelung Island only saw only a dozen bird boats, and an hour after the warning signal was issued, there were more and more enemy ships in the open sea, and by about ten o'clock, hundreds of warships of the Qing army occupied almost the entire sea.

"The outermost part is the two-masted warship......"

Shen Hefei, who was standing on the edge of the fortress with Wangyuan Realm, looked very calm,

Everything is expected, there seems to be nothing unexpected, the Qing army will first test Keelung's firepower, and then once the test is successful, they will most likely break into Keelung Bay, and then land to attack Keelung.

The gunners around him were operating 18-pound and 24-pound coastal defense guns, aiming at the Qing warships of the navy, for these gunners, they had practiced countless drills in the past, rehearsed how to defend against attacks from the sea, and just as they were methodically preparing to meet the enemy at sea, they noticed that a ball of artillery fire had risen in the Qing fleet.

"The Qing army is shelling Keelung, it seems that they are ready to take Keelung first!"

There is no need for a reminder from his subordinates, Shen Hefei can clearly see from the telescope that the white smoke gushing out of the Qing fleet, of course, and the white smoke rising from Keelung Island, which is the smoke from the muzzle, as part of the coastal defense line off Keelung, there is also a small fort built on Keelung Island.

Now it is not surprising that the Qing army will attack Keelung, after all, the Qing army also needs a foothold, and Keelung Island, which is twelve miles away from Keelung, is the best place.

"Pay attention to the movements of the Qing army's troop carriers, send clippers, and inform the fleet ......"

One by one, orders came out of Shen Hefei's mouth, and he didn't seem to be in a hurry for everything next, after a small dhow sailed out of the port from the eight-foot gate, the Qing army's fleet was still cruising off the coast of Keelung, and it looked like it was reluctant to get close to Keelung.

"The pirates have built a number of Western guns in Keelung, and there are no less than hundreds of big guns in the city, if our army recklessly sails in, I am afraid that it will be hit hard, so if you want to go down to Keelung, you have to avoid the real and ......."

Shi Lang, who was on the big bird boat, put down the binoculars, and explained to Leertai beside him, the second-grade nurse of the Qing army, why he didn't take the liberty of attacking Keelung.

"That's why Lord Shi will divide his troops into three ways, all the way here, all the way to that Ma Lian Creek? And all the way to Keelung? ”

Leertay said as if he had suddenly realized.

"In this way, this pirate must think that what we are taking is Keelung, naturally I don't know that our army has another elite to go to Malian Creek, and after the army lands in Malian Creek, the land and sea will attack Keelung......"

Even if he didn't know naval warfare, Leertai still understood the subtlety of Shi Lang's plan, and when he looked at Shi Lang, his vision also changed, no wonder the emperor chose him to lead the whole army.

Just when I was thinking like this in my heart, perhaps as if to confirm Shi Lang's judgment, a boat in Keelung Island that was shelling, the tall mast broke and collapsed suddenly, and it was the city on Keelung Island that was returning the shelling from the sea.

"Let them fight slowly, don't be in a hurry, and send an order to Li Chengtai, so that he can approach Keelung and test the firepower of the pirate Gun City......"

When Shi Lang gave the order, he didn't notice that a small dhow had sailed out of Keelung in the distance, at this time, he was more concerned about Ma Lianxi than anything else, and he had been doing everything possible to collect information about coming to Keelung in the past few months. It is precisely because of this that he chose Ma Lianxi as a breakthrough.

"I hope everything goes well with Su Ming!"

Ma Lian Creek is a river channel that is only twenty miles away from Keelung, and when the tide is high, two thousand stone boats can directly enter the river, which is only twenty miles away from Keelung, but it is outside Keelung's defense, after all, for the weak Keelung defenders, it is just a few forts built near Keelung Bay, so that when Su Ming led more than fifty double-sail boats to Ma Lian Creek, he did not encounter any resistance at all, and easily sailed into the mouth of the stream, and then a large group of men and horses began to land in the area of the mouth of the stream.

"Immediately notify Lord Shi, just say that someone Su has taken Ma Lianxi, and the team is landing, let him assist ...... with all his might."

In his opinion, as long as the brigade of people immediately went ashore, this battle would be more than half, and everything else could not be simpler - it was nothing more than to take advantage of the pirates' full strength to deal with the threat at sea, bypassing several cities on the edge of their harbors and taking Keelung City directly.

"This battle is done!"

Looking at the large group of people who were going ashore, Su Ming's heart looked very proud, these tens of thousands of horses went ashore so easily, it was really blessed by Mazu.

"Quick, let the brethren move faster, get ashore quickly!"

Although he was very proud, Su Ming still did not forget to urge his subordinates around him to shout.

"As long as we take Keelung City, the army will have a foothold in Keelung, and at that time, the pirates in Keelung will only have a few empty cities, and in Keelung City, there will be thousands of brothers in the green camp......"

Although the fleet did not encounter any resistance when it entered the Malian Creek, because there was no port, the soldiers wearing armor could only wade ashore, and the movements were extremely slow, not to mention, and even occasionally a small boat would capsize and sink in the estuary because of the soldiers' rush to rob them, so that the estuary suddenly became even more chaotic.

The chaotic landing scene seemed to Su Ming and the others to be no big deal, but they didn't notice that in the lush mountains south of Malian Creek, thousands of pairs of eyes were staring at the chaotic scene at the mouth of the stream, and many people's faces even showed a little contempt. These people were not wearing the red uniforms of the Loyal Army, but the green uniforms on their bodies allowed them to hide well in the mountains and forests, staring at these Qing troops who were landing.

"Battalion commander, when are we going to do it?"

Again, Li Yubai asked the battalion commander beside him a little impatiently, his tone seemed a little hurried, after all, watching the enemy go ashore was a test of everyone's patience.

"Don't worry, wait a while, wait until the fleet starts, let's do it again, if we start now, the cannons on the Qing army ship will be enough for us!"

Although he knew that the cannons on the Qing army ship did not have blasting shells, for Chu Huaizhang, who had a limited number of troops, he naturally would not take this risk, and he would not do it until the fleet attracted the main force of the Qing army.

"Now, it's almost time for the fleet to act!"

Thinking so in his heart, Chu Huaizhang's eyes looked towards the sea in the north, as if he wanted to see the movement of the fleet in the distance, but as far as he could see, except for the warships of the Qing army, there were no other warships, and at this time, on the sea near Vase Island, dozens of miles away, dozens of warships were cruising on the nearby sea with half sails, and the fleet of 63 warships even covered the entire sea.

On each warship, all the sailors, who set sail out of Keelung Bay in the early hours of the morning, are now cruising in this area, waiting for news from Keelung.

"Sir, you say, will the Qing army have arrived in Keelung now?"

"I guess so."

In the face of the subordinate's inquiry, let Zhang Di, the admiral of the second cruise fleet, nod and said.

"At least it should be Keelung soon."

As he spoke, Zhang Di looked at the sailors who were busy on the deck and said.

"Well, prepare a canvas and fill it with fresh water."

After a slight pause, Zhang Di added.

"Let the brethren flutter in the canvas. You can go and cool off, wash your body, and when you go to war, your movements will be more neat! ”

As the Admiral of the Second Cruise Fleet, Zhang Di has always had a habit of hoping that the sailors will clean up themselves, especially in naval battles, although he doesn't know what this will do, but he believes that this can reduce casualties.

For this order of the commander, the sailors who had been busy for a long time and had been sweating for a long time naturally did not refuse, and soon, they propped up a bathtub with canvas, and then the sailors washed off their sweat in the huge "bathtub".

Just as they were enjoying the rare coolness, suddenly, a dhow approaching in the distance caught the attention of the lookout, who saw the approaching fleet through the binoculars and immediately shouted loudly.

"Discovery of unidentified vessel ......"