D-2 day.

Standing above the Lingding Ocean, the attacking fleet sailed into the wind, beyond the longitude of Hong Kong Island.

Ling Wei was in the stern and opened the charts in an orderly manner. In the corner of the map is a bilingual description in Chinese as "Dangan-Lantau Island, the waterway through which ships can pass during the northerly monsoon." ”

This area of water is the focus of the Navy's surveying and mapping, which not only uses dense water depth numbers to mark the route of the Stretch Channel and the Lantau Channel, but also accurately depicts the shape, location and seabed geology of each island near the route, which is the result of the Navy's 15 years of hard work, and completely breaks the "iron law of the monsoon" in the Pearl River Estuary.

Located north of Dangan Island and south of Po Toi Island, the Dangan Waterway is about 10 kilometers wide and has a water depth of about 35 meters.

The wind was northeastward, and at high tide, the fleet's lead ship, HMS Hyperion, hoisted the signal flag, and turned sharply to the left against the wind, followed by the following ships.

During the southwest monsoon, it is difficult for sailing boats to use the Dangan waterway, when the current flows northeast and can reach speeds of up to 1.5 knots.

During the northeast monsoon period, the high tide of the Dangan Waterway is westward, and the low tide is eastward, with a flow rate of about 0.8 knots.

Wailingding Island, located south of Lantau Island, is the boundary between the main channel and the Lantau channel, and is also the most important channel marker for route relays.

At low tide, the fleet anchored on Wailingding Island.

The command cabin of the Ling Wei, under the dim whale oil lamp, toasted Wang Huizhi in an orderly manner.

"Brother Wang has been sticking to the Pearl River Estuary for 15 years, and the hardships are known by God, by earth, by you, and by me."

The white-haired pirate leader smiled happily, "That's all in the past, I only ask you for one thing." ”

"Please."

"I want Xu Long."

Xu Long used to be a pirate at the mouth of the Pearl River, took refuge in Shang Kexi, became the chief soldier of Nantou Town, and patrolled the two feudal domains.

The Great Western Passage is only open to navigation for 3 or 4 months per year, and facing the threat of typhoons, it was difficult for large warships of the Federal Navy to sail into the Pearl River Estuary to fight in the past, and Lingding Ocean could only rely on a small number of light galleys to support Wang Huizhi and fight against the superior forces of the Tatars to keep Lantau Island. Wang Huizhi and Xu Long have been fighting for ten years, and their hatred is as deep as the sea.

"Yes", Shou Ling raised his glass again, "How many people can you muster?" ”

"I don't have to guard the house this time, I can produce more than 1,700 men."

Order: "You can give priority to the warships and weapons captured by the Nantou Naval Division. ”

The glasses collide with each other, making a crisp sound.

Wang Huizhi smiled and said slowly: "I'm old, I should retire after this battle, my brothers have followed me for many years, I hope they can have a good way out." ”

"Don't worry, I'll arrange it."

Wang Hui disembarked, and the slightly old back stood on the bow of an eight-oared boat, heading for Lantau Island, and disappeared in the night.

The eve of the battle was always difficult, and he fell asleep very late.

On D-1, early in the morning, the sun jumped above the sea level.

The fleet set sail again, and in addition to the federal army and navy, there were also pirates from Lantau Island and 2,300 Guangdong Ming army sailors from all over the world, who had 100 warships of all kinds, many of which were better galleys at the mouth of the Pearl River.

From the south to the west of Wailingding Island, the last section is the Great Western Channel, which can reach Macao directly.

From the north of Wailingding Island and south of Lantau Island, the Lantau Channel is entered from the Dang Dry Channel, where the depth of the channel varies from 16 to 40 meters.

The length of the Lantau channel is about 17 nautical miles, and the tide is northwesterly at high tide and the current speed is relatively slow. At low tide, it flows southeast and has a fast flow rate of 3 knots.

The battleship did not have to stop, but the current at low tide was a very difficult test for the Junk, and for the sake of safety, the whole group was anchored last night.

Although the Lantau Shipping Route is not reflected on any Portuguese chart, Macao is more or less aware of its existence.

The route is deep, with islands and bays suitable for anchorage, and occasionally a Portuguese ship gets lost in the archipelago and stops to wait for the pilot. Later generations Lin Zexu believed, "(Yingyi) to the mouth is not lucky, once the water is shallow sand glue, it is difficult to turn." If it is imported by cargo ships, it will also be guided by the natives with heavy funds, and the warships will not be mentioned. ”

Neither Lin Zexu nor the Tatar court could have imagined that the British had been surveying and mapping the Pearl River Estuary since 1780, and that the East India Company had intensified its work from 1806 to 1820 and published charts one after another, so that the British would not have to rely on Chinese water pilots since 1810, which was one of the important cornerstones of the easy victory of the Opium War. This technique was beyond what was known at the time, and the Tatar court could only attribute it to being led by a spy.

Taking advantage of the high tide, the landing fleet crossed the Lantau Channel and sailed northward, anchoring again at Neilingding Island at the mouth of Shenzhen Bay.

After 1821, Neilingding Island was the base of opium smuggling by the British and developed into an important seaport for "free trade". The Tatar Guangdong Naval Division was unable to control or be deeply involved.

For most officers and men, the first days of the voyage were spent peacefully.

Many people become introspective, and they say things that they would not normally say to others, even those who are usually reticent.

The soldiers, realizing that they were still afraid, told some private stories with unusual frankness. On a few strange nights, the officers and men became close and trusted people they had never met before.

Pan Hao talked a lot about family affairs with the soldiers in the company, and also talked about his experiences in Africa and India.

"Sir."

"Huh?"

A soldier, who looked to be only 17 or 8 years old, asked: "What kind of situation will we encounter after landing?" ”

"I don't know what I'm going to face when I land, kid, but I know one thing." Pan Hao pulled out his bayonet and wiped it with a cloth, "When you go ashore, kill every Tatar who stands in your way with a gun, a bayonet, and even a tooth." ”

The soldiers were silent, and for many of them it was a sleepless night.

D-Day.

The main fleet continued to anchor.

2 frigates and 2 galleys supported 18 Ming warships to form a reconnaissance fleet and headed for the Pearl River.

The battleship Croto, the cruisers Hyperion, Burrenshire, Kuching, and six frigates formed an artillery detachment and slowly approached the coast of Tan An County.

The artillery detachment had the Crotto as its flagship and was commanded by Commodore Murong Parrot.

The Nantou Naval Division Battalion is the core of the Ming Dynasty's Guangdong coastal defense core, Guangdong Haiphong 3 or 4 Road, Lingdingyang is the middle road, the Ming Dynasty Nantou Naval Division Battalion's defense area west from Guanghaiwei Xiachuan Island, east to Dapeng Lujiaozhou, covering the entire Pearl River Estuary, the largest number of troops by the Guangdong General Army pro-town, under the jurisdiction of the general army of the main barracks, coastal defense general battalion, a total of 5,000 people, more than 150 warships.

Since the middle of Wanli, the strength of the Nantou Navy Division Battalion has been inferior year by year, and it has been trampled by the Japanese Kou, Li Kuiqi, and Liu Xiang in turn, and has become a stepping pad for making a name for itself on the sea.

Murong Parrot held up the binoculars.

Xin'an County is in the same city as Dongguan Qianhusuo, and Xu Long's Nantou Water Division Battalion is stationed here.

There are 895 pheasant saucers in the city wall, 592 zhang moat, 2 zhang deep moat, there are nearly 3,000 defenders in the county seat and the port, after the relocation of the forbidden sea, the establishment of Xin'an County was revoked, and only Xu Long's green battalion was left in the city.

It was impossible for the Grand Fleet to sail into the Lingding Ocean to hide from people, and the piers set up by the Tatars were far away, and the defenders were ready for battle.

About 50 warships scattered and fled in front of the detachment, and the No. 1 Wucao ship led by it was 1 zhang 8 feet high, 13 feet wide, and carried a battle flag 2 zhang long.

Murong Parrot asked backwards, "What is that?" ”

"Sir, it's Xu Long's ship."

Murong Parrot nodded.

Although the soldiers of the Green Battalion were second-class, and the sailors were raised by the queen of the Green Battalion, the rewards given by the Shunzhi Dynasty to the soldiers who boarded the boat before the battle were still very rich.

According to the system, board the first-class boat, and the soldiers on board will be rewarded with 50 taels of silver and 100 taels of helmsmen. In addition, 5 people can be rewarded with a large amount, 500 taels of silver for the first merit, directly promoted to the general, 300 taels of silver for the second merit, promoted to guerrilla, and 200 taels of silver for the third merit, and promoted to the capital division.

This first-class boat refers to the large bird ship and the lucky boat of the Zheng clan of more than 7 zhang, and the silver is only a reward from the imperial court, but in fact, in wartime, the local yamen and army generals will have more incentives.

Murong Parrot knew that for such a big target as the federal cruiser, the Tatars offered a reward of up to 1,000 taels for the first arrival, but the silver had to be enjoyed, and the Tatar Guangdong sailors knew very well about the power of the ship, and it was a meaning to go to sea, and they scattered and fled as soon as they left the port.

The adjutant asked, "Sir, do you want to give an ultimatum to the other side?" ”

Murong Parrot said slightly mockingly: "It's a waste of time." ”

He lowered his binoculars and turned to face the deck.

"Stand upright!"

The officers and men stood solemnly, their faces tense.

Murong Parrot said to his crew: "This ship will fire the first shot of the mainland raider, and I am deeply honored for this. It is a terrible and absurd thing to fire at your homeland, but today I command you to do so. ”

The weapons officer drew his sword, "All guns in place!" ”

The Krotto came into range.

The shells fired from the enemy batteries were weak and weak, and the variegated smoke of gunpowder showed that the propellant was of poor quality, and the backward sights were all fishing.

The shelling fleet stopped the ships and lowered the anchor.

The weapons officer waved his command knife heavily: "Fire!" ”

From the Croto to the Siwu at the end of the team, there were a total of 82 naval guns on the single side.

Within 20 minutes, a fire broke out in the harbor, basically destroying the remaining warships lined up in the harbor and crushing the batteries to counterattack fire.

Xu Long's soldiers gathered here fled, and the guns were discarded.

The marines landed in small boats, holding bright bayonets to disperse the rout, 1 battalion and part of the Ming army went north to guard, Wang Huizhi's men and 1,000 Ming troops surrounded the remaining 3 city gates.

The fleet unloaded the field heavy artillery battery attached to the 2nd Division and erected artillery positions.

In the evening, 12-pounder artillery fire destroyed the Ningnan City Tower.

One Ming army officer was draped in his whole body, walked to the city with his flag held high, and shouted to the city.

"Surrender or die!"

The city was as silent as death.

Nighttime attacks stopped.

Day D+1, early morning.

The marine battalion lined up in an assault battalion under the city, and in front of them were 200 Ming soldiers armed with various weapons and helmets.

The daily treatment of the Ming army was very poor, Murong Parrot promised that after the opening of the city, the reward would refer to the standard of the green camp, and the first person in Kexian City would get 150 taels of silver, the second person would get 100 taels, the third person would be 50 taels, and each person would be rewarded with 1 woman, which could be selected first in the city.

The Ming army had never received so many rewards, and suddenly swords and guns were dancing wildly, and the murderous spirit was soaring.

But to the disappointment of the officers and soldiers, the attack had not yet begun, and the defenders of the city dropped their red cherry blossoms and white hats, and then cut their braids.

The city gate was opened, and the marines and the Ming army immediately entered the city, controlled the city tower and the 4 gates, and cleared it after 1 hour, escorting the soldiers and civilians of the whole city out.

Murong Parrot was in a good mood and immediately rewarded the troops.

The defenders who voluntarily surrendered to Kaesong were separated.

The rest of the surrendered soldiers' family property was confiscated and sent to the Nanyang plantation. After all, they laid down their weapons, so they didn't separate the soldiers from their families, at least the whole family was still together.

The rebels entered the mine, and the wives rewarded the Ming army.

The merchant moved very quickly, and an auction was held in the castle that day.

Women, silk, porcelain, antiques, furniture, etc., were put up at auction, and the proceeds were used to offset military expenses.

Xu Long, the Tatar commander-in-chief, cursed incessantly, and Wang Huizhi's people were dumb, stripped naked, and tied up naked, just as the generals of the Ming army who had been captured since the beginning of the Battle of Salhu.

Wang Huizhi thought about Xu Long, just like the Tatars do every day.

Murong Parrot grabbed him, "Lord Daao, we are different from them. ”

Wang Huizhi gritted his teeth, "I have more than 500 brothers who died at the hands of this person, and it is my rule to return a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye." ”

Murong Parrot shook his head, "Lord Daao, we are not barbarians, and the Führer hates these disgusting tortures very much. ”

Seeing Murong Parrot move out of the order, Wang Huizhi had to suppress his anger, "What do you say?" ”

According to Murong Parrot's idea, it is best to try first and go through a procedure, and the evidence is enough to shoot Xu Long 1,000 times. However, since Shou Xiang had promised Wang Huizhi, Murong Yu sighed secretly in his heart, "It's just a death, and it's just a beheading." ”

Wang Huizhi reluctantly accepted, and he escorted Xu Long to Nanshan.

The sea breeze gusted, Xu Long was killed, and the head was used to pay tribute to the souls of the dead at sea.