The Leizhou Peninsula is a typhoon-prone area, when hurricanes hit the area, salty tides flooded, and the coastal farmland harvest was over.

In order to resist the invasion of the tide, since the Song Dynasty, the people of Leizhou have built a large number of river embankments and seawalls, especially in the Ming Dynasty, and the population of Leizhou is also growing rapidly in the Ming Dynasty.

Under the protection of the seawall, thousands of hectares of salt brine land in the east and west oceans of Leizhou have become fertile rice fields, and Leizhou has changed from a grain import province to an export country.

The seawall extends dozens of kilometers from the mouth of the Nandu River to the north and south coasts, and more than 10 kilometers inland.

Leizhou Port, also known as Nanpujin Port, is located at the mouth of the intersection of the Nandu River and its right bank (south) tributary, Huaqiao Water, about 2 kilometers away from the mouth of the Nandu River.

The width of this section of the Nandu River is about 400 meters, and at this time it is at high tide, and the tidal water difference in the Nandu estuary area is large, and the recent tidal range is between 2 meters and 3 meters, which is the main obstacle for the army to force the Nandu River.

The river is meandering, and if it is deployed along the embankment, the battle line will be more than ten kilometers wide, and no matter how many Geng Jimao's people are, it will not be enough to spread out. Therefore, the first line of defensive support points of the Tatar army from west to east are the three ferry ports of Ma Yandu, Nandu, and Jiahedu, as well as the two north shore ports of Tai Po and Ma Tingzai.

The breakthrough point selected by the guard was in Tai Po Port, where the remaining wharf facilities were convenient for the development of subsequent attacks, and Geng Jimao should also be able to think of this, and the strength of the defenders of Tai Po Port was not weak.

Rong Dashuai walked up to the bow of the boat, and behind him were 80 sampans moored along the banks of the Huaqiao River, all covered with reed mats and fishing nets wrapped in blades of grass.

The soldiers on the shore raised the banner of the deputy commander-in-chief, and the 1,200 Ming sailors lifted the camouflage covering the sampan, untied the anchor cable, and rowed 5 kilometers downstream.

The Ming army dug a 2-kilometer-long, half-meter-deep canal between Huaqiaoshui and the Nandu River, so that Rong Dashuai's fleet no longer had to go around the harbor into the Nandu River along the crooked river.

The starting point of the forced crossing is located at the opening of the canal.

The moon is bright and the stars are scarce, and the Nandu River is gurgling into the sea, and there is only the sound of the waves in my ears.

The soldiers of the 1st regiment snuffed out their cigarette butts, loaded their bayonets, and boarded the sampan.

The regiment commander Xu Dinghe quietly looked at the pocket watch, waiting for the order to attack.

If a Green Battalion soldier had climbed the seawall to the east at this time, he would have seen the cold light reflected by the bayonets that stretched for nearly 1 kilometer.

At 2 a.m., three red flares rose into the sky.

Xu Dinghe looked up at the sky, and a full moon hung high in the sky, sprinkling silver light.

"This damn moon."

If it was only 1 regiment crossing the river, Xu Dinghe would wait for the dark clouds to cover the moon before starting, but now more than 10,000 troops are moving as a whole, and each step is one ring after another, and the start time of the attack cannot be changed.

The adjutant reminded: "Regiment commander? ”

Xu Dinghe stood up, "Let's go." ”

There was no artillery preparation, and the first 2 grenadier companies paddled the sampan with the sailors.

The moon is reflected in the surface of the river, and the water reflects the sparkling silver light.

There was a noise of people on the embankment, and then three guns were lit up, and the cannons fell into the water near the sampan, and the splashes were many and small, which were shotguns.

The enemy patrols on the seawall must have spotted the river crossing fleet, and the defenders of Tai Po Harbor came out to meet them.

There appear to be injuries on the sampan of the striker 1 ship.

The veteran immediately spoke out to reassure his companion, "Garbage Tiger Squatting Cannon, don't be afraid, being hit by that thing is extremely unlucky." ”

The platoon commander pouted, "It's not even as good as Lao Tzu's level back then, the brothers stepped up their rowing, and later they picked them with bayonets." ”

Only the commander of the infantry company of the Federal Army and above requires non-commissioned officers to be appointed as students, and each department below the company commander can promote veterans on its own. This platoon commander was also a Ming soldier back then.

It is very troublesome to reload the Tiger Squat Cannon battlefield, and it will be dumb after one ring.

The soldier stared at the embankment on the opposite bank, paddling his oars vigorously.

Then there was a burst of bird firing on the embankment, and Geng's soldiers were trained by the Portuguese to fire volleys of guns.

When one row of bird guns sounded, the Green Battalion soldiers retreated to reload, and another row stepped forward to shoot.

The arquebuses were loosely formed, with room for soldiers to rotate back and forth.

Xu Dinghe carefully observed the firing frequency of the green battalion, and the enemy was divided into 3 platoons, each platoon had about 60 bird guns, and the line of fire was very open and the density was very low. It is impossible for the rotation of the 3 platoons to form a dense firepower, and the green battalion inherited from the Ming army, this kind of military formation that stretches its wings as much as possible and increases the depth of the front and rear does not know where it was learned. Comparatively, the Eight Banners 6-Platoon Arquebus Team and the Long Lance Formation were more powerful.

Considering that the enemy army must have some cold-weapon soldiers, Xu Dinghe estimated that the total strength of the enemy army was about half a battalion.

The enemy has a total of 180 bird guns, which can be used to fight 20 rounds of fire, during which the barrel must be forced to cool with a wet cloth, otherwise the probability of exploding is very high.

With 3,600 rounds of ammunition, based on the shooting accuracy of the Green Battalion, it is estimated that one out of 100 rounds will be fired against a moving target, and it will only cause about 20 casualties at most.

This bit of firepower is not enough to see.

The navy actually equipped Xu Dinghe with a sloop, but he did not use the mortars for the vanguard landing, and the infantry rushed up with mortars to hit the seawall.

The battle situation was similar to what Xu Dinghe had envisioned, with more than 10 sampans landing one after another, and the impact of the Green Battalion's fire blockade was only to force the follow-up fleet to stretch slightly to the enemy's flanks.

Taking advantage of the fact that crossing the river at high tide did not have to face the mud under the embankment after the low tide, the grenadiers disembarked and, organized by the neighboring officers, formed a line of different sizes, fired a volley at the top of the embankment, and then rushed up with bayonets.

Hand-to-hand combat broke out above, and this green battalion seemed to be the elite.

The grenadiers were in groups of three or four, and the bayonets were like short spears at this time.

The green battalion rattan soldiers held shields and waist knives, and formed a rough battle formation on the embankment, some of the birds abandoned their guns and drew their swords, and some of them were nervously loaded.

A newly landed line infantry crossed the grenadiers and went around to the other side of the embankment to outflank the enemy's retreat.

The Green Battalion finally gave up resistance, and after a shout, turned and ran.

Some infantry still had bullets in their barrels, regardless of the company they originally belonged to, and at this time a squad under the command of a captain.

The captain raised his command knife, "All of them, guns up!" ”

The soldier raised his rifle to his shoulder.

"Put!"

The grenadier platoon commander grinned and ordered, "Chase, stab them in the ass." ”

Xu Dinghe followed the 2nd battalion to land.

The regimental soldiers lit the signal flare and reported back that the forced crossing was successful.

Xu Dinghe raised the binoculars, the moonlight was like water, the visibility was good, and Tai Po Port was one mile to the west.

The 1st Battalion pursued down the seawall and detoured to the eastern flank of the port.

Xu Dinghe spread out along the embankment to both flanks with 2 battalions, leaving 2 companies to control the landing point.

Rear Admiral Cotinho, commander of the Qiongzhou detachment, commanded seven galleys and 10 artillery longboats to sail past the landing site, and the sailors shouted in unison to the shore, receiving a louder response from the army.

The sea near Leizhou Mansion is shallow, and the water is densely covered with shallows.

The deep-water channel that is enough for battleships and cruisers to perform is 3 kilometers beyond the seawall, and even if a large battleship is hoisted, the effect will not be good, and driving these big guys can only be scary.

Between the seawall and the sea surface is a mangrove forest and muddy tidal flats, it is difficult for light warships to cross the mangrove forest to approach the seawall, and the cannons on board will be blocked by the seawall, and it is impractical to land from the sea.

Therefore, the Strait Fleet did not participate in the operation, and the Qiongzhou Detachment sent several galleys with a shallow draft to stop at Nanjin Port to support the river crossing. The most obvious difference between a light battleship and an artillery longboat is that the former has a deck, while the latter has no deck.

Each of the 10 artillery longboats was equipped with one 4-pounder gun, the four galleys were equipped with two six-pounder guns, and the other three were equipped with 10-inch mortars.

Sixteen ships anchored outside the port of Nanjin, with their bows facing the shore and forming an arc.

Coutinho, wearing a three-cornered hat and a general's gown, sat in the stern of the boat.

It is a pity that the first actual battle of the Qiongzhou detachment was a shore bombardment with no honor to speak of.

"Sir, the coffee you wanted."

The servant in the tuxedo held the white porcelain drinking utensils in his left hand and bowed slightly.

Cotinho picked up his coffee cup.

The white glaze reflected the warm moonlight, and Coutinho sighed slightly, "Porcelain, it's so beautiful." ”

The bitterness of the small coffee has a slightly sour taste, and the aroma of fresh fruit reverberates between the lips and teeth, and Coutinho is simply fascinated by this taste.

"Sir?"

Captain Captain waits for orders.

Coutinho gently placed the cup on the tray with a crisp sound.

"Order to fire."

"Yes."

"Send someone to remind the army that there are still 3 hours before the tide falls, and the battleships will withdraw from the inland river, and they had better take Tai Po Port before then."

"Yes."

The captain turned and walked over to the gun emplacement.

Led by the temporary flagship, the muzzle flame was lit up in a line, and more than a dozen balls of gunpowder smoke rose into the sky.

Solid bullets flew into Tai Po Harbour and crushed everything they encountered before running out of kinetic energy.

The three mortar battleships fired the most with the greatest momentum.

The base of the 10-inch mortar battery weighs 3 tons, and is fixed at the front of the hull near the center, and the load-bearing structure below the deck is very strong.

By order of the commander of the guns, all artillery was oriented towards the mortars.

The four gunners took the iron lever, inserted it into the notch of the gun mount, and adjusted the barrel to the vertical.

The charge hand fills the gunpowder and rams it with a through rod.

The biggest difference between this new mortar and the old cannon is in the medicine room, which has been changed from a cylindrical medicine room to a conical room. The cone-shaped chamber stabilized the propulsion acting on the surface of the shell, increasing the range and increasing the firepower.

Four artillerymen lifted the shell with an iron hook and carefully placed it in the center of the chamber, and the shell weighed 49 kilograms, which was very heavy.

The original mortar needs to ignite the shell lead and the artillery lead respectively, and the new mortar is equipped with a support structure to the gun chamber, leaving a clearance between the medicine chamber and the shell, and the flame of gunpowder burning through the clearance is enough to ignite the shell lead, so that the firing process is simplified to one step, and the safety factor is greatly improved.

The gunner measured the angle of fire with a ruler, and the gunner adjusted the gun body with a lever according to the commander's order.

One gunner sealed the muzzle with a cloth bag filled with wet dirt, and the other hurriedly swept the deck around the mortar with a broom, making sure there was no scattered gunpowder. Mortar guns fire sparks everywhere, and in case of gunpowder falling on the deck, an accident can occur.

The commander of the gun, who finally checked whether the shell was in the center of the chamber, had no problems, ordered everyone to retreat.

The ignition gunner takes a step back with his left foot, bends his right knee back, extends his right arm forward, and hangs the arquebus 30 centimeters above the fire door.

"Put!"

The mortar was fired, and scorching flames erupted from the fire door, and if you were not careful, you could even burn the arm of the point gunner.

The 49-kilogram shell flew out of the muzzle of the gun, followed a parabolic trajectory and landed in Tai Po Harbour.

The explosion was followed by a loud bang, and in the bright red firelight, several beams flew into the sky with debris, which were clearly visible.

As soon as the grenade was fired into Tai Po Harbour, the flames of the explosion were printed in the river like festive fireworks.

Coutinho overestimated the determination of the Tatar army to hold on, and an hour later, the defenders of Tai Po Harbor were dispersed.

The Golden Eagle flag of the 1st Regiment was raised at Tai Po Harbour, and the military flag blackened by the smoke of gunpowder waved in the wind.