Chapter 39 Taipei Autumn Hunt (2)

"The Ming bandit is coming, the Ming bandit is coming!"

The noise of the Tamsui estuary has long attracted the attention of the Huwei Fort.

Since the Ming army captured Keelung, Chen Yiqing, the general of the naval division battalion, has been shrinking his forces, and the troops of Tangxun such as Shimen, Jinbaoli, and Balikun have all gathered at the Huwei Fort and put them on strict guard every day.

Yesterday, Chen Yiqing had just returned from participating in the military in Monga, and Ding Yuejian had set up a strategy to suppress bandits, and he would soon enter Keelung.

It has been raining for days, and the sun came out of Shanghai this morning. Chen Yiqing was very interested, he felt that it was a good sign, and the quelling of the Keelung bandits would be just around the corner.

At this moment, a report came from outside, saying that the Ming bandit ship had been found outside the mouth.

Standing in the fortress tower, Chen Yiqing saw from the clairvoyant mirror that on the river near Shalun Beach, four steamships flying the red flags of the sun and the moon were lined up in battle formation, blocking the mouth of the Tamsui River.

"My lord, the Ming bandits are anchoring, and they are about to shell!" Xu Rui, the general manager of the water division camp, exclaimed. Xu Ruisheng is Chen Yiqing's confidant, who followed him to fight in the south and the north, and was promoted from a soldier to a thousand generals.

"What's the panic? The bandit boats were three miles away, and they couldn't reach the battery. Chen Yiqing snorted and ordered the flag to be raised immediately and prepare for battle.

Chen Yiqing is a veteran and has a rather perverse temper. Although the army is very fierce, Chen Yiqing is not worried at all. The four thousand-pound cannons on the fort were not given for nothing, and the Yingka Yiyi people did not dare to come to intrude, if the Ming bandits dared to attack, then give them a good lesson, so that they could not eat and walk.

"Boys! The ship of the Ming bandits will be stopped at the mouth of the river now, and if they dare to come near, they will give me a good blow, and whoever hits the enemy ship with a shot will be rewarded with five taels of silver. ”

After hearing this, the Qing soldiers at each artillery position all had their eyes lit up, and they all geared up, waiting for the Ming ships to anchor and approach this side.

The four steamships of the Ming army were ready, and at the sound of an order, eight rifled guns almost began to shell.

There was a roar that tore through the eardrums, and the cannonballs fired by the Ming warships flew over with fire and smoke in tow. The solid cannonballs all smashed into several small forests at the foot of Datun Mountain, and the trees in the forest were suddenly broken and broken, and the branches, wood fragments, and dust all flew up, and the high temperature of the cannonballs caused several plants and trees under Datun Mountain to burn, and thick smoke rose to the sky.

Chen Yiqing swept his eyes, snorted his nose, and said contemptuously: "Ha, at such a long distance, you want to hit our fort, it's really a pipe dream!" ”

"Your Excellency is wise!" There was a sudden sound of flattery on the city tower.

At this moment, the Ming warships began the second round of shelling. After correction, the shelling was more accurate. The shells fell on the hillside below the fort, and the cone-shaped live shells jumped twice on the thick ground, hitting the base of the city wall and stopping. A cloud of smoke rose from beneath the cannon city.

Chen Yiqing didn't expect the artillery of the Ming army to hit so far, seeing this situation, he suddenly blood gushed upwards and roared, "Open the cannon, open the cannon for me immediately!" ”

The guns of the Huwei Fort are all old-style cannons, and the four jack cannons are the most powerful, and the shells can fly more than 2,000 meters at the farthest, but considering the power and accuracy, the effective range of the jack cannon is less than 700 meters. For example, in the Battle of Humen in 1841, two British ** ships anchored at 360 meters and 540 meters of Weiyuan Fort respectively to shoot at the fort, and the result was that the fort was destroyed, and the two warships did not suffer much loss.

In the midst of a shout, the forty guns of the Huwei Fort to the west opened fire almost simultaneously. The old-fashioned cannon was fired at a super distance, and all the shells fell into the water, and the four thousand-pound cannons hit a little farther, and they were more than a mile away from the Ming warship.

At this moment, the third round of artillery bombardment of the Ming army began, and one shell after another whistled and smashed heavily on the walls of the artillery city like meteors. In an instant, the masonry of the city wall cracked, and the earth ash and rubble were splashed everywhere. The city wall, which was originally covered with moss, was suddenly smashed into a bumpy crater. There was also a cannonball that hit the pheasant, cutting off more than half of the stone-built pheasant in an instant. Stones flew wildly, and the Qing army hiding behind the pheasant moat suddenly became a mess, and a few soldiers simply turned around and wanted to run down the city

"Escape from the battle, there is no mercy!"

Chen Yiqing's face was flushed with anger, and he pulled out his sword and directly cut down one of the soldiers, "Idiot! and cheer me up! Raise the cannon, raise the cannon. ”

"Danger to adults!" Xu Ruiqing saw a stone flying over, and hurriedly pulled Chen Yiqing back.

"Mr. Xu Qian, do you still have the courage?" Chen Yiqing was very impatient, he shook his shoulder, turned sideways to let go of Xu Ruiqing, and then raised his foot and kicked it hard.

Xu Ruiqing was not on guard and was kicked to the ground by Chen Yiqing. He immediately got up from the ground, his face swollen red, "My lord, even if you give the order, you will never give up!" ”

"If you still have the courage, lead me to meet the sailor. The Ming bandit estuary is anchored, and it is difficult to move, and I am covered by artillery fire here, so you rush up for me and help seize the boat. ”

Xu Rui knelt on his knees, "Obey!" ”

Another round of artillery bombardment, the large cannons and small cannons on the Huwei Fort were fired at the same time, and the shells crossed arcs in the air and smashed on the surface of the river. Although the rain of bullets was dense, not a single shell approached the Ming warship, and the nearest shell to the steam fleet was also three or four hundred meters away.

The cannons and small cannons of the Huwei Fort could not reach the steamboats, and the eight rifled guns of the four steam ships gave full play to their power, and once again they let out a thunderous bombardment, and one after another the shells flew out of the muzzles with their burning tails, like a row of fire walls, slapping firmly on the forts.

The Huwei Fort continued to tremble, more than a dozen pheasant moats had been bombarded, broken bricks and stones were splashed everywhere, several small cannons on the fort were also bombarded to the ground, and the Qing soldiers hiding behind the pheasant bunkers were killed and wounded innumerable.

The enemy's artillery could hit itself, but its own artillery could not hit the enemy, and the morale of the Qing army in the Huwei Fort was extremely low. Someone wanted to remove the fort, but Chen Yiqing stood behind them with his sword in both hands, "Brothers, hold on to me." The sailor battalion is about to reach the mouth of the river, the capture of the flag is just around the corner, and victory is already beckoning to us. ”

On the Tamsui River, the fourteen warships of the Huwei Water Division Battalion poured out of the nest and were already approaching the mouth of the river. Xu Ruiqing set up a five-point plum blossom array, the five fastest fast attack ships rushed to the front, and he followed in a big boat, three small boats on the left, three on the right, and three big ships behind the formation.

Xu Ruisheng was afraid of stimulating the Ming bandits, so he didn't dare to let people beat drums and cheer, but ordered people to raise a red flag on the mast. The Ming army seemed to see the Qing army's naval division coming to attack and harass, and continued to fire shells at the Huwei Fort without stopping. Xu Ruisheng was secretly happy in his heart, the Ming army was arrogant, as if he disdained to deal with the sailor fleet.

The fast attack ship was small in size and had a pointed head, and it rushed down the river and rushed over. There was still a distance of more than ten zhang from the steamship, and the Qing soldiers on the ship were biting the Pu knife in their mouths and holding hooks in their hands, and they stood on the bow of the ship one by one and were eager to try.

"Quick, drumming!"

Xu Ruisheng was excited, relying on the help to grab the boat was in front of him, he gritted his teeth fiercely, the Ming bandit dared to look down on someone Xu, someone Xu is going to finish you today!

"Knock knock!" Xu Ruisheng personally beat the war drums and urged the five clippers in front.

"Dash...... ......At this moment, a violent burst of gunfire rang out from the steamer.

More than a dozen M2 heavy machine guns on the four steamships erupted in flames almost simultaneously, and a dense stream of bullets swept across the five clippers like the sickles of death. The Qing soldiers on the ship were immediately torn to pieces by 12.7mm bullets, and their flesh and blood flew wildly, and they were all pink. Soon the five fast attack ships were also shattered by the brutal bullets, and the fragments of the planks flew several feet high.

"Attention to the machine guns, attention to the machine guns, the target is the command ship of the Qing army, shoot!"

After capsizing and attacking the ship, the command ship with the flag of General Xu Ruisheng burst out to the front. Xue Bingding adjusted the firing target of the machine gun in a timely manner according to the order of the ship's command post.

The Qing army commanded the ship, Xu Ruisheng's eyes were split, and he shouted loudly, "Artillery preparation!" ”

He also wanted to fight a little more with the guns in the bow. But before the Qing army could take action, the M2 on the four Ming warships directly poured the rain of bullets, and Xu Ruisheng's chest immediately burst a big hole with several bullets, and before he could pounce on the ground, more bullets flew over, and Xu Ruisheng turned into a bloody mist.

There are Qing troops who want to jump into the water to escape, but where is the time! At this moment, there was no longer a living person on the deck of the Qing army's command ship. The rain of bullets knocked the mast flying, and the hull began to disintegrate, falling apart and sinking.

The Qing soldiers on the remaining eight boats were all frightened, and there were not a few who jumped into the water to escape. More people are desperately maneuvering the ships to turn around and retreat, and in the scramble, many ships collide.

The Qinglong landing craft stopped on the sea less than a chain away from the steamship, and Wang Tiehammer held a telescope to closely observe the situation on the battlefield.

After smashing the command ship of the Qing army, he decisively ordered, "Stop shooting!" The Coast Guard was ordered to immediately dispatch eight coast guard ships to follow the pursuit. ”

Zhu Ziyu also sat on the bridge to watch the excitement, he felt that it was not enough, "Captain, why do you stop shooting." ”

"If you destroy them all, it will frighten the Qing army, so you have to give them a thought!"

"Think about it?"

Wang Tiehammer looked back at Zhu Ziyu, "The battle in the morning is just a piece of cake, the war is far from over, and it will be a big meal from afternoon to tomorrow." You're going to deploy the operating table in the landing module, and the wounded will be brought in later. ”

Immediately after receiving the order, all M2 machine guns stopped firing.

Seeing that the artillery was still attacking the battery unhurriedly, several machine gun shooters on the Keelung ship were very unhappy, and they had just received an order to prepare to release a small boat to salvage prisoners and corpses.

A fierce machine gunner, who had been a pirate in Zhoushan before, asked Xue Bingding with a big grin, "Gun commander, the Qing army still has eight ships, why don't we fight?" ”

Xue Bingding scolded with a smile, "You know that fighting, if we fought back then, you kid would still be able to stand here like this." ”

The spearmen burst into laughter.

Xue Bingding pointed to the sea, "Look, the coast guard ship is coming, and the following is their mission." ”

As soon as the M2 machine gun stopped, six coast guard ships came in from behind, closely chasing the fleeing Qing naval division.

The Qing army's sailors were frightened, and Huwei didn't dare to stop, so he fled directly to Monga.