Chapter 8: Encountering a Battle (4)

It's not nervous, but Hong Chengchou is actually nervous than anyone else. Although this battle was an emergency and no one expected it, he was still mentally prepared for the Zheng family to send troops, but he didn't expect that the Zheng family would come from the sea. In fact, it's no wonder that he has not really become a qualified commander, and his overall strategic considerations are still a little lacking. Even Zhu Yinglong, a later person who attaches great importance to the navy, did not expect that Zheng Zhilong's ambition would be hidden so deeply, and he was the most

Considering that after the city of Nanjing was broken, Wei Zhongxian and the little emperor would break through the siege, and Zheng Zhilong would pick them up from the sea to Fujian, but he never expected that Zheng Zhilong would take the initiative to attack, and everything would become possible. Now it seems that Hong Chengchou's side troops have become the key to the victory of the Southern Expedition. Perhaps the most tragic battle will not be under the city of Nanjing. Hong Chengchou was already sweating. He could not lose whether he was on the sea or on land now!

Hong Chengchou could not afford to lose, and Zheng Zhihu could not afford to lose either. The artillery battle between the two sides had entered the white heat, and the violent explosion was deafening. Hong Chengchou and the other three returned to the combat command room of the China Treasure Ship. The deck was no longer safe. Maybe it would become a real battlefield in a short time. So far, the first detachment of the East China Sea Fleet commanded by Chen Guang still had the upper hand. It is hard to say that once the enemy's ships were in contact with each other and the battle on the side would be a huge challenge for the new Ming Navy. After all, the imperial court had not fought a naval battle for a long time, and the last naval battle had been more than 30 years since it was now.

"General Chen Guang, it seems that close contact is inevitable." Hong Chengchou said, this is a fact, and there is no way to avoid it. The other party is a group of well-trained maritime brigades. The huge sea boats under those skilled sailors are at least a point faster than their own. Unless they give the other party a devastating blow at once, there is absolutely no problem catching up with him at their speed. Moreover, they cannot retreat in this battle. Zheng Zhilong's plan is very small and he doesn't understand it. Even if the purpose is achieved this time, he will not be able to sleep or eat.

"Master Hong, my fleet is equipped with the latest mesh rope guns. With the 1,000 men under your subordinates of Mars Hong, Zheng Zhihu will lose this time." Chen Guang's face showed his belief in winning. From Zheng Zhihu's flagship "Lieyun" revealing his true face, Chen Guang already knew that his opponent was the second son of the Zheng family. Chen Guang was definitely not a reckless general. He could be attracted by Zhu Yinglong and entrusted with important tasks, so he would definitely agree with his ability. Chen Guang is not like this.

Just the son of a famous navy general, more importantly, he has a very calm heart. This is what Zhu Yinglong likes most. Although he does not understand naval warfare, sailing on the sea must have a tenacious heart that can withstand loneliness than ordinary people. Of course, Chen Guang's talent is also indispensable, otherwise he would not have today. Since he took over as the captain of the First Detachment of the East China Sea Fleet, Chen Guang began to use the information provided by Zhu Yinglong to study the sea area.

The most important thing is the four brothers of the Zheng family in Fujian, the four brothers of the Zheng family, and the eldest Zheng Zhilong are ambitious and courageous. The only thing that can be the chief of the Zheng family and parents is definitely not because he is the boss. His extraordinary abilities, extraordinary skills, and cold-blooded methods are not possessed by the other three brothers. As long as Zheng Zhilong is alive for one day, the other three brothers will never have a day to make a comeback. The second brother Zheng Zhihu, the one who is greedy among the four brothers, is different from Zheng Zhilong. He likes money. Of course, his desire for power is not small, but he is not willing to accept it. Of course, the strength that this person believes most is that when his strength reaches the level of rivalry with his elder brother Zheng Zhilong, he may rebel. But at present, he is just the most greedy one among the four brothers of the Zheng family, and is also the most powerful one. Therefore, when dealing with such a person, it is enough to use the most important word "greed" in his nature.

"Transfer my order and gradually reduce the shelling force!" Chen Guang ordered.

With this order, Hong Chengchou and Song Xiance both looked at Chen Guang, a young general who was less than 30 years old.

"Does General Chen want to fight Zheng Zhihu head-on?" Zheng Nansheng didn't understand the key point and couldn't help but ask, approaching him. Even if there is a giant ship like the China Treasure Ship, it may not necessarily have any advantages. Isn't this self-destruction?

"Since head-on fight is inevitable, it's better to come directly, Mr. Hong, don't you think?" Chen Guang's smiling gaze floated towards Hong Chengchou's face.

Hong Chengchou smiled and said, "Standing here, General Chen is the master, and this commander is the guest, so naturally the guest changes with the master!"

"Masterman..." Zheng Nansheng glanced at Hong Chengchou incomprehensible.

"In fact, we may not lose when we fight head-on. Although Zheng Zhihu is a tiger, we are not sheep, at least we are also wolves." Song Xiance said that although he had just joined the imperial camp and had a considerable contribution, he had a calmness and wisdom that ordinary people do not have. He vaguely felt that no matter whether he wins or loses, he would have an unpredictable impact after this battle. Of course, he did not want his fleet to lose, but at present, the winner is unpredictable. After all, the war is full of variables. Until the moment when the dust settles, no one knows who the final winner is!

After Chen Guang's order was issued, the shelling speed of each ship slowed down significantly. Although it was still extremely fierce, the flowering bullets were replaced with solid bullets. The purpose was naturally to confuse Zheng Zhihu, making him think that he was insufficient ammunition and wanted to eat him desperately. You should know that although Zheng Zhihu, who has been on the sea for many years, was also extremely cunning. If he was not careful and exposed his purpose, he might fail. In fact, Chen Guang was worried too much. In his eyes, Zheng Zhihu was his face.

He was considering how to defeat the enemy, and Hong Chengchou did not need to directly command the fleet to fight, so he had time to calm down and think more. Even if Chen Guang did not confuse Zheng Zhihu, Zheng Zhihu would not let them go. It was just that head-on battles were not delicious for him. As long as the use of tactics and strategies could reduce his own damage and hit the enemy to the greatest extent, in Hong Chengchou's eyes, Chen Guang already possessed the qualities that a qualified general should have.

From one side, the emperor's vision is so vicious and he knows people's abilities. No one he uses is a talent that can be created. Wu Sangui, Huang Zunsu, and Shi Kefa, who has never been masked, are all, including himself, a chess piece in the hands of the emperor, a chess piece willing to use for him.

Zheng Zhihu was already unable to stop, and he even ordered not to use heavy artillery to attack the China Treasure Ship, because it was his future flagship and he did not want to cause too much damage.

"Second Master, the opponent's attack has slowed down." A personal guard next to Zheng Zhihu ran over and said.

Zheng Zhihu held the sword in his left hand tightly, but he didn't see it, and asked, "How many ships do our army have?"

"About seventy, about two-thirds of them can fight. There are more than twenty merchant ships captured along the way. It is estimated that sixty warships can be collected to participate in the battle!" said the guard.

"Sixty ships are enough!" Zheng Zhihu squeezed out these six words from his teeth, and with a hint of chill, it made the left and right guards shudder, trembled slightly, and took a step back.

He Bin woke up. Under such a fierce artillery battle, how could he not wake up unless he voluntarily turned off the six consciousnesses?

The fierce sound of evil cannons in his ears told him that the war had begun. Without his stop, Zheng Zhihu was absolutely unscrupulous. Zheng Zhilong specifically instructed to suppress Zheng Zhihu's greed before leaving, but in the end, his coma could not stop Zheng Zhihu's footsteps. At the same time, he also had a little enlightenment. Even if he dissuaded Zheng Zhihu, he would only suppress this battle a little. This battle was inevitable. It would not be fought today. Maybe tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, what should come will come sooner or later.

"Second Master!" He Bin's voice appeared behind Zheng Zhihu. His thin body was blown by the sea breeze and trembled slightly. His head was still a little painful when he woke up, but at this time he had to come to see Zheng Zhihu. After all, they are now the same master and are on the same boat.

"You're awake." Zheng Zhihu turned around and looked at He Bin and turned over.

"Yes, Second Master, what are our losses?" He Bin's identity is equivalent to a military supervisor and a military advisor. The intensity of the battle exceeded his imagination, which directly made his heart sank and his face was quite bad.

Zheng Zhihu briefly explained the situation after the war. Although he said it very easily, He Bin still saw that Zheng Zhihu was not sure of victory. The sharpness and power of the enemy's artillery exceeded He Bin's previous imagination of the imperial naval army. If he didn't make a sound, he would make a big splash.

From one nautical mile to five hundred meters, Zheng Zhihu paid a considerable price, losing ten sea ships, and eight lost their combat principles. Similarly, Hong Chengchou and Chen Guang lost a lot of losses. There were twelve ships in front and behind, and three lost their combat effectiveness. It turned out that there were only 41 left in the fifty-six ships. If the merchant ships robbed by Zheng Zhihu, the current ratio of ships between the two sides is equivalent to one to two.

The two sides contacted the war to begin less than an hour and a half, with thousands of casualties. The battle has reached the key to decisive victory. Today, only one fleet in Hangzhou Bay can sail into Hangzhou Bay alive.

"Second Master, we should concentrate our efforts to attack this giant ship now. As long as we sink or control this giant ship, the final victory will be ours." He Bin briefly understood the situation and his mind was running quickly.

"No." Zheng Zhihu's face darkened, and he refused He Bin's proposal without leaving any room for anything. His playing style was obviously contrary to He Bin. He wanted to solve all ships except the China Treasure Ship, and then trapped the China Treasure Ship. He said that this was based on his strategic plan formulated to seize the China Treasure Ship. From beginning to end, he built on his own desire to command this naval battle. Although his experience in naval battle was extremely rich, he still looked down on the imperial fleet too much, or Chen Guang's passive defense at the beginning, and confused him with a weak strategy. In short, the only thing he thought about now was to get the China Treasure Ship.

"Second Master, the strongest combat power of the opponent is the giant ship. If we don't destroy that giant ship, even if we sink all its other ships, we will not win." He Bin advised painstakingly that the firepower of the China Treasure Ship made He Bin feel cold sweat on his back. Its strength is even more terrifying than the Dutch's Thousand Materials Ship. The entire sea giant, I don't know how the imperial court built it. Such a sharp giant ship would bring a catastrophe to the Zheng family. Although he also wanted to capture this giant ship, at this stage, only by destroying this giant ship can you defeat the mobile phone. Now there is a good opportunity. Taking advantage of Zheng Zhihu's opportunity to gather the fleet to prepare for near-side attacks, concentrate forty to fifty sea ships with more than four hundred materials to destroy the China Treasure Ship with all its strength. Even if it sinks it, it doesn't matter!

"Rareless, He Bin, you dare to shake the morale of the army!" Zheng Zhihu's eyes showed a red light of blood-devouring. No one dared to question his command ability, and even his eldest brother Zheng Zhilong had never doubted it.

He Bin's whole body trembled. At this time, Zheng Zhihu could no longer listen to his words. If he said something more, he would probably have the most terrifying punishment waiting for him. Even if he would not kill him for Zheng Zhilong's sake, it would be difficult. Zheng Zhihu has always been in charge of the Zheng family's punishment, which is definitely worse than death. He was afraid of that kind of inhuman torture, and subconsciously shut up.

"Come here, take He Bin to the bottom cabin and take strict supervision!" Zheng Zhihu couldn't take care of so much, he was ready to go his own way.

"Second Master, He Bin was sent by the uncle after all, you are still..." The personal guard beside him reminded in a low voice.

"No need to remind me, let's take the lead. After the war, I will apologize to my elder brother!" Zheng Zhihu glared at the guard fiercely, and the guard was so scared that he subconsciously shrank his neck and retreated aside timidly.

If Zheng Zhihu followed He Bin's suggestion, he might be able to persist for a longer period of time, and even severely damaged Hong Chengchou's landing troops and Chen Guang's fleet. However, if he chose a self-destructive style, he was destined to defeat him without a subtle advantage, and the entire army was wiped out. In that case, even if Hong Chengchou did not remind Chen Guang, Chen Guang would not let a sampan back to Fujian.

Entering the melee range, Zheng Zhihu's fleet actually scattered, as if they were fighting each other. Only more than ten ships continued to surround the China Treasure Ship regardless of casualties. Needless to say, these ships were severely damaged, but they were still able to sail, and they were the most suitable cannon fodder ship to launch suicide attacks.

In melee combat, it would be good if the power of artillery can be exerted in three levels. The ships of both sides were stirred up together, you had me and I had you, and I did not distinguish between each other. At this time, it depends on the combat effectiveness of each side's respective soldiers.

The sound of killing shook the sky, the waves were filled with a faint red color, and the air was filled with vomiting blood.

When the pirates under Zheng Zhihu drew their swords and rushed to each ship of the East China Sea Fleet with a scream, they were not the same sharp swords or the rain of arrows like locusts, but angry bullets. The tactics on land were also suitable for the ships. Chen Guang was definitely not a person who was in charge of the rules. He tried any tactics that could defeat the enemy as long as it was feasible, especially when throwing grenades at sea. Chen Guang placed several sailors with extraordinary arm strength on each ship for this. It was not a problem for ordinary people to have thirty meters apart, and they were fifty-sixty meters. These people made immortal contributions in the first encounter of the Ming Dynasty navy. Their tactics were even continued in the "Ming Ming Navy War Code Code".

When Zheng Zhihu found something was wrong, it was too late. When he found that in addition to the sharp artillery, the power of the match rope gun was beyond his imagination. He did not have such a firearm in his hand, but the power in his hand was obviously smaller than the other party, and the range was far less than that of the other party. He suddenly realized that he did not know his enemies at all. This could not be blamed. In this sea area, could there be an opponent that he didn't know better than him?

Chen Guang launched a counterattack. Zheng Zhihu's more than ten cannon fodder ships, before he could approach, the fierce artillery fire sank into the sea. No one on the ship was spared. Following the dozens of ships, a large number of people poured out of the ships. Compared with the court, Zheng Zhilong had a congenital deficit. Although the court was short of troops now, it was richer than Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhihu's 80 ships combined was less than 10,000, and the first detachment of the East China Sea Fleet led by Chen Guang had nearly 8,000. With Hong Chengchou's 4,000 landing personnel, the total strength was more than 1,000. In the previous battle, Zheng Zhihu's losses were much higher than Chen Guang. Chen Guang suppressed Zheng Zhihu's first entry with the sharpness of the firearm.

After the attack, the morale of the army suddenly increased. Coupled with the clever use of sea grenades, it almost completely offset the melee advantage of Zheng Zhihu's pirate fleet and even gained the upper hand. However, the combat effectiveness of pirates is indeed not underestimated. However, Zheng Zhilong's army expanded this year. More than 70% of the soldiers of Zheng Zhihu's fleet are similar to those of the sailors under Chen Guang and Hong Chengchou. In terms of training, it is definitely better than Zheng Zhihu's actual combat experience, but strict training makes up for it, so the overall combat effectiveness is not inferior to Zheng Zhihu's pirate fleet. Even if it is a fierce battle, it is unknown who will win.

"Retreat!" Zheng Zhi bit his blood from his teeth. He was defeated. He knew clearly that as long as he took the giant ship and annihilated such a huge fleet, even if Zheng Zhilong blamed him in the future, he could still be punished. Now he only thought about preserving his strength, and perhaps he could get forgiveness from his family and Zheng Zhilong.

"It's too late!" Hong Chengchou sighed. If one step is wrong, the whole market will be lost. Zheng Zhihu may not necessarily lose. If it can siege the Chinese Treasure Ship with its determination to bet on the boat, there may be a glimmer of hope for victory, but he is completely contrary to the will and has only the fate of failure. But this is not absolute. If Zheng Zhihu had two hundred ships, the situation would be different. Zheng Zhihu not only did not know his confidant, but also did not know his enemy. His failure completely became the negative textbook for the failure of the naval battle.
Chapter completed!