nucmednet Chapter 302 Login
Chapter 302 Login
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While Zheng Zhilong was actively preparing for war, the Qiongzhou Camp's transport fleet was sailing along the southwest coast of Xiamen Island under the cover of the fleet, heading straight for Zhongzuo Fortress. According to pre-war simulations, if Zheng Zhilong was not dead, he would definitely have fled to the fortress and held it, so the army should attack it directly instead of landing at the dock and pushing forward, which would be too time-consuming and energy-intensive.
Zhongzuo Fortress is located on the southwest coast of Xiamen Island, backed by Wulao Mountain and facing Gulangyu Island across the sea. It is roughly the current site of Xiamen University. To the east of the fortress is the famous Hulishan Fortress. Because this place guards the vital waterway between Gulangyu and Xiamen Island, it is known as the "Gateway to Fujian and the Key to Southern China." Due to its important location, Zheng Zhilong set up several 24-pounder cannons purchased from the Portuguese here.
By the standards of the time, the defenses of Hulishan Fortress were not rudimentary. Although it had only three or four cannons and fewer than a hundred soldiers, they were all large-caliber, high-quality artillery pieces, and there were no soldiers being paid to fill positions. It was far more sophisticated than the dilapidated Ya Niang Xie Fortress at Humen in Guangdong. Zheng Zhilong was more knowledgeable about coastal defense than the officials in Guangdong, so he invested considerable resources in the defense of Zhongzuo Fortress.
Gao Jie, with the keen sense of a fleet commander, recognized the threat posed by this fort. Although these cannons were unlikely to threaten warships at sea, they were still a problem. Furthermore, the range of the artillery could reach the beaches where the army planned to land, so this fort had to be destroyed before the landing operation could begin.
The combined fleet sailed past Huaixin Rock and then anchored on the sea, locking onto the target at a distance of more than a mile.
Ordinary solid shot would hardly cause fatal damage to the stone-built fortress at this distance, so Gao Jie directly ordered the use of mortars.
The first round of shelling used solid shot to determine the impact point and adjust the angle. A few solid shot landed sparsely around the fort, chipping off a corner of it and sending debris flying everywhere. The fort's defenders scrambled to retaliate, firing their 24-pound cannons, but their aim was too poor, and most of the shots landed in the sea, creating high splashes.
After finding the right landing point, the two Yongle-class bombardment guns were reloaded with explosive shells. "Boom boom boom," the four guns on the left fired at the same time, and four huge explosive shells landed accurately in the gun emplacement. Then, an even louder explosion was made. The shock wave from the explosion threw the heavy 24-pound guns and the gunners' bodies into the air. Debris flew everywhere, and the entire gun emplacement collapsed directly.
After destroying Hulishan Fortress, Zhongzuo Fortress, located on the coast, was completely exposed and free to move about. The transport fleet safely passed Hulishan Fortress, and then the ships lowered their anchors. Liu Ye personally ordered, "Begin the landing!"
The landing site was chosen on the beach in front of Hulishan Fortress, about two kilometers from Zhongzuo Fortress. One after another, large ships lowered several pre-prepared sampans, and the army soldiers, who had been waiting below deck for a long time, began to board the sampans and row towards the beach. The officers responsible for headcount and coordinating the landing kept urging, "Hurry, hurry, hurry!" A landing operation was not like a naval battle, and the target was Qianhu Fortress; the political risks were much greater, and a swift victory was essential.
As the Qiongzhou camp began landing, Zheng Zhilong was giving his final mobilization speech inside the garrison headquarters: "Order the grain depot to send 300,000 taels of silver to the gate tower. I want to reward the entire army handsomely! Each brother who goes out to meet the enemy will be rewarded with ten taels, and each of those who defend the city will be rewarded with five taels! If we defeat the Qiongzhou camp, each person will be rewarded with another fifty taels! Those who die in battle will receive the same reward as before, in addition to the pension!"
A stir ran through the crowd. This wasn't just a generous reward; it was utterly unbelievable. Normally, a victory would only earn four or five taels of silver. To receive more than ten taels, one needed merit or a certain level of achievement. This was already extremely generous among the various armed forces of the late Ming Dynasty, let alone the meager rewards for government soldiers. Now, simply going out to engage in battle would yield ten taels, and a victory would bring fifty taels—the reward was simply astonishing.
Zheng Cai couldn't help but step forward to advise, "Brother... isn't this too heavy... Once this precedent is set, if there aren't such generous rewards in the future, the soldiers will be unwilling to fight..."
"Now is the time for everyone to risk their lives. Is it worth spending tens of taels of silver to buy a life? I think it is!" Zheng Zhilong said. "If we lose the land battle again and even lose Suocheng, we will have nothing left, and there will be no future for us!"
Zheng Zhilong was well aware of the current situation. If they lost this battle, the Zheng family would be completely finished. Rather than suffer such a humiliating defeat and give away all the treasures and goods in the city to the Qiongzhou camp, it would be better to distribute the city's wealth to win people's hearts and fight to the death. Perhaps there was still a chance.
"...As long as we live, we can always rebuild. As long as we brothers hold our ground at Zhongzuo Fortress, even if we lose all our men and ships, we can still turn the tide!" Zheng Zhilong shouted. "Money can be lost and then regained. We brothers are destined for great things; we must have some courage!"
Stimulated by his words, everyone's blood boiled. They felt that since their elder brother regarded wealth as worthless, they should not worry about gains and losses. As long as they fought hard to drive away the Qiongzhou camp, they would have no shortage of opportunities to make a comeback. After all, they had been driven to the brink of despair by Li Kuiqi back then, but they still managed to turn things around.
Everyone bowed in unison: "We are willing to follow the general's lead!"
After making the necessary arrangements, Zheng Zhilong led his personal guards down from the city wall. He saw a bustling scene at the city gate, with soldiers receiving their rewards. Although his own troops were somewhat disorganized, they were all fully armored and well-equipped, far superior to the government troops, which brought him some comfort. Although the land forces weren't the core of the Zheng family's army, he had invested heavily in them over the years, providing them with superior equipment and pay, which had helped him win several battles and even led to his being transferred by the court to Guangdong to fight against the Yao people. Now, his only hope was to withstand the final blow from the Qiongzhou camp in the land battle.
After making his rounds, he ordered his personal guards, "Summon Matos and Totaro."
Matos and Totaro were the heads of his Black Guard and Japanese Guard, respectively. Zheng Zhilong's Black Guard was recruited from the Portuguese, and most of them were runaway Portuguese slaves.
According to records, Macau at that time had "850 married Portuguese, ... who on average had six armed slaves. The largest and best among them were the Caffères, as well as other ethnic groups, ... the Portuguese and these people possessed excellent muskets, spears, and other weapons. Few Portuguese did not have six or twelve muskets or flintlock muskets." The Caffères were black slaves from East Africa. Most of them had received military training, were accustomed to using the Portuguese matchlock muskets, were brave in battle, and were unlikely to betray their masters. Therefore, they were highly trusted by Zheng Zhilong, and their numbers were maintained at five or six hundred year-round, though they were outwardly claimed to number a thousand.
As for the Japanese guard, his connections with the Hirado clans and his past as a Catholic were enough for him to recruit hundreds of Japanese soldiers who were of Christian origin.