Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 232 Battle of Liaoluo Bay (2)

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Gao Jie held up a monocular telescope, observing the battle situation ahead. This telescope wasn't brought from Europe—because monocular telescopes in Europe were generally mediocre these days. Instead, it was made by local craftsmen in Lingao under Liang Xiaoming's guidance. Because the local craftsmen weren't yet very skilled, only a small number were produced initially, enough for high-ranking officers. It would take some time before officers of company level and above could use it.

As he observed, he exclaimed in amazement, "My God, their boarding action is even more brutal than we've seen before. These hand-to-hand combat soldiers seem to have come from hell—they seem to have no concept of taking prisoners, and they're incredibly ruthless."

Liu Ye continued, "That's because they don't have the custom of exchanging prisoners for ransom. These pirates fight on a life-or-death basis, and they generally don't leave anyone alive unless necessary. Taking prisoners is a waste of food."

Gao Jie shook his head: "Fortunately, we don't need to fight in such a brutal way—12-pound long-barreled cannons and 32-pound caron cannons are enough to tear all the enemies in the Far East to shreds. The only ones who can pose a real threat to us are the Dutch, and of course, Zheng Yiguan, who uses naval swarm tactics, is also difficult to deal with. However, as far as I know, the Dutch's naval guns are mainly 18-pound cannons, plus a small number of 24-pound cannons. Their long-range firepower is not much stronger than our 12-pound cannons, but in close combat, we have an absolute advantage."

Liu Ye asked, "After this battle, there might only be one of these two opponents that can pose a threat to the Qiongzhou Camp left. Which opponent would you rather be left?"

Gao Jie pondered for a moment and replied, "Although Zheng Yiguan's fleet is terrifyingly large, as long as we don't get bogged down in close-quarters combat in the coastal harbor like we did today, and there's not enough room for maneuver, I'm more confident in defeating him. In comparison, the armed merchant ships of the Netherlands would inflict far greater casualties on our sailors, and I don't really want to encounter such an opponent..."

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Hehe, if nothing unexpected happens, you will get a satisfactory answer today."

At this very moment, on the flagship of the tallest three-masted gunboat in the Zheng family's fleet, Zheng Zhilong was quietly observing the enemy formation in the distance with a monocular telescope—this telescope was the same one that Zheng Hongkui had used to observe the attack on the Zhongzuo fleet, and it had been bought from Macau at a high price.

The battle on the perimeter has already begun. Liu Xiang's fleet has been entangled, while the main force of the Zheng family's fleet has rushed into the inner circle and is not far from the red-haired barges. They will soon make contact.

Although the Zheng family far outnumbered their opponents, possessing a total of 150 to 160 ships (excluding those of the Fujian Navy and Qiongzhou Camp), the vast majority of these were small rowboats piled high with dry firewood and straw, doused with grease, intended for use as fireboats. Each fireboat was manned by sixteen strong men who, upon the start of the battle, would charge recklessly into the enemy lines, choose a suitable moment to ignite the fire, and then, regardless of whether the fire reached the enemy, jump overboard to escape.