Chapter 701 - Battle of Lantau
Could this be internal strife? Zheng Bao feared infighting most of all. His men had been hastily assembled over recent months, their relationships barely more than loose partnerships. He had only been acknowledged as "Boss" because his force was the strongest. Who knew what spark might have ignited conflict below?
A trusted follower burst in. "Boss! Outside! Outside..." His face was contorted with terror, unable to form words.
"Damn it!" Zheng Bao cursed, knowing something grave had happened. He strapped on his saber and rushed out, surrounded by retainers.
What he saw was the most terrifying sight of his life.
Trails of fire dragging black smoke crisscrossed the sky, plunging toward Tung Chung like meteors. Ships in the harbor and buildings on shore blazed furiously. More black flames of fire in the sky emitted horrifying shrieks, continuously crashing down. Flames and explosions blanketed the entire Tung Chung harbor.
For a moment, Zheng Bao thought he was dreaming. He stood frozen in shock.
"Boss, what do we do now?" his entourage demanded.
Zheng Bao started, suddenly awakening. "Quick! To the ships!" He waved his hand and charged toward the Tung Chung docks.
Zheng Bao had made his living through murder and arson—unconscionable acts. Sometimes he had thought about things like "hell." He had never imagined he would see it while still alive. The road to the docks was strewn with charred corpses and collapsed buildings. Everywhere lay scattered, twisted black iron casings. Not a single structure remained unburned; even the jetties had caught fire. Looking out across the harbor, the waters were covered with burning ships, some already half-sunk.
Above their heads, rockets occasionally emitted their terrifying screams before slamming into the ground. Each impact made Zheng Bao shudder. Some men simply dropped to the ground, crawling on all fours as if this might take them farther from these terrible death-gods in the sky.
They finally fought their way to shore. The jetties had burned to fragments. Ships in the harbor that hadn't caught fire were all weighing anchor and setting sail, heading for the mouth of the bay. His followers found a small boat and bundled Zheng Bao aboard his flagship.
"Quickly! Weigh anchor and set sail. Raise my banner!" The moment Zheng Bao boarded, he didn't bother with his disheveled appearance, issuing order after order. The situation was chaos; everyone thought only of escape. If he didn't immediately sail out and show his colors to steady morale, his "great pirate band" would scatter like frightened birds.
Through Shi Zhiqi's telescope, the rocket bombardment's effect on the harbor proved highly impressive. The burning ships in the bay were the best demonstration of this tactic. Through the smoke, he could see many vessels racing toward the bay mouth. Some ships were already on fire, pirates fighting the flames while fleeing.
"Report to the Commander: The majority of enemy vessels are fleeing toward open sea," Shi Zhiqi said with satisfaction. "The pirates have collapsed inside Tung Chung harbor."
The female signals operator beside him quickly recorded his order, then ran to the radio operator—in reality, just a two-way radio.
Shi Zhiqi commanded: "Fire another hundred!" The rockets hauled up the mountain couldn't very well be carried back down. Might as well expend them all.
The bombardment of 400 rockets transformed Tung Chung harbor into a hell of fire and smoke. By comparison, the shells fired by the few 12-pounder howitzers had negligible effect.
Chen Haiyang's fleet waited in battle formation outside Tung Chung Mouth. Every special-service boat had its broadside facing the bay entrance. All gun ports were open. When fleeing pirate ships emerged from the harbor, they were met with concentrated volleys. Not a single vessel could escape the terrifying combined firepower of a dozen special-service boats firing simultaneously. After the dense smoke of each salvo cleared, pirate ships showed only toppled masts, shattered planks, and decks strewn with corpses—many headless or limbless, some reduced to chunks of bloody flesh.
The expected naval battle never materialized. There was only the methodical firing and heading adjustments of the special-service boats. The sailors were already highly experienced, employing a Sino-Western hybrid sailing technique: controlling their ships with sails and sculls. Gunnery masters trained by naval artillery sergeants used simple wooden rangefinders to measure distance and angle, observed currents and wind, then rapidly calculated firing angles on their slide rules. Gunners in the smoke-filled decks and gun compartments adjusted their aim, then pulled the firing lanyards on command. A devastating broadside needed only a single hit to cripple a pirate ship.
Outside Tung Chung Mouth, pirate vessels drifted everywhere with toppled masts and broken yards, burning fiercely, littered with corpses—the devastation matching that inside the bay.
Wang You and the dozen-odd ships he had brought along fled the bay in chaos and disarray. He silently cursed the Australians for attacking without so much as a warning—he had barely escaped with his life. But this wasn't the time for complaints. He ordered his men to hoist the white flag and signal colors secretly agreed upon with Shi Fourteen at the masthead. Sure enough, the Australian warships avoided firing at any ship bearing the agreed signals. Wang You's ships reached the open sea unscathed, then were disarmed one by one by waiting special-service boats coming alongside.
The surrendering pirates raised not the slightest objection, obediently submitting to disarmament under marine guard and sailing toward Hong Kong Island. After witnessing the Australians' overwhelming firepower, no one believed they retained any bargaining position.
Zheng Bao's flagship struggled out of the bay and barely managed to rally seven or eight ships. From the gunfire outside, he already knew Australian warships were blocking the exit—but he had no choice except to fight his way through. Staying inside Tung Chung harbor under artillery suppression from the surrounding heights meant certain death.
In a moment when the smoke cleared, he glimpsed the Australasian Song fleet in the sunlight—neat columns, flying banners, cannons glinting with blue-green light... A profound sense of inferiority welled up within him. Just days ago, he had actually thought he could challenge the Australians.
Overestimating myself. This thought had barely flashed through his mind when several special-service boats fired simultaneously upon him. A single salvo swept across Zheng Bao's flagship deck; a cannonball grazed past, tearing him in half.
Zheng Bao's death caused little reaction on the battlefield. No one even noticed. In truth, before his flagship sank, the entire pirate fleet had already disintegrated. Each ship, each man, thought only of personal escape—and so they crashed one after another into Chen Haiyang's guns.
By 5 PM, Chen Haiyang ordered a cease-fire, allowing a handful of ships to escape. They would serve as unpaid promoters of the Australasian Song's military might. The entire sea surface outside Tung Chung lay in ruins—burning ships everywhere. Some vessels hadn't caught fire; their battered hulls drifted aimlessly, lifeless. The sea was scattered with individual pirates who had jumped overboard to escape. Ships whose crews had been quick-witted enough had lowered their sails and flags, signaling surrender.
Shi Zhiqi commanded the marines and the temporary sailor landing force as they charged down from the mountains around Tung Chung, occupying the villages and docks the pirates had infested. They captured several hundred pirates who hadn't made it aboard ships in time and seized many abandoned sampans and long-dragons, plus several large vessels. The marines encountered virtually no resistance as they took complete control of Tung Chung harbor.
Shi Zhiqi, accompanied by guards, orderlies, and signalmen, swaggered into the still-burning Tung Chung. He stood by the flaming jetty, the marine banner flying behind him.
Shi Zhiqi lit a pipe—though he had never actually smoked one. Huang Zhuazi raised his camera and clicked off seven or eight shots from different angles: Shi Zhiqi leisurely smoking and observing the battlefield in the sunlight; Shi Zhiqi with burning ships in the background; Shi Zhiqi with the marines who had just taken the jetty arrayed behind him...
"Satisfied now? All glorious images."
"Pity the Lingao Times is so stingy about publishing photos." Shi Zhiqi coughed a few times, emptied the pipe, and had his orderly stow it away.
Pirates who hadn't reached the ships or had swum back from the sea were being rounded up in droves. Lines of prisoners bound together in strings stumbled toward the shore, awaiting vessels to transport them to Hong Kong Island—they would undergo "reformation" in the local purification camp while providing much-needed labor.
After 5 PM, all land and sea fighting concluded. The navy's total casualties amounted to seventeen wounded—all minor injuries. But ammunition consumption had been enormous; the Hale rockets originally reserved for the Pearl River campaign were nearly exhausted.
Yet captured prisoners alone exceeded 2,000. Ships towed back from the sea or seized in the bay numbered 24 large vessels that were intact or repairable with minor work. Despite the massive destruction, over 50 sampans and long-dragons—highly useful in inland waterways—remained intact or salvageable.
Even vessels beyond repair were all towed back if they hadn't sunk or burned up. Chen Haiyang planned to salvage their timber. Even useless portions could serve as fuel. The marines recovered large quantities of supplies and treasure from Zheng Bao's old camp in the villages—quite a windfall.
Tung Chung's two villages had been half-destroyed by the rockets. The fishing boats moored at shore were almost entirely destroyed. Chen Haiyang ordered the remaining villagers evacuated to Hong Kong Island for resettlement. Other villages would go untouched for now. Lantau was unsuitable as a military base; after conducting necessary sweeps, Chen Haiyang ordered the entire force to withdraw to Hong Kong Island.
(End of Chapter)