Chapter 1240 - March Under the Moonlight

In the early morning hours of September 19th, the various flotillas weighed anchor and set sail in sequence beneath the pale dawn light, beginning a voyage that would last twenty-four hours. After departing Penghu, the probability of encountering other vessels increased dramatically. Ming Qiu ordered the patrol boat squadron to disperse, forming a security perimeter roughly five nautical miles around the formation. Any vessels encountered by the patrol boats were to be detained and scuttled without exception.

That evening, the fleet arrived in waters approximately forty nautical miles southwest of Kinmen Island. Before long, Ming Qiu ordered all warships to battle stations. Boilers on every steam warship were fired up, thick black smoke pouring from every funnel. Anti-projectile nets were raised one by one. Fire hoses stood ready on deck; ammunition hoists were checked. All wooden railings and non-essential components were dismantled and stowed below—this was to prevent injury from flying splinters upon shell impact, and to deprive enemy incendiary weapons of fuel. According to Special Recon intelligence, the Zheng family widely equipped their ships and shore positions with various incendiary rockets.

Excess sails and rigging were taken down; masts were bound tight with thin steel cables. Sandbags filled with sand were lashed around the bridge and gun positions. Everything was prepared according to nineteenth-century standards for a fleet entering combat.

Once all preparations were complete, Ming Qiu ordered the ship's radio room to contact the Special Recon detachments that had landed at the various sites the previous day. He wanted confirmation of current conditions at Kinmen, Xiamen, Anping, and regarding the Zheng fleet.

The Special Recon report was brief: "No abnormalities around targets. Seas around Kinmen are calm."

A slight smile crossed Ming Qiu's face.

Though he knew his side was "a tiger pouncing on a sheep," coordinating over a hundred ships was still a severe test of the Senate Navy's training. Still, their technical superiority meant that minor errors or losses would not affect the outcome. What he worried about most was bad weather. While the probability of typhoons in late September was low, a major storm could easily scatter the fleet—if that happened, he would have no choice but to withdraw to Kaohsiung and revise their plans.

Moreover, rough seas in the combat zone would severely restrict both bombardment and landing operations. Sailing fleets were too dependent on nature.

Now, the Special Recon report set his mind at ease. He need only execute the plan, step by step.

At this time, the main force of the Zheng fleet was anchored in Liaoluo Bay.

The Zhengs were fundamentally maritime merchants, and their ships reflected this. Most were merchant-warships combined; trading vessels doubled as fighting vessels, with no strict distinction between them. Merchant ships were universally equipped with cannons, differing only in number according to need.

The Zheng fleet had not yet reached its maximum historical scale. Nevertheless, after crushing and absorbing the major maritime gangs along the Fujian-Guangdong coast one after another, Zheng Zhilong's power had expanded to unprecedented levels. Ships sailing to the Nanyang and Japan all flew his command flag. With a single order, he could mobilize thousands of vessels of all sizes—the largest fleet in East Asian waters.

But most of these ships were unsuitable for naval warfare. What truly allowed him to contend for maritime dominance were the largest sea vessels under his command. When Li Kuiqi rebelled and departed, he had taken most of the warships with him. Xiong Wencan then provided money and cannons to support Zheng Zhilong, enabling the family to construct a new batch of large Fujian-style warships. These ships dwarfed the government's standard 400-liao war junks in size, and they were larger than most European merchant vessels operating in the Far East.

His largest capital ships were Fujian-style three-masted gunships. According to Special Recon and Intelligence surveying, photography, and calculations, this ship type measured approximately sixty-one meters in overall length, fifty-three meters at the waterline, with a beam of 13.8 meters (13.0 meters at waterline), a hold depth of 4.89 meters, and a draft of 3.9 meters, displacing roughly 1,200 tons. Each ship mounted eight to ten Red Barbarian Cannons. Since Fujian ships rarely employed ribs and lacked molded depth, they could not install a through-deck gun deck below the main deck; all cannons had to be mounted on the weather deck. This resulted in a high center of gravity. To avoid instability, the number and weight of equipped cannons were strictly limited. Thus, though Zheng Zhilong's warships rivaled European ships in size and tonnage, their cannon count fell far below the average twenty-four guns of European merchant ships—to say nothing of the thirty-two-gun warships specifically designed for naval combat.

In terms of gun numbers and projectile weight per volley, Zheng Zhilong's main eight-gun warships required at least four vessels to match a single European ship. Little wonder he had relied on fire ships to win the Battle of Liaoluo Bay against the Dutch.

Of course, these ships served dual purposes. Besides defending Zheng family maritime hegemony, they functioned primarily as ocean-going merchant vessels—after all, danger from Chinese and foreign pirates was ever-present on overseas trade routes. Powerful armament was essential to ensure safety. According to Special Recon surveillance, fourteen three-masted gunships were currently anchored in the waters of Anping, Xiamen, and Kinmen. Liaoluo Bay held the greatest concentration: seven ships. Anping had four; Xiamen and Gulangyu together had three.

Additionally, Special Recon reported sighting three European-style vessels at the above locations, with displacements ranging from four hundred to twelve hundred tons. The largest—a "yacht" flying the Dutch East India Company flag—likely belonged to the Dutch factor in Fujian. The other two flew Zheng Zhilong's banner, possibly European ships he had imitated or purchased. Grand Library records indicated Zheng Zhilong had attempted to copy European-style ships.

Besides these three-masted gunships, the Zheng fleet included over a hundred two-masted Fujian and Guangdong ships equipped with additional cannons. However, according to Special Recon, the number of Red Barbarian Cannons on these "secondary warships" was even smaller—only two to four—with personnel-killing weapons like Folangji breech-loaders predominating. These ships were anchored primarily in the waters around Kinmen and Xiamen islands.

As for armament on other vessels, quality varied wildly. Not only did they lack Red Barbarian Cannons, but even Folangji guns were rare. Various crude, privately cast iron cannons and iron guns filled the decks, even including ancient bowl-mouthed guns. These weapons possessed almost no lethality against enemy ships and could function only at near-boarding ranges.

Zheng Zhilong and his commanders understood perfectly that winning a head-to-head naval engagement against the Australians was unlikely. So they planned to resort to their old method—fire ships—the same tactic that had worked against the Dutch. To this end, over two hundred old ships packed with dry firewood had been assembled in the Kinmen-Xiamen area. Various incendiary weapons scavenged from Ming arsenals—fire rockets, fire crows, and the like—had been distributed among the vessels.

Even so, Zheng Zhilong was under no illusion about the disparity in strength between himself and the Australians. On one hand, he sought external aid and collected European-style ships and guns; on the other, he strove to strengthen defenses at Anping and Xiamen. He sent men to purchase a dozen of the largest and heaviest Red Barbarian Cannons from Guangdong, building batteries to reinforce Kinmen and Anping. Iron chains and wooden booms were set at the entrance of Anping Harbor to prevent Australian ships from intruding. Besides recruiting local braves in Fujian, he also brought in blacks and Japanese familiar with firearms from Macau and elsewhere, and purchased large quantities of matchlock muskets.

Inside Lichun's radio room, the ticking of the telegraph never ceased. The Special Recon team was transmitting updated positions of the Zheng fleet. New coordinates were marked one by one on the chart in the command room. By midnight, the locations of all major Zheng warships had been re-plotted.

At 0400 hours on September 20th, Ming Qiu ordered all personnel to take their last pre-battle breakfast. One hour later, the First Fleet advanced in a single column. Leading were four sail-powered special service boats, followed by five steam-powered warships with Lichun at the head. The remaining special service boat squadrons followed one nautical mile behind. All ships maintained strict blackout; only navigation signal lights flashed their faint glows.

Ming Qiu worried that the overly bright moonlight might expose the fleet prematurely. But as they neared Kinmen, cloud cover thickened, and the moon appeared and disappeared among the clouds. The silent silhouettes of the First Fleet warships were reflected on the sea surface only when the moon emerged from its veil.

Relying on precise charts and navigation positioning, by 0530 hours Kinmen Island was faintly visible. Through telescopes, the forest of masts in Liaoluo Bay could just be made out. The enemy clearly had no fear of surprise attack and knew nothing of light discipline—scattered lights on ships and shore served as beacons for the First Fleet.

Ming Qiu ordered the entire fleet to battle stations. Magazines were opened; every gun stood ready to fire.

The main force of the First Fleet had entered Liaoluo Bay, sailing at four knots with port broadsides facing the anchorage. Since the sailing ships' cannons lacked the necessary range, the plan called for the five steam warships equipped with rifled guns to fire first and disrupt the enemy before the special service boats closed for bombardment.

Ning Liujin slept on the deck, covered by a mass of tattered fibers—perhaps part of a fishnet, perhaps sail or rope. It was dirty, smelly, and wet. But none of this disturbed him. He slept soundly. The waves were small, the weather fair, and there was no rain. Even if it rained, Ning Liujin could only stay in this spot and try to sleep anyway—he was not qualified to bed down in the stern castle or below deck.

Ning Liujin was an "apprentice." The boat's owner was a distant relative who had a ship in the Zheng fleet. Fujian had too many mouths and too little land; Ning Liujin had no fields to farm, and work as a tenant or laborer was hard to find. His relative's ship happened to need a few extra hands, so Ning Liujin went—at least it meant meals. If he was lucky enough to survive a few more years, perhaps he might even earn some silver.

(End of Chapter)