Chapter 1242 - Divide and Conquer
While the First Squadron was hammering the three-masted gunships, the Special Service Boat Squadrons entered Liaoluo Bay in a single column parallel to the coast. As they closed to within one thousand meters, the lead squadron turned to sail parallel to the shoreline. Using the burning hulks set ablaze by the First Squadron's earlier fire as reference points, each ship fired at will. The orders were simple: maximum rate of fire.
Guided by the flames dancing on the water and signal rockets occasionally launched by Special Recon teams on shore, the squadrons unleashed their cannons and carronades in alternating waves. The cannon squadrons fired from a distance to suppress; the carronade squadrons closed in for the kill—their large-caliber shells possessed greater destructive power at close range. Following pre-battle instructions, they employed explosive shells and red-hot incendiary rounds in abundance to maximize the devastation wrought upon wooden ships.
The five Special Service Boat Squadrons sailed onward, spewing thick smoke and fierce fire from their broadsides, raining shells down upon the Zheng fleet. Along the coast of Liaoluo Bay, artillery howled, smoke darkened the sky, and explosions mingled with surging flames. Smoke and fire from stricken vessels rose straight to the clouds, obscuring even the rising sun. Shouts of firing commands, the screams of the wounded, enraged roars, and desperate curses echoed amid the ceaseless thunder of guns.
The massive fleet gathered in Liaoluo Bay melted like an iceberg under a scorching sun. Ships caught fire one after another. The conflagrations spreading from struck vessels ignited many ships anchored near the shore that had not yet faced a single Australian cannon. All of Liaoluo Bay was ablaze.
The Red Barbarian Cannon batteries the Zheng family had positioned along the bay's coast finally opened fire in retaliation. But amid the chaos on the water, even observing targets was nearly impossible, let alone achieving effective hits. Scattered shells flew without aim; most splashed harmlessly into the sea, and a few struck their own ships.
The instant the first round of shells flew overhead, Ning Liujin let out a scream and threw himself into the water.
He could not explain why he did it. Some primal terror in his chest commanded him: Run.
His escape was timely. When Ning Liujin, soaked and exhausted, finally dragged himself onto the beach of Liaoluo Bay, behind him lay a sea of fire. Powder magazines exploded one after another; the heat radiating from the burning ships made him feel scorched even as he lay gasping on the sand.
The beach was already crowded with panting sailors, mouths agape, desperate for air. Swimming through water choked with burning wreckage had been no easy feat.
Burning embers danced through the air like countless fireflies, occasionally blown onto the beach. Several Zheng soldiers pushed a wheelbarrow bearing a rectangular box down to the water's edge and hurriedly lit the fuse. Ning Liujin barely saw a blur before a dozen rockets shrieked out. It looked magnificent, but the rockets trailed smoke only briefly before plunging one by one into the bay—some even set their own ships alight.
"Bastards! What the hell are you shooting at?" someone cursed nearby, still panting for breath.
Ning Liujin had not yet caught his wind when a cannonball suddenly screamed in from the sea, struck the beach, and exploded with a thunderous boom. Several gasping men were instantly blasted into bloody pulp. Ning Liujin no longer cared about breathing; he scrambled on hands and knees toward the island's interior.
He ran just in time.
At 0540, the Fire Support Squadron arrived at its station under tow by Daihatsu landing craft, trailing the Special Service Boat Squadrons into the bay. Thirty rocket boats launched a volley of Hale rockets at the remaining ships—each boat firing thirty rockets. In an instant, it was as if countless meteorites descended from the sky simultaneously.
The spectacle alone was enough to shatter the courage of the Zheng sailors and soldiers who remained. The shore batteries fell utterly silent. The fire in Liaoluo Bay burned fiercer still.
At 0630, the lead squadron rounded the southern tip of Rushan and began its return leg, firing on the remnants of the Zheng fleet with guns on the opposite beam. By now, fewer than one in ten of the Zheng ships in Liaoluo Bay still floated. Most of those originally anchored on the inner perimeter had also been set ablaze; thick smoke rolled across the water, making observation difficult. Moreover, Special Recon teams lurking at Rushan and elsewhere had sent telegrams confirming that the bombardment effect was superb and further fire was unnecessary.
Ming Qiu, observing the enemy's situation from the Lichun, judged that the first-phase operational objective had been achieved. There was no sense wasting more shells on wreckage. He signaled the Special Service Boat Squadrons to withdraw, reload, and prepare to cover the Army's landing.
"Notify all ships to watch closely for fire ships," Ming Qiu ordered.
Fire ships remained the only weapon that could threaten them now. Zheng Zhilong had once used them to drive the Dutch from the Xiamen region and force them to accept his trade terms.
Though outnumbered, the Dutch had possessed a significant edge in naval technology at the time. Zheng Zhilong's victory over them demonstrated that his navy had considerable experience with fire ship tactics—and likely a unique tactical approach.
Rowboats and motorboats ferried Boatload after boatload of Marines and Army soldiers onto the beach. The fires along the Liaoluo Bay coast burned too hot for an immediate landing there, so the landing site was chosen at the beach beneath Houhu Mountain. A stockade had once stood on the heights, but its defenders had routed under Navy rocket bombardment. Old Di led his 1st Expeditionary Force ashore without encountering resistance.
As expected, the Zheng family troops on Kinmen Island put up little fight. Most abandoned their stockades and fled; many made for the island's northern shore to take boats across to the mainland. Most threw away swords, spears, and armor, vanishing into the mountainous interior.
By around 0700, Kinmen Island had officially changed hands. On the high ground that would one day mark success in another timeline, the Morning Star flag rose slowly.
Ming Qiu immediately appointed Old Di as Kinmen Garrison Commander, charged with clearing the entire island. He allocated several patrol boats and motorboats, ordering him to take Lesser Kinmen before noon and clear the enemy there while securing the waters around both Greater and Lesser Kinmen.
"Guaranteed to complete the mission!" Old Di's face flushed red with joy as he roared and saluted. He had been stuck as a miserable Marine company commander for years. A year ago he had finally managed to become a battalion-level commander, and now at last he was a "Commander."
"I leave matters here to you. We're moving immediately to attack Xiamen and Anping," Ming Qiu instructed. "Contact us at once if anything develops."
After issuing these orders, Ming Qiu split his forces. The First Squadron would proceed to Xiamen Island to clear the Zheng fleet in Xiamen Bay and cover the troops landing on the island. The Special Service Boat Squadron and Motorboat Group would attack Anping.
Though Anping was Zheng Zhilong's lair, Ming Qiu judged the approach too risky for his largest ships. Anping lay at the mouth of the Shijing River, six or seven kilometers from Weitou Bay. Typically, attacking it required the fleet to enter the river and push upstream. Special Recon had surveyed the Shijing's hydrology; theoretically, Lichun could reach Anping directly. But the river there was only about two kilometers wide, riddled with hidden sandbanks, and the channel twisted and turned. It would be difficult for steam gunboats to maneuver—exactly the conditions where enemy fire ships could unleash their full effectiveness.
So Ming Qiu decided not to commit the First Squadron to that area. Special service boats and motorboats would go instead. When wind and tide ran against them, motorboats would tow the sailing vessels into battle.
The Army and Navy forces attacking Anping would be under the overall command of Shi Zhiqi, with First Fleet Chief of Staff Li Di commanding the naval vessels. He had already transferred his commodore's flag to a larger special service boat. Now the three commanders parted ways, each proceeding to execute their assigned missions.
Li Huamei stood at her battle station on the Lichun, gazing at the rolling black smoke that rushed up to swallow the clouds. The battle just concluded had been like a grand fireworks display—she had never witnessed war so magnificent and so cruel. The Australians had freely chosen the moment to kill and destroy; the Zheng fleet had possessed no power to resist. The phrase "an eagle against a rabbit" was wholly inadequate to express the terrifying disparity.
She knew, by European standards, that Zheng Zhilong's fleet—apart from its sheer scale—was not worth much. Setting aside Spanish galleons, even an ordinary twenty-gun Dutch merchant ship could face two or three of Zheng's eight-gun three-masted vessels without falling behind.
But that was merely "some advantage"—nowhere near the crushing momentum of the First Squadron led by Lichun. What she had just witnessed was a one-sided massacre. The outcome had been decided the moment they broke into Liaoluo Bay. No—one could even say that from the moment the decision to wage war on Zheng Zhilong had been made, the fire in Liaoluo Bay was a foregone conclusion.
If that was so, hadn't they already become invincible in the world long ago?
In the midst of her shock, she could not help but wonder. A mere sea lord like Zheng Zhilong was nothing. Landing on the mainland, destroying the Ming, and changing the dynasty would not be difficult either. Why, then, did they hide in a barbaric southern frontier land like Hainan, toiling at labor of every kind? Taking the realm, sitting on the dragon throne—wasn't "I can replace him" the highest aspiration of every hero under heaven?
Lichun changed heading. Li Huamei noticed the black-smoke-belching ships of the First Squadron turning toward Dadan and Erdan islands. She understood immediately: they were going to attack Xiamen.
Around Xiamen and Gulangyu lay many merchant ships; it was a critical port for Zheng family trade. Sending the main force straight there was obviously intended to strike at his foundation.
As Li Huamei observed the Australian fleet's movements, she discovered a large group of ships heading toward Anping. Her heart gave a jolt.
They intend to wipe them all out before breakfast.
I didn't expect the Australians to be so ruthless!
A wave of anxiety washed over her. If the Australians ever discovered her secret dealings with the Spanish, the Dutch, and Zheng Zhilong, she and the young miss would die without a burial place.
A fine layer of cold sweat broke out across her back.
(End of Chapter)