GBP Chapter 392 Long Island Ambush
Chapter 392 Long Island Ambush
After the rebel fleet left the water city, Kong Youde looked back at the deafening battle cries of Dengzhou City and secretly rejoiced: "Luckily we left in time. Otherwise, with the government troops launching a full-scale attack, I don't know how long we could have held out given our current morale. Besides, Li Jiucheng died at just the right time; otherwise, he wouldn't have had the chance to command this army. Even if he had surrendered to the Tartars, the credit wouldn't have been his."
Wang Zideng also turned back to look in the direction of Dengzhou and sighed, "Chen Guangfu is probably in grave danger..." Back when Li Jiucheng and Kong Youde rebelled, Geng Zhongming, himself, and Chen Guangfu were the only three Liaodong generals left in Dengzhou. They had gone through thick and thin together. Now that he was gone, leaving his old brother behind, he felt somewhat reluctant.
Kong Youde disagreed, saying, "Someone always has to cover the rear. It's either him or you or me. It's just that he was unlucky and happened to be caught in the government troops' large-scale attack on the city. We'll find an opportunity to go to Dongjiang Town to find his family, bring them to Liaodong, and take good care of them. That would be doing him a favor."
"That's the only way," Wang Zideng said helplessly.
An hour later, the fleet, moving at an extremely slow speed due to its heavy load, slowly approached the southwest side of Changdao Island, a crucial route to Liaodong. Kong Youde and his men were unaware that a fleet was lying in ambush on Changdao Island, waiting for them.
In a natural harbor, the Qiongzhou fleet was quietly anchored. The "Guangdong" was on the outermost side, its prow partially visible, allowing those on the bow to see the southern sea. Liu Ye stood at the bow of the "Guangdong," peering through his monoculars as the rebel fleet appeared on the horizon. Suppressing his excitement, he said to Gao Jie, "I'm leaving the command to you now. Make sure you annihilate them completely, leaving no one behind!"
Gao Jie asked him to confirm, "You don't accept surrender?" In previous naval battles, once a winner was decided, the enemy would not be completely wiped out, so he wanted to figure out Liu Ye's intentions.
"No surrender of any kind will be accepted until the ships carrying the cannons are sunk," Liu Ye replied firmly. The purpose of this naval ambush was to intercept the cannons and craftsmen that Kong Youde was offering to Huang Taiji, not to conscript men; the priorities must not be reversed. To ensure that not a single cannon fell into Huang Taiji's hands, even killing all the rebels would be worthwhile.
Gao Jie nodded and said, "Understood."
The rebel fleet slowly approached the harbor. Because their view was obstructed, the rebels did not discover the fleet hidden there. Even though the "Guangdong" ship showed a corner of its face, it was difficult to spot with the naked eye from several miles away, as it was concealed by reefs and cliffs.
The rebels' lead ships were only three miles from the harbor, yet Gao Jie still hadn't ordered an attack. Acting too soon would alert the enemy; a dozen ships chasing dozens more fleeing in all directions was too much for them. Although he had tampered with the rebels' sails beforehand, the effectiveness was still unknown. Only a surprise attack upon close range could ensure maximum casualties.
When the two sides were within two miles of each other and could almost see each other with the naked eye, Gao Jie gave the order: "All forces attack!"
Led by the "Guangdong," a dozen or so warships filed out and headed towards the rebel fleet. The fleet made an arc, changing from a diagonal approach to a parallel line with the rebels—a tactic used in the attack on the Guangdong army years ago, proven highly effective in actual combat.
According to conventional naval tactics, the attacking side should seize the downwind position, form a "T" shape with the enemy, and attack the enemy's bow with its side guns, using its numerical advantage in guns to create firepower suppression. However, along the Chinese coast, apart from the already defunct Dutch and a few other naval forces like Zheng Zhilong, no one had decent naval guns. In the absence of any threat, taking a parallel route could unleash firepower in a shorter time.
Faced with the sudden appearance of the fleet, Kong Youde and the others panicked. Prince Deng said in a trembling voice, "In the entire Beizhili region, apart from the Dengzhou Navy, I haven't heard of any other imperial navy nearby. Could they be pirates?"
Kong Youde said with a gloomy face: "But judging from the bright and orderly flags of this fleet, it is definitely not a pirate. Could it be a navy that the imperial court has transferred from the south?"
The two walked side by side, only about two hundred meters apart, and could hear each other when they shouted. Liu Ye shouted loudly, "Kong Youde, how have you been? Do you still remember me?"
Kong Youde recognized the voice. Following the sound, he saw Liu Ye and vaguely recognized his face.
"Oh it's you?"
Liu Ye laughed: "You have a good memory. But Li Jiucheng's memory isn't bad either. We met on the battlefield before, and he recognized me at first glance."
Kong Youde was taken aback; it turned out that Li Jiucheng had died at this man's hands. But wasn't this petty thief surnamed Liu a member of the White Lotus Sect? How did he suddenly become a naval commander of the imperial court?
"Damn it, we've been tricked by the government troops! No wonder the government troops outside the city chose this time to launch a major attack; it turns out they've ambushed us here. Nine times out of ten, the government troops have found out about our plan." Kong Youde gritted his teeth. "Send the flags to the other ships and quickly bypass these ships, heading north. Let's get away with as many ships as we can. Once we reach Lushun and get ashore, these ships won't be able to do anything to us."
Prince Deng panicked slightly: "But our ship is loaded with cargo, has a deep draft, and can't move fast. Perhaps we should return to the water city..."
"Are you out of your mind? The government troops chose to attack the city at this time, which is obviously a conspiracy with the thieves to trap us. Chen Guangfu has more than two thousand men, how long can they hold out? If we return to the city now, we will be attacked from both sides and become a sitting duck!" Kong Youde said angrily.
The rebels quickly hoisted the sails and turned the rudder, hoping to escape. Chinese sailing ships were inherently less maneuverable than Western ones, and with the ship fully loaded with soldiers and treasure, its draft was too deep, making turning even more difficult. Because the turn was so sudden, the ship tilted noticeably under the immense inertia, creaking and groaning as if it might disintegrate at any moment. The sails were also taut from the wind, the sail struts squeaking, and the cuts began to widen slowly.
The taller and longer Yongle-class and Wuyi-class warships nimbly glided past the rebel fleet, and before the rebel ships could turn around, they formed two parallel lines with their opponents in a straight line, one long and one short, and opened the gun ports on their sides, revealing the dark muzzles of their cannons.
The rebels, trained by Sun Yuanhua, were quite skilled in using cannons and firearms. Upon seeing the cannon ports, they all guessed what they were for. Seeing the enemy reveal their cannons, everyone panicked. Wang Zideng and the others scrambled to find shelter from the shells, but Kong Youde stepped forward and shouted, "Turn the rudder! Turn the rudder! The rest of you, use your bows and arrows to shoot them down!" He knew the power of cannons; rather than passively taking hits, it was better to harass the enemy and suppress their cannon fire.