Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 296 Suicide Charge

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Zheng Zhibao stood at the bow of a troop transport ship, his heart filled with bitterness. In hand-to-hand combat like this, action was usually taken only when gunboats provided cover and fire ships disrupted the enemy's formation, thus leveraging numerical superiority. However, today's hasty response had resulted in disjointed coordination between various tactics. Coupled with the overwhelming firepower of the Qiongzhou garrison, the Zheng family, virtually invincible on the seas, was now fighting on their home turf, finding themselves at a complete disadvantage! This final stand took on a tragic hue, more like a desperate attempt to preserve the Zheng family's last vestiges of dignity.

Zheng Zhibao glanced back at his elder brother's increasingly blurred figure on the tall, three-masted warship, sighed, and then looked ahead. The attacks from the gunboats and fire ships had ceased; only shipwrecks and thick smoke remained on the sea, with countless corpses floating on the surface. The Qiongzhou camp was already in position, ready for battle, seemingly unafraid of the ant-like throngs of people climbing onto their warships.

One of the leaders who accompanied Zheng Zhibao into battle trembled slightly, his jaw chattering.

Zheng Zhibao asked softly, "What's wrong? Are you scared?"

The leader turned to Zheng Zhibao and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "...Third Master, I, Zhao Si, have followed the Big Boss for so many years, through wind and rain, wielding a knife without batting an eye... But today's battle is too strange. This Qiongzhou camp is ten times more ferocious than the Red Hairs. The cannon fire is like a downpour. My brother just went with the gunboat, and now he's probably in grave danger..."

Zheng Zhibao sighed, "Yes, without the cover of gunboats and fire ships, no matter how brave we brothers are, we are still just flesh and blood. How can we withstand the cannons of the Qiongzhou Camp?"

The leader, Zhao Si, asked in a low voice, "Third Master, are we going to die under the cannons? Should we turn around, go back and talk to the Big Boss, and avoid their sharp edge for now? As long as we're alive, we can always fight again!"

“If you desert in the face of battle, the Grand Dragon will definitely chop off your head as a sacrifice to the flag,” Zheng Zhibao said calmly. “Rather than die a cowardly death under the blade of your own men, it’s better to fight the Qiongzhou Camp!”

Zhao Si's face turned pale and then red, but he finally gritted his teeth and plunged the knife into the wooden board, shouting, "I'll fight them! At least I can earn some compensation money for my wife and children!"

The densely packed troop transport ships, carrying an indomitable and tragic spirit, charged toward the Qiongzhou garrison fleet, which was on high alert. What awaited them ahead were the dark muzzles of cannons.

On the Guangdong, Gao Jie put down his monoculars and said to Liu Ye, "General, they have launched their final charge. This is Zheng Yiguan's last tactic. Once we eliminate this enemy force, we can directly attack Zheng Yiguan's own fleet."

Liu Ye nodded: "Clear the obstacles as quickly as possible, then attack Zheng Zhilong with all our might, focusing on his ship. Zheng Zhilong must die today, alive or dead!"

"Understood." Gao Jie turned and gave the order, "All warships, fire freely until there are no enemies standing in sight!"

The messengers waved their flags frantically, relaying the orders to each warship.

On board the "Lingao", Captain Lin Chuanzong, who had been transferred from the "Danzhou", excitedly rubbed his hands together and said to Liu Yishou beside him, "It looks like we're going to have a good time firing cannons today. I'm so excited just thinking about it."

Liu Yishou, nicknamed "Liu Yishou," and Lin Chuanzong were both subordinates of Zhu Cailao. After being captured, they joined the Qiongzhou Camp and served as Lin Chuanzong's first mate on the "Danzhou." He could have been promoted to captain of the Wuxiang-class patrol ship based on his merits, but during the raid on Zuosuo Port, his left arm was broken by a shell. After healing, he was left with sequelae, and his left arm could not exert any strength. Even holding a bowl was difficult. Liu Yishou felt that it was shameful for a ship captain to be disabled, so he stayed by Lin Chuanzong's side as his deputy.

Hearing Lin Chuanzong's words, Liu Yishou nodded and said through gritted teeth, "Monkey, blast him to death, avenge my severed arm!" They were brothers and still called each other by nicknames. Lin Chuanzong's nickname was "Sea Monkey".

At that moment, with a loud "boom," the flagship "Guangdong" fired its first shot, signaling an attack.

Lin Chuanzong shouted, "Brother, let's open fire and avenge you! Pass on my order: all long and short guns on the left side, fire two rounds of solid shot. When the enemy gets within two hundred paces, switch to grapeshot for the short and heavy guns!"

Amidst a hail of cannon fire, the Zheng family's fleet struggled forward. Having witnessed the power of the enemy's volleys, Zheng Zhibao, though not understanding the intricacies of this T-formation tactic, instinctively chose a similar charge method to Da Qingtou, abandoning the formation of large groups and spreading out to reduce the chances of being hit. This seemingly disorganized formation actually concealed a hidden strategy: a dozen or so troop transports on each side quietly advanced outwards, attempting to bypass the enemy's long, serpentine formation and launch a pincer attack from the rear.

Gao Jie, who had been observing the battlefield, keenly noticed the enemy's intentions. He scoffed dismissively. For warships with identical firepower on both sides, such small maneuvers were largely ineffective unless they could get close enough to use the blind spots of the ship's guns as cover to board and attack from both sides simultaneously, overwhelming the sailors on board. But under such firepower, could the Zheng family's ships even get close?

Troop transport ships, lacking cannons, were utterly powerless against the relentless barrage of fire and could only rely on their numerical superiority to press forward. The densely packed crowds on deck were frequently struck by cannonballs, resulting in mass casualties. Some ships, hit by heavy artillery fire, were damaged and rendered immobile, spinning in place and slowly listing as seawater poured in. To save their lives, people threw down their swords and jumped into the sea, desperately swimming back to avoid being dragged down by the swirling currents of the sinking ship.

Looking at the scene before him, Liu Ye couldn't help but recall the scene in the movie where Prince Senggelinqin of the late Qing Dynasty led his Mongol cavalry to charge the Anglo-French allied forces' positions. The Battle of Palikao was one of the few battles in the Second Opium War where the Qing army displayed bravery. Unfortunately, due to its severely outdated tactics and equipment, it still couldn't escape a crushing defeat. Faced with the attack of hundreds of powerful Congreve rockets from the British, the Qing cavalry had no choice but to use their flesh and blood to withstand the attack. How similar was this to the Zheng family's suicidal charge against overwhelming firepower? No matter what, technology is the ladder of human progress; clinging to the past will only lead to being eliminated by the times.

Thanks to superior materials and scientific casting methods, since the start of the war, the Qiongzhou naval guns have fired an average of over thirty shells, with some reaching over fifty, yet not a single cannon has exploded. Facing an enemy ten times their size, the Qiongzhou fleet has demonstrated to the Zheng family through pure artillery tactics that artillery warfare is the only way to win.