Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

Suo Etu smiled indifferently and answered confidently: "Don't worry, not many of them can escape. It is much better to let some escape than to let the Haitan Navy be destroyed! We only have a few warships in the south. If we lose all of them, how can we defend against those hateful pirates and red-haired devils?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. After all, protecting warships is crucial to maintaining national maritime security. At this time, Yu Chenglong, Li Guangdi and Chen Tingyu stood up at the same time and said in unison: "We share the same view as Prime Minister Suo."

Kangxi nodded with satisfaction, feeling a little relieved. However, a new question came up, and he couldn't help asking again: "In this case, who do you think can be the commander?"

Selecting a head coach is not a simple issue. It requires comprehensive consideration of many factors, such as the general's experience, ability, prestige, etc.

"Yang Jie is the admiral of the Fujian Han Camp and the admiral of the navy. He is also familiar with the situation of the rebels. I suggest that Yang Jie take command." Soetu said.

"We second the motion!" This time, all the military ministers were united in opinion and there was no disagreement.

"Then draft an edict, ordering the Eight Banners of Fujian and the Han Camp to mobilize collectively, led by Yang Jie, the admiral of the Fujian Han Camp, to wipe out the rebels within ten days and recover the two islands of Jin and Xia!" Kangxi ordered.

Three days later, Yang Jie, who was sitting in the Governor's Mansion in Hanying, Fujian, received the imperial edict. He was sitting there with a sad face, sighing.

It turned out that Yang Jie was worried about how to find enough fishing boats to cross the Xiamen Strait.

The Xiamen Strait is located between Xiamen Island and the mainland. It is about 30.4 kilometers long, 3.6 kilometers wide at its widest point, and only 708 meters wide at its narrowest point. On weekdays, there is a floating bridge here to facilitate passage. However, since the Jinxia Navy rebellion, the floating bridge has been dismantled by the rebels, making it extremely difficult to cross the sea.

Now, in order to cross the Xiamen Strait, one must either rebuild a floating bridge or find a large number of fishing boats for ferrying. However, both solutions face huge challenges, which put Yang Jie in a dilemma.

Due to Kangxi's policy of relocating the border and banning the sea, the coastal areas were sparsely populated, and there was almost no trace of human activity within 20 miles. As a result, the sea area that should have been busy became unusually deserted, and even a fishing boat was difficult to find. Even if some boats were occasionally found, they were all dilapidated, rotten and abandoned, and could not be put into use at all.

Faced with such a dilemma, Yang Jie realized that collecting wood and building a pontoon bridge was the only feasible solution. So, the next morning, a total of 40,000 soldiers from the Han Battalion Commander Fuying and Luoyuan Battalion had arrived at the ferry crossing of the Haicang Peninsula, and 3,000 Eight Banners cavalry had also assembled there and were waiting for orders.

At the same time, more than 20,000 conscripted laborers were also busy transporting the collected wood to the seaside and building a pontoon bridge.

The floating bridge is divided into two sections. The first section extends from Haicang Peninsula to Huoshao Island, and the second section connects Huoshao Island and Xiamen Island. After two hours of hard work, the first section of the floating bridge was finally successfully built. A large amount of wood was continuously transported to Huoshao Island, providing sufficient materials for the construction of the second section of the floating bridge. As the project progressed, the second section of the floating bridge gradually took shape and continued to extend towards Xiamen Island.

On the side of the Tiandi Army's Eastern Fleet, when the Qing troops gathered on the opposite bank in the early morning, Fleet Commander Zhang Xiaolong, Deputy Commander Chen Si, Chief of Staff Zhu Youli, and generals such as Fang Ji stood on Foxtail Mountain and looked down at the Qing army building a pontoon bridge.

Zhang Xiaolong looked at the Qing army building a bridge in front of him and asked Zhu Youli beside him: "Chief of Staff, are you sure?"

Zhu Youli said: "Don't worry, Commander, I have made full preparations."

Zhang Xiaolong nodded: "That's good, I'll leave this battle to you to command. You're better at land warfare."

Zhu Youli immediately replied: "Thank you for your trust, Commander. I will do my best to complete the mission!"

Zhu Youli then began to issue combat orders. He first ordered the communications officer beside him: "Notify all troops to act according to the predetermined plan!" Then he turned to Fang Ji and said: "Brigade Commander Fang, you are in charge of the Marine Brigade. You must hold on to Foxtail Mountain and not let the enemy break through the defense line!" Finally, he said to the battalion commanders of the other three guard regiments: "You lead the three battalions to set up blocking positions on the main road at the foot of Foxtail Mountain and make sure to stop the enemy from advancing!"

Following Zhu Youli's order, 3,000 former Marines and 5,000 Marine Brigade soldiers equipped with Mauser rifles quickly took action, and 8,000 soldiers set up blocking positions on Foxtail Mountain. At the same time, the three infantry battalions of the former Guards Regiment also set up blocking positions on the avenue at the foot of Foxtail Mountain. The artillery battalion and the artillery squadron of the Marine Corps were merged together to establish an artillery position on Foxtail Mountain.

The 201 Julong was lurking at the entrance of the Xiamen Strait, waiting for all the Qing troops to cross the sea before destroying the pontoon bridge and cutting off their retreat.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was bright and hot, but the sea breeze was blowing on people's faces with a hint of coolness. The floating bridge had been successfully built, spanning the sea, solid and stable. However, strangely, the beach was silent, without any trace of the rebels. This unusual silence made people feel a little uneasy and puzzled.

Yang Jie, who was always known for his caution, was standing on Huoshao Island at this moment, holding a telescope and looking intently in the direction of Xiamen Island. He observed carefully for a while, but did not find any valuable clues or traces of the enemy.

So, he slowly put down the telescope in his hand, turned to the deputy general beside him and said: "Send a scout cavalry unit to Xiamen Island for reconnaissance!"

The deputy general left quickly after receiving the order and began to organize and arrange the mission. Not long after, a 100-man cavalry scout team carefully crossed the second pontoon bridge and set foot on the land of Xiamen Island.

They remain alert and always ready to respond to dangerous situations that may arise.

When the scout team successfully landed on the island, they were surprised to find that no one on the island seemed to attack them. As time went by, they became bolder and rode on their horses, rushing straight to the island along the road.

This road is located right at the foot of Foxtail Mountain. The officers and soldiers of the Marine Brigade watched quietly as the one hundred light cavalry passed by them, but did not take any action to stop them.

At the same time, the soldiers of the guard regiment who were ambushing on both sides of the road also hid themselves very well to avoid being discovered by the Qing army scouts.

Not encountering any rebels along the way, this group of light cavalry became bolder. They galloped all the way until they stopped outside the navy camp.

At this time, the camp gate was closed and there was not even a soldier standing guard at the gate. Could it be that the rebels had escaped by boat?

At this time, a brave scout simply climbed over the fence and entered the camp, only to find that there was no one there.