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

After Mao Shiba finished speaking, Yang Lin continued: "In order to prevent the main figures of the Zheng Group from escaping, we will adopt the following combat methods:

1. At 5 a.m. on March 1, the Northern Fleet launched an attack on the Dutch garrison in Keelung Port on time. The Marine Brigade landed on the beach and took control of Keelung City.

2. The two army divisions will complete the transportation of troops from Ryukyu to Keelung within two days, and the two divisions will assemble in Keelung. Then the two divisions will move horizontally toward Tainan.

3. The Northern Fleet was divided into two routes, one from Keelung → Taipei → Taoyuan → Hsinchu → Miaoli → Taichung, and the other from Keelung → New Taipei → Yilan → Hualien, to eliminate all Dutch and Zheng Group’s maritime armed forces along the coast.

4. The Eastern Fleet also launched an attack at 5:00 a.m. on March 1. It first cleared out all the ships in the Zheng Navy Camp on the Penghu Islands, and then the Marine Brigade landed in Kaohsiung City and quickly took control of Kaohsiung City.

Then, the Eastern Fleet was also divided into two routes, one from Kaohsiung to the north → Tainan → Chiayi → Yunlin → Changhua → Taichung, and the other from Kaohsiung to the east → Pingtung → Taitung → Hualien, and met with the warships of the Northern Fleet in Taichung and Hualien respectively.

The combat mission is also to destroy all the forces of the Zheng Group at sea."

After the meeting, Yang Lin issued the combat orders to various troops.

Golden Summer Eastern Fleet

When Zhang Xiaolong received the telegram of the order, his heart was instantly filled with excitement. They had waited too long for this moment, and now it was finally time to take action.

In order to welcome the arrival of this day, the entire Eastern Fleet has already made the most thorough preparations.

Their first target of attack was the Penghu Islands.

This island group is located in the southeast of the Dongzhou Strait and consists of 64 islands of various sizes.

Among them, Penghu Island, Fisherman Island and Baisha Island are the main islands, which together occupy about 96.6 square kilometers of land, accounting for 76% of the total area.

In addition, there are some small islands with an area of ​​more than 1 square kilometer, such as Hujing, Jibei, Wangan, etc. The remaining 53 small islands appear particularly small because their area is less than 1 square kilometer.

The location of the Penghu Islands is very special, and the surrounding waters are turbulent all year round.

On weekdays, the lowest waves here can reach three or four meters, and huge waves of four to six meters are common. As for the raging waves of six to nine meters, it is also not uncommon.

Whenever a hurricane comes, there may be raging waves as high as nine to fourteen meters or even higher.

Therefore, ships with a tonnage of less than 500 tons do not have the courage to enter this sea area.

But what is puzzling is that there is not a single wave of wind inside this archipelago, and the sea surface is as calm as a mirror, as if nature has specially created an excellent harbor for it.

After Zheng Chenggong occupied Dongzhou Island, he established the Penghu Pacification Office in the Penghu Islands and regarded it as the primary line of defense against the Qing navy.

On these small islands, there was a large-scale navy force stationed - the Penghu Battalion of the Zheng Army Navy. This navy had more than 10,000 people and more than 500 warships of various types, including nearly 100 galleons and Spanish galleons as the main force.

Not only that, there are artillery batteries set up in many places on the island, and these artillery batteries are equipped with an upgraded version of the Red Cannon - the General Cannon.

Compared with the Red Cannon, the General Cannon has a longer barrel, a larger caliber, and a longer range, reaching an astonishing 6000 meters.

The straight-line distance from Jinxia Base to Penghu Islands is 183 kilometers, which is 98 nautical miles. At the speed of 13 nautical miles per hour for an ironclad ship, it only takes seven and a half hours to reach the destination.

Faced with such a situation, Zhang Xiaolong decisively issued orders, requiring all warships and marine brigades to immediately make comprehensive combat preparations.

They planned to set off at 10 o'clock in the evening and expected to launch an attack on the Penghu Islands at 5 o'clock in the morning of the next day.

The order received by the commander of the garrison regiment, Zhou Asan, was: During the battle against Dongzhou Island, the entire island was to implement level one combat readiness, block all communications with the mainland, and keep a close eye on the other side to prevent the Qing government from taking the opportunity to attack.

Zhou Asan's concubine Xiaoqian was the first to learn the news and was quite excited.

She quietly ran to the small boat hidden at the foot of Foxtail Mountain and secretly crossed the Xiamen Strait to the other side.

All of this was closely monitored by the security staff.

After crossing the other side, Xiaoqian rode her horse fast without delaying for a moment.

An hour later, when she arrived at the Governor's Mansion, she learned that Prince Kang had been recalled to the capital by the Emperor, and that the Governor Yao Qisheng was now in charge.

Xiaoqian had no choice but to tell Yao Qisheng that the main force of the Jinxia rebels would march to the Penghu Islands tonight.

"Miss Xiaoqian, the main force of the rebels has gone out, so the only ones left in Jinxia are one guard regiment and two coastal defense regiments of the coastal defense brigade, right?" Yao Qisheng asked seriously.

"Yes, Governor." Xiaoqian replied.

"Can Zhou Asan command his regiment?" Yao Qisheng asked.

"Yes, the soldiers in this regiment were all his former subordinates in the Han camp, and most of them listen to him." Xiaoqian said.

Yao Qisheng sat there with a complicated look in his eyes, thinking to himself. He thought of the ups and downs in his life and couldn't help but feel deeply moved.

As early as the beginning of Shunzhi's reign, he joined the Qing army and served as the magistrate of Tongzhou.

However, he resolutely resigned from his official position because he executed two Qing soldiers who raped women.

In the 16th year of Shunzhi's reign, he took part in the provincial examination and won first place, and was subsequently appointed magistrate of Xiangshan County, Guangdong.

Unfortunately, in the eighth year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, he was dismissed again for privately lifting the maritime ban.

In 1673, Prince Kang went to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to suppress Geng Jingzhong. Yao Qisheng and his son organized hundreds of volunteers to follow him.

After suppressing Geng Jingzhong, he fought against the remnants of the Southern Ming in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian, and made great military achievements.

Finally, at the recommendation of Prince Kang, the court appointed him as Governor-General of Fujian.

The rebellion of the Fujian Han Camp and the Jinxia Navy made Yao Qisheng feel extremely angry and ashamed.

He felt that these former Ming rebels whom he had subdued had given him a slap in the face, which might cause him to lose his job again.

Although he had the protection of Prince Kang in the court and Prince Kang was ordered to come to Fujian to deal with the rebellion, Yao Qisheng knew very well that this matter would most likely have an adverse impact on his future.

After careful consideration, Yao Qisheng decided to take advantage of the absence of the main force of the rebels to capture Jinxia in one fell swoop in order to save the situation and re-establish his prestige.

This time, not only are the 70,000 heavy troops stationed on the Haicang Peninsula still there, but there is also a rebel garrison regiment equipped with Mauser rifles acting as an insider. If Jinxia Island cannot be taken, I, Yao Qisheng, will be willing to twist my head off and kick it like a ball.