Temasek Island was originally a Portuguese naval base. The port has been opened up to serve as a temporary base for the South China Sea Fleet. However, the port is relatively small and can only berth ten Cantonese ships and some Cangshan ships, and a large number of ships need to anchor in the open sea. .
With the Temasek base, the South China Sea Fleet is one step closer to Melaka City.
Zheng Zhilong did not launch an attack immediately, but stayed firmly on Temasek Island. He inspected the surrounding environment first. After inspection, he found that Temasek is indeed an isolated island. In the direction of the open sea, it is a good naval base, but it is separated from the Malay Peninsula. The Johor waterway, and there is no beachhead in the waterway where soldiers can land on a large scale. If you want to take down Malacca City, you have to find a landing site elsewhere.
No wonder the Portuguese abandoned Temasek.
After a full day's rest, Zheng Zhilong led a small fleet into the Malacca Waterway. The passage was very wide. Although it was not suitable for naval battles, the passing of ships was still very convenient.
There are more than a dozen ships of the Portuguese navy, all of which are now huddled in the harbor. As long as the Ming army does not fire at them, they will definitely not have the guts to fire the first shot. Who knows if there is a South China Sea Fleet behind this small fleet? Main ship.
Of course, the small fleet is not intended to land on the beach, and there is no transport ship behind, and there are no soldiers from the Marine Corps. Zheng Zhilong's main purpose is to observe the terrain and choose the landing site.
The Portuguese ship parked in the port played a semaphore.
Zheng Zhilong is not sure about the meaning of the semaphore, "What are they doing? Negotiation?"
"Report to the commander. The Portuguese asked what we were going to do."
"What are you doing? This is the military secret of the South China Sea Fleet. How could it be leaked from me?" Zheng Zhilong kept his gaze on the slope of the north bank, "Ignore them, continue to observe."
"Yes, Commander," Qi Yubing just finished speaking and found that the Portuguese had changed the semaphore. "Commander, the Portuguese asked for a negotiation with Daming."
"Negotiating? I'll go, the battle has not officially started, what sentence?" Zheng Zhilong sneered slightly, "Now negotiating, will they let the Malacca channel be released?"
"Commander..."
"Don't pay attention to their semaphores," Zheng Zhilong seemed to spot a shallow water beach. His eyes lit up. He stared at the surface of the water, but he said: "I will negotiate with them, but not now, and After the battle."
"Commander, the other party has played the semaphore several times, but we never reply once, it seems..."
"What I need is not a small profit from the Portuguese, but a complete Malacca waterway. If you negotiate, will Portugal give it?" Zheng Zhilong does not believe that the Portuguese can give up their lives.
"This… "
Zheng Zhilong ignored this stubborn semaphore soldier. He turned to the messenger and said, "Stop going forward and try the depth of the water here with a bow and arrow."
"Yes, Commander." The messenger agreed and ran away.
"Swish, swish, swish..."
The soldiers on the ship threw arrows into the water at a time. There were no ordinary arrows on the ship. The soldiers removed the gunpowder from the gunpowder arrow, leaving only a bare arrow shaft. The arrow shaft was completely submerged in the water, just approaching the embankment. Only a little bit of tail feathers appeared in the place.
"The water depth is good, and the transport ship should be able to dock. Mark it on the march map." Zheng Zhilong smiled, and his brows were fully stretched. I don't know if it was because of the tidal flat where they landed or because of the naive semaphore of the Portuguese.
"Yes." The combat staff had already marked the position.
As the ship continued to sail westward, Zheng Zhilong had been observing the topography of the north shore, and from time to time he had conversations with officers around him, or asked soldiers to test the depth of the water with bows and arrows.
It was not until the evening that the ship turned around and sailed back to Temasek.
The grape soldiers on the shore had been staring at Zheng Zhilong's ship. After the ship returned, they immediately reported all Zheng Zhilong's actions to Governor Manuo Di.
For five days in a row, the South China Sea Fleet had ships traveling slowly in the Malacca Waterway, and officers on the ships were always observing the terrain on the shore, especially when passing through the city of Malacca, his eyes were fixed on Portugal in the port. On the ship, under the deck, there were also several officers lying on the side of the ship watching, only half of their heads were exposed.
On the southeast coast of the Malay Peninsula, at the mouth of the Johor Waterway, there is a small fishing village called Kampong Benya.
Fishermen eat the sea by the sea.
After the arrival of the South China Sea Fleet, they dared not go fishing for the time being, and they lost their only source of life. Seeing that Daming's fleet would not look like it was going to leave for a while, the fishermen had the courage to start fishing secretly.
In the open sea, less than 30 miles from the place where the South China Sea Fleet anchored, several fishing boats were casting nets along the direction of the tide. The fishermen on the boats sometimes observed the coastline, fearing that the Portuguese would cut their way home. , And sometimes look at the South China Sea Fleet in the southeast, just like the Portuguese, they can't afford it either.
Zheng Zhilong decided to do it.
After several days of observation, he has selected the landing site.
After breakfast, more than a dozen Cantonese ships with Fuchuan and Cangshan Boats departed from Temasek and proceeded slowly to the northwest along the Malacca Waterway. Near noon, the fleet rushed to the city of Malacca. The waterway was not like the open sea. Although it is wide, dozens of ships cannot be lined up.
Under the gaze of the Portuguese soldiers, the five leading ships slowly approached the city of Malacca on the north shore.
When approaching the range of the naval gun, Guangzhou Ship accelerated its speed and sailed to the shore with all its strength.
The Portuguese soldiers were tense, and the shore artillery began to fire at the ship. At the same time, the Vine ship hidden in the harbor was also ready to join the battle group.
Guangzhou Ship did not fight back. It was still out of the range of the naval gun. Knowing that it had become a target for shore artillery, the soldiers could only bite the bullet and rush forward.
An artillery shell hit the foremost ship, and the hull shook violently. The deck was knocked out into a cave with a large bowl. Fortunately, it was a solid shell and the hull was not much damaged.
The naval guns on the Canton Ship began to fire back. The caliber of the naval guns was smaller than that of the shore guns. However, the Ming army used all blooming bombs. Each blooming bomb fell on the beach and could raise a rolling sand wave. Coupled with the huge noise when the bomb exploded, the sound was even more terrifying than the shore artillery.
Sand, fire, smoke, and huge explosions, covering the sky outside the city of Melaka, covered the sky and the sun, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur.
Although the shore artillery has a huge caliber, it fires solid rounds, and the number is small. There are only ten in total. In the exchange with the naval guns, they did not take any advantage. The Portuguese ships hidden in the port on the island The ship, from time to time, fired a few shots on the ships of the South China Sea Fleet, which distracted the Ming army a lot. It was also necessary to observe whether they attempted to rush out of the port.
For more than half an hour of the fierce battle, an unfortunate Guangzhou ship was hit by a solid bullet and broke two masts, leaving only one mast standing alone at the stern of the ship, and the basic mountain lost its mobility.
Zheng Zhilong asked the flag bearer to play the semaphore and ordered the Canton Ship to withdraw from the battlefield and return to Temasek first. The artillery on the Canton Ship was still there, and the combat power did not drop much. He still had the strength and courage to fight, but when he saw the flag, he was still obedient. Left the battlefield.
The loss of the shore artillery on land was even greater. A shore artillery was directly destroyed by two consecutive blooming shells. The barrel of the artillery "boomed". At the most critical juncture of the battle, it collapsed. There was also a shore artillery. The tube is severely deformed and can no longer fire solid bullets.
The shore artillery destroyed one door and injured one, and now there are only eight left.
Zheng Zhilong saw that the naval gun was effective against the shore artillery, and he was overjoyed. He ordered the four Canton ships in combat to approach the shore, and at the same time added five Canton ships to join the bombardment on the opposite shore.
The South China Sea Fleet began to take advantage of the number of artillery. The Portuguese ships that had been staying in the waters of the port finally couldn't stand it anymore. They sailed to the extreme edge of the port and started a full-scale battle with the Cantonese ships of the South China Sea Fleet.
At the same time, the transport ship stern behind the ship is also ready to move. The soldiers of the Marine Corps are ready to land on the beach at any time. In front of the Portuguese soldiers, they don't have to hide their next move.
The Portuguese messengers rushed to the nearby strongholds under the direction of Governor Mano Di, and the soldiers from each stronghold, after receiving the news that the Ming army had attacked the city of Malacca, continued to gather in the city of Malacca to prepare for the upcoming The landing soldiers of the Ming army hit head-on.
Dust and smoke filled the air, making the sky darker earlier. Zheng Zhilong looked at the dimness that was gradually squeezed, knowing that there was no hope of ending the battle today, he played a semaphore and ordered Guangzhou Ship to retreat.
Guangzhou Ship and the shore artillery broke out of contact.
In the half-day battle, the two sides had casualties to each other. It seems that the Ming army’s losses were even greater. Except for the Canton ship that had left the battlefield, another Canton ship was heavily wounded. The naval gun lost almost half, while the Portuguese shore artillery, in total Only three doors were destroyed.
Both the naval guns and shore guns stopped firing, and the waterway was temporarily quiet.
However, the ships of the South China Sea Fleet did not return to Temasek.
The soldiers on the ships began to divide their labor. Some were rushing to repair damaged ships, some were repairing artillery, and some were cleaning up solid bullets on the ship. More soldiers took advantage of the gaps in the war to quickly take a nap to ease the situation. Own fatigue.
Looking at the faint flames of the Ming army's ships and the curling smoke from the dinner, Mano Di fell into deep thought. It was getting late. Why didn't the Ming army leave the waterway? Will they use the cover of night to force land? What are the loopholes in shore protection
"Light a torch to light up the shore."
To destroy the cover of darkness, fire light is the only magic weapon.
Under the light of torches, the transport ships of the Ming army could not sneak to the shore, and the Guangzhou Ship could not escape the attack of shore artillery.
The Portuguese soldiers on the shore and the Ming soldiers on the ship faced each other amid the faint light of the torches.
The Ming army has the initiative in the war on ships and the navy against the army. The Portuguese soldiers are on land. Although they have several large-caliber shore guns, they can only passively stand on the shore under the protection of shore guns. On the ground.
When to attack and where to attack, it is entirely up to the Ming army to decide.