Chapter 456 Night Attack on Mala Port

Night, Mala Port.

This was originally just a small supply point, with only one company of British troops stationed there. However, due to the sudden rise of the Southern Ming, the island was in constant war.

In addition, Zhu Qiongying later rejected William Hawke's proposal and drew three cruisers from the British Indian Navy Fleet to block the port.

These are light cruisers built after the end of the anti-French war, specially used to fight pirates and blockade routes, and the largest one is only 370 tons.

However, the British have a very deep affection for this kind of ship, because its predecessor is a privateer. They are merchants on the sea and nightmares of other merchants.

It can even be said that the strength of Britain is the result of these privateer owners, but now this kind of light cruiser built decades ago and still using sail power is outdated.

However, in the South Seas where the armament is still in the eighteenth century, they can still dominate.

Kalimantan has a tropical rainforest climate, hot and rainy, which is really unbearable for the British living in Northern Europe.

It was often late at night before they could fall asleep, so the British sailors chose to kill time by playing poker, which was the most common game of the era.

Lieutenant Branson drank more, and he was very depressed because he kept losing at poker. He left the barracks angrily and prepared to find a place to urinate.

Lieutenant Branson finally found a big tree. Just as he was about to start, a mouse suddenly ran over his feet, and he was so scared that he lost all his urge to urinate.

Lieutenant Branson cursed a few words, and found that there was no one patrolling the dock. He couldn't help but get even angrier, thinking.

"These damn natives are sneaky and cunning. Tell the captain tomorrow and let him deal with these barbarians."

But in fact, the dock was unguarded, and it didn't feel strange. He just thought that the natives were lazy.

At this time, Lieutenant Branson had an idea. He felt that there would definitely be no more rats jumping out of the water, so he decided to face the sea.

Lieutenant Branson stopped halfway through untying the clothes. He seemed to hear some sound in his daze, but at the seaside, there were sounds of waves hitting the shore, insects chirping, birds singing, wind blowing leaves, and rain hitting banana leaves.

Lieutenant Branson, who was drunk, was about to start again, but suddenly a big hand covered his mouth, and then a sharp blade cut across his neck and blood gushed out.

Lieutenant Branson subconsciously covered his neck with both hands, but he couldn't make any sound because the cut was too deep. The body was carefully put into the water, and then it was tied to the wooden stakes under the pier together with the bodies of other soldiers.

In fact, the soldiers of the Three Thousand Battalion had already landed and boarded the ship one after another, but the first batch of water ghost battalions responsible for seizing the dock only brought daggers and crossbows, as well as a bamboo tube for breathing, and began this swimming night attack.

The power and range of crossbows are far less than those of firearms, but they are very suitable for this kind of secret combat at medium and short distances. After all, the sound of the mechanism is much smaller than that of firearms.

After a long investigation, the Southern Ming had figured out the British deployment and action patterns. They would rest two days a week, and the first night of the rest day was also the time when the British were most relaxed.

Although the British barracks were all in the port near the dock, the docks were usually guarded by Brunei soldiers, and these people were deserting almost all the time.

In fact, there were people on the British warships, but few people who lived on the sea all year round liked to stay on the ship all the time. If they could rest on the shore, they would definitely relax on the shore.

There were only dozens of British sailors on the three ships, and this time the Three Thousand Battalion was dispatched collectively. As the name suggests, the Three Thousand Battalion really has three thousand people. Just imagine how spectacular it would be for three thousand people to swim across the river armed.

It's just that in the dark, no one could see the whole picture, otherwise they would be scared to death.

In this night attack, Zhu Qiongying's primary goal was to seize all the ships in Mala Port, cut off the British retreat, and contact with the outside world.

Most of the soldiers of the 3,000-camp who landed later carried oil paper bags filled with gunpowder and muskets. They began to organize a defense line near the port.

Although the sound of sailing warships and wooden merchant ships setting sail was not as loud as that of steam-powered ships, the British army was not all fools. These people drifted on the sea all year round. It was simply a pipe dream to steal their ships without the other party noticing.

After all, many armies have secret sentries, but the information of these people is often confidential, and the local soldiers have no way of knowing it.

Sure enough, after the sails were deployed, someone notified Colonel Hardeck Chris as soon as possible. In fact, the secret sentry was far away from the port, so he escaped the attack. However, he could only see that there seemed to be a shadow moving near the port in the dark night, and could not confirm the actual situation.

So it still gave the Southern Ming some time. When Colonel Hardeck Chris took out the telescope to observe, it was too late.

For a while, the alarm bells in Mala Port rang loudly, and the British soldiers who had just fallen asleep and the local soldiers who had been sleeping for a long time were immediately awakened.

A large group of people rushed to the dock with torches, but they were greeted by rows of bullets. The British and Turkish soldiers holding torches stood out like targets in the dark.

With crisp noises, British and Turkish soldiers continued to fall in pools of blood. In fact, this was not because the Nanming soldiers were good at shooting, but because the enemy's people were crowded together, and it was difficult for bullets to miss people.

The British soon discovered this and extinguished all the torches. But they soon found out that the problem was that the other side could not see their position, but they could not see the other side's position either. If the stalemate continued, all the ships on the dock would be driven away.

So Colonel Hardock Chris ordered the native soldiers to charge. These Brunei natives were unwilling to die, but they had to bite the bullet and charge in front of the cold bayonets.

The charge of these cannon fodders was completely vulnerable to modern firearms. In the dark night, there were constant sounds of bullets piercing human bodies and people falling to the ground.

In fact, Colonel Hardock Chris's idea was to let these natives rush to the attackers, and the British soldiers would then attack when the two sides were fighting.

However, the idea was good, but the natives did not want to sacrifice themselves for the British Empire at all. After rushing out, they fled in all directions, and directly let the British troops following behind them out.

The Nanming army on the other side did not know whether the ones rushing up were native soldiers or British troops. In short, they just fought. The volleys of gunfire were so loud that the British troops in the front were knocked down. In the darkness, many British soldiers didn't know where to rush, and they just followed the people.

So a dramatic scene appeared. At least one-third of the British troops followed the natives into the woods, and the remaining British troops had to face the rounds of shooting from thousands of Southern Ming soldiers, and the result was naturally heavy losses.

However, this night had just begun for the British. Suddenly, there was a fire outside the port, and the five military camps also launched an attack.

Seizing the British fleet was only the minimum goal of the battle. The goal of the Southern Ming army was to completely wipe out the British troops in Mala Port.

There were shouts of killing everywhere, and Colonel Hardock Chris didn't know how many enemies there were. He could only give up attacking the dock and ordered to organize defense.

The East Gate and South Gate of Malagang were quickly breached. The garrison soldiers did not want to or dare to resist, because the Southern Ming army had never lost in battles with the natives, and every time they killed all those who resisted to the end. Over time, no native dared to cross the Southern Ming army and civilians.

The battle at the West Gate was the most brutal. At this time, the Redwood Army was still very powerful. Although the gate was blown up by the landmine of Liu Dadao, the general of the Fifth Army Camp, they still built barricades on the streets to continue to resist.

The so-called landmines at that time were explosives similar to black gunpowder barrels, and they were different from the use in later generations. They were mainly used for sieges at that time.

Liu Dadao sent people to attack the British army's barricades several times in a row, but they returned without success. There was even one time when both sides had entered a hand-to-hand fight, but they were finally driven back by the British army.

Liu Dadao's real name was Liu San, and he was originally a bodyguard in the capital. He once thought that he could make a name for himself in the capital with his own skills and a big knife in his hand.

But twenty years passed in a flash, Liu Dadao has always been conscientious, and he has gone all out for every business. All the Jianghu people on the road are terrified when they hear his name.

But in the capital, Liu Dadao is still just a small figure who can't even be called a servant. In the end, he was driven out of the capital because he offended the gatekeeper of a certain master's house.

When Liu Dadao was ready to leave the capital with his package, no one came to see him off, so he drank in a small tavern.

Drinking to relieve sorrow makes sorrow worse. The more he endured, the angrier he became. Finally, under the influence of alcohol, Liu Dadao jumped into the master's house with his 100-pound sword.

A guard found him and was about to shout, but Liu Dadao cut off an arm with one knife. Before the guard could scream, another knife cut off his head and flew into the sky.

Liu Dadao picked up the broken arm on the ground and used it as a bolt on the door, and then killed the 23 people in the family of the master who drove him out of the capital.

The gatekeeper was chopped into pieces, and then Liu Dadao fled all the way to Nanyang. In Nanyang, with his own skills and ruthlessness, he finally made a name for himself and became the eighth boss of Zhongyitang.

Although it was called Zhongyitang, it was just a job of reselling people and looking after opium dens, brothels, and casinos.

Liu Dadao thought he would spend his life in such a muddle, until one day the Southern Ming army broke through Shanghou City, and Duan Youde, the head of Zhongyitang, took 100,000 taels of silver to reward the three armies and buy a future.

But by chance, an old woman with a basket of sesame cakes also came to reward the three armies that day, and the two happened to be sworn enemies.

Although Duan Youde did not know this old woman, she had been wanting to cut him into pieces all the time for twenty years.

Because it was Duan Youde who had taken a fancy to her daughter-in-law twenty years ago, and then had her fishing boat sunk. Her husband was so angry that he fell ill, and her son was so angry that he wanted to seek justice, but he was beaten to death by the people before he even saw Duan Youde, and even his body was fed to crocodiles.

A basket of sesame cakes and 100,000 taels of silver and 2,000 strong men in the hall, as well as hundreds of years of business in Shanghou area, Zhu Qiongying chose the former without hesitation, dragged Duan Youde to Caishikou and pressed him under the gate knife, and gave the right to execute the old woman.

After that, the senior leaders of Zhongyi Hall discussed revenge for the boss, and then surrendered to the Dutch as Kapitan. After hearing this, Liu Dadao drew out his big knife and killed everyone in the Zhongyi Hall.

When the door opened again, the sticky blood had flowed all over the bluestone paved ground. Then he went out and hired a carriage, and the carriage was filled with heads.

"I, Liu Dadao, want to ask for a job."

Zhu Qiongying looked at the car full of heads and the sticky blood still dripping on the ground through the cracks, without showing any surprise or joy, but just said lightly.

"The braids have been cut off."

The Southern Ming army required a change of customs, and those who wanted to be soldiers or officials could not keep this pig tail. This was the first time Liu Dadao and Zhu Qiongying met. The former had killed countless people in his life and was unruly. Even the officials of the court and the gang leaders did not dare to look him in the eye.

But Liu Dadao did not see any fear in Zhu Qiongying's eyes, and the fear was mutual. In the end, it was the former who became terrified.

After all, Zhu Qiongying had seen more terrifying things on Franz's ship, such as strong ships and cannons, elite soldiers who had fought hundreds of battles, foreign barbarians, and him.

Franz was almost omnipotent in Zhu Qiongying's eyes, and even the encounter with the former made the latter feel unreal, just like the legendary knife seller.

Zhu Qiongying didn't know why she had such an idea, and she didn't know what the other party meant by the so-called "drawing the correct word". But she always felt that she should complete her mission quickly, and there seemed to be not much time left for her.

It was precisely because of Zhu Qiongying's own sense of urgency that the entire Nanming high-level officials were very nervous. They didn't know what the queen was thinking, but they had to do something.

Liu Dadao looked at the stalemate at this time and patted the captain who was organizing the attack.

"Let your people go down and rest for a while."

"General, you? Let me charge again!" The captain's eyes were bloodshot and he shouted.

"Young man, don't be so anxious, it will be your turn sooner or later." Liu Dadao strode forward and said after a glance.

"Those over 30 years old, step out!"

Immediately, nearly a hundred people stood up.

"Now I will take you to meet the British gun formation. It is said that the Tartar cavalry fell into their hands. Are you afraid? ? "

"No!" Everyone answered in unison.

"Okay! We old guys will set an example for the kids. The Ming army will fight to the death!" Liu Dadao drank the wine in his hand, then smashed the bowl to pieces. Then the veterans over 30 years old also drank the wine.

"Kill the enemy to serve the country!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Amid the shouts of killing, a voice that was neither male nor female suddenly appeared and said in a weird tone.

"General Liu is in a good mood. I don't want to ruin the mood of the warriors to die, but I feel bad. Why should a good man rush to die?"

The man who spoke was wearing a white suit and a pair of small glasses. Although his voice was shrill, he looked stronger than Liu Dadao in terms of physique.

He was Luo Xiangnan, the head of the Southern Ming Shenjiying.

"Mule, what are you going to do? If you have something to say, just say it. If you have something to fart, just fart."

"Don't be so rude. Since I'm here, I won't be empty-handed."

Then Luo Xiangnan gave an order.

"Where are the strong men?"

"Yes!" replied one after another in a powerful voice.

"Help General Liu attack the city."

Then the eight strong men lifted a naval gun.

Yes, it was the 12-pound gun that battleships used to blast each other.

The Shenji Battalion just pointed the black muzzle at the British army, and the latter surrendered collectively.

After all, at this distance, if a person is hit by a cannon of this caliber, he can be blown to pieces.