Volume 1 Tigers in Southeast Asia Chapter 74: The Moros Attack
Although Yu Zhe had never been to the battlefield personally, he had seen the Muslim warriors of the Sulu Sultanate go to war, and he knew that people would be nervous and panicked before a war. So when he saw that the people on the Nuwa ship were not panicked at all, as if the battle was already won, he was very puzzled.
Yu Zhe was caught by Liu Daming when he was puzzled. Liu Daming laughed and said, "Brother Yu, what's wrong with you? Why are you so sad? Are you thinking about women?"
Yu Zhe blushed at Liu Daming's dirty joke and shook his head, saying, "No, no, Brother Liu, don't joke. I just can't understand why the people on the Nuwa ship don't look scared at all? It's as if they can definitely win this battle."
Liu Daming smiled and said, "With Lao Lin in charge, we will definitely win this battle. Everyone has this in mind, so we are not afraid."
Yu Zhe was shocked and asked, "Is that Lin Yingxiong really that powerful? Can he make everyone believe that they will definitely win if they follow him?"
Liu Daming smiled and said, "You don't know what Lao Lin has done. During the Battle of the Yellow Sea, he used a water gun to shoot away the torpedoes of the Japanese warships. When we were captured by Japan, it was he who used a trick to rescue us. After we arrived at Samar Island, he came up with many new things. So the brothers all know that if we follow him, we will definitely win."
Yu Zhe was amazed and asked, "Hero Lin has so many deeds? Can you tell me one by one?"
Liu Daming shook his head and said, "No, I have to use the sextant to measure the star positions and calibrate the magnetic compass. I don't have time."
Yu Zhe said hurriedly: "I can do that too. I'll help you. Just tell me."
When Liu Daming heard that he didn't have to work, he was immediately delighted and agreed...
The Nuwa ship was making pre-war preparations near the islands and reefs, while at this time in the Lurk Sea, the Spanish fleet was escorting the army ashore. On the flagship Casillas, the fleet commander, Lieutenant General Penelope Banderas, was chatting with Captain Miguel Antonio.
Commander Banderas had a gloomy look on his face and said, "I feel more and more that this Hele Island is weird!"
Captain Antonio advised, "Commander, please don't worry. It's just that the Columbus and Queen Isabel didn't come back on time. Nothing will happen to them. Maybe there is a mechanical failure. Once they have solved the problem, they will come back naturally."
Commander Banderas frowned and said, "I have a bad feeling. I think the two battleships have sunk."
Captain Antonio smiled helplessly and said, "Commander, premonitions are unreliable. How could those two warships sink? With the Moro people's rowing warships? They can bully our transport ships, but if they want to attack and sink steel warships, even God will laugh ."
Commander Banderas sighed and said, "I hope so."
At this time, a sailor came in and said, "Report to the commander, the captain, the transport ship has transported all the troops to the island."
Commander Banderas nodded and said, "Let the transport ship prepare to drop anchor."
The sailor agreed to go out. Commander Banderas turned to Captain Antonio and said, "We must strengthen our vigilance tonight to prevent the Moros from attacking our transport ship."
Captain Antonio laughed and said, "Commander, I was afraid that the Moro warships would not come."
Commander Banderas smiled and said, "You want to hit them hard with the steel battleship, right?"
Captain Antonio replied: "Yes, I am filled with excitement now when I think of our shells overturning the Moro boats."
Captain Antonio laughed out loud after saying this, and Commander Banderas also laughed, and the gloom just now disappeared.
After a while, when night fell, everyone in the Spanish fleet suddenly became nervous. The coast in this area was very tortuous, forming many natural bays. They knew that the Moro warships were hidden in these small bays and could rush out at any time to attack the transport ships parked on the shore.
The searchlights on a protected cruiser and four gunboats were all turned on, illuminating the five-kilometer coastline. Observers were added to each observation room, and everyone stared at the coast intently, fearing that they would accidentally miss any Moro warships emerging from the small bay.
Commander Banderas raised the telescope in his hand and stared at the land in the distance. The Spanish Army arranged sentries on the shore. As soon as these sentries found a warship coming out of the bay, they would light a bonfire on the shore. When the warships on the sea saw it, they would go over to stop the warship.
Captain Antonio whispered , "Commander, the Moros used to attack in the early morning, so they probably won't come out now."
Commander Banderas sighed and said, "It's hard to say. What if the Moros change their tactics this time?"
Captain Antonio did not speak. Time soon came to eleven o'clock in the evening, and there was still no bonfire lit on the beach. All the Spanish sailors were worried. They stared at the beach intently, afraid of the bonfire being lit, but also looking forward to it.
At this moment, a message suddenly came from the observation room on the mast: "Report to the commander, a ship is approaching the north sea."
Commander Banderas asked hastily, "What kind of ship is it?"
The observation room said: "It has a sail and looks like a fishing boat."
Commander Banderas thought for a moment and said, "Keep observing. Order the gunboat Trajan to move towards the ship and scout its situation."
The observation room immediately sent out a light signal, and the Trajan ship immediately moved towards the fishing boat. However, after discovering the Trajan ship, the fishing boat turned its bow and sailed towards the distant sea. The Trajan ship did not chase after it and returned to the fleet.
It turned out that the fishing boat was the Pangu ship. Captain Bi Fang, following Lin Fei's orders, used the night to scout the situation of the Spanish fleet.
When the Pangu saw the Spanish warship coming, it turned around and returned to the Ackleyde Reef. The Pangu dropped anchor and Bifang came to see Lin Fei. Lin Fei first asked, "Have you found the berth of the Spanish warship?"
Bifang replied: "We found it. We have marked the location on the nautical chart."
Lin Fei was delighted and said with a smile: "It's not easy to find them at night."
Bifang smiled and said, "This is not difficult. The Spanish warships are worried about being attacked, so they turned on their searchlights, illuminating the sea surface. We can easily see them."
Lin Fei frowned and said, "So the Spanish warships are very alert, right?"
Bifang nodded and said, "That's right! But such a high level of vigilance will definitely have its drawbacks. That is, they won't be able to sleep all night. Tomorrow's daytime is when they are most tired. We should be able to launch an attack on them during the day tomorrow."
Lin Fei shook his head and smiled, "No, although they are very tired during the day, the visibility is high during the day, so they can easily find us. We won't be able to attack suddenly. Our tactics remain the same. We should take advantage of the moment when Yagurul Sultan launches an attack on the island to launch a surprise attack."
Bifang nodded, and Lin Fei said, "It would be great if we could find out the location of the Spanish fleet. Bifang, tell the comrades on the Nuwa ship the location of the Spanish fleet immediately, and then go back and have a good rest."
Bifang did as he was told. It was already two o'clock in the morning of the next day. The Spanish fleet had reached the most tense moment. The observers hardly dared to blink. The gunners piled the shells and propellant on the gun positions. Even the boys in the military band dropped their instruments and held the shells in their arms, ready to carry them to the gun positions at any time.
But the coast was quiet, the army's bonfires were not lit, and there was no sign of Muslim warships in the light of the searchlights. As time passed, the sky gradually turned pale, and then a red sun jumped out of the sea, and the sky was completely bright.
The Spanish sailors all breathed a sigh of relief, but Commander Banderas did not dare to relax at all, because he knew that tonight was the most likely time for the Moros to come.
The fleet rested for a day, and night fell again. The fleet was still staring at the coast with full concentration like yesterday. At ten o'clock in the evening, suddenly there was a fire on the coast, which was the signal for the Moros to launch an attack!
Clusters of fire lit up one after another, and soon there were more than a dozen bonfires lit on the coast.
Commander Banderas was counting the bonfires on the ship, one, two, three... fifteen. Commander Banderas and the army commander had agreed in advance that the more bonfires that were lit, the more Moro warships there would be. They had agreed on fifteen bonfires in total, but the army commander actually lit them all. How many Moro warships had arrived?
Commander Banderas picked up the ship's communicator and shouted, "The Moros are attacking, all fleets, prepare for battle!"
The observation room immediately sent the news to every warship in the fleet with light signals, and everyone took action, especially the gunners, who moved barrels of liquor to the vicinity of the gun positions. The Spaniards loved alcohol, even during battle.
At this time, the searchlight stopped in the southwest. In the light, a large number of wooden warships appeared. Commander Banderas shouted: "The fleet turns and meets the enemy!"
The warships started moving and headed for the location of the Muslim warships. At this time, the Spanish fleet was 3,000 meters away from the Muslim fighters, but Commander Banderas still shouted loudly: "All ships, fire!"
The gunners picked up the wine barrels and poured the liquor into their throats. The intense burning sensation slid down their throats and they became excited. They roared and cried out, loaded the shells into the barrels, stuffed the propellant bags into the breech, closed the breech blocks, pressed the firing buttons, and the ship's cannons roared, and the shells flew towards the warships of the Muslim warriors with the sound of the wind.
