Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 500: The Battle of Luzon Ends
While the Ming fleet that was defending the harbor suffered heavy losses, in the south of the sea, the battle between the three ironclad ships began to turn around.
The two sides separated from the group at around 10:30 in the morning, and at 12 o'clock they began to hit each other. However, the first hit of the Fengyang destroyed one of the chimneys of the Casti. The huge vibration and the untimely removal of smoke caused the engine system of the Casti, which was already struggling to maintain, to malfunction again. The speed of the entire warship suddenly dropped from ten knots to three knots.
For the Fengyang, which had a maximum speed of 13.5 knots, the enemy's speed of 3 knots was not much different from that of a turtle. Therefore, Li Guozhu, who had keenly discovered the enemy's engine failure, began to rely on his own warship's high speed and long range to immediately rotate around the Casti.
With the Casti as the center and a radius of more than four kilometers, the Fengyang circled around the Casti slowly. During the circle, it continued to fire at the Casti. The Casti had basically lost its maneuverability, and because its gun barrel was not as thick as the Fengyang, a distance of four kilometers was a comfortable range for the Fengyang, but it was the limit of the Casti's range, and its accuracy was almost non-existent.
So, at this time, the Casti really became a dead fish on the chopping board, and could only allow the Fengyang to spin around and around and slowly cut its flesh.
Of course, the Spanish Aragon was still in very good condition at this time. Although the barnacles under the bottom of the ship seriously slowed down its speed due to the long expedition, its maximum speed was only reduced from fifteen knots to twelve knots. In theory, it could still deal with the Fengyang, which did not dare to sprint at full speed.
But the problem is that as the sister ship of Casti, Aragon's main gun is only 100mm, and the barrel is still not as thick as Fengyang. If the two ironclad ships rely on each other, relying on the advantage of being able to fire at full power, this battle can still be won. If Aragon and Fengyang really fight one-on-one, they are really not up to it.
Therefore, when the Casti's engine had problems, the Aragon did not dare to abandon the Casti and escape alone: running away would not be a big problem, but after the Casti sank, the naval battle was doomed to fail. And if the naval battle failed and it could not enter the port of Manila. Facing the entire East Asia controlled by the Ming Dynasty, where could the Aragon go for supplies and repairs?
Because of such concerns, starting from noon of that day, the battle between the three ironclad ships turned into a strange situation with the Fengyang circling the Casti and the Aragon circling the Fengyang.
Li Guozhu was not indifferent to the Aragon's frequent attacks and quick escapes: 100mm shells could also cause damage to the Fengyang. But he decided to ignore the Aragon for the time being and kill the Casti first.
The soldiers resolutely carried out the commander's will, and as the actual combat time increased, their guns became more and more accurate. Gradually, the frequency of the Casti being hit began to increase. Not only was there billowing smoke on the deck, but there was also a blazing fire on the deck.
At 2:40 in the afternoon, another shell was fired from the gun position where Zheng Zhilong was the gunner. By sheer luck, it hit the Casti below the waterline, creating a hole of about ten centimeters in the underwater part amidships.
For the Casti, which has a displacement of only 2,000 tons, such a hole is fatal enough. Although the sailors on the ship tried their best to plug the leak, just as it was plugged, another shell exploded above the previous breach: there was no new hole below the waterline, but the hole that had just been plugged began to flood with water again.
At 3:10 pm, the Casti had already started to tilt significantly, and for such a small warship, there was no way to restore balance by injecting water on the other side of the hull. Therefore, the Duke of Alva was very ashamed and reluctantly issued an order to abandon the ship.
"Signal the Aragon to stop firing at each other and come towards us."
"Your Mightiness!"
"You should have understood by now that when an ironclad ship faces a sailing warship, it will be a complete massacre! After we lost this battle between the ironclad ships, our entire battle has failed. Therefore, my task now is to negotiate with the other side as soon as possible while we still have a certain amount of power in our hands and the other side's commander is still wary, and strive for a decent ending!"
…
"Commander, the enemy ship has hoisted a white flag."
"Yeah, I saw it all."
"Commander, what should we do?"
"Hey..." He looked towards the northwest with worry, "I don't know how the battle in the north is going."
"What does the Commander mean?"
"It's very simple. If our battle this time was just a duel between three ironclad ships, I wouldn't care if the other side raised the white flag or not. I would definitely sink them all. But now, our main force is still fighting with the other side. We are missing ten first-class warships, and we have to defend the bay entrance. This battle is really difficult to fight. So, forget it. Send an order. Let our ship be transported to the northwest first, and then send sailors to contact the other side. If the other side really wants to surrender, let them sink the seriously damaged warship by themselves, and then all the soldiers will gather on another ship and lock themselves in several fixed cabins. We will send sailors to take over the ironclad ship, and then we will return north quickly."
"It is a very safe thing to do."
"Hey, but this way, I won't be able to be too harsh on those Westerners later."
…
"I, the commander of the Luzon Expeditionary Force, Cao Wenzhao, the deputy commander, Liu Zhaosun, the commander of the North Sea Fleet, Li Guozhu, and the commander of the East Sea Fleet, Yan Siqi, humbly report to His Majesty:
In the third year of the reign of Emperor Tianqi, the Westerners entered our territory with evil ambitions to sell opium and poison the people of Ming Dynasty. Our emperor was furious and declared war on the Westerners with thunderous power. Since April, the royal army has been inspired and has successively captured the enemy's nests such as Macau, Shalian, Malacca, Java, and Timor. However, the Westerners on Luzon Island, relying on the strong city of Manila, held more than 20,000 of our people as hostages, and were stubborn and refused to obey the king's rule. These people who think they have a good plan are actually barking wildly and traitors, and they should be eradicated.
In September, the royal army landed in Manila and advanced from the north and south, hoping to achieve complete victory. However, the Westerners were fierce and relied on strong cities, trenches, and machine guns to resist stubbornly. Our loyal and brave soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, who received the great grace of our emperor and the earnest expectations of the people, still fought bravely despite the enemy's guns and bullets, risking their lives and pulling out the trenches outside the city of the Westerners and approaching the city of Manila.
On November 27, the Western reinforcements from the mainland arrived and joined the Western fleet in Luzon. There were two ironclad ships, fifty first-class battleships, and sixty second-class battleships. In order to protect our transport fleet for the army's supply, the navy, although it only had one ironclad ship, forty first-class battleships, and sixty second-class battleships, still fought bravely.
From 4:05 to 5:00 p.m., the navy fought hard and held the bay mouth without retreating a single step. They sank and destroyed more than 30 enemy ships. At 3:12 p.m. that day, the Western ironclad fleet raised the white flag. At 4:05 p.m., the Fengyang returned to the battlefield. The rest of the Western warships saw this and were horrified and surrendered one after another.
At 6:30 pm, the navy escorted the remaining Western fleet into Manila Bay. The Western pseudo-Governor of the Philippines, Henry, saw that all foreign aid had been cut off and our army had arrived at the gates of Manila, so he also raised a white flag and surrendered.
On the 28th, the royal army entered Manila. The Westerners promised to withdraw within three days. So far, all the Westerners' strongholds in the Ming Dynasty's waters have been conquered!
Since April, the total number of soldiers killed in the battles is 8,325, and the total number of soldiers killed in the battles is 1,732. The number of wounded is even more than that! Among the dead soldiers, there are 356 officers from the rank of colonel and below, and 538 wounded from the rank of major general and below.
There was also the naval colonel, commander of the second-class battleship formation, and captain of the Chongqing, Zheng Weizhe, who fought against the strong with his weak strength and defended the bay to the death. Although covered in blood, he still shouted for a fierce fight and would rather die than retreat. In the end, he sank with the ship and died heroically.
Our great Ming army is mighty and powerful. Our loyal and righteous soldiers will live forever.
Although we won this battle, we were at a loss in command, and the casualties were the most severe since our emperor began to train his troops across the sea. Therefore, the victory was won by the soldiers who received the grace of heaven and fought bravely. The heavy losses were all the fault of us. We are anxious and hold our breath to wait for the thunder.
Your humble servants, Cao Wenzhao, Liu Zhaosun, Li Guozhu, and Yan Siqi, bow a hundred times and present this memorial.
December 1, the third year of the Ming Dynasty. "
