The rainstorm came at a terrible time. Just as Tang Tong and his men had successfully occupied the beachhead, they were met with a torrential downpour, forcing them to temporarily halt their offensive. At that time, muskets were still affected by the weather, and the problem of gunpowder getting damp had not yet been solved. This torrential downpour also gave the Spanish and the Western Allied forces a temporary break.
This time, in the battle with the Spaniards, Tang Tong and his men were full of confidence. The Spaniards were also very confident. However, in the previous beach battle, the Spaniards suddenly found that the forces under Prince Tang were much stronger than they had imagined. They were almost like a rotten tree and rotten wood. The beachhead positions established by the Spaniards were broken. Although the losses were not great, if it were not for the arrival of this rainstorm, Tang Tong and his men's subsequent attacks would cause the Spaniards to suffer even greater losses. These Western coalition forces found that Prince Tang's forces were too powerful, both on the sea and on land. They were so powerful that even the coalition forces of several countries here could not defeat them.
When it comes to the strength of these countries in their territories, Tang Tong is definitely not comparable to them now. However, this is Southeast Asia, a place far away from the European territories of Westerners. With the current maritime navigation capabilities, it is impossible for these Western countries to carry out large-scale expeditionary military operations. Now these troops in Southeast Asia are already the maximum capabilities of several Western countries.
Taking advantage of the coming of the rainstorm, several Western countries abandoned their other beach defense positions, withdrew their troops in front of Tang Tong and others, and worked hard to strengthen the military fortifications in the area. Although working in the rainstorm was not a pleasant experience, for those Westerners, being able to have this opportunity to strengthen the position was already a blessing from God.
Aksinger was the commander of the Dutch fleet. The Dutch had long been frightened by Tang Tong and his men. If several Western countries had not united, the Dutch would never provoke Tang Tong and his men again. Even if several Western countries united this time, the Dutch did not dare to throw all their troops into the empty space in the South China Sea. Before the rainstorm, the Dutch once again witnessed how powerful Tang Tong and his men were. The rain-like artillery shells made the Dutch feel afraid again, so in the beginning of the military meeting, the Dutch were very reluctant to defend here.
The British are cunning and always like to trick others into taking advantage of their own troubles. However, this time, Tang Tong and his men's offensive was too fierce, and other Western countries were afraid of them. Except for the Spanish who had to defend their colonies in the South Seas, other countries like the Portuguese and the French, who had no colonies in the South Seas and the Indian Ocean, were simply unwilling to continue fighting with Prince Tang. The military meeting became somewhat silent because of their own calculations, and the Spanish fleet commander Matthews regretted it.
Matthew couldn't help but regret. Although he knew in his heart that Prince Tang, who was across the strait from them, the Spaniards, would sooner or later attack them, but if he hadn't provoked this war, he, Matthews, would have left here in a few years. By then, no matter what would happen to the Spanish colonies here, it would not be his business. But this time he was defeated and lost the colonies here. Even if Matthews didn't die in this war, his life would be over, and even his family would be implicated.
At the military meeting, the commanders of the fleets of various Western countries finally reached a unified opinion and confirmed their respective defense areas. After the military meeting, Matthews finally breathed a sigh of relief. The other countries seemed to be still with him, the Spaniards, but he did not expect that long before this meeting, the Portuguese, Dutch, and French had already made plans to escape. Therefore, these three countries required their defensive positions to be on the two wings of the main battlefield, so that if the situation was not right during the battle, they could abandon the Spaniards and evacuate as soon as possible.
The battle started again the next day. The defense line outside Kerge City did not stop Tang Tong and his men from fighting. When several land artillery pieces appeared on the battlefield, the Spaniards in their respective bunkers suddenly felt like the end of the world was coming. Before they could react, those artillery pieces began to wreak havoc on the Spanish positions. More than 2,000 Spanish soldiers and more than 6,000 British soldiers had no chance to retreat. Those artillery shells not only blew up their bunkers, but also cut off their retreat route. Although some people retreated to Kerge City under the artillery fire, the vast majority of them fell in the position where they had no chance to get a shot.
The commanders of the Western fleets who were standing on the top of Kerge City and observing the battle situation through the mirror couldn't help but gasp when they saw the situation in front of them. This kind of battle was simply impossible to fight. The weapons of the enemy were much more advanced than theirs. From the very beginning, these Westerners were in a position to be beaten. If there was only one way to compete with the enemy, it would be the Western cannons deployed on the walls of Kerge City. Unfortunately, there were only less than a thousand Western cannons on the walls. In terms of quantity, it seemed that they were no match for Prince Tang.
Tang Tong was also observing the battle through the telescope. From the current perspective, his side was in an advantageous position. However, Tang Tong also saw through the telescope that the Westerners had also deployed a large number of Western cannons on the city walls. With those cannons, the attack on Kerge City would likely not be as difficult as it was now.
"Your Highness, these Western devils are quite powerful. No wonder they dared to stir up trouble. I see they have quite a few cannons deployed on the city walls this time. If we storm them, I'm afraid the losses will be heavy." Dingguo was also observing the enemy through a telescope, while sharing his views with Tang Tong.
"So, do you have any ideas?" Tang Tong looked at Dingguo. Tang Tong had high hopes for this most formidable general of the late Ming Dynasty, and he wouldn't have paid such a high price to get him into his hands.
"Your Majesty, the range of our current land artillery is similar to that of the enemy's red cannon. If we attack head-on, both sides will suffer losses. However, our artillery is small in size and weight. It is easy to move, so we can move continuously.
"Using the forest outside the city as cover, we can turn after each artillery fire. Although it's not very troublesome, it can greatly reduce our losses." Dingguo possessed a keen military mind. He grasped many military knowledge instantly and applied it flexibly. This type of tactic had never been encountered before. So, Tang Tong nodded in satisfaction after Dingguo explained his method. This method would be common in later generations, but to have come up with it in this era was truly extraordinary. Without sharp and forward-thinking thinking, it would have been unthinkable.
"Very well. I'll leave this battle to you. Go, Dingguo." Tang Tong smiled and patted Dingguo's shoulder. Dingguo and Zheng Chenggong were both personally trained by Tang Tong. Emotionally, they were both Tang Tong's subordinates and his disciples. However, in terms of trust, Tang Tong trusted Dingguo more.
After accepting Tang Tong's order, Dingguo began to arrange a new battle plan. He divided several thousand land artillery pieces into ten teams and pressed forward towards the city of Kerge. At the same time, he and other troops under his command began to sweep the outskirts of Kerge City, step by step approaching the last positions of the Westerners' defenses, attracting the attention of the Westerners on the city wall to these approaching troops to cover the movements of the artillery. This battle of tens of thousands of people was nothing to the Ming Dynasty, but in the eyes of the Westerners, an action involving so many people could be regarded as a large-scale battle.
With the exception of the Spaniards, commanders from other Western countries had secretly decided to retreat with their men as soon as possible after seeing this fierce momentum. The enemy had more people and more advanced weapons than them. Even if they could hold out for a while, they would eventually lose. If they accidentally caused too many casualties among their men, it would be difficult to explain to their superiors. Knowing that they were going to fail, no one was willing to continue to accompany the Spaniards and wait for death here.
Just when Matthews was wondering why the enemy army stopped at the cannon range on the city wall and did not advance any further, the armies of other Western countries had quietly begun to retreat. The first to flee was the French army. The French army had suffered enough at the hands of Tang Tong in Southeast Asia. Seeing that there was no profit to be made here, they immediately left the flank they were guarding and fled towards their fleet anchored at sea.
It was not an easy task for Tang Tong's land artillery to approach Kerge City by relying on the woods outside the city. Although there were a large number of engineers clearing a path for the land artillery along the way, the speed was not very fast. When Tang Tong's infantry had reached the range of those red cannons, those land artillery were far from in place. This caused the fighting on the battlefield to stop temporarily, and also created a safe opportunity for those Western troops who wanted to escape.
As Matthews was wondering why the enemy army stopped attacking, a soldier ran up to him in panic and saluted: "Report, General, the French army has left their defensive position."
"What, what? You said those Frenchmen ran away?" Matthews was stunned for a moment, then suddenly jumped up and grabbed the soldier by the collar, his eyes turning red in an instant.
"Yes, General, these French left in the direction of their fleet anchored at sea." The Spanish soldier who was caught by Matthews had difficulty breathing, but he tried his best to say what he wanted to say.
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