Zhu Wan had been patiently waiting for an opportunity until the spies reported that conflicts had broken out among the various factions on Shuangyu Island, and then he ordered a general attack.
On the second day of April, hundreds of warships that had already gathered in the Shenjiamen waters sailed towards Shuangyu Port.
Zhu Wan and Lu Tong were in command of a large Fu ship, while the other ships were closely surrounding the flagship, forming a protective formation.
"Anyone who dares to challenge the might of the Ming Dynasty will be punished, no matter how far away they are!"
When these words came out of the mouth of Zhu Wan, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, all the officers and soldiers of the Ming navy on the flagship shouted in unison.
Then this sentence quickly spread outward like a wave.
"Kill the Japanese pirates and destroy the pirates!"
"Kill the Japanese pirates and destroy the pirates!"
"Kill the Japanese pirates and destroy the pirates!"
Train your troops for a thousand days and use them for a moment.
Zhu Wan waited for nearly a year just to train these soldiers to the ideal state in his mind.
Although these soldiers may not have been through hundreds of battles, they all have courage in their hearts and are able to fight the Japanese pirates without fear of death, which is enough.
When the Ming navy sailed to Wuzhao Mountain, they encountered a smuggling ship of Japanese pirates.
Lu Tan immediately ordered a pursuit, and after a fierce hand-to-hand combat, the Ming army finally captured the Japanese ship.
This ship is nine zhang long and twenty zhang four feet wide. Although it cannot compare with the Ming army's Fu ship and Guang ship, it can be considered a big ship among Japanese ships.
The ship was also equipped with two large Portuguese guns, three copper guns and one iron gun.
There were two genuine Japanese pirates on the ship, and the rest were local pirates.
From them, Lu Tan learned that fighting had already begun inside Shuangyu Island.
The Portuguese, who had absolute control, clashed with Xu Dong.
Xu Dong joins forces with Ji Tian, Xin Shilang and other Japanese leaders to fight against the Portuguese. The Portuguese then recruit the pirate Li Guangtou, who has always had a grudge against Xu Dong, to serve as their vanguard.
After several battles, Xu Dong's side was at a disadvantage, so they gave up all the strongholds on the West Island and occupied the North Peak of the East Island.
Seeing the situation was dire, some small pirates disregarded the blockade order issued by the Portuguese and forcibly escaped from Shuangyu Island. This Japanese ship was one of them.
Lu Tong told Zhu Wan the good news, and Zhu Wan was overjoyed.
He implemented Xu Yan's strategy of sowing discord very thoroughly, but he did not expect the effect to be so good.
In the final analysis, these pirates are not on good terms with each other, and each has his own little calculations.
Once external pressure is applied, problems will arise internally.
"Continue to head towards Shuangyu Port!"
This is a golden opportunity for the Ming army. Zhu Wan has made up his mind to kill you while you are sick.
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...
On Shuangyu East Island, Xu Dong paced back and forth in the village with a gloomy expression and his hands behind his back.
Since the falling out with the Portuguese and Li Guangtou, hundreds of brothers have died one after another, many of whom were old brothers who had followed Xu Dong for many years.
What was even more terrifying was that many brothers were seriously injured and there was a shortage of medicine on the island.
These people did not receive timely treatment and many of them died.
Now Xu Dong’s influence on Shuangyu Island is limited to this small corner on the northern slope. It is no exaggeration to say that he is fighting like a trapped beast.
Ever since he started this no-cost business, Xu Dong has been keeping his head on the line.
He was not afraid of death, but he was unwilling to die in this way.
He wanted to fight the Portuguese in a fair battle on the sea, but it was obvious that the Portuguese would not give him this opportunity.
Now the Portuguese had no intention of attacking the mountain, leaving Xu Dong with a chance to catch his breath.
Xu Dong planned to find an opportunity to break out.
Otherwise, if the Portuguese were cruel enough to set fire to the mountain, he and his brothers would be burned to death.
Just as Xu Dong was hesitating, Wang Zhi suddenly ran in and reported, "Master, the Ming army seems to be fighting fiercely with the Portuguese."
Xu Dong was surprised when he heard this and quickly ran outside to see what was going on.
His village was built on a high place, and he could clearly see the panoramic view of Shuangyu Port.
The Ming army's fleet had surrounded Shuangyu Island and was bombarding the port with artillery.
Xu Dong knew that the Portuguese had built a large artillery battery in the port, but judging from the current situation of the battle between the two sides, the Portuguese's firepower had been completely suppressed by the Ming army, leaving them no chance to fight back.
In this situation, even the strongest fortifications will be breached sooner or later.
"Boss, what should we do now?"
Wang Zhi’s question made Xu Dong even more confused.
Logically speaking, this is an opportunity, but the Portuguese are busy fighting the Ming army and have no time to care about them.
Xu Dong even wanted to retake some of his strongholds on Xidao Island at one point.
But judging from the fierce attack of the Ming army, the Portuguese would most likely not be able to hold on.
If that were the case, what would be the point of Xu Dong retaking those strongholds? Wouldn't that just give them back to the Ming army?
After comprehensive consideration, Xu Dong decided to evacuate Shuangyu Island.
As the saying goes, as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.
The most important thing is to survive.
"Tell the brothers who can walk to take some dry food and go down the mountain immediately!"
Xu Dong runs a private port on Dongdao Island. Although it cannot accommodate large ships due to terrain restrictions, it is a backup point.
Xu Dong has been on the sea for many years and has become extremely cunning due to his experience.
He always leaves himself some escape routes, and this private port is his last chance to escape.
Although Wang Zhi was unwilling, he knew that this was the best option at the moment, so he nodded and went to pass on the order.
Xu Dong stood in the distance, watching the fierce battle between the Ming army and the Portuguese, and sighed deeply, "Shuangyu Port has been operating for many years, but now it is destroyed."
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...
After a day and night of fierce fighting, the Ming army finally captured Shuangyu Island.
Twelve thousand Western believers were executed and eight hundred Portuguese soldiers were beheaded.
The Ming army destroyed more than ten Tianfei Palaces on the island, burned hundreds of pirate ships, seized countless rice, cloth, silk, raw silk, and silver, and captured many "black foreigners" and slaves brought by the Portuguese from Manila to Shuangyu for hard labor.
Some Japanese pirates and sea pirates attempted to break out of the chaos, but were caught up by Lu Tong's fleet. The Ming army fired volleys of guns and cannons, sinking several pirate ships. After a fierce battle, the Ming army captured Li Guangtou, Xu Liu, Yao Da, and the Japanese leader Ji Tian.
Lu Tong ordered the Ming army to block the Shuangyu Pass with wood and stone, expelling all the islanders. Lu Tong also organized soldiers to build a wooden fence on Shuangyu, stationed troops and installed artillery to guard it day and night. After twenty years of Portuguese occupation, Shuangyu was finally pacified.
The only pity was that the big pirate Xu Dong, his adopted son Xu Chaotian, his confidant Wang Zhi and others took advantage of the chaos and escaped on a small boat.
Although Lu Tan sent the navy to pursue, he was ultimately unable to catch up.
However, this battle was a great victory for the Ming army and greatly boosted morale.
You must know that before this, even a small group of Japanese pirates could show off their power in front of the Ming army which was several times larger than their own.
After this battle, at least the Ming army's confidence increased a lot.
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