Nanpu Port, within the Goguryeo naval camp.
After a brief period of panic following the "enemy attack," the entire naval camp returned to a tense and orderly state of preparation for battle as the commanders of various ranks stepped forward to direct the soldiers to form ranks and assemble.
Goguryeo's naval commander, Go Mu, personally climbed the watchtower in the camp and witnessed the entire naval battle between the two armies from a high vantage point.
Finally, through the warships of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet, with their battle flags fluttering in the sea breeze, they recognized the enemy that had launched this surprise attack on Nanpu Port as the Tang Dynasty's navy.
As the Tang Dynasty's naval warships, equipped with red cannons, continuously bombarded the Goguryeo naval warships that had sailed out to meet them, Gao Wu, the naval admiral, felt as if an invisible hand was slowly draining his spirit and strength.
boom!
On the sea, a Goguryeo navy's main warship was blasted in two by the Tang Dynasty navy's cannons and then quickly sank into the sea.
Gao Wu could no longer control himself. All his strength was drained, and he collapsed to the ground.
Out of the corner of his eye, he kept staring intently at the Goguryeo warships on the sea, which were being continuously sunk by the Tang navy's red cannons.
If it weren't for the quick reflexes of his personal guards who helped Gao Wu up before he collapsed, the morale of the Goguryeo navy would probably have collapsed entirely at that moment.
"Grand Commander, the Tang army, the Tang army's naval warships are preparing to enter the harbor and launch a beach landing!"
Beside him, Li Zhengmin's exclamation made Gao Wu, the Goguryeo naval commander, who had been despondent after realizing the gap between his own navy and the Tang navy that could not be bridged by manpower and bravery, rouse his spirits again.
yes!
The ultimate goal of the Tang navy fleet was to capture Nampo Port and launch a surprise attack on Pyongyang!
Although the Goguryeo navy under his command was inferior to the Tang navy in terms of the weaponry of its warships, it could rely on the defensive and offensive capabilities of the naval camp to fight the Tang navy on land!
No matter how powerful the Tang navy's red-coated cannons were, their range was still limited. They couldn't just unload the red-coated cannons from their warships and push them around to fight, could they?
As long as I can hold Nanpu Port, my brother, King Gojang, in Pyongyang will surely lead reinforcements to come to my aid as soon as he receives the message for help. If the Tang navy fails to capture Nanpu Port after a long siege, they will have no choice but to retreat after the supplies on their ships are exhausted!
Thinking of this, Admiral Gao Wu of the Navy cheered up again.
He immediately ordered, "Vice General Li, you will personally lead 10,000 troops to reinforce the garrison at all points on the docks and beaches, and stop the Tang navy from landing at all costs."
"The messenger should be dispatched again on cavalry as quickly as possible back to the capital to request reinforcements, informing the king that the enemy that launched the surprise attack on Nanpu Port was the Tang army's naval fleet;"
"The remaining naval officers and soldiers must hold their positions firmly in the main camp, ready for battle, and must not allow the Tang navy to land and reach the shore!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
With a command from Admiral Gao Wu, the entire Goguryeo navy was once again mobilized, preparing for battle in accordance with the Grand Admiral's orders.
Li Zhengmin, the deputy general, immediately led 10,000 elite troops straight to the port.
Naval Commander Gao Wu climbed back onto the railing of the watchtower, his eyes fixed on the Tang Dynasty naval fleet that was about to break through the obstruction of the Goguryeo naval warships and land on the beach.
He silently prayed: "Brave warriors of the navy, hold on! You must hold on until reinforcements arrive!"
At the same time.
Led by the Tang Dynasty's super warship "Destroy the Japanese Pirates," and followed closely by 18 medium-sized warships, the vanguard of the fleet has approached the waters less than two nautical miles from Nanpu Port.
During this period, Goguryeo warships that set sail from Nampo Harbor repeatedly rushed over to try to stop the "Destroy the Japanese" amphibious landing operation, but all of them sank without success.
They were either blasted in two by the cannons of the accompanying warships and sank into the sea, or they were directly rammed and sunk by the larger and more robust Miewa-class destroyer.
The matter was not over until the super warship "Destroy the Japanese" plunged headlong into the shallow waters of Nampo Port.
Because the super warship "Destroy the Japanese" was large and had a deep draft, it eventually had to dock one nautical mile from the mudflats of Nampo Port. The remaining sea route had to be reached by a small landing boat on board.
On the deck, the young Tang Dynasty naval vanguard general Chen Longxiang decisively ordered: "Men, convey my command: land the small boats and attack!"
"Landing craft, launch!"
Then, he ordered: "Red-coated cannons, prepare to fire at the docks and mudflats of Nampo Port. Fire freely to provide cover for the naval vanguard to land on the beach!"
"Red-coated cannons, fire!"
Whoosh, whoosh whoosh, whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Boom, boom, boom!
The next moment, the landing boats, which were already prepared, began to descend into the sea through the hatches on both sides of the super warship "Destroy the Japanese Devils" under the cover of the red-coated cannons. Each boat carried twenty soldiers of the Tang Dynasty navy and headed straight for Nanpu Port.
At the docks of Nampo Port and on the coastal mudflats, the Goguryeo navy stationed there stood ready, aiming their crossbows and catapults at the small boats of the Tang navy on the sea, prepared to launch an expeditionary attack at any time.
At this moment, Lee Jung-min, the vice admiral of the Goguryeo navy who had just arrived at the dock with 10,000 reinforcements, immediately took over command of the dock.
Faced with the bombardment of the Tang Dynasty navy's cannons, Li Zhengmin had issued a death order that the naval officers and soldiers at the front line must not retreat a single step.
Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed without mercy!
Furthermore, he established a supervisory team within his personal guard, ordering that anyone who dared to retreat even a step would be executed on the spot.
Seeing hundreds of Tang army landing boats rapidly approaching the dock and mudflats like a swarm of locusts crossing a river, Li Zhengmin decisively gave the order to fire arrows: "Pass down the order, fire arrows!"
"Release the arrows—"
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Instantly, at the Nanpu Port wharf and on the mudflats, the Goguryeo navy unleashed a barrage of arrows, the arrows flying like locusts, striking the vanguard of the Tang navy bravely advancing on the sea.
Clang, clang, clang!
Upon seeing this, the Tang Dynasty naval officers and soldiers on the landing boats raised their shields to deal with the attacks of arrows and stone balls from the Goguryeo navy.
The arrows struck the shield, producing a series of clanging sounds.
On the super warship "Destroy the Japanese", Chen Longxiang was furious to see that the Goguryeo navy in Nanpu Harbor was still fighting to the death despite the bombardment of the red-clothed cannons, and was even using crossbows, ballistae, catapults and other weapons to launch long-range attacks on the Tang navy's landing vanguard.
Chen Longxiang continued to order: "Guards!"
"Pass down the order: have the Divine Machine Battalion find a way to hit the enemy's crossbows and catapults!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Soon, the vanguard of nineteen warships began to adjust their firing angles near Nampo Harbor in an effort to provide more support for the naval vanguard landing.
However, faced with the long and narrow coastline, the number of red cannons carried by these nineteen warships was somewhat inadequate, and they were simply unable to achieve full coverage.
However, the main force of the Tang Dynasty's naval fleet was constrained by the terrain of Nanpu Port and the crowded Goguryeo warships in the port, and could not all line up in Nanpu Port to use the red-coated cannons mounted on the warships to carry out a comprehensive bombardment of the port and coastline.
For a time, the vanguard of the Tang Dynasty navy, which was attempting to land on the beach, was blocked outside Nampo Port by the Goguryeo navy, which outnumbered them several times over, making it difficult to launch an offensive.
Seeing that the amphibious landing force's advance was stalled, Chen Longxiang, the vanguard commander, could no longer sit still.
He easily picked up his pair of golden hammers and walked towards the cabin, sternly ordering, "Deputy General Fan, you will take over command of the Shenji Battalion from me; the Left and Right Yuhou Armies, come with me to personally meet the Goguryeo navy!"
"Hey you, prepare a boat for this general!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
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