Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5089: Battle of the Island
Zhang Liang was already a veteran who had fought in countless battles. He understood that in this battle, they must charge forward with all their might and not give their soldiers any room to retreat. So when he approached the port, he immediately gave the order to hoist the sails and increase the speed.

The merchant ship's sails were filled with wind and it rushed towards the port as fast as an arrow and faster than a galloping horse. When it was twenty feet away from the port, it hit the seabed and ran aground.

I had already learned from the guide that although this was the only port on the entire island, the natives on the island did not know how to build, and they only built a simple pier on the shore with wood. Large ships could not dock at all and would run aground if they got close.

If a ship runs aground, it means losing power.

This is exactly Zhang Liang’s strategy: cut off his retreat and fight to the death!
There is no way to retreat, in this battle we can only win, not lose!

The soldiers were all veterans who had followed him for many years. They understood the commander's strategic intentions the moment the ship ran aground. They did not shout any passionate slogans, but just held their swords, raised their shields, and waited for orders.

Zhang Liang waved his hand and said loudly: "Capture the dock before dark. All the people on this island must not withdraw their weapons within three days!"

"Ow!"

All the soldiers first raised their heads and cheered, and then hundreds of people responded loudly.

"Here!"

"dash forward!"

Following the order, the soldiers jumped into the waist-deep warm sea water with nimble figures, holding their swords and shields high, and charged towards the shore.

Zhang Liang left some soldiers to guard the boat and jumped into the sea. Dozens of his personal soldiers followed closely behind him, holding crossbows and longbows above their heads and wading ashore.

The emerald blue sea was calm and the view was extremely far. Some people on the shore had already discovered this fleet, which seemed very large to them. These dark-skinned, short and strong natives were crowded on the simple wooden dock on the shore to watch the fun, chattering and pointing, and were very curious about such a large ship.

When they saw the big ship run straight to the beach and some people on the ship jumped into the sea and rushed towards the seashore, they realized that something was wrong. Some people lit bonfires, some organized a battle, and some ran barefoot to report the news.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of people holding a variety of weapons such as wooden sticks, stone axes, iron bars, etc. gathered at the dock and took a defensive stance.

The sword and shield soldiers in the front kept walking, trying to wade through the water to rush forward. The personal soldiers following closely behind estimated the distance, stopped, drew their bows and arrows, and dozens of people pulled the bowstrings at the same time, completing three rounds of shooting at a very fast speed, and then surrounded Zhang Liang and continued to rush forward.

The natives on the dock were wearing all kinds of linen clothes, aprons, animal skins... they didn't have any armor. Arrows drew a huge parabola and fell from the sky. The sharp arrowheads pierced into the body. The natives screamed like ghosts and fell to the ground like wheat was being cut. They were not dead yet and were wailing.

In a flash, the first row of soldiers rushed to the shore.

The resistance of the sea water was too great, and it was difficult to speed up even if they tried their best. At this moment, the soldiers jumped out of the sea and rushed onto the mudflats, running as fast as they could, faster than galloping horses. The archers of the indigenous organization fired a wave of arrows, and the inferior arrows made of bone or iron fell on the bodies of the soldiers, making a "ding-dang-dang" sound, but they were like scratching an itch through a boot and could not penetrate the armor on the soldiers' bodies at all.

The morale of the soldiers grew stronger and stronger, and they rushed to the dock at an accelerated speed. They advanced in groups of three, working in coordination, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, and were unstoppable.

But the natives still came in waves, fearless of death.

Zhang Liang held a knife in one hand and a shield in the other, and followed the charging soldiers leisurely surrounded by his personal guards. The personal guards on both sides kept drawing their bows and arrows, shooting the natives who came to support from afar.

"How many thunder bombs are left?"

As they walked, Zhang Liang frowned and asked Cheng Gongying beside him.

The tenacity of the natives' resistance was beyond his expectations. These guys had extremely simple equipment and very low combat skills, but they resisted fiercely and received continuous reinforcements. The most troublesome thing was that for some reason they were not afraid of death at all. Within just half an hour, the dock was littered with corpses, piled up like a mountain, and blood flowed like a river, dyeing the nearby sea red.

Cheng Gongying said hurriedly: "There are more than ten... These are all saved with great difficulty. Now that the war is going well, why waste the thunder bombs? Besides, Xi Junmai is watching behind us!"

The Tang army had extremely strict control over firearms. Firearms such as thunder bombs and muskets were difficult to enter the civilian population, not to mention weapons with huge lethality such as cannons. Even though Zhang Liang was a duke and served as the governor of Luzon, he did not have much in private. If he used them in battle, it would not be an exaggeration to say that "a cannon would kill a mosquito."

Especially if someone hides or uses firearms without authorization, once it is reported by Xi, there will inevitably be another round of wrangling.

Zhang Liang shook his head, his face solemn: "The native reinforcements are endless, and they are fearless. If we delay like this until dark, the situation will fall into a disadvantageous position."

Do you really think that you can slaughter the indigenous people at will and be invincible just because they have low combat effectiveness and simple equipment?
This is not the case.

The indigenous people live on the islands in the South Pacific. Not only are the resources abundant, but they can also live freely without engaging in production. However, these islands are full of poisonous insects and poisonous plants, all of which are unheard of or seen in the Central Plains. Extracting toxins from them and smearing them on weapons and arrows is the specialty of the indigenous people.

They even gathered the poisonous weeds together and burned them, so that anyone who smelled the smoke would be poisoned. Even if they didn't die, they would lose their fighting power...

It is still possible to take precautions during the day, and even if you are attacked, you can deal with it properly. But when dark comes, the natives will use these methods and it will be impossible to defend against them.

"The native savages are not afraid of swords and arrows, but they are afraid of the power of heaven. They have never seen the power of firearms. If we bomb them with thunder bombs, we may be able to destroy their morale and make them surrender without a fight. Take two and test their power."

"Here!"

Cheng Gongying said no more. Although he was an aide and think tank, he did not have much room to interrupt Zhang Liang on matters such as war.

He immediately took out an oilcloth package from the bag he was carrying, opened the inner and outer three layers of oilcloth, and revealed a box inside. When he opened the box, he found more than ten Thunder Gods wrapped in oilcloth, which had excellent waterproof performance.

He took out three of them, peeled off the oilcloth, handed them to Gongsun Jie who was standing beside him, and then handed over the fire starter.

Gongsun Jie threw his sword to a soldier, took the thunder bomb, blew the fire stick, lit the fuse, and sparks ignited with smoke.

Gongsun Jie ran to the front of the formation at an extremely fast speed and threw three thunder bombs in succession towards the area where the natives were densely packed.

Boom boom boom!
The thunder bomb hit the ground and exploded, accompanied by a loud bang and rising smoke. Countless shrapnel splashed in all directions among the indigenous people. The indigenous warriors had no armor to defend themselves. The cast iron shrapnel flew in all directions, splashing a rain of blood. Broken limbs could be seen everywhere, and the originally fierce attack suddenly came to a halt.

Screams and wails filled the air. All the natives looked extremely terrified and trembled all over. All their previous ferocity had disappeared.

They are not afraid of fighting, and are even keen on fighting because fighting can bring women, wealth, and better enjoyment.

They are not even afraid of death, because even if they die in battle, the high priest will guide their souls back to their clan’s home, to be with the gods and protect them.

But what are these explosions now?

Is it the wrath and condemnation of the gods? !
They have never undergone formal military training and lack basic combat qualities. They charge into battle relying only on a ferocious spirit. Now that this spirit is lost, no matter how many people there are, they are just a group of rabble. How can they compete with the Tang army who are armed to the teeth?
The moment the thunderbolt exploded, the natives collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye. More people dropped their weapons, and even ignored the tribesmen who were rolling and wailing around them. They screamed and spread their black feet, fleeing in all directions, fleeing to the forest behind the pier, startling countless birds and wild beasts, which hid in them and disappeared without a trace.

……

As the sky darkened, bonfires were lit on the dock. The soldiers made fires and cooked while cleaning the battlefield.

The seriously injured were stabbed again and gathered together with the broken limbs and corpses on the ground. It was certainly not an option to leave them here, and it was even more impossible to throw them at the seaside. The weather here was hot and the rotten meat would deteriorate quickly, breeding more mosquitoes and rotting meat, which would pollute nearby water sources. The only option was to dig a hole and bury them, taking the trouble to do so.

Gongsun Jie ordered his soldiers to build a defensive position on the spot. They sharpened one end of the trees and buried the other end in the ground, forming a circle around the camp. This would slow down the enemy's attack.

Zhang Liang drank hot water, sat in a low wooden shed that originally belonged to the natives, and talked to the guide.

"The Wu Tribe's sacrificial site is on the mountain behind us. We expect them to gather their members for a counterattack tomorrow morning. General, you should prepare early. As long as we stop this counterattack, the Wu Tribe will have no choice but to negotiate with you."

The purpose of war is not to kill. Most wars will eventually end at the negotiation table. Most of the things that cannot be gained in war can be gained at the negotiation table.

Therefore, Zhang Liang’s goal was not to massacre all the indigenous people on the island. If he killed everyone, what would be the point of occupying a deserted island?
He wanted to trade with the island and directly incorporate it into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, even give it a name and erect boundary markers, so as to achieve the feat of conquering cities and expanding territory.

Although compared to the achievements on land, the merits of expanding territory on the sea are really too low...

But this is his first step to break free from the constraints and control of the navy. Without a base of his own, how can he enjoy wealth and prosperity in this South Seas?
Zhang Liang asked Cheng Gongying: "Are there any living prisoners?"

"Reporting to the commander, there are dozens of lightly injured prisoners."

Zhang Liang said to the guide, "Early tomorrow morning, take the captives to the sacrificial site of the 'Witch Tribe', meet their tribe leader, and tell them my conditions in detail. Be stern in your words, and ask them to recognize my jurisdiction over this island and agree to trade with the Tang Dynasty. If they dare to resist, I will exterminate their tribe. Don't say I didn't warn you!"