Total War: Restoration of the Ming Dynasty in Luzon

Chapter 67 Capturing the Port

On the dock, more and more troop transport ships successfully docked, and more and more red military uniforms, like spreading flames, ignited sparks on the chaotic dock.

"Establish a defensive line! Control this area! Cover the subsequent landing!" a company commander among the first to land shouted, directing his soldiers to build a defensive line.

The soldiers quickly dispersed, some using the collapsed wagons, cargo boxes, and the bodies of Dutch soldiers to build makeshift shelters, while others charged toward the dock warehouses and nearby street entrances with bayonets, attempting to expand the landing zone.

"Capture the artillery positions! Don't let them continue attacking our friendly forces!"

On another warship that was about to dock, the company commander shouted orders to the soldiers behind him. The soldiers gripped their rifles tightly, watching the dock getting closer and closer.

Finally, the ship crashed into the stone wall of the dock with a loud bang. The soldiers grabbed the gunwale in advance to steady themselves and immediately put up the gangplank. The company commander took the lead and roared as he rushed onto the dock.

Ahead of them, Dutch soldiers in the harbor forts also spotted the warship. They shouted and tried to turn their cannons around, and some rushed to the ramparts to open fire on the landing Ming soldiers.

"Quick! Load the ammunition!"

"Aim at those Chinese! Fire!"

The Dutch musketeers opened fire hastily, bullets whizzing past, striking the stone slabs of the dock and the wooden crates beside them, scattering sparks. A charging Ming soldier was shot in the calf, groaned, and fell to the ground, but the others did not stop.

"Don't stop! Charge forward!"

The company commander roared, waving his right hand. Soldiers rushed past him. Seeing that the Dutchmen on the ramparts were about to open fire, he decisively changed his orders, shouting, "Cover the charge! Suppress them with fire!"

The soldiers behind him immediately stopped and opened fire on the crenellations. A volley of bullets swept across, and two Dutch soldiers who were leaning out to fire screamed as they were hit and fell to the ground. Another bullet grazed the scalp of a gunner, scaring him so much that he dropped the ignition rod in his hand.

This brief burst of fire bought the charging soldiers a precious few seconds.

"Charge! Show no mercy to those who resist!"

The fort was built on a stone base several feet above the dock, with rough stone steps leading to the top. The company commander took the lead, rushing up the steps in two strides, with the soldiers following closely behind him.

When they reached the middle of the steps, chaos had broken out on the gun emplacement. The gunners abandoned their cannons, which were not yet fully aimed, and rushed to grab the matchlock guns leaning against the wall or draw their swords and axes.

A Dutch officer-looking man attempted to organize a resistance, brandishing his rapier and shouting, "Hold the fort! Drive them down, for the company's honor!"

"The Ming army is victorious! Kill!"

The company commander roared with all his might, leaped up the last step, and slashed his saber fiercely at the Dutch officer with a sharp whistling sound.

The Dutch officer hurriedly raised his sword to parry. As the swords clashed, sparks flew. The company commander, with his great strength and force, made the opponent's arm go numb and stagger backward. Before the opponent could regain his footing, the company commander stepped forward again, and with a flash of light, slit the opponent's throat!

The Dutch officer clutched his bleeding neck, his eyes wide with disbelief, and fell backward.

The company commander's bravery greatly boosted morale, and the Ming soldiers rushed to the top of the fortress and engaged in a fierce battle with the panicked Dutch defenders.

With limited space on top of the gun emplacement, both sides were crammed together, using bayonets, knives, axes, and even fists and teeth as weapons. Roars, screams, the clanging of metal, and dying groans filled the air.

A Ming soldier stabbed a Dutch gunner with his bayonet, but was struck in the shoulder by an axe coming from the side. Blood gushed out, but he did not fall. Instead, he roared and used his uninjured arm to hold the Dutch gunner tightly, and the two rolled on the ground and wrestled.

Another soldier picked up a matchlock musket discarded by the Dutch on the ground, turned it upside down, and used the heavy butt to smash it hard on the back of the head of a Dutch gunner who was trying to light the cannon fuse. The latter immediately went still and fell limply to the ground.

The Dutch defenders were outnumbered on the fort and were no match for the Ming army in close combat. Under the Ming army's relentless attacks, they quickly collapsed. When the last few Dutch soldiers saw that all was lost, they threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.

"Quickly! Check the artillery! Turn them toward the port!" The company commander, panting heavily, ignored the bleeding wound on his arm and gave the order sternly.

The soldiers immediately sprang into action. Some tied up the Dutch prisoners and put them in a corner, while others began to inspect the two cannons on the gun emplacement. One of the two nine-pound cannons was already loaded and just waiting to have its fuse lit.

Seeing this, the company commander was overjoyed and immediately ordered, "Leave one platoon to establish defenses and turn the cannons to fire at the Dutch strongholds still resisting in the harbor. The rest of you, follow me and continue advancing into the city!"

The soldiers readily agreed and began to work together to push the heavy bronze cannon, aiming its muzzle at the interior of the harbor. They then used bayonets to force the surrendered gunners to adjust their firing angle and open fire on the Dutch positions that were still resisting.

boom!

The cannon, already loaded, roared into action, its solid shot whistling as it pounded the customs office guarded by the port garrison. The shells slammed into the positions in front of the office, shattering the wagons that served as cover, and continued their momentum, overturning and tearing apart the soldiers hiding behind them.

"Damn it! Our guns are attacking us!"

The Dutch troops on the position were thrown into chaos, and their morale plummeted.

Despite the large-scale landing of the Ming army, the Dutch outposts did not completely give up resistance. On the other side near the port, a gun emplacement that had fallen silent after being bombarded roared again, and countless tiny grapeshot shells rained down on the follow-up warships attempting to land.

One of the troop transport ships was instantly riddled with bullets at the bow. The sailors manning the sails screamed as they fell to the ground. The ship's speed decreased drastically, and a dense barrage of lead bullets and iron filings swept across the deck like the Grim Reaper's scythe. Soldiers who were gathering to prepare for landing fell one after another. Their screams were drowned out by the sound of cannon fire and the sailors' cries of alarm.

"Damn it! There are still gun emplacements that haven't been destroyed!" The captain of the Anhai was ashen-faced when he saw this; it was a blatant slap in the face.

He pointed sharply at the artillery emplacement: "Concentrate fire! Bomb it! Cover the warships as they dock!"

The cannons on the broadside immediately turned their muzzles, the heavy cannons roared, and solid shot whistled as it slammed into the stubborn fortress, sending stone chips flying and smoke billowing everywhere.

Under the cover of their own warships, more and more warships successfully docked, sending the soldiers on board to the pier. As more fortifications were captured by the Ming army, the pressure on the remaining Dutch troops in the harbor increased sharply.

They not only faced fierce attacks from Ming soldiers, but also suffered artillery fire from their own side. Their defensive line was quickly torn apart, and a large number of defeated soldiers fled into the city in panic.