The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 579: Capture of the Port
The fleet commander sent by the United States this time was the commander of the North Atlantic Squadron, Rear Admiral Robert H. Wyman.

Robert Wyman looked at the ironclad fleet on the sea and just wanted to curse.

Compared with Chen Zhengwei's private fleet, the North Atlantic Fleet is like the navy of the last century.

In particular, there is a battleship in Chen Zhengwei's fleet.

That is Britain's most powerful battleship. Even though it has been in service for nearly 20 years and does not have the latest main gun layout, it is still one of the most powerful battleships in the world.

Even though Congress has increased funding for the Navy, it will take five years for the U.S. Navy to reach the level of Chen Zhengwei's fleet.

The gap between the two sides is too great.

He believes Congress must increase funding again.

After looking through the telescope for a while, Robert Wyman gave the order: "Send the flag signal, slow down and approach, and get ready to launch the boat. I will go there in person later!"

A moment later, the U.S. Navy approached with flag signals, until they were half a nautical mile away and lowered a small boat.

Then Robert Wyman and his men boarded the small boat and rowed towards the Warrior.

The Warrior also dropped a rope ladder.

Robert Wyman climbed up the rope ladder onto the Warrior, which was filled with Chinese sailors wearing linen canvas trousers, boots and shirts.

Su Ya looked at Robert Wyman, who had gray hair, and then looked at his military uniform and the saber at his waist, and asked, "Are you the commander of this fleet?"

"Yes, I am Robert Wyman, commander of the North Atlantic Squadron!" Wyman stood straight.

"Come with me! The boss is waiting for you!"

Robert Wyman looked carefully at everything around him, especially the Chinese sailors around him and the bridge in front.

He thought the bridge design was great, the only problem was that it would easily become a target for the enemy in a battle.

Soon, he was taken to the balcony above the bridge, where Chen Zhengwei was lying on a recliner in purple pants and a white shirt.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Chen!" Robert Wyman took off his hat and said.

"I am the commander of the North Atlantic Squadron..."

"Good afternoon, sir! Since you are here, we can start!" Chen Zhengwei sat up from the recliner.

"Did you bring the map?"

"Yes!" Robert Wyman held a map in his other hand and spread it out on the table in front of Chen Zhengwei: "Next, we need to cooperate and take down Santa Marta."

Chen Zhengwei took a quick glance at the map and memorized everything on it.

He just wanted to look at the map.

"I will help you bombard the fortress in the port and attract the fortress's attention! The rest is up to you!" said Chen Zhengwei.

"Won't Mr. Chen's men join the battle on land?" Robert Wyman asked.

The fighting power of Chen Zhengwei's men is now known to everyone.

Especially the weapons in Chen Zhengwei's hands.

In a fortress environment, it can be of great use.

"Then I will take down Santa Marta myself, what else do I need you to do?" Chen Zhengwei asked back.

"The U.S. Navy and Army, can't they be unable to take over even a port? Are you here to make a fuss? Although I have never been optimistic about your combat effectiveness..."

Chen Zhengwei was interrupted before he could finish his words.

Robert Wyman stood up straight and said in a loud voice: "We will definitely be able to take over the port!"

"That's it?" Chen Zhengwei spread his hands: "Also, I don't like people interrupting me when I'm talking!"

"Next time, speak after I'm done talking!"

"You can use small boats to land at night, and I will launch an artillery attack tomorrow morning!"

"In addition, if the Colombian navy comes to rescue, I will be responsible for stopping them!" Chen Zhengwei knew in his heart that the Colombian navy would definitely not come.

"Understood!" Robert Wyman nodded, and after agreeing on the attack time and some command flags with Chen Zhengwei, he returned to his fleet.

At the same time, dark clouds gathered over the port city of Santa Marta.

Everyone knows that war may come at any time, but no one has a choice.

The most worried are the poor people in the city, who are already struggling to make a living and have no means of survival.

Now that war has come, everything in the port has come to a standstill, and each of them is filled with confusion.

As for the defenders, they had already made preparations in the three fortresses of Santa Marta, and they watched nervously as the sea was gradually swallowed by darkness.

There were a total of 1,500 garrisons at Santa Marta, 1,000 of whom were scattered in six forts.

Late at night, the U.S. Navy used small boats to transport some soldiers to remote areas on the shore.

When the sky began to lighten, Chen Zhengwei was called up.

He only got four hours of sleep last night, which made him a little irritable.

At 6:30 in the morning, Chen Zhengwei was sitting on the balcony eating breakfast, which was fried fish and canned beef, as well as a can of tomatoes and chickpeas. To be honest, he hated it.

"Not even dogs would eat this!" Chen Zhengwei said to the vegetarian duck standing next to him while shoveling his rice: "Notify the artillery commander, the wind is now level three, and the first round of shooting must be tilted 3 degrees to the left!"

"Tell Commander Liu that he will be in charge of this battle!"

Santa Marta does not have the geographical advantage of Cartagena, and its fortress is not very big.

Chen Zhengwei was too lazy to pay any more attention.

Anyway, just fire some cannons. The main force to seize the port is the US Army.

Not long after the news spread, thick smoke came out of the chimneys of the Warrior and Pallas, and the sound of whistles could be heard one after another on the sea.

The Warrior and Pallas, as well as several Tel-class gunboats, began to move towards the port.

The gun cabin below was also busy, with groups of Chinese
"Fill it, fill it!"

"Where are the shells?"

"Bring another box of shells!"

"Put the gunpowder farther away!"

"Distance 2.2 nautical miles... At the current speed, open fire in three minutes!"

Although the artillery commander didn't know whether Chen Zhengwei's instructions were correct, he decided to conduct the first round of shooting according to Chen Zhengwei's requirements and then adjust the angle.

At the same time, commanders at several fortresses in the port were looking at the approaching ships nervously through binoculars.

"Sir, they are within range!" the signalman quickly informed.

"Wait a little longer, until they open fire first!" the commander of the harbor fortress gritted his teeth.

Yes, Chen Zhengwei’s fleet had entered their attack range ten minutes ago, but he didn’t dare to open fire first.

That would make Colombia even more passive.

Therefore, he could only watch helplessly as the other party turned the ship sideways and pointed rows of cannons towards this side.

Boom boom boom boom!
The fire from the muzzle lit up in clusters like a revolving lantern.

Then a large number of artillery shells flew towards the fortress at the edge.

Inside the fortress, the communications soldier suddenly pulled the commander down from the height.

"Sir, be careful!"

Boom boom boom!
Several shells landed directly into the fortress, which then exploded violently.

Boom boom boom!
The entire fortress began to shake, and large amounts of rubble fell everywhere.

"Damn it, it's an explosive bomb!" The fortress commander raised his head, his face covered with dust, and felt even more aggrieved.

Colombia is in a political turmoil and has a shortage of military equipment. It has no capacity to produce ammunition such as explosive bombs. Now the shells stockpiled in the port are all solid bullets.

Even if it hits a ship, the damage caused will be limited.

"Fight back! Fight back!" the commander shouted loudly!

The muzzle-loading cannons in the port, which were as old as his grandfather, opened fire one after another, and large clouds of smoke directly enveloped the fortress.

Boom boom boom!
Each shell splashed large amounts of water on the sea.

At the same time, other forts also opened fire.

On the Warrior, the artillery commander saw the results and waved his hands: "Good! Well done!"

I didn’t expect that Brother Wei actually knows how to command naval guns!

Although most of the shells fell near the fortress due to the shaking of the ship, the few that hit the target were enough to prove that Chen Zhengwei's judgment was correct.

……

At the same time, a large number of American soldiers holding rifles continued to advance in the woods near the port.

"GOGOGO!" The army commander kept shouting loudly, and the faces of the army soldiers were all a little nervous.

After all, this is a battlefield.

And it's in a foreign country far away from the United States.

However, the gunboats in the distance gave them more confidence and courage.

As both sides continued to open fire, the powerful firepower of the Warrior battleship became apparent. The firepower of this ship was equivalent to half a fleet.

Each round of firing sounded like the howling of death, followed by explosions in a fortress.

Pallas and other Tell-class gunboats also joined the battle.

Although land fortresses usually have a greater advantage in such battles, Colombia was under-armed and its soldiers were inadequately trained.

Even if the ironclad ships were hit by a cannon, their old-fashioned artillery and solid shells could not cause much damage.

It wasn't long before the Colombian Army was at a disadvantage.

Then the US Army rushed into the first fortress, which had now been half destroyed and several artillery pieces in the fortress were also half destroyed. The remaining soldiers fled as soon as they saw the US Army soldiers.

The battle lasted from dawn to dusk. Three of the six forts were captured by the US military, and the other three forts also suffered heavy casualties and could not hold out for long.

A Tel-class battleship under Chen Zhengwei's command was hit by its steam engine and lost power on the spot and withdrew from the battle.

Several other ships also suffered damage of varying degrees, but the losses were not great.

The battleship Warrior was hit by three shells, one of which hit the deck. Although it did not break the deck, the solid iron bullet killed three people when it ricocheted.

Listening to the bursts of gunfire coming from the port, Chen Zhengwei put the wine glass on the table, stretched his body and ordered:
"Retreat and count the damage!"

"Master Wei, is the battle over?" Wan Yun huddled behind Chen Zhengwei, shaking like a sieve.

"I guess I can have breakfast at the port tomorrow morning!"

"Why are you shaking? Are you shaking off lice? Mazu will definitely bless me!" Chen Zhengwei said unhappily.

Wan Yun has been shaking behind him all day.

"Uncle Wei, you are a hero. You will definitely not be afraid of this kind of scene!" Wan Yun said while hugging Chen Zhengwei's arm.

"But I'm terribly scared!"

Especially since three people died on the ship and the blood was still on the deck.

When she saw it, she almost fainted.

"What's there to be afraid of! If there is any real danger... it will be just like down there, you won't feel any pain!" Chen Zhengwei curled his lips.

After he said that, Wanyun became even more scared.

……

In fact, just as Chen Zhengwei thought, three fortresses were lost in one day of fighting, and the other three fortresses also suffered heavy casualties.

At this time, the Colombian Army had almost collapsed and each army was huddled in its fortress.

Especially since the US Army was occupying the port.

If the battleship had not been still at sea and the U.S. Army had not seen it, they would have fled long ago.

As the army attacked, the officials of Santa Marta fled directly, and then the rest of the army began to flee.

By midnight, the U.S. Army had captured Santa Marta.

The next morning, Chen Zhengwei got up early again.

Walking out of the bedroom, Chen Zhengwei, holding a cigar in his mouth, looked at the direction of the port where there was still smoke rising.

"Go and ask what's going on at the port!" Chen Zhengwei called Su Ya and asked.

"Brother Wei, the port has been occupied by the army!" Su Ya said immediately.

"Then let's go ashore and have a meal!" Chen Zhengwei snapped his fingers. Capturing Santa Marta was as easy as he expected.

Soon, the ship entered the port and Chen Zhengwei jumped off the boat. Except for some army soldiers, there were almost no locals on the streets.

There was still blood and bullet shells on the ground, and corpses could be seen from time to time.

The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood.

Those American soldiers were still laughing and many of them had bulging pockets. When they saw Chen Zhengwei, they immediately stopped and stood aside.

In the eyes of the army, Chen Zhengwei is no different from a tiger now.

This fame is all earned through fighting.

Chen Zhengwei stood on the roadside with more than 20 men, and raised his chin towards the house not far away: "Go kick the door open and find two people to lead the way!"

Su Ya immediately brought his men to a small house and kicked the wooden door open. He saw several Colombians huddled inside. One of the men had a knife in his hand and was protecting several children behind him, looking at him vigilantly.

Su Ya opened his arms to indicate that he had no weapons in his hands, and then smiled at the other party.

He took out a wad of money from his pocket, pulled out a $2 bill and put it on a small shelf next to him.

"Don't be so nervous! Come show our boss the way!"

"My brother is as old as them!" Su Ya looked at the children behind him and smiled.

The guys behind Su Ya didn't understand what he said. If they could, they would definitely say that he had a shitty brother.

But those thugs all admired him very much. After being out at sea for such a long time, Su Ya actually learned Spanish and could communicate with people in Spanish.

No wonder the boss specially brought him to his side.

When the man in the house heard this, his expression softened a little.

Especially the other person's delicate appearance like a woman and the smile on his face can easily make people let down their guard.

"Where are you going?"

"This is the best hotel here! Our boss hasn't had breakfast yet, you'd better hurry up! Our boss will be in a bad mood when he's hungry!" Su Ya said with a smile.

"Don't worry, those soldiers outside won't hurt you!"

The man then turned to the children behind him and said, "Lock the door after I leave! No one is allowed to open the door, unless I come back!"

Then I walked out the door and saw a group of people standing in the distance. One of them was wearing red pants and a white shirt. He was as big as a bear and was smoking a cigar out of boredom.

"Are you ready? Hurry up!" Chen Zhengwei shouted impatiently.

"Here we go, Brother Wei! Someone is leading the way for us!"

(End of this chapter)