Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 306 Heading North (Part 5)

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

On July 21, 1635, before dawn, the northern fjord of the Blue Mist Islands (now Marset Bay on Graham Island) was shrouded in a thin veil of bluish-gray, and the sea surface was as calm and still as a cold, leaden plate.

Suddenly, three menacing armed merchant ships broke through the thin mist and slowly sailed into the fjord, coming to a stop a few hundred feet from the shore.

On one side of the ship, the gun ports were already open, and the cannons had been stripped of their covers, their dark muzzles like the eyes of death, menacingly aimed at the Haida people's camp on the shore.

The Haida people's camp is built against the mountain, with dozens of cedar longhouses scattered along the slope. The roofs are covered with thick bark and moss, and under the caress of the morning mist, they look like a group of lurking giants.

More than ten canoes were neatly lined up on the shore, the thunderbird totems carved on their bows looking menacing and ready to take flight in the dim light.

"Prepare for bombardment!"

With a command given, the gunboat on one side of the ship suddenly spewed out a ball of flame, and huge projectiles whistled through the mist and crashed into the outermost longhouse.

Wood chips and dirt flew everywhere, and the pillars of a longhouse collapsed with a loud cracking sound, eliciting screams of terror.

"Try the rockets again."

After two rounds of shelling, the fleet commander turned to the signalman beside him and gave instructions.

The so-called rocket was made by Xinhua Military Industry based on the "Divine Fire Flying Crow" used by the Ming Dynasty Navy, and optimized and improved on the original basis.

This rocket weighs 9.5 kg, is 0.85 m long, 8 cm in diameter, and is equipped with a 2.8 m stabilizer. It has a range of up to 800 m and is essentially a scaled-down version of the Congreve rocket.

However, this rocket is still an experimental attack weapon and has not yet been used in any actual combat.

Moreover, due to its small explosive charge, it not only has a slightly shorter range, but also extremely limited explosive power. It mainly uses its tail flame to kill or burn enemy targets.

Previously, this rocket had only undergone simple sea and land test attacks, proving to be highly effective against large numbers of wooden targets.

As for naval battles, unless the enemy ships are arranged in a dense battle formation or are very close to your own warships, there is no way to hit them accurately. Whether you can hit them or not depends entirely on luck.

At this time, during the battle to attack the Haida people, several naval personnel wanted to take the opportunity to test the effectiveness of rocket-propelled land attacks.

It's because the other camp has quite a few wooden houses!
"put!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..."

After more than ten rockets were ignited on the deck, they spewed out streaks of orange-red flames, drawing dazzling arcs in the air as they flew toward the Haidaren camp on the shore.

Although half of the rockets missed the tribal camp, several rockets that struck the longhouse ignited several large fires, plunging the entire camp into even greater chaos.

Haida warriors rushed out of the burning longhouse, some clutching bows and arrows, firing bone arrows towards the sea, while others, carrying wooden spears, ran around in panic.

Their battle cries pierced through the artillery fire, venting their boundless rage.

"That's about it. Your landing force can proceed." Fleet commander Chen Zongyan looked at Marine Corps commander Hou Wangchuan with a faint smile on his lips.

In his view, both shelling and launching rockets seemed to be a waste of ammunition.

Because there are really no highly valuable targets on shore.

This massive artillery barrage and rocket barrage was nothing more than a show of Xinhua's military might.

"Log in!" Hou Wangchuan gave the order expressionlessly.

"Yes, sir!" Upon hearing this, the messenger immediately ran to the deck, blowing the brass whistle hanging around his neck particularly loudly.

Three small boats were quickly lowered, and more than thirty Marines silently rowed vigorously toward the shore, their muskets resting on their knees and their bayonets gleaming coldly in the morning light.

They wore dark blue woolen uniforms, peaked caps, and deerskin military boots, paddling hard while keeping their eyes fixed on the approaching shore.

After the artillery fire subsided, the Haida warriors had already assembled on the beach. They were clad in animal skins, their faces painted with ferocious patterns of ochre and charcoal, and their wooden spears and stone axes were poised for battle.

A chieftain, adorned with a magnificent crown and feathers, raised a short sword, letting out a low, guttural roar that instantly ignited the fury of all the tribal warriors. The new Chinese have arrived!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The moment the Marines stepped into the shallow water, they jumped off the small boats and opened fire on the Haida people gathered on the beach.

The lead bullets whistled through the air, instantly piercing the animal hides and sending up plumes of blood mist. The smoke from the musket fire billowed in the sea breeze, forming a gray-blue curtain.

The Haida people's ranks immediately fell into chaos. Some, fueled by a surge of courage, charged forward with shouts, while others, driven by cowardice, let out a cry and dragged their wooden spears as they ran wildly back into the camp.

The Marines stood steadily in the knee-deep water, quickly loaded their ammunition, fired a sparse volley of bullets, and then, with bayonets fixed, waded through the water and charged forward.

Behind them, three small boats were rowing back desperately, preparing to pick up more soldiers.

When gleaming bayonets surged onto the beach, the Haida people's counterattack instantly crumbled.

After suffering more than 30 casualties, they had no choice but to flee back to camp in a sorry state, leaving behind only corpses lying scattered on the beach.

Hou Wangchuan stood on the ship's railing, coldly watching the one-sided battle on the beach, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

The Haida people seem no different from other indigenous tribes, except that they are a bit more savage and brave.

But all of this is utterly insignificant in the face of overwhelming force.

Yes, just like the instructors at the army academy said, in this day and age, courage often cannot make up for the huge gap in weaponry.

When a well-equipped army also possesses extraordinary courage, the outcome of the battle is often a crushing defeat.

When the sun finally pierced through the haze and shone down on the earth, the battle on land was nearing its end.

Several totem poles in the Haida camp collapsed with a crash, and the last resistance gradually crumbled. The surviving Haida warriors fled into the depths of the jungle.

"What a pity." A worker from the Northern Trading Company stepped on the still-smoking ruins, digging out several bundles of furs that had been burned to ash, a look of deep regret on his face.

"Damn it, all he cares about is money!" A Marine glared at him fiercely upon hearing this.

Although the battle just now was a one-sided and overwhelming affair, after all the Marines landed, they crushed the Haida people's resistance with the force of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves and stormed into the tribal camp.

However, several officers and soldiers were injured in the battle. One soldier was ambushed by the Haida people and was stabbed in the thigh with a wooden spear. He was bleeding profusely and his condition was not good.

Faced with fierce resistance, the Marines went a little too far, killing more than sixty Haida people and essentially dismantling the clan.

At that moment, as they were cleaning up the battlefield, they heard this fellow complaining that they hadn't been able to salvage the furs the Haida people had accumulated after breaching the tribal camp, and a surge of anger rose in their hearts.

These mercenary fellows, instead of comforting my Marines, are only interested in the natives' fur.

It is said that the employees of these fur trading companies were all paid extremely well, earning eight or nine silver dollars a month, and if they were lucky, even more than ten dollars, which was two to three times more than the Marines.

If you add in their private swindling and cheating of the locals, they have a lot of extra income. In a year, they can save at least fifty or sixty yuan, which definitely puts them in the higher-income group in Xinhua.

Damn it, after the Marines broke through this Haida camp, they probably got a lot of the loot at a discounted price and made a profit for themselves.

"We're just like you soldiers, risking our lives to earn money!" The man scoffed, ignoring the soldier, and continued digging through the rubble.

Upon hearing this, the soldier was taken aback, then snorted coldly, picked up his musket, and strode angrily toward the side of the camp.

If this happened in Liaodong, believe me, I'd stab you through the heart with a bayonet!
However, Xinhua not only has strict military discipline, but also constantly emphasizes propaganda such as "the army loves the people," "the people support the army," and "the army and the people are one family," making it seem like they care about the people even more than Yue Fei's army during the Song Dynasty.

Otherwise, how could such a profit-driven scoundrel be tolerated!

On July 26, the Xinhua Fleet again broke through two Haida camps in the central fjord of the Qing'ai Islands (now Queenstown Charlotte and Sandspitt), killing, wounding and capturing more than 7 people, and then burned them all down.

On August 18, the Xinhua Northern Trading Company convened leaders and representatives of more than ten surrounding indigenous tribes in Lijin (now Ketchikan, Alexander Islands, Alaska) and announced to them that from then on, the tribes and clans in the entire region must not attack each other, let alone arbitrarily annex each other, and must abide by the trading rules and security order established by the Xinhua.

If there is any invasion by foreign forces or conflict between tribes, it should be reported to the Xinhua News Agency. It is not allowed to conceal or handle the matter on one's own.

From now on, you'll be under the protection of Xinhua people!
(End of this chapter)