"Everyone, according to Haiying's report, there are about fifty warships of the Ming Navy patrolling the Penglai Islands at the mouth of the Bohai Sea. This is their approximate location." As usual, the pre-war meeting was chaired by Liu Wenxiu.
, he asked his attendants to draw a map of the sea with dozens of small flags on it. The black flag represented the Ming Navy and the red flag represented his own army.
The diagram was clear at a glance. Everyone looked at it for a while and had nothing to ask. They were just waiting for Commander Liu to issue the combat mission. Now five days have passed since the first battle. They have not been fighting in these days, and they are also feeling panicked. After all, this is at sea.
, even if the living environment is harsh, there is still a vast sea around, and there is no entertainment. Some people with poor psychological quality are almost suffering from depression.
Seeing that everyone was eager to try, Liu Wenxiu said seriously: "These enemy ships seem to be scattered, but the distance between them is not too far, and the number is twice as many as ours. If we really fight, we are afraid of being bitten by them, so we start a fight."
It needs to be carefully arranged beforehand. If you have any ideas, please feel free to speak up."
"Commander, aren't there just fifty broken ships? Our warships Zhenyuan and Dingyuan are not built. We can just rush over and blow up these broken things." The captain of Dingyuan No. 2 is impatient, but,
He had seen the firepower of the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, so he didn't treat the fifty enemy ships as food.
"Captain Zhou, you can't say that. Our current advantage lies not only in the strength of the ship and the power of the guns, but also in the covertness of the enemy and ourselves. If this advantage is used properly, we can obtain the greatest victory at the smallest cost." Captain Zhenyuan No. 1
Zhang Wuqi is an old soldier, and those who have been in battle for a long time are always mature and durable. After all, war is not just a play for children, it is a matter of life and death.
"Brother Zhang is right, we can't act recklessly. I suggest that we first lurk in the waters near the enemy, and then use the cover of night to catch them off guard and kill them all in one battle." A captain of the ship under Mrs. Liu said, as their actions
The auxiliary combat force is also qualified to attend the meeting. Originally they were relatively reserved and rarely spoke at the meeting, but after getting along for the past few months, they have the courage to speak.
"Night attack is a good choice, but in the dark at night, we can't find the enemy, and once the gun is fired, our position will be exposed, allowing the enemy to reach us." Liu Wenxiu shook his head and said: "We
The biggest advantage now is that the ships are strong and the guns are powerful, but the biggest disadvantage is that there are few ships, and the enemy's warships are relatively scattered, so it is easy for us to form an outflank and encirclement force, so we have to guard against it."
"Commander Liu is right, if we can gather these enemy ships in one place and our artillery can hit a large area, that would be great. But, how can we get them to huddle together and let us fight?" Zhang Wuqi frowned and said.
.
"I have a good idea for this, but I don't know if it's feasible..." Wan Lei, who had been sitting silently, finally spoke up.
+++000+++
The Penglai Islands are located on the narrow sea between the Shandong Peninsula and the Liaodong Peninsula. They are composed of more than a dozen islands of different sizes. The first division of the Ming Navy used this as a base to blockade the mouth of the Bohai Sea, which can be regarded as taking advantage of the shape of the sea.
This navy has fifty-five warships, led by Vice Admiral Chen Hui. The flagship is docked on a small island. There are many small camps built on the island. This is the temporary headquarters and logistics supply center of this navy.
"General, Liu Qianhu's fleet has returned to change defenses and requested to rest on the island for a few days." An aide said to Chen Hui.
"Rest?" Chen Hui's face darkened and he said angrily: "Everyone wants to return to the island to recuperate, so who is willing to patrol the sea? If the pirates escape, who will bear the responsibility?"
"General, please calm down. Many people are sick because the climate is not suitable for them. They should be allowed to go to the island to recuperate. General Yu divided his troops into the Bohai Sea. The pirates must be able to escape far away. They can only retreat step by step. There is no way to break out.
, we don’t need to be so nervous." The staff advised in a low voice.
In fact, this little staff member was very thoughtful. It had been more than a month since the Ming Navy went north, and the soldiers were not accustomed to the sea. Many of them fell ill. Under such circumstances, it was time to find a place to rest.
"Let the sick soldiers go ashore, and those who are not sick stay on the ship. After the supplies are finished, we will have a rest tonight and continue patrolling at sea tomorrow morning." Chen Hui said very unhappily. The reason for his unhappiness was that he was assigned to this bird's nest.
Being a rear army in a place where eggs are laid, you can't fight pirates, and there will be no military merit to be gained after the war. The pain of wandering at sea for more than a month was in vain.
Seeing that the general was unhappy, the staff member understood the situation and left, but as soon as he left, another junior civil servant came to the Chinese army camp and said that he had something important to discuss. Chen Hui licked his chapped lips.
, sitting weakly on the top chair, said to the little civil servant: "What else can you do?"
"General, according to the original arrangement, now more than ten days have passed. The East Route Army should have transported the rations and come to join us. However, they have not been seen arriving. I am afraid that something unexpected has happened. Do you want to report to the General Secretary?
Soldier report?" The person who came was none other than Yang Zirong, who was in charge of supervising the army in the rear army. Since his suggestions were not accepted by General Yu, he was also assigned to the rear army to "cold storage".
"What other missteps could they encounter? Mr. Yang, there is no need to worry unreasonably. It is difficult to move on this vast sea. They may have encountered some troubles on the road. It is normal for them to be delayed for a few days." Chen Hui said nonchalantly.
"My subordinates feel that this matter is a bit strange. If there is trouble on the way, they should send a boat to report it. There has been no news for several days, which is really worrying." Yang Zirong frowned and said: "Even if it's not
Report to the commander-in-chief, we should also send people to the King of Liao to ask if the army rations have been delivered and when the army transporting the rations can return."
"It's too late now. Let's discuss this matter tomorrow." Chen Hui said impatiently, feeling very annoyed. Before he could finish his words, a sharp sound of gongs came from the port sentry. At the same time, a
The sentry quickly entered the Chinese army's tent and reported: "A fleet suddenly appeared on the sea, the identity is unknown."
"Maybe it's the grain transport team, send some boats out to find out their identities." Chen Hui still ordered nonchalantly. The sentry got the order and walked out quickly. Yang Zirong was also surprised and left.
When Yang Zirong followed the sentry to the watchtower, he saw a fleet actually appearing on the sea, consisting of a dozen blessing ships. It was visible to the naked eye that the leader of the ship was flying a big flag with the big word "square" written on it. Of course
, the Ming army still sent a few soldiers to confirm. After all, this was the sea, and we couldn't just look at the flags.
Soon, the small boat sent out approached the incoming ship, shouted a few commands, and the incoming person was able to confront it. The island then lifted the alarm, agreed to allow the incoming ship to sail near the island, and asked the generals on the incoming ship to come immediately.
Take a small boat to the Chinese army's tent to meet with Vice General Chen to discuss the battle plan.
However, these incoming ships did not dock in the designated sea area outside the island as required, but kept driving towards the direction. The soldiers who shouted were anxious and warned the incoming ships many times, asking them to stop and anchor immediately.
Ignore it and keep charging forward.
"Hit the gong, quickly!" Seeing this, Yang Zirong felt that something was wrong, and ignored the sentry who was still in a daze. He grabbed the hammer and struck it hard on the gong. A burst of rapid sound of the gong resounded throughout the island.
The people below were shocked.
While the people on the island were still in a daze, the fire on the other side of the incoming ship flashed, and then there was a rumbling sound of cannons, like thunder, which made people's eardrums tremble. Those people on the island had not yet
After figuring out what was going on, they saw that more than a dozen warships docked near the island were hit by cannon stones falling from the sky.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Get on the ship immediately to fight!" Yang Zirong shouted, but his shout was covered up by the roar of the second burst of artillery, and another burst of artillery flew directly towards the ship formation. Although a dozen warships
They have not been sunk yet, but several have been damaged and their hulls are crooked.
"The pirates are coming, run away!"
"Run quickly."
Thousands of soldiers were running back and forth on the island as if a nest had been blown up. Many people rushed to the back of the island and crowded into the few warships docked behind the island. As for fighting? What a joke, it’s more important to save your life first.
Vice General Chen took the lead and ran away first, who is going to risk his life?!
However, after the incoming ship turned twice and fired volleys, it actually stopped firing. Instead, it turned the bow and left quickly in the northeast wind. This made Yang Zirong, who was also busy escaping, dumbfounded, because there were not many warships near the island.
There were only seventeen ships, twelve of which were parked at the temporary harbor in the northwest. They were beaten to pieces by the incoming ships and had no power to fight back. However, instead of pursuing the victory, these pirate ships actually retreated. It was really terrible.
Unbelievable.
The enemy retreated, and the soldiers who fled to the warship wiped the cold sweat from their heads, but they were still as confused as monk Zhang Er. However, Yang Zirong's mind moved quickly, and he hurriedly suggested to Chen Hui: "General, on the island
There is still a lot of food and grass, and people should be sent back to the island to garrison immediately."
"But what if the enemy ship returns and returns?" Chen Hui was still a little stupid. After all, the power of those artillery salvos just now was really too great. He looked at the dozen or so crumbling warships not far away and the sea on the sea.
The fragments of ship planks floating around made me feel secretly terrified.
"The island is an important base for our navy's rear army. There is no room for loss. The general should send people to call all the nearby warships back to defend, and also send people to send a message to General Yu to inform him of the pirates' appearance." Yang Zirong.
suggested.
There was still some hesitation in Chen Hui's eyes. In fact, he was more inclined to run away immediately, but when he thought that losing the military camp would be a serious crime, he did not dare to run away immediately, but he was also afraid that the enemy would come back again. If he was bombarded again,
Several times, I was afraid of losing my life, so I really couldn't make up my mind for a while.
"General, you can't abandon the island. If you encounter pirates at sea, it will be even more difficult to escape. Our army still has a dozen warships that can fight. They are scattered around the island to patrol, which is enough to prevent enemy ships from rushing in again.
"Yang Zirong persuaded again.
"Okay, just follow Mr. Yang's suggestion. Come on, come back and guard the island immediately. Send people out immediately to call back all the nearby warships. Immediately send people to send a message to the commander-in-chief, saying that the main force of the pirate army has appeared.
Please ask him to send warships to assist in the battle." Chen Hui was famously afraid of death. After hearing what Yang Zirong said, he suddenly woke up and hurriedly ordered.
Yes, there is an island here as a barrier, so it is safe for the time being. But if we retreat to the sea, a few warships will not be enough to hit a few rounds, so it is safer to stay on the island. Of course, in order to keep
I don't care about anything else, just get all the warships first.
The island was in chaos, and the dozen or so invading warships had already withdrawn from the sea more than ten miles away. It was already getting late, but you could still clearly see the dozen or so warships docked on the sea.
, when the ship approached, the flagman on a warship waved the flag a few times, and all the warships retreated for more than ten miles silently, and the entire fleet was like a ghost.
The next day, the weather was calm and nothing happened. Moreover, the dozen warships closest to the island received the news and had returned. There were more than a dozen warships guarding the side. Chen Hui, who had been frightened all day and night, felt a little relieved.
, and accepted Yang Zirong’s suggestion and sent shipwrights to repair the dozen or so bombed warships.
On the third day, the weather was still calm, and a dozen more distant warships returned. Looking at the more than forty warships arrayed around the island, Chen Hui's hanging heart finally returned to his stomach.
On the fourth day, it was still calm and the warships patrolling around the island began to feel a little bored. However, for safety reasons, Chen Hui still insisted on letting the ships patrol back and forth.
On the fifth day, the northwest wind blew, and the whistling autumn wind brought bursts of chill. Most of these sailors from the south were still wearing single clothes and shivering from the cold. There was not much firewood on the island, so they wanted to light a fire to keep warm.
It's difficult, and many people can only stay in the cabin.
In the early morning of the sixth day, the northwest wind stopped, the sea was covered with fog, and the visibility was less than a few miles. The sailors on the ship and on the island had been frozen for a day, and now they mostly slept in their beds, and the whole island was quiet.
Even the sentry in charge of the lookout was drowsy, and no one noticed that more than twenty warships had surrounded the island like ghosts under the fog.
"Haha, I am really blessed with so much help, and God helps me too!" Liu Wenxiu stood on the bow of the ship, using his binoculars to look at the more than 40 Ming army warships parked motionless in the fog not far away, unable to conceal the ecstasy in his heart, because
They will soon be eaten in one pot.
"Mr. Wan's strategy is still appropriate." Liu Wenxiu sighed secretly in his heart. Without saying a word, he waved his hand to signal that he would attack immediately and take advantage of his illness to kill him!
two thousand meters
one thousand five hundred meters
one thousand three hundred meters
Hold on, don't be in a hurry! Liu Wenxiu thought to himself, and the warship quickly advanced to a range of one thousand meters. Not only did the entire encirclement have been formed, but the warships in all directions waved flags to indicate that the artillery had been aimed, so just wait.
The order was given to fire.
"Fire!" Liu Wenxiu ordered, and twenty-four warships fired at almost the same time. A burst of fire broke out, and the thick white mist on the entire sea suddenly turned into a terrifying red blood mist...