Although the sea is vast, it cannot contain the anger of Xia Jun.
Countless Xia army warships crowded the sea and kept cruising back and forth, like sharks that choose people to eat.
Trapped in it is a lonely desert island.
Zhang Keda stood on the podium, his eyes solemn, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
The thumping of footsteps soon came closer, and Huang Fei's voice rang out.
"Commander, there is no one on the island, but there are traces of a large group of people stationed there. The Satsuma Domain did not lie."
Zhang Keda came back to his senses and seemed to have expected it.
"People of the Zheng family travel to the sea all year round, so they naturally have a keen sense of smell. If they can't catch it, they can't catch it."
Huang Fei was a little unwilling.
"If we let these loaches run away, we don't know how many bad things will happen."
Zhang Keda shook his head and informed him of the latest information.
"There was a letter from the East China Sea Fleet saying that they had seen a large number of Zheng's ships going south, and they must have returned to their hometown."
When it comes to the situation in the south, Huang Fei is very opinionated.
"Our merchant ships have been attacked repeatedly, and we don't know how the East China Sea Fleet will respond. If it doesn't work, let's go south to help."
He already had a premonition that the conflict with the Zheng family would turn into a big war.
Only by going south can you participate in the war.
But Zhang Keda extinguished his desire.
"The high command has sent an order for us to stay here. We should take back the idea of going south to join the war."
Huang Fei was unwilling and reluctant.
"Except for the four third-level battleships, the East China Sea Fleet doesn't have much strength. If it confronts the Zheng family, it's probably a disaster."
There are some things that Zhang Keda knows, but Huang Fei is not at a high level and does not know.
"The headquarters has its own regulations on how to plan. You are a soldier, so just follow the orders."
What else can Huang Fei do?
All I can do is sigh and lament, complaining about my lack of military exploits.
Over at Songjiang Mansion, Guan Zhao, Lin Jiahui and An Ran finally set foot on land.
"Where is Mr. Chen? Take me to see him quickly. There is something important."
The situation was urgent, and Guan Zhao did not dare to delay for a moment, so he went ashore to look for Chen Zhi.
At this time, Chen Zhi was comforting the businessmen who had suffered heavy losses. When he learned that there was an important situation, he hurried back.
When he heard that Japan had invaded Ryukyu silently and forced Ryukyu to become a vassal state, he was furious. At the same time, he realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
He quickly invited Zuo Hua, Zuo Rong and other military generals in Songjiang Prefecture to report the matter.
"Japanese people offend the Kingdom of Heaven, are arrogant and ambitious, and must be severely punished."
The military's attitude is very consistent.
How can China, the vast country, allow its vassal states to be robbed by others?
Japan must give an explanation for this matter.
But after getting angry, Zuo Hua discovered something fishy.
"Did you have a fight with the Zheng family on your way back?"
"We set a trap and won a great victory with the help of the Dutch, but unfortunately we did not capture any prisoners."
Zuo Hua's plan was fully activated, and he asked again: "Did you also encounter the Zheng family's southbound fleet in the East China Sea?"
After receiving the answer, his eyes narrowed involuntarily.
Only those who are familiar with him know that once he makes such an expression, it means that he has discovered something.
"Second brother, tell me what the specific situation is."
Zuo Rong knew that this younger brother had a delicate mind and must have seen something.
Zuo Hua came to his senses and naturally did not hide anything. After all, the matter was of great importance.
"There was news from Japan earlier that unknown pirates attacked our transport ship, and the North Sea Fleet has been searching for it. At that time, we suspected that these pirates were probably people pretending to be from the Zheng family. Now they have encountered them.
Zheng's fleet going south may have made progress in Japan. In addition, they also made Zheng suffer a loss. What Zheng did is tantamount to being completely exposed. If I were Zheng Zhilong, I probably wouldn't sit still and wait for death."
Chen Zhi understood something immediately.
"You mean... Zheng Zhilong is likely to strike first?"
Zuo Hua nodded slowly.
"I'm afraid that's exactly what happened."
"Then how will they act?"
As soon as he asked, Chen Zhi had already reacted.
If Zheng really wants to take action first, I'm afraid the first targets will be Songjiang Mansion and the East China Sea Fleet.
After all, the East China Sea Fleet has the most powerful four third-level battleships and is the main combat power of the Xia Kingdom's navy. As long as the East China Sea Fleet is eliminated, the balance of power between the Zheng family and the Xia Kingdom will be reversed.
"General Zuo..."
Just as he was about to remind Zuo Hua, Zuo Hua had already made a decision.
"Since Zheng wants to attack, I think this is an opportunity."
Everyone present understood what he meant.
In a war, the biggest fear is not being able to figure out the enemy's thoughts, otherwise you will be very passive.
If you know the enemy's thoughts well, you can deal with them calmly and be sure of victory.
"Can you win with the strength of your East China Sea Fleet alone?"
Zuo Rong was a little worried. After all, the East China Sea Fleet had too few warships.
Zuo Hua quickly thought of tactics.
"We still need help from your army on this matter."
His hand touched the position of Waigaoqiao.
"If the Zheng family really comes to raid, then their target must be this port. We might as well set a trap here, maybe we can bite off a piece of meat."
The East China Sea Fleet usually docks at the port of Waigaoqiao.
Because the water here is deep enough, it is very convenient to enter and exit the Yangtze River and Huangpu River, and it is connected to the sea, so the transportation is very developed.
Zheng must be aware of the performance of the four main battleships of the East China Sea Fleet. He knows that the chances of winning are slim on the wide sea.
The only chance is to block these ships in the port, so that they can be sunk and destroyed.
Likewise, in order to achieve this goal, Zheng's fleet must sail into the Yangtze River Estuary, which is also very close to the shore.
With the range of the Xia army's heavy artillery, it can completely hit the boats in the river.
In this way, with the help of the army, we might be able to achieve a great victory.
Detailed tactical discussions began here, and Chen Zhi did not dare to neglect. He quickly sent people via land to convey the situation in the Ryukyu Kingdom and possible actions of the Zheng family to Shandong.
It's definitely too late to go by water, it's too slow.
At this time, we can only rely on 800 miles to expedite the journey.
Zuo Hua and Zuo Rong completed their discussion and began to make arrangements.
"Prime Minister Chen, we must order all merchant ships and civilian ships to enter the Huangpu River and hide, and the goods on the Waigaoqiao Pier must also be transported as soon as possible. Tell all customers that if the war continues, they must not travel."
Chen Zhi nodded, of course he understood the necessity of doing this.
Zuo Hua did not dare to delay and returned to the fleet that day.
Based on his understanding of Zheng Zhilong, this sea lord acted vigorously and resolutely, just like a shark. As long as he took action, he would never hesitate.
Then the battle will definitely not be too far away.
