The escape route of the Third Squadron was very tragic.
The small Japanese boat was chasing behind them, but now it was blocking their retreat.
If you want to escape, you must not get entangled with these small straw boats. Otherwise, if you are caught up by the Japanese main force behind, you will be dead.
"Don't fire easily. You must keep it close to within fifty meters. You must be precise."
Huang Fei could no longer complain about the accuracy of the bronze cannon. The only thing he could do was to bayonet the cannon and wait until the enemy was close before firing.
Japan's small morning boats are too small and cannot withstand a single shot.
There is no need to aim at targets within fifty meters. You only need to aim the gun barrel roughly, and you can basically hit it.
Artillery fire started one after another on several ships, sinking more than ten small morning boats in one go.
The Japanese soldiers fell into the water and fluttered around, and their shrill screams were very terrifying. And these guys were really like wild beasts, and they actually swam towards the third squadron.
But how can the speed of a man's swimming compare with the speed of a ship under full sail?
Not only were these useless Japanese soldiers unable to catch up with the third squadron with their own bravery, they were also crushed by all the ships that came after them.
Other squadrons also came one after another to relieve the fourth squadron.
The artillery fire in this area of the sea area became more and more intensive, and the casualties of the Japanese began to rise sharply.
"What's the use of these idiots just firing cannons? Tell them to let off smoke."
Seeing that the other squadrons were only providing reinforcements with artillery fire, Huang Fei was furious and quickly issued orders.
The messenger hurriedly waved the flag and informed the situation.
The Xia Navy has formed a strict and complete semaphore system, which is far more convenient than the horns used in today's military operations.
After all, the propagation speed and distance of light are far beyond that of sound.
When the other squadrons received the signal, they suddenly realized.
As more and more ships release thick smoke, visibility on the entire sea surface rapidly decreases.
In the sight of the Japanese, the Fourth Squadron loomed, and finally disappeared completely.
They blindly shuttled around the sea, but could not find the fourth squadron. Many small morning boats even collided with each other because of their careless movement, causing greater losses.
The Fourth Squadron ignored others and just ran westward. Anyway, they had a compass in their hands, so they would not lose their direction even if they couldn't see their surroundings.
As I ran, the smoke in front of my eyes suddenly dissipated, and everything between heaven and earth became clear.
Looking around again, all the Japanese ships were gone.
They finally completed their breakout.
Checking the battle damage again, even as strong as Huang Fei almost cried.
When they broke out, they still had five ships, but now there are only three left.
In other words, in order to complete the reconnaissance mission, the Fourth Squadron sacrificed more than 400 officers and soldiers.
But this price is absolutely worth it, ensuring the victory of the entire battle.
Without enough time to feel sad, Huang Fei ordered the fleet to speed up and ran back like crazy.
Although the location of the enemy's main force was reported through the Cloud-Piercing Arrow, some detailed information could only be conveyed verbally.
The third squadron turned at sea and headed northwest.
An hour later, he boarded Zuo Hua's boat.
"Minister, the Japanese have about 1,500 warships. Without big ships, they will never be able to withstand our artillery fire."
Zuo Hua had been listening quietly, but now he couldn't help being shocked.
"Why are there only more than 1,500 ships? Didn't it say there were more than 2,000 ships during the previous reconnaissance?"
Huang Fei just shook his head.
"My subordinates don't know. We have seen with our own eyes that there are only more than 1,500 ships."
Zuo Hua stared at the sea chart, his eyes constantly searching on it.
He did not think that the previous reconnaissance was wrong, nor did he think that Huang Fei had lied about military information.
Then there is only one truth...
The Japanese divided their forces.
Thinking about it, the Japanese have an absolute advantage in military strength, so they naturally have to give full play to their strengths and make the Xia Navy tired of dealing with it.
So where is this strange force that the Japanese sent out?
Zuo Hua's first sight was towards Tsushima, and then he rejected the idea.
During this war, the Tsushima clan strictly adhered to neutrality and did not participate in the actions of the Satsuma clan and other daimyo at all.
Not only that, Zong Yicheng also committed a Japanese rape and secretly sent over the list of Japanese daimyo who participated in the matter.
It's not that Zong Yicheng is unpatriotic, it's just that doing business with Xia Guo is too good.
If you can do business well and make endless money, why go to war?
Isn't this destroying his job?
Therefore, in Soyoshige's eyes, Shimazu Mitsuhisa and others are his enemies.
Soyoshi Chengdu has achieved this level, so it is naturally impossible for Shimazu Mitsuhisa and others to provide convenience for the Japanese Allied Forces to bypass Tsushima Island.
Since the north is not possible, the only option is the south.
The southern end of the Tsushima Strait is very open, and even if there are many ships passing by, it will be difficult to find it for a while.
Zuo Hua made a decision immediately.
"Where is Shang Kexi?"
A staff officer will report immediately.
"Lieutenant Colonel Shang is leading the second echelon and is on standby at the rear."
"Ask him to lead his troops and gather all the scout ships to set up defenses in the south. Tell him that not even a Japanese ship is allowed to come over."
A speedboat broke away from the team and headed towards the rear at high speed.
Zuo Hua didn't care at all as to whether using a partial force could prevent the Japanese's strange moves.
With the strength of Xia's navy, even if this partial division does not have a single lucky ship, its firepower alone will not allow the Japanese's surprise troops to rush over intact.
That way, it won't cause too much trouble to the overall battle.
"Tell the other three columns to keep a distance of about ten miles from our team. After our column completes the first wave of attacks, they will enter the battlefield one after another."
The first column began to turn and headed southeast.
According to Huang Fei's report, the main force of Japan is still forty miles away. In other words, when the first column marches to the designated position, it will happen to collide head-on with the Japanese.
Zuo Hua noticed another doubt mentioned by Huang Fei.
"You said the Japanese don't have big ships?"
Huang Fei allowed the military doctor to bandage his wounds, recalled it again, and said firmly: "Absolutely not. We have looked carefully, and the largest ship does not exceed 500 dan."
This situation gave Zuo Hua some doubts.
"It's really strange. Why don't the Japanese send out big ships?"
Neither Zuo Hua nor Huang Fei actually knew that in order to prevent local daimyo from becoming famous, the Tokugawa shogunate once issued a strict order prohibiting the construction of anzhabu ships exceeding 500 koku.
Of course, the daimyo from all over the world did not dare to disobey this order, so the large Anzha ships disappeared in Japan.
But without large-scale house ships, can those customs ships really be able to compete with the artillery fire of the Xia Navy?