Chai Lin said: "The 'Black Dragon Palace' pirates surrounding the island numbered at least ten thousand people, with more than two hundred ships and no less than sixty large gunboats. But they didn't know that the imperial water brought by Mr. Cao this time was How strong is the teacher?"
The navy of the Ming Dynasty was originally the largest naval fleet in the world. At its peak, there were 250 ocean-going "treasure ships" and thousands of warships. It defeated the navies of Portugal, Japan and other countries. It is the maritime master of all Southeast Asian countries. No fleet in the world can compete with the navy of the Ming Empire.
It's a pity that these are the glories of the past, and they all happened a hundred years ago. Today, the Ming Dynasty has serious internal and external troubles, and the government is also extremely corrupt. It can no longer afford to support such a huge naval fleet. As military expenditures continue With the downsizing, the strength of the navy has also been continuously weakened, the ships and soldiers have been greatly reduced, and they have long lost their courage. The so-called maritime lord is just an empty name.
Chai Lin's ancestors lived on the coast of Guangdong and once served as an official in the court. Of course he knew this very well. When he asked this question, he was worried that the naval force mobilized by Cao Muyun was still not enough to fight against the pirates of the "Black Dragon Palace". Fight against.
Zhao Xuhai said: "This naval expedition was led by Mr. Cao and Admiral Shen. In addition to the troops from Tuolin Water Village in Chaozhou Prefecture where the last general is located, Nantou Village in Guangzhou and Zhaoqing Mansion are among the six major water villages in Guangdong. Beijin Village, Huizhou Jieshi Village and Leizhou Prefecture Baigemen Village all came out. Only Baisha Village was too far away. He quickly rushed to deliver the order before sending troops. Now there are navy warships outside the island. Two hundred and thirty ships, including ten three-masted gunboats, twenty-three Fu ships, and dozens of Haicang ships, Chilunge, and Cangshan ships. No matter how strong the group of pirates besieging the island is, they will definitely not be able to defeat them. You must be afraid of them.”[
After hearing this, Chai Lin felt relieved.
In fact, Cao Muyun's trip indeed mobilized more than 80% of the Ming Dynasty's naval force in Guangdong. He holds the secret decree of the current emperor and has the power to dispatch officials from various provinces, not to mention Cao Muyun. The family is extremely powerful in the current imperial court. When Shen Youlong, the governor of Guangdong, saw Cao Muyun coming to visit him, he immediately sent an order to send troops.
Although Shen Youlong is the third-grade admiral in charge of the military power of Guangdong Province and can be regarded as a high-ranking official, he still has to try his best to curry favor with Cao Muyun, the secret envoy from the imperial city of Kyoto. He heard that he was going to conquer The pirates were afraid that not enough troops would be sent out, which would dissatisfy Mr. Mu Yun.
So, he mobilized all the forces he could mobilize. If Baisha Village was not far away on Qiongzhou Island and there was no time to mobilize, Shen Youlong would definitely have wiped out all the ships and naval forces of the six major water villages in Guangdong. Transfer over.
It was of course the duty of Admiral Shen to personally lead the Wuzhai Navy on the expedition.
It was precisely because of the need to mobilize people from various water villages that it was delayed for several days, so that the arrival at Okura Island was later than expected.
Chai Lin and Yao Yuanxiao talked with Zhao Xuhai for a while in the meeting hall, and then went down to mobilize manpower to prepare for tonight's battle.
The time to attack the "Black Dragon Palace" water stronghold is set at the third watch, and this counterattack around the island can be said to be a joint effort between the navy of the Ming Dynasty and the "Wanjintang" and the pirate king on the South China Sea. The decisive battle, the number of winners and losers in this battle will determine the life and death of Okura Castle.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
The "Jinyu" is a bright yellow warship, thirty-one feet long and more than five feet wide. It has six masts and can hang thirteen sails. It has three decks and is equipped with a thousand-jin Buddha on each side of the ship.
Langji has sixteen cannons and twenty-four giant crossbows.
Although it is not as good as the giant shark battleship "Black Dragon Palace", the "Jinyu" can also be regarded as a rare large warship, and its streamlined hull and so many masts and sails enable the ship to travel very quickly on the sea.
Quick and flexible, on the top of the highest mast on the bow, there is a large apricot-yellow flag with a pattern of a gold ingot painted on it, which is the symbol of "Wanjintang".
"Jinyuhao" is the flagship of "Wanjintang".
In the night: the "Jinyu" was moored in the center of the pier of the harbor, the apricot-yellow flag fluttering in the wind: the three principals of "Wanjintang" were on the high platform at the bow of the ship at this moment, Sima Rulan was still dressed in snow-white clothes.
The skirt stood tall and tall, with Chai Lin and Yao Yuanxiao standing on her left and right.
Hua Bushi, Zhu Hong, Bai Yiling, and the Qianzong of Tuolin Village, Zhao Xuhai, were also standing nearby. There were dozens of "Wanjintang" disciples on the deck carrying knives on their backs, holding torches and throwing "Golden Jade"
"No." and the sea all around were illuminated brightly.
Around the "Jinyu", there are more than 20 large and small ships moored at various places on the pier. Most of these ships are owned by "Wanjintang", and a few are escort ships for various merchants in the city, and each ship
The deck of the ship was filled with fully armed warriors, each holding a lantern or a torch. Dots of fire covered the entire coast of Okura Port.
These twenty or thirty ships are all the remaining warships in Okura City, and the warriors on the decks of each ship are the elites of the "Wanjintang" and various merchant houses.
The sea, which had been calm during the day, suddenly picked up the wind at night, setting off layers of whitecaps in the bay. Perhaps the dragon god in charge of wind and rain in the sea also knew that there would be a battle outside Okura Island tonight.
Not willing to be alone, he came to join in the fun.
The second watch has passed, the stars and moon in the sky have become blurred, and the night has become darker. Although there are many people on the deck of each ship, but at this moment, only one person makes a sound, and the entire port dock can only hear
You can hear the beeping sound of the burning torch and the "swishing" sound of the waves hitting the ship's side.
Yao Yuanxiao took a few steps forward, walked to the fence of the observation tower, and shouted loudly: "Dear disciples of Wanjintang, brothers who are guarding Okura City together, the food stored in the city has been exhausted, and the artillery powder has been used up. Okura
The city is now in a desperate situation, and we have no way out. If we cannot win tonight's battle, it will be our last battle."[
He paused briefly and then said: "But Yao believes that tonight is by no means the last battle of Okura City. The pirates have besieged the island. You have been defending the city for more than forty days. The enemy's troops and ships are several times that of Okura City."
I, however, failed to take half a step into the city. Now that the reinforcements have arrived, it is the best time for us to counterattack the 'Black Dragon Palace' water stronghold and break the siege of Okura Castle tonight."
There was a loud noise, but it was Yao Yuanxiao who slammed the iron staff in his hand to the ground. He shouted sternly: "Yao believes that we will win Okura City tonight."
For a moment, there were only "swish, swish, swish" sounds, and everyone on each boat drew their weapons, raised them high above their heads, and shouted: "We will win tonight."
"The Enemy of Ten Thousand Gold Halls."
"Kill the Black Dragon King."
"Okura Castle must win."
Most of the disciples of the "Wanjintang" and the bodyguards of various businesses have their families, wives and children in Okura City. If the city falls, all the children in their families will not survive and will definitely be killed by pirates.
, under this situation, even without instigation, these people are determined to defend the city to the death, and now the crowd is even more excited, and the shouts are getting louder and louder.
After a long time, the shouting gradually subsided.
Yao Yuanxiao took the torch from one of the gang members, waved his arm, and threw it toward the side of the ship. The torch flew for more than ten feet before falling into the sea and extinguished.
He ordered: "Now every ship extinguishes its torches."
In tonight's naval battle, Okura Island and the Ming Dynasty navy will attack from both inside and outside to raid the "Black Dragon Palace" pirate water stronghold. In order to take the pirates by surprise, there must be no fire on the ship. Yao Yuanxiao gave the order, and everyone on the ship threw their torches at them.
The sea, and as the flames extinguished, darkness immediately enveloped the entire harbor.
Although the torch has been extinguished, the fighting spirit in everyone's hearts has been ignited.
When the last light of the fire submerged into the sea water, Yao Yuanxiao shouted: "The ships set sail and headed straight for the 'Black Dragon Palace' water village."
Chai Lin walked up to Sima Rulan and said: "Tonight's battle is very dangerous. Chai Lin and Elder Yao want to go to other ships to attack the enemy's stronghold. They cannot stay by the eldest lady's side. My niece is on the 'Golden Jade'
When you are in charge, you must be more careful."
Sima Rulan said: "Lan'er doesn't want to sit on this ship. I also want to get on the warship and rush to kill the pirates' water stronghold."
Yao Yuanxiao said: "No, sea battles are not as good as land battles. Exchanging fire from ships and cannons is extremely dangerous. No matter how high your martial arts skills are, it is difficult to resist. The eldest lady has never experienced war. Do not take risks with your life. If something goes wrong,
, none of us can afford it."
Chai Lin also said: "The wise niece is the lord of Okura City. Sitting on the flagship can stabilize the morale of the army and boost the morale of the 'Wanjintang' disciples on each ship. If they rush out, it will make people worried. If there is an accident, it will be even more worrying."
The gain outweighs the loss, and a good niece must not be willful."
Sima Rulan pouted. Although she didn't object, she was obviously unwilling to do so.
Chai Lin turned to Hua Bushi and said, "Master Hua is also staying on this ship. Please take good care of the eldest lady."
Hua Bushi smiled slightly and said: "Master Chai, you can rest assured that Miss Lan'er is not ignorant. Besides, this ship is helmed by Mr. Peng, so there will be no accidents."
Peng Sanben was a wise man raised by Chai Yuan, and Chai Lin was certainly very aware of his ability in sailing. At that moment, Chai Lin and Yao Yuanxiao bid farewell to the eldest lady of the city, and Zhu Hong also left with them.
Nowadays, there are not many masters in Okura City, and Zhu Hong also has to board a warship to attack him, so the responsibility of protecting Hua Bushi is given to Bai Yiling.[
In the darkness, dozens of large and small ships in Okura Castle raised their sails, left the dock and sailed towards the channel of the bay.