Shi Zhiqi regained his energy. He watched the Xiaofa traffic boat sail to the ramp on the other side of Linyun No. 11, and immediately informed the signal corps:
"Sign the signal to Linte No. 11, I want to go to the flagship to report on the preparations for war!"
There was no large-scale ceremony for the Pearl River Estuary Task Force's departure. Only the "Warship March" was played on the loudspeaker as the farewell song. Although the navy really hopes to have a naval band, it cannot find all the musicians and indigenous musicians from more than 500 people.
You can only learn from TV textbooks, which is naturally very difficult.
The formation was led by the four patrol boats of the 4th Patrol Boat Squadron, and then the ships of one squadron after another began to set sail. Each ship was covered with military flags, including Chen Haiyang's Navy Commander's Flag and Wen Desi's Navy Advisor
The flag was flying on the main and secondary masts of the Linyun 11. Shi Zhiqi was sitting on his flagship whale, watching with some pride the flag of his naval detachment leader flying.
On the coast, there are many people watching the excitement. For them, the large formation sailing is a rare and spectacular performance. The ships are covered with flags, the mighty sailors standing on the slope, and the doors are polished to a bright
Cannons... Wen Desi spared no effort to promote the concept of "naval show". Only by making the public think that the army is majestic and beautiful can people be attracted to become soldiers, instead of forcing people to become soldiers in a semi-mandatory manner like now.
The policy of serving as a soldier first and then reforming is certainly a good one. However, Wen Desi hopes to form a social value system that takes pride in service in the future empire. Therefore, he is extremely in favor of anything that enhances the military's sense of honor and social image.
Shi Zhiqi just submitted a copy of the "Marine Corps Uniforms, Logo, Ranks, Etiquette Plan" that he painstakingly compiled - or "plagiarized". On the surface, this is a proposal to "enhance the image of the army", but in fact it was Shi Zhiqi's
The beginning of the "de-navalization of the Marine Corps". Wen Desi did not think so deeply, and he was quite appreciative of the system he had worked so hard to create. This made Shi Zhiqi feel better.
The Pearl River Estuary Task Force arrived in Macau waters on September 4. The sudden appearance of such a huge fleet in Macau waters caused a panic among the Portuguese in Macau. After a short period of confusion, all the large Portuguese ships in the port were
All sails are hoisted in preparation for battle.
The senators used telescopes to watch the forts and ports of Macau. It was certainly not difficult to capture Macau, but this place was too small. Even the supply of basic vegetables and fresh water often had difficulties, and there was not much development prospect. Hong Kong Island is much better than here.
.
"Leave this place to the Portuguese." Wen Desi was lying on a wicker chair on the back deck of Linte No. 11. He was slightly seasick - the boat was still too small and would sway in strong winds and waves.
Awesome. Shi Zhiqi once invited him to go aboard the Great Whale, but he declined.
"At least we have to wait until they finish the Ruins of St. Paul's." Chen Haiyang said jokingly, putting down the telescope. From a naval officer's point of view, Hong Kong is one of the few excellent naval bases, and Macau's port is worse.
too much.
The fleet left the waters of Macau and continued to sail westward. In fact, it has entered the waters of the Pearl River Estuary - Lingdingyang, which became famous because of Wen Tianxiang's poems. Lingding Island is just in front of the left side of the fleet.
This is part of the so-called "inner ocean". The coastline here is winding and uneven, and harbors that can be hidden and ambushed can be found everywhere. Occasionally, you will also encounter the estuaries of rivers where vast freshwater and seawater meet.
The "inner ocean" is filled with islands dotted here and there, some of which are settled by people, and others are good places for fishermen to anchor and rest, but most of them are small, uninhabited islands and reefs.
These deserted islands also provide pirates with good places to rest and ambush. The entire task force is always vigilant when sailing to prevent sudden attacks by pirates - not only Liu Xiang's ships are active here, but also
There are more sporadic small groups of people. Even the fishermen themselves may come to "catch a catch" anytime and anywhere.
This area is a good hunting ground for pirates: the maritime transportation here is very developed, and the presence of harbors everywhere gives merchants the greatest convenience. Large quantities of goods are loaded on ships and shuttled between coastal cities and rural areas. Although the goods here are different from
The cargo of the "foreign ship" is so valuable, but robbing a ship of daily necessities is also very valuable to the pirates - they can take action faster. Xu Xu told Chen Haiyang after collecting and sorting out a large amount of pirate intelligence from the Foreign Intelligence Service.
, the pirates here want everything, not to mention low-value daily necessities such as fishing rods, rice, and salt, they will not even let go of cold goods such as bricks and tiles.
"I can only say that pirates are too poor..." Xuanzang sighed.
Chen Haiyang said: "When the water falls, the boat falls, and the rising tide lifts the boat. At first, I bribed a few bottles of wine and a few cigarettes. Later, a red envelope of 50,000 yuan was only considered a trivial matter."
"Ahead is North Lantau Island."
"Order the lead ship to turn the course to 120, and all ships will follow in order! Don't fall behind!" Chen Haiyang issued the command to turn the rudder, "We have to cross the sea area."
Chen Haiyang planned to command the fleet to pass through Lantau Island, pass through Tai Mo Dao, then pass through Ma Wan Strait, and enter Victoria Bay from the west channel of Hong Kong Island. Of course, this place will no longer be called Victoria Bay in the future. But the proposal to call it Wu Zetian Bay was rejected
Many people objected.
After European ships set out from Macau and entered the waters of the Pearl River Estuary, Mo Dao was their first important landmark on the chart. It can also be said that after sailing past Mo Dao, they embarked on the first step to Guangzhou.
When the fleet entered the Da Mo Dao sea area, Chen Haiyang ordered the entire fleet to be on alert - the north of this sea area is the famous Tuen Mun. The Portuguese originally tried to occupy this area as their Chinese trade base, but were defeated by the Ming army.
According to the information provided by the Foreign Intelligence Service, there are hundreds of Ming troops stationed here, and there may be a small number of division ships responsible for monitoring and patrolling the sea. The appearance of the Australian and Song navy is likely to trigger an armed conflict.
However, the fleet passed through this water area without any fighting. Chen Haiyang and others observed along the way and saw almost no signs of any naval vessels. According to the historical information provided by Yu Eshui, the Guangdong Navy should be located in the Pearl River Estuary area.
Division ships conduct regular patrols.
Huang Zhao commented: "The system is a system, whether it can be implemented is another matter. Now is the end of the Ming Dynasty. It is probably nothing more than a piece of paper."
Huang Zhao got on the ship as a member of the long-range exploration team - the Hong Kong Island in this time and space also needs a comprehensive survey and mapping. In fact, he can let other people come, but Huang Zhao very much hopes to be a captain in the future.
So I took the initiative to participate in this voyage in order to accumulate my own navigation knowledge and sailing skills.
Chen Haiyang said: "It should be that the navy has too few ships to take care of them."
"I really hope to meet the Ming Dynasty navy and have a real battle with it! Even if you let me fire a few shots!" Huang Zhao was very excited. Looking far into the distance, he could only see scattered fishing boats.
There is nothing else on the sea. There are many large and small islands and sandbanks in this area. In another time and space, they were all administratively affiliated with the Outlying Islands District of Hong Kong.
Huang Paw's hope of fighting a battle soon came true. In the afternoon of that day, when they were passing through Ma Wan Bay, the signal soldier suddenly shouted:
"The vanguard discovered a suspicious ship!"
Ma Wan Strait is a north-south waterway, with Ma Wan Island to the west and Tsing Yi Island to the east. Below Ma Wan Island, there is also a small island called Lantern Island. In the sheltered sea area between the two islands
, there were many large and small fishing boats moored. The lookout on the vanguard patrol boat alertly discovered that bonfires were lit on the tops of Tsing Yi Island and Ma Wan Island. They were obviously communicating with each other.
Subsequently, several fishing boats with suspicious appearance appeared on the sea, gradually approaching the vanguard squadron, as if they were spying on the fleet. When they discovered that the fleet was very large, they quickly left again.
Chen Haiyang said: "This is a pirate ship." He raised his binoculars and "order the patrol boat squadron to capture the enemy ship!"
Following the flagger's signal, a few minutes later, the four patrol boats of the leading patrol boat squadron left the formation and pounced on the escaping fishing boat.
Huang Claw raised his telescope and stared at the scene in the distance. Obviously there were not many enemies. He saw only three small black boats escaping near Mawan Island. However, the clumsy hulls could not match the speed of the brisk Triangle.
Sail patrol boat.
The patrol boats quickly surrounded the three black boats. At this moment, Huang Zhao saw a puff of white smoke coming from the first black boat and vaguely heard the sound of cannons.
"Hit, hit!" shouted the sailor who was watching, "the enemy ship opened fire!"
Almost at the same time, thick smoke erupted from the two patrol boats that had blocked in front of the pirate ship, and balls of fire flickered in the smoke.
Many small white water columns immediately rose up from the sea around the ship. The hull seemed to be shaking, and the sails on the black boat fell down.
"The enemy ship is on fire!" The lookout had just shouted when suddenly there was a small explosion on a black boat and a fire broke out.
"I didn't see the cannon fired, why did it explode?"
"The gunpowder on the pirate ship exploded." Chen Haiyang said casually, "The pirates' gunpowder barrels were left open and thrown on the deck during the war."
The battle ended quickly, and two crow boats were captured. The other one was too heavily on fire and there was no need to save it.
According to the procedures for capturing pirates, the captured prisoners were not dealt with at sea. They only sent people to dismantle a few cannons and collect the gunpowder. Then the sailors were ordered to drive the black stern boats to move forward with the formation and were not allowed to leave the formation.