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Rising Sun Chapter 433 Seeking Death

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    Since it had long been expected that the two major fleets of the imperial court would wander around the southwest of Japan, Hu Wanli naturally made some arrangements to divide the fleet into two, keeping the front and rear fleets within clear sight - Twelve  Away from the sea, such an arrangement naturally meant fishing. He didn't dare to expect to completely annihilate the two fleets, but he was very happy to be able to severely damage them. Anyway, it was a job he picked up by the way.  Sending a flag to the following fleet is naturally to notify the following fleet that there is enemy situation. The breech gun fleet is heading west to intercept. It is not to intercept the opponent's fleet, but to intercept the opponent's reconnaissance speedboat, so as to prevent the other party from spying on the true nature of the fleet.  troops.  After issuing the order, Hu Wanli frowned unconsciously. He was somewhat elusive about the other party's intentions. The clipper ship clearly found no trace of the other party yesterday, so why didn't the other party hide their whereabouts?  And looking at it like this, the other party has no intention of starting a war. What should I do?  Chase, ignore, feint to escape?  Soon, he calmed down and ordered in a deep voice: "All warships, move forward at full speed to meet us." On the flagship of the Haizhou Fleet, Xue Han stood on the deck and looked at the dozen or so clippers that were still searching.  I couldn't help but secretly sigh. There are no deceitful soldiers under the famous reputation. The Dongxing Port fleet fought consecutive battles without losing a single victory. It was indeed outstanding. The pre-war reconnaissance was more meticulous than the frontier army's night guard. Such caution could not be achieved at all.  There is no possibility of being attacked by a sneak attack. This is worth learning from the Haizhou Fleet.  However, after seeing the size of the opponent's fleet, he couldn't help but be a little confused. He glanced at Yu Dayou behind him calmly. Although he didn't have a telescope, he couldn't see every ship in the opponent's fleet clearly, but he could still roughly see it.  , there are many lucky ships and sand ships mixed in this fleet, although there are more than a hundred ships.  But the number of sailboats is only about 40%.  This does not look like an ambush of their fleet, but more like an expedition against Japan. Those lucky ships and sand ships must be baggage ships or troop ships, and they definitely cannot be fire ships. Dongxing Port cannot be so wealthy as to use such a large ship.  The lucky ships and sand ships are used to make fire ships.  Yu Dayou naturally has good eyesight.  Seeing this situation, he knew that his prediction was wrong. Dongxing Port was really going to conquer the Japanese country. Although he was puzzled, he didn't allow him to think too much about the current situation.  He ignored Xue Han's eyes, turned around and shouted: "The lookout post reported the situation of the opponent's fleet." After listening to the order, several lookout soldiers in the lookout couldn't help but whisper softly: "This is still far away, and there is no  How can we clearly see the situation of the opponent's fleet with a telescope? We just have good eyesight, and we are not the legendary clairvoyants. "This is General Yu's order. Give me a rough number."  Soon, the lookout post on the watchhouse raised its voice and reported: "There are more than 50 sailboats, more than 40 lucky ships, and more than 50 sand ships. A small team from the other side broke away from the formation and headed west." Dongxing Port.  A sailing team broke away from the main team and crossed diagonally to the west. Xue Han and Yu Dayou both saw it.  Both of them looked puzzled, what does this mean?  Looking at this posture, is Dongxing Port preparing to outflank them?  With more than fifty warships, they dare to take the initiative to challenge their two fleets. These are not the old warships of the guards, but the same sail warships. Although the artillery is a little inferior, the difference is not big. Dongxing Port  So arrogant?  After a long while, Xue Han said in a deep voice: "What does the other party mean?" Yu Dayou couldn't figure it out. The reconnaissance ship of their fleet did not move away at all.  Just cruising in the surrounding sea, soon, the lookout post reported again: "The opponent's sailing fleet is coming at full speed, and the lucky ships and sand ships have separated from the group." Is this posture really going to start a war?  Xue Han's brows immediately wrinkled into the character "Sichuan". Should he fight or not?  Vice Admiral Zhang Bin said eagerly: "Commander. The number of warships in our two fleets is twice that of the other fleet, which gives us a clear advantage." Deputy Chief Military Officer Feng Degui also said in a deep voice: "This is a rare opportunity. If not,  Leaving after fighting will greatly weaken the morale of the navy officers and soldiers." Hearing these words, Xue Han couldn't help but feel a little moved, but Yu Dayou said in a deep voice: "Commander, this is a bit strange. The Dongxing Port fleet has not seen anything in the past few years.  The defeat was not due to a reckless person who underestimated the enemy. "Feng Degui looked back at him and said in a strange tone: "Do you know who the commander of this fleet is?" "I don't know," Yu Dayou said solemnly.  We know that the generals who conquered the Japanese in Dongxing Port will not be reckless. ""How often did Dongxing Port win with less?" Lieutenant General Zhang Bin took over and said: "Arrogant soldiers will be defeated.  , Today is just a good time for them to taste the feeling of kicking the iron plate." Xue Han didn't stop when several people were arguing. He looked at the opponent's fleet, which was at least seven or eight nautical miles away. He was a little angry and a little hesitant.  , he and Guo Xun discussed it in the middle of the night last night, and neither of them had any plan to start a war with the Dongxing Port fleet, but they never expected that Dongxing Port would dare to do so.More than a dozen warships took the initiative to attack two fleets whose strength was more than twice theirs. Being so despised by others made even the Ni Bodhisattva angry!  Moreover, what Deputy Chief Officer Feng Degui said is reasonable. With an absolute advantage in military strength, if the Dongxing Port fleet is beaten and flees without a fight, the morale of the military will be greatly reduced. In the future, they will not dare to face Dongxing Port. This soldier  I can't take it with me either.  If a war breaks out, even a small victory will be a huge boost to the morale of the army. A group of generals and soldiers will also have the opportunity to be promoted. Naturally, he, the chief military officer, will also be indispensable for Jiajing's praise. Maybe this title can be promoted.  Moreover, the imperial court will pay more attention to the naval fleet, increase investment in the fleet, and expand the scale of the fleet. It has been in preparation for several years, and the fleet really needs a victory!  Seeing that Xue Han remained silent, Feng Degui said in a deep voice: "Commander, this is a rare opportunity. Let's treat it as an actual combat exercise. Even if we lose, it will only be a small defeat at most. If we leave without a fight, I'm afraid the emperor will blame  "This is true. The imperial court received one hundred thousand taels of gold from the Japanese country. As the saying goes, it takes people's money to eliminate disasters. They took the gold and left without fighting. Moreover, Jiajing was not angry until he had an absolute advantage in military strength.  Weird, Xue Han thought, and couldn't help but look at Guo Xun's flagship.  Just at this time, a Qianhu man quickly stepped forward and reported: "Commander, Deputy Commander He is here." He Changchun is here?  It seemed that Guo Xun also agreed to a fight, otherwise He Changchun would not have been sent. Xue Han felt happy that Guo Xun was in front.  He was much more relaxed.  He Changchun stepped forward quickly, bowed and said: "Commander Xue, the Grand Master said that Dongxing Port is bullying people too much. It is also good to dampen the spirit of Dongxing Port." "Xiaohou respectfully respects the Grand Master's order." Xue Han said  Then he glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Send the order, prepare to fight!" "Dong dong dong" was dull and powerful, heart-stirring, and the blood- boiling war drums sounded on the sea.  "The enemy fleet has moved." Adjutant Wei Yixiao reminded softly. Wei Yixiao's original name was Wei Ergou.  Hu Wanli thought it was indecent, so he was too lazy to bother and just named him a smile.  He raised his telescope and took a closer look. He saw the opponent's battleship array slowly pressing towards the east. Hu Wanli couldn't help but sneer and said: "A bunch of losers, how can they be so easy to deceive?" Then he said in a deep voice: "Orange Flag"  Remind Liu Siwu. Send a signal to Wang Fugui. Don't rush to scare them away. "Yes!" "Order the fleet to sail northeast and buy time for Liu Siwu."  !¡± ¡°Order the supply fleet to follow the fleet closely.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After giving a series of orders, Hu Wanli stopped saying anything and just looked to the left to move slowly.  The large black battleships in front of me, I felt a little emotional. These days, I don¡¯t know if the Spanish Armada, known as the super fleet of the 16th century, was born. However, even the Armada only has more than a hundred sail warships, at most.  It can only be compared with the two fleets of the imperial court, and it will definitely not be able to catch up with the Dongxinggang fleet.  This is a naval battle.  It must be the first and largest naval battle of sailing warships in the true sense of the world. Unfortunately, the opponent in the first naval battle in Dongxing Port turned out to be Daming. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh and refused to die.  He won't die!  I can¡¯t blame Baba for seeking his own death, and I don¡¯t even think about how anything in the world could be so cheap!  "Report to the commander." The communications officer loudly reported: "The fleet ahead hoists the orange flag and the fleet is heading northeast." Take the bait!  Liu Siwu was excited for a while. He raised his telescope and looked at the northeast direction carefully. He had been to this sea area before, and the escort team also drew detailed charts. During this period, he did not know how many times he had seen it, even with his eyes closed.  Knowing the terrain and island distribution of this sea area, and sending a fleet from Hu Wanli to the west to intercept, he knew that the enemy fleet was to the west and the main fleet was heading to the northeast. He knew Hu Wanli's combat intentions clearly.  He immediately gave the order in a deep voice: "Order the fleet to move forward at full speed, sail to the northeast, bypass the two islands in front, and rush to the northern end of Spear Point Island as quickly as possible." The fleet behind them did not have baggage ships or troop transport ships.  They were all sail warships, so they were naturally faster than Hu Wanli's front team. Although the distance was more than ten nautical miles, they could catch up quickly in less than an hour.  "Commander, the Dongxing Port fleet has slowed down and turned to the northeast. It seems that it wants to escape." Deputy Chief Officer Feng Degui said with some uncertainty: "This is not like Dongxing Port's style."  After pondering for a while, he said: "Commander, to fight or not to fight?"  The war, this is going to be won, everything is easy to say, ?Even if they lose, even if it is a small defeat, they will face revenge from Dongxing Port, and Jiajing may also be punished.  "How can this be unreasonable? Dongxing Port is really arrogant. We can fight if we want to, and if we don't want to fight, we can't. Who do we think we are as imperial navy?" He Changchun, the deputy chief officer of the Tianjin fleet, said disdainfully: "You think you can scare us by bluffing?"  Retreat? Marshal Xue doesn't have to worry, Dongxing Port is provocative, we can't lose the court's face." Hearing this, Xue Han was slightly dissatisfied. Guo Xun was deeply trusted and respected by Jiajing, and he once commanded the imperial army and was awarded the title of Crown Prince.  With the title of teacher, what do you mean by He Changchun? You are also gesticulating in front of me. Although he is dissatisfied, there is no displeasure on his face. This is not unreasonable when you think about it. Moreover, Guo Xun did not pass the message to anyone.  He simply remained silent.  Yu Dayou stared at the fleet in Dongxing Port with a solemn expression, feeling something was wrong in his heart, but he could not tell what was wrong. In order to prevent the imperial navy from taking the opportunity to attack Xiaoliuqiu, Dongxing Port only sent fifty warships to conquer the Japanese country.  It is indeed reasonable, and it also has nearly a hundred baggage ships and troop transport ships, which is already quite large in scale, and there is nothing suspicious about it.  What¡¯s wrong with that?  Dongxing Port¡¯s previous bluff?  Why is Dongxing Port bluffing?  Want to scare them off?  Running away without retreating is indeed not like Dongxing Port's style.  You must know that this is a naval battle, a roundabout battle on the sea. With the artillery advantage of the Dongxinggang battleship, even if you cannot win, you can still escape.  There is no reason to flee before fighting. The opponent is the Dongxing Port Fleet that dominates the sea. This is unreasonable!  Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look to the west. The small fleet composed of ten warships did not press forward, but it also did not retreat with the main fleet.  And it's swimming on the sea, why is this?  contain?  Can ten warships play a containment role?  This made him more and more uneasy.  Although Yu Dayou was uneasy, he did not dare to say a word. The commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief had already decided to fight. If he opened his mouth again, he might be accused of disturbing the morale of the army.  After pondering for a while, he bowed and said: "Commander, the small fleet in the western waters of Dongxing Port seems to be trying to contain it. The general is willing to lead his warships to expel it." "It should be expelled." Xue Han said with his jaw.  : "Don't underestimate the enemy, lead two teams of warships forward, don't be too fond of fighting, and don't pursue from afar." Yu Dayou was delighted.  He quickly bowed and said: "General, I obey." The ten warships led by Wang Fugui were ignored by the enemy fleet after they inserted into the west side of the enemy fleet. No warships paid attention to them at all. This made him very depressed, because Hu Wanli had  He was ordered not to fire first so as not to scare the other party, so his fleet had been loitering nearby with nothing to do. When he saw that the other party finally sent out twenty warships, he couldn't help being very excited, and immediately ordered: "Get ready."  Fight." Regiment deputy Lu Mantang was shocked when he heard this order.  He quickly reminded: "Captain, the young master ordered not to scare the other party. I hope the commander will put the overall situation first." "Pedantic." Wang Fugui scolded, and then said: "What is the advantage of the breech-loading cannon?"  "The speed of shelling can be increased by at least three times." Lu Mantang said casually.  The Dongxing Port breech-loading gun is actually a combination of a flange machine and a cannon. It only has a door bolt designed so that the cannon can be loaded and fired from the rear of the gun. Of course, it is not only this, but improvements have also been made in eliminating recoil.  The artillery mount has been greatly improved. Although it still needs to rely on rails to eliminate recoil, the artillery reset is much easier, and the artillery can adjust the firing direction and angle on the mount.  These two improvements have greatly simplified the complicated procedures of shelling. Resetting, cleaning the barrel, charging, loading, and aiming all greatly save time. The shelling speed can be three times that of the original cannon.  As for the artillery rifling, pointed shells, and overall loading, Hu Wanli used them as technical reserves. He did not provide guidance, nor did he order the artillery workshop to study and develop good things bit by bit. Otherwise, if the technology leaked, he would not even be able to cry.  to places.  After hearing Lu Mantang's answer, Wang Fugui glared at him dissatisfied and said, "How did the pig die? You're so stupid! If we don't use the speed of the breech-loading cannon, won't we be able to scare the other party?" He said softly.  He muttered, "It's been a long time since we had a decent naval battle, don't be nagging." On the bow of the ship, Yu Dayou saw the opponent turning in a circle and formed a battle line. He immediately became excited. Two against one, he finally  What he was worried about was that the other party would not engage in battle, but unexpectedly the other party showed no fear. He immediately ordered in a deep voice, "Divide the troops into two groups and attack him head and tail." Following the order, the twenty warships were immediately divided into two, forming a figure of eight.  They were deployed at both ends of the battle line. Seeing this situation, Wang Fugui couldn't help laughing and scolding, "Idiot." His fleet was lined up in a row, occupying the horizontal waves. During the bombardment, it was less affected by the waves, but the opponent was.  Longitudinal waves are in a disadvantageous position first, and the column versus the horizontal team is not conducive to exerting the power of the broadsides at all.  Seeing that the opponent¡¯s fleet is approaching,He then gave the order in a deep voice, "The rear team will change to the front team, go straight east, and launch a round of artillery fire to knock out the warship headed by the team behind." At the bottom of the warehouse, company commander Ma Kaiyun said excitedly: "Our ship fired the first shot, and everyone  Cheer up, don't embarrass our third battalion, one shot hits, I will take credit for you!" "The breech-loading cannon is only equipped with ten warships in Dongxing Fleet, and those who can compete for this place are direct descendants of Dongxing Port!  , the soldiers on the ship were all highly skilled and experienced in actual combat. After hearing these words, they immediately held their breath and stared directly at the warship rushing in front.  "Fire!" "Boomboomboom" Three 18-pound long guns fired one after another, and the dull sound of cannons kicked off this largest naval battle of sail warships to date.  "Bang." A cannonball hit the broad bow accurately, but failed to penetrate because of the distance. Although Ma Kaiyun felt a little regretful, he still encouraged him: "Well done! Get closer, this one will  The gun can penetrate it, reset the gun, and adjust the angle. "The soldiers immediately got busy. In the past, the muzzle was inconvenient to move and it was not easy to adjust the direction of the muzzle. Now the gun mount is reasonably designed and the muzzle firing angle is greatly increased.  , even if it is not in the front, it can still be shelled.  As the distance between the two fleets got closer and closer, the sound of artillery became intensive. "Boom, boom, boom", three warships bombarded from three sides at the same time. The first warship was hit in several places one after another when it was five hundred yards away.  The thick shells of the 18-pounder gun penetrated the bottom chamber. Not only did the gunners in the bottom chamber suffer heavy casualties, but there were also two cracks at the waterline, and seawater poured in.  "Block the water, block the water quickly!" "Why panic! It can't be sunk, there is a sealed cabin." A huge "bang" explosion sounded, and all the soldiers reflexively lay on the floor, each with a face as pale as earth.  It's a civilizing bomb!  A shell fell on the deck!
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