prosperous age

Twenty nautical miles south of Sado Island, the advance fleet of the Ming Dynasty was cutting through the waves towards Sado Island.

Leading the way were two of the Ming Dynasty's newest double-decker gunboats, with five single-decker gunboats following on each side.

With the mass production of double-decker gunboats by the Daming Shipyard, the single-decker warships, once the treasures of the South China Sea Fleet, gradually lost their advantage. As the South China Sea Fleet reduced the number of warships and freed up sailors to operate double-decker gunboats, the first ten single-decker gunboats were transferred to the East China Sea Fleet.

These ten single-deck gunboats were divided into two, with each having a newly built double-deck gunboat serving as its flagship, forming two patrol fleets that regularly patrolled the East China Sea.

In this large-scale attack on Japan, the main fleet of the East China Sea Navy was left behind to protect the landing army. As for Sado Island, which was the target of the surprise attack, Xu Qiaoan only sent two patrol fleets to provide fire support. In addition, he mobilized more than 30 Fujian ships of various types to transport 2,000 infantry battalions to attack Sado Island.

According to previous reconnaissance, Sado Island usually only had a dozen or so Japanese ships, which were not enough to form an effective resistance, allowing the main force to seize the dock and protect the infantry landing.

After that, the navy only needs to blockade the sea to complete its mission.

For land warfare, the two thousand infantrymen transported to the island were naturally tasked with the occupation.

Following the two patrol fleets, more than thirty Fujian-style ships followed ten nautical miles away, a distance that allowed the transport fleet behind to see the outlines of the ships ahead.

When visibility is good after using binoculars, the two sides can exchange flag signals during the day and use oil lamps to communicate at night.

In the 16th century, visibility on the high seas generally did not exceed 30 nautical miles, and enemy ships could usually be spotted by their masts from about 20 nautical miles away.

Even using a telescope only makes you see things a little clearer.

At a distance of twelve or thirteen nautical miles, the outline of the other ship can be seen.

Naval battles typically take place within five nautical miles, because at that time, both Eastern and Western artillery technology were limited, and the effective range of cannons was already at its limit of five nautical miles. As a result, the shots were not very accurate and relied entirely on luck.

In European naval artillery battles, the combat distance generally does not exceed two nautical miles, and it is common for artillery battles to be conducted at a distance of several hundred meters.

A distance of several hundred meters is actually the distance at which artillery can exert its maximum destructive effect.

At this distance, the artillery's aiming and firepower can reach their optimal state.

Just as the Ming navy fleet was heading north towards Sado Island in two separate formations, a warning siren suddenly sounded ahead.

"what happened?"

Upon hearing the warning signal, the commander of the lead double-deck gunboat rushed to the deck and shouted to the lookout on the top mast.

"My lord, a large number of Japanese ships have appeared ahead, more than sixty miles away from our ship."

The lookout on the topmast sat in the gondola and called down to those below.

How many ships are there?

The commander hurriedly pressed for an answer.

The appearance of a large number of Japanese ships was not in the original plan. If the number of enemy warships was too large, he was not sure if he could defeat the Japanese navy.

"There were about thirty medium-sized Fujian-style ships, as well as a large number of small warships."

The lookout on the top mast shouted.

Hearing that there were more than thirty warships of similar strength on the other side, even though he knew that the enemy's combat power was definitely not as strong as his own, the commander did not dare to be careless at this moment.

"Send orders to the transport fleet to turn away from this area and prepare for battle."

"Notify the second squadron to follow my lead and pass by the enemy ship on its starboard side, so gunnery positions, prepare to fire."

By this time, the Ming generals no longer intended to conceal their whereabouts. If they encountered Japanese ships at this location, the other side was very likely to have ill intentions.

They had not received any intelligence that had been leaked, so they were unaware that their sailors had inadvertently revealed their purpose.

However, if the fleet turns to the right to make way for the other side to pass, then all will be well if it is not directed at them.

He decided to wait until the other party left before recalling the transport fleet and continuing his journey to Sado Island.

But if the enemy really comes at us, then we'll defeat them with cannons.

Although the East China Sea Fleet lacked combat experience, it had many exchanges with the South China Sea Fleet. In particular, the East China Sea Fleet had undertaken a lot of grain transport tasks and had frequent contact with the South China Sea Fleet in Songjiang Prefecture.

Through exchanges, the East China Sea Fleet has passively accepted the South China Sea Fleet's artillery tactics to defeat its opponents, and no longer uses boarding action as its engagement mode.

Just kidding. After the imperial court equipped the navy with a large number of cannons, if the navy still used the traditional boarding action, wouldn't it be afraid of being criticized by the Ministry of War?

Moreover, the intelligence previously forwarded by the imperial court clearly stated that Japan could manufacture muskets but could not cast cannons, so its firepower was very weak.

Correspondingly, as long as the distance is maintained, it is clear how traditional arrows can gain the most advantage when facing artillery with a longer range.

As the gunboats turned to the right, another double-decker gunboat on the left rear began to do the same, followed by single-decker gunboats. The previous "V" formation quickly turned into a battle line, or a longitudinal line, heading towards the right side of the Japanese fleet.

Inside the warship, the sailors quickly took their positions, cleaning the cannon barrels and loading gunpowder projectiles, but did not open the gun ports.

Everything looked just like a normal voyage.

However, as the Ming warships veered to the right to avoid the oncoming Japanese ships, the Japanese ships did not maintain their original course but also adjusted their direction accordingly, heading straight towards the Ming warships.

"Lord Sun, our mission has been discovered by the Japanese."

The Ming ship captain, or more accurately, the gunboat captain, spoke to the fleet commander at this moment.

"Although I don't know why, it's clear they came with ill intentions; they're here specifically for us."

Commander Sun held up his telescope and looked at the large warships of our navy in front of us, which were surrounded by tall shields.

There are small openings on the shield, which are obviously for firing muskets or arrows.

As for the ships behind, because the large ships blocked the view, Commander Sun couldn't see how many there were at all.

Judging from the dense array of sails, the number must be considerable.

Without thinking, Commander Sun suddenly turned around and shouted, "All troops, turn left and pass them on the left."

Notify all ships that the Japanese ships are within firing range; open fire at full force and sink them.

At first, Commander Sun followed the Ming Dynasty's shipbuilding habits and turned right to avoid the massive enemy fleet.

However, knowing that the other side was coming for them, if they continued to sail to the right, their fleet would only be able to keep veering to the right if they were forced too far.

To the right, fifty or sixty miles away lies Honshu Island of Japan. If we were to engage in coastal warfare, our twelve warships would likely be pinned down by the enemy, and the firepower advantage of our gunboats would be rendered useless.

Now, turning to the left, there lies the boundless North Sea, offering ample space to engage the Japanese navy. Even after several days of fighting, the fleet will only venture into the depths of the North Sea without being restricted by land.

After he finished speaking, the soldiers on the warship started shouting loudly, and the sound quickly spread throughout the entire ship, so that everyone could hear it.

Everyone grabbed onto something stable to steady themselves, and the boat quickly began to tilt to the left, the bow veerging sharply to the left. "Get the lower decks rowing at full speed!"

At the same time, orders were issued from the ship's deck and relayed down by soldiers at various communication points.

At the stern, the flag bearer tied himself to a post with a rope and continuously issued flag signals to the ships behind him according to the commands he heard.

"Full sails."

After the warship completed its course adjustment, the topmast lookout slid down the rope onto the deck, his work done. He then joined several other sailors in pulling up the ropes to fully raise the massive sails.

Previously, to prevent the faster gunboats from getting too far ahead of the Fujian ships behind them, the gunboats did not raise their sails fully.

At this point, it is necessary to seize the time to gain a favorable position, so it is natural to accelerate at all costs and take advantage of the southeast wind to increase the ship's speed to the maximum.

They are in a favorable position, which is very advantageous for them in seizing a dominant position.

Meanwhile, the Japanese warships coming against the wind had to constantly adjust their sails, moving forward in an awkward "Z" shape.

Two or three decades earlier, this season was also the time when Japanese pirates returned home laden with spoils of war.

Seeing that he was in a favorable position and only needed to wait for the warships of both sides to approach, his cannons could then strike hard at these Japanese pirates who had once plundered the Ming Dynasty with impunity. A cruel smile finally appeared on his face.

It was at this moment that he turned around and glanced at the transport fleet behind him through his telescope. They had turned left and sailed into the vast North Sea, completely escaping the battlefield.

In the cabin beneath his feet, gun ports were opened, and dark cannon barrels protruded, pointing at the enemy ship on the starboard side of the vessel.

As he turned around, he saw that his deck, which was at the highest point of the ship, had been fitted with several medium-sized breech-loading cannons by more than ten soldiers.

These are firearms on warships designed to prevent close-quarters combat; placing them here would cover nearby enemy ships.

On the Ming Dynasty transport fleet, about twenty nautical miles to the right rear of the main fleet, almost all the soldiers on deck had rushed to the starboard side of the ship, nervously staring into the distance.

Although it's not very clear, you can vaguely see the sails rising above the horizon.

The commander of the rear army was standing on the highest deck of the Fujian ship, observing the distant battlefield with a telescope.

However, he could not see what was happening on the other side because of the Ming warships blocking his view.

However, he was not sure whether the dozen or so gunboats could stop the Japanese pirate navy from getting close.

"Order the soldiers to bring out their tiger-squat cannons and breech-loading cannons and put them on the deck."

The large Fujian-style ships only had four general cannons and six breech-loading cannons, which was clearly insufficient firepower if they were surrounded.

However, he knew that the infantry had brought many tiger crouching cannons and breech-loading cannons. These cannons did not have much recoil and should not have affected the hull when used on the ship.

In any case, as a transport ship, it is now necessary to prepare for war.

"Boom boom boom"

A distant, rumbling sound, like thunder, finally rang out, and everyone on the ship knew that the battle between the Ming navy and the Japanese pirate navy had begun.

The continuous cannon fire was incessant. Although it was only firing from the sides, the twelve Ming naval warships were able to fire hundreds of cannonballs at once. These were not hundreds of muskets, but cannons.

Because of the distance, the cannons on each ship had not yet fired, but their momentum instantly overwhelmed the Japanese pirate navy.

For the Japanese pirate navy, which was used to getting close to their opponents, first firing arquebuses at the enemy's decks, and then closing in to win through close-quarters combat, this kind of artillery attack was something they had never encountered before.

Whether it was a cannonball or a cannonball from the general, they could easily penetrate the seemingly sturdy wooden shield. After all, the distance between the two sides was now only a thousand meters, or, in the words of the Ming navy, less than two li.

The three Atakebune closest to the Ming warships suffered the most intense attack. After the bombardment ended, their wooden shields were breached in six or seven places, resulting in the deaths and injuries of more than ten Japanese pirates.

This may also be the most awkward aspect of artillery in naval warfare over the next two hundred years.

Although the cannons roared, most of the shells actually went astray.

Meanwhile, the Japanese ships surrounding the three Atakebune saw large splashes of water constantly rising from their hulls, clearly from the cannonballs that had been fired with such a loud roar.

"The Ming navy actually brought so many large ships."

The thunderous cannon fire finally ended, but the effects of the first bombardment were only just beginning to take hold within the Japanese pirate army.

Although the Warring States period in Japan was fierce, there had never been a bombardment of this scale.

A powerful daimyo who can command thousands of arquebusiers at once is already quite formidable.

Even now, the story of Oda Nobunaga using over three thousand arquebusiers in the Battle of Nagashino to repel multiple attacks by the Takeda army with the help of trenches and palisades is still talked about by the Japanese.

However, the use of cannons was extremely rare.

In fact, the large-caliber firearms that Japan could mass-produce at that time were the large-caliber cannons, which were more than three times the caliber of iron cannons and were considered cannons by the Japanese pirates.

Some people say that the large cannon may be considered the predecessor of the grenade launcher.

While the Japanese were marveling at the sheer number of cannons the Ming navy had, on the Ming warships, the gunners had already completed a second loading, and the warships in front of them had changed from the towering Atakebune to the Sekibune.

The Sekisen and Atakebune ships were actually quite similar in appearance, so the Ming sailors naturally couldn't tell them apart. However, considering that Fujian ships varied in size, they naturally assumed that the much smaller Japanese warships in front of them were the same as the larger ships in front of them.

Without a doubt, just aim and shoot.

Because of their enormous size, Atakebune can use heavy wooden shields as armor for protection, while Sekibune, being much smaller, can only be protected with wooden or bamboo shields, and the protective capabilities are vastly different.

Once loading was complete, the Ming gunners began aiming at the Guan ship, and then the sound of cannons rang out again on the battlefield.

If the Atakebune could withstand dozens of attacks from Ming Dynasty cannons without sinking, the Sekibune clearly didn't have that capability.

After just one shot, six or seven Japanese pirate ships that rushed in were visibly hit and began to sink.

Clearly, this was an unlucky ship that was accidentally hit near the waterline. Those ships that were hit by cannon fire fared even worse, with large sections of their shields shattered, revealing the wretched Japanese soldiers inside.

"Focus on cracking down on these small boats."

Commander Sun discovered that the Japanese ships behind him were not as resilient as the large ships they had encountered earlier. Given the current numerical advantage of the Japanese ships, he naturally changed his target.

A few shots are usually enough to destroy a small boat, so all sixty or seventy small boats here can be wiped out in just a couple of laps.

As for the remaining thirty-odd large ships, we'll deal with them slowly. If that doesn't work, we'll approach them and use rockets and fire bricks to burn them.

"bang bang bang"

Although they were not within range of the arquebuses, the Japanese were not used to simply taking hits. At this point, they began to recklessly use their arquebuses and bows to fire at the Ming warships.

However, most of the bullets and arrows missed their targets and fell into the sea. (End of Chapter)