prosperous age

Chapter 986 1075 Search

There was a howling wind on the sea, rolling up large waves that rushed towards the coastline.

A fleet of more than 30 warships was sailing southward. The ships were breaking through the waves, and one could vaguely see algae such as water plants growing on the sides of the ships close to the waterline.

Large black spots appeared around the hull, indicating that these ships were old and would only appear after being soaked in the sea for a long time.

The fleet composition was quite mixed. Although there were several Fuzhou ships among them, they were all relatively small, and the largest one could only be considered a medium-sized Fuzhou ship.

On the ship's deck, a large flag with the Chinese character "Ming" fluttered in the wind, indicating the identity of this fleet.

"Sir, Haimen County should be ahead. Going around it is the mouth of the Yangtze River. There is an island called Chongming Island. There is a guard stationed there. Should we continue to head south?"

On the deck of the ship, a general in helmet and armor spoke to the military officer in front of him who was wearing the armor of a deputy general.

The words of the general behind him were naturally to remind the person in front that they had reached the edge of the Denglai Navy's defense zone, and if they continued to move south, they would enter the territory of the South China Sea Navy.

The Denglai Navy was originally intended to defend Laizhou Bay. However, the Ming Dynasty had no other navy on the northern coast, and only the Shandong Garrison was equipped with some warships, so all the ships were mobilized to form the Denglai Navy.

The defense range of the Denglai Navy was naturally greatly expanded.

It can be said that except for the territory assigned to the Nanhai Navy, the rest of the Ming Sea was under the responsibility of the Denglai Navy for defense.

"Of course we have to continue south. Although the military document did not specify where we should go, it did say that we should visit the water fort of the South China Sea Navy and Yuegang."

The general in front said directly.

"But that's the territory of the South China Sea Navy. Are we just going to go there directly?"

The general officer wearing guerrilla armor behind him reminded him, "Last time we ran into the South China Sea Navy off the coast of Dengzhou, our ship was already embarrassing enough."

"So what? We are just following military orders. We are still the Ming navy after all."

The lieutenant general replied expressionlessly.

Soon, the fleet changed course and headed east, bypassing a small peninsula that protruded into the sea in Haimen County, and the estuary of the Yangtze River gradually appeared in front of the fleet.

This fleet is the Denglai Navy commanded by Xu Qiaoan, the Lieutenant General of Dengzhou. A month ago, the Ministry of War ordered the navy to patrol the south sea on the pretext of preparing for the Japanese invasion.

Xu Qiaoan divided the navy into two, leaving more than 20 ships to patrol the Shandong coast, and he led more than 30 warships to patrol Hainan.

If the Ming Dynasty plans to form a navy in the northern waters in the future, the Denglai Navy will definitely be the main force. As for whether it will be called the East China Sea Navy or the North China Sea Navy, it is hard to say.

However, since the Ming Dynasty was going to form two navies, one in the south and one in the north, exchanges between the navies were naturally inevitable.

Last time in Tianjin, Yu Dayou told Wei Guangde about the situation of the Denglai Navy in his opinion.

The equipment and the morale of the officers and men were not in good condition, and the navy commander seemed sloppy.

However, since it is a navy to defend the capital, Yu Dayou still suggested that the strength of the Denglai navy should be strengthened.

Not only did he want to use force in the South China Sea, but he also had to prepare to deal with the threat from the Toungoo Dynasty in Yunnan. At this critical juncture, Wei Guangde naturally would not let the Ministry of War provide more help to the Denglai Navy.

Money is still very tight and cannot be spent recklessly.

Wei Guangde knew very well that the northern coast of the Ming Dynasty would not face any major threats for at least a hundred years.

In fact, for many years afterwards, the main maritime threat to the Ming Dynasty, or China, still came from the South China Sea.

Therefore, even if the imperial court really wanted to invest money to strengthen the navy, Wei Guangde would give priority to the South China Sea navy that he could control.

Speaking of Wei Guangde's lack of interest in the Denglai Navy, Yu Dayou also felt it at the time. Thinking of the old ships he had that were neither useful nor worth throwing away, Yu Dayou proposed to transfer them to the Denglai Navy for use.

Although they are all old ships, it is mainly because they are small and cannot withstand wind and waves.

Such ships naturally have no value in the South China Sea Navy, which has a large number of Fujian ships, but compared with the warships of the Denglai Navy, they seem to be not much different, and even look newer and better armed.

The idea of ​​sending the Denglai navy south was also proposed by Wei Guangde during discussions with Tan Lun.

Although he didn't know where Lin Feng was going, Wei Guangde was already prepared.

Once the South China Sea Navy crosses the sea to expedition to Luzon, it will inevitably leave a coastal defense vacuum in the southeastern waters.

The last time, Yu Dayou led his troops north, they encountered Japanese pirates invading Zhejiang and Fujian. Therefore, in order to prevent the disaster from happening, transferring the Denglai navy to the south was an option.

After all, Japanese pirates were not common in the northern waters. Except for the Jiajing period, when the Japanese pirates were most rampant, they appeared in Shandong and Huai'an Prefecture in Southern Zhili. However, it was very rare to see Japanese pirates at other times.

As for whether the South China Sea Navy can leave part of the navy in the southeast, that is natural.

Those ships of the South China Sea Navy that are not suitable for ocean voyages naturally have to remain in the country.

However, the main warships must accompany Yu Dayou on the expedition.

Although the ships of the Denglai Navy were old, they still had some medium-sized Fujian ships, which could be considered large ships on the sea.

Early the next morning, the fleet approached Chongming Island and soon a small boat docked at the pier.

After contacting the island's garrison, Xu Qiaoan received an order from Admiral Yu Dayou, ordering the Denglai Navy to go to Zhejiang first, then to Beigang and Xingang on Dongfan Island, and finally to patrol near Yuegang in Fujian.

The entire patrol route had been arranged clearly and clearly. When Xu Qiaoan saw the order sent by Yu Dayou on the boat, he immediately ordered the fleet to continue south to Zhejiang.

The navy has prepared sufficient supplies for going to sea, so there is no need to go to Taicang Zhenhaiwei for supplies.

It will only take a few days to form and the supplies on the ship can sustain it.

The fleet did not stay in Chongming Island and soon set sail again.

"Sir, why do you think the Ministry of War wants us to go south?"

Chen Youji behind Xu Qiaoan said hesitantly, in fact, this problem has been bothering him for several days.

"How would I know? The official document only told us to go south and obey Admiral Yu's orders. As for why we came, it didn't say anything."

Reaching out to hold the railing of the ship, Xu Qiaoan said helplessly: "Perhaps if I see Admiral Yu, I can ask him in person."

Just as the Denglai Navy was discussing their order to march south, Yu Dayou had already led the South China Sea Navy into the waters of Fujian and Guangdong. At the same time, they also received news from Guangdong and Guangxi that the Lin Feng pirate group was not found returning to the Ming Dynasty along the coast.

"There's no trace of Lin Feng in Dongfan Island, Penghu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. Where could he go?"

Yu Dayou stood on the deck of a ship, looking at the distant horizon and talking to himself.

Behind Yu Dayou, Deputy Admiral Deng Zilong, who had just led the fleet to meet the main force of the South China Sea Navy, stepped forward and whispered: "Sir, will Lin Feng still be stranded on Luzon Island?

I have heard that although Luzon is an island, it is much larger than Dongfan Island.

Dongfan is several hundred miles long from north to south, and Luzon is several times larger than Dongfan, so it is thousands of miles long from north to south.

As long as Lin Feng chooses to stay away from Manila, it shouldn't be difficult to find a place to stay.'

Hearing this, Yu Dayou nodded, agreeing with Deng Zilong's guess. The Lin Feng Pirate Group did not return to the Ming Dynasty, but actually had two destinations, or two major directions.

One is to stay in Luzon and use the vast area of ​​Luzon Island to find a place to settle down.

The second one is Wanli Shitang, which is what we later called XSQD.

Because ancient China had advanced navigation technology, the existence of XSQD, Dongsha Islands and NSQD in the South China Sea was discovered very early.

However, the people or the government at that time did not name them as they did in later generations, but generally named them "Shitang" or "Changsha".

Starting from the Southern Song Dynasty, due to the Southern Song's huge maritime trade business, a large number of Song ships traveled to and from the South China Sea, so for convenience, they issued orders to the islands in the South China Sea.

Unlike later generations, during the Southern Song Dynasty, the government regarded the XSQD, Zhongsha Islands and Dongsha Islands as one and did not split them up, so the government generally called it "Thousand Miles of Changsha".

Among them, there is a special Ming Dynasty for the archipelago in the center of Qianli Changsha, namely the Zhongsha Islands, which is Shixing Shitang.

Because NSQD is larger in area, it was called "Wanli Shitang" or "Wanli Changsha" in the Song Dynasty.

This name was also inherited into the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

Because the larger islands and reefs in the South China Sea are mainly concentrated in XSQD and NSQD, both the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty paid more attention to these two places.

The Ming Dynasty government generally used Wanli Shitang to represent XSQD, while Wanli Changsha was used to refer to NSQD.

Relatively speaking, because it is closer to the Ming Dynasty, Yu Dayou instinctively thought that if the pirates wanted to find a place to settle down, Wanli Shitang would naturally be the best choice.

Moreover, Yu Dayou also heard from the old boatman that there is fresh water on some islands in the South China Sea, which means that people can live there.

Of course, there are not many such large islands.

Before, Yu Dayou was guessing Lin Feng’s final choice. Now that Deng Zilong has also made such a judgment, Yu Dayou naturally has to take action.

"Send two fleets, one to Luzon Island, and the other to Wanli Shitang. Once you find Lin Feng's whereabouts, report back immediately."

Yu Dayou gave the order.

"Stone pond?"

Deng Zilong was stunned when he heard Yu Dayou's order. He only thought that Lin Feng might stay on Luzon Island and never thought that he could run to the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

After all, the Lin Feng pirate group has a large number of people, several thousand people. In Deng Zilong's opinion, it is almost impossible to survive there.

Of course, a short break is still possible, but given the local environmental conditions, long-term residence is absolutely impossible.

"Yes, especially Yingwu Island and Shami Reef. I heard there is fresh water there, which can be used for the fleet to rest."

As he spoke, Yu Dayou turned around and said to Deng Zilong: "Go down and discuss this matter with Chen Lin. Each of you will form a team and go to the two places to search separately."

Yu Dayou had already made arrangements, and Deng Zilong immediately clasped his fists and agreed, then went down the deck and boarded a small boat to go to another Fu ship behind to discuss the matter with Chen Lin.

While waiting on the deck for the boat to approach, Yu Dayou stood on the side of the ship and shouted to Deng Zilong on the deck: "Each of you take two gunboats, and be careful."

"Yes, my lord."

Deng Zilong answered loudly, and after the boat approached, he quickly climbed over the railing and jumped onto the boat.

Soon, a small boat, rowed by the sailors, quickly moved towards a huge sealed boat behind it.

The South China Sea Navy under Yu Dayou's management was still very efficient. On that day, the fleet, which had been anchored in the southeastern waters of Chaozhou Prefecture for several days, split into two small fleets of about ten ships, each heading towards the southeast and southwest respectively.

At this time, to the north of Dongfan Island, outside the newly built Beigang Water Fort of the Ming army, a fleet of more than 30 warships was slowly approaching.

"This is Dongfan Island, Little Ryukyu."

Xu Qiaoan stood on his medium-sized Fu boat, looking at the huge water fortress with an expression of disbelief.

The water fort is huge, but the docks are mostly empty, with only a few boats moored here and there.

The largest one among them was a medium-sized Fu ship.

Although it was the same boat as his, it was obviously newer.

Moreover, on the tall tower of this medium-sized Fu ship, you can see the long gun barrel protruding from the tower.

As for the two gun ports on each side of the ship, Xu Qiaoan was not surprised at all. The last time he encountered the South China Sea Navy in the Shandong waters, he already knew from Yu Dayou that there was a cannon inside.

Although at that time, there were not many medium-sized Fuzhou ships of the South China Sea Navy that had gun ports.

As for the others, some were Haicang boats and some were bird boats, all of which were ship types familiar to Xu Qiaoan.

If there is one difference between the warships of his Denglai Navy and those of his own, it is that they are new.

Most of the warships of the South China Sea Navy are obviously new ships launched in the past ten years, rather than the warships under their command. The youngest ones are more than 20 years old.

As for the many other small wooden boats, Xu Qiaoan didn't take them seriously. It would be strange if there were no such small wooden boats in the water fort.

However, at the very edge of the pier, a peculiarly shaped boat next to many small wooden boats moored around it still caught Xu Qiaoan's attention. The style of the boat was so novel that he had never seen it before.

As they got closer to the water fort, several small wooden boats came out, with naval officers and soldiers on board waving flags and directing the Denglai naval warships to dock.

After all the ships were docked at the pier and the gangplank was set up, Xu Qiaoan couldn't wait to get off the ship.

When he stepped onto the dock, he did not greet the officers and soldiers here, but walked quickly towards the place where there were countless small boats.

Of course, he did not stop in front of those small boats, but stopped beside a warship farther away.

After carefully examining the boat for a long time, Xu Qiaoan asked the Beigang guerrilla who followed him in confusion: "Did you enlarge the dragon boat to make this boat? What is it for?"

"Master Xu, this boat is not a dragon boat, it's called a centipede boat, a type brought over from Southeast Asia by the barbarians.

Look, he has a mast on top for a sail."

"I know. I mean, what's the use of this boat?"

Xu Qiaoan certainly noticed that this boat had a mast and was larger and longer than the Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat, and was obviously prepared for sea voyages.

But as for this ship, when it comes to transporting cargo, it’s hard to tell how much it can carry.

It seems too thin for use in war.

"This ship is now mainly used as a speedboat for communication. It has sails when there is wind and paddles when there is no wind. It is very fast and can send messages as quickly as possible."

The garrison officer laughed and said, "All the water forts of the South China Sea Navy have this kind of boat, which is used to deliver messages and run errands."