At the beginning of the civil castle, the Ming God of War was a little panicked

Chapter 367
The lookout seemed to have noticed something, and desperately waved semaphores to the deck.

The herald on the deck understood and went to report immediately.

"Report-"

"The two behind are our ships!"

Zhu Qizhen heard the words, picked up the binoculars, and walked quickly to the deck.

"Your Majesty, no..."

Jin Ying hurriedly followed, he wanted to stop but didn't dare to stop, so he could only follow, trying to dissuade him.

Although he knew very well that the emperor would not listen at all.

"Your Majesty, you should go back to the command cabin, it's dangerous outside!"

The view from the deck is naturally inferior to that of the observation deck, Zhu Qizhen can only vaguely see that the two ships behind, no matter in terms of style or the flags they hang, are all from Daming.

This piece of water is under the jurisdiction of Qiongzhou Wei. It seems that Qiongzhou Wei is right.

"Kim Young!"

"what?"

"Who is the current commander of the Qiongzhou Guard?"

"The Commander of the Qiongzhou Guard is... oh, yes!"

Jin Ying was thinking carefully, and really remembered this person.

"It's Zhang Shiying. His father Zhang Dezhan died in Annan. Zhang Shiying's son inherited his father's business and was appointed by Emperor Taizong as the commander of the Qiongzhou Guard."

"After Zhongliang."

Zhu Qizhen put down the binoculars and said: "Give him a semaphore, order him to cooperate with the battle, the secondary guns are on alert, and the main guns are ready to fight!"

"Yes!"

The messenger waved the flag to deliver the message, and soon, the other party also responded.

The two ships were indeed from Qiongzhouwei. At this time, Zhang Shiying was standing on the deck of the flagship, also holding a pair of binoculars, carefully observing every move ahead.

"This ironclad ship has really been built. It looks huge, but I don't know how powerful it is."

The lieutenant beside him said: "It is said that the court spent a total of 3000 million taels of silver to build this ship. The emperor is really willing to do so!"

Zhang Shiying sighed, and said: "I knew that the iron-clad ship could really be built, and I shouldn't have done that at the beginning!"

The deputy general laughed and said: "Master, the matter has come to an end, please make a decision immediately, brothers are waiting!"

Zhang Shiying sighed, shook his head again, and said, "Left and right are dead, let's fight!"

The lieutenant asked again: "My lord, don't you think about it anymore?"

"Still thinking about it, colluding with foreign devils, reselling the blueprints of the imperial iron-clad ships, reselling arms, everything is the crime of Zhu Jiuzu, do you think the emperor can let us go?"

"What your lord said is that the humble official should pass the order now."

Zhang Shiying's eyes were cold, and he said slowly: "Tell brothers, if the emperor does not die today, all of us will be buried with our family tomorrow!"

Ever since he heard that the iron-clad ship had arrived in Qiongzhou on trial, he knew that he was doomed!

The emperor must have discovered something, otherwise, why would he suddenly attack Qiongzhou from Ningbo?
If I had known today, I would regret it!

I originally thought that the ironclad ship was just a gimmick, who could float the big iron lump?

It also needs to carry people and cargo, and it also needs to have combat effectiveness. It is said that it also needs to bring a large boiler, and several thousand catties of coal and fresh water. What are you kidding?
Therefore, when those foreigners revealed that they hoped to see the blueprint of the ironclad ship, he did not take it seriously.

As long as you pay for it, what's the point of me getting it for you?

Anyway, they are all fantasies and unrealistic things, and if you give them to you, you can't create them.

These foreigners are said to be from a country in the West called East Rome. They spent a lot of money to buy some artillery and muskets from their own hands.

Although the imperial court clearly forbids the smuggling of arms, but... the money they give is so much!

Yellow gold, box by box, dazzle your eyes!
But for any normal person, who can stand such a temptation?

From then on, Zhang Shiying and these Romans became business partners. Immediately afterwards, the other party made a request to build a port on Qiongzhou Island, which would be used as a foothold for ships traveling to and from Ming Dynasty.

For such a request, Zhang Shiying definitely refused, but he sent ten boxes of gold, so...

Qiongzhou Island is vast and sparsely populated. There are no people in the first place. It seems that there is nothing wrong with finding a hidden port outside the waterway... right?

However, before his gold was warmed up, news came that the iron-clad ship had successfully tested the waters!

Zhang Shiying panicked. If the ironclad ship can really be built, it must be a powerful weapon of the country. The blueprint of the ironclad ship should also be a secret among the imperial court's secrets. The matter is serious!

He negotiated with the Romans and ordered them to take out the blueprints, dismantle the port, and disappear from Daming immediately.

However, the answer from the other party was that the blueprint had already been sent back to Constantinople, thousands of miles away, and it was impossible to dismantle the port just now, and even if it was to be dismantled, it would be too late.

Zhang Shiying finally understood that she had fallen into the trap of the Romans!

They seduce themselves step by step, with gold... Of course, who can say no to that gold...

Now that things have come to an end, it is impossible for me to get away with it. This matter is too big. No matter how I cover it up, I will be found out sooner or later.

For now, there is only one path left to choose.

rebellion!

The ironclad warship fought alone, without the company of the fleet, as long as it was wiped out here, there was hope for him to survive.

At that time, taking gold and going overseas will be enough for him to eat and drink for ten lifetimes.

"My lord, the emperor's semaphore sent an order to ask our ships to follow the armored ships and fight together!"

"accelerate!"

"But, my lord..."

"But what? The emperor is here, can I, the commander, go to greet him in person?"

The lieutenant comprehended, clasped his fists and said: "The humble post is ordered!"

On the Zheng He, the herald trotted to the command cabin: "Report to the emperor, the Qiongzhou Wei ship requests to approach!"

"What are you doing so close? Let them follow behind. When I need them, I will send a message through the semaphore!"

"Yes!"

After a while, the herald returned.

"Your Majesty, the Qiongzhou Guard's ship is approaching, and the semaphore shows that the commander of Qiongzhou Guard is here to say hello!"

Zhu Qizhen frowned, what time is it, and you still want to say hello?

"Report!"

At this time, the flag officer in charge of the main gun ran into the command cabin.

"Report to the emperor, the enemy ship has entered the range of the main gun!"

Zhu Qizhen said without thinking: "Fire!"

"Yes!"

On Zheng He's main battery, the gunners are ready.

"aim……"

"ignition!"

chi chi chi...

The matchstick burned rapidly, emitting bursts of white smoke.

Now, there are a total of six ships at sea.

To the south of Zheng He, there are three East Roman ships.

The flagship stood on standby, and the two frigates were divided into left and right sides, outflanking.

The two ships were one big and one small, and the smaller one was fast and entered the range of the main gun first.

On both sides of the Zheng He, there were two ships from Qiongzhou Wei that had just caught up.

All Zhu Qizhen's attention was on the front, and he didn't notice at all that the muzzles of several black holes on the sides of the ship were already aimed at him.

(End of this chapter)