Kai Fu Han

Chapter 172 The Battle of Tsushima 1
Liu Xinqi was ashamed: "It's a bit far-fetched, but the truth is still the same. The total population of Hizen Country determines the maximum number of enemies we will face at one time. What I mean by these calculations is that this sea trade route, with our current strength, It’s ready to be developed.”

Since there is no precise positioning method in this era, navigation on the sea is based on landmarks. If you want to go to Hizen Country, after passing through the Jeju Strait, you need to sail eastward to Juma Island, and then sail southward. Before fattening.

Liu Xinqi's trading fleet was finally blocked by pirates when it reached the waters of Tuima Island.

……

No time on August [-]th.

The lookout finally saw Tuima Island, and Li Cang was directing the fleet to adjust its sailing direction from east to south.

The course adjustment was completed and the fleet formation had just been straightened out when the lookout on the mast of the Qizhou began to sound the alarm.

The copper bell tied to the top of the mast made a crisp sound, one after another.

Then the ships behind also began to remember the clear sound of the copper bell alarm.

"Is there any enemy situation?" Liu Xinqi also heard the siren in the cabin and quickly put on his equipment and came to the deck.

Seeing Li Cang standing on the top deck using a telescope to look around, Liu Xinqi walked over quickly.

"First, pirate ships were discovered in the direction of Tsuima Island in the northeast, then there were pirate ships in Iqi Island in the east, and finally, there were pirate ships on our way to the west," Li Cang reported to Liu Xinqi.

"Are we surrounded?" Liu Xinqi asked.

"It may be because our course adjustment disrupted their previously scheduled ambush plan, so a closed encirclement has not yet been formed. If you want to withdraw, there is still a chance." Li Cang replied.

"Which side has the fewest ships?" Liu Xinqi did not intend to retreat.

"I don't know if what we see now are all the pirate ships that participated in ambushing us. Based on the number of ships that can be seen so far, the ships in the direction of Iki Island are the least, with only five seen. Ten can be seen in the direction of Nagashima, and the west There are seven." Li Cang replied, and then continued to propose: "If we continue to go south, we can completely leave these three waves of pirate ships behind."

"We must face the Japanese pirates. The difference is only sooner or later. Now there are 22 of them, and we have ten large ships and two small ships. Considering that we are all trained naval soldiers, there are more than 160 Warriors, overall we still have the advantage." Liu Xinqi replied.

Then seeing that Li Cang was planning to persuade again, he made the final decision: "We were able to win the Shizikou sea battle with the Jin Kingdom Navy before, and we can definitely win against these Japanese pirates this time. We have more than 160 immortal soldiers and generals who have received immortal magic. Victory It will definitely belong to us, and the difference in the result is only the casualties suffered by ordinary people. You start now, and you must do your best to ensure victory at the cost of minimal casualties."

"Yes! Alliance Lord."

Seeing that Liu Xinqi had made up his mind, Li Cang accepted the order directly.

"Adjust course, head east!"

Li Cang shouted to the deputy captain in the wheelhouse.Then he gave an order to the lookout and signalman on the mast: "Instruct everyone to adjust course and sail eastward, follow the flagship, and prepare for battle."

The signalman repeated the order, and after Li Cang confirmed it was correct, he began to pass the order to the Laizhou following behind.

The orders were passed back one after another, and the fleet began to slowly adjust its course, sailing eastward, directly facing the five pirate ships coming out of Iki Island.

The sailors and Marines who were resting on the ship were also called up one after another, put on their equipment, and gathered to prepare for battle.

"Check the rockets and crossbows!" Li Cang ordered again.

"Check the rockets and crossbows!" An officer in charge of long-range attacks received the order.Then they inspected short-range combat weapons such as rackets, throwing ropes, and explosive bags.

Then check the weapons and equipment of the Marines and Valiant Sailors responsible for close combat.

After a round of self-examination, the fleet was about two miles away from the five pirate ships coming out of Iqi Island.

At this time, the pirate ship coming from the direction of Iqi Island had already noticed that something was wrong, and began to slow down and adjust its sails, trying to avoid the fleet of the Xinghan Alliance.

"Send the order to the Laizhou: Encircle on both sides! Burn the sails and stop fighting!" Li Cang ordered.

The signalman immediately relayed the order to the Laizhou.

After receiving the order, the Laizhou slightly adjusted its course, and the four county-level sand ships behind it and the four county-level sand ships led by the Qizhou formed two rows of long snake formations, and the five ships coming from the direction of Iqi Island were The pirate ship was caught between the headings of the two fleets.

Seeing that they could not escape, the five pirate ships wanted to come directly to help, but the fleet commanded by Li Cang did not give them a chance.

Two long snake formations directly sandwiched the five pirate ships in the middle, passing each other at a distance of about fifty steps.

When the Qizhou was facing a pirate ship side by side, Li Cang shouted: "Target the enemy ship's sail and fire rockets!"

The archers standing on the side of the ship were already ready to go. After hearing the order, they immediately fired the rockets in their hands. Some arrows were also fired from the pirate ship opposite, mixed with a few rockets.

Most of the arrows fired from the pirate ship were blocked by the giant shields of the sailors next to the archers. Two rockets hit the sails of the Qizhou and were covered with thick wet linen by the sailors on standby, quickly extinguishing the fire.

The Qizhou was able to respond in an orderly manner, but the pirate ship was not so lucky. The Xinghan League's rockets would splash, and one arrow hit, and the sails of a square foot were ignited. The pirates put out the fire with water, but the fire was not extinguished. , but instead accelerated the expansion of the fire area.

Rocket fuel consists mostly of grease.

The chaos caused by the rocket fired by the Qizhou was not over yet. The four ships behind fired rockets one after another.

After the ships of the two parties crossed each other, the ten ships of the Xinghan League were basically undamaged. The sails of the five pirate ships were all set on fire, and the ships were parked on the sea. The pirates' shouting could be heard from far away on the deck of the pirate ship. The sound of fire extinguishing.

Seeing that in the first wave of confrontation, [-]% of the pirates' ships had lost their combat effectiveness, Liu Xinqi nodded happily.

The navy of Xinghan League has grown up.

"Adjust the course and head north!" Liu Xinqi heard Li Cang's order again.

The fleet vessels began to adjust their navigation, and the four county-level sand ships led by the Laizhou merged with the four county-level sand ships led by the Qizhou.

"If the ten ships coming from the direction of Changdao avoid us, then we will directly face the seventeen pirate ships that have gathered together." The fleet was traveling normally, and Li Cang took the time to report to Liu Xinqi.

"There is still a chance. If we have ten ships, they will also have ten ships. They may not necessarily avoid us." Liu Xinqi said.

"I hope so, we can repeat our old tricks and divide them and annihilate them again." Li Cang said his battle plan.

(End of this chapter)