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Chapter 1149: Battle of Fau Harbor 3
"Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh..." After about a quarter of an hour, two flames suddenly appeared on the copper pot. As the gas valve turned, the color of the flames became lighter and lighter, but the spray distance became longer and longer, accompanied by an unpleasant whistle.

Under the spray of flames, the black thing on the boom gradually swelled up. In about half an hour, it turned into a big black ball with a diameter of more than ten meters. After being untied, it was blown away from the hull by the wind, slowly rising, and soon surpassed the main mast.

Hot air balloons were originally used by the army to observe the effects of artillery fire during combat, but now the navy has borrowed their ideas. The function is still observation, but with an additional skill: it can follow the fleet and is no longer stationary.

It was tied tightly to the bow of the ship with a cable. As long as the wind was not too strong, it would be dragged along by the ship no matter how high it rose, becoming a big eye accompanying the fleet.

The main mast of the Han-class battleship is 31 meters high, and the observation tower is built on 27 meters, which is equivalent to the height of a 9-story building from the sea level. In clear weather, you can see more than 30 miles away with a telescope, so why do you need to use hot air balloons as eyes?
This is a matter of common sense. There is nothing blocking the sea, the field of vision is vast, and with a telescope to help observe the details, you can indeed see the sails of ships more than 30 miles away.

But on land, this observation method is not very useful. First of all, it is the climate. Do you have a feeling that the view is much clearer when you look far away at sea, while it is often foggy on land? This is not an illusion, but a reality.

No matter how much attention is paid to environmental protection on land, there is still a lot of dust. It is not noticeable at a short distance, but it is very obvious at a long distance. The sea is much purer. As long as there is no rain or fog, it is always so clear.

The second is obstructions. When observing on the sea, you don’t have to worry about height differences and blocked sight lines. But it’s different when you go inland. Sometimes the river bank is much higher than the water surface, and coupled with the undulating terrain, a 30-meter mast may not be visible even a few miles away.

The army's combat method is not afraid of confronting the enemy's superior forces head-on, but afraid of being attacked by surprise. In order to ensure a long enough observation distance, this idea was thought of.

A 30-meter-high observation tower is not enough, so we can get a 100-meter-high hot air balloon. As long as we are not flying in the canyon, at least any major movements within a radius of ten miles can be clearly seen.

However, the method of using a sailboat to tow a hot air balloon as eyes is not a panacea. It is also adapted to local conditions and cannot be promoted on a large scale. If it is moved to another place, it may not work well.

The Middle East has a characteristic that the terrain is relatively flat and lacks forest cover, which is most suitable for observation from a high altitude using a hot air balloon. If the attack is now in Myanmar or the Indian Peninsula, this trick will be useless. No matter how far you look, the enemy will hide in the woods and you will still not be able to see anything, which is a waste of time.

"Two rowing boats, heading southeast, 15 miles away... Hehehe, Captain, your Majesty is so smart. The lookout hasn't seen anything yet, but the balloon has already discovered it!"

Before the hot air balloon rose to the predetermined height, the lookout in the basket sent a message. The chief lookout, who was responsible for observing the flag signals with a telescope, informed Settle and praised the emperor's wise and sincere method.

"Notify No. 077 to prepare for battle! Also, let me remind you, if you can't speak, don't talk nonsense. I am smart because I have a quick brain, and Your Majesty is wise!"

Of course, Settle was happy to be able to anticipate the enemy. But this time was different from the past. In addition to a group of naval officers, there were also twelve imperial horse guards on the rear deck. They were all the emperor's personal soldiers, so they had to be careful with their words.

"...Yes, it's wise, wise, I'd better stay on the mast." The chief lookout didn't expect to be criticized for praising the emperor, but he immediately understood after following the captain's gaze. What to do? The best strategy is to run away. Although the mast observation tower is small, cold in winter and hot in summer, it is a good place to stay away from trouble.

The biggest feature of rowing boats is their explosive power, which can reach a very high speed in a short period of time with the help of paddling. 15 miles was downcurrent again, and soon appeared in the sight of the mast lookout, but the leading Qin-class warship did not take the lead in launching an artillery attack, but sent back a series of flag signals.

Two rowing boats flying the Portuguese flag were disarming themselves before they came into the range of the naval guns. After sending a small boat to inquire, we learned that they were here to negotiate.

"What are the Portuguese doing here at this time? Could it be that Governor Guoa is just being perfunctory?"

Settle naturally had no power to agree or refuse, so he had to ask the real flagship for instructions. Upon learning of this accident, Du Wenhuan gave the astronauts all his suspicion. It was the Navy Staff who informed the Governor of Goa. If they couldn't even complete such a small task, it would be a dereliction of duty.

"Your Majesty, the Governor of Goa has made a written guarantee to remain neutral without the orders of the Kings of Portugal and Spain!" The astronaut immediately understood Du Wenhuan's subtext and hurriedly explained to the emperor.

"Don't panic or make blind guesses. Bring the people here and ask them. Oh, yes, go to the flagship and ask them what they are going to do. Keep it a secret and don't let the Portuguese know that I am not on the ship."

Hong Tao didn't even think about whether the Navy General Staff had failed in their duties. How could such a thing be determined by thinking? But he didn't want to ask in person. If the Portuguese knew his true whereabouts, it would basically be the same as telling the Ottomans.

"Tell the astronauts that they cannot delay even a day. If there is any loss, ask them to ask the Governor of Goa for compensation. Now is wartime, all ships must dock at the Port of Hormuz. Anyone who deliberately violates this rule will be killed!"

Soon, another flag signal came from the flagship. The visitor claimed to be a senior business representative from the Port of Muscat and wanted to ask the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to delay the attack on the Port of Fao for ten days.

The reason was that the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce had warehouses and docks in Fau Port, and because the incident happened suddenly, many goods and two ships under repair were not evacuated in time. If the Ming Navy could understand their difficulties, the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce was willing to pay for the military expenses for these ten days, plus a reward.

Hong Tao refused without a second thought, and used harsh words, leaving no room for negotiation at all, and even issued a death threat.

"Your Majesty, if what they said is true, it won't matter if it's ten days earlier or later." Seeing that the emperor, who had always loved money, suddenly changed his nature, Ding Shun thought that he lacked a way out, and quickly expressed his understanding.

The attack on Faw Port was neither a sneak attack nor a surprise attack. It took half a month to prepare on Hormuz Island. The news had already been leaked, so there was no fear of leaks. It was not sudden at all. It was a full-scale assault, so a few days really didn't matter.

(End of this chapter)