Ming politicians

Chongzhen 13th December 29th.

Zheng Hongkui originally wanted to let the warships rest for a while, slow down, let the cooks of each ship cook a good meal, and everyone spent the [-]th of the twelfth lunar month and the first day of the first lunar month on the warships. Unexpectedly, many sergeants unanimously demanded to keep The speed of the march is to take the Weihaiwei Wharf as soon as possible, so that we can return to Quanzhou as soon as possible. Of course, there is still a layer of thought in it. Fan, the harvest must be astonishing, and the wealth around the docks is difficult to measure with numbers.

Seeing the high spirits of the soldiers below, who didn't even care about the Spring Festival, Zheng Hongkui was of course happy, and ordered the warship to speed up. After passing the first three islands, he went directly to Weihaiwei. Island, we must always pay attention to the movement on the sea, we are not afraid of [-], just in case, who knows if Su Tiancheng and Jiang Ningying have any preparations.

The weather on this day was very good, and the sea was windy, and it was a northerly wind. Although there was a bitter taste, Zheng Hongkui believed that it was God's blessing for them, allowing them to take advantage of the wind to speed up their sailing and reach Weihai earlier. guard.

Three hundred warships, like a small island drifting fast, headed for the first three islands. [

Taking advantage of the wind, the boat passed Niuershan Island at Chenshi, and when it was too late, the front reported that it would pass Pingshan Island soon.Standing on the front deck, Zheng Hongkui looked at the sea as far as the eye could see, with a smile on his face. At the age of 26, it was the first time for him to lead such a huge formation of warships alone. This feeling is hard to express in words.

The wind became stronger and stronger. Three hundred large and small warships were sailing fast, and waves began to appear on the sea.From time to time, warships splashed Lao Gao's water. As in the past, Zheng Hongkui believed that today was just an ordinary voyage, but the boat took advantage of the wind.The speed of sailing was much faster today, and he didn't even pick up the binoculars to watch the situation ahead.

Sishi, Zheng Hongkui will never forget this time in his life.

When the sky-shattering cannon sounded, Zheng Hongkui almost thought that some warship hadn't paid attention.The artillery was fired for no reason, and he didn't understand until he saw layers of water columns aroused on the sea ahead, some small warships were concentrated by the artillery, and smashed pieces of wood flew into the sky. .The warship he led was attacked.

In a few minutes, there was already thick smoke everywhere. The flags and broken masts that were blown up on the sea fell down like kites. The formation of warships in front of them was already in chaos. Someone was running around on the ship, screaming in their mouths with.But they couldn't hear what was being said, and small warships were constantly being concentrated by the artillery, and they were blown to pieces in an instant.

Zheng Hongkui, who had been observing the situation with a telescope, turned pale. He didn't know who launched the attack, and he couldn't believe what kind of artillery the opponent was using, and why it was so powerful. Haven't even figured out the situation yet.Without knowing who the opponent is, there is such a heavy loss.

Inside the binoculars, you can clearly see the opponent's warship. The mark of the warship is the navy of Ming Dynasty, which makes Zheng Hongkui have a very bad feeling. , the fire and sound of the artillery fired by the opponent's warship were very clear. Amidst the fire and thick smoke, the warship he led was constantly being destroyed and sunk. What he saw from the telescope made Zheng Hongkui tremble. He has been fighting at sea all year round, and he can tell that the ships in front are all giant warships, which cannot be resisted by the fleet he leads. To deal with such huge warships, if the distance is not far, he can send water ghosts, no matter what Whether it is fire attack or piercing the bottom of the warship, it is effective, but now the distance is too far. I am afraid that the small warship will be blown to the bone before it approaches the opponent. Forgive Zheng Hongkui for going through several sea battles. , was also stunned by such a situation.

The warship was too far away from the opponent, and there was no way for his own side to attack. It was impossible for the artillery to fire that far. However, at this time, no matter whether it could hit the opponent or not, the artillery would have to be fired.

Just when the flag bearer of the Chinese army beside Zheng Hongkui raised the flag, the sound of cannons on the left and right also appeared. Amidst the rumbling cannons, some medium-sized warships were also hit by the sudden artillery fire from the left and right. Where the naked eye can see, the warships were hit by artillery fire and began to burn. The fire quickly spread due to the wind. In the raging fire, the masts began to burst, and some warships were continuously concentrated by the artillery, and they were blown to pieces. Slowly began to sink into the sea.

The shock wave formed by the cannon set off layers of huge waves. Some small ships could not even be controlled. In the sea, there were thumping soldiers everywhere, and more corpses were floating on the sea. Some warships had no time to avoid it. These sergeants and corpses hit directly.

Looking at the situation on the left and right sides with a telescope, Zheng Hongkui began to wake up. Both the front and the left and right sides were attacked. The opponent's warship was so far away that it was able to launch an accurate attack. I don't know when the court appeared. The terrifying battleship formation, under the condition of not knowing the situation, temporarily retreating is the best decision.

Zheng Hongkui won't hesitate any longer. You can't show your strength in sea battles, and don't expect any miracles to happen. Strength is the deciding factor.

Amidst the rumble of cannons, he roared at the Chinese standard bearer.

"Order all ships to retreat quickly and not to fight..."

A cannon landed next to the main battleship, setting off huge waves, and the oncoming waves instantly drenched Zheng Hongkui's body. The biting cold made Zheng Hongkui more awake. Seeing that the flag bearer moved a little slowly Zheng Hongkui rushed forward without hesitation, grabbed the flag, and waved the blue flag alternately to the ships in front and behind.

The Zheng family's fleet was unambiguous in executing orders. The huge fleet quickly started to move. Although the gunfire from the front and the left and right sides was still strong, they didn't care so much, and quickly turned the bow , ready to retreat.

Penglai No. [-] warship.

Su Tiancheng held the binoculars and remained motionless. He maintained this posture for half an hour. The wind on the sea was a bit strong, and the sea breeze blew past, giving him a bone-piercing feeling. Wang Dazhi wanted to send clothes to Su Tiancheng several times, but in the end Let it go, he knows very well that at this time, it's best not to disturb Su Tiancheng.

The combat order was directly issued by Sun Chuanting. When the warship led by Zheng Hongkui appeared on the sea, the sergeant who was responsible for measuring the distance had already moved. When the warship was only one nautical mile away, the order to attack was issued. [

The sudden attack caught the fleet led by Zheng Hongkui off guard, and it was too late to deploy defense and attack. It became a mess in an instant, and warships were hit and sunk continuously, most of which were small warships. Immediately afterwards, the left and right sides The offensive also started, and the effect was remarkable. Some medium-sized warships began to be destroyed. Unfortunately, the ten large warships led by Zheng Hongkui were not hit by the artillery fire, whether it was luck or some other reason.

Less than half an hour after the attack, the fleet led by Zheng Hongkui made some moves. Su Tiancheng could see clearly that the ships that were not hit by the artillery fire no longer cared about the warships that were hit and hadn't sunk, and started to turn around.

This was something that Su Tiancheng didn't think of. The time was too fast. Could it be that Zheng Hongkui didn't think about it and forcibly drove forward, at least to launch an attack. Wouldn't it be a big loss of face to retreat like this?

Su Tiancheng quickly understood that Zheng Zhilong had been a pirate before, and the Zheng family's fleet developed rapidly at that time. The principle of pirate warfare is that if you win, you will attack desperately to obtain the greatest victory or the greatest benefit. If you can't win, turn around and leave, don't worry about your face, preserving your strength is the most important task.

It seemed that Zheng Hongkui had learned the essence of Zheng Zhilong's sea battle, and he gave the order to retreat immediately.

This kind of tactic is completely correct and in line with modern tactical thinking, but it is generally not accepted by soldiers. If you run away if you can't win, then there is no need to fight. Although before the battle, estimate the strength of the two sides, There are so many examples of wars in history where fewer have won more. If people measure it by the number of troops, there is no need to fight.

Su Tiancheng finally put down the binoculars, and at the same time, Sun Chuanting and others also put down the binoculars.

"Sun Chuanting. Zheng Hongkui is about to escape."

"Yes, my lord is really ingenious. In the waters of Dashan Island, the Dengzhou warship formation and the Laizhou warship formation were deployed. Zheng Hongkui may not have imagined that after the retreat, his warships will suffer even more serious blows. The official believes that this time the navy will be able to completely annihilate the formation of warships led by Zheng Hongkui."

Seeing the power of artillery on the sea with his own eyes, Sun Chuanting seemed full of confidence. He did not expect such a situation. After several rounds of artillery attacks, the fleet led by Zheng Hongkui had already suffered heavy losses. It seemed that the entire warship formation , lost the confidence to attack, and immediately began to retreat. Under such circumstances, ordering the formation of warships in front and on the left and right to follow and attack all the way, Zheng Hongkui would not have the slightest hope, and would definitely be wiped out.

Su Tiancheng had a smile on his face, but he still wanted to remind Sun Chuanting.

"We can't underestimate the enemy. The warships of the Zheng family have been active at sea all year round. They have experienced several battles and have rich experience. This time, because of their arrogance and underestimation of the enemy, they suffered such a heavy blow. The more At this time, the more we can't let them have a chance to breathe, the Yantai warship formation directly in front, the Penglai warship formation on the left and the left, and the Weihai warship formation must firmly hold down Zheng Hongkui and drive them into the encirclement Go inside, the sergeant who fell into the sea must be rescued, and the Haicang ship is ordered to complete this task." (To be continued...)