Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Although today's navy can sail into the sea from rivers and lakes, due to underdeveloped technology and incomplete navigation systems, they almost always sail along the coastline when sailing on the sea.

This was the route that Wei State took from Huaiyin in Xuzhou to Donglai in Qingzhou. Previously, Wu State had set out from Jianye to communicate with Gongsun Clan in Liaodong and also moved along the coastline, which was no exception.

Before Cao Zhi's fleet set out to visit Japan, there were three routes to Japan.

One is to start from the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula and go directly to Japan.

The second is to start from Donglai County, Qingzhou, cross the Bohai Sea, sail along the Korean Peninsula to the Busan area in later generations, and then sail to the north of Kyushu Island via Tsushima Island.

The third option is still to start from Donglai County, Qingzhou, cross the sea to Daifang County, Yingzhou, and then sail south along the coast to Wa.

The route opened by Cao Zhi was completely different from the previous three. It started from Donglai County and went directly from Keijū Island to Kitakyushu in Japan.

But naval warfare and naval navigation are two completely different states.

Cao Rui, together with the Privy Council and the Chief of Works, had already made a basic judgment on naval warfare. The ocean is vast, unlike land, and is also affected by wind direction. If the enemy insists on avoiding battle and sailing in the direction of the wind, it will be difficult to track them given the vastness of the ocean and the waves on the sea.

At this moment, General Cao Zhi of the Tower Ship was facing the same problem.

"General, General! We have the enemy in the north!"

The fleet of twenty warships was mighty, but it looked extremely small against the backdrop of the sea. Cao Zhi was on the front warship, writing down the details of the voyage in the cabin, when he heard the loud shouts of the scouts outside.

Cao Zhi frowned slightly, walked out quickly, and came to the front of the deck. Chen Ben, who was on the same ship, followed him and looked in the direction pointed by the scout.

Cao Zhi covered his eyes with his left hand and looked in the direction the scout was pointing, his intuition a little fuzzy.

Cao Zhi then held out his hand and said, "He Ruo, give me the telescope."

"Yes!" He Ruo, the chief scout, responded and handed the telescope to Cao Zhi. According to the people in the Privy Council, this was just a small item invented by His Majesty in the fifth year of Taihe, but it was very useful in naval and land operations.

It was only when His Majesty received the tribute from Donghai County that he came up with this idea. The crystal production area of ​​Donghai County was in Licheng and Quxian County, which were attacked by the Wu army.

Cao Zhi had always been obsessed with leading troops in battle, otherwise he would not have written such a magnificent poem as "I marched straight into the Xiongnu, looked left at the Xianbei, and threw myself on the edge of a sharp blade, how could I care about my life?" But just as he was about to give the order, he stretched out his hand and looked into the air out of habit, and his face immediately turned cold.

"Why?" Cao Zhi turned his head and looked at the scout leader beside him: "When did the north wind start?"

He Ruo said, "About two hours ago, the north wind started blowing in the morning."

Cao Zhi shook his head helplessly, and Chen Ben reached out to find out the direction of the wind, then he also let out a long sigh.

The wind was blowing from the north, and the Wu army's ships were heading south from the north. If the ships were fully sailed, they would be able to sail faster with the help of the wind! The Wei army's fleet was heading north from the south, and their speed was even slower. If the Wu army insisted on avoiding a fight, it would be difficult for them to meet.

This is the dilemma that generals often encounter.

It is time to fight this battle, but the time and place are not right, which will test the commander's wisdom and courage.

"Go and call Zhou Dubo." Cao Zhi looked at He Ruo with a serious expression.

"Well, General, please wait a moment."

Even though the ship was rising and falling with the waves, He Ruo remained as steady as if his feet were rooted, and walked to the back of the ship to find Zhou Dubo who was in charge of the ship. Each warship had a staff of 150 people, and was led by a Dubo who could command 100 people.

Du Bo Zhou Tian also trotted over with He Ruo and bowed, "General, what do you want to see me for?"

"Raise the flag signal and tell General Gong in the back to change the formation from cone to double cone. General Gong is in the west, leading ten warships, and I will lead ten ships here, fighting at intervals of two miles!"

"Subordinates take orders!"

As Du Bo Zhou Tian's flag signals at the highest point of the ship changed, the fleet behind Cao Zhi's ship split into two parts, sailing northward while expanding outward.

Naval warfare is similar to infantry and cavalry warfare, and also requires formation and layout. Thanks to the "Naval Warfare Order" issued by the Privy Council at the beginning of last year, the Wei Dynasty has also completed the common military system in the three fields of infantry, cavalry, and naval warfare. Flag language is the most basic communication method for naval warfare.

At this time, Wei Wen, a lieutenant general of the Wu army in the north, asked: "Lord He, there is a fleet coming north from the south. We cannot see its shape yet. What should we do?" He Da stood on the top deck of a ship with his hands behind his back and squinted his eyes and said: "The Wei bandits actually have seagoing ships? This really surprises me."

Wei Wen thought about it and nodded in response: "It must be that the Wei State sent ships from the left side of the Huai River to attack, otherwise how could a fleet meet us on such a surging sea by chance? This is not a ghost!"

The Wu army had a force of 10,000 soldiers and more than 60 ships, including the three main types of warships: tower ships, battleships, and fighting ships. They were led by He Da, the son of He Qi, a former general of the Wu state.

Seeing Heda was silent, Wei Wen asked, "Northerners are not good at naval warfare. Why not let the soldiers swallow up these Wei ships? Then we can boast of our achievements to Your Majesty when we return."

Heda glanced at Wei Wen and said with a smile: "How can we achieve all the merits in one go? You, me and General Tang have already done enough. I don't want to lose any more ships. This is enough."

"Order!" Heda seemed like a different person when he gave the order. The smile on his face disappeared instantly. He said, "Order all the fleets to sail with full sails and follow the flagship to the southeast, away from the coast, and avoid these Wei ships!"

"Yes, sir." Wei Wen bowed and accepted the order, then walked down the wooden ladder of the ship to look for people to assign tasks.

The merits of the Wu army's harassment in Donghai County were enough, and it was common for the fleet to avoid fighting. But for Cao Zhi, the general of the tower ship who was eager to prove himself, this made his expression even worse.

"General, at the current ship speed and with the headwind, it will be difficult for us to catch up with the Wu ship. The Wu ship will probably pass by us to the east, but we won't be able to touch it." Du Bo Zhou Tian reported truthfully.

Cao Zhi shook his head and said, "No, this is our first time sailing on the sea, how can we give up so easily? Send a ship to the middle and tell General Gong to join us with flags, then turn south and follow the Wu army!"

"Follow the order!"

The twenty warships of the Wei army slowly came together and changed direction to head south. After all this, they were still a long way away from the Wu ships that were sailing in the direction of the wind.

"Chase, full sail! Order all ships to sail at full speed, and do not slow down!" Cao Zhi sat in the cabin, looking out at the sea through the window sill, giving orders with a serious expression.

Chen Ben was sitting at a table nearby, holding an ink pen in his hand, trying to carefully write down all the details that had just been said.

The Wei army's ships were fast after changing direction, but the Wu ships were just as fast. It was not until dusk, when the sun was about to set in the western sky and gradually became as red as fire, that they finally caught up with the tail of the Wu army fleet.

At this time, both sides were not far from the coast. According to common sense, it was time to find a place to anchor.

Seeing that Cao Zhi still wanted to chase him, Chen Ben tried to persuade him:
"General, it's getting late, so don't chase us anymore. Besides, there are clouds in the sky just now, and we can't see the stars. At night, things might change. If we make a mistake, it will be bad luck!"

Cao Zhi gritted his teeth, his cheeks puffed up, and leaned his hands on the wooden railing at the bow of the boat, his eyes constantly moving back and forth between the Wu army fleet and the setting sun.

After a long silence, Cao Zhi finally sighed and said, "Forget it, I'll just do as Xiu Yuan said!"

Cao Zhi's fleet ultimately failed to catch up with the Wu ships, and did not capture a single ship. But when Cao Zhi led the fleet back to Huaiyin, and returned to Shouchun with Chen Ben and Lieutenant General Gong Zun in a small boat, he did not receive any blame from the emperor.

"I have read your sailing diary and remember it well." Cao Rui stood with his hands behind his back in front of the map of the Xuzhou coast hanging on the screen and said in a deep voice: "I have said before that for the current fleet of the Great Wei, accumulating combat experience is the most important thing. Other things can be put aside. Sooner or later, you will have the opportunity to use your military skills. The road ahead is long and arduous!"

Coastal maps are different from ordinary maps. When drawn on paper, the left side is north and the right side is south, and the coastline and the many small islands along the coast extend from left to right.

Cao Zhi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have concluded that the reason we were unable to engage the Wu army this time was because the sea was too vast and our ships were slow. When we were sailing at full speed, we were barely on par with the Wu army's ships."

"It's okay." Cao Rui said calmly.

Seeing the emperor's calmness, Cao Zhi, the commander-in-chief, was not calm, and his face was full of questions.

Cao Rui smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know that I have previously conducted experiments with the Chief Architect Ma Deheng. For warships of the same type, the shorter and narrower the ship, the faster it is. However, short and narrow ships are light and unstable, which is not conducive to long-distance voyages at sea. In addition, the Type B warship has added rams and floating plates on both sides, which makes it even more so."

Cao Zhi heard something in the emperor's words: "I don't quite understand. Your Majesty, do you mean that the speed of the ship and the combat power of the ship cannot be achieved at the same time?"

"That's exactly what I mean." Cao Rui nodded and said, "You are in a pursuit battle this time. If you can't catch up, that's fine. I don't blame you. But if the two fleets collide head-on, the combat power of the Type B warships will be truly revealed."

"I understand." Cao Zhi said, "For example, the Type B warship is more suitable for water warfare. For example, the Type D building ship equipped with a pole is also more suitable for water warfare, but it is not as large as the Type C building ship and can sail into the sea. Each type of ship has its own function."

Cao Rui nodded: "That's exactly what I meant. (End of this chapter)