Fu Shanhe

Chapter 371 Naval Battle
In the Beibu Gulf, the roar of artillery fire broke the tranquility of the sea.

The Annan navy, which received a request for help from a merchant ship and a generous gift, was hit head-on just sixty miles away from home.

A large hole appeared on the hull of a 300-ton warship before it could react.

The sea water quickly poured back, and the clever Annan navy soldiers quickly jumped off the boat to escape.

In an instant, the warship was swallowed by the sea.

The sharp artillery fire surprised the Annan navy officers and soldiers who were accustomed to close combat.

"Pass the order, gunners, return fire immediately!

Send out a small boat and go back immediately to ask the admiral for help.

I will eat up these pirates and use their heads to tell the world that the Great Yue Navy should not be insulted lightly."

Admiral Ruan Yufeng of the navy immediately ordered a counterattack.

We can't just take the money for nothing. If we can't save the merchant ship, we must at least wipe out this group of pirates.

As the little overlord of South Asia, the strength of the Annan Navy is not weak.

Although the firepower of the pirates in front of them was a little stronger and their ships were a little taller, this was not a reason for them to retreat.

Even though he had the advantage in terms of the number of ships, he was defeated by a group of pirates and his position as a naval lieutenant general was doomed to fail.

Due to wrong judgment, this squadron lost the best opportunity to evacuate.

If the flag of the Yu army navy was hoisted, Ruan Yufeng would definitely turn around and run away at the first opportunity.

There is an essential difference between regular troops and pirates. Except for a few pirate gangs that have completed their transformation, most pirates are makeshift groups.

"Commander-in-Chief, there are enemy ships coming from the flank!"

After receiving the warning, Ruan Yufeng secretly thought that something was not good.

The wind was blowing from the southwest at that time, and the sudden appearance of the enemy came with the wind, and their speed was much faster than normal sailing.

"Western warship?"

"Send a flag signal immediately and tell them this is a misunderstanding!"

Ruan Yufeng hurriedly gave the order.

In his impression, there were no Western warships among the pirates, and the Dayu Navy was not equipped with such warships either.

Only the Franks from the West liked to use sailing warships.

The Dai Viet Dynasty is at war with Dayu. It is fine to wipe out the blind pirates, but it would be unwise to provoke the French.

As the ships got closer, the Portuguese flag was suddenly lowered, and then the flag of the Dayu Navy was raised.

Almost at the same time, the pirate fleet that was fighting with them also raised the flag of the Dayu Navy.

"withdraw!"

Realizing that he had fallen into a trap, Ruan Yufeng decisively ordered a retreat.

Judging from the time, the ship asking for help will soon return to the port.

Fight and retreat at the same time, and reinforcements will arrive after just two hours.

"Let the gunpowder ship ram into them and disrupt the enemy's formation!"

Seeing that the distance was getting closer, the commander-in-chief of the Guangdong and Guangxi Navy on the flagship decisively gave the order to ram.

Before artillery technology improved, ramming was an important means of attack.

The Guangdong and Guangxi naval fleets are in a state of alternation between the two.

While they began to be equipped with large-caliber artillery, they also retained their original close combat style.

According to Li Mu's plan, it is expected that in the next five years, the Guangdong and Guangxi Navy will gradually phase out previous tactics and enter the era of large gunboats.

……

Annan Navy Camp.

"what?"

"Ambushed by pirates?"

Huang Jinchuan asked in disbelief.

Pirates ambushing the navy seems like a fantasy no matter how you look at it.

Regardless of whether we can win or not, the key point is that it is meaningless.

The reason for choosing to be a pirate is to make money. There is no substantial benefit in provoking the navy except to bring about one's own destruction.

There are many powerful heroes on the sea now, but there has not yet appeared a giant like the Zheng family in the late Ming Dynasty.

Although the Dai Viet Dynasty was not as powerful as Dayu, it could still encircle and suppress a group of pirates once it made up its mind.

"Yes, Admiral!"

"Our fleet was out on patrol as usual, and when we saw pirates robbing merchant ships, we stepped forward to stop them.

No one would have expected that this group of pirates was so vicious and cruel that they even dared to fight the imperial navy.

The Lieutenant General is leading his fleet in a fierce battle with the enemy and has sent me back to ask for help.

Please, Admiral, send troops to wipe out this group of pirates!"

The middle-aged general decisively chose to conceal the key information.

It is normal for the navy to step forward to stop pirates when they see them looting. There is no need to expose the fact that they took money.

Essentially, they went out to do private work without telling their superiors.

Once discovered, the entire fleet will be in trouble.

"Pass the order down, have the Lieutenant General of the Central Army and the Lieutenant General of the Right Army lead their troops to rescue the Lieutenant General of the Left Army!"

After a brief hesitation, Huang Jinchuan immediately gave the order.

No matter what the reason, pirates attacking the navy is not allowed.

……

On the sea.

One after another, warships loaded with gunpowder rushed towards the Annan navy, and the ships were like wild horses that had broken free from their reins, cutting through the sea at the fastest speed.

"not good!"

"Get out of the way!"

In a panic, Ruan Yufeng hurriedly gave orders.

Unfortunately, by the time I realized it, it was too late.

In order to avoid being hit by the fire ship, two Annan ships unfortunately collided, and then the impact also affected a third ship passing by.

The unlucky warship in the middle was directly hit and overturned, and the other two unlucky ones were shot towards their companions like sharp arrows.

At the same time as the chain collision occurred, a fire ship loaded with gunpowder also crashed into them.

With a loud bang, the flames instantly engulfed the night, casting fear into everyone's hearts.

The shock wave generated by the explosion caused huge waves, as if the sea was also trembling because of the explosion.

In less than a cup of tea, more than ten Annan ships were swallowed by the sea.

At this point in the battle, the fleet led by Ruan Yufeng has suffered more than half of its casualties.

After the formation collapsed, the remaining warships scattered like birds and beasts.

Through the sound of gunfire, one could vaguely hear the officers' shouts urging them to speed up.

The war has turned into a hunting game, and it's time to compete in speed.

The slower warships were quickly caught up by Yu's army and became meat on the chopping board.

Some generals could not bear the pressure and raised the white flag, but they were still greeted by a barrage of artillery shells.

It’s not that the Yu army doesn’t take prisoners, but the current situation is special.

The Yu army must end the battle before the enemy reinforcements arrive and then evacuate the sea area.

The warships that chose to surrender were all ships that had lost their ability to move.

Carrying these burdens will seriously affect the speed of action.

If it is left alone, the enemy navy can pull the ship back, repair it and continue to use it.

The sky gradually darkened, the bloody battle came to an end, and the red sea water attracted countless underwater predators.

"Stop the pursuit and return to Lianzhou Port."

Seeing the vague shadow of a ship appearing in the distance, Li Wenhe immediately gave the order to retreat.

This operation was to take advantage, not to fight to the death with the Annan people. Being able to eat up an enemy squadron with minimal losses would be a huge profit.

There is no need to fight another battle with the enemy's reinforcements for a few remnants.

Although the battle just now only destroyed dozens of enemy ships, these were the main elite forces of the Annan navy.

The strength of a squadron is equivalent to one-fourth of the Annan Navy.

Any troop that loses a quarter of its strength will suffer serious damage.

Let's go back and exaggerate our achievements. It's time for the pirate gangs roaming nearby to perform.

Annan has such a long coastline that once pirates land and plunder everywhere, the Annan navy with low health will have a lot to do.

……

"Boss Duan, I just received the news.

The Guangdong and Guangxi naval forces pretended to be pirates and ambushed the Annan naval forces in the coastal area of ​​Annan, sinking dozens of large and medium-sized warships.

The one-eyed man reported excitedly.

In order to plunder the Kingdom of Annan, after the meeting of the Governor's Office ended that day, a group of pirate leaders went back and formed teams to form three major pirate alliances.

The man in front of him, called Boss Duan, was the leader nominated by one of the pirate alliances.

"Oh!"

"It seems that the promise of Hanshui Hou still counts.

The Annan navy suffered heavy losses, so you can all rest assured now!"

Duan Zhengze said with a smile.

Robbing the Annan people was a big challenge for the pirates.

Judging from the number of ships alone, the pirates have dozens of times the number of Annan’s navy.

But each ship is different.

Most of the pirates' ships were converted from merchant ships, and their combat effectiveness was far inferior to that of warships.

For a large navy warship, taking on a dozen pirate merchant ships is like a piece of cake.

Even the big pirates don't have many warships.

The greatest wish of countless pirate leaders is to have their own shipyard so they can build all kinds of ships.

Even the most powerful pirate king only achieved half of his goal, that is: owning his own shipyard.

It is impossible to build all kinds of ships.

On the one hand, it was due to the court's technological blockade, and on the other hand, building large warships not only required a large number of craftsmen, but also the cooperation of the industrial chain.

With only craftsmen and wood, at most they could build some ordinary ships.

Some pirates sought to be recruited because they were after the warship manufacturing technology.

The most typical example is Zheng Zhilong in the late Ming Dynasty. Before accepting the amnesty from the imperial court, although he was also a major pirate at sea, he still had many competitors.

After being recruited and obtaining the Ming Dynasty's official shipyards, artillery technology and a large number of craftsmen, Zheng Zhilong Group achieved a qualitative leap.

"Boss Duan, this is too polite.

With you taking the lead, we brothers will have no reason to worry!"

The bearded burly man responded immediately.

If we were not all witnesses, no one would have thought that he had been the most vehement in his opposition.

There was no other reason, it was just that they simply did not trust the imperial court and thought that the government troops wanted them to fight with the Annan navy to a mutual defeat and then jump out to reap the benefits.

Now that the navy of Guangdong and Guangxi took the lead and inflicted heavy damage on the navy of Annan, everyone's worries disappeared at once.

Everything else can be faked, but you can’t fake the battle.

With their abilities, they can verify the authenticity of the information at any time.

It is impossible for the Annan people to use their own naval fleet to cooperate with Yu’s army in this drama.

"Since everyone has no objection, let's pick a good day, go ashore and make a big move.

However, how to play it specifically still requires skills.

Since the Annan navy has gathered in the north, we will start to rob from the south.

If they rush to the south to rescue, we will come to grab the north.

Of course, if conditions are ripe, it is not impossible to join forces with the other two to swallow up the Annan Navy.

By plundering a country, we can get all the shipyards, craftsmen, artillery, gold, silver, jewelry and beauties we want.

I am not the kind of person who wants to eat alone. As long as you brothers are willing to contribute, everyone will have a share of these spoils!"

Duan Zhengze immediately made a promise.

Knowing that some of these people lacked trust in the imperial court and did not want to accept the amnesty, he simply tempted them with spoils of war.

Compared to the Dayu Dynasty, the technology of the Annan people may be a little behind, but it is still very useful for pirates.

……

Town difficulties.

"My Lord, Li Wenhe, the commander of the Guangdong and Guangxi naval forces, sent a battle report that they had severely damaged the enemy navy in the Annan Sea three days ago.

More than 80 enemy warships of various sizes were sunk, and more than 3,000 enemy naval forces were annihilated. "

Lan Linjie said happily.

Managing Annan is the biggest strategy of Li Mu Group at the moment.

If successful, it will establish a century-long foundation.

No matter how the world situation develops in the future, they will always have a place.

If the plan fails, at best the reputation of Li Mu, the undefeated god of war, will be greatly damaged, or at worst he will be involved in countless court disputes.

He had read history books and knew very well that the noble group had come to a crossroads.

Throughout history, there has never been a second example of party strife as large-scale as that in the Dayu Dynasty.

In the past, party struggles were a game played by a few large families and dozens of lesser families.

As long as the heads of these families are controlled, they can use these families to influence the politics of the entire country.

With the development of the imperial examination system, aristocratic families declined and were replaced by new gentry groups.

Compared with traditional aristocratic families, the gentry group is larger in number and more difficult to control.

Originally, there were probably only a few factions in the court, but now, there are factions within the factions.

Taking the Qingliu Group as an example, the Chu Party, the Zhejiang Party, and the Jiangnan Academy appeared below...

If we further subdivide these small groups, there are radicals and conservatives.

The most important thing is that which party the government troops belong to is not constant, but changes with their interests.

Faction bosses have influence over their younger brothers, but only a very small number of them can be directly controlled.

Most officials have their own stances, and when something really happens, there is no guarantee that they will all stick to their faction.

This division was the result of the continuous efforts of successive emperors of Dayu, who successfully weakened the power of their ministers.

Throughout the entire Dayu Dynasty, there has never been a case of powerful officials abusing their power.

In another dynasty, if a political rookie like Emperor Yongning wanted to seize power from the regent, there would be bloodshed.

However, in Dayu, the transfer of power was basically completed peacefully.

Although there were many political struggles during this period, their intensity was much lower.

Except for the unlucky Zuo Guangen, who was convicted and executed, the other regent ministers basically got away with it.

During this period, two people were accidentally killed, but it was an accident and they were still given a grand funeral afterwards without any further investigation.

But this was the situation in the past, and now the situation has changed subtly.

The rise of the nobility squeezed out the interests of the civil service group.

They are needed now, but the civil service group has not reached a unified position due to their different interests.

Once the world is at peace, military generals become their public enemies.

As a legal advisor, he was labeled as Li Mu, and both sides would suffer together and prosper together.

If you want to be invincible, you must prepare in advance.

(End of this chapter)