Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Previously, the Ming army had won a historic victory by using a large-scale torpedo boat attack. If they were to fight the federal army in the waters around Manila, the Ming army would also have to face a large number of torpedo boats deployed by the federal army on the front line.

No commander would want to deal with these assassins armed with sharp blades while already engaged in battle with the enemy's main fleet.

Therefore, Tang's army now intends to take advantage of McGiffin's main force heading north to attack the port of Tainan, and use a swap tactic to exchange Manila for the federal army's territory.

After all, for the Tang army, losing the port of Tainan made it inconvenient to continue guarding and blocking the Bashi Channel, but there were still other ports available. However, if the port of Manila, which was under the control of the Federation, was attacked, even if it was not completely destroyed, it would greatly affect the speed at which the Federation could transfer supplies to the front lines.

After all, Manila is the only port in the Southwest Pacific for the Federal Army.

After the fleet set sail, Liu Duncheng paid close attention to the telegrams sent by Xu Yueming from Tainan. The naval aviation force that this young man had at this moment had unknowingly become the key to the entire war operation. The main force of the ocean fleet would act according to the enemy's movements sent by this young man.

The staff officers on the flagship were busy planning the fleet's route on the nautical charts, trying their best to avoid the patrol lines of the Federation warships that had been detected earlier and to ensure the fleet's covert movement. For the other senior officers, it was a tedious and agonizing wait. Li Che could not stand the somewhat anxious atmosphere in the command bridge, so he came to the top navigation bridge.

At this moment, he was still somewhat uneasy, but not because of the tension of facing war. Although he was not very experienced, he was not a greenhorn either. He had been on the battlefield when he was in the army, although most of the fighting had already ended when he joined the army and went to the battlefield.

As for participating in the naval operation aboard the Dingyuan, Li Che was well aware that he had indeed broken his promise to Zhu Miaoyun that "I will not go to the front lines." But what was that saying again? "A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders." If this was the case with the emperor, how much more so with the tigress at home?

As for why he made such a decision, he probably saw many similar examples in another world, from the snowy forests of Northeast China to the snowy mountains and black waters of North Korea, from the tropical rainforests of South America to the ruins of Gaza. There were too many examples and role models standing in front of him.

Most importantly, in the face of this decisive battle that could very well determine the future and destiny of the nation, Li Che believed that he could play a key role in some situations. He was well aware that he only had the ability to talk about war on paper, but at the same time he believed that if he was not directly commanding the troops, but was just a special staff officer or advisor, then being able to talk about war on paper was indeed a very important and remarkable skill.

He certainly knew better than anyone in this world the battles that could be referenced in another world, and the character of the Federation naval commanders they faced.

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard faint cannon fire in the distance. It came from directly in front of the fleet. The first fast fleet of the navy, with the Jingyuan as its flagship, had opened fire.

Although the telegram had not yet arrived, everyone knew from the faint sound of artillery fire that these 330mm heavy cannons would not roar unless they had encountered the enemy.

Li Che quickly descended to the command bridge. The telegram was already being decoded. Liu Duncheng nodded when he saw him come down. Just as the telegram was finished being decoded, Liu Duncheng, who had a prosthetic leg, grabbed the telegram, glanced at it, and said, "The Jingyuan and its crew encountered a patrol formation of the Federation forces. They launched an attack immediately, probably trying to sink the Federation ships before they could send a telegram."

"I'm afraid things haven't gone as planned. We detected that the Federation forces sent half a telegram, and they sent it in plain text." The chief of staff, who had been paying attention to the radio, said with some regret, "Those Federation patrol ships desperately sent half a telegram at the last moment. The telegram reported that they had encountered our battlecruisers. The report ended there, without any further details about the time and location. But I think that after the Federation forces receive the telegram, they can deduce our approximate location based on the patrol formation's route map and the time the telegram was sent."

“We’re not far from Manila now, so it’s not surprising that the Federation has spotted us,” Li Che said. “Moreover, I don’t think the situation is that bad. From the Federation’s perspective, their patrol fleet was indeed attacked, but when the Federation patrol fleet was sunk, they only saw our four battlecruisers. It’s hard for the Federation to tell whether we launched a full-scale attack or just deployed our battlecruisers. I tend to think it’s the latter.”

Liu Duncheng: "Tell me your reasons."

Li Che stated bluntly: "According to the Federation's normal intelligence, we should still have several dreadnoughts undergoing maintenance and major repairs in port at this time. It is impossible for us to attempt a fleet battle with the Federation without these main battle ships."

"If we're not aiming for a decisive fleet battle, we won't send our entire fleet out. The logic here is self-consistent. Unless the Federation knows that we've abandoned the subsequent overhaul projects for these ships and prematurely restored them to combat readiness, they'll most likely just think we're trying to launch a surprise attack on Manila with battlecruisers. And most importantly, the enemy's telegram wasn't complete; it only mentioned encountering our battlecruisers, but didn't specify which type."

“If they think we only deployed battlecruisers, and four dreadnought battlecruisers at that…” Liu Duncheng pondered for a moment and then shook his head: “Then they probably won’t immediately give up their plan to attack our Tainan port.”

"Yes, Manila will definitely strengthen its defenses, but McGiffin probably won't come back to reinforce immediately. After all, four battlecruisers equipped with 280mm guns won't have much of an advantage in a battle against the pre-dreadnoughts that are acting as gun emplacements in Manila's harbor. In their assessment, Manila can hold out."

"But these are just speculations."

“This is indeed just speculation, but fortunately we have the means to corroborate it,” Li Che said. “You can send a telegram now to Xu Yueming to increase the frequency of naval air force searches and reports.”

This suggestion clearly appealed to Liu Duncheng, but after circling the chart table twice, he shook his head: "No, even if we use a new code this time, our current code is still the same system as the old one, and there is a possibility that it can be deciphered by the enemy. If we send a telegram, even if the Federation Army only deciphers a few words, it is very likely to increase their vigilance."

“Are you afraid the Federation will find out? When we bombard Manila, they will definitely…” Li Che started to say, then suddenly realized, “You’re only planning to send four battlecruisers with 280mm guns to bombard Manila?”

"As I said before, the battle plan can be flexibly executed according to the actual situation. The bombardment of Manila is a means for us, and destroying Manila is one of our desired objectives. However, this is not our ultimate goal. Everything must serve the purpose of the decisive battle with the main fleet of the Federal Navy. If we can defeat the Federal fleet in the next engagement, then we can naturally return to bombard Manila and completely destroy the port."

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"Our patrol group encountered Ming Dynasty battlecruisers less than 150 nautical miles from Manila."

McGiffin put down the telegram in his hand. The news couldn't have come at the worst possible time, because they had already arrived outside Kaohsiung Harbor.

Kaohsiung's port was originally called Takow Port. As early as the 15th century, the Makatao people, the indigenous people of Kaohsiung, used thorny bamboo to defend against pirates and called Kaohsiung "Bamboo Forest". Because the pronunciation of this is very similar to "Ta-kau" in the Chinese language, people called Kaohsiung "Ta-kau". Ta-kau is also the earliest place name of Kaohsiung. As a port city, Kaohsiung Port was also called "Ta-kau Port" at that time.

This place was one of the important landing points for Japanese merchants who went to Southeast Asia, and the pronunciation of "Ta-kau" is similar to "Takao" in Japanese.

The merchants of Yingzhou initially named the place Kaohsiung out of admiration for the Celestial Empire. Later, as the commercial port here grew larger, the authorities decided to replace the original, unpleasant name, "Dagou," with a better-sounding one, and simply adopted the name Kaohsiung.

Considering the large number of immigrants from Yingzhou in the city and its status as a commercial port, McGiffin hadn't initially taken it too seriously. After the previous shelling attacks, while he knew Kaohsiung Port would be prepared, he certainly hadn't expected the enemy's preparations to be so thorough…

It's important to know that although McGiffin himself didn't have such an idea, some people in the Federal Navy had previously believed that they could persuade the Yingzhou immigrants in the city to surrender and launch a rebellion.

McGiffin was certainly not that naive, but the situation in Kaohsiung was indeed beyond his expectations. After reconnaissance, the destroyers found that the minefield had expanded more than three times over, which greatly limited the ability of the several pre-dreadnoughts carrying out the shelling mission to get close enough to shell the entire port and the depths of the city.

These expanded minefields obviously couldn't have fallen from the sky. In fact, these minefields were laid by the local "Wazu Chamber of Commerce" with the assistance of a large number of fishing boats and merchant ships.

If these Japanese people, who have lived in the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years, knew that some people within the Federal Army regarded them as the same kind of people as the Yingzhou people or even thought that they would launch a rebellion, they would definitely be furious and wish they could cut off the heads of these "white devils".

Damn it! I finally managed to escape my barbarian status, and I'm a citizen of the Celestial Empire now. How can you lump me in with those barbarians?

Now, McGiffin faces a minefield outside Kaohsiung Harbor that is much larger than expected. He must make a choice: should he clear two sea lanes here so that the old battleships carrying out the bombardment mission can destroy the port and then return to Manila, or should he abandon the original bombardment mission and immediately lead the fleet back to Manila?

This decision didn't give McGiffin much time to consider. After comparing the two options, he chose to trust Manila's defense system and focus on quickly dismantling the last major port in Tainan before considering anything else.

With McGiffin's decision made, several minesweepers began to move forward to clear the passage, and the movements of the Federal Navy fleet carrying out minesweeping operations were naturally sent to Liu Duncheng by telegram.

Upon receiving the telegram, Liu Duncheng was completely relieved. So, when the gunfire erupted in Manila, Liu Duncheng had already led four battlecruisers and seventeen battleships northwards for some time.

Chapter 150 The Collision of a Million Tons of Steel (2)

"The Suiyuan and other ships will catch up with us at 25 knots after they finish shelling us, but it is expected that they will not be able to catch up with us until we reach the Bashi Channel. Should we reduce our speed a bit and wait for them?"

After splitting up, the fleet now consists of 21 capital ships. Given that the super-dreadnoughts are not as capable of fighting in close combat as the Federation Navy, numbers are a crucial factor in whether the Tang army can win. If possible, everyone would naturally prefer to fight the Federation army with all 25 capital ships present.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the remaining Pinghai-class battleship, being a converted dreadnought, was indeed somewhat slow, Liu Duncheng would have seriously considered bringing that ship along to make a total of 26 capital ships.

Therefore, after the necessary division of forces, it was understandable that the staff officers hoped to regroup the fleet as soon as possible.

However, upon hearing this suggestion, Li Che immediately objected, saying, "I do not recommend reducing speed to wait. Although our route to the north is in better condition than the Palawan Channel, it is still dotted with islands and reefs, and we are always at risk of being threatened by submarines."

Li Che would certainly not forget the arduous journey of the First Flying Fleet led by Kurita Takeo in the Battle of Samar in another world. What are most people's memories of the Battle of Samar?

It was the humiliation of the combined fleet's battleships and heavy artillery under the air superiority of the Federation's Golden Annihilation Fleet.

The Musashi, the world's strongest battleship, was sunk in the Sibuyan Sea by more than 20 torpedoes and 17 bombs.

Was it a desperate attack launched by Taffy Squad 3 against an enemy with overwhelming superiority?

These were all part of the grand and massive Battle of Samar, but before all this happened, during the First Guerrilla Fleet's journey to the battlefield through the Palawan Channel, they were ambushed by Union submarines, and overnight, two of the Takao-class heavy cruisers, known as the "King of Treaty Heavy Cruisers," were killed and one was seriously damaged. The Fourth Fleet, which had been fighting for the Combined Fleet since the start of the war, was immediately disbanded.

The root of all this was Kurita Takeo's attempt to conserve fuel by having the fleet maintain a relatively economical speed and advance in a zigzag pattern. This successfully allowed the Federation submarines to pursue and ambush the fleet at night while sailing on the surface at maximum speed.

Many people attribute this to the bad luck of the Yingzhou people, but Li Che believes that the Yingzhou people were actually quite lucky. When the Federation submarines were targeting the ship, they chose a "capital ship" with four turrets. The Federation submarines thought that their target was a Kongo-class battleship. However, it was actually the "Maya" that the Yingzhou people had modified for air defense and removed one of its turrets, which was known as an "air defense fortress on the sea".

What if the Federation submarines had hit three battleships instead of three heavy cruisers? The Battle of Samar might never have happened, and the First Flying Fleet, which had been rampant with the Japanese navy for decades, would have failed to launch its final large-scale operation.

Faced with such a lesson, Li Che would certainly not ignore the threat posed by submarines, especially given that in the current combat zone, there are countless small surface vessels (torpedo boats are difficult to use in the daytime when visibility is good) that are "crawling in the shadows" underwater. Any negligence could result in unacceptable heavy losses.

After Li Che spoke, some staff officers clearly wanted to speak, but their faces showed obvious concerns. After all, although Li Che had previously emphasized that he was just an ordinary officer in the fleet, it was actually a bit hypocritical, since no one could really treat him as an ordinary officer.

It takes courage to refute the Crown Prince's statement.

“If anyone has anything to say, please feel free to speak.” Li Che noticed the concerns on the officers’ faces: “If you’re going to the battlefield, it means you’re not even afraid of the Federation’s cannons. Do you think I’m more terrifying than the Federation’s cannons?”

Indeed, encouragement is useful for young people of any era, especially for this group of naval personnel who never gave up during the most critical moments of the previous naval crisis.

Although the Tang Dynasty Navy, which was inherited from the Ming Dynasty Royal Navy, nominally has a history that can be traced back to the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the modern Ming Dynasty Royal Navy was actually established in the mid-9th century and gradually grew stronger. Therefore, like the Ming Dynasty Army's garrison troops, they were relatively young and did not have the stagnation of the Ming Dynasty Army.

Therefore, these naval officers and soldiers, like the garrison troops deeply influenced by the Datong School of thought, were indeed the most representative of the country's progressiveness and organization.

Therefore, some officers, posing as Li Che, stepped forward to express their opposition:

"But if we encounter the main fleet of the Federal Navy before the four battlecruisers catch up in the Bashi Channel, we will probably be put on the defensive."

"it does not matter."

At this moment, Liu Duncheng spoke up to express his support for Li Che: "Even without these four battlecruisers, our four battlecruisers can still have an absolute advantage in the vanguard battle. Even if we encounter the enemy first in the Bashi Channel, we can use our speed to seize advantageous positions and force the Federation to adjust their formation, buying time for us to rendezvous with the second fast squadron."

“That’s right, and in my opinion, if the second rapid deployment team had entered the battlefield a little later, it might have served as a surprise force.” The chief of staff then stepped forward and gestured on the nautical chart with his baton:

"Under normal circumstances, our vanguard fleet can usually only cut across the enemy once. This cut will either force the enemy to turn towards the favorable position of our main fleet, or the enemy will have to temporarily retreat. Regardless of the retreat, if the enemy chooses to come towards the battle line deployed by our main fleet, then our main fleet will have a positional advantage at the beginning of the battle - we can get a T-shaped line, or a battle state similar to a T-shaped line. This advantageous phase can be maintained for at least half an hour."

As he spoke, the chief of staff drew a horizontal line on the nautical chart with his baton: "If we can establish an advantage within this half hour, then even if our numbers are slightly smaller now, we can still fight the Federation to a draw. And if the Second Fast Fleet cuts across the Federation forces from the rear while we are locked in a stalemate with the main force, I think that would be more likely to open up the situation than to let these four battlecruisers with unreliable armor protection join the battle line."

Liu Duncheng closed his eyes slightly, sorting through the different statements made by the others in his mind. Finally, he nodded slightly: "Theoretically, it's perfect, but few battle plans can be perfectly implemented on the battlefield. This places too high a demand on our main fleet. Can we break through in the first half hour? Can we hold out after entering the stalemate phase? If possible, let's be as cautious as possible and make the Second Fleet catch up with us as quickly as possible. Ideally, we should be able to rendezvous with the Federation forces before encountering them."

After saying that, he raised his hand and looked at his watch: "Tonight will be tough. The last aerial reconnaissance before sunset shows that the Federal Army is still stationed off the coast of Kaohsiung. Apart from the personnel on duty, everyone needs to rest and recuperate tonight. After entering the Bashi Channel, it probably won't be so easy to get some rest."

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"Should we retreat now?"

The crew on the bridge of the USS Aaron Ward, a destroyer of the Federal Navy, were somewhat confused when they heard the latest orders from the flagship.

"Why retreat now? We've spent a whole day and night clearing two passages through the minefield. We were just about to get the Vanguard into its artillery positions by dawn. If we retreat now, the enemy will definitely send ships out to mine the passages we cleared!"

"That new commander is unreliable from the start! He's not even as good as General Benson!"

Clearly, the order from the flagship was hard for the officers and soldiers who had been fighting for a day and a night to accept. No one would feel good about being told to give up when their workload had progressed to 99% and they were just one step away from completion.

Just as the argument on the bridge was growing increasingly heated, someone coughed lightly under the dim nightlight, and the debate quickly subsided. Everyone turned their attention to the man with binoculars hanging around his neck. He was a man of few words, but he held unparalleled prestige on the ship. Before this, if it hadn't been for this taciturn man leading everyone and directing the destroyer through one trouble after another, it's believed that this destroyer wouldn't have maintained one of the few ships in the Federal Navy's Pacific Fleet with no casualties.

This guy is naturally the captain of this destroyer.

“If you ask me, we might as well have Lieutenant Commander Spruance in command of the fleet!” a young man muttered. “We haven’t done anything all this time except drop shells on the shore.”

"This time, we didn't even have a chance to throw a shell."

"Gentlemen, General McGiffin is a man of great experience, and we should trust that he is here to lead us to victory." Lieutenant Commander Raymond Arms Spruance, captain of the destroyer Alan Ward, said in a slow and persuasive tone, "I believe our commander has noticed something amiss. At least, even to a mediocre person like myself, the situation tonight is indeed somewhat different."

"what is the difference?"

“We weren’t bothered by enemy torpedo boats tonight.” Spruance looked at his sailors: “I think during the previous times we bombarded the harbor, nighttime was the most tense time for us. You all remember the enemy torpedo boats, right?”

These words drew nods of agreement from those around them. After the Battle of Dongxinluo Bay, no one dared to underestimate these assassins armed with sharp blades on the coast. It was precisely because of the threat posed by these torpedo boats that some in the fleet believed that bombarding these ports was not a good idea and questioned whether such a tactic could really force the enemy's main force to engage them in battle.

After all, nobody wants a repeat of the Battle of Dongxinluo Bay.

“From yesterday daytime to tonight, we haven’t been attacked by any enemy small speedboats. Although the enemy’s torpedo boat forces that they could deploy in the previous ports were not large, I think even if Kaohsiung Port is a dual-use military and civilian port, they shouldn’t be completely unable to deploy any speedboats.” Spruance looked at the dark sea outside the window: “The enemy we are facing now… seems to be afraid of really driving us away.”

"Is this why our commander is going to abandon the attack?" Some people still found the reason hard to believe.

"Perhaps there is other intelligence to corroborate this, but that is beyond our knowledge. Moreover, I have heard that truly capable generals trust their intuition. Perhaps our commander made this decision based on his intuition."

After saying that, Spruance shook his head and turned his gaze away from the window: "Don't think too much about it, everyone. We just need to follow orders. Prepare to turn around and retreat. How to lead us in battle is the commander's job. Your job is to follow orders, and my job is to try my best to get you home alive."

So, beneath the clouds where the moonlight could not reach, in the pitch-black night, the massive main force of the Colombian Pacific Fleet began to quietly turn away from the coastline from Kaohsiung. At that very moment, in the commander's lounge on the battleship USS Washington, McGiffin wrote down his diary entries for the day.

"...Although I have 15 super-dreadnoughts and 12 dreadnoughts, and I am in a superior position in terms of fleet quality and the number of auxiliary ships, the more this is the case, the more cautious I must be in dealing with the hundreds of thousands of tons of steel in my hands."

The enemy's movements made me uneasy. Their shelling of Manila was too short, and their response in Kaohsiung was too weak. Although there was no direct evidence, my intuition told me that this was a trap.

In situations where the most correct choice cannot be guaranteed, choosing the relatively conservative option will at least prevent the worst outcome. I don't know if, given the actions of our country's military here, we can pray for God's protection, but I still sincerely pray to the Lord, that the merciful Lord may bless Colombia.

Chapter 151 The Collision of a Million Tons of Steel (3)

At this moment, it wasn't just the officers and men on the destroyers below who questioned McGiffin's orders; even on the bridge of the USS Washington, not all of McGiffin's staff understood the commander's decision.

Even if you think there's a problem with the Tang army's shelling of Manila being too short, shouldn't the fleet return to Manila to take a look? You say you want to retreat, but the fleet isn't returning to Manila. Since dawn, the fleet has been circling back and forth in the Bashi Channel, drawing figure-eights in the strait, like an animal in a zoo that has been kept in a cage for too long and has developed stereotypical behaviors.

In the military, if an officer acts as a riddle teller or always issues orders that are incomprehensible, it can severely damage the morale and enthusiasm of the troops. Soldiers find it difficult to judge whether you are a genius or a fool from these nonsensical orders, but from a probabilistic point of view, the probability of encountering a fool is always greater.

"General, how much longer are we going to stay here in the Bashi Channel like this?" Vice Admiral Zangwell, commander of the Third Fleet, finally couldn't help but ask the question on behalf of all the officers and men of the fleet after the entire fleet had completed the fourth figure eight.

“Wait until the reconnaissance intelligence arrives.” This time, McGiffin didn’t beat around the bush; he got straight to the point.

intelligence gathering?

Vice Admiral Zangwell looked at the vanguard fleet, which was positioned about 20 nautical miles ahead of the main fleet on the formation chart, with some doubt. The three high-speed ships that the Federation Navy had leased were right in front of the entire fleet, and they had not broken away from the main fleet to carry out reconnaissance and search missions.

The only thing that could be related to reconnaissance was the formation of a few destroyers and cruisers that were scattered about 50 nautical miles away from the main fleet. However, these formations were essentially like tentacles extended by the fleet. Rather than exploring where the enemy was, they were more like a means to prevent the enemy fleet from suddenly approaching the main fleet.

These are not proactive reconnaissance and search operations; they can only be considered passive prevention. The entire fleet is currently circling around the Bashi Channel. How can we detect the situation in Manila?

McGiffin pointed to the sky, and then Lieutenant General Zangwell realized that when this commander was "exiled," he was dealing with those big cigars. But the commander didn't seem to have sent a telegram to the airship unit to give reconnaissance orders.

"The airship units currently active here are ones I brought out. I don't need to give them orders. After receiving news of the shelling of Manila, they will naturally take the initiative to search for the enemy. We just need to maintain radio silence here and let our enemies think that we have already embarked on our return journey."

"To make the enemy think we're on our way back...you mean in Luzon and..." Zangwell felt he had guessed his superior's meaning, and McGiffin slowly nodded: "We can't possibly gain an advantage on the high-speed ships. Do you know that our location is actually divided into the Great Bashi Channel and the Little Bashi Channel?"

"I've heard of that before. The Bashi Channel used to be the area between the southern tip of Taiwan and the Batanes Islands in northern Luzon, with an average width of 100 nautical miles and a minimum width of 52 nautical miles between Orchid Island and Yami Island. However, after Luzon was completely controlled by the East, the definition of the Bashi Channel was revised at some point to be the sum of several waterways in the 370-kilometer-wide sea between Luzon and Taiwan."

“Yes, the Bashi Channel is wide, but it can also be narrow. For us, who do not have a speed advantage, choosing a suitable battlefield can maximize the elimination of our speed disadvantage, and the place I have chosen is here.” McGiffin pointed to the nautical chart.

"Solong'an?"

"That's right. The water here is deep enough that our warships don't have to worry about running aground or hitting reefs. The water to the east is several thousand meters deep, and so far no one has been able to explore the seabed here. The water to the west is also an average of one or two hundred meters deep, so our large warships can sail freely here."

"I understand, sir. You want to use the terrain to offset the enemy's speed advantage. For example, if we move close to the coastline, even if our enemy's vanguard fleet has a higher speed, they won't be able to cut across us freely, because cutting across us is equivalent to sprinting towards the coastline."

"Yes, that way if our enemy wants to cut across us, they will have to turn more than 180 degrees after completing the cut. This maneuver is very dangerous for any fleet, so I plan to put our most powerful battleships at the front. As long as we can withstand the enemy's cut, we can turn around and give them a heavy blow when they turn."

"Furthermore, we can perform circular maneuvers around Solon Island, just like porcupines on the African savanna!"

"Yes, in the ancient history of the East, there was once a king who arrayed his troops by the river, smashed his cooking utensils, and cut off his troops' retreat. In the end, he won a victory against overwhelming odds. I often study the history of the East. Tactics like this, which seem like pig-like maneuvers, have been successfully used by people throughout history. As long as our enemies relax their guard, we can give them a good beating."

“As long as we slow them down, we can hold out no matter what! But… General, what you’ve said is a strategy for when we have a major battle with the enemy, but the enemy fleet attacking Manila doesn’t seem to be very large, if they are just a small squadron.”