After two days and two nights of sailing, thirty-six warships capable of ocean warfare, led by Hu Zongxian, finally arrived near the Zhoushan Islands. These warships were arranged in a tight battle formation from beginning to end without revealing any flaws.
"Sir Governor, the Zhoushan Islands are ahead!" Qi Jiguang opened the cabin door and said respectfully to Hu Zongxian.
"Well, follow me up and have a look." Hu Zongxian said, looking away from the map on the table and giving instructions.
"I will obey my orders."
As Qi Jiguang said this, he followed Hu Zongxian closely and climbed onto the deck together.
"Give me the monocular." Hu Zongxian ordered the soldiers on the side.
After Hu Zongxian took the monocular telescope from the soldiers on the side, he looked into the distance, wanting to observe the deployment of Japanese pirate troops near the Zhoushan Islands.
After a long time, Hu Zongxian put down the monocular and said to Qi Jiguang on the side: "The Japanese pirates' troops are very dispersed, and most of the people parked in the port are small boats, and only a few are big two-masted ships."
"Order the ships to deploy in a battle formation, and then use the cannons on the ships to sink all the ships docked in the port, as long as they are within range!"
"yes!"
After Hu Zongxian's order came down, some soldiers climbed up the mast and kept waving the flags in their hands to convey the message to the other ships.
Soon, thirty-six warships were lined up in a line, and the cannons mounted on the ships were aimed at various ships parked in the port.
There were many ships anchored near Jintang Island. At this time, on one of the ships, everyone was exchanging news they had received in recent days.
"You don't know. I heard from people who came back that raw silk and medicinal materials are in short supply in Japan recently. We just need to transport it and we can get several times the profit!"
"Yes, our brothers have been farming in the fields for a long time. The harvest of the year, excluding the taxes paid to the court, is not enough to provide food and clothing for the children at home, and they often go hungry! "
"Now we only need to go out for a trip every other month to earn income that we couldn't earn in a year. I don't know why, but the court won't let us do business."
"Yes, this emperor doesn't want us to live on purpose!"
While everyone was chatting, someone came out of the cabin and walked to the deck, wanting to get some air.
At this moment, the corner of his eye accidentally caught a glimpse of the Ming army ships in the distance, and then he hurriedly ran back to the cabin and shouted: "Look, many warships suddenly appeared in the distance!"
"What!" When everyone in the cabin heard the news, they no longer wanted to continue chatting.
Immediately after everyone came to the deck to observe, the owner of the ship took out a monocular from his pocket and looked at the warship approaching in the distance.
"No, it's the Ming army! I've seen this kind of warship before!"
"Run! The Ming army is coming!"
The boat owner suddenly dropped the monocular in his hand and jumped from the boat.
The moment he jumped off the boat, he heard a "boom" and the whole ship exploded. Before the remaining people on the ship could make a sound, the whole ship disintegrated and sank into the sea.
"The Ming Army is coming! The Ming Army is coming! Everyone, run!"
Panic will spread. Since the Ming army sank the first ship, more ships have been baptized by the Ming army's artillery fire. Soon, all the ships previously moored in the port were destroyed, and a few survived. The person also swam to the shore in a hurry.
"Reporting to the Governor, all ships within range have been destroyed by our army! Are we going to send soldiers to the island?" Qi Jiguang walked up to Hu Zongxian and asked for instructions on the next step.
"There is no rush, let all the ships continue to move forward, aim the cannons at Jintang Island, and give me a round of bombardment before talking!" Hu Zongxian took off the monocular telescope and ordered.
"Yes, Lord Governor!" After Qi Jiguang said this, he passed the order to the soldiers responsible for waving the flag.
Just like before, the soldier climbed to the highest point, waved the flag in his hand, and passed the order to other ships.
"The Governor has a new order, saying to aim at the island over there and use the ship's cannon to fire another round!" After receiving the order, the soldiers who knew the flag language hurriedly reported to their superiors.
"Well, give the order, all the cannons on the ship will be aimed at the island over there, and give me a hard blast!"
"Yes!" After the soldier accepted the order, he quickly passed on the order.
Immediately afterwards, the remaining ships also fine-tuned their directions and aimed the cannons on the ships at Jintang Island.
"fire!"
The cannons on board fired a salvo, and countless shells flew towards Jintang Island.
'Boom boom! 'Most of the shells landed on the coast, causing the soil on the shore to fly everywhere. Many people who could not escape were blown to pieces by the continuous shells. There were stumps everywhere on the beach, and there were even some people Even the butt was blown up into the tree.
…
"No, no, the Ming army is coming!" Mao Haifeng hurriedly broke into Wang Zhi's residence and reported the current situation to him.
"What? Ming Army! Where did the Ming Army come from!" After hearing the report from his subordinate Mao Haifeng, Wang Zhi suddenly stood up from his chair, and the vase in his hand was not steady and fell to the ground. Ground fragments.
"Lord Wang Zhi, it's true. The Ming army dispatched dozens of warships. At present, all our ships docked near the port have been sunk! Besides, the Dayou family's fleet has not returned yet, so our troops are currently empty. , simply cannot compete with it.”
"Let's run away quickly!"
Mao Haifeng said, kneeling on the ground and begging Wang Zhi.
"Hmph, escape, where to escape? As you just said, the Ming army dispatched dozens of warships! We were caught off guard. Judging from the current situation, the escape route at sea must have been blocked. "
Wang Zhi quickly analyzed the current situation based on the information provided by Mao Haifeng.
"That's not right. We have always been at peace with the imperial court. Why does the imperial court send so many ships to attack us this time?" Mao Haifeng also raised his own question.
"It must have been what happened in Fujian last time that angered the imperial court. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent so many troops here!" Wang Zhi said, his eyes full of sinisterness.
"If I had known better, I shouldn't have listened to the nonsense of those landlords and gentry! Not only did the benefits not come out, but the imperial court sent a large army to attack." At this moment, Wang Zhi's heart was filled with regret. He hated that he should not have been so greedy in the first place. Thus bringing such disaster upon oneself.
"How many people are there on the island now?" After suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his heart, Wang Zhi asked Mao Haifeng who was standing aside.
"There are about four thousand people, but most of them don't have decent equipment." Mao Haifeng heard Wang Zhi's question, thought for a moment, and gave the answer.
"Well, organize these people, then give them weapons, and rely on the island's terrain to defend! As long as we drag the fleet back to Dayou's family, we will still have a glimmer of hope." Wang Zhi waved his hand. , and then gave instructions to Mao Haifeng.
"Yes, I will take care of it now." After Mao Haifeng responded, he turned and left.
…
At this time, on the Ming army ship, Hu Zongxian put down the monocular telescope and said in a deep voice: "Come down and stop the bombardment! The soldiers can land on the island."
"Yes!" Qi Jiguang was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately passed on the order.
Soon, under the cover of artillery fire, countless small boats slowly approached Jintang Island.
(End of chapter)
