Shi Zhiqi regained his energy. [Read the latest chapter] He watched the small traffic boat drive to the ramp on the other side of Linyun No. 11, and immediately informed the signal soldier:
"Send a signal to Linte No. 11. I want to go to the flagship to report on the preparations for war."
There was no large-scale ceremony for the Pearl River Estuary Task Force's departure. Only the "Warship March" was played on the loudspeaker as the farewell song. Although the Navy really hopes to have a naval band, it cannot find all the musicians and indigenous musicians from more than 500 people. You can only learn from TV textbooks, which is naturally very difficult.
The formation was led by the four patrol boats of the 4th Patrol Boat Squadron, and then the ships of one squadron after another began to set sail. Every ship was covered with military flags. Chen Haiyang's Navy Commander's Flag and Wen Desi's Navy Advisor Flag were flying on the main and secondary masts of Linyun 11. Shi Zhiqi sat on his flagship whale, watching with some pride the flag of his captain of the navy flying.
There are many spectators on the coast, and the large formation sailing is a rare and spectacular performance for them. Ships covered with flags, mighty sailors standing on the slopes, and polished cannons... Wen Desi spared no effort to promote the concept of "naval sho". Only by making the public think that the army is powerful and beautiful can it attract people. Come to be soldiers, instead of forcing people to become soldiers semi-mandatorily like now.
The policy of serving as a soldier first and then reforming is certainly a good one. But Wen Desi hoped to form a social value of pride in service in the future empire. Therefore, he is extremely in favor of anything that enhances the military's sense of honor and social image.
Shi Zhiqi just submitted a copy of the "6 Team Uniforms, Logo, Ranks, and Etiquette Plan" that he painstakingly compiled - or "plagiarized". On the surface, this is a proposal to "enhance the image of the military", but it is actually the beginning of Shi Zhiqi's "de-navalization of Team 6". Wen Desi didn't think so deeply, and he admired the system he had worked so hard to create. This made Shi Zhiqi feel better.
The Pearl River Estuary Task Force arrived in Macau waters on September 4. The sudden appearance of such a huge fleet in Macau waters caused a panic among the Portuguese in Macau. After a short period of confusion, all large Portuguese ships in the port were All sails are hoisted in preparation for battle.
The senators used telescopes to watch the forts and ports of Macau. It was certainly not difficult to capture Macau, but the place was too small, and even the supply of basic vegetables and fresh water was often difficult, and there was not much prospect. Hong Kong Island is much better than here.
"Leave this place to the Portuguese." Wen Desi was lying on a wicker chair on the back deck of Linte No. 11. He was slightly seasick - the boat was still too small and would sway in strong winds and waves. sharp. Shi Zhiqi once invited him to go aboard the Great Whale, but he declined.
"At least we have to wait until they finish building the Ruins of St. Paul's." Chen Haiyang said jokingly, putting down the telescope. From the perspective of a naval officer, Hong Kong is one of the few excellent naval bases, and the port in Macau is much worse.
The fleet left Macau waters and continued sailing westward. In fact, this place has entered the waters of the Pearl River Estuary - Lingdingyang, which became famous because of Wen Tianxiang's poems. Neilingding Island is on the left front of the fleet.
This is part of the so-called "inner ocean". The coastline here is winding and uneven, and harbors that can be hidden and ambushed can be seen everywhere. Occasionally, you will encounter vast river estuaries where fresh water and sea water meet.
The "inner ocean" is filled with islands dotted here and there. Some islands are settled by people, and others are good places for fishermen to stop their boats and anchor to rest, but most of them are small, uninhabited islands and reefs.
These deserted islands also provided pirates with good places to rest and ambush. The entire task force was always vigilant when sailing to prevent sudden attacks by pirates - not only Liu Xiang's ships were active here, but also more scattered small groups of people. Even the fishermen themselves may come to "catch a catch" anytime and anywhere.
This area is a good hunting ground for pirates: the maritime traffic here is very developed, and the presence of harbors everywhere gives merchants the greatest convenience. Large quantities of goods are loaded on ships and shuttle between coastal cities and rural areas. Although the goods here are not as valuable as the goods on the "foreign ship", robbing a ship of daily necessities is also very valuable to the pirates - they can take action faster. After collecting and sorting out a large amount of pirate intelligence from the Foreign Intelligence Service, Xu Quan told Chen Haiyang that the pirates here want everything, not to mention low-value daily necessities such as fishing rods, rice, and salt, and even cold goods such as bricks and tiles.
"I can only say that pirates are too poor..." Xuanzang sighed.
Chen Haiyang said: "When the water falls, the boat falls, but when the tide rises, it lifts the boat. At first, the bribe was a few bottles of wine and a few cartons of cigarettes. Later, a red envelope of 50,000 yuan was only considered a trivial matter."
"Ahead is North Lantau Island."
"Command the lead ship to turn the course to 12o, and all ships should follow in order and not fall behind." Chen Haiyang gave the order to turn the rudder, "We have to cross the sea area of large grinding seas."
Chen Haiyang is preparing to command the fleet to pass through Lantau Island, pass through Tai Mo Dao, then pass through Ma Wan Strait, and enter Victoria Bay from the west channel of Hong Kong Island. Of course, this place will no longer be called Victoria Bay in the future. But the proposal to call Wu Zetian Bay met with opposition from many people.
After European ships left Macau and entered the waters of the Pearl River Estuary, Mo Dao was their first important landmark on the chart. It can also be said that after sailing, we took the first step to Guangzhou.
When the fleet entered the Da Mo Dao sea area, Chen Haiyang ordered the entire fleet to be on alert - the north of this sea area is the famous Tuen Mun. The Portuguese attempted to occupy this place as their Chinese trade base, but were defeated by the Ming army. According to the information provided by the Foreign Intelligence Service, hundreds of Ming troops were stationed here, and there may be a small number of division ships responsible for monitoring and patrolling the sea. . The emergence of the Australian and Song navy is likely to trigger armed conflict.
But the fleet passed through this water without any fighting. Chen Haiyang and others observed along the road and saw almost no signs of any naval vessels. According to the historical information provided by Yu Eshui, the Guangdong Navy should conduct regular patrols in the Pearl River Estuary area with naval vessels.
Huang Zhao commented: "The system is a system, whether it can be implemented is another matter. Now is the end of the Ming Dynasty. It is probably nothing more than a piece of paper."
Huang Claw boarded the ship as a member of the long-range exploration team - Hong Kong Island in this time and space also needs a comprehensive survey and mapping. In fact, he could have asked others to come, but Yellow Claw really wanted to be a captain in the future, so he took the initiative to participate in this voyage in order to accumulate his own navigation knowledge and sailing skills.
Chen Haiyang said: "It should be that the navy has too few ships to take care of them."
"I really hope to meet the Ming Navy and have a real battle with me, even if I fire a few shots." Huang Zhao was very excited. He looked far into the distance and could only see scattered fishing boats. , there is nothing on the sea. There are many large and small islands and sandbanks in this area. In another time and space, they were administratively part of the Outlying Islands District of Hong Kong.
Yellow Paw's hopes of a fight were soon realized. In the afternoon of that day, when they were passing through Ma Wan Bay, the signal soldier suddenly shouted:
"Suspicious vessel spotted in avant-garde"
Ma Wan Strait is a north-south waterway, with Ma Wan Island to the west and Tsing Yi Island to the east. Under Ma Wan Island, there is also a small island called Lantern Island. There are many large and small fishing boats moored in the sheltered waters between the two islands. The lookout posts on the vanguard patrol boats were alert and found that bonfires were lit on the hilltops of Tsing Yi Island and Ma Wan Island. Obviously they are communicating with something.
Subsequently, several fishing boats with suspicious behavior appeared on the sea, gradually approaching the vanguard squadron, seeming to be spying on the fleet. When the current fleet became very large, it left quickly.
Chen Haiyang said: "This is a pirate ship." He raised his binoculars and "ordered the patrol boat squadron to capture the enemy ship."
Following the flagman's signal, a few minutes later, the four patrol boats of the leading patrol boat squadron left the formation and pounced on the escaping fishing boat.
Yellow Claw raised the telescope and stared at the scene in the distance. Obviously there were not many enemies, only three small crow boats were seen escaping near Ma Wan Island, but the clumsy hulls could not match the speed of the light jib patrol boats.
The patrol boats quickly surrounded the three black ships. At this moment, Huang Zhao saw a puff of white smoke rising from the first black ship, and vaguely heard the sound of cannons.
"Hit, hit" shouted the sailor who was watching, "the enemy ship opened fire"
Almost at the same time, thick smoke erupted from the two patrol boats that had blocked the pirate ship at the same time, and balls of fire flickered in the smoke.
Many small white water columns immediately rose up from the sea around the ship. The hull seemed to be shaking, and the sails on the black boat fell down.
"The enemy ship is on fire." Just as the lookout shouted, suddenly there was a small explosion on a black boat and a fire broke out.
"I didn't see the cannon fired, why did it explode?"
"The gunpowder on the pirate ship exploded." Chen Haiyang said casually, "The pirates' gunpowder barrels were thrown open on the deck during the war."
The battle ended quickly, and two black boats were captured. The other one was too fire-intensive and there was no need to save it.
According to the procedures for capturing pirates, the captured prisoners were not dealt with at sea. They only sent people to dismantle several cannons and collect the gunpowder. Then the sailors were ordered to drive the crow boats to move forward with the formation and were not allowed to leave the formation. v! ~!
