Judging from the map, Chongguo is indeed located in the far north. Even the climate of Jin State on Sakhalin Island is much better.
But this place is by no means a bitter cold place in the true sense. At least in terms of food, the people seem to eat better than the locals, and everyone looks fat and strong.
Chong Wang Zhu Youfan was even more generous. At the banquet, he gave each of them a snow-white and warm polar bear fur coat as a coat to keep out the cold.
After the fleet unloaded over a hundred ships of supplies and refilled them with supplies, Jiexuan looked at the clear night sky at night before choosing the time to pull anchor and set sail.
Watching the sky at night and knowing what the weather will be like in the next few days is a skill that none of the Zheng brothers have mastered, and only Xu Da, Wang Yangming and others could do it.
"Now you know why uncle sent me and other young and strong juniors to shoulder such an important task, right?"
When the fleet sailed through the Arctic Strait, even when the weather was the best, everyone felt the strong and icy sea breeze.
"Brother, for such an expedition of thousands of miles, your body must be strong and your will must be firm, I understand!"
Looking at the whales that appeared from time to time, Zheng Shengying finally understood the characteristics of the North American route. People who are weak and prone to shrinking are determined not to complete such a long voyage.
"An expedition is not a long voyage. It not only requires sailing, but also fighting, not to mention winning the battle and reducing the possibility of losing troops and horses. Let's learn from your brother Jie and learn from it. It will come in handy in the future!"
Zheng Guangying could only tell him so much, and it would be too much to say. Only after experiencing hardships can we understand the importance of warning in advance.
The fleet arrived at the transit station in Alaska in July, but only a small amount of supplies was left behind. The rest will be shipped directly to the southern part of the West Coast.
This is the most ideal situation. If Zhang Xianzhong loses the land he grabbed before, he will have no choice but to unload the goods in Vancouver.
After arriving in Vancouver, Jie Xuan and others did not see Zhang Xianzhong. The defenders said that their emperor had moved the capital to the Bay Area.
Although it's a little more dangerous there than Vancouver, the climate is much better than here.
Because Jiexuan left some seriously damaged armed merchant ships with Zhang Xianzhong before taking them away.
Therefore, the Dadong Emperor moored these ships outside the fortress in the Bay Area as a fixed firepower point.
If it weren't for the fact that Long Beach is too far away from Vancouver, Zhang Xianzhong would have wanted to move to sunny Southern California.
The defenders were very happy to see the Ming Dynasty's expedition fleet appear again in the Americas, because they could get a bunch of good items from the mainland again.
It was necessary to report to the emperor, but the sea route was impassable, because Spanish armed merchant ships came again, and they came in groups.
Cuva, the governor of New Spain, reported to Madrid what was happening in the Americas, causing Philip IV to launch another expedition before he died.
The General Supply mobilized more than two hundred armed merchant ships along the east coast, around Cape Horn, to Long Beach, and then headed north to the Bay Area.
Zhang Xianzhong had to give up Southern California and led his troops to fight to the death in the Bay Area.
If this stronghold is lost again, it means that all previous efforts have been in vain.
This battle just ended in July. Zhang Jun sank three enemy ships and severely damaged more than ten.
The army cooperated with the Indian tribes to repel the attack of tens of thousands of Spanish cavalry, but it also suffered tens of thousands of casualties.
Considering that the Spanish had sea control, Zhang Xianzhong could only temporarily abandon the bay area and coastline and start defense ten miles inland.
On the contrary, the bay formed by a large island in Vancouver is easy to use arson ships, and the Spanish fleet does not dare to sail in easily to launch an attack.
"Haha, these guys really care about eating rather than fighting!"
After Jiexuan said something with a smile, he began to look at the map with a solemn expression.
"Yes! Tsk tsk! Our business is here!"
Zheng Guangying agreed and waited patiently for the old man to come up with a good idea.
"Brother Jie, what's the best plan? You might as well say it bluntly, it's our duty to wait for our brothers to go through fire and water!"
Zheng Ju had already heard of Jiexuan's name, and had chatted with him twice when Jin and Chong were resting ashore. He felt that this person was really capable.
Jiexuan waved his hand, asked the local guard about the activities of the Spanish fleet, and then drew a few circles on the map.
"Looking at it, I think that if the Spanish fleet underestimates the enemy and advances rashly, and I don't know that the King's Fleet has already arrived in Vancouver, I estimate that it will use Long Beach as its forward base, its support base at San Benito Island to the west of the Baja California Peninsula, and its rear base at Acapulco-De Juarez Port. Through these three bases, the Spanish fleet can attack and defend with ease. Acapulco-De Juarez Port is very close to Cueva's hometown, Mexico City, so that he can know the fleet at any time. trends and results.”
"So that's it. Brother Jie is really the brightest man in this world!"
After being analyzed by Jie Xuan, Zheng Guangying immediately understood and praised his old partner.
"Brother Jie, what else should we do? Directly attack this Port of Shenzireis?"
Zheng Shao also felt that Jie Xuan was right, but he didn't intend to think so much in his mind and thought he could just go ahead and be done with it.
"Yes, as the saying goes, if you hit a snake within a few inches, wouldn't it be great if the fleet goes directly to this port?"
Zheng Jiaqi also strongly supported Zheng Shao's proposal. It was best to catch the Spanish barbarians by surprise.
"Everyone, our fleet is strong and capable of capturing any port in the Americas. However, in this expedition, is it important that we attack the barbarian ports? No! The first priority is to destroy the enemy's effective strength. What is effective force, that is, the troops and horses on the road? Ships at sea! It is naturally easier for our fleet to destroy enemy ships, so..."
"So that's the case, then what should we do?"
"Now we must divide our forces into two groups!"
"How to divide the troops?"
"Brother Guang Ying led twenty ironclad ships and some wooden warships to the south. After arriving at the sea outside the port of Acapulco de Juarez, he launched an attack on the port from the south. He did not seek to land, but only destroyed the internal warships in the port. , and then began to search for enemy ships on the sea from south to north. I led the remaining fleet from north to south to attack Brother Guang Ying's fleet, striving to capture Acapulco in the south of the bay area within a few days. -Catch all the Spanish ships in the waters north of Puerto de Juarez."
The meaning of Jie Xuan was very simple, which was to let Zheng Guangying take Zheng's armored fleet in a circle on the sea, appear near Kuva's lair without anyone noticing, and then give him a big surprise.
"What a brilliant idea! What a brilliant idea!"
Zheng Guangying looked at the map and stroked his beard, and couldn't help but admire, this guy is really "scheming"!
"Why can't we just go south and raid?"
Zheng Shengying didn't quite understand this, so she asked.
"If the King's Fleet engages enemy ships in Long Beach, the enemy ships that are escaping or watching will inevitably flee south, and tell other enemy ships that have not yet gone north to retreat quickly, and the results we have obtained will be greatly compromised! On the contrary, if Guangying In the south, even if the enemy ships in the designated area flee south, they will eventually fall into a trap!"
"...Oh~! I've been taught a lesson!"
Jiexuan made some gestures on the map, and Zheng Shengying suddenly realized. No wonder the elder brother said before that this person has extraordinary talents!
The situation at sea is ever-changing. For the sake of safety and reducing losses, Jiexuan, after discussing with Zheng Guangying and others, decided to unload hundreds of ships' supplies in Vancouver now.
If we were unlucky enough to fight south, we wouldn't lose all the supplies that had been transported thousands of miles away. At any rate, we would still be able to keep a hundred ships.
Zheng Guangying took 20 iron-clad ships and 100 wooden warships south to encircle them in a roundabout way.
Jiexuan first held his troops stationary to avoid alerting the enemy. After Zheng Guangying's fleet attacked the port of Acapulco de Juarez according to the calculated time, he would lead the fleet south to fight.
At present, all ships not participating in the southbound battle must be concealed in the bay west of Vancouver. Anyone who disobeys the order will be dealt with directly according to military law.
If an enemy ship really invades the north, a small number of wooden warships can be sent to fight it and fly the flag of Zhang Xianzhong's command. The deception is temporary.
If you really can't deceive anymore, if the other party sees through it, it can only be regarded as destiny. This time you are not lucky, the brothers can just get started...
The land route from Vancouver to the Bay Area is relatively easy to travel, especially since there are many Indian tribes who have taken refuge with Zhang Xianzhong, because the Spanish will not give them a way to survive.
Due to the small number of troops in his army, Zhang Xianzhong behaved like a wise king of the world, treating virtuous and corporal officers equally as long as they sincerely surrendered to him.
Zhang Xianzhong did not want any inland areas at all, because without enough troops, it would be impossible to hold on. All of them were rewarded to the tribal chiefs who fought alongside him.
The chiefs followed Zhang Xianzhong to earn a living. Not only were they able to regain lost territory and expand their territory, they were also able to exchange loot and gold and silver for a large amount of Ming Empire products.
This is the most practical act of mutual benefit, so the chiefs are also willing to send a large number of tribal warriors to protect the safety of the transportation line from the Bay Area to Vancouver.
It takes at least half a month to arrive in Acapulco de Juarez from Vancouver.
During this period, all the marines carried by the fleet can disembark and rest, recharge their batteries, eat and drink enough, and prepare for one or more battles...
Zhang Jun could only be on guard, for fear of being swallowed by the opponent's half-sheep, half-sheep, and tiger.
Jiexuan laughed at this, and persuaded the other party that this was the way to go.
Firstly, they came to attack the Spanish, secondly, they came to scrape some land, and thirdly, they came to ride some foreign horses.
In Vancouver, there are none of these three things. It is just a wooden fortress that cannot withstand the attack of the fleet. Such worries are unfounded.
After a long voyage, everyone in the fleet is in urgent need of replenishing vegetables. Now, they can eat enough. If the serious vegetables are not enough, there are all wild vegetables nearby, so you can pick them at will.
Except for the warships responsible for guarding, all personnel have a rest and must "post autumn fat" seriously. Failure to do so is a dereliction of duty!
Within half a month, no Spanish warship appeared in the waters near Vancouver, which made Jie Xuan feel a little strange.
It can only be believed that Zhang Xianzhong's previous move to lead his troops to defend the Bay Area achieved certain results and attracted the attention of the Spaniards.
Of course, the Spanish fleet can also attack Vancouver again, but as soon as the fleet appears, Zhang Jun will retreat directly inland.
It is impossible for the Spanish fleet to send landing troops thousands of miles away from the Long Beach base and go deep inland to pursue Zhang Jun.
Once you are ambushed by the opponent halfway and suffer large-scale casualties, you are really asking for trouble.
No matter what Zheng Guangying does, when the set sailing time comes, Jiexuan will lead his troops south.
After getting fat and strong, the morale of the Marines of the Yellow Sea Fleet and the Marines of the Zheng Army was high, because it was finally time to scrape the land!
Jiexuan has two Yoshino, two Laiyuan, six Zhiyuan, two supply ships and one hospital ship. These thirteen battleships are all ironclads. In addition, there are 200 wooden armed merchant ships. .
Zheng Shao, Zheng Ju, and Zheng Jiaqi led more than 700 plywood ships and armed merchant ships to follow behind. In addition to a large amount of merchandise and weapons and equipment, they also carried three brigades of marines.
If even one Spanish warship had been able to sail into the bay before, you would have seen an extremely astonishing scene. The entire bay was filled with densely packed Ming warships.
The combat goal of this fleet is very simple, which is to first destroy all targets that intend to resist, then launch landing operations at the right time and place, and start scraping the ground...
The fleet encountered several unlucky Spanish armed merchant ships in the waters hundreds of miles north of the Bay Area. The ships were wiped out by anti-ship missiles before they had time to escape.
After interrogating the salvaged prisoners, Jiexuan came to two conclusions. Either these ships did not know what was happening there, or there was a fleet behind them.
The prisoners' confessions can only be used as reference. Emperor Haojing said that in all expeditions, I must be the main one and adapt to changes.
Jiexuan believes that even if there are hundreds of Spanish ships anchored in the Bay Area, he does not need to worry too much.
In addition to the thirteen ironclad ships, our own side has more than two hundred wooden ships that can participate in the battle.
It is possible to lead the battle with one against ten armored ships. After launching a large number of anti-ship missiles, the other party will have no choice but to jump into the sea!
There was a lot of noise in the small-scale naval battle. Fortunately, no fish escaped the net, and it was far away from the Bay Area.
When the Ming Dynasty fleet sailed into the bay area, there were only eight warships in the bay.
It seems that the fortresses in the Bay Area were recaptured by the Spanish, but the fleet they relied on for survival was destroyed, and the army on the shore was not far from death.
After clearing the targets at sea, in line with the principle of speed and precision, the fleet did not land or rest at all, and continued southward at the first opportunity, without giving the Spanish cavalry time to inform them.
"This trip is really great, there are a lot of big fish!"
When they arrived outside Long Beach, Zheng Shao used his telescope to see at least thirty warships moored in the harbor.
From the Bay Area to Long Beach, Jiexuan ordered the fleet to quickly eliminate any small fish he encountered along the way.
Even if a Spanish ship discovered the Ming Dynasty fleet that was rapidly heading south, it would be too late to give an early warning.
The two sides were only about twenty nautical miles away, and the fleet in Long Beach Port had no time to set sail.
As for the report of thousands of enemy ships, no one believes it. If you don't see it, you won't be convinced.
Now it's better, all thirty-six ships were blocked in the harbor, and none of them escaped...
"What? Keep going south? Don't you clean up the loot?"
Zheng Ju was stunned by Jie Xuan's order. This guy was simply murderous!
