"What?!"
The nature coming from Japan is pretty amazing.
The concubine of the Ming Emperor, Miki Tokugawa, the daughter of Japan's Tokugawa shogun, launched a coup, took control of Kyoto, and deposed the Emperor of Japan!
The news changed the expressions of Marosca and Valeriano.
The two couldn't help but look at each other.
Japan has indeed changed.
but
This change is not what they want to see.
"The Emperor of China is going to annex Japan! He actually asked his son to be the king of Japan! This is an opportunity! There must be many forces in Japan that are against the Tokugawa family and the Ming Empire! Your Excellency, Commander! I suggest that the fleet needs to take action immediately stand up!"
Valeriano shouted.
let's move?
What are you going to do?
A fight with the Chinese?
Can the Spanish fleet defeat the Chinese on China's near coast?
it's out of the question.
Malosca thought.
But Spain has been engaged in imperialism for two to three hundred years. Of course, it will not let go of such an opportunity easily.
Otherwise, he himself would not be able to explain it.
"Then let's sail!"
Malosca looked at his fleet. The fleet that had been modified by bombardment cannons, even if the armored ship was attacked, couldn't withstand such firepower, right?
The huge fleet headed eastward.
On the fleet.
Two Japanese were wiping the handrails with rags.
One of these two people is named Komatsu Tadashi, and the other is named Shimazu Daichi.
They were all Japanese sailors from the Satsuma Domain.
They were also recruited as trainee officers of the newly established Japanese Navy, and are now on Ming Dynasty's naval warships
Compared with the dirty and messy image of large ships in their imagination.
The fleet of the Ming Dynasty was so clean that it was beyond words.
Moreover, the discipline is extremely strict, and the twelve hours a day are fully arranged. Whatever needs to be done at any time must be done in strict accordance with the regulations.
But they can do this.
But when they saw the huge ironclad ship and the artillery on it, both of them couldn't help but lose consciousness.
Japan absolutely cannot afford such a fleet.
Nothing else to say
Just the cost of maintaining these six ironclad ships can drag down Japan's finances.
Neither the shogunate nor the imperial court had the money to maintain such a large navy.
Just when the two of them were lost in thought.
The bell rang.
"Enemy ship! Enemy ship found!! Directly ahead! About 11 nautical miles! Flying the Spanish flag, more than twenty ships in number!"
On a Dingyuan-class ironclad ship.
A staff officer quickly ran to the commander's position at the bow of the ship and loudly reported.
"They actually went to sea? What are they going to do?" Zheng Xiaoyi's expression changed.
"They must want to run away!" Cai Qian said.
at the same time.
Intense sirens also sounded on the other side of the New Spain fleet.
Of course, their lookouts also spotted the Ming fleet in the distance.
In this era when battles still need to be fought within visual range, discovering the enemy fleet still relies on the eyes of the lookouts - in fact, this was the case until the early days of World War II.
to this end.
At that time, the Japanese Navy also specially raised a group of "vision immortals", the kind with terrifyingly good eyesight.
As a result, he was beaten up by the American radar soldiers.
"Your Majesty the Governor, the Chinese fleet has adjusted its course. They are coming towards us! They want to intercept us!"
Aboard the battleship New Spain.
Captain Silva's hand holding the telescope had veins popping out, showing his nervousness.
"They have six fully steam-powered ironclad ships and twelve sail-powered, steam-powered hybrid ships."
Silva shouted.
He had already seen the raised muzzles of the armored ship.
obviously.
The Chinese fleet is coming for them!
Valeriano's face was solemn.
If he had already made up his mind to go to war with the Ming Empire, he would not have delayed it until now.
After all, they really have no confidence in winning.
"Lieutenant General, what is your suggestion, to fight or not to fight?"
Maloska frowned.
Asking this when you are so anxious, this Valeriano is really unreliable.
If they had listened to him earlier and returned to New Spain with a fleet, and had a fleet on the west coast of New Spain, the Chinese would not have dared to establish a stronghold on the west coast of North America.
Malosca looked at the Ming fleet sailing eastward from the northwest.
The purpose of this fleet is not difficult to guess. They want to sail to the front of the New Spain Fleet to intercept it.
This behavior is tantamount to starting a war!
View through a telescope.
The Chinese fleet coming with the wind is very fast.
The blurred hull of the ship gradually became clear in the sea fog.
Aboard the New Spain.
The Spanish sailors' breathing became rapid as a result.
What came into view was a huge fleet of eighteen ships.
Twelve sail and steam hybrid ships.
Six pure steam ships.
The black hole of the muzzle is already clearly visible.
Twelve hybrid ships also lowered their sails, and thick black smoke was rising from the ship's chimneys.
The roar of the rumbling steam engine has been heard.
"Governor, I think there is no way we can escape!"
Maloska said with a sigh.
New Spain didn't even have a steam sailing battleship, let alone an ironclad.
This means that their speed must be much slower than the other party.
Especially in light wind, calm wind, and headwind conditions. It is very difficult to escape.
"There is only one battle."
Valeriano took a deep breath after hearing this: "Then let's fight! We Spaniards have never been afraid of enemies at sea. We have an invincible fleet."
Um. An invincible fleet that was destroyed several times.
"Lieutenant General, you come to command the battle!" Valeriano said.
Malosca took a deep breath: "Send the order, the whole army is ready to fight, all fleets turn to the southwest, let the Chinese chase us!!"
You can't beat him head-on.
I can only think of other ways.
"The Spaniards are turning, where are they going?" Zheng Xiaoyi was stunned for a moment, "Are they trying to escape?"
"Escape? They can't escape!" Cai Qian laughed, "They want to grab the T position! We can divide our forces into two groups. The steam sailboat will go around to intercept, and the ironclad ship will go straight to the opponent! They have never fought against the ironclad ship. , completely unaware of the power of the ironclad!"
Cai Qian also participated in the battle between the Ming Dynasty's Indian Ocean Fleet and Britain's Eastern Fleet. That battle made Cai Qian realize.
The days are numbered for those who want to make a fortune out of civilian ships.
In the face of ironclads, wooden-hulled ships were too fragile.
As for something as expensive as an armored ship, Cai Qian didn't dare to expect to own it - he wanted to get rich, but he didn't want to die.
In addition, as Sun Shiyi's army gained a foothold in India, the British Navy completely became the Ganges Fleet. Cai Qian did not want to dominate a small stream like the Ganges, so he transferred to the Ming Dynasty through connections. The Navy is here.
"I, Cai Qian, am about to make a great contribution!"
(End of chapter)
