The salty sea breeze blew in, and Chen Kan stood on the deck, enjoying the rare tranquility above the sea.
Since the fleet set sail from Jiangning, Chen Kan has spent half a month on the ship, which can be described as thrilling.
And this thrilling feeling does not come from anywhere else, but from the sea beneath your feet.
The sea is vast, and when the sea is calm, the sea is like a gentle mother, holding the fleet in her arms, and cannot bear to see her children get hurt.
But when Mother Sea began to get angry, the fleet at Chen Kan's feet became a lonely boat under the stormy waves.
Chen Kan's luck was not very good. Although after going to sea, the fleet never left the continental shelf and kept sailing offshore.
But Dahai, the mother, was still furious for more than half a month.
Strong winds, huge waves, and heavy rains, a small fleet on the sea has endured the wrath of Mother Sea for half a month.
Of course, this has something to do with the fact that Chen Kan went to sea in the wrong season.
It is winter now, and the North Country is a land of ice and snow. The cold northwest wind from the Eurasian continent and the warm current blowing from the depths of the Pacific Ocean have a fierce collision at the junction of the sea and the land.
So Chen Kan was lucky enough to witness Mother Dahai's anger.
Fortunately, all this came to an abrupt end after the fleet passed through the Ryukyu Strait.
Otherwise, Chen Kan might have to give up.
Unlike the East China Sea, where the waves are rolling, the South China Sea still has clear skies and bright sunshine even in winter.
The blue sea and sky almost merge into one, making it impossible to tell whether the fleet is on the sea or in the sky.
Chen Kan took off his battle armor and put on an enlarged blue Confucian shirt. He stood on the bow of the ship. The clothes on his body were blown by the sea breeze and became extremely elegant. He looked like a banished immortal from the nine heavens.
Of course, if he were not holding an open coconut in his hand and could take off the toad mirror from his eyes, he would be even more fairy-like.
After admiring the calmness of the sea, Chen Kan took a hard sip of the sweet coconut juice.
Then he couldn't help but touch his mouth.
After a while, three words came out of his mouth: "It doesn't taste good!"
After saying that, I felt that I was a bit stupid for standing on the bow of the boat and imitating Captain Jack's behavior, so I returned the coconut shell in my hand to the sea.
Then he walked to a deck chair and lay down on it.
Zhang Dong promptly led his guards to serve Chen Kan a rich meal. Chen Kan didn't even look at the beautifully cooked sea fish.
I am particularly interested in a palm-sized silver pot with hairpins.
The pot was filled with strong liquor. After Chen Kan poured a large mouthful of strong liquor into his mouth, he calmly ordered Zhang Dong: "Go and ask Song Qing to come see me!"
"Master Hou, wait a moment!"
Zhang Dong took the order and left. Chen Kan picked up the chopsticks in the bowl and finally put the only bean sprouts in the bowl into his mouth.
The three words "big voyage" sound heroic and heroic, and they can evoke the deepest inner soul of a person.
But in reality, the days of sailing are very difficult.
For example, with Chen Kan's current status, the only green vegetable he can eat on the ship is bean sprouts.
The rest is a variety of seafood.
As for seafood, it’s okay to eat it once in a while. If you eat it every time, you will easily become tired of it, and you will also be prone to gout.
Fortunately, Zhu Di prepared a lot of supplies for Chen Kan this time. In addition to grain, there were also various kinds of dried meat, pork, beef, mutton, chicken and duck.
As for green vegetables, there are only bean sprouts.
Moreover, bean sprouts are Chen Kan's special offering. Others, including Song Qing, the deputy commander, have to wait for a long time to get a bite of bean sprouts.
Soon, Zhang Dong left and came back.
Behind him was Song Qing, who was also wearing a green shirt.
"The general will finally meet the commander-in-chief."
Song Qing saluted meticulously.
"No gift."
Chen Kan gave up indifferently and ordered Zhang Dong: "Bring a chair to Song Jie Shuai."
Zhang Dong quickly moved a folding chair from the room, and then stood behind Chen Kan, quietly playing the role of bodyguard.
"sit!"
Chen Kan reached out and signaled, and Song Qing had no choice but to sit down.
"Have you eaten?"
Song Qing nodded subconsciously: "Not yet!"
Chen Kan understood, pushed the dishes on the table towards Song Qing, and said lightly: "If you don't mind, just eat some."
Song Qing was a little flattered and wanted to stand up and salute, but was interrupted by Chen Kan.
"There is no one else here. Just be casual. Don't you know who I am?"
After Chen Kan finished speaking, he poured another sip of strong wine into his mouth.
Song Qing was cautious for a moment, then picked up her chopsticks and started eating the food in small bites.
But he is a measured person, and he only tastes every dish.
Of course, in Chen Kan's opinion, Song Qing was tired of it.
After finishing the meal, and watching Zhang Dong clean up the mess on the table, Song Qing asked cautiously: "I wonder what the commander-in-chief's orders were when he called the general to come over?"
Chen Kan stopped and said, "I don't have any instructions. I'm just bored on the boat. I asked you to come over and talk. By the way, I want to ask you what you think of the upcoming war."
As soon as these words came out, Song Qing's face suddenly showed a flattered expression.
After thinking for a moment, Song Qingcai replied word for word: "In the opinion of the general, we have sufficient supplies and ammunition this time. We should cross the strait as quickly as possible to meet General Zheng He's fleet..."
As soon as Song Qing finished speaking, Chen Kan nodded with satisfaction.
"That's very good. I mean the same thing!"
Hearing that Chen Kan agreed with his proposal, Song Qing was about to say something modest.
Chen Kan continued to speak: "However, I feel that it is not worthwhile to just cross the strait to meet Zheng He. After all, it is rare for us to come all the way."
Upon hearing this, Song Qing hurriedly sat upright and asked, "What does the commander-in-chief mean?"
Chen Kan thought for a while and ordered Zhang Dong: "Get the sea chart!"
Zhang Dong took the chart as he was told, and Chen Kan sat up straight, pointed at a city named Bolingbang on the chart and said with a smile: "Did Commander Song Jie realize that Bolingbang is not far from the strait?" Not far?"
Bolingbang is the capital of the country of Sumatra. The current king of Sumatra is named Sultan Hanan Abi Town.
This is an ambitious guy. The idea of uniting with Manchuria to block the strait and rob Zheng He came from him.
In the war between Sumatra and Malacca, Abi Town also defeated Missoula several times.
Therefore, the peace talks and cooperation between the two countries are a good opportunity for Missoula, which has suffered several heavy losses at the hands of Abi Town, to regain its strength.
As a result, the two hit it off and simultaneously targeted Zheng He's fleet.
Song Qing looked at the place where Chen Kan pointed, and suddenly felt blessed.
"What does the Marquis mean?"
A smile appeared on Chen Kan's lips, and he said lightly: "My attitude towards those who dare to challenge the great power of tomorrow has always been to kill them all. If I just cross the strait to rescue Zheng He, then I will have to go all the way this time." What are you here for?"
Hearing Chen Kan's implication, Song Qing's heart suddenly became excited.
Suddenly he pointed his finger at another city called Malacca and said in a trembling voice: "Master Marquis, the general will find that the distance between Malacca and the Strait is not that far."
Malacca is the capital of Malacca.
Compared with Bolingbang, which is located in the core of Sumatra, the city of Malacca is located in the southwest corner of the Malay Peninsula, only dozens of miles away from the strait.
The two cities are located one in the south and the other in the north. The straight-line distance will not exceed 600 miles at most.
Seeing that Song Qing understood what he meant, Chen Kan couldn't help but nodded slightly: "If I don't do something at such a close distance, wouldn't it mean that I am incompetent?"
Song Qing grinned and asked, "What does the Marquis plan to do?"
Chen Kan put away the chart, with a narrow smile on his face, and said lightly: "I have heard a saying, which is that when you are poor, you have tactics to intersperse, and when you are rich, you are covered by firepower."
As soon as these words came out, the two of them looked at each other and smiled, a bit like they were collaborating.
Yes, Chen Kan plans to visit the capitals of Sumatra and Manchuria.
Two countries, Managara and Sumatra, one occupies the Malay Peninsula and the other occupies the island of Sumatra. Both countries are large countries with a population of more than one million households and more than 200,000 troops.
If it were around the Ming Dynasty, a big country like this would definitely be able to compete with the Ming Dynasty.
Unfortunately, these two countries are alone overseas.
Since the late Song Dynasty, there has been no opportunity to absorb the advanced Central Plains culture. Therefore, although these two countries are large Southeast Asian countries with large populations, their domestic production methods and fighting methods are still very primitive.
This time, if the two countries had not joined forces to block the strait and defended against the natural dangers, Zheng He would have nowhere to say anything.
If they had allowed Zheng He to go deep into the middle of the strait, with the firepower on Zheng He's ship, they would have taught them a good lesson.
Of course, Zheng He's musket was lagging behind and his ammunition was exhausted, which was also a major reason why he did not dare to go deep into the strait.
Fortunately, it's not too late.
Chen Kan came, not only bringing an army of 15,000 men, but also hundreds of Hongwu cannons.
The most advanced Suifa fire gun is available to everyone.
They are all the latest advanced firearms developed by the Firearms Bureau. Fighting some monkey-like indigenous troops is not as simple as chopping vegetables and melons.
When Zheng He returns to China, his fleet will be equipped with the most advanced firearms. By then, the Ming Dynasty will truly be invincible across the world.
After learning about Chen Kan's strategic intentions, Song Qing couldn't help but tremble.
Conquering the enemy's capital is as good as destroying the country.
Once Chen Kan's strategic intentions can be successfully realized, Song Qing will also be among the famous generals of the Ming Dynasty.
You must know that the current generals of the Ming Dynasty have never led an army to attack the capital of another country alone.
Even when Zhu Neng attacked Annan, he brought a lot of famous generals such as Zhang Fu and Sheng Yong with him, and he even had the peerless handsome man Xiping Hou Musheng as his support.
Seeing Song Qing getting excited, Chen Kan took another sip of strong wine and then asked calmly: "If you were to fight this battle, how would you fight it?"
Song Qing was stunned and saw that Chen Kan's tone was casual, but his expression was extremely serious.
It was immediately clear that the Marquis was testing his military talents.
So he did not choose to answer immediately, but looked at the sea chart and pondered.
Chen Kan didn't push him. Although he was not a famous general, he had a vision that was hundreds of years ahead of the times. He could still tell whether Song Qing's plan was feasible or not.
What's more, he had deliberately promoted Song Qing to be the governor of Fujian after he and Qiu Fu separated the power vacancy after Zhu Neng's death in Beijing.
Being in such a high position as the Fujian garrison commander is different from being the commander of the Guanhai Guard. Ability and background are indispensable.
Although the position of commander of the Guanhai Guard can be regarded as a half-step into the camp of senior generals of the Ming Dynasty, in the end it is only the leader of the guard.
When you reach the level of garrison envoy, you are the real official of the border area, but the prime minister is responsible for the military affairs of a province.
Even compared to Chen Kan's official job, which was left behind in Beijing, it is not much different.
Even in terms of grade, he is already on the same level as Chen Kan, a stay-at-home student in Beijing.
After pondering for a long time, Song Qing finally had a solid plan.
He took a deep breath, looked at Chen Kan, and said with cupped hands: "Commander, if the future is fought in this battle, the future will choose to divide the troops!"
"Split the troops?"
Chen Kan showed an interesting look on his face and asked with a smile: "We only have 15,000 people, and Sumatra and Manchuria are both big countries with more than 200,000 troops. How do you plan to divide the troops?"
Hearing Chen Kan's question, Song Qing replied confidently: "It is precisely because of this that the final general has to divide his troops."
"Tell me your reasons!"
Chen Kan also became serious and couldn't help but subconsciously sit up straight.
Song Qing cleared his throat, pointed to Bolingbang on the sea map and said: "The general's strategy for dividing the troops is very simple. Just highlight eight characters, move the tiger away from the mountain, and attack the east and the west."
After hearing this, Chen Kan suddenly became interested: "How do you say it?"
"The general thinks that we can send out a partial division to carry out Annan's old affairs. The mission of this partial division is very simple. It is to pretend to attack Bolingbang and divert the troops stationed in Sumatra across the strait."
"After Sumatra withdraws its troops, only Malacca will be left alone. We can lead the main force to quickly cross the strait and go straight to Malacca."
"But if Sumatra abandons the strait, with General Zheng He's keenness, he will definitely find something strange above the strait, and he will definitely bring in troops to help."
"With the firepower of our ship and the flanking attack from General Zheng He, Malacca will be defeated in less than three days."
"At that time, we will join forces with General Zheng He, and then turn around and come back to deal with Bollingbang's thorn, then the matter will be settled!"
Song Qing quickly finished his plan for dividing his troops.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Kan couldn't help but slap the table in front of him.
"Okay, okay, what a great move!"
Chen Kan said three good words in a row, with a look of admiration on his face.
Because Song Qing's plan coincided with his.
That's what he thought.
Zheng He was already an adult, and Chen Kancai had no interest in crossing the strait to take him home.
What he likes is solving problems at their root.
But he didn't expect that Song Qing could understand his thoughts so accurately, which could be said to be a big surprise for him.
