There is a huge gap between the era of hot weapons and cold weapons.
Chen Kan was in charge of the central army and could not deliver the general's order immediately.
Although there are semaphores in this era, it still takes time for semaphores to convey messages.
Sometimes, the fighter plane may be fleeting, so Chen Kan doesn't mind giving the captains on the ship great autonomy.
Of course, only in naval battles.
If it was a land battle, Chen Kan would have to consider whether the enemy's main force was hidden behind the vanguard.
There is no such worry on the sea. The sea is endless and there is no place for the enemy's main force to hide its traces.
And even if they hide their traces, it's useless. Before their warships can reach Chen Kan's fleet, the cannons on the Ming treasure ships will kill them at sea.
Half an hour later, Chen Kan heard a faint explosion in his ears.
It must be Tan Cong who started the indiscriminate bombing mode against Manlajia's vanguard fleet.
Unfortunately, the bombardment mode did not last long and soon subsided.
Then the flag order came that the fleet was continuing to move forward.
Chen Kan smacked his mouth and mourned for three seconds for Tan Cong's weakness, then turned and returned to the room.
Now that Sumatra has withdrawn its troops, the number of troops across the strait has suddenly been reduced by more than half, leaving Manchuria alone and unable to support itself.
Without the support of human sea tactics, allowing the fleet to fight with Chen Kan's fleet would be courting death.
If the King of Manchuria, Parameswara, was not a fool, he would have withdrawn his defenses and retreated to the land at this moment.
By the way, I pray that Chen Kan’s fleet will just go to the other side of the strait to pick up another fleet and return home, instead of seeking revenge.
So the journey through the first half of the strait should be smooth sailing.
As for the second half, Chen Kan had no plans to go.
Manlajia located the capital in the coastal area, originally to make it more convenient to collect tolls, but now it provided convenience for Chen Kan to attack the city of Malacca.
Even Chen Kan didn't have to get off the ship, he just needed to fire cannons at sea, and Malacca would be reduced to ruins.
The fleet continued sailing, and unknowingly, seven days passed by in a flash. These seven days were indeed as Chen Kan guessed. The navy of Malacca seemed to have completely lost traces on the sea, and the entire strait was as quiet as A paradise.
Chen Kan was still standing on the deck, holding a detailed chart, reading and listening to various reports from the vanguard.
"Report, the front army led by General Tan Cong is only 200 nautical miles away from Malacca City!"
"Send the order to Tan Cong, the fleet is approaching sixty nautical miles from the Malay Peninsula."
"Report, the Manchurian Navy has gathered at the harbor outside Malacca, and there are faint signs of confrontation with our army."
"Don't worry about it. If the other party makes any changes, just fire!"
Chen Kan issued military orders one after another in an orderly manner, and the smell of gunpowder on the entire fleet became stronger and stronger.
"Report, our army is only half a day away from Malacca City..."
The news comes together to form the calm before the storm.
Chen Kan pondered for a long time and then said calmly: "Zhang Dong, call a cruise ship over. I will go to the front army to supervise the battle."
Zhang Dong was stunned and said hesitantly: "Master Hou, is that not necessary?"
Chen Kan knew that Zhang Dong was worried about his safety, but Chen Kan didn't feel that anyone on the fleet could threaten his personal safety.
So he didn't say much, just repeated the order just now.
Zhang Dong couldn't defeat Chen Kan, so he had to summon his personal guards and went with Chen Kan to the treasure ship where Tan Cong was.
Tan Cong was a little stunned by Chen Kan's arrival.
He looked at Chen Kan cautiously and asked, "Commander, what is there that the general did not do well?"
"No, I just came here to take a look."
Chen Kan stood on the bow of the ship, looking at the frigates cruising around the treasure ship, and responded calmly.
Tan Cong scratched his head and was about to continue saying something when a cruise ship suddenly sailed towards the treasure ship.
"Report, the fleet of the Manchurian envoy is floating twenty nautical miles ahead of our army, requesting to see the commander-in-chief."
After listening to the scout's report, Chen Kan shook his head and said, "No!"
"yes!"
After the soldiers took the order and left, Chen Kan continued to stand on the deck and looked at the empty sea ahead.
Tan Cong stepped forward cautiously and said in a low voice: "Commander, Manlajia has sent an envoy to ask for his surrender. Otherwise, why don't we meet him?"
Chen Kan shook his head decisively and refused, and said calmly: "Even if Manlajia's envoys came to ask for surrender, they were out of fear of the might of our Ming army and not out of sincerity."
Tan Cong stopped talking and continued to persuade: "If we can defeat the enemy without fighting, it can be considered the best strategy."
"I have made up my mind, no need to persuade me any more!"
Chen Kan stopped and responded expressionlessly.
He knew Tan Cong's considerations and agreed with his considerations. Being able to defeat the enemy without fighting was of course the best strategy.
But is there any reason why military orders should be changed day by day?
The barbarians are fearful of power and have no morals. If they are not beaten out of fear and subdued, I am afraid that this situation will happen again next time.
Besides, it was only at this time that I thought of sending an envoy.
What did you do early?
If they had sent Zheng He back home with a respectful gift before Chen Kan went to sea, and given a certain amount of compensation, it would have saved everyone's face, and Chen Kan would have been so full that he came all the way to Nanyang.
Now, there is an old saying in China: when the geese pass by, they pluck their hair and the beasts leave their skins.
Even though he was here, Chen Kan never thought about going back empty-handed.
The Manchurians had occupied the Straits for so long, and merchants traveling between the East and the West were controlled by the two countries, and their treasury was expected to be very full.
If Manlajia's surrender was accepted at this time, how would Chen Kan's fleet calculate the food, grass, and military resources consumed, how would they calculate the wasted time, and where would the military merits of the soldiers come from?
Tan Cong tried to persuade him, but seeing Chen Kan's firm attitude, he had no choice but to shut up.
Half a day passed by in a flash, and Chen Kan could already see the big city on the coast with the help of his telescope.
It is Malacca, the capital of Manchuria.
To be honest, it is rare to see such a huge city in places other than the Ming Dynasty.
If it were preserved to future generations, it would be considered a famous historical and cultural city.
In the bay in front of the city, warships were so densely packed that it was almost impossible to see beyond.
At a rough count, there are at least a thousand ships.
Unfortunately, they are all small boats. The largest ship is about the same size as the Ming Dynasty's Qianliu Merchant Ship. Not to mention comparable to the Ming Dynasty's treasure ship, even the Fortune Ship can crush it.
Chen Kan couldn't help but frown as he looked at the densely packed Manchurian warships in the bay as far as the eye could see.
The navy is so stupid. Do they dare to covet Zheng He's fleet?
Chen Kan was about to give the order to fire when he saw dozens of small boats sailing out of the opponent's battleship group, with white flags hanging on the boats, slowly heading towards the treasure ship where Chen Kan was.
Chen Kan could see clearly through the telescope that in addition to the sailors operating the ship, there were also piles of gold and silver on the ship.
The other party didn't even prepare a wooden box, but just pulled a boatload of gold and silver towards Chen Kan's treasure ship.
Then, Li Rang couldn't help but have some changes in the warships of Manlajia.
At least their shipbuilding skills were pretty good. It took a lot of skill to pile up so much gold and silver on the ship without sinking.
However, Chen Kan was not here to accept bribes, he was here to attack the opponent's capital.
Do you really think Chen Kan is the kind of person who is blind to money?
Are you kidding me? After breaking through the city of Malacca, the money is definitely his!
So Chen Kan ordered Tan Cong to the side without hesitation: "Fire the artillery, destroy the fleet first, and then attack the city."
Tan Cong also saw the dozen or so ships of gold and silver from the telescope. Hearing this, his face couldn't help but show a look of pain: "Master Marquis, if we fire the cannon, the dozen or so ships of gold and silver will sink into the sea."
"By attacking the capital of Manlajia, the Manlajia treasury can be emptied. The loss of such a small amount of money is nothing. Send the order and open fire!"
Chen Kan ordered expressionlessly.
Tan Cong thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case, so despite the pain, he still gave the order to fire.
"fire!"
